28 week check-up

We went in for our measuring ultrasound today and overall Carter is right on target. He is 2 lbs and some change, 148 heartrate and head a little over 3 inches (which is a lil larger than normal, must be his brain). I don't remember much, it happens all so quickly.
One 'minor' concern is swelling of one of Carter's kidneys. He appears to have urine blockage, I believe it is called hydronephrosis. Dr. Balat doesn't seem as concerned because this condition often goes away while in the womb. We will continue to monitor his kidneys at the 9 month u/s and another after he is born to determine the next step, if one is needed at all.
I've lost 2 pounds, I think we can blame that on the nasty virus I had last week. I'm measuring 2 days earlier but that is about it. Carter was cute as can be sticking his tongue out at us, showing us his little but long fingers and all his little toe toes. He appears to have some hair but can only imagine more will grow, a lot more judging by his father and mother...he will be a baby chiapet!
Here are some of the ultrasound pictures.

Carter & Baby Pate Pics

You may know my best friend, Alex Pate, but for those that don't we have known each other since high school, were roommates in college and will be life long friends. In 1999 we thought it would be so cute to get Christmas pictures made of us and our Rottweilers (Ramsey and Niner). We went out bought matching shirts and Uncle Armando took our photos. We loved them! We bought enough to send to every friend and family member we could think of.

I know, awful haircut for me!!

I couldn't resist taking pictures of us both pregnant to add to the collage of pictures so before Baby Pate arrives we took a couple quick shots. Jon and Alex aren't finding out the sex so it will be very interesting to see what Baby Pate is because we are thinking it is a girl from the difference in the way we are carrying these kiddos.

Alex is 36 weeks and I'm 26 weeks:

Reggie is healed!

Reggie went for his check-up this mroning and he is healed! We were told he is healed and didn't need to come back in again. They were sad to not be able to see him again and said he was such a sweet boy. He needs to take it easy for the next week but overall he is good to go! Finally the drama ends and we get our puppy back. I'm one happy Mama and his daddy is a very happy Papa.

A Month Later...

Wow so much has happened in the past month. Here is a LONG update on Baby O and our little Reginald.

Monday, October 18th was CHAOS for our family of four. We woke up early to take Reggie to the doctor since his foot/leg was leaking stuff out that smelt unbearable. We had to drop him off and let the doctors evaluate his condition. Meanwhile, we rushed to our 'Baby O' appointment to find out the sex and health of the baby.

After waiting patiently we were finally getting an ultrasound done and got the exciting news, 'It's a BOY!' We were so happy, me because I'm not the girly type and Cory because his checkbook will still be in the black and not adding to the drama of our little family.

As we are waiting for Dr. Balat to come in that wonderful husband of mine decides he doesn't want to name him the name we have had picked out for 4 months! As I'm sitting there in a blank stare at him, he comes up with a name. I'm still staring at him but with more of an 'are you kidding me' stare. Where does he come up with these random thoughts and names? So yes, we are having a boy and no, we don't have a name for our sweet boy. The doctor finally comes in and reviews Baby O's measurements/tests and everything looked great/normal (whatever that is). In the meantime I will pray for a strong boy name and have the faith God will see it through.
Now we are off back to Reggie's doctor for an update. Due to Reggie's continuous movements on his leg, his splint is shifting and rubbing a wound (hole) in his leg. Since the doctor couldn't leave it exposed until we got back he showed us pictures of it, disgusting! Now we aren't concerned at all with the broken leg because if this doesn't get better it can lead to amputation! The doctor decided to remove the splint and leave the wound wrapped up with stitches along with the infected foot that was extremely swollen and looked like raw meat and explained he is to have NO activity, aka dog rest. I wasn't sure how that would happen but thankfully I had to work 12+ hour days at my company’s golf tournament all week so he was bound to the kennel.

I guess kennel time is paying off! A week later, he went in for a checkup and we were told things are looking much better. Finally we are seeing the light! Well we thought we were, then we are told the pad on his foot has 'fluffed' and he needs to come back in tomorrow to be sedated and have it cleaned out. That day came and he got more stitches and told no activity again, but things are looking better.

