Thursday, August 28, 2008

3 days to go...

39 and a half weeks

So, my due date is looming near and yet there isn't a whole lot that tells me Grace is on her way. Went to the midwife yesterday and she checked and said that I'm 1cm and about 60% effaced (which is progress from last week) but at the same time it's not like I'm in labor. But, that's okay. I've really wanted a September baby ever since I found out I was pregnant. So, I'm okay right now.
Something I've been meaning to write about is a couple of things that I just don't "get." The first is the fact that total strangers (grocery store clerks, nail salon tech's, cleaning ladies) feel obligated to tell me that I "look small." Meaning, they don't think my baby is big enough to possibly be born on Monday and with a tone that questions if a baby that small could be healthy. Just as it would be incredibly rude to tell a very pregnant (hormonal) woman that she is "huge" it is just as rude to say the opposite. To think that the size of one's baby has anything to do with the person carrying it is ridiculous. Meaning that I can't control her size. She is what she is; Maddie was small too and perfectly healthy. I JUST MAKE SMALL BABY GIRLS! At least that's what I feel like saying. But instead, I try to be cordial and smile, but now I'm sick of it and I'm determined to come up with a better comeback for these sorts of comments, but I'm sure that by the time I come up with one, Grace will be here! Making small baby girls brings me to my second point that I don't "get." Why is it that whenever someone (anyone) asks me if I'm having a boy or girl, and I reply "another girl :)" (I say it with a smile-to show them that I'm happy about having another girl) they give me a look and then say something along the lines of "you'll get a boy next time," or "gotta tell Gabe to keep trying." NO. We don't want to "try." We are pretty (90%) sure that we are done having babies and we are fine; scratch that, we are THRILLED to be having 2 girls. Sisters. That's what I've always wanted; is to have girls because I know the importance of a sister. And, no offense to boys, but why are they deemed such a prized possession? I mean, we're not in China and we're not royalty looking for an heir to the throne. So, I just want to say, for the record, that we are ecstatic about having another girl. Another total individual to love and know. Now, if we could just meet her...

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Maddie's Picture

I just wanted to post and say that the picture to the left of Maddie is not one I took. It's beautiful and I love it so much, but a man named Tim, who works at Dog School is studying photography and he took this picture of Maddie yesterday when she was there visiting. Just didn't want to take the credit :)

Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Update

So, the official update is that there still isn't anything to report :( Went to the midwife today and she finally checked me and came to the conclusion that I'm not dilated at all! Now, they always tell you that just because you aren't dilated today doesn't mean you won't be tomorrow. But, who knows. She also said that I'm measuring small again (which is what happened 2 months ago and they sent me for that second sonogram to find that nothing is wrong-she's just a small baby). She said maybe the baby has "dropped" (ya know, into the pelvis to get ready to be born) and that's why I'm measuring small. Last week and the week before I measured right on track with what I was supposed to, so this is a change, but not one that concerned me. To be honest, if she just dropped now, maybe we'll start getting somewhere :) But, as I was reminded when I told my mom about it, I really want Grace to be born in September. Plus, Gabe really thinks she isn't due on the 1st but more like the 9th (that's the due date given by the sonographer) and that would also account for her being a little small. So, anyone's guess is as good as ours. To not be too boring, I'll only post the most pertinent information as it comes along. My next appointment is next Wednesday.
On another, totally different note, I got an exciting phone call today. The preschool that is less than a mile from our house, half the price cheaper and more Christian based called today and they have an opening for Maddie!!! The bonus of this school is that it's also a co-op so I have the opportunity to help out and meet the teacher's, etc. So, we're in. I called the other preschool and said we are withdrawing. It just feels so right for her to go to this preschool instead, but it had been March, the last time I heard from them and it was only to tell me that we were on a wait list. So, prayers are answered :) Now, her first day of school will be on September 8th and my mom will be here for that which will be a really great memory. So, I'm glad this happened today because it kept me distracted from thinking about when on earth Grace would be born.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Monday

