three months.

Mr. Tate turned three months old last Friday.

And let me tell you, he is just the sweetest thing.

All his does is coo, squeak, and sigh.

{And poop, but, hey.}

He is so squishy and soft and adorable and ohmygoodnesswelovehim!

The State of the {my} Uterus

Sorry it has been cricket-quiet over here.

Let's be honest.

I am not up for doing much these days.

I am out of pizazz.

With the summer heat and intense humidity, my feet have swollen to the size of boats, and I feel like I only get about 2 hours of sleep a night.

But!

Things are moving along, and I don't expect to be pregnant much longer than a week and a half, tops!

We headed to the doctor this morning for not only a routine check-up but also for my regular non-stress test with a nice little growth scan of baby, kind of like a cherry on top of a melting, sticky ice cream obstetric sundae.

Here are the results from today's appointment:

-I am 37 weeks 3 days

-Baby is measuring a week behind but still hanging strong in the 40th percentile, so no worries there.

-Weight estimation of 6 pounds 4 ounces {which was a HUGE relief since I haven't gained weight since about week 33 or 34}...Kemry was only 6lbs 13oz, so I won't have to give birth to a bigger second baby.

-Baby is low. Like LOOOOOOOW. I feel like he might fall out any minute.

-I am measuring at a generous 1 cm, compared to last week where I was almost at a 1.

-75% effaced

-My doctor says I am a prime candidate to be induced at 39 weeks if I want. And HECK YES. I am all over that business. Get this baby OOOOOOOOUT!

-I don't think I will even make it to 39 weeks, however. Today is day 2 of timing contractions 20-30 minutes apart with intense back pain/uterine cramping in between. I think my doctor is skeptical I will make it to 39, too, as she politely informed me {with a smile and wink} that she is on call Tuesday night.

So, there you have it.

Hopefully the next post is a baby announcement!
In the mean time, tell me how in the world to deal with this back labor.
I feel like I have been hit by a truck and pulled through the streets.
Lame-o.

baby everly

Guys.

My bestie is moving away soon.

As in the day after my due date.

AND, to make it worse, she is taking both Kemry's best friend and little boy's future wife with her.

We are trying to squeeze in as much time with them as we can before they move back to the Arizona heat.

I think we were always meant to be friends.

We both went to the same college and worked in the same town in Idaho, she had her first little girl just a few months before I had Kemry, and she even knew a few of Tyrel's cousins.

But WE never knew each other.

Magically, we both end up here in Minnesota, and our little families hit it off right away.

To top it off, she just had her second little baby, and making our number twos just 6 weeks {or fewer} apart in age.

Totally fate, right?

 Look at those swollen pregnant women.
Thanks, swampy humidity.

A few hours after her rather rapid labor/delivery {as in having the baby 11 MINUTES after getting to the hopsital...hooooly....}, we ran over to the hospital to see our future daughter-in-law {because that is already set in stone, duh!}.
And since they have been home, we have been lucky enough to visit a handful of times to start saying hello and goodby at the same time.
I took my camera a few of those times and started sharpening my skills for when my little one comes in sometime in the next few weeks.
{And I am faaaaaaar from a photographer, but if I can take my own kids' baby/toddler photos and save mucho dinero, then I am all over it}.

She is seriously the prettiest little thing.

 

And I am so jealous of how good Emilynn looks for JUST having a baby. It is ridiculous.

What do you think?
Will she make a good Murri in 20-ish years or so?
Absolutely :)

kemry's first czech days {and a quick baby update}...

...Well, sort of.

We only hit the parade. 

But that totally counts, right?

Every year, a little town in South Dakota {just a few miles away from where I used to call home} throws a huge festival honoring their founders who came from Czechoslovakia a bazilion years ago.

People dress up in Czech attire, eat lots of food, and drinks lots lots lots of beer.Since my dad always drives the car for his work's float, and also since Kemry and I were in town for a quick trip, we loaded up the car and headed to watch the parade.It was the first parade Kemry has ever seen, and she adored it.She got to dance to music, wave to people, and collect candy.Every two-year-old's dream come true.

{We still don't know what this face is about?? Boredom? Fatigue?}

We made-camp next to the sweetest old couple.

