Birds, Gender, And A Happy Basset...

Man, what a day! I had planned on blogging about our day last night, but I was so worn out that...well, that just wasn't going to happen...

Yesterday (Friday) was my second appointment with the perinatologist in Atlanta. There was much to look forward to as we were possibly going to find out who Spud really is, yet worry still loomed over my thoughts as I knew we could also receive bad news. Either way, we looked forward to going.

Knowing that we were going to be gone for quite some time, I tried to talk to Oba about it and remind him that we will be back -- he won't be left alone forever. This pup thinks the world is coming to an end when we leave him at home, so while you may think this sounds like lunacy, I have to console him before the torture even begins. As I turned the water on to take a shower and ran around gathering up all that we were taking with us, the pup was already shaking and crying, as he knew what was to come. It's really quite pitiful to observe -- you would think he was horribly abused with the way he acts.

This was around the same time that I received a call from James -- letting me know that he was heading home from work (he took the afternoon off so that he could go with me). I was surprised, as I didn't expect him to leave for another hour. Yay to getting off even earlier! Unfortunately, by the time he got to his truck, he found a wonderful surprise waiting for him -- a flat tire. Perfect! With all of the construction going on near his office, a nice chunk of metal decided his tire was the perfect place to hang out. Ugh. By the time he got the tires switched out and everything back in order, he ended up getting home with just enough time to put Obadiah in the dreaded cage and head on out. I guess it's always good to give yourself extra time...we sure needed it today!

The best part of the day came about 45 minutes later when we stopped at an Arby's drive-thru for lunch. Man, oh man. If they had a security camera set up at the window, someone definitely got a good laugh while watching us! While sitting there waiting for the employee to take our money, a bird flew into our car from James' window. With me having the reaction time of a turtle with a broken leg (or so James claims), I didn't catch on at first. I was sitting there toying around with my phone when I looked up and saw a bird sitting there on the dashboard in front of me. James, of course, said a few words in shock as we both looked at it not knowing what to think for a split second. Then once the three of us (the bird included) realized what was going on, the bird flipped out and started trying to find a way out -- he's not the only one that flipped out! He kept ramming into my window, as I kept trying to roll it down -- only, neither of us were successful with that, so instead, he left a lovely gift on the window out of panic. He soon found his way back of out of James' window and we sat there trying to regain our composure as we both looked at each other like, "What the heck just happened?!?!" Apparently, we were the only two to witness it though as the employee then opened the window asking if we wanted any ketchup -- with a completely dazed look on her face. She obviously didn't see what happened, or she probably would've been laughing her head off! Man. What a morning! Ha.

I suppose that little experience at least left us with something to talk about on our drive up north. Crazy...

Fast forward two hours and we were waiting for my name to be called at the doc's office. The only option was to watch Nancy Grace on the little waiting room TV, and James kept commenting saying things like, "Man, I hope your name is called soon. I don't know how much more of this show I can take!" Ha. After 30 minutes, we were finally called back, and the ultrasound began. The tech was awesome. She did all the usual checks and then some. With it being a perinatologist appointment, they looked at things with much more depth than a regular OB would. They measured and inspected every single organ and the skin thickness in parts, and also made sure there was no Spina Bifida, Downs, Cleft Lip/Palate, etc. They counted all 10 toes, 10 fingers, measured various bones of the arms and legs, and tracked the blood flow from the placenta through the umbilical cord, and more. It was pretty wild to see the red/blue blood flow while they were doing it -- just so much depth. Liv's anatomy scan at 18 wks didn't cover nearly as much as this ultrasound covered for Spud! While doing the scan, the tech commented on how much Spud was moving around. Apparently, this kid is like his big brother, Jake (and his dad). We soon asked if it was possible to find out the sex. She asked if we were sure we wanted to know, then immediately told us that we were having a BOY. After telling us that, she went and showed us the proof and there was no denying the fact that we were having another son. I suppose I better switch myself back to the blue mindset!

After completing the scan, she told us that everything looked perfect and that Spud was measuring exactly on track in size, etc. What a relief! His heart rate was in the 150s again, and things looked good. We could definitely go home relaxed, that's for sure -- I mean...relaxed from today's news...the stress/worry is still there and will be there until we hear that baby cry!

While waiting for our doctor to come in, the tech told us to stay put, as Dr. Gomez likes to do his own scan -- even though all the measurements and images were taken already. So there we sat, James pacing and me laying there with the gel all over my stomach...

After Dr. Gomez came in, we pretty much went through a very similar scan with him, but he explained a few more things in a bit more depth. He, like the tech, commented on how much Spud was moving around. I guess that was no surprise to us, but it made us laugh. He went on to show us the length of my cervix and commented on how it's abnormally thick, which is fantastic! With how we lost our first son, Jake, this was awesome news. Dr. Gomez had a huge smile on his face and said that he likes how things are progressing and that he'd like to see us again in 4 weeks. So come Feb. 18th, we'll go back for another scan and check up on Spud.

