Thirty Seven Weeks

37 weeks and now officially full term. I don't know about other women, but it seems that each time I hit that mark, I'm done and don't want to be pregnant anymore. I was really hoping that Avery was going to surprise us and be a 2009 baby, but seeing as how today is the 30th, things aren't looking too good. I go in for my 37 week check up today, but that will just consist of the midwife measuring my belly, checking my blood pressure and doing a Strep B culture. I won't go into all the gory details of how they do a Strep B test, but I will tell you this, it involves a long Q-tip and your rectum. Use your imagination. I can't wait for the it. These last few weeks are so much fun with the no sleeping, waddling, total inability to tie your shoes, and getting long objects jammed up your butt hole. Woooohooo!

And here is the email for week 37. Only a few more of these. I HOPE!

How Your Baby is Growing:
Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.



I find it humorous that they are no longer trying to come up with a sizable fruit to compare in weight and are just sticking to the length of the baby. I'm still waiting on the watermelon. That has to be week 40 right?



Until next time...or until this baby makes an appearance,
L

P.S. Christmas update coming soon.

Thirty Six Weeks

36 weeks down, 4 weeks to go. According to my ultrasound, the baby will be measuring 37 weeks on Sunday which means she will be full term and can safely come any time after that. I can't believe we have almost made it. I keep telling people that I think she will arrive early, so she most certainly will be as late as possible since I put that out there. I would be more than happy for her to make an appearance any day now though. Except Christmas, please. I really want to spend that time with Rob and Will, and be together for our last holiday as a family of three. I am as excited (if not more) about Christmas as Will is, and am counting down the days to see his face on Christmas morning. Hopefully soon after Christmas comes and goes, we'll see Avery's face for the first time. I have my fingers crossed that she'll be a 2009 baby. Again, totally jinxing myself here.

Week 36 email...

How Your Baby is Growing:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Once again, I had no earthly idea what a crenshaw melon was. Apparently, it is a hybrid of a casaba melon and a Persian melon. Yeah, I have no clue what either of those are either. Basically, it's a big freakin' melon, okay? And it sits right on top of my bladder. And gooses me in the ribs. And head butts my pelvis. Can your melons do that?

And here is a picture of my big ol' 36 week belly. It definitely looks like there is a little more than a melon in there.


Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas with their families!

Until next time,
L

The Magic of Christmas

We all have memories that are permanently embedded in our minds from our childhood, and I am very blessed that the majority of my memories very pleasant and happy ones. Some of my best and favorite memories are from Christmas. I'll never forget how excited I would feel as I lay in bed on Christmas Eve listening as hard as I could for the sound of Santa's sleigh landing on our roof, anticipating what the next morning would bring. Or how thrilled I would feel the next morning when I awoke and realized Christmas was finally here, and I'd rush down our stairs to find what Santa had left for me. I know it sounds like a cliche, but it was truly such a magical time.

Now that Will is getting a little older, he is really into Christmas as well. He loves Santa, and says his name with so much excitement that it melts my heart. He's anxious to open his presents that are underneath the tree, and he's more than happy to tell you what he would like for Christmas. "Cars, trucks and chocolate, please." We have been having a lot of fun this season riding around looking at the Christmas lights on all the houses, hearing Will shout, "WOW, look at that one, Mommy!" and "Daddy, did you see that one!?"


We've been drinking hot chocolate, trimming our tree, decorating the house, watching every Christmas movie and special imaginable, and doing fun little Christmas crafts. Will has been eating up every moment of it. He really loved hanging the ornaments on the tree, and still enjoys moving them around when we're not looking. Last week, I looked at the tree to find about 10 bulbs on one drooping branch.


But as much as Will has enjoyed participating in all the Christmas preparations, by far the most fun he has had this season was going to visit Santa. We talked about it all day, all weekend really, and when the time finally arrived to go sit in Santa's lap, he could have burst with excitement. As we stood in line, he peered over the tops of everyone's head as Rob held him. He just wanted to get a glimpse of Santa, and once he did, he wouldn't take his eyes off of him. When we finally reached the front of the line and it was Will's turn, Rob sat him down, and whispered "Your turn, buddy," and he ran and jumped in Santa's lap like he was an old friend. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen, and though I know I'm a bit biased when it comes to my child, I don't think there has ever been a more precious Santa picture than the one I took of he and Will this year. It sums up how amazed he is by all of this Christmas business, and I hope that wonderment sticks around for a long time to come.


