Ultrasound Update

Today we had our follow-up ultrasound. We are 28 weeks today and Rex is growing well. Quotes from the day:
"He's very active"- Ultrasound Technician
"She has a great scan"- Ultrasound Technician
"What a great looking heart, he sure is cooperating"- US Tech and OB
"He sure has great looking brains"- OB/GYN- this was by far the best quote of the day!
"There's his face"- US Tech, right as Rex moves his hands to cover it. He was being shy today.
"2 lbs, 13 oz"
"Looks good"
We loved having my mom join us for this one. I think it made Rex even more real to her! It is such a special experience to share being a future mommy with my mom. I can't wait for her guidance once Rex comes along.

Here are the pics and descriptions. Unfortunately, our scanner didnt work that well, but hopefully you can see some of the detail:

The first two pictures are pictures of his face. You are looking at him straight on and can easily see his eyes, nose, lips, etc




Profile shot

Rex being shy or playing peek-a-boo! Hands in a fist over his eyes, nose in the middle of the triangle made by his fists and arms and the top of his lips.

Another one of his face with the cord wrapped at the top that looks like a big "blob" on his forehead. You can easily see his little eyes, nose and mouth, with an adorable chin. To give you a hint: It's the right side of this photo that I'm talking about and he is facing the left!

Isn't he adorable! We can't wait to meet him.

Thanksgiving run-down

Lee and I had the best time in Paducah spending time with Thanksgiving. We missed our Alabama family, but are looking forward to seeing everyone during Christmas and hopefully this weekend! We ended up leaving on Wednesday morning because Lee had been working so incredibly hard to get a project out in time for the holidays! On Wednesday I was able to spend a bit of time in the kitchen assisting mom in preparing organic pumpkin pie and the other dishes for Thursday's lunch. Thursday we spent the day at Mamaw and Papaw's house with my dad's siblings, my cousins, and their children. It was such a blessed time of fellowship and it was great to see everyone laughing together and enjoying each other. My how things have changed in a period of a few short years! Next time we are there for a Thanksgiving our little boy will be with us. Thanksgiving night we went to see Unstoppable as a family at the theater I had always been told that babies move a lot during movies, but I wasn't prepared for the show that Rex would put on. Friday I got to spend some one on one time with Mom going shopping, registering at Tot n Teen and just enjoying the blessed relationship that we have. Although cliche, during Thanksgiving I couldn't be more thankful for the amazing relationship that I have with my Mom She's my best friend and I hope that I can continue to follow in her amazing footsteps. Lee and I had our maternity photo shoot with Tina, our amazing photographer. I can't wait to see them. Friday evening we had dinner with Grandmother, Grandfather, Mom, Dad, Allyson, Dane, Catherine, Andrew, and Allyson's Mom, Alma and her husband Don. Artisan Kitchen prepared an excellent meal that was enjoyed by all, best part being that we didn't have all of the pots to wash and that mom and I were able to spend the day together rather than her slaving away in the kitchen! We loved spending time with Grandmother and Grandfather and seeing his progress. Saturday the men and Allyson went shooting at the gun range and I took a nap. We also did a bit of Santa shopping with mom. I may be getting some of these details confused. If so, you get the point. Saturday night we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with what I call my "extended family." Dad prepared a Shrimp, Crab and Sausage boil and it was shared with the Orrs + Jenna, the Hughes, the Duperrieus and of course our lovely family. It was great food and fun again. The night ended with the men laughing in the living room while the women decorated Christmas Cookies. Congrats to Allyson for winning the competition and having the best cookie! Sunday was brief with going to church in the am, a great lunch at the Pasta House and decorating the tree. Enough rambling, I'm thankful for everything that we have been blessed with: the opportunity to become Rex Anderson's parents, my family (that includes Lee's side), my education, etc.

Pop goes the belly and belly button, apparently!

Rex has been growing by leaps and bounds, literally. He is so big now that you can visibly see him pushing, kicking and moving around. It's such an amazing feeling! Lee and I absolutely love feeling Rex kick around. He is especially active right before bedtime. He loves to respond to Lee's voice. We can't wait for him to join us! I havent been the best at keeping the exact dates, so here is a bit of a preview of how he has been growing lately.

By popular request... here are the pics you have all been asking for:

23 weeks + a few days:



Packing for my interview at UAB. Isabella always knows when we are about to hit the road. She decided. We took some pics outside at Lee's parents. Can you tell that our little girl is still the center of our attention. My how her world will change once Rex comes along. She seems to love the little ones in our neighborhood, so hopefully she'll be good with her little brother. And to answer all of the grandparents questions, No, bella will not go home with you after Rex is born. She already responds when I put on the music in the bassinet. I wanted to be sure to get her used to everything.

