Not So Happy Valentine's Day

I managed get a few minutes between Hannah's fussiness tonight by popping in a Baby Mozart video. Hannah is sick. And not just the little stuffiness she has had three times already this season. (Yes, she's sick for the FOURTH time.) This bout has really taken a hold of her. Her poor nose is constantly full, and raw from all the times we have sprayed, wiped, and suctioned it. Her sleep isn't so sound between coughing and sneezing. Poor girl.

Hannah started not feeling well Sunday. With just a little stuffiness and coughing, we still took her into daycare on Monday. Half way though the day I got a call about her not feeling well, and even after being with Grandma P on Tuesday, she was in no position to go to daycare Wednesday or Thursday. So Seth and I have each taken a day to stay home with her. I got today. Valentine's Day.

Little One, I am so sorry you don't feel well. But I hope you know that your mommy and daddy love you very much and would do anything for you. In honor of Valentine's Day, here are some of the things we love about you.

We love your SMILE! When you smile, you don't just grin. You give us a wide open mouth and smile with your whole body. Even when you're sick, we can still squeeze out smiles.

We love your giggles.

We love bath time with you. We love watching you love the water, and we love us a naked baby. That belly of yours kills us every time.

We love when you reach up and touch our face. It's so fun to interact with you. And we don't mind when you pinch and scratch.

We love when you are looking at us (mostly Daddy) from far away and smile when we look back at you.

We love how pretty you are. Sometimes we can't handle the cuteness. But it does make us worry about boys later on.

We (okay I) love your brown eyes. I was hoping they would be brown, because they remind me of Daddy.

We love talking to you. Probably because this is one of your favorite things.

We love falling asleep with you. You feel so good in our arms.

We love watching you roll over. We're seeing it more and more and you're getting pretty good at it.

We love that if we have to get ready for the day and you are awake, you are content to hang out in your bed and watch us get ready.

Hannah Rose, we love you not because of what you do, but because you are our daughter and a child of God. Al that said, it doesn't hurt that your also such a good baby. Thanks for being awesome.

Five Months

So what's new at five months?

Hannah has teeth! The bottom two have sprouted and now she loves sticking her tongue out to feel them.

Hannah reaches for everything. She's so good at picking things up.

Hannah loves "The Wheels on the Bus." She cracks up when I sing it to her.

Hannah must be far-sighed, or just likes to look at what's across the room. You can be holding her, and even talking to her, but she always seems more interested in someone or something else.

Hannah didn't see Mommy OR Daddy all day for the first time. Hannah was with the Pietrini grandparents this weekend while we attended the high school youth group retreat.



What's the same at five months?

Hannah just keeps getting chunkier. My favorite chunks are on her thighs, wrists, and cheeks!

Hannah is as drooly as ever - she practically spits!

Hannah is as smiley as ever. She'll shoot you a smile every time you smile at her. It's the giggles that are a challenge. 

Seth and I are still crazy in love with her. We miss her when she's away and we're always excited to see her.


Coming up next month: half way to one and starting on solids!

All Worth It

Getting up 30-45 minutes earlier before work every morning means I get to spend our first waking moments together.  

Worth it.

Feeding you for hours each day reminds me to slow down and spend time with you. 

Worth it.

Lengthening my commute by 20 minutes each work day is okay because I get to be with you longer and see you sooner. 

Worth it.

Crying over touching commercials and stories about babies/children happens more often affirms in me the sanctity and preciousness of life. 

Worth it.

Getting spit up in my hair and drool on my face makes me to laugh at what seems unlaughable . 

Worth it.

Taking breaks at work to pump express milk lends me the knowledge that I'm helping protect you from illness and allergies, and may even be boosting your IQ (not to mention help me lose the baby wight). 

Worth it.

Results

As anticipated, Friday's transesophageal echocardiogram detected no blood clots, or risk factors for blood clots.

So what do we conclude? 

Well, I'll at least tell you what I conclude. Emergency room take two was just as the high risk pregnancy doctor suspected - an abnormal migraine. That or I simply experienced one of the many perplexing side effects of the pregnancy condition.

We'll see what the neurologist has to say next Tuesday and waste yet another $40 copay...

Putting My "TIA" to Rest

If you haven't been following my blog earlier than about about half way through my pregnancy, or if you have an simply have forgotten about my second trip to the emergency room when pregnant, I don't blame you. Seeing pictures and updates of Hannah Rose are much more exciting. But for the few and far between that have been asking about follow-up post pregnancy, the last test to find out if I'm actually susceptible to blood clots and/or stroke is Friday. My Protein C levels in my blood are still a bit low post-pregnancy, but I'm still not considered deficient.

My test on Friday will commence with an eight-hour fast followed by a two-hour period in "twilight" while doctors perform a transesophageal echocardiogram. For those of you that have no idea what this means, I will basically have a probe passed down my esophagus (thus the fast) to get a clearer image of my heart. This compares to the non-invasive echocardiogram - like an ultrasound of the heart - I received during pregnancy when "twilight" wasn't an option. The goal here, as I understand it, is to check out the left atrium for blood clotting, which may have caused my "TIA".

Am I nervous (for the results)? Not a pinch. The whole reason for placing TIA in "quotes" is because I'm not at all convinced I actually had a TIA incident. I think the high-risk pregnancy doctor was right (see Doctors, Doctors & More Doctors); I think the numbness and aphasia I experienced was an atypical migraine. 

In the event something abnormal from the transesophageal echocardiogram is found, the results will likely conclude whether I need to continue my daily regime of taking Baby Asprin, and will likely sentence me to Lovonox/ Heparin injections for the full duration of subsequent pregnancies. 

If so, it will be worth it.

Because even after months of giving myself daily injections, and not-to-mention my struggle mid-pregnancy with breathlessness,  the difficult times have been quickly forgotten and the reward is well worth the trial. I mean, just look at this Cheese:

Hannah Getting Her Voice

Four Months: Daddy's Little Girl

It's about 99.9% certain that we've got ourselves a brown eyed girl. So she's officially all Daddy, as if we didn't know already. Check out all our newborn photos.

This past month Hannah had several firsts. Hannah had her first cold (and also her second). Hannah celebrated her first Christmas. (It was last year Christmas Day I found out I was pregnant.) We heard Hannah's first giggles. Hannah also received her first non-generic nickname: The Cheese. How? I was singing along with Hannah's musical lamb to "The Farmer in the Dell." At the end I sang, "Hannah stands alone. Hannah stands alone..." So Seth said, "Hannah, are you The Cheese?" It stuck. She's The Cheese.

But most exciting, Hannah first rolled over!

The first to witness was Grandma P. on December 17 when watching her during the day while Seth and I were at work. Hannah was a bit startled by it when she landed abruptly from her stomach to back. I was sad to have missed it, but I already had accepted the fact I may miss some of Hannah's firsts with my decision to go back to work. I'll get over it. And it's not like we had lost our chance to see it. I knew there would be a next time.

The following weekend, we got our chance. Not only did we get to witness this feat, but since we were in Minnesota for Christmas, Grandma and Grandma Miller, Sarah, and Peter also got to see Hannah roll over. We all erupted in cheers, so much so that Sarah had to quiet us down since Elora was taking a nap. In case Hannah would do it again, I whipped out my camera. Sure enough, when I put her back on her stomach, she flipped onto her back once again. Check out the footage:

To close, Daddy said the sweetest thing yesterday: "I have never smiled so much in my life. Because I always want to make her smile."