Merry Christmas,
L

Thirty Five Weeks

35 weeks, and the end of this pregnancy seems to really be creeping up on me. We have something to do pretty much every weekend before my "guess date, and since the holidays are almost here, I know it's just going to fly by us. We didn't get the nursery finished this past weekend. My son decided that it would be a great time to start waking up at 4am in the morning to start the day. So needless to say, when nap time rolled around that afternoon, I hit the sack too. Maybe this is just Will's way of preparing me for those middle of the night feedings. That's what I'm telling myself anyway. He's just trying to help his mommy out.

This weekend, we ARE going to complete the nursery. There is really no time to put it off anymore, and I am going to go crazy if it doesn't get done, so it will be in everyone's best interest to make it happen. There are just a few finishing touches that need to be done, and then I can rest easy.

I've been having a lot of practice "pressure waves" (Hypnobabies speak for contractions) this week, and I go for my next check up with the midwives on Friday. Hopefully they will check me to make sure everything is where it should be. It's still a little bit early as I won't be full term until next weekend, so I need her to stay in there until it's safe for her to make her entrance into the world.

And here's the email for week 35.

How Your Baby is Growing:
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.



I think my little honeydew melon has dropped. I need to go to the bathroom a lot more (didn't know that was possible) than I used to, and my crotch feels like it's going to fall to my feet. There is A LOT of pressure down there. When I stand after sitting or lying down for a while, it takes me a minute to get going because I fear the baby might just drop out. Oh, if it were only that easy.



Happy Wednesday,
L

Thirty Four Weeks

Week 34 is here in full effect. It's getting harder to tie my shoes, bend over to pick things up, and find a position in bed that doesn't make my hip feel like it's going to fall off or my arm fall asleep. I'm entering that "I'm-So-Uncomfortable-Get-This-Baby-Out" territory. I'm not quite there yet, and trying to be as patient as possible. It gets a little hard when you can't remember what it was like to not be pregnant though. When you look at pictures of yourself as a non pregnant person and think, "Who on earth is that!?" I want to sleep on my stomach so badly, it's not even funny. I would love to only need to pee 10 times a day rather than 27. I want to run on the treadmill as fast as I can. I want a big ol' margarita! Whew! It felt good to get that out.

This weekend, the nursery will be completed. We have everything bought and laying in her room, it just needs to be put together. Next week, I'll post photos.

Here's the email for week 34.

How Your Baby is Growing:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

The little cantaloupe is a spitfire. She moves around more than Will ever did. We knew when we had a calm and peaceful baby who slept through the night that we would pay for it later. I have a feeling that Avery is going to be the complete opposite of her big bro. Where he is laid back and easy going, she is going to be utterly crazy and bouncing off the walls. As I typed that, she gave me a swift kick to the ribs. I'm telling you, this girl is going to be trouble.


And I promised some shower photos last week that I never delivered. I have been pretty busy and just honestly haven't had the time to do it. But here they are now, better late than never. (I hope.)

I couldn't be more thankful for the women at my church who put together this shower and came to support us. I was truly blown away by everyone's generosity.

The cake (one of the most important elements at a baby shower)

Did I mention that this was a joint shower for me and another friend at church? She was due in December (had her baby last week) and since our due dates were so close and we are both having the opposite sex of what we already had, they decided to throw us this little shindig.

Belly to belly

I got SO many great thing. Clothes, towels, breast pads (uber importante), bouncy seat, blankets, diaper bag....the list goes on. There were so many adorable things that I made faces like this.

And this

And this apparently

What can I say, after 3 years of shopping in the tiny boy's section, girl clothes make me happy.

And here's a pic of my mom and I (who looks young enough to be my sister instead). I was so glad she was able to come. It was a special day.


Till next time,
L

Thirty Three Weeks

With Thanksgiving this past week, time has really flown by. We had a great time with family, I got a ton of shopping done on Black Friday (yes, I'm one of those people) and Rob and I made a lot of progress on the nursery. If I get a second wind of that crazy nesting energy come this weekend, I'll have it all done. I managed to wash all of Avery's clothes and put them away on Saturday. There were three LARGE loads, and let me tell you, that's a lot when the clothes are so tiny. I truly can't believe all the stuff she has to wear. It's going to be fun to put her in a different outfit every day, and at the rate I'm accumulating stuff, I'll have to in order for her to wear it all.