We loved spending time in Birmingham. My interview went well and we are looking forward to visiting everyone over the holidays. Lee's mom has already set up the nursery in the guest room where we stay, which made it even more real. I love how excited the future grandparents are!

I'm 24 weeks in these pictures:

Here's one during week 25. I was having a rough hair day and minimal makeup, therefore I'm only putting up the belly pic:

AND finally... Week 26 + a 2 days (this week). Note a little pop to the belly button!


A picture that captures it all. We were actually recording Rex moving in this picture. Lee's hand is right where Rex's little feet were. The fact that it captures Lee's delicate touch and excitement so well, made me decided to expose my belly and share this special moment with you all. I love pictures of hands with rings. It serves as a reminder of the promise that we made on June 23, 2007. What a blessed life we have lived so far and we can't wait for the next step together. And of course, I have to comment on bella! She of course is in her favorite spot, her daddy's lap. She loves to cuddle and Lee seems to win the cuddle war. I couldn't have painted a better picture of God's blessings in my life!


Last but not least, Lee and I attended a class last night called little fingers, little toes. It was a review of how to care for a newborn baby: changing diapers, bathing, swaddling, etc. There was a slideshow with normal/abnormal newborn findings and then a pediatrician q&a session. Lee and I were definitely a bit ahead of the game. Seeing as I'm going to be a doctor in a few months, I knew the answers to the basic questions and felt a bit silly by the end of the class. He did a great job and I couldn't help but capture this on camera.

A couple of nursery pics

As I stated in the last post. Lee and I have been working to transition our home to be centered around our baby boy. Here are a couple of the progress of his nursery! We still have a long ways to go. Lee has been working so hard on the molding. Pop and Lee painted the room. Bedding came from Land of Nod. Crib and Dresser are by Creations.

Proud Daddy working on the crib. Note the gigantic boxes.



Finished product. Isn't it beautiful? Lee calls this the kermit room.

The molding.... Lee did an amazing job. Now, we only need Pop to come and caulk for us!

The bedding... I'll try to post better pictures later:

A preview of the new guest room

Lee and I have been working hard on getting the house ready for baby Rex. We switched the guest room to become the nursery and my office is now the guest room. It is looking great. Take a look and let us know what you think. I'll try to eventually get more pictures. Life is a bit hectic, so the blog has been my last priority. The corner with the desk is the same as where we have the bed located now. We've added wall art and all sorts of things. I love the way the the room has turned out. Thanks to Nonna and Pop (yes, we have changed his name to Pop) for all of the great help you have been in helping us to get ready for Rex!

Office to guest room conversion:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

A bit of inspiration!

For those of you that aren’t aware, my grandfather suffered a stroke in the Summer of 2008. He was actually moving furniture to take it to a family in need when the dolly got caught on the side of the curb and through him backwards into a brick wall. Initially they thought he simply had a head laceration, but unfortunately he had been placed on Plavix, a blood thinner, secondary to his recent cardiac stent placement. I remember distinctively receiving a call from Mom and Catherine explaining what had happened and asking why they had not yet done a CT to check for a bleed. Unfortunately, that is exactly what ended up happening. He had a bleed in his brain that caused him to have hemiparesis and severe difficulty swallowing.

I remember this time vividly. I had just finished first year of medical school and came home for an extended period of time. I shared experiences with both of them that can never be replaced, nor forgotten. I remember the conversation with Grandmother when she said, “He’s ready to go.” There seemed to be a great deal of suffering at first, Grandfather was sent home on hospice and things weren’t looking good. It was a very rough time for the family, but amazingly God brought us through this and proved his faithfulness.

I am currently rotating at a Rehabilitation hospital here in Lexington, KY and felt compelled to write this in honor of his improvement, determination and amazing recovery. I walk into patients’ rooms and it serves as a constant reminder of everything that could have been. It was sheer determination, family support and my GRANDMOTHER that made this a story of survival and recovery. Now I know that Grandmother will argue that he still has a long way to go, and while I agree there is room for improvement I look back to where he has come from. I compare with patients at the hospital that aren’t advocating for improvement, that don’t want to do anything for themselves and are simply miserable to deal with.

This is to honor my Grandfather, his hard work and continued spirits. I know it must be hard at times. Life has drastically changed for both my Grandmother and Grandfather. My Grandmother has certainly been the absolute best example of unconditional love. She is a model that I can only strive to compare to one day. This post is in honor of Wilma Wallace as well. She is a pillar of strength and determination. Always tries to find the best in each day and continues to have her sweet and determined spirit.

