A quick update...

First of all, Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed their Christmas.

I will update with the pictures of our Christmas tomorrow or Friday, when I have a bit more time. I mainly just wanted to update everyone on my OB appt today.

I saw Dr. Lee, a true obstetrician and not the nurse practitioner this time. Needless to say, Dr. Lee was much more knowledgable. Here is the abbreviated version of the appointment:

**BGP has definitely dropped, according to Dr. Lee. She says that BGP's head is very low and that is why I am measuring a little behind (her head is so far down in my pelvis).

**I am 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. I will be 36 weeks on Friday so I guess this is really good news for being 36 weeks. I was only 1cm dilated with Jackson at 36 weeks. Hopefully I'll be a good 3-4cm by 38-39 weeks. The more I can dilate without being in active labor = much better for me.

**I lost 2 pounds since last week. Not sure how that happened, as I've eaten boatloads with the holidays. I honestly thought I had put on at least 5 pounds. But, my OB isn't worried. She feels like BGP is taking whatever she needs from me. That was reassuring because I was a little more than upset when I saw that I had actually lost weight.

**Dr. Lee doesn't think that BGP is that small of a baby. She thinks she'll be about 6lbs at birth, just like Jackson. She wasn't worried at all about her size. I just don't have a big babies, which is nice when it comes to pushing!

**Dr. Lee and Dr. Thibodeau both granted me permission to go to Duke University in Raleigh, North Carolina for Dad's surgery on January 10th. It's about a 2.5 hour drive but I just have to stretch my legs and walk each hour. I will be almost 38 weeks and they prefer that you not travel after 36 weeks but both thought that this was not "elective." I told them that I really would like to be there if they would agree to it and they gave me their blessings and said, "Absolutely, without a doubt -- GO." They are going to give me my records, just in case I go into labor at Duke hospital. And they actually said they felt like there was no other place they'd rather me deliver. The care there is so specialized and Dr. Lee even jokingly said, "It's probably best case scenario, especially with all of your family being there anyway." So, I'll be prepared for BGP's arrival in North Carolina, just in case.

**If no baby by 39 weeks, they will induce me. Dr. Lee doesn't think I'll make it to 39 weeks. She thinks I will go into labor on my own by then but just in case, we are going to schedule a 39 week induction. I had the placental abruption with Jackson at 38 weeks so I'm a little nervous about waiting it out until 39 weeks but I know the Lord will keep us safe.

Here are a couple of almost 36 week belly pictures:



And one picture from 33 weeks, so that you can compare and see how much BGP dropped. Notice how I was carrying higher at 33 weeks and more "all-around."



Okay, look for the Christmas pictures and video within the next few days.


Much love,
Wee 4 Peters

Christmas Pictures

As promised, here are our Christmas pictures (don't forget that you can click on the actual picture to get a closer view of it):

One of only 2 family pictures where Jackson smiled. Taking family pictures was extremely difficult.


We had to hide Jackson's pacifier in the tree to get this picture. He wasn't interested in the Christmas tree at all until we stuck his pacifier in there but it was a real challenge to get him to look back at the camera and give us a half-smile whilst searching for his paci.


Jackson had a ball in the sleigh and the photographer really captured his excitement in this pic.


In the sleigh....


On Santa's lap! If you ask me, I think he looks a lot like Grandaddy Chitwood in this picture (and maybe a bit like me too!).

It's been a while.....

So sorry we haven't updated in a while. Things have been so hectic lately. With Christmas and BGP coming, we've had little to no time.

I have an OB appointment tomorrow. BGP definitely "dropped" so I am going to be inquiring about that. Jax dropped at 37 weeks and I thought that with subsequent pregnancies, babies don't drop until right before labor or a few days before labor. So, I am definitely going to talk to the doctor about that. I continue to have lots of pressure and contractions. I also have this horrible cramp/radiating pain that runs from my uterus down into the middle of my right thigh. I am not sure what is causing this though that's on my list of questions too. Thus far, I've gained 16 pounds and I really tried hard the past 2 weeks gain more. At my last appointment, the doctor told me that BGP was a "peanut" but she wasn't surprised since Jackson was only 6lbs at birth. She also said, "You may just not grow them very big, which is much easier for you during delivery!" Hoping for a bit more weight gain, not that it will matter. I gained the average 34-35 pounds with Jackson and he still was 6lbs; a VERY healthy 6lbs, I might add. I might also add he's now a grand ol' 26pound toddler.

