Carter Avery Hickman

Sorry it's taken so long to post this...most of you know that Carter's entrance to this world was a bit rougher than usual, so we've been dealing with lots of things these days.

So, little background on his entrance to this world...starting Friday, July 9th, I decided I'd work MWF from home and go into the office T/Th, to decrease my chance of going into labor downtown. Well, just as I predicted and actually discussed with my boss the very morning (Tuesday, July 13th when i was - DOWNTOWN!!) I figured I'd probably go into labor downtown anyway, just because that's how luck would have it. And, around 10:40 a.m., sure enough my water broke! This set the wheels in motion for the admin to start making calls to get a limo service pick me up to get back to Naperville to the hospital. I was picked up around 11:30 from work, made it to the hospital and was checked in around 12:20 and Carter entered the world at 1:30 p.m. So, you can see he wasn't messing around when he was ready. This time I kept asking and asking for the epidural to hurry up, but they had to wait until the i.v. was hydrating me..by the time i got the epidural, they told me I could push - well, that was a wasted effort on their part. The nurses told me if everyone was like me, they'd be out of a job. Carter did enter the world in screaming fashion though (unlike Ethan who was whisked away because he didn't make a peep), so Dave was able to do the cord cutting and I held him right away, which was great!

Since that Tuesday afternoon, the poor little angel of a boy has had many a procedure done. He's had a couple ultrasounds of his kidneys, catheters for dye testing to see what was exactly wrong with his urinary system (it's his posterior urethral valve), several bloodtests to see his kidney functions, a continual catheter now until his surgery happens (hopefully next Tuesday) and several nights stay in the NICU. This was definitely not the outcome we expected going in and we are thankful to have great family around us that was able to stay with Ethan when we were visiting Carter in the hospital. Luckily on Monday, the doctors told us as long as we were comfortable with keeping Carter home and taking care of the catheter, he could come home instead of staying in the hospital for another week. I jumped at the chance!!

Here are a few pictures from Carter's first days. We're anxiously waiting for next week when we can have his surgery and get back to some normalcy in our lives. After his surgery he'll be in the hospital for another 24-48 hours for observation, which is normal when a baby is put under for surgery so they can ensure that there are no side effects.

I think Ethan is starting to get used to his little brother. He likes to kiss his head and 'pet' his soft hair.

Another trip to the Museum

I had one last appointment with the Dietician for my gestational diabetes this weekend, so we took advantage of the proximity to the DuPage Children's Museum and let Ethan do a little exploring. I joined Dave and Ethan for the first hour and then let them do a little Daddy/son bonding while I went to my appointment. When I got back, we had our packed picnic lunch at the museum before going home for an afternoon nap. I think Ethan enjoyed the tool station the best, which we haven't done before. He loved the little drill and got to take his own piece of wood home that he drilled a hole in.

This is Ethan trying out a lime at the restaurant. He kept making this face, yet he asked for more bites?!

Other than that, we enjoyed the nice weather this weekend out on our new patio and took some walks around the subdivision. I actually also started to sort through the baby toys and baby clothes from 0-6 months. So, once little Hickman #2 joins us, we'll know whether we can use msot of our clothes or not. If we're having a boy, I think we have a good start, although the seasons are a bit different between when Ethan and this baby will be born, so even if it's a boy, I think there may be some clothing needed. We'll see if we're buying pinks or blues?!

This week Thursday marks the 36 week mark, and starting Tuesday I'm going for weekly doctor appointments from here forward (along with the specialist ultrasounds for the baby's kidneys). It's only a matter of time now until the little baby joins us!

Some funny things that Ethan does/says lately:

*I call him sweetie sometimes and when I use a different phrase, like, "Hi, buddy", he'll tell me, "No Mama, you have to say 'hi, sweetie'". So, apparently he likes being called sweetie.

*Dave was talking about something and Ethan said 'That's interesting Daddy'. Cracked me up, as he's never talked about something being 'interesting'

*He impressed Grandma Hughes this weekend when she watched him and they took a walk. When he got to the end of the sidewalk by the road, he told her they needed to look for cars before she even had to stop him.

That's all for now...stay tuned for more Baby #2/Ethan updates in the coming weeks.

