Home from the Hospital

This afternoon we left the hospital and brought home our new little family member. Henry Michael was born Thursday morning, so his birthday is June 9th. He weighs 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and is 19 1/2 inches long. I think he looks just like my husband--Henry often has a very serious, contemplative look on his face.


 

Picture from Bella Baby Photography




















I find it amazing how quickly I was drawn to this tiny little person. I can't wait to get to know him better, and yet I want to savor every moment of his babyhood. When I hold him, he snuggles up against me in precisely the same way he did when he was inside of me.

Doesn't he look like he's smiling in this picture?




Picture from Bella Baby Photography



Henry has been a very mellow, easygoing little guy so far. He hasn't been bothered at all by the noise his big brother makes--I guess he's used to it by now.

I took the above picture right before we left the hospital. Henry looks so tiny! I will write more this week about Henry's arrival and about how Nick is doing in his new job as a big brother. For now, here is our new family picture.



Picture from Bella Baby Photography



Now I'm going to go and get some sleep!

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!

Nick is Getting Ready. . .

. . . to meet his little brother! Doesn't he look handsome?

We both went for haircuts today, and Nick was incredibly well-behaved. He sat the entire time for his haircut, chatted with the stylist, and then played with combs and hairclips while I got my hair cut. Nick used his indoor voice the whole time! He even tried picking up the pieces of my hair that the stylist cut and started putting them in the trashcan. No yelling, no crying, no demanding--Nick was the perfect two-year old during this very long salon visit.

It was weird, because Nick has been kind of a stinker during the last few weeks. I hesitated to go in for both haircuts at once, because I was afraid he'd run for the hills or start screaming and pulling stuff from the shelves. He did none of that. Nick even climbed into his car seat on his own, three separate times. This is excellent, because I'm under strict orders not to lift him after my c-section. I've been trying to train him, and I think he's got it.

It's kind of like Nick was letting me know he is ready to be a big brother. I certainly feel better after today.

Yesterday I had my last IV iron treatment, did some last minute grocery shopping, and repotted about ten more plants. Today was my last day of school, my last NST, and my last obstetrician's visit. It was also Nick's last day of daycare. They played with bubbles, and apparently had a blast. He told me about it on the way home. "I play with bubbles. Bubbles go up, up, up. Bubbles in mine eyes."

Tomorrow I'll post my last pregnancy update, and then, after Thursday, I won't be pregnant anymore. Instead I'll be very tired.

Nesting, Part Two: Upstairs

Did you think that all of our downstairs organizing was the extent of my nesting horomones? Nope. We redid our entire upstairs, all for this new little guy who will be arriving Thursday morning. Let's start with the boys' room. I have to put the apostrophe after the "s" now, because this room no longer belongs to just one boy.

Here's Nick sitting on his new big-boy bed. His doll is next to him, and you can see the changing table/dresser on the right. Those drawers will now be for Nick's little brother. Instead of buying another dresser, which would've been prohibitively expensive, I got this storage cube thingie from Target. It's anchored to the wall, so he can't pull it over on himself, but he can pull out the fabric drawers to get access to his clothes. My eventual goal is to take a picture of each kind of clothing, laminate it, and then velcro it to the outside of the fabric box, so Nick can learn where to find socks, shirts, pants, pajamas, etc. Then again, this organizing bug will probably leave me as soon as this kid is born, so my picture idea may never come to fruition.

Moving to the left, you can see that Nick's book rack ($20 at http://www.napervilleyardsales.com/ last year) has been moved upstairs. Grandpa Mike and Grandma Patty brought him his own rocking chair last week, so he has a place to sit and read. We had enough floor space to set up Nick's train set in his room on the floor. The door you see open is the walk-in closet, which Nick will still be sharing with his daddy and (now) his little brother, too.

Nick has so many clothes that I had to buy this fabric organizer for out-of-season stuff. All of his winter pjs, jeans, and sweatshirts are in here for now. The shelf holds random baby items that we're not sure if we'll use yet. I didn't take a picture of the five giant-sized boxes of diapers (sized newborn through 2) on the other side of the closet, but I'm sure you get the picture. You can see the 1,000 pack of baby wipes, though. We're stocked, but I'm sure we'll be out in a few weeks. It's so easy to forget the days of going through 8-10 diapers every day.

For toy organization, I bought one of those bin organizer thingies, also at Target. I'm figuring that once our new little boy starts moving around, we're going to have to keep him away from some of Nick's smaller toys. The solution? Keeping those toys in the bedroom. I'd love to attach pictures of which toys go where, so Nick can learn to clean up. We'll see if that happens. While the crib is still in here (behind the door on the far left), our little guy won't be able to escape it for some time. In fact, we probably won't even have him sleeping in the crib until he's sleeping through the night. He'll be in a bassinet in our room until then.

