{ we finally have a name }

Naming this baby has been challenge.  We went through books, internet searches, and heck, even some of our favorite movies and TV shows for ideas.  We would agree on a name and then the next day (heck, even an hour later) one of us would decide that maybe that wasn't the best name in the world.  We wanted a strong name.  I was concerned that with names that were "unisex" simply because they always seemed way to girly to me.  I got the point where I gave Mike an ultimatum.  I had picked out a name and I was sticking with it unless he could come up with something better that we could agree to.

Part of me wonders why this naming process was so difficult.  Evan's name was easy.  I had come up with two, and gave Mike the choice between the two.  While he now admits that he didn't think that "Evan" went well with our last name, he couldn't picture Evan named anything else.

I have in part been more detached to this pregnancy.  Yes, I love that I'm pregnant and thank God for every kick, punch, roll, and hiccup.  But since the miscarriage I was just waiting for something to go wrong.  I was ignorant when it came to pregnancy.  We conceived so quickly with Evan and Charlie, it wasn't until I was on the phone before going to the emergency room to confirm that I was losing Charlie that I found out that it wasn't a matter of getting pregnant in our family, it was a matter of staying that way.

My Grandmother had gone through 6 miscarriages (she also had 5 children).  My mom had gone through 1 miscarriage (she had 4 of us).  We used to laugh and joke that we as "Wagstaff" women would get pregnant just by having our husbands look at us crooked.  How I wish I had known the truth.

After the miscarriage, I knew it may take us months to conceive.  We were lucky that it only took us 2 months. This pregnancy has been fairly textbook.  Hyperemesis that was solved thankfully to Zofran (and while I don't experience "morning sickness" as severe, I still am fairly nauseated in the morning.)  Hip pain and nerve irritation has been helped by PT, ice packs, and massage.  Plus it helps that baby is fairly active to the point where he dances constantly in my tummy to reassure me he's alive and kicking.

However, hearing that baby has an issue with his kidney hasn't helped us come up with a name or ease my cautiousness about this pregnancy.  I know from what we've been told that he will be just fine.  Whether it is from his own body figuring itself out or being corrected by surgery a couple months after he is born.  We had hoped to move before baby made his appearance, we're waiting to hear the results from a followup ultrasound in a couple of weeks to see which direction we're headed.  We're hoping for the best, but I fully expect to be talking to a urologist to develop a game plan.

Regardless of my hesitation, I'm so excited for this baby to join our family.  I'm preparing for a big, healthy baby (well...as healthy as he can be with extra fluid in his kidney).  And thankfully we can now cross naming this baby off our list.  I had originally planned to keep the name a secret until he was born...however, we made the mistake in telling Evan and well...we figured it would be best to let the cat out of the bag.

So baby will now be known as...

or  Alex.  or  ABC.  (it wasn't until we agreed on Alexander that we realized that his initals will be ABC)  I had originally decided baby's name would be Brooks Alexander, but Mike said he liked the name just not the order, so we flipped it.  

We only have a little more than 14 weeks before Alex makes his appearance.  I'm excited and itchy to meet him.  I want him to bake as long as possible, and get healthy and strong.  

{ insta-friday }

I love insta.gram on android.  It makes it so easy to take pictures!  So here's what we've been up to this week. (p.s. you can follow me @emilyacarver)

1.  How i just love this boy...all wet and tired from running around

2.  Wildberry lemonade from Wendy's...just awesome.



3.  my boys after their water fight

4.  snuggling before bed...we watched HIMYM



5.  No more toe nail polish :(  I realized when trying to do my toes I could no longer reach because of my growing belly...

6.  Evan's punkin' chunkin' machine...confused?  Watch Punkin' Chunkin' on netflix...you'll be hooked like we are.

7.  Mike hates that I leave these cups everywhere.  Out of protest, he's thrown two away.  But they are perfect for all the water I'm trying to suck down

8.  Summer is officially here and we love it!

{ summer 2012 bucket list }

Starting tomorrow, we have exactly 100 days until Evan begins his adventure into Kindergarten.  This summer is extra special for the fact that it will be his last summer as an "only'...so I want it go off with a bang.  So tonight I made our summer bucket list with 100 things for us to do over the next 100 days. 