I'm feeling pretty good. My back hurts some and I basically just feel pretty large, but I'm hanging in there. I know the end of this pregnancy is near, so I'm trying my best to enjoy it while it lasts and spend as much quality "only child time" that I can with Will before the new one comes along and totally throws our comfy little family for a loop.

Here is the email for week 33. Only 7 weeks until my guess date, but 4 more until I'm full term. It's crazy to think that she could actually be here at the end of this month. GULP.

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Man, I love me some pineapple!! There are old wives tales that say that it can have a labor inducing effect in pregnancy if you eat a lot of it. So come the new year, if you see me consuming whole pineapples, don't ask. And if you're looking for a good Christmas present to buy me, pineapple, red raspberry tea, eggplant Parmesan and castor oil is at the top of my list. ;)



Till next time,
L

P.S. I had an awesome shower at church weekend before last and I have been totally slacking on getting the pictures uploaded. I am going to do that tonight though, so look for a shower post tomorrow.

Thirty Two Weeks

Well, I am now eight months pregnant now, and boy do I feel like it all of a sudden. My body is tired and achy this week. My back is starting to hurt, and I have a ton of pressure in my pelvis. Eight more weeks until my "guess date," but only five until I'm full term. Since Will was 10 days early, I have always felt this baby will be early too. Plus, I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks (practice contractions) this time around which I never had with Will. Apparently, according to my midwife, there is a lot more uterine activity with subsequent pregnancies compared to the first one. Whatever that means.

I say that this baby is going to come early and I have all these mommy instincts about it now, but I'm most certainly completely jinxing myself with all that talk. She probably hears me in there and is now planning on coming about 2 weeks late just to show me who's boss. As long as she doesn't come on Will's birthday, or close enough to his birthday that I will be in the hospital on that day, I don't really care when she arrives. It would break my heart to be away from my little guy on his birthday though. It's going to be hard enough being separated from him while I'm in the hospital as it is.

Here is the email from the gurus for this week...

How Your Baby is Growing:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

I had no clue what on earth a jicama is, but according to Wikipedia, it's a Mexcian turnip. Interesting. You'd think I'd be a bit more knowledgable about these things with all of the Top Chef and Food Network that I watch.


Cheers,
L

Father and Son

When I married Rob, I had a sneaking suspicion that he would be a great dad. I really had no idea just how great though. I didn't know that he would lay with him every night before bed, make up silly songs, and do alligator shapes on the wall. I didn't know that he would miss him while he slept. I didn't foresee how huge and deep their relationship would become. I knew he would love his son, and I knew Will would love him, but I had no idea how completely and utterly smitten they would be with each other. Then little moments like this happen and I'm reminded of how blessed I am to have them both, and how lucky they are to have each other.





Have a happy week,
L

Thirty One Weeks

I have 9 weeks to go until my "guess date," but I will be full term in 6 weeks. It's hard to believe that she could actually be arriving in 6 weeks. WOW. Everything isn't ready for her, but I am. I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable these days. I am still sleeping, but I toss and turn all night from my left to my right side. I snore like a bear as well. (Or so Rob claims.) I get up quite a bit in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. My bladder feels like it's about the size of a pea right now. My heartburn is back with a vengeance regardless of whether I eat small and frequent meals, steer clear of spicy foods, or all those other things they tell you to do to avoid it. I drank a glass of water the other day and got heartburn. How is that even possible? My favorite "new" pregnancy side effect however is that my boobs now touch my stomach. Yep, you read that right. If I don't have a bra on, MY BOOBS LAY ON MY STOMACH. (That one is not in the What to Expect When You're Expecting book, ladies, but it happens.) It grosses me out more than I can tell you, so I try and keep a bra on at all times, which isn't really my idea of a good time either. Pregnancy is full of tough choices and the "let my boobs touch my stomach or wear a bra 24/7" decision is a real doozy. Sacrifices must be made.

And here's the email for week 31...

How Your Baby is Growing:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.



Really? Four navel oranges? That's the best they could come up with? I think it's totally cheating that they are throwing multiple vegetables into the pool now. I want to see some crazy hybrid cantaloupe/watermelon picture. It's the least they can do really.