I've gone through all of the baby clothes in sizes preemie through 6 months, folded them, and organized them. This is not normal behavior for me. I've also spent a lot of time and money hunting down adorable summer newborn clothes on ebay, because many of Nick's baby clothes had snowmen and reindeer on them. They were also long-sleeved and fleece, which just won't cut it in June. I did find some stuff I could salvage, though, and everything is clean and ready. . . just waiting for the baby.



Onward to the loft. Grandma Toni used to sleep in a full-sized bed in Nick's room when she spent the night. She spends every Tuesday and Wednesday night during the school year with us and needs a comfy place to sleep. We bought her this futon, complete with a real (upgraded) mattress, not one of those foam thingies, and she's been pretty comfortable so far. You can see Greg's easel to the left. He has dreams of painting again this summer. I hope he finds the time. Oh, and one of my classroom plants is next to the window. I'm crossing my fingers that the cats won't eat it.

In about a week (when I'm discharged from the hospital), our bedroom will become baby central. Thank goodness we have a fancy bassinet/pack n' play with a diaper changing station. We also moved the rocking chair and ottoman into our room, so we can actually, you know, rock the baby at night. Our bedroom is kind of small, but this will work for the summer. Hopefully by fall this little man will be sleeping through the night, in his crib, with his brother. (Hey, I can have dreams, right. It is possible, though not likely, that I'll have a second child who sleeps through the night consistently at 8 weeks.)

The rocking chair is actually very comfy. I use it for reading sometimes, when not rocking babies. Notice another of my classroom plants next to the window. It's more likely to survive in here, where cats are forbidden, because I'm allergic (to cats, not plants). You'll also see my new diaper bag, packed and ready to go to the hospital. I am bringing outfits in preemie, newborn, and 0-3 month, all because I have no idea what size this little guy will fit into. Nick was in preemie clothes for several weeks, but the OB estimated that this baby will be at least 7 pounds, so the newborn stuff will probably fit him better.

Either way, our house is ready for baby. As for me, I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore.

Getting Nick Ready

I've thought deeply about the best ways to get Nick ready to be a big brother. For months now, he's talked about the baby in my tummy. It still isn't really connecting, though. I've heard that it helps if you give a child a doll before the baby is born and show them how to take care of it. We decided to give it a try.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a baby doll for a little boy? Everything I found was pink and explicitly designed for girls. But I was determined. Nick has carried around his Elmo doll for some time now, so I know he would be interested. Even though Nick is a very boyish boy, he does cuddle his stuffed animals and talk to them.

Still, doll hunting was an exercise in frustration. I finally found this one on Amazon, and his name is baby Sam.  I think he's rather cute, just the right size, and appropriate for a little boy who will be having a brother soon.

He comes with a removable binky that connects to his mouth, and a dinosaur onesie and diaper that both fasten with velcro, so they're easy to get on and off. I also gave Nick a baby blanket just for his doll.

I decided to let him play with a real baby bottle so he could feed his baby. We showed Nick (using Sam the doll) the bouncy seat and bassinet where his new brother will sleep. Nick fed Sam a bottle, and covered him with a blanket.

Nick's doll has been sleeping in his bed with him, and he likes to cover him up and take his binky in and out. I'm thinking this doll will be perfect for when the baby comes, because Nick loves to copy us--when Greg sweeps the floor, Nick has his own little broom. When I garden, Nick has his own little shovel, rake, and gardening gloves. So we figure he can feed his baby and even change his diaper.

We'll see if this helps with the transition to big brother. Nick sure seemed interested, although I'm sure he'll be more interested once his brother comes along. I've also started making him a shutterfly book (a story about him) with all of his baby pictures, so he can see what he looked like as a baby and as he grew bigger. I'm waiting to make the last page Nick holding his new brother.

Reflections on Becoming a Mommy of Two Boys

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how things will change once I have two boys. On June 9th, I am having a baby, and Nick will no longer be an only child. Nick has doted upon since he was born, and we have about a million pictures of him. To tell you the truth, I have a folder of videos and pictures from every month, and during an average month I might take 200-600 pictures, most of which feature him.

The pictures in this post are from the one sunny day we had last week, when I took Nick to the park to run off some energy. He was desperate to get out in the sunshine, and headed straight for the slides.

I took a ton of pictures of Nick at the park, as usual. For example, I probably have several hundred pictures of Nick playing at various area parks. (See also here, here, and here, and here, and here.)  Will I be too busy to reflect on my boys once there are two of them? I guess I'm not so worried about the first few months, but once this new baby starts crawling, I think I may be in some trouble, with two little boys to chase.

