Maxxed Out...

So, I think I might have been a little more energetic and done a little bit better about posting this week, but we were Maxxed out (literally).
This is Maxx.

On Saturday we got a call from one of my friends that she had found a stray pit bull puppy and didn't know what to do with him, but didn't want to leave him out on the streets. She works two and half jobs or so and so she was in no place to own a dog. So we agreed to help her save him and find him a home. Little did we know what we were in for.
When we first went over, she had decided to call him Maxx. He was a completely loving little snuggle bug and we couldn't help but want to find him a good home, so we set out to doing so. We set our friend up with a crate, bowls, food, a leash, etc and made a plan to come and check on him while she was working on Sunday.
I sent out a email and we made some posts on various sites trying to find him a home that night. We soon found that the world is full of terrible people who were looking to exploit an un-neutered pit bull puppy (no matter how sweet his temperment) and use him to fight, or breed, or for worse. That said, we had to change our approach and started to realize that finding a home for a pit might be a lot harder than finding a home for a black lab or something else.
Sunday, when we went to take care of him, we found that he had somehow managed to escape from his crate and had eaten our friends blinds in two windows as well as chewed her door frames. The crate itself was still closed which made the situation all the more odd. Ultimately, we cleaned up, took him to see if he was micro-chipped (he was not) and warned our friend about the damage she'd find when she came home.
We continued on our quest to find him a home, contacting shelters (all of them put pit bulls down immediately more or less) and rescue groups (none seemed responsive about pit bulls save a few that were full).
Monday night we thought we might have found him a home and brought him to our house and gave him a bath. Turner and our neighbor took him to see if the guy was interested and alas, he was not. When Maxx came back, I cried as I was so stressed out that no one wanted him except for bad purposes. He sat in my lap and licked my tears which made it even worse (at least if he were a mean puppy it might be easier).
Tuesday when talking to one of the rescue groups that could take him if we came up with $300 for a 10 x 10 enclosure as they were out of space, I mentioned that he had a discharge from my eyes. They informed me that was a sign of distemper, so we wound up taking Maxx to the vet that night. Several dollars later, we found that Maxx didn't have distemper and instead had a respiratory infection. We also got him all of his shots, flea treated and wormed while we were at it.
I've neglected to mention that during all of this time, Turner was going to our friend's house every day at lunch and again after work to ensure Maxx go fed and walked, etc, since she had to go to work, etc. He was (and is) an absolute saint.
On Wednesday we finally got legitimate interest (well, Turner did) from one of Turner's co-workers. She went over to our friends after work to meet Maxx and decided she wanted to adopt him. However, she was going out of town until Sunday, so she couldn't get him until then. At that point, we thought he would probably be okay at our friend's until Sunday.
That is, until she called us last night to let us know that he had again broken out of his crate, eaten what was left of her blinds, her window sills, more door frame, his leash and several pairs of shoes. Worse even, when she tried to take him out to go to the bathroom (remember, he ate his leash), he got away. So Turner and I headed over around 10:30 to hunt for Maxx. We walked the streets and drove around, periodically taking breaks to pick up some of the mass destruction he'd unleashed. Finally, about 1 am we found him wondering several blocks over, hanging with some thugs and a little bitty dog. We scooped him up, took him back to our friends and re-secured his crate with padlocks and then headed home to bed. We had heard from a neighbor that a female dog was in heat nearby so that may have prompted his fervor to escape.
All that said, we realized that to make it through the weekend and ensure he was neutered so we could minimize further crazy behavior we had to change the plans. So we are now boarding Maxx at our vet for the weekend and then taking him to a different (more affordable) vet on Monday to get neutered. And since we have all kind of maxed out our funds, I put out a plea to my network of animal rescuers and lovers and was able to come up with the amount of money we'd need to cover the cost of his neutering, etc. I called my email "It takes a village to save a Maxx" and I have to say it is true.
As much as the last week has been frustrating, finding that very few people really care about this dog, especially because his breed is unpopular, and want to use him for horrible purposes, there are also lots of people who are willing to pitch in, help out and donate to make it possible for him to have the best start with his new owner possible. And I, lucky me, happen to know them all.
Thanks to everyone who helped out with Maxx. You can bet you'll (finally) get a happy ending email instead of another plea for help come Tuesday.
Love to all,
J

Week 28 Update & Newborn Class

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

So that's exciting stuff. Quinn is more active now, though I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what stimulates him. He was kicking the other day at work and my friend Tracey got to feel him kick once (she's the first human to feel him!). However, once he figured out he was being felt for, he went back into Baby Ninja Stealth Mode, so he only gave her one good kick.

