Caitlin: 18 months old

I honestly feel like we just got back from vacation. In August. Yet, here it is November and I'm not sure where the time has gone and what I've accomplished.

Caitlin has 7 teeth now. We are waiting for the last one to come in and even out. A few weeks ago, she ran fever and we kept her home. I'm pretty sure it was related to a slight ear infection, but I also waited on that 8th tooth to break through.

We're still wearing the 18 month clothes, though we unloaded the 24 month container last weekend. I was pretty sad doing that, because I wanted to go shopping for new stuff. Thankfully for my wallet, Caitlin has many hand me downs. We've been in the size 5 shoes for a while, but I am starting to think they are getting too small. The girl does love her shoes. I find it hard to try new ones on, because I can't get them off of her. I also find her putting on our shoes and trying to walk around the house in them.

She's never had a big vocabulary. Definitely not the vocabulary Cooper had at this age! However, I haven't been worried. I knew at 18 months she would start to hit that word explosion stage. The past two weeks I've heard more words than normal. Her favorites are bow and shoes. She gets dressed, goes to the bow hanger and brings a bow to us while saying booooowwwww. I also think she only wants to wear the bows so that she can yank them out and throw it down when she is mad. And she loves to wear 3 or 4 bows at a time, even if they don't match.

She's also sort of said pumpkin, sit (sounds like shit), chips, and Cooper. It isn't often she will say Cooper, but I find it stinking adorable when she does. I've also gotten her to say nana a few times when referring to a banana. She will say dog, baby (baba, which is also sort of what she calls Cooper, but they are just a little different). She signs milk but won't say it, and will also sign more.

Caitlin is still as dramatic as ever. She is a great fit thrower and can get pretty angry when she doesn't get her way. We're working really hard on the hitting and slapping, which happens to be her favorite way to lash out. She also screams baby talk, which sort of reminds me of Ricky Ricardo yelling at Lucy in Spanish. For now, she is put on the stairs in the time out spot when she's really rotten. She isn't really old enough to know to stay, but the entire process of putting her on the stairs and leaving is enough. Unfortunately, Cooper gets the brunt of most of her attacks. If he is nearby, she will get mad at me & hit him. He's been really good about not getting mad at her and hitting back, which I am thankful for.

I am really happy that we've hit the age where she will occasionally play alone. It doesn't last long, but even 15 minutes makes me happy. Most of the time she wants to play with Cooper's toys - the Bat Cave and any trucks that make noise - but she also loves her Little People Princess Castle. She's figured out how to make the songs play and will dance while they sing. Cooper has also learned that if he wants her to leave him alone, he needs to play with her toys for a few minutes. Most of the time, he's great about playing with her. Though it does break her heart if he wants to play with the Legos upstairs and she can't follow him in the gate. She will cry on the stairs until I drag her away.

My mom found one of my old dresses and I put Caitlin in it one day to get a photo. I am amazed at how much she looks like me as a baby.

The Tooth

Cooper got his first tooth when he was 5 months old. It was early, and within a few weeks he a second tooth. All before his 6 month birthday.

I've waited and waited on Caitlin to get hers. A few weeks ago, she was super fussy & clingy. We went to swim lessons, where she could not be consoled. T-ball practice was much of the same and I planned to leave the following day for a work trip. I thought about her lack of teeth, and figured she would finally get 1 while I was out of town. But...just to be sure...I did a quick gum check and voila. A tooth.

We tried to take a photo, but she wasn't happy about it.

It's very hard to see, but we have 1 super tiny bottom tooth.

A Baby Shower

Last month, my very generous friends hosted a baby shower in honor of Caitlin.

The food was fantastic - chicken bites and waffles, muffins, fruit, a fantastic cake and of course peanut butter eggs for Peanut Butter.

As we usually do, we spent most of the time catching up and talking before finally settling down to eat and then open gifts.

If you didn't notice, the bow holder matches the cake - and her room - perfectly. We received some awfully cute outfits, blankets and baskets full of necessities. Peanut Butter is sure to always leave home well dressed, with shoes, and smelling like a baby should.

I'm not sure what I did earlier in life to have been blessed with such a great group of friends, but I'm glad I did it. I owe them so much - not just for a wonderful shower, but for always being there.

