Memories of Us

39 Weeks

My mom saw me yesterday for the first time in about two weeks and said "You are officially HUGE."  And seriously, I feel huge.  I was getting into the shower this morning and caught a glimpse of my belly in the mirror and thought to myself how absurdly big and round I am.  Unlike my first pregnancy though, I'm pretty much all belly.  It looks like I swallowed a basketball.  Or more like a beach ball.  Or, perhaps a even a PUMPKIN!
My husband is quite the artist, huh?!  We had such a blast doing this!  Of course standing there while he painted actually started giving me contractions though.  And my husband demanded that if I actually WAS in labor I had to leave the pumpkin paint on my belly for the amusement of the doctors.  But alas, the contractions subsided soon after I started walking around.  False alarm.  AGAIN.  False alarms have been frequent and frustrating this time around.  Every night I think, THIS is the night.  I have contractions and feel crampy and go into nesting overdrive only to wake up pregnant the next morning (after a few mid-night bathroom runs of course).  It's incredibly annoying.  Especially considering that I'm anxious on a whole new level to have this baby before he reaches toddler proportions.  And thankfully, I'm not the only one.

My doctor's appointment went almost exactly as I expected.  The nurses hook me up for a non-stress test and my doctor comes in as I'm being monitored.  The first thing she says to me is "So, you're growing a giant."  I laughingly reply "I guess so.  I'm a little nervous about that."  To which SHE replies, "So am I."  NOT COMFORTING!  She then says, "Let's pick a day to have this baby."  And I say, "Yes, please."  The hospital here won't allow voluntary inductions before 39 weeks.  She called trying to get me in for tomorrow (Monday) but the earliest opening they had was for Tuesday night.  So, unless I go into labor on my own before then, I go in Tuesday night to begin the induction process.  She was pleased with my progress during the exam, which makes me feel like the induction will be successful.  Before she left, as words of comfort I suppose, she told me, "The good news is that his stomach is the same size as his head.  So if you can deliver the head, the rest of him will be no problem."  So, those words would have been WAY more comforting had she NOT said "IF you can deliver the head." IF?!   Sheesh.  Whatever, I'm just keeping a positive outlook here.  There's nothing I can do but push with all my might.  Anyway, so I'll have a baby on Wednesday and be home with my family of 4 by Friday.  Just in time to dress up my boys for Halloween pictures!  My boys!  I love it!

While still not all-over-swollen like I was with Will, I have seriously begun to swell at this point.  The lower half of my body has seemingly doubled in size.  While that might be a slight exaggeration, it's not far off.  I have tree trunks for legs and feet that would make a hobbit proud.  It surely must be all the weight and pressure of this big baby trapping fluid in my legs, because the top half of me looks normal, if not a bit skinnier actually.  I guess I should just be grateful for that and forget about the atrocity that is my legs.  After all, the bridesmaid dress I have to wear December 4th is floor length so no one will SEE the hideousness if it takes me two months to deflate like it did last time.  Seriously.  TWO MONTHS.  Anyway, at least the dress is floor length.  Thank God.  And Jill, for her excellent dress selection.

Will has a well-visit tomorrow.  It's his 15-month visit, only he's nearly 16 months by now.  I'm anticipating that he'll receive the MMR vaccine.  I'm scared. 

Anyway, to end on a happy note, here are some adorable pictures of my first born!  Oh what a joy he is to us!

Two of his favorite things.  Woofwoof and trucks.  Please be sure to admire the blue edging tape holding down the corners of my rugs.  This is what happens when they sit rolled up on a moving truck for a month and a half.

Having a lazy morning with Daddy watching his favorite movie (Cars).

Daddy is fun!

9 Pounds

So, I had my ultrasound yesterday evening.  Baby Number Two is estimated to be 9 lbs exactly at 38 weeks and 3 days.  I won't lie, I'm nervous about that.  The thought of birthing a 9 lb baby is scary enough, but knowing that he will likely be BIGGER by the time I actually go into labor kind of terrifies me.  I know that ultrasound estimates can be inaccurate, however they were nearly spot on in their estimate for Will.  I had an ultrasound when I was overdue by 2 days with him and they told me 8lbs 5 oz.  Will was born 8lbs 9 oz.  So, that's pretty darn close.  Plus, the fact that Will was big supports the idea that this little guy will be too.  He's measured big on all three of the ultrasounds I've had in the past two months.  You know, and then there's this humongous belly I'm sporting.  So, I'm totally buying the 9 lb estimate.  And it leaves me scared, wondering if I can do this the old fashioned way.  Because I don't really want to think about having a c-section.  There is the procedure itself, which less than thrills me, but even more so there's the fact that I wouldn't be able to pick up anything heavier than like 10 pounds for WEEKS.  My toddler is 25 pounds!  How would that even work?!  Especially since he's going to have trouble adjusting to the new baby as it is.  Sharing me is going to be hard for him and if I can't even pick him up, he's going to feel it that much more acutely.  And if Jamie gets put on a trip soon after the birth, which is a near certainty, what would we do?  I just don't even want to consider the c-section option.