When I think about what could have been, should have been and probably would have been… I stop and thank God for the opportunity to learn and appreciate the true meaning of family and love. Up until this time I was blindly naive in thinking that nothing would ever happen to my family members. I wanted to be immune to the natural course of life and the traumatic events that we face.

I seem to be rambling on. I’m hoping that this made a bit of sense. I’m in Knoxville waiting on my next interview dinner to start. We have a lot of exciting times coming up in the next few months. I have new pictures of my growing belly, but haven’t uploaded them to the computer. Hopefully will be able to update at the end of the week/ weekend.

Follow-up with Dr. Onan

Yesterday I had my followup with Dr. Onan. Rex was doing great. His heartrate was 146, seems he likes to have that stable pace. Thankfully Mommy is feeling much better and I have been off of the medications since Friday. I am so thankful to have such a great doctor. It was nice to be able to relate and just discuss life. When we were talking about Rex's followup with the perinatal specialist, she stated she likely thought that they are being sure to follow me closer because I am in the medical field. She explained that when patients are in medicine, they seem to be over tested by their practicioners. So, basically... happy to report that I got a good report and that we are doing great.

We are hoping to touchup the rest of the paint tonight and put the crib together! I'll post pictures soon. Lee calls Rex's room the Kermit room since it is "Outrageous Green" by Sherwin Williams. I am sure that it will be perfect when we pull it together. I want it to look like a nursery, he's only going to be my baby boy once. I'm sure I'll think he is growing too fast! In fact, I already do. I can't believe that we are at the 5 month mark.

Hope you all have a great day.

Granddaddy and Nonna time!

As I mentioned in the previous post, Mom came and stayed with me during my time away from school. Dad was able to join her on Friday and we had a great weekend spending time with them. I have been so richly blessed. It seems lately when they come to visit, we are working on the house all the time. This weekend we managed to get Rex's room painted and the final details of the new guest room finished up. Lee and Andrew, Catherine's boyfriend, brought the dresser/changing table up and the nursery is beginning to take shape. It's hard to believe that I will be 5 months tomorrow! We can't wait to meet our little boy.

Mom and Dad are still debating, but currently Rex is going to call them Granddaddy and Nonna ("Nah-na"). Rex is moving around all of the time and his daddy loves to feel him move. We have made it a habit for Lee to talk to Rex when he gets home and it is so much fun to see how excited Rex seems to get when he hears his daddy's voice.

We are past the 22 week mark! Isn't that crazy? He will be here before we know it. I'll try to post pictures of our progress on the nursery in the upcoming weeks. Thanks to my Mom and Dad for being such a great help and we couldn't do it without you! We love you very much.

Back spasms

For those of you that aren't aware, I had a very difficult week last week. Friday the 8th, I began having some back pain as we went to bed. Hours later, I was still unable to sleep and it had progressively worsened enough for me to page my doctor and ask what she thought I should do. She immediately asked that I come to the hospital and be assessed. After some urine studies, an ultrasound and exam, I thankfully was told that I only had some musculoskeletal pain in my back that would hopefully clear up with conservative management. Rex followed his usually routine on U/S of moving around significantly, but the doctor said that he looked perfect. The doctor also suggested that I try a 24 hour course of ibuprofen, which is contraindicated in pregnancy but he said would be helpful for a short term course. With hesitation I took the ibuprofen with minimal improvement. I basically was stuck on the couch alternating heat or ice for the entire weekend. Lee was the best and waited on my every need, but it unfortunately continued to progress until Sunday evening when I was screaming in pain, crying, and having excruciating spasms that made it difficult to take inspire fully. After having Lee call the doctor (because I couldn't speak) we again headed to Central Baptist to be evaluated. I knew what the problem was, we just couldn't seem to get it under control. Once at Central Baptist, they realized that I was in desperate need of some pain relief and I was given two percocet and finally was able to rest a bit easier. I was sent home after a couple hours of monitoring with percocet and an ambien to help with sleep. As you all know, I am super resistant to taking medications if at all possible (worse now that I am pregnant) and had to quickly realize that this was needed!