I've said before that I blog mostly for myself, so that I won't forget what life was like as a mom of young children. I'm under no illusions that my life is terribly fascinating, but it is my life, and this is how I express myself. Some days I have to force myself to sit down and go through pictures and write, but I'm always glad that I did. I love being able to go back and remember things when Nick first started to crawl, videos of some of his first words, and pictures of making St. Patrick's Day Cookies together.

My worries, of course, aren't just about keeping up with photographs and blogging. I've been thinking about how I'll spend quality time with each of my children. I think I'm going to have to plan time alone with each boy regularly, so they each feel appreciated and special. This will get more complicated, because I may be working as many as three jobs at a time, in addition to being a mother. (I work full-time as a teacher, I will be teaching graduate school as an adjunct instructor, and I do freelance writing projects. Oh, and I'm tutoring this summer.) I have to say, though, that I feel like my working life makes me a better, more fulfilled parent. I'm lucky enough to enjoy my work, even though it makes me frazzled sometimes.

I am definitely looking forward to the birth of this child, despite my stress levels. This little boy was very wanted, and I know he's going to be a great addition to our family. I think Nick will make a great big brother, and we're working on getting him ready. I'll write more about our plan later this week.

On a whinier note, there are also the not-so-fun parts of being 38 weeks pregnant that I'll be glad to leave behind. Frankly, I'm just about done being pregnant. I just checked the weather forecast, and temps will be in the 90s this week. I work in a school with no air conditioning, so I'm a little concerned about how I'll be feeling. I was pretty miserable today.

No matter what, though, very soon I'll have two children. The thought of that makes me scared but also excited. Kind of like standing at the top of a very tall slide, getting ready to take the plunge.

Nick, at least, has me to hold his hand while he comes down.   : )

Pregnancy Update: 36 Weeks

Yup, I'm full-term now. This baby is coming out in 17 more days. I think I can make it. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. . . . .

I had my mother-in-law take this photo for me after I got back from a job interview last Thursday. Do you know how difficult it is to find appropriate interviewing clothes when heavily pregnant? I had originally figured to put a blazer on over my blouse, but none of my blazers fit me, even when unbuttoned. I'm not sure how my shoulders got bigger, but there you have it. I went with a cardigan sweater, instead. Incidentally, I got the job. It's just a part-time teaching gig, one night a week starting in late summer and continuing next school year. I'll be an adjunct instructor, teaching graduate school ESL endorsement classes for a local university.

Look at the above picture again. Do you see anything cute? How about the little man in the window? He couldn't figure out why Grandma Toni was taking my picture instead of his. Nick is very used to being the center of attention. He's in for some changes very soon.  :)  I think it will be good for him, though.

This is probably the last ultrasound picture I'll have for this little boy. The next picture you'll see will be from the outside.  You can see his face in profile, with his forehead in the upper left hand corner and his eye and nose below it. I think that's an arm or a foot squished up against his face. The doctor estimated that on this day (May 10th) he weighed 5 lbs., 3 ounces. His guess is that his final weight will be in the 7 pound range. Not too shabby.

Alright, so here's what is probably my last pregnancy update. I'm scheduled for a c-section on June 9th, which should be a nice birthday for this little guy. My birthday is June 5th, and our wedding anniversary is June 8th, so June will always be a busy month for us.

Weight: (From starting weight) +26 pounds. I feel pretty huge, and I'm a few pounds bigger than I was with Nick. The difference, though, is that I gained over 40 pounds with Nick and never lost it all, so I started out heavier. So I feel pretty sucessful that I didn't put on another 40 pounds with this pregnancy. Gotta celebrate the small things, right.  ;)

Movement: He has been more active lately, though still less bouncy than Nick was at this age. My students were watching my belly bounce up and down last week. "Freaky!," one of my 5th graders commented. Yup. But also interesting and awesome, in its own way.

Exercise: Actually, more this month than last. I love to get outside when it's nice, and so I've taken every opportunity to go out lately. On Friday we took Nick to Riverwalk and took a little walk. Chasing him is excellent exercise. Yesterday I spent hours and hours in the garden, doing very hard physical labor. I also took Nick to a festival and walked around the grounds for a few hours. I feel pretty proud of what I'm able to do at this stage in my pregnancy.

Cravings: Iced tea, all the time. I could drink a gallon of it a day. Actually, I've been craving dinner food, even at breakfast. Forget cereal, I want leftovers of dinner the night before, even if it is 7 a.m. I dream of meat and cheese and all things protein. Oh, and I've been having a bbq chicken salad from Panera (substitute spinach for lettuce, add tomatoes) at least a few times a week. Chocolate, of course, is still an ongoing craving, though I'm not sure if that counts as a pregnancy craving. I always crave chocolate.

Sleep: My hands hurt from the way I've been sleeping. I'm still using 5 pillows to prop myself up at night, and waking up a bunch to use the bathroom.

