it's the little things...

If you recall, her birth was a long, drawn out thing.  As my due date got closer with him, I started to become a little concerned that I wasn't prepared enough this time or hadn't put in enough time worrying about all the things that could go wrong.  I know, like that helps.  But I was concerned that the universe may test my blasé attitude.  But it didn't.  Yea! I had felt that this little guy would come early throughout my whole pregnancy.  At 36 weeks I had that day of contractions after my first internal exam and that really bumped my preparations into high gear.  But nothing came of it.  Then I had a feeling he would come on the 28th and actually got excited (instead of freaked out).  Nothing.  By Monday I was starting to get a little bored with waiting.  It was a really busy workday, though, so that kept me occupied.  I don't know how women handle the wait if they're not working. So Tuesday morning I woke up around 3:3...

Buddy Bear says enough talk about Baby #1.  Let's get back to me.  So a brief pregnancy update.  I was 4 cm dilated at my appointment yesterday.  Still full of random aches and pains but hanging in there.  I'm pretty sure there will be no comfortable sleeping until he's here.  He's probably measuring average and I still haven't really gained more than a pound or two since switching to the diabetic diet 10 weeks ago.  Crazy.  So I imagine I'll be svelte once he's here. My totally unscientific prediction?  He'll either come tomorrow or will wait until August.  We'll see soon enough.  Twelve days till the due date. If you remember from last time, I'm a pretty crazy nester even when not pregnant.  But I think because we moved to the new house and I felt guilty for already giving Buddy Bear the shaft, I really wanted to finish his nursery before he came.  While there are two things left (finishing painting a little corner s...

Sigh.  I missed an entire month's update.  But I was moving and stuff so that makes it ok, right?  Apparently Week 36 is not yet the watermelon. Total Weight Gain:   About 22 pounds.  This is about 5 pounds less than where I was with the 1st edition.  The baby is measuring right on track, though, so I'm just skinnier.  I had a stomach bug 2 weeks ago and that knocked 3 or 4 pounds off but I've gained those back.  Will try to post a pic sometime soon. Movement:   This kids moves like crazy.  Big, giant movements still.  Does he have room to do that?  Not really.  Doesn't stop him.  Sometimes his little limbs jab me, too.  Sometimes painfully. And the last few days he's developed some technique to make me feel like my hip is going to give out.  And another one where there's a sudden pain in my lower back/bootie region.  Not fun at all--especially when walking in public. Cravings:   Oh, yo...

If you keep up with me on FB at all, you already know that things have been a bit challenging the last few weeks.  I'm just going to vent a little here. Things with the house selling/buying got all kinds of crazy and got really down to the wire.  I thought I'd be able to have a week or two prior to the closings to just be able to exhale.  Nope.  That last week and a half was spent trying to figure out what to do if one sale didn't happen.  Which one?  It could have been either.  Trying to figure out how to move money around.  How not to kill people if all the work and packing had been for nothing.  To still be in the old house when the baby came.  Hoping the baby didn't come early due to stress.  The thought of two mortgages.  The thought of being homeless.  You get the idea.  And it wasn't just me being pregnant and crazy.  It seemed like at some point any of those scenarios was a possibility. During all that...

So I'm late.  No, not that kind of late.  Well, actually, that kind of late as well.  Very, very late in that regard.  Anyway, I'm closer to Week 29 than 28 now but the picture belongs to 28 1/2 so we'll stick with that. Total weight gain: About 21 pounds (confirmed by doctor's scale last Wednesday). One pound more than where I was last time.  Feeling quite big already. Movement: More of the same--still very active. He's big enough to hurt me now, which is fun.  Gotta love it when you're talking and then sound crazy as you're disciplining someone who isn't even visible.  Or, you know, able to be disciplined. Cravings: Ho hum.  Sweets.  But trying to avoid them. Similarities: Crazy dreams, baby brain, forgetfulness, lots of waking in the middle of the night, general discomfort.  Differences: Freakin' ridiculous sciatica.  This started around Week 26 and was REALLY bad from Week 27-28.5.  Luckily, it has sin...

Total weight gain : Uh, 17 pounds. Seriously? I gained 7 pounds in the last 4 weeks?! Huh. Oh, well upon looking back, this is 2 pounds less than where I was last time. That makes me feel a little less freaked out. I'll go ahead and post 24 week pictures from Baby #1 and #2 for comparison's sake. Continuing to measure right on track according to yesterday's doctor's appointment (where baby's heart rate was about 140--yea for remembering!).  People still think I'm small, though.  Especially when they find out this is not my first rodeo. (last time) (this time) Movement : Goodness, this guy must be getting beefy and/or long in there. Lots of movement and it's strong enough to be jarring sometimes. Can definitely see it from the outside now. Cravings : Still with the sweets. And pancakes. Especially blueberry pancakes. And now booze. But I'm not giving in to that one. Similarities : Baby brain, vivid dreams, forgetfulness. Differences : B...

