Oh my it's been a while!!

I've determined that there is a specific gene encoded with a sequence to give a person the ability to keep a journal...I've also determined I completely lack this gene. Every journal I have ever tried to keep fades out of my life after about two weeks. Apparently, this phenomenon also applies to blogs. As I approach the end of this pregnancy, I will try very hard to keep current on this sucker.

Here is a new belly picture at 31 weeks...

I can't really believe that I'm already down to only 9 weeks or so! This is my favorite part of pregnancy...when the baby is always active, and I just feel happy with this big belly. I know that according to the ultrasounds we had, this kid only has two arms and two legs, but with all the movement and kicking (in multiple locations at once), I swear s/he has grown a couple more in the last few weeks!

The heat hasn't been too much of an issue, thanks to AC and tank tops, but I really hope we get a bit of a break soon. I feel bad about not being able to take the boys to the playground every morning like we used to do, but when it's over 80 degrees by 9 am, I just can't take that! Other than the discomfort of the heat from going out, I feel really good. No problems to speak of, just the usual back soreness which is vastly helped by chiropractic adjustments.

I'm on my 5th week of the Hypnobabies course, and although I'm finding it hard to get in all my practice, I really enjoy the deep relaxation I'm able to achieve with it. I think it will really help during my birth. I'm also finding it hard to listen to the CD's during the day, since it requires a half-hour of completely undisturbed time (not so easy to come by with two little ones!) So what usually happens is I only get to listen to the day's script as I go to bed...which means I get so relaxed I fall asleep halfway through. I think I'm going to have to figure out another way to get them in, because although I've been told it really won't make that big of a difference, I want to hear everything at least once!

In the last couple of weeks, I also started a quilt for the baby. Most of the fabric came from my Gramma Grace's fabric stash, but some came from Grandma Ethel's and a few pieces are from mine. The muslin for the back will be from Grandma Ethel. It makes me happy that even though neither of them is still with us, they are sort of still getting to be a part of this project. Here is a picture of the top completely pieced.

Now I have to do the actual quilting, which is where you sew all the layers (backing, batting, and the top) together and then finish the edges. The binding (the outermost border that seals off the edges) is going to be the lighter shade of green, to pull that color in again.

I suppose that's all for now, thanks for reading!

New pictures!

OK, so I finally took some new pictures of the belly. This is at 25 weeks this past Saturday:

Dominic has become fascinated with my belly every since we told him there is a baby in there. He wants to look at it all the time and play with my belly button. This next picture is of something we have coined the "Belly Bump".

Allow me to explain: Dominic will lift up his shirt and say "belly". At which point you are supposed to lift your shirt (exposing your belly) and get down to his level, so he can smoosh his bare belly against yours. We have no idea where he picked it up, but it's pretty darn cute. It should be noted that this isn't just a "mom's big pregnant belly" thing, as he does it to Joe all the time...except with Joe, Joe typically laying down and Dom will pull up both their shirts and then flop onto him. So there you have it...

What a crazy few weeks it's been! I know I haven't updated in a while, but I've been busy or sick for the last three weeks. We spent all of last week in WI, which was nice, but tiring! The boys got bored with the hotel room after about three hours. Luckily the weather was nice for the most part, and there was a great playground a few minutes from the hotel. I discovered that Dom loves to swing, and Zack loves sandboxes. We also went to the zoo with my in-laws, which was a really nice day. The boys loved the little monkeys!

Unfortunately, with the drastic changes the weather went through while we were there (75 and sunny one day, 52 and raining the next) my system didn't handle it so well, and I developed a nasty sinus infection this past Sunday as we arrived home. It has now moved into my chest, so I've got a nasty cough and am having trouble sleeping, but I'm managing.

I had a midwife appointment yesterday, and everything was great. For the most part I've been feeling wonderful,with the exception of some irritating heartburn. I'm going to have Joe pick up some liquid calcium from my midwife next week, and that should help that issue.

I'm 25 weeks today, and baby is in theory 13 1/2 inches long, and weighs about a pound and a half. Baby is incredibly active lately, and it is so cool to feel the little bug wiggling and squirming in there! I always miss this part of pregnancy when it's over. I have no inklings on gender, and don't intend to even attempt to guess, as I was completely wrong with Dominic. That's pretty much it for now...still no updated belly pics, as I just haven't been in the mood, but hopefully soon!

Oh, yeah...we're having a baby!

So it finally occurred to me this weekend that I'm actually going to have another baby in another few months, so I should really think about getting stuff ready for him/her. Yeah, yeah...I know...it only took 5 1/2 months for that to sink in. What probably prompted it was a fantastic find at a garage sale this weekend. I had stopped at this particular house to look at something else (I honestly don't remember what it was now) and I found this absolutely gorgeous changing table. We had borrowed one from some friends who now need it back as they just had another baby themselves, and it hadn't occurred to me that we were going to need another one...and this one is just beautiful! I paid a whopping $10 for it! It's solid wood, so it is incredibly sturdy. Dom was climbing on it and it barely moved. Once I got it in the house, it looked pretty empty, so I pulled out some of the baby stuff and put it in there. Seeing the blankets, diapers, and changing pad all set up was probably the precise moment that it really, finally sunk in that we have another little one on the way. Here is a picture:

My midwife appointment on Saturday was great. Baby was completely curled up on the right side, so my tummy was amusingly lopsided when I was laying down. Baby has been a lot more active in the last week or so, so that has been fun. Joe finally got to feel the baby kick last week, and seeing his face when that happens is always a joy for me.