Zoo, Baby #2 Update..

Let's start off with the fun stuff. I have it in my mind to do all these wonderful family things with Ethan before Baby #2 arrives so we can be out and explore before I feel like we'll probably be banished to the house for a month or so while we understand how to be a family of 4 and remember what it's like to take care of a newborn. So, last weekend we decided to take advantage of the sunny, yet non-scorching weather and headed for the Brookfield Zoo. In the end, I can't decide whether Ethan really had fun watching the animals, as he kept asking about riding the Carousel and playing on the playground there. Never the less, Dave and I enjoyed the family time together and I think Ethan did enjoy seeing some of the animals. We hope to do a few more family adventures in the coming weekends as well, so hopefully the weather will cooperate with us.

Ethan and Daddy playing at the playground in the zoo. Who needs animals when there are rock walls to climb?!

In the reptile/bird house. Almost as tall as the frog.

On the way home, we like to wear our hat and make a piggy nose now.

A nice cat nap because being pulled in the wagon all morning is just exhausting work!

Hanging with Mr. Brown Bear on the couch

Ethan the excavator. He now tells me, "What I'm bigger, I'm going to drive the excavator". He likes seeing the giant excavators in the subdivision now that they're back building houses around us.

I always try to think of some new and funny things that Ethan is doing and list them out..I think I need to start writing them down because when I try to update the blog, I never seem to think of everything. I guess the biggest thing I've noticed lately is that he's definitely pushing his boundaries. I've heard that Terrible Two's runs into Terrible Three's and I wonder if we're getting there? I realize it's probably all part of the 'growing' process...but my word I sometimes wonder where my sweet little boy has gone? In the past week he's told me that he's going to 'throw me away' (note this was when he woke from his nap, so I figure he was just a bit groggy - still hurts!!), and he's stated 'get out of my room'. We refer to this as 'nasty talk' and he's been warned that this only gets him timeouts or time in his room!! On the more positive side, I just honestly can't believe how much this kid loves his tools (and Daddy's). He helped Dave put the crib back together this weekend and wanted to be there constantly helping and using daddy's tools when he was done.

Lastly, Baby #2 update. We're now on a schedule to see the specialists in Maternal Fetal Medicine once a week for an ultrasound check on the baby's kidneys. Both kidneys are larger than they should be, so they are keeping an eye on them to make sure it doesn't get worse. So far, the two ultrasounds we've had shown that they aren't growing (which would mean something is really wrong) and the amniotic fluid levels are good. So, this points to the fact that the kidneys are working properly but there is possibly a blockage in the urinary system (kidneys draining into bladder or bladder into the urethra) that is causing the kidneys to be larger than they should. The unfortunate part is that they won't know what exactly is wrong until the baby comes out and then they can ultrasound the kidneys. They talked about inducing me as early as 37 weeks when the baby is considered full term, but sounds like if they stay the same size for now, 39 weeks would be the earliest induction and maybe I'd even go naturally before that. We're going to see the pediatric urologist this week to talk about next steps after the baby is born and hopefully they can give us some more insight as to what might be the problem/corrective measure. For now, we're staying positive and enjoying seeing the baby on the ultrasound machine weekly.

No two pregnancies are the same!

Well, this pregnancy has sure proven to be an emotional roller coaster for me. Most people know that just having kids for Dave and I hasn't been the easiest of paths, but this one is definitely coming with additional challenges. It started with the 20-week ultrasound showing a low placenta, then I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes around 28-weeks. This past week I had my follow-up ultrasound for the low placenta and it showed that it had in fact moved up (so, no planned c-section), but what it also showed was that the tube draining the right kidney of the baby is enlarged. So, I'm off to a specialist for another ultrasound this coming week. The doctor assured me that if it was something major, it would've been picked up at the 20-week ultrasound, but just knowing that there is possibly something slightly wrong with this little baby breaks my heart. The doctor told me that it could possibly be nothing at all and if they do find something, there is nothing they do at this point. What they'll do if necessary is ultrasound the kidney's after the baby is born. So, I'm hoping I'll find more out at my appt on Thursday. At this point, I'm convinced this is a little girl, taking everything out of me!! :-) On the diabetes front, I've kept my levels under control for all but 2 meals, so that's at least not a problem. I go to the doctor for my 32-week appt on Wednesday and then I start going every 2 weeks. Only 8 more weeks to go for this little one!! Can't wait to meet the little angel!