And here is a belly pic that was taken a couple days ago. Okay, so I'm not officially 31 weeks here, but pretty darn close.


Have a happy week,
L

Thirty Weeks

Only 10 weeks to go. My nesting phase is really starting to kick in. I've got this sudden urge to move furniture around and decorate. Rob is in real trouble. This past weekend, we bought the paint for Avery's room and he painted it (thanks, honey). I love the color, and can't wait to assemble the crib and put on all the finishing touches. Remember a couple weeks back when I said that I was going to take it easy, be patient and just wait to work on her room until later in the 3rd trimester? Yeah, I lied. I need it done. Like now. For my sanity and all.

In other pregnancy news, my belly seems to be growing by the day and I have to pee at least 17 times a day (5 of those being in the middle of the night). As a result, my hands are super dry from the constant washing. I need to invest in a good lotion before my skin falls off. My boobs are out of control as well. I'm now a very full C, pushing a D. I know that doesn't sound big to all of those ample bosomed ladies out there, but for a girl who has always been somewhat lacking in the chest department, this is a big jump for me. It grosses me out for some reason, and every time I look at my boobs and think "YUCK!!", I remind myself of all those years in middle school when I prayed for a larger chest. This is my punishment for that. I should have never been so judgmental of my small chest. Just wait till my milk comes in. I can't even fathom how big those suckers will swell then. Ew.

And here's the email for week 30...

How Your Baby is Growing:
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)



Remember how she was a Chinese cabbage a couple of weeks back? Now she's just a regular ol' cabbage. I told you they were going to start running out of vegetables. I resist the urge to skip ahead and see what next weeks fruit or vegetable will be, but it really kills me to do so sometimes. I know there is going to have to be a watermelon in there at some point, but I believe they are saving that baby up for the big finale.



Cheers,
L

Boo!

Last weekend was Halloween, and Will has reached the age where he was actually excited and anxious about it. It probably helped that we had been jazzing him all week about going trick or treating. Come Saturday, he was ready to bust. He wanted to be a race car driver this year, because well, the kid loves race cars. He dreams about racing, and will inform me in the morning, "I beat you, Mommy," after he awakes from his race car dreams in which he always emerges the winner. When he grows up he wants to "go real fast," so naturally we couldn't deny the kid his race car costume.

He really thought he was something in it too. He wouldn't smile when Rob took his picture, because this is no joking matter.

The Fast and the Serious

Once or twice, he couldn't help it and cracked a grin though. After all, he was about to go get a butt load of candy from a bunch of complete strangers. Who wouldn't be happy about that?






When the time finally arrived, he and Ripley ran from house to house like they had been training for this since birth. They stuck their little buckets out, exclaimed TRICK OR TREAT, and got so much candy, they could hardly carry it by the end of the night. When got home, Will dumped his bucket and I finally understood the meaning of the saying, "Like a kid in a candy store."



Bedtime that night was.....interesting.

Happy weekend,
L

Twenty Nine Weeks

29 weeks. So close, yet so far away. I've been concentrating on doing my Hypnobabies home study course so that I can have a natural VBAC this time around. I really love the program. If it doesn't do anything else for me, it is making me more positive and confident throughout this pregnancy. I listen to my scripts every night and though I was a cynic at first, I'm a believer now after seeing how quickly I can put myself into hypnosis. I just have to keep trusting that it is going to work for me come Avery's birthday. I'm becoming more and more assured that it will.

And here is the email for week 29...

How Your Baby is Growing:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.



That squash looks huge next to the quarter, right? I can't believe that she's almost 3 pounds in there now. Then she rolls over, kicks me in the ribs and tries to poke a body part out of my belly button and I'm all, OH YEAH, I can believe it!



Halloween stories and pics coming in the next couple of days. Hang on to your hats.