* water park * ice cream for dinner * baseball game * mn zoo * county fair * picnic * mn state fair * farmers market * homemade ice cream * fireworks * parade * como zoo * lake nokomis * city fair * firehouse tour * movie in the park * tech free day * sidewalk chalk * bubbles * water fight * bike riding * rock candy * catch "lightening bugs" * butterflies * art museum * eat at Sonic's * children's musuem * visit the Wild Rumpis * make a fort * go to the pool * frisbee * bowling * play dress up * write a letter * bake rainbow cupcakes * scavenger hunt * paint rocks * learn a new recipe * make s'mores * paint with pudding * make popsicles * play memory * BBQ * mini golf * make a time capsule * free concert * date with dad * date with mom * visit a pet store * make a memory album * play in a bounce house * stay up late * homemade slip and slide * star gaze * can fruit * go to a new park * melt crayons * hopscotch * dance in the rain * read a book * ride a carouse * nature hike * go to storytime * fly a kite * eat watermelon * paint your own pottery * go to the library * make friendship bracelets * feed ducks * breakfast for dinner * banana splits * make a collage * make lemonade * backyard camping * giant squishy sensory bag * finger paint * treasure hunt * nature center * photo booth * drive-in movies * game night * tie-dye t-shirts * paper airplanes * model rockets * homemade play dough * flea market * ice cream from the ice cream truck * make apple sauce * make sand castles * beach * check out and make a flat stanley * go see the cherry on a spoon * write wishes on a paper latern and set it off * tea with teddies * chuck e. cheese * send a missionary a care package * make postcards *

I'm so pumped!  Have you made yours?

{ insta-friday }

I've been obsessed with trying to find the perfect cooler...I really want to pack my lunch for work but since it sits in the car (even with ice packs) by the time I actually go to eat it...it looks gross from sitting in the heat and I end up picking something up anyways...I think I'm going to go pick this one up and hope that it works out!

One of our favorite parks...Kelley Park in Apple Valley...finally turned on their splash pad.  I can't tell you how excited we are.  Evan gets to run around in the sprinklers and on the play set and I can sit in the shade slippin' lemonade and watching him play. 

After Kelley Park, we stopped at Culver's for their custard.  Holy Crap I forgot how good it was!  Only bad side is now that we've stopped there...Evan thinks we need to stop every time after we go to Kelley Park.

Evan and Mike are both obsessed with Mike's phone.  They spend hours passing it back and forth playing random games, videos, and whatever...I love that these two are so close!

Yesterday we took Evan to Build-A-Bear at the MOA (Mall of America) to build Baby a stuffed animal for when he is born.  Evan just loved it all.  I thought it was especially cute to see the dinosaur's tail poking out of the box.

We've been collecting some of the smaller things we will need for baby...we're going to start picking up some of the bigger things in the next few weeks...holy crap is having another small body in our home getting more real!

So we've finally narrowed down our choice of a name for Baby.  One we both agree on and yes..it's on the list above.  (well at least the first name is)  We're still up in the air about it so while we love the name we've picked out...it could definitely change by the time baby makes his appearance.

{ build a bear & update }

After we found out we were pregnant and Evan grew suspicious of my constant morning sickness, we told Evan that once we knew if he was having a brother or sister, we would take him to Build-A-Bear to make a stuffed animal for him or her.  Just like Mike had for Evan when I was still pregnant with him.

I did lay some ground rules about what he could or could not pick out (which was basically a Smurf doll I believe).  After looking for several minutes and made sure Evan picked out exactly what he wanted, we were golden.  Evan loved the whole process of helping stuff the animal and putting the heart inside with good wishes for his brother.  Evan was so excited to give the animal a bath and pick out a shirt.

So what did he pick out?

A dinosaur!  If you knew Evan, you wouldn't really be surprised...I wasn't.  Since Evan had such a blast we promised him that for his birthday (which is in a month...holy crap) we'll bring him back and he can pick one out for himself.  Mike also pointed out that he might pick up one of the "mini" dinosaurs that look like the one Evan made since the dinosaur will already be so much bigger than Baby.

