Happy Little Family

 

So much love and more to come from Grammy and Grandpa!

He's here! Welcome, Thomas MIchael!

 Megan went in the hospital Wednesday at 2. They started the induction process at 11 pm. All through Thursday we waited for something to happen. Michael said epidural helped with the pain. Later they gave her oxycontin (I think) to help move things along. She got to 6 centimeters last we texted.

Then early Friday they decided on a C-section. She'd been in labor more than 24 hours. Poor Megan was so scared but so brave.

Friday, August 25th, 4:32 am:

Thomas Michael arrives!

8 lbs, 21 inches long. Look at those chubby cheeks!

Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful, healthy boy!

Quite a Week

 Megan was so beautiful and healthy at the shower. She seemed to be having a great time! (I swear it will take 2 hours to open all her gifts.)

Michael says she felt very bad gall bladder pain that night and he brought her to the hospital. It looked like she was going to have surgery, but they decided not to do it.  At one point, the pain was so bad (says Michael) that they gave her morphine. Who knows why they sent her home.

Then a few nights ago, she was having terrible cramps. They told her to drink water and if it didn't subside after a certain point to go to the hospital to be evaluated. She actually called me, rather than texting, to tell me what was going on. It seemed possible Thomas Michael was going to make an early debut.

She had this thing that closes up the cervix (I can't remember the name) that was done a while back to keep the baby from being born early. This was removed and the contractions soon subsided. She was able to go back home again.

Megan says she now has "Frequent Flyer" miles at the hospital.

We are going there tomorrow for dinner. It's better this way because Michael can't leave her and she shouldn't be that far from home. Poor girl is on a boring diet because of the gall bladder. She says the first thing she's going to eat after the damned thing is removed is a big, fat Italian hero.

I hope Tommy waits a bit longer. Mike and I are getting DTaP vaccinations on Tuesday. These will prevent us from spreading whooping cough, which can be deadly. I guess it lies dormant in some of us.

My Heart is so full of Love

Look at this precious boy! My little grandson, Thomas Michael, had his first 3D pic this week!

About 7 weeks to go!

That little nose! (He's leaning up against his arm.)
 

Dog and Bones

 Not a dog's bone. Mickey went to the vet last week and other than being FAT he did very well. His  blood work came back normal (thank goodness). He has an infection in both ears and they treated him for that. With the bloodwork, ear treatment and regular stuff, the visit came to over $800!!!! Thank God we aren't poor but it still hurts. That's a lot of money from seniors like Mike and me. 

As far as bones, it's me. I'm going for a bone density test in about an hour. My doctor has wanted me to get one for a long time but it's my oncologist who talked me into it. I hear it's pretty easy, like an X-ray. Sitting in the waiting room will be a bore but at least it will be done with. I'm on an estrogen blocker (Letrozole) that apparently messes with your bones. I take calcium so maybe that helps. I think my bones are pretty strong. I only ever broke one, when I smashed my toe into a table leg years ago. 

Update on Megan, Michael and the baby: all is well! The shower is in a few weeks.

Baby Update and Memorial Day

 All is well with Thomas Michael. Megan told a cute story. She asked for pictures but the nurse said the baby was facing her back. As soon as she said that, Tommy turned around and faced the 'camera.' You can see his cute little fingers. (I need to load the pics onto my computer so I can put them in here.)

We had all the kids here for Memorial Day, although we did celebrate on Sunday because Katherine had to work Monday. I surprised Andrew with corn fritters, but I had him actually cook them (I  made the batter) because he's had experience as a fry cook. They were made with corn I cut off the cob last August and have had in the freezer. They were really good!

We had hot dogs, hamburgers, venison sausage (from my sister Martha), and steak. Also had onion patties (they tasted good but looked messy--which is why I had Andrew handle the corn fritters), potato-egg salad and a really good broccoli salad Michael brought. That was a recipe from my mother's cookbook.

Oh, and I made fresh-squeezed lemonade. 

It was a lovely day and I did say 'thanks' to my dad, Mike Sr., and my brother for their service. 

Follow Up

 The kids went for a follow-up visit last Friday. Megan's procedure was actually to have a stitch put in to keep her cervix tight, and it's holding just fine.

Baby Tommy is doing great!

On Saturday, Mike and I met up with some friends of his from the gym who gave us a bunch of really high-end baby equipment, including a beautiful stroller. I can't wait to take my baby grandson for walks! 

We had dinner at Catfish Annie's. The people, Rosemary and Bob, were so nice. I hate meeting new people but I felt very comfortable with them. 

I always says I'm unsociable...but I'm NOT unfriendly.

TODAY'S NEWS: Mickey got out of the back yard because someone (his initials are Mike Pastore) did not completely latch the gate. I didn't even know he was gone until I went to feed the birds about 20 minutes after I let him out. I had checked the gate and from my POV it looked closed. But I guess it was open enough for Mickey to get out.

Luckily, Nicky was home and we found the dog fairly quickly. It did make a neighbor a bit nervous but I explained he's a very nice dog.

And I still plan to be doubly careful about that stupid gate.