26 week appt

Instead of going to UW or Children's for our monthly ultrasound, I got to go to my regular OB's office for the first time since May. They performed another ultrasound and took all of Madeline's measurements, which will all be forwarded to UW and Children's. I was then supposed to meet with Dr. Mora, who is my primary OB and the doctor who delivered Hailey. I was excited to be able to see him, because I hadn't seen him since before we found out about Madeline having Gastroschisis. Much to my disappointment, I didn't get to see Dr. Mora, instead I saw Dr. Mallory, who is the one who informed us of Madeline's diagnosis and who I don't particularly care for. Unfortunately for us,  Dr. Mallory is the OB who works with high risk patients and deliveries so we are going to be stuck seeing him for the remainder of our appts. I don't doubt Dr. Mallory's ability as a doctor, in fact I think he is an excellent doctor, I just don't care for his bed side manner and the way he communicates. Boo.

Madeline is growing well, she is in the 35% percentile for her gestational age and there doesn't appear to be any other organs coming out of the opening on her stomach, which is fantastic news. She has been really active, and I got to see her chewing on her hand and have the hiccups during the ultrasound.

We go back to UW for another ultrasound and appt. in late August, and after that, I will be seen by my OB in Bellingham just to check in and will most likely start being seen multiple times a week to do Non Stress Tests to ensure Madeline is still happy where she is at. She will be monitored closely during the last month and a half due to an increased risk of stillbirth which can be related to the Gastroschisis. Pre-mature labor is also associated with Gastroschisis, so they will be monitoring for that as well. We continue to maintain positive attitudes, and are so thankful that Madeline's birth defect is correctable because there are so many defects that aren't correctable.

Hailey's 3 year appt.

Hailey's 3 year stats:

26 lbs (first time on a big girl scale)
36 inches tall

Thankfully no shots were needed at this appt, yay! Hailey just loves going to see Dr. Gass. She has said multiple times that she wants to be a doctor, so maybe she will be some day! She told Dr. Gass all about Madeline, and also told him that "she is in mommy's tummy so you can't see her yet." She got to use the special light to look in Dr. Gass' ears as well as mine, and she got to try on his stethoscope, which has always been her favorite thing to do. Dr. Gass said she is on he tiny side weight wise, but she had also been sick with strep throat just a week prior and lost some weight.

It's still hard for me to believe that we have a 3 year old! Who by the way is experiencing a touch of the "terrible 3's." Hailey has been pretty demanding about things lately and is really trying to control as much as she can, which is creating power struggles between us. We have been using times outs and rewards to try to encourage her to change her behavior, but it's been a slow process. I worry sometimes that we are being too hard on her or expecting too much, but she is so smart, it's hard not to treat her as though she is a bit older than she is. Overall, I think we are doing a great job raising a polite, unique, and independent girl who loves to be helpful and sensitive to others. I still believe that structure is extremely important in our daily schedules, and try to keep Hailey on a nap and bedtime routine. It's so much easier when she knows what to expect, and that way, Jeff and I can get some alone time too. I am hoping that after Madeline comes, we can stick to the same type of schedule, but I also recognize that with a busy toddler and an infant, it may be difficult!

Hailey speaks in full sentences and has a huge vocabulary and a great understanding of words. She really does pick up on everything! Sometimes if we spell something out loud (because we don't want to say the word), she will repeat the spelling, even though she doesn't understand the word. We have to be very careful around her! She constantly makes us laugh with the things she comes up with. We can't wait to watch her grow, and we can't wait to see what an amazing big sister she will be. I have a feeling, she is going to take her new role very seriously!

Our little pumpkin pie!

More soccer fun

26 weeks

Wow, 26 weeks already. This pregnancy is really flying by which is a good thing. I'm ready for Madeline to be here already. We have yet to really start on the nursery. It's driving me crazy that it isn't done yet, but it involves cleaning out our den which is going to take a lot of work, so we are putting it off for now. Bad I know. Hopefully soon we will have the time and energy to get it done. Hailey still likes to tell people that she has a baby in her tummy too. 

Raspberry picking

Yesterday we went out to Boxx Berry Farms in Ferndale to pick some raspberries. I was really excited about it because I haven't picked berries since I was a kid, and I remember how much fun we had. Once we got out there though, we realized that they only took cash, thankfully we found some cash in the van, but only enough to get a couple of pounds. We are already planning on going back out, maybe later this week to pick lots more for jam, cobblers and smoothies. Hailey seemed to like picking raspberries in the beginning, but she kept wanting to pick ones that weren't ripe, so then she decided to play in the dirt. That kept her entertained for a while, until we fed her a fresh berry, then she was like a baby bird who couldn't get enough, it was really cute. She was so proud that she helped pick the berries, and even more excited when she got to help me make raspberry crisp that night. While eating it, she looked at me and said " Thank you for making this mom, it is really good!" And it really was delicious, especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it....yummy!

We already used up these berries by making 2 raspberry crisps, for snacking, and with our cereal.

First day of soccer

I signed Hailey up for a soccer workshop through the YMCA, it's for ages 3-4 and is 2 days a week for 45 minutes. I thought it would be fun for Hailey to learn something new and make some new friends, and her cousin Ashley plays soccer, so I knew Hailey would think it was pretty cool. I was nervous about how Hailey would do. I thought she would be shy to begin with and maybe not want to fully participate, but she totally surprised me. She clung to me for a few minutes, then I slowly backed away from her when they were doing warm up exercises and she did great. She kept looking back to make sure I was still there, but she stayed with her class. The coaches (there are 3 of them) did such an amazing job memorizing all the kids names within minutes, and drawing the kids back in as they began to get distracted. Here are some pics from her first "practice."

Lining up for the first warm up

Playing Red Light, Green Light

Chasing after the ball

Talking with Coach Josh

Big kick! She is also carrying a big leaf she found that she wanted to save for daddy. :-)

Team huddle

Overnight friend

Hailey got to have a friend spend the night last week. My friend Melissa had a party to go to, so she left Jack, her 14 month old son with us overnight. Hailey really likes taking care of Jack and always makes sure he has a sippy cup and toys to play with. Mr. Jack isn't quite walking yet, but it won't be long! Hailey liked playing dress up for Jack and entertaining him by doing lots of big spins.

Hailey shared one of her old pacifiers with Jack.

"Look at me spin Jack!"

Hailey's big girl room

Hailey was so excited to have a big girl bed! We have been telling her all about it in order to prepare her, and it seems to have paid off because she had no problem adjusting to it. She thinks it's really neat that one day Madeline will be able to sleep on the pull out trundle portion of the bed one day. She keeps talking about how Madeline is going to sleep in her bed, and she is going to "pet her gently" to go to sleep. Haha. She loves to have us lay in bed with her to read books, or just to play.

Jeff putting together Hailey's new trundle bed.

New owl bedding from Papa Mac

New owl lamp, which she is scared of, so every night we have to put it on the floor so she can't see it.

Sound asleep after her first night in bed.

Random summer fun pictures

My dad enjoying the Children's Museum

Papa and Hailey working the crane

Sandy face

Riding her new balance bike

Ski to Sea parade

I love this picture!

Relaxing while camping

Hailey's cute little crack. Now that she is wearing underwear, we need to cinch up her pants!