First appointment

Today was my first OB appointment, and it went, well, good I guess. There really isn't anything to report except that my due date is now January 31st, with a more in-depth ultrasound coming on Friday. I am a bit anemic, but as I wrote earlier, I have had some iron issues most of my life, to the point that the Red Cross told me to find another way to "donate to humanity" and to quit trying to give blood. They rejected me every time. I have also gained about four pounds. I'm surprised it isn't twenty with all the carbs I have been eating. That's all I eat is carbs!

My doctor is Dr. Goodemote. She is also Isaac's pediatrician. She is one of JB's "advisors". She is also Joia and Andrea's doctor too. I think she sees a lot of "us wives" since none of us really want to have a resident that our husband hangs out with on the weekends and all of us would prefer none of the male "advisors" as well. I also think that going up to OB would be sort of "wrong" since my husband is a family medicine physician. It would make a bad statement I think.

Dr. G. was actually the woman who handled my blood work for my failed IVF when we got here one year ago. She is a fabulous Christian woman who has a real heart for our struggle to get pregnant. As she read over my chart which included 3 unassisted-clomid cycles, 5 artificial insemination attempts, 2 cancelled artificial insemination attempts, 2 egg harvests, and 4 invitro fertilization transfers, we all couldn't help but sit, amazed, at where we have been and where we were sitting now. She started calculating the costs of these procedures, and I told her that honestly, I had no idea how much money we had spent since JB had long ago stopped allowing me to open the bills. Either way, it was a lot of money, and now, here we sat, pregnant the old-fashioned (and free!) way. Isaac came along with us and seemed completely unimpressed with seeing his little sibling on ultrasound -- so unimpressed that he promptly fell asleep in JB's arms.

I will be going in for monthly appointments for the next few months. Ironically, she will do Isaac's four month appointment back-to-back with my OB appointment. Is that weird or what?! I don't think very many people go in for a five month OB appointment with their four month old son.

Speaking of Isaac, he will go in for his two month appointment on Friday. He is such an awesome little boy. I know all parents think that about their kids so I am not going to sit here and say my boy is the best. But for us, he is the best! He is sleeping through the night most nights now. He loves his swing and would sit in it twelve hours a day if we let him. I think he'd skip eating to sit in it. He also loves his bouncy chair and his baths. Another one of his favorites? Daddy! Nothing can get Isaac smiling more than seeing his Daddy. Mommy just does not cut it at all. Isaac, unfortunately, also loves when Scrubs licks his face. We of course, stop this anytime we can, but I think Scrubs can tell that the behavior is appreciated. Isaac thinks Scrubs is just awesome.

I, on the other hand, haven't thought dear Scrubby is so awesome. He truly has been a good dog since bringing Isaac home, but yesterday, I started writing advertisements in my head for a way to find a good family for him. Now, lest you think I am a horrible person, let me tell you that we would NEVER get rid of our dog unless he was aggressive. Ever. We believe that when you commit to a pet, it's like committing to a child. We wouldn't threaten Isaac with a trip to the pound and so we don't do that with Scrubs either.

But yesterday, this dog had me so angry I was nearly in tears. It started when I was feeding Isaac, and Scrubs decided he had to go to the bathroom RIGHT THEN. This meant that he rang his bell to go out about nineteen times in a row. I finally put down the bottle and let Scrubs out into the yard only to not be able to get him back in. We aren't leaving him out there by himself right now because, well, we don't completely trust him not to dig his way out or find some other form of trouble. We want to observe him and make sure the grass is solidified before he gets alone time. On top of that, he doesn't like alone time. If I try to leave him out there by himself, he starts crying or climbs through the screen on the door which he has found an opening for all by himself.

So, I was forced to go back into the house and put Isaac down and attempted to catch Scrubs. Yeah right. When five minutes of me panting left me no closer to snagging him, I opted for trickery. I asked him he wanted to play. This means the flashlight and Scrubs immediately ran to the porch door to come inside! Stinker! My trickery continued though because I didn't bring out a flashlight. I hoisted him into his kennel is what I did! Ugh! I let him out only to have him steal a pair of socks and then run away from me to play with a family swimming in the water by the bay when we went out later to play Frisbee. Of course the family loved it. Everyone in the neighborhood loves Scrubs! Everyone, yesterday, except me!

So I say all that to say that when Scrubs and I left for our evening walk last night, I wanted nothing more to leave him at home! But, what can I say, I really do love the dog. And I also wanted to wear him out. So I took him. We often get stopped on our walks with requests to pet Scrubs. Yesterday, two families, with four kids each, asked if they could pet him. We, of course, stopped, and Scrubs stood in the middle of the kids while they tugged on his ear, scratched his neck, laid on his back, and tugged on his tail. A perfect angel! "Oh what a good dog you have," they hummed. Oh yes, I thought, knowing this is what many parents feel when their kid is great for the babysitter and not for the parent. My little stinker dog.

I do get a bit nervous thinking of adding another baby to our current brood which includes Isaac and Scrubs. But I know people do it, and I know we can do it. I did make the difficult decision to resign from my position at the RLS Foundation effective when baby #2 gets here. I love this job but know that I will not have the time to work with three kiddos (dog included) to take care of. I hope that sometime in the future, I can return to work for them, but for now, it's time for me to be a 100% stay-at-home mom, the job I always wanted to have.

More updates Friday after my ultrasound and Isaac's two month appointment. I can't wait to see how much bigger he has gotten!