We also took our newborn class at Centennial this week. We learned how to give newborns baths, circumcision and cord care, basic feeding information, swaddling, diaper changes, etc. We were each given a doll and had to hold it for the entire class. Most of the people were further along than us in their pregnancy and yet seemed to struggle with holding the babies all the time. We had to hand off babies to one another when we went to the bathroom and such, and we didn't struggle with that either thanks to Lyla and Pressley. I think we were the class rock stars :-)I had a boy doll who looked like he was in the middle of a scream and Turner got a girl who was very peaceful looking. He kept accusing me of trying to switch our babies when we took turns holding them both. All that said, it was fun (or funny at points) and informative. We may take an infant CPR class as well.

As for the rest of our week, see my upcoming post re: Maxx.

Love,
J
(Who is posting as Turner because she is lazy and tired)

Week 27 Update...Only 13 more!!!

Week 27

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

I haven't felt any hiccups yet, and in general he doesn't move a ton and is VERY erratic when he does. No one has felt him move yet but me (and Garcia).

As for us, not too much has changed since last I blogged :-) We did go to the Vandy v USC game last night and very disappointingly lost to Vandy. It was my first Gamecocks game and was a lot of fun (save the part where we lost). I'll try and post some pictures later. Meanwhile, Turner was pleasantly surprised to see that I had been telling the truth all along and I really enjoy live sporting events, I just can't watch them on tv. And I managed to haul my pregnant self up 30+ stairs 3 times during the game for bathroom trips :-) I felt pretty tough. Granted, there were lots of Vandy girls going up and down repeatedly in heels and coctail dresses, so maybe I'm not that tough afterall.

I'm posting a picture of one of my favorite Quinn outfits that his Grandmother Turner got him for his baby shower. I just fell in love with this outfit when I saw it and though I hadn't registered for it yet, Turner's mother somehow amazingly got it for Quinn. I figured since I can't post baby pix yet, I can at least post pictures of really cute clothes he'll wear in the future.

Love to all,

Jessica

Greenville Baby Shower

So, while we were in Greenville visiting Turner's family, his mother, grandmother, Aunt Susan and sister Regina hosted a baby shower for us so we could celebrate with friends and family there. It was a lot of fun (save the part where we awkwardly opened presents which apparently we aren't very good at-especially judging by our pictures)! We really appreciate all the effort they made in advance and all the work that they, David, Joelle, Daddy (Turner's) and Granddaddy made on the day of the shower.

Here's a shot of Turner and his mother at the shower. I jokingly took this because every time that he wears this light blue polo, Turner gets it dirty, so I thought I'd get a shot before that happened. Amazingly enough, even with eating dinner at the shower (Granddaddy made delicious hot dogs and we had chips and beans, etc), Turner managed to stay clean! Maybe in preparation for being a dad himself he is trying to be less messy.

This is me and Aunt Susan at the shower. I thought I took a lot of pictures at the shower, but somehow I managed to fail to get pix of lots of people including Granddaddy, Steve, Candace, Rivers and Delaney, and so on. I guess I shouldn't have tried to photograph the shower myself. Granted, Regina did all of the picture taking while we opened gifts. She was a complete trooper, bringing us each gift and taking away the wrapping paper, etc. I'm not sure I would have been as good a sport.


This is David and Joelle and her dad, Ken, with Lyla. Joelle's family had just gotten back from a week long vacation at the lake so we were glad they were able to make it.


Of course, the real stars of the shower were the girls (See Lyla chilling with her Uncle Chris). Everyone enjoyed seeing them and playing with them so much. And we were truly showered with gifts. Along with the video monitor, and walk n ride, we got a bilingual guitar, the frog bath tub scoop and bath toys, a set of bottles, a travel booster seat, several books and TONS of clothing! (Plus I'm sure I'm leaving something out in this list..... Quinn already has a complete 0-3 mo wardrobe and save a few sleepers and a few pairs of pants for 3-6 mo is almost set for that as well. We're so lucky to have so many people who love Quinn (and want him to be the best dressed baby boy in the world) and we were so glad to get to celebrate with everyone in Greenville.
Thanks again to all for all of your work on the shower!
Much love,
J

Additional Baby Shower Pictures

It may just be that I'm not that bright, but I cannot figure out how to add more than 5 pictures to a post, so here are a few additional pictures from the baby shower.

Mother and Grandmother at the Shower.


Lyla standing (with a little help from her dad at the shower.


