Aquarium of the Pacific

Walking on the beach.

Too bad it was overcast and windy.  Too cold to swim.

Our lodging for the night.  We stayed in the left half of this duplex on Fort MacArthur.

Sea Bass in the background.

Enjoying the Aquarium.

Leafy Sea Dragon.

Playing at the park next to our room.

At the shark touch tank.

Touching Jellyfish!

AWANA Grand Prix Preview

Luke's Shark car

Jacob's pencil car

Just being cute!

Sleepyhead

My Pregnancy Journal - 20 weeks

Baby #4 is officially half baked!
We had an ultrasound on Tuesday and this the shirt the new baby will be wearing.

It's a boy!  

Little man looks healthy and is measuring about a week bigger than my due date.  My OB is leaving my due date the same for now.  

 He does have 2 choroid plexus cysts (just like my 2nd son did) in his brain, so I'm going back to the Specialist for another Ultrasound at 30 weeks just to make sure they are gone.  CPC's are fluid filled cysts that form in the choid plexus of the brain of 1-3% of babies and are visible during 16-24 week Ultrasounds.  They are either harmless and go away on their own or could indicate trisomy 18.  My specialist did not see any other indication of a trisomy 18 abnormality and I declined the amniocentesis to confirm.  I did not see putting a normal baby at risk of a miscarriage from an amnio since I've had another child with CPC's that turned out to be absolutely nothing.  If there had been any other indications of abnormalities, I would have taken the miscarriage risk and had the amnio to be sure.
In case you'd like to read more about CPCs , go HERE.

The big boys are super excited that the baby is a boy.  

They weren't really sure what they would do with a sister. 

Symptoms:  Tired all day and unable to fall asleep some nights makes for cranky Mommy. Wish I had more energy.Weight Gain: Gained 4 lbs this month for a total of 8 lbs so far.  Having Easter candy around probably isn't helping ;).Cravings: Salty things lately like Bugles, Pretzel Chips and tomatoes with a touch of salt. Aversions:  None that I can think of.  What made me cry: Lots of little things which when all compiled together have made me emotional and cry this past week.  Tuesday I cried when hubby called from Qatar to hear the gender of the baby.  Not because I was sad that we are having another boy, but because he wasn't there to see the ultrasound, hear the heartbeat and find out together with me.  Today I cried at my OB appointment out of frustration about having to wait 1.5 hours to be seen, having my youngest son sick at home, hubby being deployed, and homesick for family that all lives halfway across the country.Medical Stuff: Blood Pressure was fine, baby's heart beat was 146bpm I'm measuring 21 weeks.  See above Ultrasound info.Looking forward to: Seeing our relatives this summer.  Once my older 2 boys are finished with school, we are flying to visit family for 3 weeks.  I got the okay to fly while 27-30 weeks pregnant.  I am to see the OB right before I leave and within a week of coming back.  She also wants me to increase H2O intake the day before and day of flying, do leg exercises, and make sure to get up and walk around while flying to decrease the likelihood of blood clots.  

Little ball player

Gender Reveal!

Jacob the Big Big Big Brother!

Luke the Big Big Brother!

Jared the Big Brother!

All 4 together.

Baby #4 is a Boy!

Gifts from "auntie" Erin!  Super cute elephant baby clothes and a stuffed Elephant that she knitted  herself.

Close up. Isn't he cute!

Say Cheese!

Feet

 So Baby boy #4 is looking healthy, measuring a week bigger according to ultrasound with a due date of Aug 17.  We'll have to wait and see if my OB wants to change my due date or leave it at Aug 24th.  I have a regular OB appointment on Friday so we'll see what she/he says.  He does have 2 choroid plexus cysts (just like Luke did) in his brain, so I'm going back to the Specialist for another Ultrasound at 30 weeks just to make sure they are gone.
In case you'd like to read about CPCs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choroid_plexus_cyst.
The big boys are super excited that the baby is a boy.  They weren't really sure what they would do with a sister.