Mr. Jackson & all his glory:


My father & mother went to get a 2nd opinion at Duke University today. They also used this as a consultation for his surgery. Duke University is known as one of the top pulmonary (lung) speciality hospitals in the nation so we know we are in good hands. They usually are at the fore-front of all oncology (cancer) medications and treatments. So, they met with Dr. Harpole, who is a thoracic oncologist (chest/lung cancer specialist). He viewed the slides of my Dad's cells and basically said he couldn't tell whether his cancer was mesothieloma or renal cell carcinoma. He requested my dad's cells from Obici so that Duke's own pathologist could do his own testing and staining on the slides. Apparently their pathologist is one of the best in the nation as well. Dr. Harpole is definitely leaning towards mesothieloma but they absolutely have to rule out the renal cell carcinoma before they do any surgery. He was very perplexed by Dad's case; therefore, he requested permission from my father to present his case at a conference being held on January 2nd at Duke. He said that it's a conference with all the "experts" and "big-wigs." Dad, of course, gave his "okay" and we will be eager to hear what the determination is. It will take about 7-10 days for the pathologist at Duke to formulate his opinion on Dad's cells (determine what type of cancer) and we have to figure in time off for the holidays as well. Otherwise, Dr. Harpole said that they could have done the surgery this week. So, we will wait for the determination from the pathologist, then we wait to see what all the experts say from the meeting on January 2nd and Dad goes back to Duke on January 8th for an ultrasound on his kidney (to rule out any tumors on it). The surgery date is January 10th. He will definitely have some sort of surgery but we are unsure what it will entail -- the surgery will depend on the type of cancer. Please keep my father in your prayers!!

Dan's squadron-mates returned from their 6 month deployment today. He was responsible for setting up some of the activities. Their aircraft carrier returns tomorrow. Dan got to meet almost all of his new squadron-mates. Apparently they indicated to Dan that there would be a "meet and greet" after the holidays. They also alluded that there would be some practical jokes being played on him. I think the direct quote was, "We had a lot of time to think while we were on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.....nothing better to do with our time." Oh boy, this ought to be interesting!

We got our Christmas portraits taken last week. I mailed them out last week as well. Most of you all should have received one. I need to scan them and place them up on here, but again, no time to do so yet. I will try to do that tomorrow since I have the day off.

Jackson is growing like a weed. He's been incredibly fussy the past week and I think it's because his canines are erupting in his mouth. I know these teeth can be quite painful for them to cut, possibly even more so than molars. He's not eating well, not sleeping, very tired and cranky, etc. Hopefully he'll be over this in a few days.

It's been really chilly around here the past few days. Dan and my dad created a little fire in Dad's new firepit on Sunday and I snapped some pictures of Dad & Jackson. I couldn't believe Jackson actually left the stocking cap and the hood on his head.



Crawling all over and laying on Grandaddy's chest is one of Jackson's favorite things to do. Even though Grandaddy's chest is still sore, Jackson gets far too much fun out of it to stop. Actually, I'm not sure who loves it more: Grandaddy or Jackson. Better do it now and get his "fill" before Dad's surgery in January.



Guess that's about it! Again, sorry for not updating but we've been so busy.

Look for me to update with the Christmas pictures tomorrow!

More updates.....

A belated Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry there has not been an update in a while. Things really were hectic around here when my father was hospitalized. Lots of time spent at the hospital so we were rarely at home.

First and foremost, Dan is officially a Fighting Checkmate. He had his patching ceremony last night and after a lot of butterflies and anxiety, they threw his VFA-106 patch off and placed a VFA-211 patch on. He's very excited, to say the least. The Fighting Checkmates are still on deployment; they will arrive on December 20th so he has yet to meet his squadron-mates. The wonderful part about him being a Fighting Checkmate: he won't deploy until late 2009 AND he & Josh Goodin (his best buddy from USNA) are part of the same airwing and will deploy together on the same aircraft carrier in 2009. Here is the website address for the Fighting Checkmates: http://www.vfa211.navy.mil/index.htm