Total weight gain: Ten pounds. (Four pounds less than Week 20 the first time around.) But I think it's a bit more obvious I'm pregnant. If you hadn't noticed, I'm trying to take pictures with the same outfit each month. Pants will likely change since these still aren't maternity ones (just my fat pants from after I had the Chicken). And seeing as how I'll be pregnant in the summer, odds are they'll change to shorts. And check out that mean farmer's tan/burn! Worked outside a lot last weekend. Uh, and looking back at Week 20 (1st ed.)? I'm totally showing more this time even with 4 fewer pounds. Despite that, I was measuring right on track at the doctor's appointment today (where I forgot to get the fetal heart rate--shame on me). Movement: While there were probably flutterings earlier on, the first time I definitely noticed it wasn't gas was on March 2nd. Hubby was able to feel it for the first time this past Sunday. I had a dental appoint...

So I think this will be a little different this second time around. As I don't plan on there being a third time around, I probably won't refer back to this as much so things might not be as detailed. You know, that, and the baby brain keeps me from remembering things... Total weight gain: About 5 pounds. Apparently enough to be at the point where I just look chubby. Movement: I don't think I've felt anything besides gas. Cravings: Goodness. I guess I just crave food. I have a crazy appetite and I'll be honest with you. I haven't eaten as well this time around. Sorry, bebe! Belly button: I'm only going to include this one time. Per my surgeon, I should remain an innie. If he turns out to be lying, I'll let you know. Similarities: We're using the same OB as last time. No real morning sickness. Started off having bad skin. Still having headaches. Baby brain. Differences: The OB has moved offices/practices. So far things seem to be going a little ...

As many of you know, we had a hard time picking a name when Chicken was born. As we were Team Green, we had to think about boy and girl names. We ended up making our own lists, vetoing, vetoing some more, combining the remaining names, vetoing, and narrowing it down to 4 of each gender by the time we headed to the delivery room. Will baby #2's name come from the short list? Who knows... If it's a girl, I doubt it. But here are some rejects that won't be revived. Under any circumstances. Girls Auden Clover Verlaine Winifred Padget Winda Boys Doyle Langston Longhorn/Langhorn Philemon Birch O'Neill Mmhmm. I'm not even making these up.

Lots of people have asked a lot of questions lately. Yes, I really am going to stop the monthly letters to and pictures of Chicken. Hopefully that will mean more frequent posting as things occur. She'll probably get a yearly letter. While I know they do keep on rapidly changing, I don't think any year can compare to the first in that department. Granted, it's the only one we've experienced thus far. No, I don't plan on doing weekly updates during this pregnancy. I do hope to do monthly ones along with monthly belly pics. The very detailed record the first time around was for many reasons, not the least of which was to help me remember (during pregnancy #2) what happened when (during pregnancy #1). It's amazing how quickly you forget stuff. Yes, I'm planning on going back to work once we have 2 kids (under 2. OMG.). Yes, we were trying. No, it's probably very rarely ok to ask someone that question. Perhaps only to your best friend. As we already have tons...

Finally, right? Still getting the hang of this whole parenting gig but things are going better than I expected. I think we've started the first growth spurt because Little Miss Thang has been Cranky. Pants. And hungry. Often. Good thing she's cute. I was looking at her over the weekend and thinking that it seemed like she was longer and hoped she had at least reached her birth weight since she lost the higher end of normal within the first four days. She had her 2-week pedi follow-up yesterday and it was confirmed. She was up 1 lb 1 oz and over an inch from Day 4. Yea! Ok, so on with the story (which you'll want to avoid if you're squeamish)... On Saturday evening (the 22nd), I started having some random light contractions. It wasn't just that the crappy movie Hubby was watching was making me sick. (Seriously, what's with men and watching bad movies? Like Jean Claude Van Damme bad.) They were just light cramping but I felt good knowing that somethi...

The thing about pregnancy is that women only recently started to talk a little candidly about the, um, less desirable parts. Even the books kind of minimized things. You need to find frank authors and friends and pump them for information. Then comes labor and delivery. One of my friends recently mentioned that there's even less information about what comes after the baby. While friends and family coo over the wonderful new addition, mom is often left out in the cold to deal with all sorts of weird things lumped into the category of "recovery." All I have to say is thank God for the blogs and books and friends who were willing to give a realistic picture of what to expect because a lot of this stuff would freak you the heck out if blindsided by it. With that, I figure I'll do one more recap post similar to the pregnancy ones. Total weight gain: I tell ya, I'm glad people said that you appear 6-7 months pregnant even after you've gotten rid of amniotic fluid, ...

I'm remiss in posting. I guess I'll go with the usual Saturday template but may have some repeat information from Tuesday: Total weight gain: As of Tuesday at the doctor's, 28 lbs. Down a pound. I swear I'm eating more so I wonder how this weight is getting re-allocated. Movement: Still very active and often painfully so (especially in my hip area). Those little limbs are also a bit uncomfortable. I told Hubby that after the baby's born I'm going to jab him in his sensitive areas (like his belly button and Adam's apple) with those little feet and fists. Cravings: Not really anything. Symptoms: Crazy dreams, baby brain, forgetfulness, lots of waking in the middle of the night, crazy back pain, more frequent hip pain from sleeping on my side, good hair, more pressure from baby settling and ligament pain, general feeling of uncomfortable-ness a lot of the time, more daytime pottying, digestive issues, some middle insomnia, rings are still tight-ish. As of y...