Monday we had to go to the doctor again for followup at which time she put me on a week of leave from school. By the time I left her office I had instructions to take percocet every 4 hours, flexeril (a muscle relaxer) every 8 hours, and ambien at night to help me sleep. Even with these medications and conservative treatment, I was struggling to become comfortable. Lee was able to stay home with me on Monday and Tuesday, but thankfully a phone call to my dear Mommy and she came immediately to assist. She would explain that I likely don't remember much of the week while on medications. Lee apparently has some pretty funny stories to tell about things that I would say. Thankfully, by Friday I attempted weaning of the medication and have been successful with conservative management, a prenatal massage and tylenol as needed. Thank you for your prayers and support during that difficult time.

I have another follow-up appointment today. I'm finally back at school. The Anesthesiology department is so great and accommodating. They are very protective of me and the baby and have said that I will not have to make up any of my time off from last week.

Perinatal Ultrasound

Lee and I are so blessed. After much prayer from family and friends, we received the "He's Perfect!" quote from the perinatalogist at our most recent ultrasound. Due to some concern for abnormalities, Rex was looked at very carefully. We had a fetal echocardiogram, which is an assessment of his heart that looks at all of the chambers and valves. The doctor said that it looked great. It was really exciting to see his little heart beating so fast! Also, they took a very thorough look at his brain structure and facial bone structure. His cerebellum is a perfect dumbell shape and I think it looks like he is going to be super smart, judging by the perfection of the brain. The thickened nuchal region that they had seen on the previous ultrasound was simply an error in technique by the previous technician, which had caused us much unnecessary anxiety. He again was moving around a ton and was very difficult to capture. He still doesn't like to look at the camera, but they were able to capture a 3D picture of his little face. I'll try to explain the pictures as best I can. Unfortunately, the cord was right in front of his face which obstructs the view of his little nose. I may be biased, but I think he is the cutest little boy ever! We couldn't be happier.
The pictures:
1. The profile shot:
2. His little face (you can see his eyes, his little hand under his chin):

Trip to Alabama

Last weekend, Lee, Isabella and I traveled to Birmingham for Lee to be able to go to the Alabama football game with his dad. He had a great time and I was able to do some shopping with his mom. We took advantage of our Alabama attire to try to capture some cute family photos. It was great to see his parents and spend a bit of time with them.

Boy or Girl???

Last Friday, Lee and I went for the all important sex determining ultrasound. We are excited to say that our Baby J is a BOY!!!! Rex Anderson Johnston is perfect. He wouldn't really cooperate with us on Friday, other than being quite proud that he was a boy. Because they were unable to assess his heart, face, etc. they kind of scared us by saying we needed to be referred to a perinatal specialist to be sure that he was healthy. Needless to say, this caused a lot of anxiety and prayers were lifted up! It was hard to continue to have faith and wait until Wednesday. His heart rate at this ultrasound was 146, which is perfect. He has been moving around much more and we have been having so much fun. We have tried to scan the pictures so everyone can see just how cute he is.

This is us right after we found out it was a little boy!


The ultrasound pictures!
1. It's a boy (you can see his legs and a little something in between):

2. His little (or not so little) feet:

3. Flexing his legs, you see the bones of his legs and his little spine.
4. Top of his head, patting himself on the head with his hand.


Hope you enjoy these. I'll post pictures later of his little face and update how the follow-up ultrasound went.

Updated baby bump!

Life has been busy while I have been on surgery, so the updated information of the blog has been a bit minimal. I will try to update with pictures as I can. I've been feeling great, except for not making it through the OR cases secondary to overheating. We got a call that our crib will be in 2 months early, so FRIDAY having a baby will truly feel real when we got o look at OUR CRIB. Baby J has names for those of you that haven't heard: Girl- Grace Catherine, Boy- Rex Anderson. We have started working on the house. I will try to post pictures later of our progress.

Blessings of the day!

Lee and I are so richly blessed. Baby J is going to be absolutely spoiled by his/her grandparents. My parents are in town this weekend and we are enjoying spending time with them and getting ready for the baby. Marilyn and Donn are super excited about the first grandbaby and I think Marilyn has already completed baby J's library! We are looking forward to going to Alabama in the next few weeks. Today we ordered the baby crib and changing dresser. Things are becoming a bit more real these days! Lee also surprised me with the best diaper bag ever! It's a Kate Spade messenger bag. It's black with avocado lining and a matching changing pad! He is so incredibly sweet and I am so spoiled already.
Also, one of our dear friends went shopping at Surplus City on my mom's behalf and we racked up on baby things! I can't wait to show it all off and be able to use it all. Baby J is so loved and we can't wait to meet him/her. Hopefully only 3 more weeks until we know who Baby J is going to be. Any predictions? Rex Anderson or Grace Catherine?

Some updated belly pics

I haven't uploaded the latest ones to the camera but here is a preview of how baby J has continued to grow!