Secondly, the doctors are still fairly certain my father does have cancer. Initially they were saying it was cancer that came from either the kidney or the adrenal gland (which lays above the kidney). Dr. Foreman talked with my mother at work yesterday and told her that they are now thinking it is mesothielioma (asbestos exposure). Initially alot of the cells on the microscope slides looked like kidney/adrenal cancer cells but apparently there are now many more mesothielioma cells. They also sent my Dad's cells off to numerous universities (Penn State, to name one) for help diagnosing his cancer. I *think* a couple of the universities have returned their results and have said mesothielioma as well. However, Dr. Foreman said the cells are still very atypical (whatever that means -- bad or good? Who knows?) and that the tumors in Dad's pleural cavity do NOT resemble the typical mesothielioma tumors. All the pathologists at the hospital are perplexed and I'm unsure if they will come up with a firm diagnosis anytime soon. They all keep looking at the slides and remain confused. Dr. Foreman did say that mesothielioma makes more sense because Dad doesn't display any signs/symptoms of adrenal/kidney cancer. Whatever it is, I hope we have caught it early. Apparently the mesothielioma cancer cells respond to treatment better than the adrenal/kidney cancer cells so perhaps this would be a better diagnosis. Please, please continue to keep my father and our family in your prayers. It's been a roller-coaster ride and I just pray that the Lord will give us all the strength that we need.

Dan's parents came for Thanksgiving and we had a dandy ol' time. I'm sure my family wasn't the greatest company in the world, given the news we had received and how sick my father was. It couldn't have been easy dealing with us; we were all so on-edge. I'm sure it wasn't the easiest visit for them. Dan and his father installed our new dishwasher (oh, it cleans beautifully!) and put in a new cable/internet line downstairs so we could get started on the BGP's nursery. Agnes washed, dried and folded all of our laundry. Heaven-sent!! I can't tell you how nice that was. We watched a lot of football and ate some great meals. It was very enjoyable and we miss them already!

Here are some Thanksgiving pictures --
Haleigh, my beautiful niece:


You can say it....she looks exactly like her Daddy!


Jackson & Dan


Smiling at something


Up-close & personal


Grandpa's & Jackson


Beautiful Mom & daughter


Jackson loves Haleigh (and so does Grandaddy)


My twins

More on my Dad...

Well, Dad was admitted to the hospital yesterday. He had 3 pints of fluid surrounding his right lung. They removed 1 pint and sent that off for testing. The doctors want to make sure the fluid is not infected. If the fluid does have bacteria in it, they will have to surgically remove the fluid. This surgery would be perhaps today or tomorrow.

The more scary part of the situation is that they found 3 "tumors" floating in that fluid. Dad's pulmonologist isn't sure what they are at all and is calling them "tumors" because he just doesn't have a better name for them. Dad has never smoked and has never been around asbestos so we do have that on our side. However, it is very scary and I pray that these "tumors" are only there due to the infection and collapsed lung.

Dad's pulmonologist hasn't yet made his rounds but as soon as he does, I'm sure they will call me with more information. Dad's family physicican did come this morning and said that he could hear air moving in the right lung now (yesterday, there was zero) so perhaps his lung has started to reinflate on it's own. His physician also said that those 3 "tumors" could be a result of the infection/collapsed lung/pneumonia and may go away as soon as everything clears up. Oh, how I pray!

Jackson & I can't go visit him because both of us still are under the weather. Actually, Jackson is much better and is almost 100% while I am maybe 45%. I definitely have a sinus infection and plan to start a Z-pack today or tomorrow (as soon as the prescription is called in). Of course, I'd love to go visit but I don't think a hospital is the best place for anyone to be that already is sick. Apparently the hospital is over-flowing with patients: Dad is in a semi-private room and more patients with pneumonia keep walking in.

Will update with more information when I have it! We definitely appreciate all prayers!

A little update....

What a week for us!

Almost everyone in our family came down with Jackson's cold. Mark, Dad, myself & possibly Dan (he's still using Zicam) all got it. Boy, it is a doozy too! Poor Jackson has had it for ELEVEN days now. Dan took Jackson to the pediatrician yesterday because it's really abnormal for a child to have a cold for 10 days, without much improvement. The pediatrician thinks he has a sinus infection so he put Jackson on Augmentin. He also shared my concern about Jackson having the cold for so long without improvement. This is Jackson's first time on antibiotics so hopefully he'll do fine on them. I can tell that he already feels a lot better this morning. He played for a long time with his books and toys, ran around like crazy, etc. He hasn't done that in a couple weeks so I think that antibiotic is working!! YAY!