Today, I also had my regular prenatal check up with my doctor.  We've had some bumps with the clinic and when I pointed them out, she was pissed about how we have been treated, which made me like her even more.  In any case, Baby's heartbeat was very strong and he's looking good.  Well as good as he can with his damn kidney, which I found out had apparently grown in size from his 19 week ultrasound to his 21 week ultrasound.  However, I was warned by the MFM that it was possible that the measurements from his 19 week ultrasound may not be taken the same way they took measurements...but I'm guessing since I was told the way they are taken are pretty standard, that it's accurate.  In any case, we'll still have to wait until June 28th to get another look and see how it's looking.  Here's hoping it's looking a lot better than it has!

{ baby update }

After dealing with construction and finally figuring out that we were given the wrong address, we made it to our appointment.  Baby was his same squirrelly self and after watching him dance around and not really playing along for some pictures, Mike and I know that once he is born we're in trouble.


Baby's measuring 3 days ahead and is a whopping 1lb 3oz at 21weeks and 3days.  (average is 12.70 oz - 15.17 oz)  However, his left kidney is still enlarged.  He was diagnosed with Pyelectasis, which is according to OB Focus is defined as:


"Enlargement of the part of the kidney that collects urine (the renal pelvis) from 4 to 10 millimeters in diameter is called fetal pyelectasis or “renal pelvic dilatation”. Dilation of the renal pelvis to greater than 10 mm is called severe pyelectasis or hydronephrosis" 


At this time Baby's kidney is measuring at 8mm and we were told it will probably not fix itself in-utero.  We're going back in 6 weeks and if the kidney is measuring the same or higher, we will be sent to see pediatric urologist to have a game plan put in place for when he is born.  If it has gone down to 7mm or under, we'll still be monitored but their hope at that time is once he's born, it will fix itself.


Regardless what the kidney measures in 6 weeks, Baby will continue to grow and develop right on schedule.  I'm crossing my fingers that the fluid in his kidney will go down or at least stay where it is now.  They weren't able to tell us if the fluid in his kidney has increased from the previous ultrasound because they didn't have the measurement in front of them.  (but you darn well know that when I go and see my regular OB that I'll ask)


While I'm still a bit nervous about all this, at least we know where we stand.  Nothing will be done until Baby is born.  All we can do is pray, hope for the best, and get a game plan in place for if Baby's condition worsens.  It is concerning only for the fact that if it's not addresses early enough, Baby could have some kidney damage.  In the mean time, I'm trying to focus keeping him growing and looking forward to the extra peeks we'll get at him.

Here are some more pictures we got today:

{ the tech tried for a good 5 minutes to get a good 3D picture of his face...baby had other ideas }

{ profile }

{ another profile :: his hands are by his lips }

{ tomorrow }

Tomorrow we get another peek at little boy.  Last week, I received a phone call from my OB with the results of my ultrasound.  Everything looked good except baby had one enlarged kidney.  I barely remember what else she said except it was common in boys, it's nothing to worry about, and MFM will call to set up the appointment.

This past week I've gone through the gambit of emotions.  First anger that it took them a week to let us know something was wrong.  I know realistically the tech is unable to say if something is wrong and my OB is only in the office 2 days a week, but if it was something that was so concerning where I needed to go have someone else look at it, why the heck didn't the tech call someone in?  Why I was allowed to walk away thinking that everything was just fine?

And then of course I cried.  Because I was so blown away by the unexpected news, I didn't really ask the questions I should have asked.  Like how enlarged is the kidney and what are the possible causes.  She mentioned something about reflux.  Which apparently means that the urinary system is immature and urine backs up into the kidneys.  About 80% of all cases fix themselves by birth or shortly after.  Another 20% require some sort of surgery a couple months after the baby is born.

There could be other reasons for the enlarged kidney but I won't have the answer until tomorrow.  I won't let myself even go there to be honest with you.  Yes, I'm scared.  But for all I know, we could go in tomorrow morning and find out that everything has already taken care of itself.  And if not, I'm holding out that it's just the reflux because it's not life threatening, it's most likely going to fix itself and if not, he'll need a surgery - I can handle that.  maybe.

But every kick has been reassurance that he's still growing and doing well.  It wasn't the news that I wanted to hear or even needed to hear with a pregnancy that I have been on edge about since the miscarriage.  But in the end we're praying that it all work out in the end.  And I'm sure it will.  kinda of.


p.s. all I can say is good thing our appointment is first thing in the morning