Peanut Butter: 37 Weeks

Earlier this week we went for our final ultrasound. I picked Cooper up early from school and headed in to grab Jason before we had the fastest appointment every at the imaging center.

After the tech looked everything over, she brought Jason and Cooper back to the room. By that time, PB was moving all over the place and hard to capture on film. Funny enough, Cooper was moving all over the place and hardly standing still. I guess she's inherited one thing from him.

We did manage to get a few photos of her face. Jason and I both noticed the very chubby cheeks. I also feel like she will have the huge hands that Cooper had when he was born. By the way, he still has them!

The ultrasound estimated her weight to be about 8lbs and above the 90th percentile. Shocker, right? I'm guessing her final weight to be between 9lbs and 9.5lbs. Dr. S is thinking under 9 but I'm not buying it. I know she has probably delivered thousands of babies but I'm going to stick with my gut on this one. I do have to wonder just how big she would be if I had not been on a diet for the past few months. Holy cow!!

We're about 98% finished with her room. We've unpacked, sorted and rewashed clothes. A lot of clothes. I'm pretty sure if my washer and dryer survived the past two weeks, those two are here for the long haul. We did realize how few newborn size clothes we had. For some reason I was thinking we just didn't have many, however Kelly informed me that I gave all of Eileen's NB clothes back! It worked out, since Jason & I caved at Kohl's this past weekend and came home with 3 pairs of pajamas. And my mom and I couldn't decide on an outfit for her to wear home from the hospital, so we bought 4. I am pretty sure she won't go naked.

The next week will be spent doing some last minute organization things. I'd like to clean out Cooper's toys and either pack them away or donate them. We just have to figure out how to do that while he's not in the room! We also want to spend time doing stuff with him before his life changes. He plans to take me on a date one evening and I'd like to come up with something fun to do next weekend. Though anything that involves a lot of walking is out!

Peanut Butter: 33 Weeks

Poor PB. She doesn't get nearly as much recognition as Cooper did before he was born. Second child syndrome already.

So far, I'm managing the GD fairly well. I am much more worried about it than my doctor is. I've started taking a prescription to help manage the numbers, since my resting numbers were staying high. Dr. S has me only testing my blood sugar twice a day. I still watch what I eat and will throw in a third test if my lunch time numbers are a little crazy. Since I'm going to the OB every other week, I seem to relax and then panic the two days before my next appointment. Then I go in, she looks at my numbers, says we're doing great and I start all over again.

My belly is measuring right on track. I looked back to see how big Cooper was and it must not have been crazy at this point. I did see that at 34 weeks I measured 37 and at 39 (the day before delivery) I measured 45. So he packed on the pounds the last few weeks! The OB seems to think that since I'm on a diet, that won't happen and she'll be average size. Average for me - nothing like 6 or 7 pounds. More like 8. But really, I am not going to be shocked at ALL if she's closer to 9 or 10.

We finally finished painting her room! I love the color and can't wait to finish the trim so that I can start working on putting things together. We've started to paint the dresser, but life keeps getting in the way. Since I have no plans to start washing her laundry yet, I'm fine with that. Nana finished sewing the bedding and I really love it. It makes me really want to see it all in the room and together!

And finally, Jason and I committed to a name other than Peanut Butter. Naming her wasn't quite as easy as naming Cooper. We knew his name before when knew it was boy. For some reason, girls are harder to name. Jason wanted her middle name to be Catherine. We talked, read lists, wrote lists, threw the lists away and tried to come up with something that we liked as a first name. The catch was that we could never agree.

After more list reading, Jason suggested Caitlin instead. Caitlin is the Irish form of Catherine. I liked it, but I was hung up on one thing. I did not want her to be called Cate. Or, I'll say I do not want her called Cate. I'm sure it will happen one day and it won't be as big of a deal as I feel it is now. But for now, we've named her Caitlin. The whole name.

Her middle name will be Elise. We toyed around with Elizabeth as a first name, but decided against it since Elizabeth Catherine is really long. Elise is a variation of Elizabeth.

And for a small side note, it sort of works with how we chose Cooper's name. His name came from the tv show Las Vegas. There is a character on Game of Thrones, which we both love now, named Catelyn. So in a roundabout way, it works.

It's a...