Here are the pictures from Spud's appointment...

Definitely no denying who's in there...

Here's Spud's footprint...

While I'm sure things could change, as of right now, here's Samuel Ryan Moore...

What a relief that everything looks good and that we've got a hyper little guy on our hands. We definitely left the appointment with a lot of hope. I mean, we're still fearful and expecting the worst (and definitely talking about the future with an "if" in every sentence), but for right now, there's hope. I'm thankful for that.

Now that we were done with our appointment, it was time to shop. I mean, what better way to spend the rest of the afternoon in Atlanta, than to hit up some of our favorite stores? Costco was first on the list. That may not sound exciting to most, but we love that store and really miss it! I wish Columbus would build one, but since they won't, we will find reason to go there whenever we're in Atlanta.

Oba should feel blessed, as that prince is the main reason we renewed our membership. We buy his dog food there (it's a brand specific to Costco) and his favorite treats, so it's worth the membership fees. Of course, Atlanta seems to have a boycott against senior citizens, as his senior food isn't sold down here. Those punks. We have to get it while in Indy, but oh well. Either way, we definitely get our money's worth when we shop there, so it's worth it. We'll soon find out if our most recent purchase was a flop or not. I decided to give in and get the Shark Steam Mop while we were there today. Costco had a great deal on it, and I'd love to be able to clean without any chemicals -- especially since the basset thinks a bucket of Lysol is equivalent to a pitcher of lemonade...but that's a whole other story...

After loading up, we headed back to that mall that we had visited a couple of weeks ago -- I still wanted to hit up Crate and Barrel!! As it turns out, Restoration Hardware was still having their moving sale so I had to go there first and see if there was anything left at 70% that we wanted. Clearance is just so tempting, ha. By the time we got to Crate and Barrel, we realized that Oba had been in the cage for way too long. With a 2 hour drive back and having to still grab dinner, we knew we probably shouldn't linger any longer. Nothing immediately caught my eye, so we raced back to the car and headed to our planned dinner before it was too late. I suppose there's always next time...

While debating what we should do...go to Gordon Biersch like planned, or grab something fast...we decided to opt for our fav...after all, what was another 30 minutes for Oba? Gosh, we're horrible. That poor basset! It was definitely nice to sit in a relaxed atmosphere and talk over all of the latest news though. James with his delicious German brew and my water, we sat and talked about the news on finding out we're having Samuel. Wow. A boy. With James still claiming to be unattached -- holding up a tough defensive wall so as not to get hurt again -- it was still obvious that this news was exciting to him. I mean, we'd obviously be happy with either gender, but just knowing who was in there...it just makes it more real. I just hope this fourth kid survives. We miss our three so much, and I hope that instead of joining them, we get to tell Samuel about them...

With such a crazy day, neither of us had as much of an appetite as we thought we would. I couldn't decide on what to order as the entire menu sounded good. So we ended up with Kobe burgers which were -- no surprise -- amazing. They can't compete with Rogue in Astoria, OR, but they were definitely good. I'd love for them to explain to me how they make a burger that doesn't taste greasy and make you feel sick afterwards. I need their secrets!

Either way, with full bellies and hopeful hearts, we headed back home. We raced, as we kept thinking of the poor basset probably sitting there crossing his legs and singing the blues. Much to our surprise, we couldn't be more proud. Not only was his cage dry, but he was dry -- meaning...he didn't even drool! (This means no barking, no pacing and panicking, no nothing!) Wow. This is not the Obadiah we know. No barking while we were gone? Did he actually listen to me and take comfort and just take a nap for 10 hours? We couldn't believe that the blanket was dry and he came out as happy as can be. Shocking, really.

After a long bathroom break -- yay, Oba, for holding it! -- he got his two full bowls of water (yes, he demanded seconds and who can blame him?) and his long awaited heavenly treat...

He has become quite skilled at keeping his ears out of the bowl...

He's no fool. He knew those were for him. Right after this picture was taken, he pulled one of the bags down and started trying to open it. I guess he figured if we weren't going to give him one, he'd take it upon himself to get one out...

The poor guy had to be patient just a little longer, as James wanted to give him a quick baby wipe bath. Who can resist a clean smelling basset?

With much anticipation, he waited...

It's time...You can see it in his eyes -- the excitement, the joy, the much deserved snack...

Last but not least, we decided to take a picture of Spud as we are officially at 16 weeks -- nevermind the fact that we were both ready for bed at this point...

What a day. Hopefully there will be more days like this -- more hope, more joy, and happiness all around. We hope that little Samuel Ryan continues to grow, keeps that strong heartbeat, and stays in there until it's time. He definitely has three little angels looking after him...