Feeling Lazy Today. . .

so here are a few more of the Bella Baby Pictures from the hospital. Henry looks so peaceful.

I really think the photographer did a nice job. Even on a cloudy day, in a very small hospital room, she made us all look good. We love these pictures.

For some reason, I was more tired and sore today than I have been since I got out of the hospital, so Henry and I spent a lot of time curled up on the couch.



















Nick even joined us for awhile, and we read some stories and watched some Thomas the Train. Deep, intellectual material indeed.

Pregnancy Update: 39 Weeks

Today will definitely be my last pregnancy update. I decided to do one more, but I'm not waiting until 40 weeks, because I won't be pregnant at 40 weeks! I am 39 weeks today, and will deliver tomorrow at 8 a.m. I had my mother-in-law take a picture of me after our dinner. I feel absolutely huge, but the end is near. This post is all about being pregnant, so if you aren't interested in that kind of thing, just skip this post.

The doctor said I'm not dialated or effaced at all yet, though it doesn't really matter, since I'll be a scheduled c-section. They're going to completely knock me out during the procedure with a general anesthetic, because spinals don't work on me. When I was having Nick, they tried seven different needles, and none of them would take. I could always feel everything. The anesthesiologist said that I had lots of calcifiction on my spine, and should never have spinal medication. They ended up knocking me out then, too. This time, I think it'll be much better to be knocked out without first having seven needles inserted into my spine!

Weight: (From starting weight) +32 pounds. Sigh. My doctor told me yesterday, though, that some of it is definitely water weight. I am quite swollen, and 97 degree temperatures don't help, especially when I work in a school with no air conditioning. Tuesday was my last day of school, but man, was it sweltering. My hands are so swollen that a size 9 ring was tight on my (usually size 7) ring finger.

Plus, my feet are absolutely huge! This definitely didn't happen with Nick. I actually have cankles. Ick. They'd better go away once I have this baby! My feet are bigger now than they were when I was very overweight, before my bariatric surgery. I've always had rather slim ankles, but they're gone, and my toes have been replaced by chubby little sausages. I'm only posting this picture so I can feel good about my feet once the swelling goes back down. Please tell me I'm not the only person whose feet did this at nine months along!

Movement: He's moving more now, or maybe he just ran out of room. I don't have an ultrasound picture, but I do have this. Maybe it's silly, but I wanted to remember what it felt like to be pregnant, so I videotaped the baby moving in my stomach. I have a big scar down the center of my tummy from RNY Gastric Bypass Surgery, so that is what you see there.

Doesn't it seem like he's trying to push his way out? That was a pretty violent kick!

Exercise: Actually, way more in the last few months than at any point since before I was pregnant. I've gotten my energy back, though I'm pretty sure it's nesting-related. I've been running around doing errands and shopping, and I spent three hours gardening on Monday. For some reason, I got it into my head that my plants were suffering and needed more space, so I repotted more of the ones from my classroom.

I will say, though, that I am definitely waddling. I've had several people comment on it, including a first grader who asked, "Why are you walking like that?" My response? "The baby inside me got bigger, and that makes it hard to walk." I didn't tell her that someone's head was pressing on my cervix. I figured that was TMI for a 1st grader.  ; )

Cravings: Still with the iced tea and Panera, actually. Nothing new, though I'm finding I need to eat my dinner in two or three stages. My uterus, you see, is taking up all of the room in my abdomen.

Sleep: I haven't had a good night's sleep in months. My neck, back, and sides hurt quite a lot, and it's been difficult to get comfortable. However, I'm pretty sure that I won't be sleeping too much once the baby comes, though it may be more comfortable to actually do so.

Today is my wedding anniversary, but I'll be spending most of it getting Nick up to my mom's house and getting our stuff ready for the hospital. Greg and I are going out for a nice dinner tonight, though, to celebrate. I wanted some quality food, because I'll be on hospital food for a few days.

I have to be at the hospital tomorrow at 6 a.m., and it's 45 minutes away, so that means waking up at an insanely early hour. I'm excited to meet my new son, but a little nervous, too. Wish me luck!

Dry Erase Markers, Being Too Busy, and Kicking

Last week one of Nick's pee-pee prizes was a little dry erase board and marker. Because I was naive, I let him take it with him to nap time. Frankly, I was exhausted and not thinking straight. The sudden, random tiredness that hit me all the time in the first trimester of this pregnancy has started returning with a vengeance, right on schedule in the third.

Do you see those cute little knees? Yup. Dry erase marker. Everywhere. He's been doing pretty well with potty training. He has even had several days without wet man panties. Nick has not, however, been able to go #2 in the potty. I have no idea why. I hope he figures that one out eventually.

Today Nick used his first urinal--Greg took him into the men's room at the Kohl's, and held him up, and low and behold, success! This does present a problem for me, though. You see, Nick is afraid of public toilets, and the ladies rooms never have urinals. Hmm. It was hilarious when Nick came running out of the men's room. He announced to everyone at the service desk, "I went pee-pee in the potty!" They were duly impressed.



Pardon my absence lately--the last two weeks have probably been my busiest in years. I have a part time freelance writing job and I am under deadline, so I've been spending lots of time researching and typing like a madwoman. I have 5,000 words due by Thursday, but I got a lot done yesterday and today, so now I only have about 2,400 left to go. I'm trying to earn some extra money for all the diapers we're going to be going through very soon. I seem to remember an average of 8-10 diapers per day--I shudder to think.

Then, I have two teacher friends working on their National Board Certification. It's the highest honor a teacher can get in this country, and the only way to get a Master Teaching Certificate in Illinois. I became a NBCT in 2008, and now I help mentor other teachers working on their portfolios. I remember how excited I was when I got my new IL Teaching Certificate, and it read, "Master Teacher." Can't beat that feeling.   :)  Anyhow, I've spent the last few weeks reading their papers and giving them suggestions. Their final portfolios were due last Friday.

To top it all off, I had to make a little visit to the hospital. The little boy inside of me was being kind of lazy, and my doctor had warned me to call if I didn't feel movement over a 24 hour period. This kid has never moved very much, and maybe it's because I was so busy, but I couldn't feel him at all for well over a day.

My obstetrician had me go in to radiology to get an ultrasound and have the baby pass some tests. He started moving right away on the ultrasound, though I still couldn't feel it. My placenta is in a weird spot, in the front, and I think that's why movement is so muffled. I guess he passed all of the test with flying colors. Aw, he passed his first test. The doctor said that with this good of a test, the chances of anything being wrong are practically Nil. Plus, especially in the last two or three days, the baby has been dancing a jig. His movements have become stronger and I'm having less trouble feeling him.

Anyhow, the trip to the hospital was just a precaution, but now I've been extra careful with tracking movements. We found out that Greg can usually feel him with his hands, even when I feel nothing. So he is now in charge of kick counts. Seems like a fair deal, seeing as I have the responsibility of carrying the baby 24/7. Oh, and apparently dark chocolate and caffeine help--this little guy dances when I indulge.

Speaking of dancing a jig--here's Nick dancing in his crib. This is probably the last week he'll be sleeping in the crib. Greg got the toddler bed together, and we're just waiting for the new crib mattress to arrive. (The original one we ordered was the wrong size.) Nick is thrilled, and every time he passes his toddler bed, he announces, "That's my bed! I gonna sleep in there!"