Last week we had our "big ultrasound" appointment. We decided ahead of time to take Cooper to the appointment. I wasn't sure if he'd get it, but I knew it would be the only time I'd be able to share that with a sibling. The three of us headed into the Med Center and waited. And waited. And waited.

I'll use that to comment that I am glad this will be my last pregnancy. The wait times this go round have been atrocious and I reached my annoyance limit last week. My 10:30 appointment at the imaging center finally happened around 11:40 and I finally got out about 12:15. Meaning I was also about 45 minutes behind for the actual appointment to see the doctor. Which isn't terrible unless you have a 3 year old tagging along.

I finally headed back and the tech took lots of measurements, making sure everything looked good. Finally she went to the lobby to grab the boys.

Cooper was very concerned as to where my clothes were, first. Then he started watching the screen to see baby Peanut Butter. Finally we saw what we came to see - a girl. I was shocked, Jason was a little less shocked and Cooper seemed to have known all along.

The doctor came in & took a look for himself at PB and confirmed that everything looks healthy. We tried for a few of the 3D photos, but I think she was done by that time and wouldn't cooperate.

The first photo is a side facial shot, second one is what looks like another long leg (if she's like Cooper) and the bottom are her feet. Cooper's been pleased with the result, though part of me wishes I could have seen what he would say if it was a boy. I'm not sure he'd be sad about it - so maybe he's indifferent all together. He has looked at the photos several times and took two up to his room to keep.

I'll admit it took almost all day for the shock to wear off. I always thought I'd just have boys. Dirty, smelly, snotty, rough boys. I'm not a pink hairbow & tutu kind of girl, but I do.not.like.dirt. So, I always assumed I would just have to live with the dirt and enjoy the fact that boys are good walking out of the house in a shirt & shorts that don't match and may have yesterdays ketchup on the front. I've learned to love it so far! Girly things...that's a whole new ballgame. A pink one.

Now that I'm past the shock, I find myself looking forward to things like tea parties. Taking her & Adalynn to the Nutcraker when they're older. Playing with all of the other girls being born lately and being fast friends. Like their moms.

Put out to pasture

After 8 months, I'm being put out to pasture. 

I will moo no more.  I guess I'm lucky...things have sort of naturally slowed down...and are now coming to a screeching halt.  I went from pumping 3 times a day at work plus 2 times at home last week to not using the pump at all since Monday.  I thought it would take me a few weeks to quit, but I guess my body is just tired.  I'm still trying to nurse at night before bed, but I suspect Cooper isn't quite getting enough to eat because he just gets pissy while trying, and he's waking up quite a bit earlier in the morning to eat.  We're still successful at nursing in the morning and I'll probably keep it up for a few more week.  Or not.  Whatever happens, happens.

I'm quite a bit more sad about quitting than I thought I would be.  I always thought I'd nurse for six months and then wean.  Six months came and went and I decided "why not?"  Big mistake.  At that point things just started slowing down.  The past few weeks I've been bringing home 6-8oz compared to 12-15oz and really, it's just not worth the time.  The time away from my desk pumping.  The time in the morning and at night at home pumping when I could be playing with chasing Cooper.  The time washing all.of.the.freaking.bottles.  OMG I'm so glad to not have to wash the bottles.  And if you think I'm glad, you have no idea how glad Jason is to not have to wash the bottles and pump parts anymore.  Because most of the time it was his "job" while I fed Coop.

It also feels a little liberating.  Not to have to worry about how long I'll be gone during the day - do I need to pack the pump?  The car adaptor?  Where are we going and can I find a place to nurse if needed? 

Can Jason I trade off some days on the weekend where one of us gets up to feed Coop and the other sleeps in?  ((hopefully!!))  I'm hoping to use the "found" time to start working out again.  I would nurse for almost an hour at night and THEN pump for 20 minutes after.  Plus the 20 minutes in the morning before work pumping.  The past few days I've been able to stay in bed a little bit long and I still have time to play with Cooper before work. 

To add one final thing, I am going to miss reading.  I worry that I'll never find time to read again!  Pumping away from my desk three times daily gave me time to unwind, make personal calls if needed, and read.  I love to read...and I already miss it!  Hopefully Cooper will be kind and give me a little time in the evenings to read after he goes to bed.  The catch is that he needs to stay in bed.  Right now...that's a fight we're not winning.