I've skipped many appointments through this blog and have tried to remember to take pictures of every color cast, splint and wrap he has had to show the number of times he has gone to the doctor. I think they are running out of colors because we have duplicated colors but here is a list thus far: blue, green, pink, yellow, blue, green, blue, fluorescent orange, yellow, blue, green, yellow, yellow, fluorescent orange…you get my drift! We were told he had to come in everyday that week to have a check-up. CHAOS I tell you, CHAOS!

So at that point I have had no time to think about my excitement with Baby O being a boy, had time to debate with my hubby on a name or much less thought about how I want the room. Of course I'm stoked about first God answering our prayers and blessing us with a baby boy and second being a mom to something with two legs, but again God knew what we could handle and gave us a boy, one who doesn't require a decked out room or any of the details little girls come with.

Throughout the next two weeks my belly grew! After being back in the office my colleagues who hadn't heard about me expecting were shocked to see a HUGE bump (it makes me feel good to call it that still). I feel great, just a little winded at times especially bending over to put on the plastic cover on Reggie’s foot before he goes outside each time.

After taking Reggie to the doctor everyday for almost 2 weeks, we were getting a day off because he was doing so well. After each appointment, Grandma Charlotte picks him up and goes home with her. She’s been such a lifesaver during this chaos and deserves an award especially after this story. That day she takes Reggie out to potty and comes back inside. She is taking off his leash and now his plastic cover and Reggie sees the door open goes to paw at it and takes off running down the driveway and through the mud. I get a call at work and it is the very irate Grandma Charlotte and she is telling me this story but I have to cut her off because I was in a meeting. After my meeting finished, I called Cory and asked what happened he tells me and we both bust out laughing. Just thinking about how mad she was is still so funny to this day especially when she still hadn’t caught him yet. She was done chasing after him and trying to lure him with a treat she went inside and shut the door. He would come to the backdoor and look at her and she would go towards the door and he would bolt again. She finally caught the ‘little bastard’ and called me to tell me she was taking him back to the doctor and I could pick him up there. I called the vet and told him a very angry Grandma was coming in with Reggie and that I would pick him up after work. After work I went to get the ‘little bastard’ and the receptionist was laughing and told me how mad my Mother in law was.

Fast forward and we are now 22 weeks and have finally agreed on a name…drum roll please…Carter Reid Ormsby! I have always loved the name Carter for a boy but love it for a girl too (especially since one of our good girlfriends name is Carter). Reid is Cory’s middle name and Cory’s late father’s middle name. I love initials and want to pass down a Galligan tradition of having the same initials as our parents.

I don’t know how many times I was asked if I had felt Baby O yet, but finally I felt the little man last week. I was laid up in bed with a migraine and felt something, not knowing if that was gas or what everyone had been calling a ‘flutter’ I continued to lay there hoping to feel it again. It happened, over and over again. Such a cool experience, but I couldn’t get too excited since I was feeling like death.

Reggie went in and had his leg x-rayed and the broken leg still isn’t healed, we have 2 more weeks of restricted activity. They removed the bandage for his paw and have put him in a lampshade (e-collar) to keep him from licking the pad and causing moisture to get in and for the pad to open up again. We go back Friday and hopefully we don’t have to go back in between there and can catch that break finally.

So do you think we have lived an exciting and chaotic last month?

Reggie update

He is walking, trotting, sitting and laying much better these days. He seems to be a little depressed but I think it is due to him being constrained.
I took Reggie in on Wednesday and we received good and bad news. Good news, he is out of his full cast and is in a splint in less than a week. The doctor thinks this might be more comfortable for him and he seems to be doing much better. His leg is still wrapped like a cast but there is only half in there. Bad news, he got an infection on his paw and it is nasty looking. I left the bag cover (which was to be worn outside in the wet, not 24/7 per the doctor) on and moisture got in and now has an infection on his paw. This is another reason why we have the half cast on. He not only has an infection but he was eating his cast on the top part so the doctor is making him wear this ridiculous lamp shade that he HATES. I’m not sure who hates it more, him or Grandma Charlotte, since Grandpa Marshall and her decided to take it off him and sit with him in their front yard and watch him the entire time so he didn’t have to wear it. He isn’t spoiled. Here is a picture of his 3rd cast, now a pink/red with green clover on it.
We go back to the doctor on Friday to get another follow-up, especially on the paw. I wonder what color we will get next...

