Growing SO Fast!!

Anastasia just had her 4 month well visit today! She will be 5 months on Christmas Eve... so it was actually her "Almost 5 month well visit." :)

Anyway, the stats are in! 14 lbs 11oz (60%) and 24 in (48%). She has decreased in the percentile... but she is healthy! We get to start rice cereal on Christmas Eve so we'll see how she does!

In the last 6 weeks she has become mobile!! She is rolling easily from her back to her front and not so easily (but she gets it done) from front to back. :) She is also scooting on her belly all over! Instead of a normal floormat/playgym thingy... she has a tunnel. Its hilarious to come into the room to find her having completely rolled the tunnel upside down!!

She is starting to sit up on her own!! She would probably be able to do it if it wasn't for the fact that anything around her distracts her and she reaches for it causing her to fall over! :) She is also constantly "talking." Once she actually starts saying words and sentences she is never gonna be quiet!! Just like her Mommy!

Tim is doing very well in his classes!! He is second in his class only to the native speaker, and on the last tests he actually scored higher than him!

I'm doing fine. Nothing has really changed since the last time! :)

Hope you all have a great Christmas!

3 month appointment...

Well all is good! No meds for her reflux yet!! YAY!! She is 13 lbs 4 oz and 24 in! She is the 75th percentile in all areas! So she is doing great! She wasn't too fond of her shots on this day but she practically sucked the oral vaccine down! They didn't have one of the shots on hand and the base pharmacy was closed so they couldn't go get one. So we went back the next Monday for another shot and to the nurse's surprise... she only shot her a dirty look when she was injected! She didn't cry at all!! The slideshow is also updated with pics of the first 3 months! Thanks for all the prayer and support!

Ana is growing so fast!

Yesterday we went to doctor's office to see if there was a reason behind the "adorable" high-pitched and just about inconsolable screaming/wailing she had begun a few days ago. This crying shattered into our lives while celebrating Jonny's birthday (sorry Jonny) by playing games. Thankfully it was AFTER dinner out!! Anyway... we were thinking early teething... ear infection... some other sort of infection... anything! After seeing the doctor, it is just her reflux getting worse accompanied by the fact that she was just done with being out of town. She wanted to be home in her familiar world and wanted to let us all know! However, if it continues until her next appt (Oct 30th) then her reflux is getting to the point of needing meds. :( Please pray that this is not the case. I'd rather not give her regular meds at such a young age!! So, we are home again... and back to the "reflux fighting regimen"!! So far so good! :)

On another note: she is rolling now from her back to her side regularly! She prefers to sleep on her side and will put herself in this position and stay that way all night! She is also starting to reach for things! A couple days ago, we set up her jumperoo because she likes to bounce and she loves it!! She is still too short, but we stacked some books on the floor and she is happy! :)

OH! The specs! She is now 12lbs 6oz and 22.5 in!! She will be 3 months next week. Growing fast!!

Tim is doing well in his classes! He is one of the top in his class besides the native speaker that is there to learn to read and write it. Next week, because he did well on his test yesterday he only has to go to study hall 2 times a week!! YAY!!

I'm doing good... adjusting to life here. I've met some other women and we try to hang out twice a week. Anyway... Anastasia has begun crying so I have to go!

::sigh:: Never ending!

Ok, so I haven't blogged in a little bit now. We FINALLY have internet! It really only took a week and a half I think, but it seemed to take longer. :)

The Ebersoles are officially moved to Seaside, CA! Its hard to believe! Tim and I still can't believe it. When we drive and see the ocean just to the left or right of us we keep saying to each other, "We live here!" and, "The ocean is RIGHT THERE! Crazy!!" We've both pretty much spent our entire lives in California, but neither of us have lived this close to the ocean. They say Monterey is the #1 tourist destination for California residents... and we actually live here! I know, I know... it may sound like I'm rubbing it in... but seriously I'm not... I'm in shock!!

Anyway... here are the family updates:

Anastasia:
She is now 6 weeks old! Its crazy! She seems to be mellowing out on the colic... or its getting more stable as to the times she cries uncontrollably rather than being out of control for random long periods throughout the day. Her reflux is the same. :( I feel so bad for her! She seems to be in so much pain! It'll be over before I know it though! She definitely smiles more and more! She has the cutest crooked smile!! I'll post pictures soon! I have to get them all onto this computer first. Oh... and her eyes have a hint of purple in them now! At first I thought it was my imagination, but Tim mentioned it the other day. So we'll see what color they really turn out!