Me - 2 weeks post baby

I had my 2 week postpartum appointment this afternoon and everything looks good. I'm healing well and am cleared to drive - a little. Like the grocery store and work my way up. I did sit myself up from laying flat on the exam table and got the evil eye from the doctor. Apparently I either feel better than I should or I am too hard-headed to realize I feel bad and do stuff I shouldn't.

I also lost 26lbs. That puts me 15 from my pre-pregnancy weight. All in all, it's WAY more than I wanted to gain. But I did really well until the very end - then I put on a LOT in the last month. Like a few weeks of 5+ pounds gained. In my freaking feet! Remember - I couldn't wear anything other than flip-flops for weeks? Yeah, that would be the extra weight. AND I had a 10 pound child. Dr. F estimates I lost 15 the day I had him when you add in baby and placenta.

So, I have a goal. Between breastfeeding and the fact that I'm going to slowly start working out again...hopefully it will come off faster than I put it on. I mean, the way this kid eats I should drop 2-3 pounds a day, right? Ha...not likely.

For the record, this was me the day of delivery. I didn't realize how big I looked until I saw this photo. Holy crap.

In less than 24 hours...

there will be 3 of us. That is, provided that everything starts on time. And considering that most of my appointments run late I wouldn't be surprised if my c/s doesn't start at noon on the dot. But that's ok. I mean...sometime tomorrow I'll have an outside baby.

I went in this morning for one last doctors appointment and a trip to the hospital for pre-op. Dr. F wanted to take a guess at the kids weight before tomorrow. After feeling around on my belly for a while she came up with 9.5lbs. I kind of agree! Especially when my 39 week belly measured at 45 weeks. No wonder it feels like I'm carrying around a freaking watermelon!! And I'm not talking about those cute little mini ones at the store. I'm talking about the full sized ones. Like on Dirty Dancing.

I will admit that I had some second guesses last week after we scheduled the c/s for tomorrow. I wondered if I was doing it too early and if maybe we were jumping the gun, etc. But as of today he's just not dropping and I'm still at 1cm. Combine that with his size and my fear about my hip...and I feel 100% sure that I'm doing the right thing. I've had a few contractions, but nothing regular and I feel like if I were to wait this out...I'd still be blogging at 41 weeks with an even bigger kid. I also feel like I'd either really do damage to my hip or we'd end up with an emergency c/s...or both.

So for now, I'm back at work wrapping a few things up. Our plan for the night is to grab dinner as soon as Jason gets home and finish some things around the house. I also want to load up the car - just in case I forget something. And Jason is being a great husband and taking me to breakfast at 2am. Yes, you read that right. I can't eat after 4am and, well, if you know me well enough you know that when I get hungry it's not pretty. So I'm going to try and stay full as long as possible by loading up with a good hearty breakfast from 59 Diner. I may even opt for a milkshake. :-)

Our last kid free weekend

Since we scheduled a cesarean for Wednesday it's been kind of nice knowing how much time we have left. I'm a planner, remember? Now I know that I could have gone into labor (and still could) at any time, but we tried to use the weekend to relax and do things that we probably won't get to do again for a while.

First, our weekend started a little early. Well, Jason's did. See, it snowed here in Houston on Friday. A lot - for Houston. So because 99.9% of Houstonians don't know how to drive in the rain, much less snow, both of our bosses were nice enough to let us go early for the day. It got home about 4 and put my pjs on...and then sat on the sofa working until 6:15. Jason took a nap. I will say that I think I got more work done in those 2 hours than I did all week!! I feel SO much better about leaving work for maternity leave.

For dinner we went to Mia Bella in Vintage Park. It was really good. We really don't have a nice Italian restaurant on our side of town, so this was a great addition. Of course, I think I ate too much.

Saturday we slept in. Well, I tried to but by 8:30 I gave up and decided to make breakfast. I woke Jason up about 9:30 and we just piddled around the house. We did a little laundry, put up the Pack-n-Play, watched tv, watched a movie (Four Christmases) and played on the computer. We also built a fire!! I was adamant that we were going to and coming off of a snowy day Friday, the weather was perfect.

Some friends had a party later that night and we decided to out for one last adultish party. There were (cute) kids in attendance and we had a nice time getting to visit.

