Oct 14th, 20 months celebration and 38 weeks prego

Well, it has been a while since my last blog-post. I have been busy, I started back teaching a class which has been great b/c it has helped me feel like I contribute again to this great big world and my family fiances....I have been prepping for the baby and while I got Gestational Diabetes this time and had to see yet another set of doctors and nurses for blood sugar monitoring and baby growth monitoring, it has been a busy few weeks.

We are finally settled into Ballwin MO....The piano is fixed, it has new pedals and I plan to get the guts redone for Christmas....in case you don't know, this piano has been in my family for years, it is the piano my Grandmother Winnie Dimiterchik bought back in the 1950's so my mom and Aunt Karen could learn to play. Then Mom had it for Leone and I to learn to play on and somehow it has ended up in my house (finally) and I am not trying to do some work on it since it has been a while since it has had major work done to make it somewhat re-furbished and truly a family heirloom for my grandkids to possibly learn to play on when it is their time.

As you can see, Matthew is already pretty excited to "Tickle the Ivories" and show off his impressive hand pounding skills!

Also since my last post, family has visited, Matthew has now been to the St Louis zoo quite a bit and we have seen all or almost all of the exhibits. He likes the elephants, the sea lion tunnel and basically anything that gets him really close to the animals but doesn't force him to touch them. He was not a fan of the sting-ray and shark tank, he did not want to touch them nor stick his hands in the water.
Grant's farm was a pleasant surprise: We went with our friends the Hotard's and really enjoyed it. He helped feed some goats, checked out some birds, of course there were Blue ones so he was in heaven and the birds of prey show/animal show he really enjoyed but the best and what he still signs/talks about is the elephant education class we watched. He loved watching the elephant eat and orange, blow up a balloon and spray water all over.
Of course we have also done the Bird Sanctuary again, which is another treat for our bird-loving boy. Grandpa Joe visited and they did that (again) which of course allowed him to see and get up close to some amazing birds.

So 20 months on the 14th. Matthew is weighing-in on our home scale at 25lbs. He is still in 12 month pants as that is what fits his waist, the 18 months are just to big in the waist...problem we now face is many of the 12 months stuff are "high-water" or at his ankles....so hopefully a growth spurt (outward a bit in the waist) will occur soon so we can get him into his 18 months stuff....who would have thought, he would be in 12 months pants since well March....all the cute shorts and summer outfits we bought just got worn for the tops, and not the bottoms....luckily we got some winter/fall stuff from Aunt Jamee and Uncle Johnny so we have 18 month long sleeve stuff plus a few sweaters....

For halloween, I found another Monkey costume at Old Navy so this year again he will sport his monkey gear. I searched for a bird so some sort but could not for the life of me find a bird costume for my bird loving boy....as it is, angry birds stuff usually doesn't come in stuff less than 24 months or 2T and that is still a bit big...and Rio the movie he loves but is old doesn't really have gear to buy either....I am actually hoping that we can get the finding Nemo DVD and get him on Fish here in the future to just change it up for me at least...gosh Rio in the car, Rio at home....we watch this movie everyday....it does finally get old!

As for me, the baby is coming on the 22nd, at 39 weeks 1 day if not naturally sooner. As I got gestational diabetes and despite my best efforts on the diet, exercise routine and everything else, I supposedly will have this huge baby, which isn't the end of the world, but from the last ultrasound at 36 weeks (4 OCT), what is worrying the OB and the Maternal Fetal Med folks is the hip/shoulder/belly size compared to the head. Supposedly my kid has taken any and all glucose I have provided (which hasn't really been much as I feel like I am eating almost an atkins type of diet so low to moderate carb intake) and put it straight to its' belly....so the fear is I could push out a head but the baby would get stuck making a very big emergency situation that could lead to shoulder or hip problems for the baby that could be long-term or an emergency C-section surgery....so you labor for a few hours and end up with surgery and all that drama anyway....
So this week, the 18th is our decision day to look at the ultrasound, hope that the error that occurs at this point in measurements is on our side and the baby is really not that big, the belly/shoulder/hips are not really that huge and inducing a delivery is possibly....I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes naturally before Monday so I can possibly experience "natural" labor pains and not the chemically induced ones...I mean if you have 2 kids and you can't say you ever really experience a normal labor pain, that just doesn't seem right to me....

Still no idea on the gender, we are I think almost settled on a boy's name but the girl first name is not even close...we looked (again) at the baby book of names for ideas but just can't seem to agree and settle on something we both like....so don't ask, we don't know for sure the name....guess we have until Tuesday or Wednesday next week to figure it out as that is usually when those birth certificate and social security people come knocking and bothering you right??


Here area  few pictures of Matthew and one of me at 38 weeks.

 Sporting his 20 months sticker, he is 25 lbs and officially 20 months old as of 14 OCT

 So some of our baby gear is out and about in prep for the new arrival but Matthew likes to try and utilize it as well, this is him in the bumbo seat, he also likes to get into the baby's car seat. I think he is in for a huge adjustment once the newby arrives. Luckily our great friend Lara is coming to visit this weekend who was present at Matthew's birth to help entertain and spoil him and then Granny Julia is coming on Sunday for 10 days or so to really give Matthew some attention while I deal with the fun of a newborn.

I just can't believe I am really carrying this monster baby inside me, I don't feel as big as last time, I haven't gain as much weight, I am not as swollen and I can still see my feet and for the most part, put my socks, shoes and pants on without any problems....I really think I have that measurement error in my favor and this baby isn't as big as the ultrasound predicts...we shall of course find out in a week. The good news, at 190 or so lbs, I am 17 lbs less than last pregnancy. 190 was were I started my weight loss journal post Matthew so already I am ahead of the game for this post-pregnancy weight loss....I can't wait for spring to get back into biking, running and hopefully Tri's!

Well, it is a pretty long update but that is what is going on with us. Jay is enjoying the aspects of the job, of course he is still figuring his way through things....the commute is much like Richmond, about 30-45 minutes on a bad day....25-30 on a quiet or early morning or late coming home day...I am planning to start stalking a few of the college websites for St Louis to hopefully find a teaching job for next August...I would even settle for adjunct if it was a day teaching position and not night or weekend school....but hopefully by next August I am going to be back into the work-force.

I guess I shall try to update this again next week once we get home and have pictures of our newest family member.
I am thinking of trying to get family pictures taken around Mid to late November so Christmas/Holiday cards can go out with pictures of the 2 kids for everyone to enjoy....bear with me if that doesn't happen as I have this really great plan in my head of getting all this done but this kid could have other ideas and make accomplishing these goals difficult....

Thanks for reading and of course, keep an eye on facebook or in-touch with my mom, Lara or Jay for more information in the coming week.
Happy Halloween, I am somewhat disappointed this won't be a Halloween baby as it would be cool to have a Valentine and Halloween holiday baby...makes it easier for folks to remember as well. Oh well, the 22nd is a special day as it is my God-mother/Nannies Birthday and well the 22nd of March is my birthday so 22 can't be a bad number.

ok, I am really done, now!