Oh, and I have had some extremely weird dreams. In one of them, I dreamed I was having an ultrasound, and the doctor told me that the baby was healthy except for one thing--instead of a baby human, he was a baby giraffe. It's weird how anything seems feasible in a dream. I remember being totally freaked out and explaining to the doctor, "But, I don't think I can take care of a baby giraffe. What do they even eat?" When I woke up, I actually had to go peek at my ultrasound picture to reassure myself. It was 3 a.m. and I couldn't get back to sleep for quite awhile.

Then, today, I was at a shower for my cousin, who is also having a baby boy in just a few weeks. She got one of these adorable giraffe baby teethers. It brought back that dream, vividly. I think I'll have to get one of these for the baby, just because. Then, whenever I am frustrated because the baby can't sleep or is crying, I can look at this toy and breathe a sigh of relief because I have a baby human and not a baby giraffe.

Medical: I am very anemic, and I have funky looking bruises in places where I don't remember bumping into anything. I've been going to the infusion center for IV iron weekly. I think it's finally starting to kick in, three weeks later, because some of my energy has come back. I'm still tired, but I don't feel like I want to lay down and sleep every second of every day.

On the other hand, my blood pressure has been excellent, even low sometimes. My asthma isn't bothering me too badly (except for when I run to chase Nick), and I'm able to get around okay. I know it could be much worse.

Mood: Upbeat, if a little cranky. I've been telling everyone who asks, "How are you feeling?" the same thing. "I would be perfectly happy if my water broke right this second. I am done being pregnant." Several people have commented that I'm waddling. Sigh. I suppose that is normal.
 
However, my mood has been better as my delivery date approaches. Something about knowing that the end is near makes pregnancy a little more bearable.
 
Symptoms: Other than waddling? His little feet are in my ribs, and he keeps pushing them out. I'm slightly worried that he's going to crack one. My uterus is up so high now that I can't eat much in one sitting. I have been eating my dinner in stages lately. I'll have maybe 1/3 of it, and then come back for more later.
 
I'm having some swelling, too. My ankles and feet are slightly swollen, but my fingers are really bad. My ring finger is usually a size 7, and my wedding rings are a 7 1/4. During one of those really hot days a few weeks back, I almost couldn't get them off. I took both rings off for good and found a cheap ring in my jewelry box to wear on my left hand. It's a size 9!
 
The pregnancy horomones are giving me acne, and I am hot and sweaty even when everyone around me is chilled. Greg didn't like that I'd turned the A/C to 72 degrees. He said he was cold. I said, "I have twice my normal blood volume circulating through my body. Plus, there's a five pound human inside of me. Get a damned sweater." Perhaps my sympathy for the comfort of others is not so strong right now.  ;)

An Easter Egg Hunt on Mother's Day!

On Mother's Day, we went to my mom's house for a combination Mother's Day/Belated Easter celebration. My mom and stepdad were on vacation in Europe, so they missed the whole Easter Egg hunt thing with Nick. Actually, though, the weather was much nicer on Sunday than it was anytime around Easter!

In fact, it was so sunny on Sunday that much of Nick's candy melted. We all loved the time outside, though. Funny how our weather changed in just a few days. Here in Northern Illinois, we went from daytime temps topping out in the 40s and 50s last week to 92 degrees today. Crazy stuff.

Compared with last year, Nick was pretty independent with his egg-hunting. Once he figured out there were cookies and candies inside the eggs, he was very excited.



Nick kept trying to get his grandpa to open up the shed. He thought there might be cows in there.



Later this week, I'll post about the neat painting project Nick and I did for all of his grandmas for Mother's Day. I have some pics of that as well. I've been kind of tired the last few weeks, and now that I'm down to the last month of this pregnancy, the doctor visits have been taking up a lot of my blogging time. Each week, now until this baby is born, I have an IV iron infusion, at least one doctor visit, and two NSTs (non stress tests). Man, am I ever glad that pregnancy only lasts nine months!

Pregnancy Update: 32 Weeks

My sister came out today and took some excellent pictures. I actually like the way I look in this one, despite the huge belly. Plus, as an added bonus, Nick jumped in and posed at the last minute. So both of my boys are in this shot.  :)


Weeks Pregnant: 32 weeks, 3 days. He's about the size of a honeydew now, and the only fruit left is a watermelon! I went for a growth ultrasound about two weeks ago (see picture below), and the doctor said that he weighed 3 lbs., 12 ounces, which is right around the 50th percentile.

This ultrasound picture is 4D, so it is pretty cool. This boy is cute, but he definitely has my husband's big nose. What do you think?

Weight: (From starting weight) +18 pounds or +24 pounds, depending on how you count. I lost six pounds in the first trimester, and gained all of that back plus another 18. I could be doing far worse, considering the way dark chocolate M and Ms keep calling my name.