L

Twenty Eight Weeks

It's the third trimester, baby! Bring on the sciatica and the swollen ankles! Wooohooo! Honestly, I'm excited/scared/anxious/conflicted/panicked/elated to be getting so close. We still have so much to do to prepare for Avery's arrival. The nursery isn't painted, we haven't bought a dresser yet, the glider hasn't been reupholstered, and I haven't washed one stitch of her clothes. By this point in my pregnancy with Will, everything was set up perfectly in his room, and I was just waiting around for him to get here. You learn from your mistakes. If I learned anything from my first pregnancy, it's that the longest part of the pregnancy is the third trimester. It's a whole lot of hurry up and wait. Once you pass the threshold of 37 weeks and you're considered full term, it seems like things come to a complete halt. You want the baby out and you want them out now. I have resolved to be more patient this time around in that regard, so I'm figuring if I have a few loads of laundry to do, that might take my mind off of the delivery a bit. Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue....say it with me.

I went for my checkup yesterday and she is doing just fine in there. As soon as my midwife put the doppler on my stomach to check for her heartbeat, she proceeded to try and kick it off repeatedly. I think my midwife's exact words were, "Wow, your baby has an attitude already." Rob was delighted to hear this news.

And here's the email for week 28....

How Your Baby is Growing
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.



Here they go again with these uber specific vegetables. Chinese caggage. Ewwww! Not a fan of cabbage in any form. My granny used to cook it from time to time and I would come in the house holding my nose because of that rancid smell.



I also have a new belly picture for this week. I'm starting to feel REALLY big and I've still got 12 weeks to go. I only want to gain 15 more pounds (if that) and I've got all the yummy holiday food to plow through. God help me.


L

Twenty Seven Weeks

Today marks the beginning of week 27 of my pregnancy, and I decided to start it off with a bang by getting a terrible, miserable, nasty cold. Kleenex is my BFF right now as I'm blowing my nose about 216 times a day. I met with this great pharmacist today too who pretty much told me that the only suggestion that she had for me was to keep taking the medicine that I'm already taking. I wondered for a minute if they taught any common sense in pharmacy school, because why on earth would I be at the drugstore seeking out a different medication if the one I'm already taking is working out??? Just sayin'.

The sickness doesn't seem to be effecting Avery too much. She's in there beating around just like she always has. She kicks so hard sometimes, that I about jump out of my seat. Rob just looks at me like I'm crazy, at which point I try to explain to him the feeling of being goosed from the inside directly in the bladder.

Here's what the little Ms. is up to this week according to the gurus.

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.



Since reading this, cauliflower is sounding really good. I have a head at home that I've been planning on mashing. Has anyone ever tried mashed cauliflower? I hear that it's a great substitute to mashed potatoes without all those pesky carbs and calories. I'll let you know if it tastes like cardboard.



And on the next episode of this crazy sitcom known as my life....
Molar Hell and the Toddler who Can't Sleep.

Stay tuned,
L

The Great Name Debate

After several agonizing months of back and forth between Rob and I over the name of our new addition, we have finally come to an agreement.

And we shall call her....

Avery Wynn

The End.

P.S. If you hate it, please keep it to yourself. Thank you for your cooperation.

Twenty Six Weeks

I'm 26 weeks along in this pregnancy, which means that I'm into the double digits of the countdown. I now have 97 days until my due date. When you put it that way, it doesn't seem like long at all. I'm excited, and at the same time, it makes me want to panic just a little bit. We finally get to start on the nursery this weekend, because the bedding arrived and I bought a glider. Things are starting to come together, and I haven't even had to hurt Rob yet. Score!

Here is the email about our baby girl this week.

How Your Baby is Growing:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.



An English hothouse cucumber, huh? Not just any regular ol' cucumber, an English hothouse one! I told you they were going to start running out of vegetables to compare this kid to.

Till next time,
L

Doubt

We all have those mornings in which absolutely everything goes wrong. The ones that slap you out of sleep and declare, "Hello there, I'm just here to make your day miserable. Now let's get this party started." The mornings when you step out of bed and immediately stub your toe on the nightstand. Then you slip and fall in the shower, your hair dryer stops working and all of your clothes shrunk a size hanging in your closet overnight. You know those mornings, right? We've all been cursed by them, and unfortunately there is no way to escape them. Having those mornings from time to time is just the sacrifice that we make for being granted another day.