Sunday we met Lin & Adam at Second Baptist for church. During the 11:11 service they have a band playing. I grew up in a really traditional church so the band was a little strange in the beginning...however I really like them. And I love them at Christmas. It also made me realize that I will probably miss church on Christmas Eve for the first time since...before I can remember, if ever. I'm not sure if we did church on Christmas Eve when I was a baby. It's just odd because I can remember going forever. We always had church and my mom's family attended (they usually went to another church). After church, everyone came to our house for a party. That was Christmas! I just felt strange and a little sad realizing that this year we'll probably stay home since the kid will be a little small to get out and about.

After church Jason and I went to lunch and watched a little football before heading to Babies-R-Us again. We installed the car seat (um, how strange was it seeing THAT in the car on my drive to work!) I made cookies and and Jason cooked taco soup before we headed over to Kelly's house. I wanted her to show me how to use the breast pump and she needed our help in cutting the bottom off of their real Christmas Tree. We got to visit and see a happy Eileen!!

And then we finished off our last kid free weekend by watching another movie (Star Trek).

Now we're down to 2 days before his arrival. I'm nervous - but not so much about being a parent. More so about having everything done - at work and at home. I know I have unrealistic expectations, but that doesn't mean I don't want to try! I'm really glad we made a point to have a weekend hanging out and doing stuff that we probably won't get to do for a while. I could have spent it doing a million and one things, but that would have just worn me out and I'd be left wanting another day off...to recover.

1 week

Yes, I'm down to 1 week left of being pregnant. 1 week left of not being a parent and 1 week left of just having 2 humans in my house. Holy crap.

I went to the doctor Monday for my 38 week appointment. The fluid I seemed to have lost last week came back. And brought friends. Good grief! My feet have officially outgrown my shoes. I can usually squeeze them on in the morning to walk to the bathroom, but after lunch it's all flip-flops. Those shoes actually laugh at my feet when I try to put them on.

Everything else looked fine. Except that I seem to be on a "rinse and repeat" cycle. Still 1cm. Still 70%. And this kid still has not dropped. In fact, last night when I was in bed his foot was about 1" below my right boob. I'm not kidding. My poor directionally challenged child! He's going the wrong way!!!!! South, kid, head south. Honestly I think it's the cold front that came in this week. I got out of bed Monday and he said "woman, it's cold out there - I'm not going anywhere!"

I've said before that Dr. F and I have talked about a cesarean if I go past my due date. Last week we talked about possibly scheduling something the week before, but I decided to hold off until my 38 week appointment just in case I was making progress. Well, since we're not we discussed going ahead and getting me on the schedule. Next week I'll be 39 weeks, so a few days early isn't a big deal according to Dr. F - especially since we would go that route at 40 weeks.

It's really our choice. I could wait it out and hope he decides to come on his own, possibly induce and try for a vaginal delivery...sometime between now and 41/42 weeks. But my concern about my hip gets bigger and bigger as he gets bigger and bigger. Plus, I would rather not put stress on him by trying for a vaginal birth and it not working because of his potential size...then we end up with a cesarean anyway. I've had surgery quite a few times so the thought of having surgery doesn't really scare me. Yes, I know recovery is hard but I'm pretty confident I can handle the pain.

So...Dr. F said they would check the schedule at the hospital for next week, or the week after if necessary and let me know. I got a call yesterday morning and we're set for noon on Wednesday the 9th. They listed the reason as macrosomia. Yes, there is a medical term for "big baby." And since mine is measuring in the over 90th percentile we qualify.

Till Wednesday I'm still telling him that he has options. He can come on his own before he's forced to vacate the premises. But if not, we'll be meeting the kid in person a week from today.

Also - here is a photo from this morning. Notice my shirt is just hanging out there. I spend most of the day tugging it down and pulling my pants up.

95%

We're about 95% finished with the nursery. 2% of what's missing are some more picture frames with reprints of old baseball cards.

The other 3% would be a baby. Ok, he probably makes up more than 3% but what I'm saying here is that we're pretty well done with the nursery!! It was a lot of work and I Jason did a great job...with my help, of course! Here are a few photos to show what we've done. Jason did a LOT of shopping on Ebay - the gloves, mask, Astros Pennant, and Mickey Mouse were all finds there. We found the Astros mini-bat at an antique store and Jason's dad bought it as a gift. The black & white photos were found online as well. I still need to get a few more frames.