Here, look. Just because I'm brave, I'm going to post this hilarious picture of me, even though it's not very flattering. Check out my shadow. It made my sister and I both giggle when we saw it.

Movement: Since I had to go in for a ultrasound and movement check a few weeks ago, I've been careful about having Greg feel for movement once a day. This guy does move less than Nick did, but we've been feeling more rumbles and kicks as he grows. I'm not sure why Greg can feel movement sometimes when I can't--he's inside my belly, so you'd think I would be able to feel more.

Nick likes to feel his little brother moving around in there as well. He's starting to get excited. I've been on the lookout for a little baby doll for him, but I can't find anything appropriate. Nick loves to copy us, and just like he uses his toy vacuum when Daddy does the floors, we figured he could feed his baby doll a bottle or pretend to change his diaper.

Exercise: Hah! Getting up from a chair is exercise in and of itself lately. I have done a decent amount of walking around, and I've been trying to keep up with my stretches. I wouldn't say I've done any actual exercise lately.

Cravings: I've been wanting nice glasses of organic 1% milk in the last few weeks, as well as dark chocolate. I've also been craving caffeine in its many forms--iced tea, coffee, lattes, and frappucinos. Strangely enough, I have had smell cravings that are quite intense in the last few weeks. I keep spraying fresh linen febreeze all over the house, and I had to buy the Sea Island Cotton cologne from Bath and Body Works.

Sleep: I wake up every two hours to use the bathroom, and at that point I have to keep flipping back and forth, from my left side to my right side and back again. My arms and legs keep falling asleep. I've been really tired, especially if I stay up later than about 9:30.

Medical: Nothing has changed with my vitamins, and I'm not anemic yet. That is pretty good, because I was so anemic with Nick by this point that I had to do shots of liquid iron, per doctor's orders. My asthma's been kind of acting up in the last week or so, though.

Mood: Today we actually brought up Nick's old clothes from when he was first born. He had to wear preemie clothes for the first couple of weeks, and all of those tiny onesies and sleepers looked impossibly small when we pulled them out today. Greg and I couldn't believe that our big boy was once that tiny. Here he is when we were packing up to leave the hospital. Nick seems impossibly small.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Symptoms: Exhaustion. I've been getting progressively more tired as the days go on. I often pass out on the couch around 5 p.m. Oh, and I have some bad varicose veins. Do those go away after pregnancy? Man, I hope so. The nesting instinct has also set in. I usually never clean or organize, and I've been driving Greg crazy begging him to bring baby stuff up from the basement.

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!"

Pregnancy Update: 28 Weeks

Yup, that's our boy. Can you see how he's got his legs squished over the top of his head? That's one flexible baby! I think he has Greg's nose. I'm not sure where he got the flexibility from, though. Certainly not from me. Here's my pregnancy update.



Weeks Pregnant: 28 weeks, 4 days. He's about the size of a large eggplant now. I went for this ultrasound on March 15th, and the doctor said that he weighed 2 lbs., 4 ounces at that point. Size-wise, he's doing great. The doctors haven't found any signs of vitamin or iron deficiencies (in me) or growth restriction (in him) at all yet. However, nothing came up with Nick until after 30 weeks, so they're going to watch me closely from this point forward.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Greg took this picture of me last night, when I'd just eaten a huge dinner of hibachi steak and scallops with sushi. I'm feeling kind of round, but I'm very happy that I'm not waddling yet. (At least I'm pretty sure I'm not waddling. I keep asking people and they tell me no.)
 
Weight: (From starting weight) +10 pounds. (I lost six pounds in the first trimester, then I gained that six back plus ten more.) I gained 8 pounds this month. Sigh. I think that's a lot for one month, but I barely gained at all until this month, so my doctor isn't worried.

I will say, though, that getting up and down from the floor is getting extremely difficult. I've spent a lot of time sitting either on the bathroom floor or on step stools, and every time I stand up my tailbone is on fire. I'm going for a pregnancy massage on Tuesday, and I'm really looking forward to that. (It was Greg's Valentine's Day gift to me.)

Movement: I was actually really worried about how little this guy was moving, but the fetal medicine specialist says that's because my placenta is in the front. He is moving more, but it's nothing like when I was pregnant with Nick, who was like a gymnast or a kick boxer when he was in utero.

Exercise: Well, not as much as I'd like. I did do pilates once and an elliptical trainer workout twice. I've kept up somewhat with my stretching, though, and I've done plenty of walking. I'm sure I'll do more this week, because I'm on my spring break. I want to do the pilates DVD again. Nick loved it! I feel like I've been generally more active with this pregnancy, probably because I spend much of my time chasing after a toddler. That sure counts as exercise. Or it should!