I had one on Wednesday. It was so bad, in fact, it's taken me two days to gain the strength to write about it. I woke up 10 minutes late with a splitting headache. Strike one. When Will woke up, he apparently had decided that this was a day to just rage. He whined and cried about everything. EVERY.SINGLE.THING. He had a full blown meltdown when I told him it was time to get in the shower. Screaming, sobbing, thrashing around on the carpet while I attempted to remove his pajamas. Let me just tell you, trying to get a kid's pajamas off of their body while they are convulsing all over the floor is no easy task. I finally got him undressed and in the shower, but he cried "I CAN'T TAKE A SHOWER!!!" the entire time. Strike two. Getting him dried off and getting his clothes on after the shower was an equally daunting task. By this point, he was so mad that he was fighting everything. He decided between sobs that he wanted toaster muffins for breakfast. I threw them in the toaster and went to get myself dressed. My black shirt had lint all over it, and I couldn't find the lint roller. In between looking high and low for it, I grabbed the muffins out of the toaster, threw them on a plate and took them to Will. Found the lint roller, but realized while rolling that my shirt, (one that I had bought about 2 weeks ago and wore one other time), now had a hole in it. I took some deep breaths and found another shirt. Meanwhile, I could still hear Will whining in the other room. Something about "MY MUFFIN!" and "FIX IT!" Apparently, when I removed his muffins from the toaster, a tiny piece of one of the muffins tore off.

Stop right there. To any normal person, this isn't a huge deal. Who cares that a little piece of the muffin broke off, right? Let me tell you who cares...Will cares! This kid has an abnormal aversion to food that breaks in any way. Granola bars should be banned from our house because of the way they tend to crumble. It's just too much for his little mind to comprehend. He simply can't take it.

I gently tried explaining to him that I couldn't reattach the torn piece back onto the muffin. You would have thought that I had said to him, "All of the toys in the world will be destroyed and you will never again be allowed to play," because another meltdown of gargantuan proportions ensued. He decides that he doesn't want the muffins at all then. I take them away and go to put on my shoes. OKAY, WHERE ARE MY SHOES?? I search and can't find them while listening to Will whine, "I want my muffins!" I ignored him. I remembered that the shoes I was looking for were in the car.

I threw our lunch into a bag and told Will it was time to go. (At this point, we're already 5 minutes late leaving the house.) He cries that he wants me to carry him out to the car. I grab Will up, snap at Rob and he snaps back.

Strike 3.

Tears. Tears and tears and more tears. I cried for torn muffins, and new shirts with holes in them, and headaches that wake you up in the morning, and kids that don't want to take showers. I cried for couples who snap at each other when things don't go right. Mostly though, I cried because of doubt. Doubt in my ability to be a mom to two kids, when look at me, I can't even do it with one! All these feelings of inadequacy just came washing over me, and I started to question if I can really make it work when I have two kids screaming instead of one. I found myself saying out loud, "I can't do this," which made me cry harder. Now, I thought, I'm a mom who can't hold it together and is crying in front of her kid. Will was silent and concerned as I strapped him into his car seat, and let the tears just roll down my cheeks. I got in the car, dried my face, and told myself that I am going to be a wonderful mother to both of my children. I told myself that people do it every single day, and make it work, and I'll be no exception. I told myself that it's normal to have these days and tomorrow would be better. I told myself all of that, but deep down, I thought I was lying. But you know what, the next day was better. Will was an angel, my shirt didn't have a hole in it, my shoes were in my closet, and there were no broken muffins. These are the kinds of days that make all the other ones worthwhile.

Happy weekend,
L

Twenty Five Weeks

I'm 25 weeks now and it feels as though my progress with this pregnancy has come to a stop. Time was going really quickly in the beginning, and now it seems to be trudging along very slowly. I'm sure that once the holidays come, it will fly right past me though, so I'm going to just enjoy this time while I can.

This past week in my pregnancy has been fairly uneventful. The heartburn has calmed down a bit (knock on wood), I've been sleeping well and I really don't have any complaints at all. I even found a way to stop stressing over the stupid bedding. I just found something I love and bought it. That should put an end to the madness. I can't wait for it to come in so that we can match a paint color and start on the nursery. (I.E. So that we can match a paint color and ROB can start painting the nursery.)

Here's what's going on with the gal this week.

How Your Baby's Growing
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

A rutabaga? I can honestly say, I've never had one in my life. I don't think I had ever even seen a rutabaga before. What does it taste like? Maybe I'm missing out on something special here? Let me know.



Oh, and here's a 25 week belly shot. I finally have that undeniable baby belly...I hope!



L