Walking into the room

The rocking chair was my mom's from when I was a baby. We're going to refinish it and add some cushions.

...and repeat.

Yesterday was my 37 week appointment. Same stuff, different day. Basically...I look the same in the "are we making progress?" department. Still 1 cm and 70% effaced. I think last week I said 60% but I was wrong. My blood pressure was a little elevated but I blame that on work. And being really stinking busy and worrying that it won't get all done. (Yes, I know it won't all get done but at least let me think it will!) The nurse did say it's normal for it to elevate a little in the end.

On another note, I lost 4lbs. Now last week I'd gained quite a bit more than either of us were happy about, but Dr. F and I agree it was mostly fluid. So when I dropped 4 she wasn't as concerned. For one thing, last weeks appointment was at a different location so the scales are probably off. Even still, I can tell that my feet have been less swollen, along with my hands and everything else. I can actually wear my watch. Don't get me wrong, I still can't find my ankles, but they really do look better. So as long as I don't go back next week down another 4lbs we're ok. I quickly told her that I'm not dieting but I'm also not pigging out. And I will say that the inner chronic dieter in me was a little excited. I've never lost 4lbs in one week! But I know it's not good when you're pregnant. So I considered rewarding myself with chocolate chunk cookies last night, but the butter was in the freezer. I'll bake them tonight instead. :-)

All in all we're still in the same boat. He's a big kid - a linebacker according to Dr. F. I wanted a baseball player. She said the positive side to that is there is NO way he's flipping over and becoming breech. For now I'm still working on getting him to come on his own and if he's still comfy by his due date we'll talk about other options. Dr. F said she worries more about his shoulders and abdomen size. Maybe it correlates with my abdomen...

Of course the downside is that Dr. F is out of town until next Monday and I'd really like her to deliver me, if at all possible. So maybe I don't want him to come too early. What a conundrum.

36 Weeks and Counting

Yesterday was our 36 week appointment. Because my belly was so confused at 34 weeks, Dr. F had scheduled an ultrasound to get a better idea of how big this baby was. Is the size just me or is it him?

I asked Jason if I could bring my mom along and he agreed. I could not help but laugh at the conversation. When I asked her if she could stay Sunday night and go the response was:

"Yes! Of course! Absolutely! Ink me in - don't pencil me in, INK me IN!"

So yesterday the three of us headed into the medical center for my ultrasound and doctors appointment. The ultrasound went really well. He is squished in there like crazy! And I'm correct on his position. He's very much head down, butt right in the middle of my belly and feet on my right side. And boy was he active. Speaking of, we did confirm that he's still a boy. Just in the last week Jason and I have gotten a little worried that we'd end up with a girl - who'd have to love baseball. To top it off, I had a girl dream last week. ((I kept that part from Jason until we confirmed things.))

My mom was really excited to see the little guy and we got some cute photos:

His face and arm...looks a little chubby!

Kind of hard to make out, but that's a foot and little toes. The foot that keeps pushing against my right side!

Apparently he'd had enough here - he was covering his face. Jason says it looks like he's giving the bird.

After the ultrasound we headed upstairs to see Dr. F. I think this may have been the fastest appointment I've ever had with her! Usually I feel like I wait forever. I was a little bummed that I've put on quite a bit of weight (in my opinion) in the last 2 weeks. She even gave me a scary look...until she saw my feet. Then we both agreed that the weight is all fluid. For the record, my size larger shoes really don't fit anymore. I'm also currently 1 cm dilated and about 60% effaced. But...he's not really dropped into position. I know things can change overnight but I felt a little bit better about work. As in, I'll be here all week and can get some things wrapped up. Recently I'd been having panic attacks about leaving things in a mess at work.