Coincidentally, I wore the same sweater for my 17 week picture and my 28 week picture. Hmm. I'm definitely bigger. I flipped the pic on the right and put them side by side so you could see the growth.

Cravings: Still with the coffee. I love my tall, skinny latte from Starbucks in the afternoons. Did you know they started carrying these teeny little desserts? My latest obsession is something called a red velvet whoopie pie. Trust me, they're good. Try one. If it's true that women crave things that their bodies are lacking during pregnancy, apparently I'm lacking in caffeine and red velvet.

On a healthier front, we recently switched to organic milk, so I've been drinking lots of that as well. Last week my family went through seven half gallons in seven days! We've also been having a ton of spinach salads, lots of fresh green beans and broccoli, and strawberries, apples, and bananas. My Costco grocery bill is intense, but our family eats well. I'm still making my own whole wheat bread in my bread maker, so I know that's healthy. Hurray for flax seed!

Sleep: Well, lately I'm waking up with back pain or limbs that have fallen asleep. I'm sleeping a little deeper, though, so that's good. Plus, since I just started the third trimester, the mind-numbing exhaustion hasn't hit me yet. I seem to be fine with 8 hours of sleep.

Medical: I'm still taking: 1 liquigel prenatal vitamin, 2 Flintstones Complete Chewables, 3 chewable calcium supplements, 1sublingual B12, and 1 baby aspirin each day. So far my labs are good, though, so the vitamins must be working. My blood sugar was better this week, but last week I was complaining of low readings (40s and 50s each day after eating) so of course the endocrinologist wants me to wear a continuous blood sugar monitor for a few days. Isn't it weird how as soon as you call the doctor to deal with a problem, the problem gets better? The day after I scheduled the test, my blood sugar readings went up and I haven't been below 60 in days.

Mood: I've been a little overwhelmed since we started potty training. I keep thinking about how hard it's going to be--not with the new baby, but lifting Nick and wrestling with him after I've had a c-section. I didn't think the recovery was bad at all last time, but I didn't have a 30-lb toddler to heave around all the time then, either. My mood regarding the new baby has been great, though. I am starting to get excited now as I look at teeny tiny sleepers and onesies.

Symptoms: Sometimes my belly jerks randomly and you can see it from the outside. With Nick, you could see arms and legs moving across, but with this pregnancy I just get sudden jumps. I was making popcorn (the old fashioned way, on the stove top) today, and the noise of the popping popcorn made him wake up and start dancing. My whole belly was jiggling.

Pregnancy Update: 24 Weeks

It's been awhile since I posted a pregnancy update, so here we go. I'm at the end of the 2nd trimester now, past the age of viability. My sister took this picture of me last week. I feel huge, but I know this is nothing compared to what's coming.

Weeks Pregnant: 24 weeks, 4 days. He's about the size of a large papaya or a football, depending on the website you ask. I had another ultrasound on the 15th, and you can definitely tell he's gotten bigger. The ultrasound technician said he weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces, though I'm sure he's bigger by now. He's been really hungry lately.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If you can't tell, his heat is to the right side of the picture, in profile, looking up. He's big enough now that you can't see his whole body, just the head and torso. I go every four weeks for growth ultrasounds, just to make sure he's growing right. Nick had borderline growth restriction due to my RNY surgery, and they want to make sure that doesn't happen with this little boy. So far, so good. . . he's measuring 5 days ahead.
 
Weight: (From starting weight) +2 pounds, which actually means I gained back the six pounds I lost, plus I gained two more. That may or may not have something to do with all the girl scout cookies my husband ordered. My weight really varies quite a bit from day to day, so I try not to worry about it too much. I think the variance is because I drink so much water, 100 ounces or more a day.

Movement: Yup, though not nearly as much as I had with Nick. The doctor said that my placenta is in the front, and that's probably why I feel less movement. I do feel him squiggling around in there more each week. His head is up by my ribs, and his feet are pointing down and kicking my bladder. I think that's why my belly looks smaller now than it did just a few weeks ago--he was sideways and now he's vertical.

Exercise: I had my final physical therapy appointment (hopefully) last Wednesday, so I'm responsible for my own exercise now. I started out today with 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer, then topped it off with some heavy duty grocery shopping. We'll see how I do tomorrow. I hope I made up for the girl scout cookies I ate.

Cravings: Coffee. When we were up in Wisconsin over the weekend, we seriously considered driving the 30 mile round trip each morning to the nearest Starbucks. We decided against it, but I almost wept for joy when we finally stopped at a Starbucks on our way back home. That latte tasted so good! I was craving the girl scout cookies my husband bought (tagalongs) until they were all gone. Oh, and I've been drinking glasses of milk everyday. I usually have it in my cereal, oatmeal, and coffee, but the last month or so I crave straight glasses of milk.