Tim:
Tim started "smart start" last week. It was basically a week long intense English grammar and linguistics course. It was to prepare him for the actual language classes which start this upcoming week! Fun times! He has mandatory study hall 4 nights a week for the first 2 months and PT in the afternoon once a week and in the mornings on the other days. So, I'll see him hardly ever! :( But... as with the colic and reflux... it'll be over soon. :) Oh... and he LOVES being a daddy! He got to spend a week up in Sacramento before we moved down, so he only missed the first 3 weeks of Anastasia.

Me:
I'm tired! lol I'm still unpacking... but all thats left is the unimportant decorative stuff. Mainly I hold Ana and comfort her and feed her. Oh... and I comfort Donner who is still have anxiety attacks since the move (never get a Jack Russell unless you know what you're getting!!).

Well... thats us! Again... I'll post another set of pics soon! :)

Love ya!

It's a Girl!!

Anastasia Leigh Ebersole

July 24, 2009

7lbs 4oz 19in

On Tuesday (7/22) night I began having sharp pains in my back and by 2:45am on Wednesday (7/23) I was able to time them at 5 minutes apart! I had really wanted to go through labor and delivery med free so I was hoping to stay at home until my contractions got to 3 minutes apart. So I stayed home until about 10 am that morning. By that time, the contractions were still 5 minutes apart, but I was feeling like my medical condition was kicking in and I was having to fight the urge to pass out as well.

Once in the hospital I was only 1cm dilated, but I was 90% effaced! This was a huge improvement as the day before I was still 0-0. An hour or two after I got there, my doctor came in and said I was 3cm and broke my water. The nurse thought that I was only 1-2cm but went along with it. By 1pm I was actually at 3cm. I was still really struggling to stay conscious through the contractions even though I did not find the pain to be unbearable.

A few months ago, I had done some research regarding my medical condition (neurocardiogenic syncope) and the epidural. It was recommend against gettin the epidural because the resulting episodes could be a lot worse (even as bad as a coma!). So I was really trying to stay away from that, but due to the struggle of staying conscious, I asked to consult with the anesthisiologist and see what he thought. He came in and, to my surprise, actually knew what my condition was and asked some questions to access the severity of my condition. After talking, he told me that in most cases it isn.t recommended, but that in my case, with my eradic blood pressure, high heart rate, and the severity of NCS, that I'd be better off with the epidural than without it. He left my room and came back rather quickly to administer the epi. He was super fast and didn't miss! He also knew enough to keep me from sitting up until he was completely ready!!

Once the epi had set in I was no longer having to deal with the contractions AND staying conscious! However, everytime I rolled onto my left side the baby's heart rate would drop! :( So they kept me mostly on my right side, therefore, the epi wasn't that strong on my left side. Eventually her heart rate evened out and I was able to be on both sides. Even after the epi I was having problems staying conscious. The anesthesiologist came in to up my dosage to help it reach my left side, and by midnight (7/24) he came in to up my dosage again so that I could sleep. An hour later, I was no longer able to sleep so he upped the dosage one more time and this time I slept VERY soundly!! By 1:45 I was fully dilated and not feeling anything! :) Not even pressure! With my dad and mom each holding a leg and my neck I was able to miraculously push out my baby in about 30 minutes!!! Anastasia Leigh was born at 2:14am very healthy and EXTREMELY alert (the pics are literally minutes after birth)!! :) She was even born on her due date!! :)

State of Upheaval

Well... we are in a state of change in our little family!

Tim is currently just about done with week 2 of basic training for the Army. He is doing well! Just the other day he went into the gas chamber. "All I have to say is that it sucked!" (per a letter from him). He did say that the good news is that he was a little congested before going in and is now cleared up! :) As of right now he is set to graduate on July 30th!

Monica is now almost 35 weeks pregnant. She is currently on bedrest and hoping to get off sometime BEFORE the baby is born but she knows the chances are slim.

Baby Eb is doing well! It has a healthy heart rate and moves A LOT!! We still don't know what we are having... but Tim is thinking girl and Monica goes back and forth all the time! However, the general consensus of friends right now is that we are having a little girl. We'll find out soon!! :)