Late January Ob/Gyn Update

Hey everyone! Todd and I are back from our vacation to Disney. What a trip, with the cold snap in Orlando it felt like we were back home in Ohio. Then again it was certainly a lot colder at home than in Florida. We are now dealing with back to back snow storms. UGH.
While we were gone Britnei had a little scare and had to go to L&D at the hospital to be checked. It turns out she was dehydrated, and that caused some cervical stress. We keep reminding her to drink more water but you know how well that is going.
Today's appointment went well. She had a glucosa test, and received a RhoGAM shot since she is RH negative. We will start going to the doctor every 2 weeks now, not monthly. Next appointment is 2/10.
Todd and I have CPR training on Saturday, and we recently signed everyone (Todd, Julie, Britnei and Mark) for child birth training on February 28. It is an all day event, sounds intense. I sure hope Britnei is ready for this!
That's all for now...

Oh for anyone keeping track we are 87 days to the due date. :-)

100 Days and Counting

As of today we have 100 days until the due date-- it is hard to believe that it is so close! Julie signed us all up for childbirth classes. We will spend the better part of the day on Feb. 28 learning all there is to know about giving birth. Todd and I will both be able to attend, and be in the room during the delivery. I really hope that Britnei takes this opportunity to learn about what to expect so she can prepare herself physically and mentally. Julie, Todd and I are all nervous about how she is going to handle this. We will all be there to support her, but she has to be the one to go through with it.

Other than that there is no more information to post. I sent a series of questions to our attorney nearly a month ago, and resent them this weekend and still have no answers. I am getting a bit antsy if nothing else, and I want to be certain we don't run out of time to complete the required inspections and approvals.

That's all for now. Todd and I will be at Disney next week. I'll be sure to post a picture!

Better late than never

Here are some more images of the last ultrasound. You can really see his face and spine!

Happy New Year!

WOW I haven't written since December 8, I guess that makes me a bad blogger. Mostly there hasn't been too much to write in the last few weeks. This is the first posting of 2009-- the year we will become parents! It is so funny the number of emails and messages I have been getting lately "enjoy your sleep while you can, this is your last Christmas before you become parents, etc." To everyone I say "BRING IT ON" we are ready.

We had another appointment on Tuesday, things are just fine. Baby is growing very well, Britnei's weight gain was under control this month, and we are progressing normally. Her next appointment they will give her the glucose test to make sure her sugar is OK. We also found out that the new Labor & Delivery facility at the hospital won't open in January as planned, but will open in March. We will still deliver there, but we will probably tour the old facility in January/February to start getting a lay of the land.

After the appointment Britnei and I (Mark) spent the day together. I took her to Target to do some shopping as a Christmas present from us, then we went to Babies R Us so I could show her some of the things we are picking out for him. Let's just say we have different taste. Britnei is a big fan of the Care Bears-- that is not going to happen.

We want to wish you all a very Happy New Year, and pray that all of our families and loved ones have a fantastic 2009.

Learning about Baby Care

Todd and I completed an "Infant Care Basics for Adoptive Parents" class at Grant Hospital on Saturday. It was very informative, and it reassured us that the things we have been discussing and reading are in fact correct. We realize that everyone will have opinions, but we will do what we feel is right for us and our baby.

The class was 3 hours and included some great tips for diapering, bathing, feeding, and basic development. Our instructor, Julie Janson, was amazing, and has adopted 2 children herself. In fact, she even works with Adpotion Circle, the agency here in Columbus that we might have do our home study.

We still have to take the Infant and Child CPR class, that is coming up in January. We did learn that we have to have a fire inspection done. Todd found the form online, it is about $85 to have the inspection done. It will be good piece of mind to know that our home is safe.

Here he is!

Presenting Baby Boy Felumlee-Deans. For those of you wanting to know the name you will just have to wait. There has to be SOME surprises left!

See the cross hairs? Look to the right... :-) we have had questions as to where "it" is. How can you miss it? OK the doctor had to point it out to me too. All I saw at first was a blobby thing flopping around, then there HE WAS.

Surprise Ultrasound... IT'S A... !!!!!!!!

First of all, the counter is not working... all of the gadget counters that are available on Blogger are broken... for those counting as of today (December 2) we have 147 days to go. Give or take 2 weeks according to the doctor. :-)


WOW What a day... lots to tell everyone.

First, let's rewind a week. Todd and I visited the New Jersey family members for Thanksgiving. Mark's brother Matt and his girlfriend Saana were in town, so the whole Deans clan was together. We had a great time! We spent some time with Steve and Julie and Amalia. She is getting to be SO big now! We had a few chances to spend time with her throughout the week. Soon she will have a cousin to play with!

We visited Mark's cousin Bobbi Jo and her kids the day before Thanksgiving. It is always so much fun to see these 5 (yes, 5) girls and how much they have grown since the last time we saw them. The PRICELESS moment of the week was when we were all talking about the baby... and Phoebe (1st grader) paused for a moment and said "wait, which one of you will be the mom and which one will be the dad?" I laughed so hard I could barely breathe. From the mouths of babes, as they say. BJ explained that the baby would have 2 dads. Phobe just said "Oh..."

Now, the really big news. We went to the clinic today for Britnei's regular appointment. Things are progressing nicely, though Britnei gained 10 lbs since the last appointment. It is not what she weighs that they are most concerned about, it is the rate at which she gained it. We will have to keep on her about this. She gets mad when they lecture her, I am sure. The blood tests that were done last time all came back negative. They check for Downs, and indicators of other birth defects.

We asked about when they might do another ultrasound. The doctor said they don't typically do one just to determine the sex, but we would likely do one at week 24 or 28. She told us that even then, the sex may not be clearly visible. She told us we would just have to wait.

Britnei and I were ready to go, Ricky (the driver) was out picking up someone else, and Britnei would have to wait for a while. I told them I could take her to school. The doctor smiled and said "Since you are being so nice let me do you a favor, come back to the other room" and she did a quick ultrasound.

Almost immediately after putting the sensor on her belly the doctor said "Britnei, you are having a boy.... no doubt about it." She went from different angles, and each time she just giggled and said "BOY BOY BOY"

So... IT'S A BOY! Seeing his little head, spine, hands, feet was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I can't wait for more