I see my doctor tomorrow and I'm sure she'll have something to say about the ultrasound.  I'm kind of anticipating that she'll schedule an induction for this weekend actually.  I'm still 10 days away from my due date, which is enough time for little man to gain nearly another whole pound.  I can't imagine ANYONE thinking that would be a good thing.  It sure would be nice to just go into labor spontaneously on my own though.  Inductions have a bad rap for resulting in c-sections.  I have no idea how/if things are progressing towards labor either since this practice doesn't start doing exams until 38 weeks.  Considering how many contractions I've been having and how much he's dropped into my pelvis though, I'm guessing that I'm at least dilated and effaced a little.  I'm curious to find out, though not really looking forward to it (because WHO looks forward to THAT?!).  However, sometimes those exams can induce labor too, which would be nice.  You know what would be awesome?!  If I were already dilated to like, 5 cm, so I could just go in once labor starts and get the epidural right off the bat.  Then maybe I could like, sleep! and relax! while I psych myself up for pushing this giant kid out.

In other news, Will's new favorite beverage is bathwater. I'm not sure whether to be proud that he's drinking out of a cup like a big boy or disgusted that he's drinking dirty, soapy water.  I've tried to stop him, but it's no use.  He's a persistent little booger.

38 Weeks

I am captioning this photo "Would you come out already?!"  I'm kidding really, kind of.  Little dude is welcome to stay in there, but I'd really prefer he not at this point.  I'm actually starting to get a little concerned by the size issue.  He's got to be approaching 8 lbs now, though I wouldn't be surprised if he were already even bigger than that.  I'll find out on Wednesday when I have yet ANOTHER ultrasound.  This time though it is specifically to see how big he is to determine if inducing a little early might be in order.  I know I kind of proved myself capable of handling a big baby with Will, but you know, I have my limits and I'd rather not find them.  Plus, this baby is ALL up in my business ALL the time.  He is still VERY active and sometimes I think he's trying to kick his way out through my diaphragm.  I can literally SEE which side of my belly he's laying on and feel his feet and legs with my HAND as he wiggles and stretches.  And he's so LOW at this point that I literally thought he was going to FALL OUT as I walked around Target yesterday.  I pee constantly and I have heartburn 24/7, and I know it's because things are so cramped in there.  I'm just ready to hold this sweet boy in my arms and repossess my body again.  I know I'll be tired and sleep deprived taking care of a newborn (and Will!), but at least I'll be physically able to sleep when I get the chance.  At this point, I tend to wake up in the morning feeling as though I haven't slept at all, my hip joints hurt after laying still, and my organs all feel squished.  Look at me complaining!  You'd think I don't appreciate the miracle of this new little life.  I promise you that I do.  I'm just experiencing the normal end of pregnancy miseries.  It's this suckiness that makes you grateful for labor when it finally does come.  Because seriously, in no other scenario would pushing a watermelon out your hooha seem like a good thing.  But right now, it really really does.  So, I guess I'm ready.

Well, naptime didn't happen today.  I'm blaming Daddy because he didn't have the heart to let Will cry himself to sleep.  I have developed the SAHM heart of stone when it comes to naptime, but Daddy is still soft when it comes to the tears.  Things started out normally, with Jamie rocking him until he was asleep, but then Will pulled the old "wake up and cry when you put me down" trick.  And Daddy tried to let it play out.  He really did.  But he only lasted about 8 minutes.  Pushover.  Amateur.  Anyway, so Will won.  And he was a little monster the rest of the afternoon.  However, when I came back down from having vacuumed the upstairs, this is what I discovered.
They slept like this for well over an hour.  Until 5:15 to be exact.  This does not bode well for a kid who typically starts the bedtime routine at 6:30.  It doesn't bode well for Daddy either.  I hope he enjoyed this
because who the hell knows when Will is going to sleep tonight.