Reggie update

The past few nights have been horrible. I think we are being tested on parenthood by only getting 2-3 hours of sleep and not knowing how to help this lil boy in pain. He cried continuously. We try to cuddle with him, pet him but nothing seems to help him.
I took him back Friday morning to the doctor and told him that he was continuously crying and he said sometimes their leg is swells after they put the cast on and it gets too tight for them causing pain. They took off his cast and gave him a larger one that happens to be green and say ‘I Love U’ in pink on it. He is his mother’s child, Delta Zeta colors! He told me I can up his pain dosage and that he might just be wimpy, he is still a puppy.

We left and he was drugged and sleepy. I thought things were going great until 30 minutes later when he woke up and continuously started crying again. It is crazy that he is in this much pain and nothing is helping him.
Fast forward a couple of days and we have had some sleepless nights. He is on 24 hour care and seems to be worse during the evening time. He is getting used to his ‘peg leg’ which is great since my back was starting to hurt picking him up 20+ times a day. We go back on Wednesday for a check-up and hopefully by then he will be feeling much better.
We are praying for some type of comfort for him quickly.
I have captured every moment of this accident (besides the fall):

A Broken Leg...

At 6:45 this morning Reggie was walking around the bed and slipped and fell off the bed. Cory heard a snap and he instantly was crying so loud. We quickly turned on the light and there he was laying on his bed holding his leg up, shaking and crying continuously.
We went to his vet and the doctor told us she thinks he broke his leg or tore his ACL. At this time Reggie is in so much pain he is crying louder and louder. She said she recommends we take him to the specialist and let them do the x-rays and access him. She called the doctor there and he told her what pain medi to give him to get him comfortable.
We arrived at NHVS and Dr. Payne, yes the name worried Cory too, was very comforting. He said Reggie was in too much pain to have a torn ACL and that is highly unlikely in dogs his age, almost 6 months old, he thought he broke his leg. He recommended sedating him and then doing x-rays, which would take an hour, so we could discuss our options.
We ran to get something to eat and hurried back and the doctor said he did break his leg, but didn’t need surgery. Whew, a couple of the $ signs came down in my hubby’s eyes. They didn’t want to wait for us and have to sedate Reggie again later so they went ahead and put a cast on him. He is currently recovering from the being sedated and will get to come home tonight!
Reggie will be in a cast for 4 weeks and then a splint for a couple more and will have minimal activity. This is going to be so tough since he loves playing with his brother. Join in with us and pray for a speedy recovery and for Reggie’s comfort during this time.

15 weeks

I had a doctor appointment on Monday and everything went well. They use a Doppler on me to hear the babys heartbeat, they don’t do an ultrasound after the big 12 week ultrasound, and at first it was taking the nurse some time to find the lil peanut. Finally she went lower and BAM there it was, a sigh of relief came out of her mouth…that was a tad scary. Anyways, the heartbeat was good. The doc came in and he decided to do an ultrasound so I got a picture of the lil guy. No it isn't a boy, I just say he. He was waving and then started kicking so they are surprised I haven’t felt him yet. The first part of the down syndrome test came back clear so the next part (spina bifida) will be done at the 19 week appt. So I go back on the 10/18/10 for the test and the ultrasound to find out what we are having!! SUPER EXCITING!!

