The countdown to Christmas begins

We had a visitor arrive last night: a little elf yet to be named. Frankie can't decide if he should be called Elf or Tinkerbell. We read his story and talked about the magic Elf that now sits on our mantel. I'm not sure Frankie really understands but Ellie loves the Elf. When we woke up with morning, the Elf had returned from the North Pole and brought Frankie & Ellie a Christmas Tree and decorations for them to decorate their very own tree. It will be interesting to see what our little Elf has in store for the next 24 days!

Belly Pic Week 24 Day 3



Visits with Friends

Over the past month, we have had two families visit with their children. It was a blast to see Frankie interact/observe our friend's kids.

Frankie & Lena
April 2011

Frankie, Lena, & Chris
April 2011

Lena, Chris, & Frankie
April 2011



Lena
April 2011

Lily & Charlie visited in May. We went to the California Science Center. It was a great day activity especially considering admission is donations and parking was only $8. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves and we didn't even make it through the entire center so we will definitely be back with Frankie.



Miss Lily
May 2011



Frankie playing peak-a-boo.
May 2011

Frankie
May 2011



Charlie
May 2011

Miss Lily
May 2011

Lily, Frankie, & Charlie
May 2011



Lily & Charlie
May 2011

Frankie
May 2011



Belly Pic Week 23 D4

The ever growing belly!

VBAC or Repeat C-section

After hours of pushing and no progress, Frankie was delivered by C-section. I have always felt in a way that I failed at childbirth even though I know that is not true. But, I have a lot of questions of what ifs that have left me wondering had we changed one or two things, would I have been able to deliver Frankie rather than having the C-section.

So this time around, I am trying to figure out if I want to just schedule a C-section or attempt a VBAC which I am lucky enough to have the option through my hospital. I have started researching the risks of both and the amount of information so far is utterly overwhelming. My problem is that I read the risks associated with a VBAC and I decide that a C-section is the way to go. Then I read the risks associated with a repeat C-section and I immediately change my mind! Ugh.

I think my greatest fear at this point is going through labor again only to have to have another C-section which would leave me feeling like a failure again and then having to recover from both vaginal birth and a C-section again which was no fun.

So far, here a some of the pros and cons of each that I have either read about or had others bring to my attention. I know the list is longer than what I have below so feel free to add your own pros and cons in the comments sections.

At the moment, I have an overwhelming need to have the VBAC. But this seems to change daily so for the time being, my plan is to 1) talk to my doctor to find out his opinion of my situation 2) attend a class at my hospital on VBAC to hopefully ease my mind and answer any questions that I don't know I have yet and 3) RELAX (lol, why does it feel like I am tackling something that no one else has ever done before!).

C-Section Pros

• Scheduled delivery (no surprises when the baby is coming and it gives us a set date to have family in town to take care Frankie)
• Recovery from only the C-section
• I have the same doctor who performed my last C-section and he did a wonderful job so I trust him completely for another one.

C-Section Cons

• Major surgery
• If scheduled too early, the baby could be smaller than if allowed to come on her own
• The probability of serious complications that may affect me and any future pregnancies increases with every C-section
• blood clots & strokes
• Possible issues for baby: surgical cuts, respiratory problems/asthma, breastfeeding problems

VBAC Pros

• The baby will be allowed to come into the world on her time
• Vaginal birth is beneficial to the baby

 VBAC Cons

• Uterine rupture (less than 1% chance) could lead to harm to the baby and/or hysterectomy.
• if unsuccessful and a C-section is necessary then I will have to recover again from both vaginal birth and major surgery.

Websites that I have found useful:
http://www.childbirthconnection.org/
http://www.vbac.com/
http://vbacfacts.com/

Belly Pictures

I keep forgeting to take belly pictures so here are the only two I have so far for this pregnancy.

18 Weeks 1 day - April 18th, 2011

22 Weeks 2 days- May 17, 2011

New Camera

For my birthday, I bought a new camera. I got the Nikon D3100. I am still learning my way around all the settings but I have taken some shots using the AUTO feature and so far I am very happy with my purchase! These are some of my favorite pictures so far.



Playing with Daddy's golf water bottle.



 

 

 

Frankie's first time eating raviloli without any help! He went straight to the shower after dinner!

Playing at the park.

Frankie is going to have a little......

Sister!

I had my 20 week ultrasound Monday, May 2nd. The baby is growing perfectly and everything looks normal. We also found out that it is a little girl or as the Dr put it "the expensive kind"!

Frank and I are both very excited. Now for the name picking! I may post some of the options we are thinking about but we may keep the final name a secret until the little princess arrives.

And he's walking.......

After finishing his dinner on February 23, 2011, Frankie was sitting in Frank's arms at the table. Frank put him down on the floor in a standing position and Frankie just walked away! We were both completely shocked. Now, only two weeks later, he is walking everywhere. It is absolutely incredible how quickly he has mastered it.

This past weekend, Frankie also signed "more" for the first time when asked if he wanted more and also on his own when he wanted more food. It is so exciting to see him communicate! Now to work on some more signs!

He's on the move!!!

We watched Frankie struggle for weeks to figure out how to crawl. He had the position and he could even rock back forth but he just couldn't seem to get his arms and legs to move him anywhere! When I picked him up from daycare Monday, November 15th, his teacher Gaby commented that he was all over the place! I gave her a very confused look and she said "oh, you didn't know! He has been crawling all day!" Frankie couldn't have picked a better day for it was Frank's birthday! So happy birthday to his daddy! We will always remember the day he started crawling.

Frankie's First Halloween

My work has a Halloween lunch every year. Frankie loved seeing all the people dressed up in costumes.

7 months

Frankie turned 7 months on Monday! I just cannot believe how fast the time has gone by! He has changed so much. He is sitting up really well now. The face plants to the floor are not happening quite as often. And he "talks" all the time now. Here are a couple of my fav pics over the past few months.

Coming up on 4 months.......

I cannot believe that Frankie will be 16 weeks old tommorow! Time has just flown by! I have not been a very active blogger since his birth even though there has been plenty to blog about. I will do my best to update the blog with everything we have experienced over the past couple of months.

I will start with Frankie's one month professional pictures. My mom came back out to California to help me with him the week he turned one month old so I decided to take advantage of having her around and take Frankie for his first professional pictures. He did really well; so well in fact that the photographer who usually only allows 2 changes of clothes, let us do 4 changes! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

The only time he cried was when the photographer asked us to leave him in only his diaper for a couple of pictures; he hated not having clothes on so he screamed until we put his clothes back on him. I am looking forward to taking him back for his 6 month pictures in a couple of months!