I am fairing and that's about all I can say. I can't take hardly anything to help with the congestion due to being pregnant. I think the worst part is that none of it will break up so that I can blow my nose. ALOT of thick congestion! Perhaps I'll feel better tomorrow.

Dad actually just went to the doctor. Apparently he has Pnemonia and a collapsed lung. They are checking to make sure it has no fluid around it. He'll stay in the hospital for 2-4 days, depending on fluid vs. no fluid. They said that one of three things could have occurred: a.) Lung collapsed on it's own 1-2 months ago; Dad just never realized it. He got this cold and Pnemonia developed b.) Got this cold and the lung collapsed, then Pnemonia or c.) Pnemonia caused all of it from the beginning. My dad is going in for a CT scan and an MRI so we will know more in a few hours. Please keep him in your prayers!

Dan's patching ceremony was supposed to be today; however, they have changed it to November 28th. They are still having the CQ (carrier qualification) party tonight at the bar. I'm unsure if I will attend it, for several reasons: this wretched cold, I'm sure the cigarette smoke in the bars will make this congestion worse -- and I had smoke in the first place anyway, and we hadn't lined up a babysitter yet. The CQ party was just thrown together a couple days ago, which makes it kind of tough to find a last-minute babysitter. We may go and then get an oceanfront hotel room tonight, probably our last date for Dan & I before BGP's arrival. We shall see!

I am 30 weeks pregnant!! Only 8 more weeks! We don't have the nursery done AT ALL! So, tomorrow, that's what we are working on. Dan's been gone so much....I can't move the furniture on my own so we have our plan to get BGP's room started. We shall post pictures when it is complete!

Go Hokies and go Midshipmen!!! Hokies play Miami at 3:30PM and Navy plays Northern Illinois at 3:30PM. Guess we'll be switching off watching the games eh? I think Nebraska has a bye-week.

It's a COLD day in Chesapeake. Oh my -- it's been in the high 20s/low 30s at night and upper 40s during the day. I LOVE cooler weather so this is absolutely wonderful. The leaves are changing, the foliage is beautiful. I love this time of year!

Baby Girl Peters' 4D Ultrasound Pix

Without further ado, here are BGP's 4D ultrasound pictures:







Our favorite:








We think she looks like Jackson did when he was about 2 months old. They don't look too much alike based upon their 4D ultasound pictures. For comparison's sake, here are a couple pictures of Jackson at the same age as BGP in utero:




Here's a picture of him at a week old; I think he looks very similar to his 4D pic:


I guess I can see some similarities in this picture. What do you all think?



I think BGP is chubbier than Jax was. Kind of strange because I gained more weight with Jax. We arn't sure if she has a ton of hair like Jax. We kept asking the ultrasound tech but she was so focused on getting a great facial shot that she really wouldn't look too hard for the hair. We all know Jax had a head full of hair at birth and I've searched his 4D pics trying to see some hair, to no avail. I just don't think I know what I am looking for. But, I can tell you -- I've had just as much heartburn this go around, if not worse.

I had my OB appt yesterday. Gained 2.5 pound in 2 weeks! BGP grew exponentially! Dan returned from carrier qualifications and he said, "Yep, she DEFINITELY grew!" So, she went through a growth spurt. Perhaps it was the Halloween candy! I passed my Glucose test (Gestational Diabetes) and my blood pressure was great. I will go back again in 2 weeks.

Perhaps the most exciting news of the week is that Dan qualified at the carrier this week. He had already qualified during the day in Advanced but in this phase, he had to land on the carrier at night. It's rather difficult to explain but he had to land numerous times on the carrier at night (not just once) and they take an average of all your scores to determine if you qualified. Our prayers were answered: he qualified and he's safe at home now!!

Jax is getting over croup and his cold. He's pretty much over croup -- that wasn't so bad. The cold hasn't been so bad either; it's just the two together were awful. I've been suctioning his nose to help him breathe better. He's got some green mucus (I know you all wanted to know that!) so if this continues, I'm going to get Dan to take him to the pediatrician on Monday (he has the day off).

That's all for now!! Enjoy the weekend!