Kemry took a liking to them right away, calling him "Grandpa", placing her hand on his leg, and trying to give them all of her candy.

Typical South Dakota. You don't need to go to a parade to see this everyday.

Kem also decided that she didn't want to eat any of the candy {score for the pregnant lady!}, but this flag hasn't left her side since someone handed it to her on Friday.

As much fun as it was, we were hot, sweaty, and ready for some air conditioning, so we grabbed some kolaches {cream cheese filled, thank you very much} and headed home.And thus concludes Kemry's first {and probably last} experience with Czech Days.Can I get an amen?--------------------------------------------------Also, will you look at my parents garden?Jealous. I wish I inherited the green thumb in the family... 

-------------------------------------And for all you who have been keeping track of our pregnancy, here is the latest on the little boy growing in my belly:  -He grew from the 15th percentile to the 49th, so that was terrific news! No early induction for us {yet}!{It must have been all of those ice cream sandwiches, right?}  -We have gotten perfect scores {10s} on his biophysical profiles and non-stress tests. {They give you 2 points for each thing they find working correctly in regards to movement, heart rate, "practice" breathing movements in his diaphragm, bending/straightening limbs, and the amniotic fluid levels. If we get an 8 or 10, all is good. A 6 brings us back the next day, and a 4, 2, or 0 sends us to labor and delivery.}  -The kidneys seem to be working perfectly. His bladder was full and the amniotic fluid was perfect, so his body is doing something right.  -We got word that when the hospital's specialists had their weekly chat about the "special" pregnancies they were monitoring, they decided that we don't need a neonatologist present when I go into labor, which means they don't think he will need any special care immediately after birth.
-The genetic counselor sees no family history that would link to baby's problems, so hopefully it won't happen again. If they find that things are serious with him  when they do scans right after he is born {in regards to the kidneys and the heart},we have a game-plan set to get the rest of us checked out to make sure we don't have any hidden heart conditions/kidney problems {since this stuff is apparently highly genetic}.
-And the heart thing might not be as bad as they initially thought?All the wording we see and hear now is "a possible bicuspid aoritc valve", which we will take anyday.  In summary, things look good.And we are starting to get a little excited :)

two really great things happened yesterday

Two.

Two really great things.

In one day.

Amazing.

Really Great Thing #1:

 Creme.
Brulee.

Donut.

Maybe the most amazing donut idea EVER?

We grabbed it from Mojo Monkey Donuts, and I am happy to report that we were sufficiently pleased.

We will be taking all who visit us there {mainly just because I really want more}.

It was almost better than really great thing number 2.

Really Great Thing #2:

Baby update, thank goodness!

Long story short:

Yes, the baby unfortunately has a congenital heart defect.

No, it isn't something that we have to be too worried about.

 Short story long:

Everything seemed fine at the appointment, until the Cardiologist walked in, of course.

She had been briefed by the ultrasound tech and shown some images from that morning's scan before she came in.

And the first thing she said was, "Do either of you have a family history of heart defects, particularly that of the aortic valve?"

We say no but immediately start sweating bullets.

She knows something is wrong, doesn't she?

They start scanning my belly again, chatting with all their medical terms.

The only other thing she asks us is, "Where are you delivering this baby?"

That got us even more nervous.

After about 5 more minutes of looking at the baby, the cardiologist turns and finally smiles.

She tells us that baby has bicuspid aortic valve, which is the most common heart abnormailty.

About 2% of the population is born with it, and most don't even know they have it.

Yes, it can be serious, but most of the time it isn't.

And it happens a lot more in males than females.

And since we already have defects with the umbilical cord and kidneys, it isn't a surprising thing to have something like this happen {since all three develop at the same time}.

They will continue with my normal bazillion check-up appointments {along with genetic counseling to make a game-plan for once he gets here} and will have to do a quick scan on the baby once he is born to make sure there isn't anything else that draws worry.

Then, he will either grow into having the defect or will just have to be monitored by regular doctors visits.

And maybe have heart surgery, but hopefully when he is 40 and off our insurance ;)

So, in summary, we have a baby with a too-small umbilical cord, funky kidneys, a crazy little heart and a tiny belly.

And he should be just perfect :)

We still have to watch his weight and growth, which is the next big concern, so I will be loading up on Big Macs and french fries, hoping he gains just a little more pudge by the time we go back in three weeks.

