Birthday Party Today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little buddy!  Two years ago, we welcomed Jeremiah James Bales into this world.  Oh how he has changed in two years!  He is a sweet, loving boy with a big belly laugh. He loves to read, play with his trucks, go to the library, feed the ducks, explore the neighborhood, go on walks, wrestle with Dad, and run, among many other things.  He is getting more fun every day as he is learning more words.  He can't fully say Jeremiah yet, so when you ask him his name, the answer is always "Bales" (more like "Bay-ohs").  What's Dad's name? "Bay-ohs."  What's Mom's name? "Bay-ohs." What's Grandpa Gus's name? "Bay-ohs."  Ok, I guess everyone is named Bales in his world.  He'll grab anything that looks remotely like a cell phone (calculator, ruler, etc) and walk around the house with it up to his ear and say, "Hello, Doc Bay-ohs!"  He does try to say Jeremiah, and it comes out "My-Mah."  Like any other two year old, he is also on a very independent streak, wanting to do everything all by himself, so all day long we hear, "Mymah do!  Mymah do!"  Such a big boy!

The hardest part about being admitted into the hospital has been leaving Jeremiah. I miss watching him play with his trucks, bring me books to read to him, and all of the cuddle time on the couch. He's in good hands though, so I can't complain. It's nice to be within a half hour of the hospital, so James or my parents can bring him to see me everyday.  My mom got him a hospital book a couple weeks ago, so he kind of understands what a hospital is.  They came to visit yesterday, and I got to go hang out with them during one of my twice daily half hour wheelchair rides. Jeremiah kept saying, "Mommy wheelchair?" He was pretty confused why I needed a wheelchair, but he was proud of himself for knowing what it was after learning about it in his hospital book. The rest of the day, my mom said he kept saying, "Baby sick."   

Today was another good ultrasound report.  The blood flow all looks great, about the same as yesterday.  The placenta/blood flow problems have been making my blood pressure a little high, so today they repeated all the labs for pregnancy induced hypertension to make sure I don't have preeclampsia.  Preeclampsia, formerly called "toxemia," is when the blood pressure gets so high and causes headache, swelling, and other problems and can lead to seizures.  It's pretty serious to the mom's health, and it requires immediate delivery.  The labs all came back normal, so we're thankful to avoid that diagnosis. 

Here are some pictures of our mini birthday party in my room and celebrating with an improvised "cake" after eating dinner in the hospital cafeteria.  He was actually able to blow out one of the two candles without any help.  That must means he has one girlfriend.  Mommy, of course!  :)