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to the last few weekends.

Dinner downtown Aurora with the Rochford side to celebrate Dave and my Dad's bday. We went to a fun Mexican place where they had musicians actually travel table by table to play music. Ethan was very interested in it all!

We traveled down to Champaign to watch my brother Adam graduate from U of I (He's off to UT-Austin this fall for grad school).

We stayed @ Dave's gradparent's house and took Ethan for a walk. He liked this field of tall grass.

Diploma in hand - Ethan was a good sport during the ceremony.

We went to MN last weekend for my cousin's wedding. Here is Ethan hanging out with Uncle Adam. His buddy for the weekend!

My 30-week picture

28 Weeks

We officially hit 28 weeks on Thursday (but we forgot to take a picture). I went to the doctor on Tuesday and I supposedly had only gained 1lb?! Although I think the real culprit was that my prior appt. was RIGHT after eating pizza for dinner, so I just weighed in higher in the previous appt. I'm up to 16 lbs total from my scale. :) Baby's heartbeat was loud and strong - I LOVE hearing that sound! On to the bad news though, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes this time (after getting my arm poked 4 times in 3 hours last week), so I'm off to talk to a dietician and a nurse educator on how i can improve my diet and how i'll have to monitor my blood-sugar levels every day with a monitor. I'm a bit bummed and almost insulted at this diagnosis. I know it just happens during pregnancy to some women, but I'm the one that eats veggies every lunch and dinner and fruit all the time. I pay attention to food labels. People at work have joked that my system just isn't used to sugar, so when I took the test, it was a shock to my system. Whatever the reason, the news did make me a bit emotional for a few hours.

Mother's Day weekend was like every other weekend...busy! Friday night Dave put up Ethan's new shades and a little car shelf in his new room. The room is definitely coming together and we're still aiming for Memorial Day weekend for his first sleep in there. Saturday we did swim classes and took Ethan to Elmo Live. Sunday Dave unfortunately went into work for 5 hours, but Ethan and I hung out and made cookies (not for me to eat, of course) and played. When Dave got home we spent time outside to enjoy the weather and after dinner we made Ethan's big boy bed with his car sheets and put his room in order. The only thing missing is a dresser to make it fully functional for him.

I have to mention, I'm so proud of Ethan with his swim classes these days. He is great at paddling his arms and kicking his feet. His paddling motion is more like when you sing the song, "The Wheels on the Bus", but he gets the point, that's for sure. We also go to the shallow end of the pool towards of the end of his class and all the kids get little rings that we practice putting under water and having them grab them. He's gotten as far as putting his mouth under to reach for the ring, which I think is just great. I try to keep him interested by teasing him with the ring while I put it under water. This weekend, he actually said he was okay with going under water.

Here are some Elmo pictures to enoy...

There's just not enough time!!

I honestly feel like there is just not enough time in the day, week, month, etc. lately to get things done. Dave's been done studying for 2 weeks and we still don't have the time to get everything done around the house it seems. We've definitely put a dent in preparing Ethan's new 'big boy' room (big shout out to Dave who sacrificed a good part of his birthday weekend, this weekend, to do the majority of the painting in there). Next weekend I'm hoping to get his new shades up and the room partially put together and then possibly move him into the room around Memorial Day (we're out of town the 15th and 22nd). Our other big task lately is trying to get quotes on putting a patio in...we've gotten such a late start on it, it seems we have to wait a couple of weeks to talk to the people, so we're just working it as much as we can. Other than that, I just try to keep up with the house chores as much as possible, although I sometimes feel that 75% of the space is a toy room (I'm hoping that Ethan's new room will house some of the toy run-over).

On to what you really check the blog for..pictures of the little man!

Mr. Fix-it

A quick pose by the tree in front of the house

Out with friends to celebrate Dave's 33rd bday....Yummy sushi!

