Cleared for Take-Off!

I visited the prenatal cardiologist (who knew there was such a job?!) last week and I am officially released from his care and oversight! If you'll remember way back when at 12 weeks I had a NTS screen that revealed the baby might be at increased risk for heart defects. After three visits to the cardiologist, he has assured me that everything is properly functioning. He monitored me this last time for an irregular heartbeat he heard a few months ago and it seems to have worked itself out. So everything is a go! Three weeks from today (if all goes as "planned"), Baby Rooney #2 will be here--happy and healthy!

It's Scheduled!

So it is official! Baby Rooney #2's birthday will be March 19th!! (Or at least very close to that day) I have a scheduled induction for March 19th for a couple of reasons....the main one being that my Dr. has decided to take off for Vail for his son's Spring Break the week I am due!!! Convenient. The other being that I am now 36 weeks, not 34 according to his most recent calculations. Who knew. Those things coupled with my "history" of quick labor all makes for a good reason to schedule this little sucker's birthday! :-)

On one hand, it's not as "exciting" knowing the exact date...having your bag packed but not knowing when you'll need it...wondering when labor will start, etc. But whatever. Been there, done that!!! I am ECSTATIC mostly because I won't have to worry about waking Brookey up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital or my water breaking while I am teaching!! Of course all of that still could happen, but it's unlikely at this point. So one month from tomorrow, we'll probably have Baby Rooney 2 in our arms. Amazing!! Now if we could just decide on some names.....

How Do I Love Thee?

Since Valentine's Day is upon us and I am a hormonal pregnant lady, I thought I'd take this time to reflect on my thoughts about "love." Right now, I feel completely filled to the top with love....from family, friends, my husband and most of all, my daughter. However, let's not forget the impending birth of Baby #2...where will I find enough love to spread to this new bundle of joy??? Do I have ANY MORE love to give??

The books say, experienced people say, everyone TELLS me that "your heart just expands to accommodate for the new baby." And I believe it. But right now, as selfish as it seems, I can't imagine loving any thing as much as I love Brooke. Is this second kid going to get shafted and be "second" on my list?? Does the second/third/forth kid always get the shaft??

This question of "do I have enough love to give" has bothered me for a long time. In fact, last year I even told Scott I didn't think I wanted to have any more kids because I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love Brooke. I realize I probably said this right after she did something heart-melting like running up and hugging me for no reason and telling me "you're my best friend, mommy" or something annoying like that that 2-3 year olds love to do to get you to forget what a pain in the ass they will be in middle school.

Ah, but I guess there is no turning back now. Baby 2 is on the way and I will just have to wait and see how much my heart is open to expansion. Love, on on so many levels...why in the heck does it have to be so complicated?! :-) Happy Valentine's Day!!!! Love you all!! :-)

32 Weeks and Contractions Already?!

As if I already haven't had enough "scares" during this pregnancy--a CVS for genetic disorders at 14 weeks, still having to see the neo-natal cardiologist every two months for fetal heart monitoring--and now contractions at 32 weeks?! Having gone through labor before, I know what a Braxton-Hicks contraction feels like vs. a "real" contraction. I was lying in bed last Sunday after just not feeling right the entire weekend. I suddenly felt a very familiar pain--the exact same pain that I felt when my labor started with Brookey 3 years ago! Then it went away...and came back exactly 10 minutes later. This kept happening for an hour and it was painful enough that I couldn't sleep. I almost scooped up Brookey from her bed to drive to the ER, but the pains finally went away.

I was still freaked the next morning so I visited my Dr. who informed me he would do some sort of test to see if I would deliver in the next 2 weeks. WHO KNEW such a test existed??! Then he rambled on about if the test were positive there were drugs to take to speed lung development, drugs to stop labor, etc etc. It all sounded freaky to me, not to mention the thought of having a preemie who would most likely have to stay in the hospital hooked up to ventilators, monitors and tubes for at least 2 months. 4 days with Brooke in the hospital about put me over the edge, so I simply cannot imagine doing that for 2 months or longer!