Pressley and her (doting) granddaddy.



As a forewarning to anyone else who may be forced to attend a shower for us, Turner and I are not very good at opening presents and having our pictures taken at the same time. Though Regina tried dilligently, one or the other of us looked more or less insane in many of the pictures (I secretly think this is funny as I always look wacked out in pictures and Turner looks perfect, so for once we are on equal footing).

This is us opening the video monitor from Aunt Susan, Grandmother and Granddaddy.

This is the Walk n Ride that Quinn's Grandmother and Granddadddy (Turner's mother and daddy) got for him.

Trip to Greenville

Hey, all!

Just thought I'd post a rundown of our trip to Greenville with some pictures. We got in late on Friday (actually early am Saturday, I think) and headed to Chris and Regina's. Darwin and Garcia hadn't seen their cousin Napoleon in quite some time, so they were excited to get a chance to hang out with him. This was their first trip to Regina and Chris' since they got their new house. The boys really enjoyed the fenced in yard and exploring the two story house and all. Plus they love Regina and Chris, so it was a perfect visit as far as Darwin and Garcia were concerned. Garcia even convinced Napoleon to play with him quite a bit (which just shows how brave Napoleon is as Garcia is approximately 5 times his size)!

This is Regina at the shower. I thought the boys would want her included here as they seemed to consider abandoning me for their new dog mom and dad, Regina and Chris, this weekend.

Saturday we met Turner's parents at Taco Casa for lunch (Turner's most favorite Greenville restaurant with really cheap daily specials) and then headed over to see Grandmother, Granddaddy and Aunt Susan. David and Joelle got into town and brought Pressley and Lyla over and we all headed to the pool which was awesome as I'd been hoping to go swimming for some time. It was great to see Lyla and Pressley as we haven't seen them since May and they have grown so much. They still look very different from one another and they're even developing in different ways. Lyla can sit up and rolls all over the place while Pressley has two (very sharp) teeth and can almost stand up of her own accord. They're amazing!

This is a game that the girls' Granddaddy and Uncle Chris made up at the shower that I like to call "Baby Wars". It involves the two girls being swung towards each other and by their expressions, is perhaps one of the most fun games on earth!

Pressley clearly thinks she is winning at Baby Wars in this picture....

But in this picture, Lyla has the upper hand. No matter who wins or loses, though, Baby Wars seemed to be great fun for all and I'm sure gave both Granddaddy and Uncle Chris a good work out!

Saturday night we all met up at Turner's parents and watched the Clemson v. Alabama game. (Well, I didn't really watch it, but it was on. I think we were rooting against Clemson). Fortunately I had lots of people to visit with and babies to play with and a giant box of clothing that someone from Brenda's church had given us to go through. For once, I didn't get bored during a football game :-)

Sunday we went to church, had taco salad at Turner's parents (which was also the first meal that Turner ever made for me all by himself) and then rested a bit before the shower. I'll post separately about the shower so I can include some more pictures, but it was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we headed back to Grandmother, Granddaddy and Aunt Susan's and all hung out for quite a bit. Turner, David, Joelle, the twins and I then stopped off at Steve and Candace's which was fun as I'd never been to their house and I finally got to meet their dog, Bailey. (You know I love me some dogs!)

Monday, after a big breakfast with almost everyone at Stax, we headed out. It was really a great weekend and we really enjoyed seeing everyone, especially the twins. Lyla wasn't so sure about us, but Pressley in particular really seemed to like us and it was so much fun to play with her and see how much they both are discovering the world.

A shot of our very good travel companions on the way home!

Thanks to everyone!

Love to all,

Jessica

Week 26 Update (14 to go!!)

Week 26 Update:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

Who even knew there was such a thing as an English hothouse cucumber? I guess the quarter is to give us some perspective. So he's growing quite a bit and fattening up which makes me happy. He's gained a lot in the last week (which makes me feel better about the fact that my belly is getting bigger and bigger :-)

Nothing too exciting to pass on other than the week 26 update, really. We're headed to Greenville this weekend for our baby shower so I should have some pictures to post soon. Oh, and today in court, a police officer with no children told me how much having a baby would "change my life". I asked him what it would change specifically and he said, "you know, it will just be different". See, he just proved my point... unless you have some solid advice, that's just a weird thing to say. It's like me announcing that our new president will change our government to some degree.... well, of course they will! I felt kind of bad for writing my hormonal rant, but hearing it again this morning made me feel a tiny bit more justified.

Happy Labor Day and Love to All,

Jessica