Here are pics of the bump at week 15:

oh goodness this thing is getting huge:

13 weeks

Meet Baby O:

Check out my legs, I'm definitely going to be a soccer player:

Just floating in here and getting bigger:


I finally got around to posting some pictures of the little one now that 'it' looks like an actual baby. So fun! I wish I could say this pregnancy thing is fun, but gosh it has been tough. I was sick for almost a month with an upper respiratory infection and have been diagnosed with chronic migraines within the past month. I'm not taking any medicine now for my migraines, but did receive some shot to help num the pain and I think it did the trick for a day or so. However, the migraines are back and we are praying I get some relief soon from them.

On to the exiting news, Baby O is growing and we heard 'its' heartbeat last Monday. Baby O's heartbeat was at 156. Some say it is a girl and some say it is a boy, I wish someone would tell me for sure! We were told the expected date of delivery has been moved to March 11, 2011 (my best guy friend, Michael's b-day), but that date always changes. Thankfully! :) Baby O was very tired during the ultrasound so the tech, Ms. Stephanie, had to bang on 'it' to wake 'it' up. After that you couldn't stop 'it' from moving, stretching, boxing and kicking. After seeing the lil one on the ultrasound, Cory and I are getting more excited.

We are headed back to the doctor on Monday and will update you with any exciting news. I'll leave you with pictures of the ever growing belly. Here are pictures from week 13 and 14. My wonderful, supportive, encouraging husband said to me the other night before bed, 'Wow! That thing is getting BIG!' He is bound to win husband of the year! I'm having a difficult time understanding why I'm so big so quickly so if you were showing this much, please let me know so I can feel better. :)

Week 13 - super excited about doing this:



Week 14

Yes, Alex I know...lalala connect the dots...lalala..

The Ormsbys...soon-to-be population 5!

Baby O looking like a cabbage patch doll. :)

For some of you I’m sure you are ready to let the cat out of the bag and so are we, we are expecting Baby Ormsby in March 2011! After trying for months, going to doctors and specialists, going through numerous procedures (Cory and I), taking numerous drugs, being told we had a slim chance we decided to let go and let God have control. After many prayers I went in for a regular appointment to check on my cyst (I have PCOS), I was told I was pregnant, 5 weeks! Praise God! I was in complete shock and wanted to cry but then again I was in shock and Cory wasn’t there. After a two hour appointment I called Cory and told him the exciting news. His first reaction was ‘shut-up’ (wow, we have some adjusting to do before baby O gets here) and his second reaction was ‘you made me go through all those tests and spend all that money…see I told you it wasn’t me!’ My sweet hubby!

After finding out I realized all the signs I should have paid a little closer attention to: dizziness, exhaustion, dehydrated, a lovely pooch and being sick after a margarita! It was like a light switch turned on and I went from being normal to feeling nauseous all day. I was miserable! We all know I love to eat and love queso and guacamole, these two things made me sick, everything made me sick. My cravings: pickled okra, Wendy’s baked potatoes with sour cream and chives, fruit bars and ice cream! Fast forward to 10 weeks and I finally felt better and gained some energy before our trip to Charleston and Savannah.

Now that we are at the end of our first trimester we are excited about our new chapter in life! Please continue to pray for Baby O’s health and protection and wisdom for Cory and I in the days to come.

Our Trip to Charleston & Savannah

We finally booked a trip with the Murphy's and headed to Charleston, SC for a couple of days and then drove to Savannah, GA for the remainder of the trip. We understand now why they don't put in any things to do in August because it is so hot...oops! Besides that we had a wonderful time stuffing our faces with tons of good food, looking at some historic places and did I mention the food?

Reggie is 4 months!

Most of you haven't seen Reggie since he was a lil puppy so here are some updated pictures of our lil man who was 32.7 lbs at his 4 month check up! Since he attends grandma daycare several times a week he has learned how to sit, give paw, high five, lay down, speak, stay, swim and play hide and seek. Yes, grandma Charlotte is very busy with this boy in the brown suit as she calls him. Cory told his mom before we went on our trip, 'he is my best friend!' I'm not sure what happened to me being his best friend, I guess I have been replaced by a 4-legged boxer. Enjoy some pictures of our lil man over the past few months. :)

Meet Reggie!