Bad for my waistline, but good for the baby?

Maybe? 

Who knows.

But I will look for any excuse to eat french fries.

And now here are some pictures to make your rainy, drizzly day a little better, compliments of Kemry...

{and if you have sunshine in your sky, don't even say a word...we haven't seen the sun in a week...}

{My favorite, by the way...}

PS: Am I the only one that still thinks Photo Booth is hillarious?

Even after all these years?

goodbye april, hello may

Phew.

Are you as relieved as I am that tomorrow is May 1st?

April flew by, but that didn't mean it wasn't stressful, snowy, and not my favorite month of the year.

But then I check the weather for the week and realize our beautiful 70 degree bliss will be turning back to 40 degree torture {with the chance of snow Friday?????}, which leaves me completely unmotivated to do anything productive.
We did hit up the park last week.
Kemry was terrified of everything and needed a constant chaperone on every piece of equipment, no matter how inflexible said chaperone's muscles were.

We just got back from a super quick trip down to South Dakota to celebrate my dad's birthday {while throwing in my mom's and Tyrel's as well}.

We had such a great time, but Kemry had a REALLY great time.

As in Grandma-and-Grandpa-put-a-toddler-swing-on-their-deck-just-for-her great time.

She only came off that swing to go play in her little playhouse in the grass or to go to bed {unwillingly}.

We soaked up as much good weather as we could handle, knowing we had another icky week coming at us.

In other unrelated news, I am T-Minus 15 weeks from my due date, so we are heading into full-blown baby mode.

Hospital tours, onesie washing, bottle sanitizing craziness.

And this belly is out of control.

My belly button might even pop out with this one.

Send good belly button vibes my way.

this is what relief feels like: a baby update

We have been a little on the quiet side over here.

Not much chit and chat about what curve balls and blessings life has thrown at us.

So here is an update, just for you, all of my favorite people!

Just over a week ago, we went in for our much anticipated ultrasound to find out the baby's gender and to make sure things are growing the way they should.

We found out we were having a boy, and we were over the moon!

After the ultrasound, I had an appointment to meet with my doctor for just the routine stuff.

She seemed happy and talked about all the great things from the ultrasound {good heartbeat, good shot of the "manhood", measuring well, etc}.

"Everything looks great..."

But then she slipped in this word:

"except..."

In true Tyrel and Vandy Murri fashion, nothing comes terribly easy for us {which we are not complaining about...there are just always big hiccups when we are on the path to a big life event. We had big hiccups with getting married {had to postpone for surgery}, grad school {lots of rejection almost two years in a row}, home buying {goodness, lets not talk about that one}}.

And for my baby-making tally-sheet:

-With Kemry, we had a great pregnancy, but she ended up in the NICU after birth.

-We lost our second baby after a minor round of secondary infertility.

-And with this little boy, we had a single umbilical artery.

In a nutshell, instead of three vessels in the umbilical cord, there are two.

Usually, there is no problem with it, so normally we wouldn't sweat it.

If there is a problem, it usually manifests in the kidneys and the heart.

And, just our luck, they could only find one kidney and couldn't measure the outflows on the heart.

My doctor downplayed it, telling me not to worry, but she did set up a level 2 ultrasound with a specialist, just to be sure.

So, for the past week, we have been stressing out a little.

Babies are born all the time with one kidney.

No big deal.
But the heart?

What if there was something wrong with the heart?

I was a mess.

 Fast forward to today, where we sat super anxiously in the perinatal office, getting ready for 90 minutes of in-depth ultrasound work.

Right away, she confirmed that there was no kidney where one should be on the left side.

Oh, but wait.

There it was.

Tucked in the pelvis.

Functioning and just fine.

{Just not where it should be}.

Baby boy looked adorable, had all his fingers and toes, no cleft lip, and was proudly waving his man-parts for us to see.

She then started to look at the heart, which we knew would take up most of the ultrasound.

But she kept making comments like, 

"I'm just not seeing what I need to see."

"It should be right in here...."

"Hmm. This part right here is confusing me."

Tyrel and I got exceptionally nervous at that point.

And then the doctor came in to give us our results.