Sleep: It is becoming more and more difficult to sleep. Being away from home didn't help, and my four pillow system of sleeping isn't working too well. I've been waking up with carpal tunnel pain from sleeping sideways on one or the other of my arms. Also, I keep rolling over on my belly in my sleep, and then it wakes me up because that is not comfortable.

Symptoms: The last few weeks I've had lots of lower back pain and headaches. The good news? My feet and legs are feeling much better. I'm not sure how I'd be if I had that to deal with, as well. Plus, I've had a runny nose and sore throat for the last week or so, and I'm not sure if I have a cold or if it's allergies. If it doesn't go away soon, I'm going to talk to my doctor, because it may be turning into a sinus infection. When I can't breathe through my nose at night, I wake up with a horrible sore throat and headache.


Mood: I think I've been doing okay. . . the second trimester is better in terms of horomones. I can't read anything bad in the newspaper about kids, though, or I get weepy.

Medical: I'm taking crazy amounts of vitamins: 1 liquigel prenatal vitamin, 2 Flintstones Complete Chewables, 3 chewable calcium supplements, 1sublingual B12, and 1 baby asprin. We'll see if all this prevents anemia and growth restriction. Not sure if this is medical, but my belly is itching like crazy as it grows.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good, and we're getting more excited about the baby coming. I've started looking on Ebay for deals on cute summer baby clothes. Nick was born in the winter, so all of the clothes I have from him are long-sleeved or have polar bears or reindeers on them. I have some sleepers I can reuse, but tons of fleece stuff that'll probably be too warm for this little guy.

Pregnancy Update: 20 Weeks

Weeks Pregnant: Exactly 20 weeks today. I'm halfway through this pregnancy, and apparently the baby is now the size of a banana. I'm not sure why they always use fruit when telling you the size of your baby.

I had my 2nd trimester growth ultrasound about a week ago, and all was well. He's measuring a little ahead, which is very good. Here's a picture of our little guy. I think he's pretty cute so far.  :)

Squiggling around and rolling, this guy kept pretty active during the ultrasound. I'm never positive that what I'm feeling is the baby moving until I get an ultrasound. Seeing him move on the screen at the same time as I feel him makes me certain. This ultrasound was at the Fetal Medicine Specialist's office, so you can see everything pretty well on a nice-size flat screen tv they put on the wall. When you're high-risk, they do a very extensive check, so he was up there on the screen for a good 30 minutes. We even got to see the four chambers of his heart, and all of his organs. Everything seems to growing well, so far.

Pregnancy Update:

Weight: (From starting weight) -6 pounds, still no change. I can tell that my hips are wider now, though. I had a pair of pre-pregnancy pants with an elastic waist, and they won't go over my hips now, even though I weigh less. I'll never be one of those women who only gets big in front. I just hope the waddling holds off for awhile longer, because that's not attractive on anyone.

Movement: I sometimes feel movement, but it isn't regular or very strong yet. This morning, though, I had my cell phone on my belly after snoozing the alarm, and when it went off (while still resting on my belly), the baby jumped at the same time I did. So I know he's in there, and that his little ears work. (Yes, I use my cell phone as an alarm clock. I can't be the only person who does that, I'm sure.)

Exercise: Still only physical therapy, 3 times per week. Isn't that enough? I come home every time walking like an old lady, so I know I'm getting a workout.

Cravings: Now I get a wild craving for Panera Macaroni and Cheese every day around 4 p.m. I only indulge occasionally. This baby also loves skim lattes. How do I know? He kicks like crazy if whenever I have one. That is really the only time I feel real, true kicks. I only order a tall latte, though. Don't judge.

Sleep: I seem to need more in the last week. Nick even let me nap on the couch Monday while he watched Sesame Street. He's been a very well-behaved little boy this week. Although he did unscrew one of the knobs from our kitchen cabinets and then forget where he put it.

Symptoms: Lots of low blood sugar issues this week, plus dizziness. But I generally feel pretty good, other than that. I've had a little more energy to play with Nick. I've had runny nose issues the last few weeks, but the problem is manageable and my humidifier is helping.

Mood: Less weepy, but perhaps more "out of it." I think I get upset more quickly when little things go wrong at work, too. My co-workers are pretty understanding, though.

Medical: I'm supposed to go to the Fetal Medicine Specialists over at Edward Hospital once a month now. I also go to my regular obstetrician once a month, so they had me arrange it so I'm seeing a doctor every two weeks. They're watching for growth restriction, among other things. It was a problem with Nick in the third trimester, and they suspect it may happen with this one, too. Just in case, (per doctor's orders) I've been taking a prenatal liquigel vitamin in the morning with breakfast, and then two Flintstones vitamins throughout the day.