Well you guessed it, we broke down and got us another dog, Reggie. The past few days Cory has been looking for a little boxer boy and found one on Wednesday night. He must have had a side conversation with his mom about getting a dog and his concern of keeping it in a kennel all day as a puppy. She said she would watch him during the days and even meet me at the front of Kingwood each morning to pick him up.

We had dinner plans that evening with the Carpenters who just got done with the puppy stage and reminded me why I didn’t want one, but that didn’t stop us so we headed to the house with the pups. I asked Cory if he had cash, expecting him to say no because we don’t carry cash (we love AMEX points), and he said yes! Clearly he had it in his mind we were getting a new boy!

We arrived at the house and they brought two boys in to see us, who were little but of course adorable. The wife kept telling the husband there was a 3rd male go get it. Like most women, when we know something is there we might as well go look/get it ourselves. She brought in our boy Reggie, who looked much bigger than the rest. The mom had 12 puppies, which was by accident, the owner’s sister came over with their boxer and something happened and now there were puppies! It took us forever to decide which one and during the process I broke down and started crying. I missed my Buddy. After going back and forth and almost walking off with two different ones, I let Cory have the final decision, he chose Reggie.

As we were headed home we realized we needed puppy food so we found a Petsmart and ended up with puppy food (hard & wet), puppy shampoo, and puppy pads. We get to the card and Petsmart is closed and we realized we forgot to get Sam food…oops, so Cory ran back in and got some.

We finally got home and let Sam come in the front yard to see Reggie (who was nameless until Thursday morning). He gave him a sniff and moved on to use the bathroom.



We had bath time and he whined like a baby until Cory was in the tub with him. After the bath he crashed for the night, first on the couch and then we moved him to his bed, next to our bed. Amazingly he slept through the night with no crying or accidents…I’m scared we are jinxing ourselves by bragging about this!




I’m hesitant on posting this because we want to surprise my family this weekend but I doubt they read this blog. So meet Cory’s new sparkle of his eye, Reggie, but one that will never replace the old sparkle, our baby boy Buddy.

Cinderella paid a visit

I was helping my friend move a week ago and saw she was giving away a Cinderella dress/costume to Goodwill. The selfish side of me took the dress so I could have it to surprise my little niece and nephew that weekend since they were coming in town and Mimi and I were taking them to see Disney on Ice! That Saturday morning I transformed into a beautiful princess, Cinderella. I was on my way to my parents house and called to let them know I was about to be there. Ding dong...It’s Cinderella!





Mason was so shy and I wasn’t sure if she knew it was me or not, but surely she would have said, ‘hi auntie’ if she did. She gave Cinderella a hug and ran to put on her Cinderella dress. After showing me a couple of her twirls in her beautiful dress we posed for a couple of pictures. However, she wouldn’t look at the camera, she kept starring at me and I for sure she knew it was me, but nope. Mimi told her to give Cinderella a kiss…how many of you moms/grandmas would tell their child to kiss a stranger?? Mimi you are funny!







I told her I would see her at the show and to be good because I would be watching her. She gave me a big hug and I left. She told Mimi she wanted to see what I rode off in and she opened the door and Cinderella was gone!

I changed in the garage (classy) and came in the house a few minutes later where Mason told me all about her Cinderella visit! I asked Mason what color hair did Cinderella have and she said yellow. I said oh she had blonde hair, no she had yellow. Clearly my wig wasn’t very good! PawPaw asked her which Cinderella was prettier, the real one or the one in the movie and she said the real one. PawPaw thought that was debatable! After the MS150, Bry and Tiff got the kids and Mason wouldn’t stop talking about Cinderella. My lovely brother asked her ‘did she have a big butt’ and Mason said ‘no daddy, she was beautiful!’

The things we do for our precious kiddos. Knowing she enjoyed her visit that much and has lasting memories was worth it all.

A side note: If any of you want to borrow it just let me know! If any of you need buzz, I’m nominating my hubby!