18 months, and summer is finally here!

Waiting for summer this year was tough. Last week it FINALLY pushed into the high 70's! Warm enough to run around in the fountains at the park, which is probably Naomi's favorite part of the park - except for maybe the swings.

The past month has been a little stressful, to be honest, but we are taking things as they come and we are hoping for a better July.

Naomi took a nasty spill out of a shopping card on Monday, the 21st, scaring the crap out of everyone. I had placed her in the basket of the cart because she was a little antsy on the last of our errands (bad mommy...). She sat there for a while taking things out of my bag and destroying the contents of my wallet, as per normal. All of a sudden, jumpin' jack flash stood up lunged forward for something outside of the cart. Her top-heavy little body just tumbled out of this standard-sized shopping cart and she fell right on top of her head. The paramedics came. They suggested I take her to the local children's hospital to get checked out.

To make matters worse, as I was was carrying her in, I fell! To prevent Naomi from hitting the ground again, I took the brunt of the fall on my elbow and knee, then twisted around to my back to protect both the baby in my arms and the baby in my belly. Owie. That left me sore for a few days...

Naomi checked out fine and was released after an hour or so of observation. I have never been so grateful.

We continue to have complications with the 2nd pregnancy. If you hadn't heard, we already fought off low amniotic fluid levels (due to dehydration),  concerning head growth (which has righted itself), and now we have found out that there is an Intra-Abdominal Umbilical Vein Varix (essentially a varicose vein in the cord). It is a rare thing to have, and there is nothing we can do about it, but we are being watched very closely as it could be very dangerous for little sister.

Starting the week of July 18 we'll be monitored with a weekly ultrasound and semi-weekly non-stress tests. That's a lot of testing. Should we find any potential threat to the baby's blood supply (poor flow, clotting, etc.), we'll have to deliver immediately. Seeing that we are only at 29 weeks, this is a scary thought. Every day we can keep her in the womb is two less NICU days we may be facing. I am crossing my fingers that I can make it to at least 38 weeks, but more than likely we will be welcoming our newest addition by the end of August. WOW - that is just around the corner!

Also, my mom was here for a visit the past two weeks to spend time with us before she starts chemotherapy next week. Wish her good luck, mild side effects, and a full recovery!

PS. Still undecided about starting a second blog or making this a family blog... will keep you posted!