For now the status is that we'll just wait and hope he decides he needs to come sooner rather than later. Mostly because he's estimated to be about 8lbs from the ultrasound. Now, those can be off - I've heard anything from 1 to 2 lbs off either way. So he could be 6lbs...or he could be 10lbs. She said that we won't talk about an induction until I'm 39 weeks and dilated a little more. And she also said that if he's still comfy by his due date we may talk about a c-section. I'm 100% ok with this for various reasons. First, my hip. Second, his potential size. She's been very open about saying that with babies who may be big she'd rather not risk trying a natural birth and ending up with an emergency c-section since it is a higher risk for both mom and baby. I know there are a lot of people out there who probably think this would be unnecessary and crazy. But since it's my kid...and I trust my doctor...I'm ok with it. I believe in 'better safe than sorry.'

See that?

This would be a photo of a belly that is 34 weeks pregnant...


but thinks it is 37 weeks pregnant.
((ps: it is hard to take a photo of yourself in the mirror!))


I had my 34 week appointment yesterday and my belly is big. I knew that - it keeps running into things all the time. But according to the doctor it also means that my baby might be big. Well, I've been saying that all along! She does think he's head down...and I kind of agree since I swear its his feet that are giving me heck on my right side. My blood pressure is good and I have no protein in my urine. I'm not 100% sure what that means, but I know that if I do have protein in my urine they get worried. Oh, and my weight is right on track. So this belly that is confused and is measuring 37 weeks (3 weeks ahead) isn't because I'm packing on the pounds!

We also did the Strep B test. Again, I'm not positive about that test but I think if I fail it, or well, test positive for Strep B, we have to have a cesarean. Or...I was corrected. It means we'd need IV fluids. See...I guess there are things I need to learn! Maybe I should finish one of those books, huh?


So, the one positive thing about having a big belly is that we get to see the kid again. We scheduled an ultrasound at 36 weeks and Dr. F feels like we'll get a better idea of how big he might be (because those things aren't accurate) and where we are at.


On another note, I subjected Jason to 8 hours of Labor & Deliver class on Saturday. I really thought we'd get more out of it. It was called the "Fast Track" class and I was under the impression that it would cover a little of everything. Like breastfeeding. Instead I enjoyed about 2 hours and was bored for the other 6. We did take the hospital tour and I feel better about that, plus she covered all of the drugs you can get (woohoo!) and what happens to me and the kid for the first few hours after delivery. The rest of the class wasn't very informative but I think that's because I've had so many friends who have had babies that we've covered WAY more than most people do. And the relaxation techniques...we giggled like teenagers. We both have too much of a sense of humor to stay serious during things like that. Now, it might change when I'm really in pain, but for now I just don't see us with dimmed lights, listening to elevator music and counting breaths. I picture us either watching TV (especially if it is football Sunday) or we'll be listening to Metallica.

We finished!

This weekend we were determined to finish the work on the kids room. We'd painted last weekend and found that when removing the tape the paint had dripped on to the trim. So that was added to the list. We also needed to trim the doors because after adding mud and paint, they really didn't quite fit into the opening. And the last thing was to install the trim around the closet doors and the chair rail, do a little touch up paint and voila - we'd be finished. So Saturday morning we got started. Rachel was nice enough to help out Saturday afternoon (thanks!) and Jason and I finally finished yesterday.

Taped and ready to paint.

First coat of paint.

Overall, I'm really happy with the finished project. I'm still a little shocked it all came together. Jason really just had an idea in his head on building the closet and it work. We did have a few hiccups, but it all turned out ok. Now (in a few weeks) we'll have to do the other room. Honestly we'd probably both be inclined to say "forget it" but we already bought all of the materials! And I hate to waste money.

About the kid

I completely forgot to update from my last appointment. I was exhausted, so forgive me. We had just driven back from Dallas for the Cowboys game. I went in first for my gestational diabetes test. You have to drink this really sugary orange drink that tastes like either bad cough syrup or flat soda and have blood work done twice. Mostly to see how your body is processing the sugar.

Then I had my actual appointment. Everything looks really good. No more worries about placenta previa. He's growing quite well but she made me feel ok about that. She reminded me that I'm taller than over half of her patients so I can't expect to have a 5.5lb baby. I told her I don't want a 5.5lb baby...but I'd also prefer not to have a 10lb baby. ((Hello - my cousin is nicknamed Bear for a reason. The nurses game him that name in the nursery when he was born because he was the biggest baby there!!))

I also feel pretty good about my weight gain so far, even though I freaked out by reading my chart while there was nobody in the room and I thought I saw a number I didn't. I started emailing Jason all depressed...but low and behold, that's why you should never try to read your own chart.