At any rate, I found out yesterday that we are not, in fact, going to have Baby Rooney #2 in the next 2 weeks (the test was negative) and that I just need to "take it easy." Yeah, right. Someone remind me how to do that again....does it involve deep breathing or something??? I'll put "taking it easy" on my to-do list for tomorrow...

Freaky Friday

Last Friday (9/26) began five days of high anxiety here at the Rooney Household. I am finally in a place where I can talk about the whirlwind few days we've had.

It all started with what I thought was going to be a "routine" ultrasound. However, I was told that it was really a nuchal translucency (NT) screening for Down's Syndrome and other chromosonal abnormalities. This NT test was not routine when I was pregnant with Brookey just 3 years ago! To make a long story short, I left the office in tears after being told I was in the "high risk" category for Down's and that I needed to decide if I wanted to pursue more invasive, diagnostic testing for definitive results. Since I am a bit on the control-freaky side and need to know things (except the sex of the baby!!), I scheduled an appointment for a CVS test, which is a similar procedure to an amnio (yes, needles in belly--not cool).

Scott escorted me to the procedure this past Monday and like a trooper, sat there with me through three needles in my belly (two to "numb" it and one REAL needle). I think I have a pretty decent tolerance for pain and this procedure sucked. I don't wish it upon anyone, but it was over really quickly so I guess it wasn't that bad.

The next two days we were sitting on pins and needles. I did a lot of soul-searching and came to the realization of what a personal decision all of the testing was as well as a couple's decision about how to proceed with the pregnancy if any negative results are found. My Dr. told me awhile back that almost everyone (myself included) hypothetically says, "no matter what the tests show, i'll keep the baby." However, he found it amazing that the majority of people he's worked with ended up changing their mind once they were truly faced with the situation. The point is, you cannot pass judgement or know what's right until you are actually faced with the decision yourself. And in fact, there is no "right" or "wrong" decision. It's all very personal.

Luckily, Scott and I are not faced with that decision right now. We are happy to report that Baby Rooney #2 has no known chromosonal abnormalities, based on the results of Monday's testing--including Down's Syndrome and other much more serious conditions. So far, so good until Round 2 of genetic testing is done at 20 weeks. But right now, we're just counting our blessings.

We have another thumb-sucker!

Hair Clips & Nesting

Since there has been such an influx of little baby girls all of a sudden (with more on the way!!), I thought it would be helpful to start making cute little girl hair clips. Not to mention, I'm a little tired of spending $8 for matching clips everytime I go to Gymboree! It also might be the fact that "nesting" is hitting me a little early this pregnancy! I feel the need to "craft" and cook in between feeling like I want to hurl. Anyhoo, here is my first shot at some girly clips. Hopefully, I'll have many more designs on the way!

April Fools!!

We have an official due date now! April Fool's Day, 2009! Here's our first pic of Bundle of Joy Rooney #2. He/she is HUGE compared to when we first saw the ultrasound pics just 3 weeks ago. I'm not placing any bets on the sex, but this pregnancy has been very different than with Brookey. I'm a lot less sick (hardly at all) and don't crave sweets quite as much....i just crave food in general--not good. :-) Scott and I stressed to the Dr that we DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT the sex but we're betting that he blows it and tells us accidentally. He just seems like that type of guy. But anyhoo, so far so good with Baby Rooney #2!! Happy and healthy :-)

Big Rooney News...but not surprising :-)

As most of you know, Scott and I definitely want to have more kids. So even though it's very early in the game, we've decided to annouce that yes, Brookey is in fact going to be a big sister!!! So ya'll can stop asking me, "WHEN are you guys going to have another one??" "Why aren't you drinking??" :-)

Although we in no way expected it this early (my ** master plan** was to be due in mid-May to coincide with the school year), we are so blessed to have another little one on the way! We went to the Dr. today (lucky day=08.08.08!!!) and we're due in late March...or given my luck with due dates, Mid-April!! The little rascal #2 looks alive and well on the ultrasound and we were able to see a strong heartbeat. So far, I haven't experienced any nausea or ill-effects of pregnancy, but I'm sure they will kick in soon. In the meantime, I'll enjoy this while it lasts along with Brookey announcing to everyone, "My mommy has a baby in her belly. She got a big 'ol belly!" Nothing like kids to keep it real. Stay tuned for details.