There's no place like home....

We made it home yesterday and survived our first night....although just barely! As we were packing to come home yesterday, we got to take so much from the hospital - bottles, clothes, the bath mat, etc. Yet somehow when we got here, I suddenly realized we did NOT get to take home one of those wonderful nurses. Which to tell the truth, really sucks.

Apparently last night was New Parent Initiation. Matt and I thought we were doing so well, changing Owen's diaper and getting him all ready for bed. Matt's been the diaper guru the past few days and has had no problems, until Owen decided to pee on him last night. Matt didn't immediately figure out what was going on, so he ran from the changing table in bewilderment, nearly tripping over a footstool, yelling loudly, and letting poor Owen pee all over his face....and the floor....and the changing pad....etc. etc. I cleaned things up, and then asked Matt to take the cover off the changing pad so I could clean up the baby, and he whips the whole pad off, leaving me a bare table. He looked a little confused, but was really trying hard to help! We were laughing so hard by now I was crying, and we were trying to dress Owen, who is screaming bloody murder and not finding our comedy routine nearly as funny as we did. I had almost gotten his clean onsie on, when Matt tried to help by taking it OFF, thinking it was the dirty one.....ok, maybe you just had to be there, but it was hilarious to see how very incompetent we are. The stitches from my c-section were killing me by the time I was done laughing.
Anyway, what you probably really WANT to know is an update on Owen's skeletal dysplasia. After such a difficult pregnancy, we got nothing but good news this week. The neonatologist was in the room when Owen was delivered, and he looked him over really carefully, as did our pediatrician later that day. Both of them agreed that if they didn't know the history, they wouldn't have any reason to think there was anything wrong with Owen. They took x-rays as well, because apparently the ends of long bones look different in kids with skeletal dysplasias, and everything looked very normal there too. I am just so stunned to learn about all this. After months of being told, "Yes, this is definitely what this is," to be told otherwise is just amazing. I know that so often babies are misdiagnosed prenatally, but after seeing Owen's growth charts, even I had a hard time thinking positive.
I guess I don't really understand how there can be such a huge discrepancy between the ultrasounds and reality, and the doctors don't seem to have a very good explanation either. At this point though, I'm not interested in figuring out why this all happened, I'm just thrilled to have a healthy baby. We still have an appointment in Madison on March 24; I just want the peace of mind of having a specialist look him over and give a final decision, and maybe explain why Owen would have had such unusual growth patterns. For now though, Matt and I are very happy that all we have to worry about is getting peed on!
Of course, I have to show more pictures of our adorable little guy. Here are some of my favorites:He already loves to suck on his hands and is working on finding his thumb. No nuks for this guy!

Having his first bath at the hospital. What a cute little butt!!

Owen is here!!! He arrived at 7:34 this morning at 6 lbs 6 oz. Just like his dad! His length is 19 in which is perfect. The neonatologist and the pediatrician said that he has no signs of skeletal dysplasia. He has brown eyes, I think but I was surprised that he opened his eyes only a few minutes after he was born. The C-section was not as bad as we thought but will take some recovery time. Mom and baby are relaxing right now, trying to avoid the bad cable TV at the hospital. Feast your eyes on the cutest baby in the world. No really, we knew he would be cute, but not this cute.

Just for fun...

...I thought I'd add some incriminating pictures. During our lamaze class, Matt had the pleasure of trying on what they call the "empathy belly." I think the actual purpose was to make the men in the class realize how awkward and crappy their wives feel, but I think most of the men were just secretly thrilled to have their own set of boobs for a little while!! So here's Matt and his lovely new body (notice the big grin!), and the two of us comparing our bellies:

It is a little shocking to realize that this picture is only about three weeks old, and I think my belly is about three times bigger now than it was then! Sigh. Someday I will carry this watermelon on the outside instead!!!

One in a million....

So Matt and I got more news this week that I just have to laugh at, because it seems the odds are just stacked against us. Here is my current life situation in statistics:

Odds of developing type 1 diabetes: 1 in 600
Odds of having a child with skeletal dysplasia: 1 in 10,000
Odds of having a breech baby: 3 out of 100

Yup, Owen decided to do somersaults and now is stuck in a nice, tight cannonball position. Because I am 36 weeks now, we were given two choices: attempt an external version, in which the doctor forces the baby to turn, or schedule a c-section. Everyone I talked to who had tried a version said it was extremely unpleasant; I believe the word "excruciating" was even used! The success rate of a version is apparently not that high, and even if it works, there is still a chance the baby will turn again on it's own. So after debating back and forth for a few days, I finally decided to just go for the c-section. I figure if I am going to have to be scared and uncomfortable, I might as well have a baby when it's over!!

So while the idea of a c-section is really not all that appealing to me, it's set and scheduled for February 19. Only two weeks left!! It's both exciting and terrifying, depending on my mood! Although at this point, I am SO ready to be done being pregnant, obsessing over blood sugars, and living at the doctor's office. I am currently doing non-stress tests twice a week - apparently, the placenta is more likely to deteriorate early in diabetics, so Owen is monitored closely to make sure he is doing ok. This is in addition to seeing my OB, endocrinologist, and the perinatologist. It is ridiculous how many times I have to pee in a cup every week!!! Arugh! Did I mention I am also finishing up my masters program this year? Yes, this has most definitely been an easy, relaxing pregnancy!!

So you can see why Matt and I just had to laugh when we found out Owen is breech. Of course he is. That is just our luck! At least I can remind Matt how fortunate he is to have Owen and me - we are truly one in a million!

PS -- My lovely, mathematically inclined husband just read this and pointed out that more accurately, we are one in 200 million. I'll take it. I know I'm awesome. =)