Posing while out mushroom hunting with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa Hickman and Dave's friend Tim

Walking with Grandpa in the forest preserve

Walking with Daddy

Grandma giving a piggy back ride (he walked quite a bit, but in the end, he wanted to be held, so this helped Mommy take a bit of a break)

Easter & Catch-up

I remember the days when I was so diligent EVERY weekend updating the blog with pics and commentary....hopefully once our lives get back to normal (i.e. Dave is done studying for his PE in 12 days) I will have a little more time for updating. Until then, please be patient. I'm sure once our next little one comes along I'll be lacking time as well.

So, here are some updated pictures from around Easter...coloring eggs, enjoying nice weather @ the park, making muffins etc.

At Home Depot - the hardware store is so much more fun in a cart like this!

Conquering the 'Big Mountain' as he called it.

Once safely up the mountain, we slide down...and repeat several times!

A new way to get to the top...Mommy was a nervous wreck and besides taking this picture had her hands right below his bottom in case he fell. Of course, he had to do it "all by myself" as he told me!

Coloring Eggs for the Bunny to hide

This egg dipper can also be glasses!

While we're up on the counter, let's make some yummy banana muffins!

Celebrating Easter with friends...egg hunt, crafts, decorating cup cakes!

Just something to add...

Ethan has really been coming out of his shell these days, even friends have been telling us. All three days this week that I took him to the park, he made a point to wave and say hi to each and every kid that passed by him. And, he even tried to make conversation, like telling them he was climbing on the 'rock mountain' as he called it or the bridge, etc. He's very proud of himself when he says hi and tells me, "I said hi to the boy" or something to that effect.

Ultrasound

Well, we had Baby #2 ultrasound this past Wednesday. All went well. The baby weighed in around 14 oz (and will grow around 2 oz/week for now I guess). So, officially will be 1 lb next week. We brought Ethan thinking he might be interested, but I'm not sure what I was thinking because even as an adult, I find it hard to see just everything on the images. But, we got some nice souvenir pictures of arms/hands, face, upper half of body. We looked away while the tech measured the leg, just in case anything were to pop out at us. :-)

The only hitch is that I got a call from the doctor yesterday and apparently I have a "low lying placenta" which could very well correct itself, but if it doesn't then I will have to have a c-section. I go back in for another ultrasound between 30-32 weeks to see what the outcome is. Everything I've read says that there are very good chances as the baby grows that the placenta will rise and allow for natural birth. I know that c-section is always a chance with any birth, but I guess it was a big shock to me to think that I'd know going into having the baby??!! Anyway, fingers crossed that when I go back in 10 weeks that all will be normal and we'll have a shot at natural birth for #2.

20 Weeks

Went to the doctor this past Monday for my 20-week. I had gained 2.5 lbs and baby's heartbeat was 144bpm. We go back on St. Patty's day for our ultrasound - can't wait! Ethan's been really cute these days, whenever he sees my bare belly, he tells me he wants to kiss the 'baby belly' (although the other day he told me I had fur on my belly?! - CRACKED ME UP!!). Hopefully he'll be as loving to his future brother/sister with the kisses!!

Here are some pictures of Ethan. Last weekend we went to visit the Hughes side. Ethan had a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Dennis. He ran around playing 'tag' and got lots of tickles in.

Grandpa Rochford brought over some karate pads, that Ethan took his shot at punching and kicking. I was mighty impressed with how high he could kick with good form. :-)

I swear this kid just talks more grown up every day.

*He now tells us red means 'stop' and green means 'go' when we're sitting at stoplights.

*He used the term 'ridiculous' the other day. Which I think he's heard from me at times when he's not exactly acting like a nice little boy.

*He told me this morning that he likes to smell chocolate pudding and chocolate milk and they're 'licious' (delicious).

*I brought home a teddy bear that I got from a friend's baby shower and some of his comments were. "I love my teddy bear, he's my friend", "My teddy bear is sweet", "My teddy bears is happy, he's not crying"

*He has also turned on the manners lately without prompting. He will say, 'thank you, mama' most of the time when i get him something. We still work on 'please' when asking for something, but i'm pretty impressed!

*He also likes to get down from the table during meals and give me a kiss. Who can resist THAT!!