I figure I'll forget this by Saturday so I'd go ahead and post this morning. That and I'm still not in the mood to work (but really should try to focus today). Last night I had what felt like a very lengthy dream. I was in labor at home and things were going fine. The next thing I knew, however, it was the day of the baby's first pediatrician appointment (which will be Day 4 of baby's life outside his/her currently way-too-comfy home). It wasn't just a flash forward, though. In the dream it seemed like I had amnesia--at least for that period of time. This was disturbing to me because I didn't know the baby's gender or date of birth or name or if I had changed diapers or how breastfeeding was going. And in the dream I felt like I couldn't ask anyone and we were suddenly at the doctor's office (via helicopter, I might add). So there I am at the appointment and I can't refer to my own baby by name or gender-specific pronoun. Kept having to say ...

Ho hum. So just a brief update on yesterday (which was officially one week till D Day). Still feeling uncomfortable and with lots of belly tightness. I thought surely there would be progress. Nope. Still the same as last week, which left me surprisingly disappointed. All systems are go regarding trying the old wives tales but don't expect a baby anytime soon. And speaking of that, I promise I won't secretively give birth and forget to tell any of you... Scout's honor (and Hubby was/is an Eagle Scout so you know I mean business).

Total weight gain: As of Tuesday at the doctor's, 29 lbs. Since the due date was altered, I really should be blogging on Tuesdays instead of Saturdays. I stuck with Saturdays because it seemed like I had more time but I think I may switch this week (on, you know, Tuesday...when I'm really 39 weeks). Movement: Still very active and often painfully so. Cravings: Not really anything. I have been more hungry lately but I'm tending to stick to bland foods. Symptoms: Crazy dreams, baby brain, forgetfulness, lots of waking in the middle of the night, crazy back pain, more frequent hip pain from sleeping on my side, good hair, more pressure from baby settling and ligament pain, general feeling of uncomfortable-ness a lot of the time, more daytime pottying, digestive issues, some middle insomnia, rings are still tight-ish. So on Tuesday my belly started feeling very tight/hard. It was like Braxton Hicks but really more constant and I couldn't really stop it with the norm...

So I mentioned that the baby dropped to ring in the new year. I know these are really awful pictures in terms of quality but they're the only ones I have that really show what a big change my belly has had in a short time. The first one is from Christmas weekend. Looking pretty big, still carrying high. The second is from New Year's Day. Baby has dropped, belly actually looks smaller. Pardon my miserable expression. Really wasn't feeling well that day. And then the last is from Saturday. Belly looks huge again. I think that makes it look less low but believe me. That baby's head is way down there. Just ask my poor hips. It will be interesting to see what happens once this baby is out. I'm really surprised all the weight gain and lack of skinniness hasn't bothered me at all. I haven't been self-conscious or weirded out. I know it's normal and gradual but I still wasn't sure how I'd feel about it. Now I wonder if the extra (jiggly) ...

Total weight gain: As of Tuesday at the doctor's, 28 lbs. Movement: Still very active and often painfully so. Cravings: Pretty much anything that's not good for me. Eating well (or even just trying to) is tiring. Symptoms: Crazy dreams, baby brain, forgetfulness, lots of waking in the middle of the night, slightly less frequent crazy back pain, more frequent hip pain from sleeping on my side, good hair, more pressure from baby settling and ligament pain, general feeling of uncomfortable-ness a lot of the time, more daytime pottying, digestive issues, Braxton Hicks (probably on more than 50% of days). Middle insomnia for about 1-2 hours--but less frequently this week. Forgot to mention that my rings are fitting a little too snugly lately so I've stopped wearing them unless I'm leaving the house. They go on but almost need the jaws of life to get off. Maybe with winter weather returning, this will change. Belly button: Still in and that 1/4 of it that was poking ou...

After a very productive week/weekend, the nursery is just about done. I think the only thing I want to do is whip up a simple padded headboard and Hubby needs to trim down the legs on a little footstool. That's it! Finally! So without further ado... This is what you see when you walk in the door. Too bad the baby won't be able to appreciate it right away. (And I'll apologize right off the bat for having some wonky-colored photographs in this post. I just don't have the energy to fix things. At least on my monitor, the above pic is roughly true-to-life.) Would you like to see that awesome rug a little better? Man, I love it. It was the one splurge for the room but it has such great colors, fun animals and designs, and is round. All my criteria were met. Love. Here's the corner with the crib. I wanted a clean, simple, modern, white crib. I hate to admit it but we ordered it from Wal-Mart. Hey, at least we didn't have to enter an actual store to get it. It was ine...