I passed my diabetes test - yay! I was REALLY worried about this. Having GD can lead to big babies. Hello - we've already discussed that I'm having a big baby. Reason #1 to freak out. They also put you on a diet. Um, pregnant women aren't supposed to have to diet. This is the one time that you get to eat it all, right? Not that I do - honestly. But still. I was really happy to have passed. The only downer was that I'm still anemic. So I have to double up on the iron supplements. I can handle that. I go back in a few weeks and then I think I go every other week. Then I'll go every week. Can we just say holy crap???

See that...

We have doors on our closet!

Well, we did. They were hung to see if they fit and then we took them back off to finish but - everything is going really well!!! And we put up a bit of drywall. This weekend Jason & Adam did the taping and muding of the joints while Lin & I painted the doors.

We also spent Saturday staining a desk. (I'll add photos tonight.) This desk has been in the family for a looooong time. It belonged to my great-grandmother. And my mom put about 6 coats of white paint on it. It needed at little TLC. Plus, if anyone tells you that TV will rot your brain tell them to shove it. I have proof! We've seen people use this orange stuff on HGTV to remove paint. You basically brush it on, wait 30 minutes and scrape the paint off. Sure, you need to do a little sanding but it's nothing compared to the amount of sand paper we would have had to use to strip this desk.

PS: See the paint color in the top of the closet? It's pink. Our ENTIRE HOUSE was that color from top to bottom (yes, baseboards to ceiling) when we bought it. I know how it happened - the seller bought a color and didn't test it. So we had to repaint the whole stinking thing before moving in.

Getting started

Last week we started working on our missing closets. When we moved in a previous owner had put built in cabinets where the closets are in the guest bedrooms. The closet doors were in the attic and since we're geniuses, we threw them away. They were looking a little rough, we didn't want doors to keep the rooms bigger and we figured getting new ones wouldn't be too hard.

Cabinets in one guestroom

WRONG. Those doors were eight freaking feet tall. Standard ones now are seven feet tall and slightly narrower than the opening. We could order custom ones...at $750 each. I need four. So we decided to frame out the closet smaller to fit prefabricated doors that run about $40 each. Yes, we'll have to sheet rock and all that fun stuff, but Jason has done that before and he thinks it won't be that difficult. We also plan to add a chair rail to both rooms before repainting them.

Getting the cabinet out in the kid's room was easier than we anticipated. We hope to have it framed and sheet rocked this weekend and clean out the other cabinet next week so that we can frame that room.

6 Month Check Up

Talk about exhausted. I've never been quite so tired from spending 3 hours sitting. My 6 month appointment was yesterday at 4pm and I finally left at 7pm. No, nothing was wrong. Apparently there had been some emergency earlier and the doctor ran next door to the hospital. So, everyone after about 3:30 was pushed back. Now, when you're the one in the waiting room you can get a little annoyed from a 3 hour wait. However, when you're the patient having an emergency...getting your own doctor and not the on-call guy is a blessing. So I didn't complain because one day it might be me. And I was also happy that I was still in my clothes sitting on a comfy chair - not in a sheet on an uncomfortable exam bed.

So I was the last patient of the day to be seen by Dr. F. I was really worried by the time she got there she'd be really rushed and I'd get flustered and I would forget half of my questions. But she took all the time I required and I felt great leaving. Apparently she was going back to the hospital to deliver 2 more babies!!

As for the appointment, it was pretty informative. Fortunately, since we waited so long Jason was able to join me and ask some questions of his own. She suggested that we pre-register with the hospital and sign up for a birthing class. I'm on the fence about this, but leaning more toward doing it. I'm not sure if I need the whole breathing part (do they even still do this, or is that on TV only?) because I have a feeling I'll forget it all anyway. But what I do like is the idea of knowing what's going to happen and who is doing what. I like to be in control, remember? So, now I just need to find a class that fits in our really busy schedule.

Dr. F also asked about a pediatrician. I mentioned that we want one closer to home an not in the medical center so that's on my list of thing to do in the next month or so. Sounds intimidating.

And that's about it. I'm starting to worry a little about about everything that needs to be done and the fact that we've got something going on almost every weekend between now and my due date. But...it will all get done in the end, right???