Between Fetal Medicine, the regular obstetrician, the podiatrist, the physical therapist, and the endocrinologist, I'm up to my ears in medical appointments. But I'm doing everything they say, and I feel healthier this pregnancy than I did with Nick. Then, they kept telling me to eat more and more protein, and it never did get through to the baby. Instead, it just made me gain 40 pounds. This time, I'm only going to eat when I'm hungry or low.

I saw my endocrinologist today, and she commented that she though I looked much thinner in my face and neck than the last time she saw me, in the early fall. I've noticed that my wedding rings have been loose lately, as well. She checked the little book I use sometimes to write down what I eat, and said that I was doing a great job. I have to say that it felt really good to have a doctor look at my diet and compliment me on eating so well. Let's hope this healthy trend continues. I'm indulging every craving I have, but in small amounts, on top of a reasonably healthy diet.

Pregnancy Update: 17 Weeks

So do I look pregnant yet?

I had my stepmom snap this picture last night. I'm 17 weeks along, and I'll go for my growth ultrasound on January 18th. Nick has been poking my belly a lot, but he doesn't seem to understand that it's not okay to climb on top of it. We'll keep working on that. I am prettty sure I can feel the baby moving around in there, but it's still at that stage where his movements are random and indistinct.

I thought I would start posting updates about my pregnancy, now that I've announced it. I don't have many pictures of my pregnancy with Nick, because I was uncomfortable with how big I became. Now I kind of regret not having pictures to document it. So for this pregnancy, I'm going to try to post updates here sometimes showing my progress. Hopefully it won't be too boring.

First of all, here are the stats:

Weeks Pregnant: 17w4 days
Weight: (From starting weight) -6 pounds
Exercise: Physical Therapy counts, right? That's 3x/week for at least an hour, plus 10 minutes of exercises day and night. No cardio yet. I have to work on that.
Cravings: Goat cheese, macaroni and cheese, Spaghetti O's, anything orange
Sleep: Getting tougher, due to getting up in the middle of the night. Also, my body pillow from my first pregnancy disappeared, and I'm too cheap to buy a new one. Yet.
Symptoms: I read somewhere that in the second trimester, exhaustion is supposed to leave. Not me. I could still sleep twelve hours a day.
Mood: Pretty even, though I'm probably a little more irritable. Oh, and random things still make me a bit weepy.


I did find this picture from my honeymoon in 2008, when I was about 15 or 16 weeks pregnant with Nick. I had just started showing, and this was one of the first days I had to wear maternity clothes. Yes, I was in France, at Monet's Garden, in June. Far nicer than being in Illinois, in January.  ;)

This time around I started showing around 10 or 12 weeks, but I was in maternity clothes from about 8 weeks. My pants stopped fitting, and I refused to buy a bigger size. Instead I just switched over early. My favorite pants are "Secret Fit Belly Pants." They are the most comfortable pants known to woman, and I missed them terribly after I had Nick.

My appetite has been really funny. I'm always hungry, but I can't eat as much in one sitting. I get nauseous about halfway through most meals, especially in the evenings. The nausea isn't as bad as it was in the beginning, but it's definitely still there. I have the exact same cravings that I had when I was pregnant with Nick: goat cheese and crackers, plus all kinds of orange foods that I usually won't touch, like Spaghetti  O's. I think they are nasty unless I'm pregnant. I only let myself indulge with the processed foods a few times a week, but I eat goat cheese every day.

I still haven't gained any weight, but I'm pretty happy about that. I lost six pounds in the first trimester, and the last few weeks I've been holding steady with the -6. (Yes, even with the holidays.) By this time in my pregnancy with Nick, I think I'd gained about ten pounds. Then again, I weighed twenty-five pounds less before getting pregnant with Nick, so I'm starting out at a higher weight. My doctor's goal is for me to gain only fifteen pounds with this pregnancy, so we'll see how that goes. My thyroid makes my metabolism all screwy.
My blood sugar has been rather crazy, and it goes below 50 at least one or two times each day. I've been trying to be careful about what I eat--if I have protein with a complex carbohydrate, it seems to hold my blood sugar more steady. It's always pretty low, though, and the only time I get a reading over 80 is immediately after I eat. Then it drops quickly into the seventies or lower, and stays there. I'm not diabetic, but I am insulin-resistant, and I have post-prandial hypoglycemia due to RNY bariatric surgery that I had back in 2003. When I'm not pregnant, I still get low blood sugar, but it seems to be far more severe when I'm expecting.

This pregnancy has been different because I'm always cold. Now, I'm usually pretty sensitive to the cold, but when I was expecting Nick, I believe I went six or seven months without ever being chilled, even at the end when it was pretty cold outside. With this one, I'm constantly freezing.


Any of you have more than one child already know that the second pregnancy is always much different from the first, because you have one to chase while the one inside of you is telling you to rest. But overall, I'm doing pretty well.