-Two kidneys, although the silly one might cause more frequent UTIs/bladder infections/kidney infections {and there is a double collecting system in there, too, just upping those risks as well}.

-Confirmed single uterine artery

-NO heart defects.

NO HEART DEFECTS.

Cue huge sigh of relief.

There is some increased thickness to the muscle in one chamber, which could raise the chances of Down Syndrome by 1.5%, but since I am a very low risk for Down Syndrome, she said it shouldn't be a concern.

It won't affect our little champ at all.

So, while he isn't perfect, a few quirks that shouldn't affect the pregnancy or how he lives his life are the worst from today.

We will gladly take 3 tiny abnormalities over a heart problem.

As for the single uterine artery, we now just have to monitor his growth to make sure he keeps adding on the pounds. 

He was measuring a day over now in growth, so we are not worried about it.

I will have these same level 2 ultrasounds at 28 weeks, 34 weeks, and have a quick profile and non-stress test every week from number 32 until baby boy makes his amazing appearance into the world.

Earlier in the pregnancy, we had a little complication with my placenta lying low, which could cause very serious problems toward the end of preganacy/delivery.

We found out that that corrected itself, too.

No {planned} c-sections for this girl ;)

We are so very lucky and feel so very blessed.

It has just been a reminder that although things don't always work out how they "should," they usually work out regardless.

And thanks to you guys, too.

Many of you sensed something was wrong and reached out to us right away.

Y'all are keepers.

Seriously.

it's a...

boy or girl?

Tomorrow is the day! 

What will we be having?

Boy?

Girl?

Narwhal?

I think we are pretty neutral at this point.

First, we thought girl, but then Tyrel's dad said boy, and he has been 100% on the dot for 9 kids. 

Now we just don't know!

If this gives you any help in your guess, here are what the Old Wives Tales say:

We are terribly excited and still feel overwhelmingly blessed.

I'll be back to post what the results are, but due to some unexpected events, I may have to jet back to South Dakota for the week to take care of some other business.

So hold on tight!

We will be back!!

teething woes {part 2}

The past few days have been full of Kemry.

All Kemry.

And whatever Kemry wants.

{or at least that is what she thinks}.

She walks around the house and will randomly drop to the floor, just to cover her head with her blanket.

Then she realizes that no one is watching so she gets back up and goes on her merry way.

She also has to have all of her favorite stuffed animals and blankets in a close proximity to her.

You know, for easy access.

And has to throw her peanut butter toast on the floor {peanut butter side down, of course} because all she wants to eat are teething biscuits {only because she thinks they are yummy--not because they help with her teething}.

She also must dunk all of her clothing in the toilet.

And rip up all of daddy's important school papers.

And pound on the laptop keyboard.

And throw tantrums if we don't play with the animal noises app on my phone.

And eat the fertilizer from the lemon tree's pot.

And crawl on top of the open dishwasher door when I am trying to put away the clean dishes.

She also must be held and cuddled, but only if it is convenient for her {such as when I am getting ready for work, cooking, or needing to go pee}.

All for ONE little tooth.

Seriously.

She got 4 at once last time and was practically an angel.

We will just pretend that all of this behavior is due to teething and not toddlerdome.

But teething has also brought some good things.

She says hi to everyone she sees anywhere and waves goodbye when we walk past them.

She also giggles randomly, scrunching that cute little nose.

And looks up at me with big eyes and says "UH OH!" when I catch her dunking her clothes in the toilet.

And points to everything, just to say "cheeeeeeeeze!"

And runs around shouting "Mama! Mama!"

And when her arms get tired from dancing, she stomps her little feet in rhythm.

And sucks her cheeks in to give fish-kisses.

And sticks out her tongue when we get out her toothbrush and tries her hardest to suck all the toothpaste off before we fight our way to her teeth.

And brings her "scariest" toy into my room, just so she can run away from it and have me pick her up and cuddle her to safety.

We can call this toddlerdome.

And I guess the good stuff offsets all the bad stuff.

And even though that one small, silly tooth has caused her to nap only once a day for an hour, it will probably be pretty cute, too.

baby carter

My sweet friend {and almost relation?} Kimberly recently had the most precious little boy.

He is so cuddly and lovely!

The parents are amazing, so it is no wonder they had such a perfect little one!