Baby Grey-heart study appointment

As I mentioned in a previous post, at our 23 week doctor appointment, the doctor heard an irregular heartbeat on the baby.  When we checked the baby on the ultrasound, everything seemed to be ok, but the doctor wanted to be sure and referred us to Maternal Fetal Medicine for a heart study. 

Our appointment was about an hour long and no matter what we are there to look at, I just love ultrasounds.  I love any look at the baby that I can get. 

The technician spent most of the time looking at the heart and the respective chambers.  She checked blood flow in and out of each chamber, which was really interesting.  The baby had already moved to another position from the previous Friday.  On Friday, he was head up and butt down with the legs to my left side.  Today, he was head down and butt up with the legs to my right side. He is a very active little baby! 

Once the technician was done with what she needed to get, she switched the screen to 4D and it was like seeing our baby in real life.  It was amazing!  Even though I don't wish the stress of having to go in for an appointment like this on anyone, this sneak peek at the baby made it all worth it!  I think he looks just like Carson with a little button nose.  So we'll see what he looks like when he is born. 

Once the technician was done, the doctor came in and checked a few more things out but concluded that the heart looks healthy and the irregular heartbeat was most likely due to the position I was in and the pressure the doctor used with the Doppler to get the heart rate.  So he said next time, I should maybe shift to a side if it sounds odd again.  It was nice to get some reassurance that we have a healthy, growing baby boy in there!  I can't wait to meet him in a few months. 

Baby boy Grey in the 4D ultrasound.  This shows a great view of his face and his hands up on the side.

Hockey (April)

April is here and Aidan is still loving hockey!  He was moved up another level at the end of the last session.  He is now a Termite!  Since he is getting more serious about hockey, we thought it was time we bought some of the official hockey gear.  He already had skates, but for his birthday he received all of the pads he needed, plus a hockey stick, pants and socks.  In getting him fitted for his new stick, it was discovered that he is actually left-handed for hockey.  So as a lefty myself, I loved that! 

Here is Aidan wearing all of his gear for the first time.  He looks pretty tough huh?

 Aidan working on drills in practice. 

 This is post hockey practice.  He is a little sweaty!  I am getting a small glimpse into my future as a mom of all boys and their smelly sports equipment! 

Aidan loves the Ice Hogs!

This year, Aidan started to love hockey!  I think that last statement was definitely understated.  He has become obsessed with hockey.  He loves to watch it, he loves to play it, he loves to talk about it.  It started by going to more Ice Hog games this year.  He slowly learned some of the rules of the game and learned each of the players names.  He quickly starting watching some of his favorites more closely. 

Here is Aidan with one of his favorite goalies, Salak. 

 During one of the games, Aidan was picked to due the human bowling game during one of the intermissions.  Here he is before he headed out.  He was a little nervous, but by crowd applause, he was declared the winner!  He loved it!

 After the game one night, the fans were invited to skate with the players.  Aidan was so excited since he had just started to skate.  So he headed out there and did really well.  He was able to meet a lot of the players, get pictures and autographs. 
Here is Aidan with another one of his favorite players, Carter Hutton.  Hutton was called up a couple of times during the season to play with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Aidan loved seeing him on tv!

 From the beginning of the season, Aidan loved Brandon Bolig!  In February, Bolig was called up to the Blackhawks.  We thought he would be up for just a few games and then be back down, but he made a name for himself by fighting the big guys and has stuck around through the playoffs!

 Here is Aidan with Ben Smith and Joe Lavin at the Reading night at Carson's school.  (Carson didn't want his picture taken so we only have Aidan with them! )

 Aidan met Hall of Famer Tony Espisito (goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks) at one of the Ice Hogs games. 

 Aidan on the Ice Hogs ice after a game. 

 Aidan with another favorite player, Brian Fahey.  He is the Ice Hogs captain.

 Aidan with Salak again.

 Aidan with Andrew Shaw.  Shaw was also called up to the Blackhawks a few different times during the year.  He made a name for himself and has also stuck around for the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

On any given Sunday, we can find Aidan watching hockey.  No matter who is playing he will be watching and cheering for one team or another!  He has loved the playoffs so far and is hoping that the Blackhawks can keep winning and go on to the next round.  I am not sure what he is going to do when hockey season is over!  Aidan has never really been into sports before like he is into hockey.  So we are letting him run with it.  He loves to play it and it has been good for him.  He has gained so much confidence and balance and focus from hockey, it is unbelievable. 

Happy 8th Birthday Aidan!!

I can't believe my baby is 8!  How did this happen?  It seems like just yesterday he was just a little baby.  He has really matured in the last few months.  Hockey has been good for him and quite frankly, it has been a good thing for mommy to hold over his head if he doesn't do as he is told.  :-)

In keeping with his favorite new sport, Aidan's birthday party was held at the Carlson Ice Arena.  The kids skated, had fun in the birthday party room and then played on the Playworld jungle gym.  By the end of the party, all of the kids were completely exhausted.  I think Aidan was asleep before his head hit the pillow that night! 

Baby appointment -23 weeks

I had another appointment to check on the baby's progress today.  I thought it would be a quick one so I just brought Carson with me rather than have him go to Grandma's.  I thought it would be a quick weigh-in, heart rate check and off we go.  Well, we got a little more than we bargained for.  First when the doctor came in, I got a nice lecture on the weight I had gained.  Sorry, but it is not like I am eating quarter pounders and ice cream every day.  I am eating more fruits and veggies with this one and I am a lot more active too.  So, yes the gain of 6 pounds in 4 weeks surprised me too, but I can't really think of any major changes I will make to make sure it doesn't happen again.  So that started everything off just great! 
Then when she checked the baby's heart rate, at first she couldn't catch up (he likes to move on her!) and then when she did get it, it sounded irregular.  So then we had to go get an ultrasound to check on the baby and make sure he was ok.  Of course, they were busy at that time so we got to wait a lovely 20-30 minutes for that room to open up.  Then, once we got in the ultrasound room, the ultrasound tech was not available so my doctor had to come back to do the ultrasound.  Once she got the machine going, the baby was moving all around and seemed to be fine.  She checked the heart rate a couple of different times and it seemed ok.  Honestly, I wasn't too worried about his heart having any issues.  This baby has been so active since very early on, all 4 chambers of his heart must be working just fine.
But just to be extra sure, she referred us to the Maternal Fetal Medicine department where we will get a 3D or 4D ultrasound and a study will be done on the baby's heart.  Again, I am not worried about it, but it just kind of sits in the back of your mind, what if?  So hopefully everything is ok and we still have a nice and healthy baby.  But if we don't and he needs special attention or surgery, we will deal with it then.  Until I am told otherwise, I have a healthy, overly active, growing baby boy!

Happy Easter 2012!!

Happy Easter 2012!  For a little art project before Easter, Aidan and Carson painted a few things.  Aidan made an egg-shaped chalkboard and Carson painted a treasure chest.

 On Easter Sunday, we went out to the farm as usual.  Since we had such a warm March and mild April, morel mushrooms were already popping up.  After lunch, we headed out for a hike and looked for some mushrooms.  Considering how early in the season it was, we found a decent amount. 

 All of the kids ready to start the egg hunt around the farm.  Mason is without pants as he jumped into a mud puddle before this picture and had very wet and muddy pants! 

 Carson loved the hunt! 

 Aidan look what I found! 

 Aidan going through his goodies. 

Since Aidan's birthday was the day before Easter this year, we celebrated with the family on Easter day.  Grandma Jeanne made a Blackhawks hockey cake for Aidan, complete with a mini hockey stick that Grandpa Scott made.