On another note, the boys are finally better! It took about a week for them to get totally back to normal, but their eating like little horses again, so we're all good. I hope to never see that stomach virus again!

As for a tummy picture...this one is from a couple of weeks ago, I think I was 20 weeks...but you get the idea. The baby bump has gotten a bit bigger since then, so we'll have to take a more current one on a day when I actually bother to put makeup on. lol

Home again, home again jiggity jig

Well, it has been a crazy couple of weeks. The weekend before last, we went to WI for my niece's first communion, and this last weekend, we went up again for Tasha's. It will be nice to spend a few weekends at home!! We've all been battling a stomach bug, and the boys are actually down with it again today...mild fevers, vomitting, liquid BM...the joyous trio of motherhood!! I know they're not feeling even close to okay because it is absolutely gorgeous outside, and all they want to do is sit and cuddle.

I realized this weekend that it hasn't really sunk in how far along I am. I know I'm over half-way done, but it seems like the last couple of months are a blur. I've been really busy and I think because of that I haven't been able to focus on being pregnant like I did with the first two. With Zack, he was my first, so I spent a lot of time just focusing on what it was like to be pregnant for the first time. With Dom, he was going to be my homebirth VBAC, so I spent a lot of time doing everything I could to make that happen. I'm just so busy with the other two, I haven't had time to really focus on and enjoy this pregnancy. That's something I think I'll have to work on...

Baby is doing great. I've been feeling movement for a while now, and while not huge by any means, I've got a little belly going. We have another midwife appointment this weekend, and as usual I'm looking forward to hearing the little bug. According to Babycenter, the baby now looks like a miniature newborn, is around 10.9 inches and weighs almost 1 pound. For some reason, the idea that the baby is that big already is sort of strange to me. I guess I just don't feel that big yet!

Glad to be done with "them"!!

We had our ultrasound yesterday and the area they were so concerned about was completely gone. (Which, for the record, is what we fully expected, but the OB apparently didn’t. @@) She was still maintaining that it was a bleed that miraculously healed in the last month. Despite the fact a bleed that big would not have healed completely in four weeks off of bedrest, when three weeks on bedrest did nothing for it…but whatever, it wasn't really worth arguing with her. So we are now officially, and very happily done with the OB’s office. I am so glad I never have to go back there. We were scheduled for our ultrasound at 11:00, and our prenatal with the OB at 11:30. The day actually went like this:

10:45 - arrived at clinic with Joe and the boys
11:06 – get taken to sonogram room
11:20 – finally start ultrasound
11:30 – back to waiting room
11:35 – get called to a cubicle for weight and blood pressure
11:40 – back to waiting room
11:45 - get called to exam room
12:30 – (an entire hour late!!!) OB finally comes in
12:37 – OB visit over

It was RIDICULOUS!! It was even worse because of the boys getting completely bored while waiting around for the OB. A few minutes before the OB finally came in, we were walking the halls with the boys, a nurse asked if we wanted some toys from another room. I said, “No, I’d like to see the d*mn doctor.” Her office door was wide open so I’m pretty sure she heard me. When she finally came in the boys were throwing tantrums, and she kind of acted irritated that they were making noise, and she had to talk over them. Joe and I both made comments to the effect of “Well, what do you expect when you keep people waiting for an hour?” She never apologized once, but she did say, “Well, we do the best we can.” Whatever…if you people weren’t always late you wouldn’t have a board with pre-printed signs for how long each doctor is delayed. Had I known that we were going to be waiting in the exam room for 45 minutes, I’d have told the desk to cancel our appointment, tell the OB to review the u/s pics and to call us. I don’t get how women think that kind of care is respectful or good. It seems like anywhere I’ve gone for prenatal care in the mainstream model women are herded around like head of cattle, and there is seemingly no regard for the fact that a patient’s time is valuable. Why do women put up with that kind of treatment? Okay, rant over…like I said, I’m glad I don’t have to go back there again. I’ll stick with my midwife who I see immediately and who spends at least a half-hour with me at every visit.

I did get a small measure of satisfaction out of annoying the nurse. I didn’t bother to do a urine sample, since I did one last week for my midwife and it was fine. I didn’t feel like peeing in a cup, and paying them to do an analysis on it when I knew it was fine. When she asked me if I had a sample for her, I told her “no” and why. She said, “You did it where?” I repeated that I had done one with my midwife the week before and it was fine. She said, “Well, we need one here every time.” I said, “No you don’t. If I don’t feel like doing one, I’m not going to.” She got this totally shocked expression on her face and clearly had no idea what to say to that. She scribbled something in my chart and got out of the room as quickly as she could. Joe was laughing when she shut the door, and we were both like, “I don’t think anyone has ever told her ‘no’ before.” So that was kind of fun.

I will give the OB’s office credit for the way they treated us with regard to respecting the fact we wanted very basic care. They didn’t give us a hard time about refusing all the blood tests, which is something I didn’t want to have to stress about. I was very up front and told them that now that this issue has resolved, I don’t see us needing their services again, and the OB said she was glad things worked out and wished me a good birth.

So that’s that. We're happily back to our homebirth plans full speed ahead.

Just a quick update

I only have time for a quick update, but I wanted to post that I'm doing just fine. I've spent the last two weeks increasing my activity level, and I haven't had any pain, bleeding, or any signs of problems with the baby. We are even more convinced it is not a bleed.

I still get tired pretty easily, but I'm hoping as I get more active that will fade quickly I can say I feel about 75% back to normal. The boys are very good about self-entertaining when I need to sit down and rest. I've got quite the baby bump going, and will have to start posting pics of my belly profile soon. :o)