We had a great weekend, but still no baby :) To be honest, I was up at 3:30am today thinking "this might be labor" but then the contractions and crampiness stopped :( Plus, everything I've heard/read/experienced tells me that if I'm wondering if it's labor, then it usually isn't. So, another week ahead. I don't go back to the midwife until Thursday so we'll just wait until then.
This weekend, Gabe and I got to go out on a date on Friday night, then on Saturday we just did family stuff and bbq'd ribs and then yesterday we went to church and then hung out and went to our meetings in the evening. At church, when we went to pick Maddie up from the nursery, she said "bye-bye park" and I reminded her that we're at church, not the park and so she said "bye-bye church; bye kids." The teachers were laughing. It's pretty funny to hear. She loves going there though and we're so glad because it's been good practice for pre-school. She has her orientation for pre-school on the 10th of September and then she officially starts on the 17th. I'm really looking forward to her going because it's only a couple days a week (Wed. & Thurs.) and she'll get to play with other kids her age and have a break from me and the baby. But, I'm also sad at how old she seems getting ready to go to school. I'm sure that lots of moms feel this way when their oldest is starting some sort of program outside of the home, but deep down I know it's so good for her; I always said I wanted her to be independent and this just seems to be one of those stepping stones. I'm hoping that I can maybe have the baby in enough time to be out of the hospital by the day of orientation because I really want to go to that. We'll see.
We don't have a lot planned this week. The weather seems nice today so maybe the park? Happy Monday :)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Still waiting...

Well, there's no real news to report. Went to the midwife yesterday and she didn't "check" me or anything. I think maybe next week they will... not that it makes a difference because the only real sign that the baby is coming is contractions! I've been crampy for days, but nothing that makes me feel like it's EVER going to happen :) So, that's where I'm at. Maddie is feeling much better and hopefully we can stop using the nebulizer on Saturday. She's still coughing/runny nose, but not contagious, so we've been laying low waiting for her to get better. We made it to open gym at Gymboree yesterday for about 40 minutes and she had fun. Since we missed our class on Tuesday because of Maddie not feeling well, the people who work there thought that I must have had my baby. Well, obviously not :) Gabe has dog shows tomorrow and Saturday and they are sort of far away, so he won't be around much. Maddie and I will have to come up with things to do. I ordered Maddie and "I'm the Big Sister" t-shirt for when she comes to the hospital after Grace is born and it came in the mail the other day and it's so cute! I may take a picture of it and post it later. Have a good Thursday!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

August so far...


A quick note about some of the pic's: The first one is Maddie lounging in my bed after her bath one night (all she needs is a cup of tea and she'd be me:) The next one is of her playing with Daddy's shoes which she does every day lately. She puts them on and tries to walk, but usually doesn't get very far. The pic in the middle is her "getting dressed" over her pajamas-she thought this was pretty clever. The next pic is her modeling an outfit that her Nonnie sent her. Then, there's the pic of the tummy last week. The final 2 pictures are her trying to wear our dishtowels :) Enjoy!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Doctor appointments and Nebulizer treatments

So, as you can tell from the title of this post that Maddie has gotten worse! She was having trouble breathing yesterday (wheezing) and I called the doctor and had to drive to Fairfax to have her seen at the other office. So, the doctor there gave her Singular to take last night, but wasn't feeling like she needed asthma med's yet. He said "let's see how she does." Well, to answer that, we woke up this morning to Maddie's breathing being shallow and rapid with lots of wheezing/coughing mixed in. It really scared me. I have asthma, but I can't remember the last time mine was so bad that I sounded like she did. Thankfully the doctors office was open this morning and they took her as the first patient; they could probably hear the worry in my voice over the phone. We went to the doctor and Gabe met us there and sure enough, they decided she needed a Nebulizer treatment. If you have kids and you've never done this, count yourself lucky. Here's the thing; I'm sure in time, she'll get more used to it and it won't seem so scary, but this was not that time. It's a loud little machine and I have to basically hold her arms down and simultaneously hold this little mask over her nose and mouth. She screamed the whole time and I thought that the stress of that was enough to make me go into labor! It's one of those parenting things-you know that what you're doing will help her in the long run, but in that moment you want to make her feel safe and not so scared. I think that can be an analogy that is useful to parents of children that are any age. So, we survived. As soon as the medicine was done, the crying and screaming stopped. Her lungs sounded better the doctor said, but now we have to do Nebulizer treatments every 4 hours for the entire weekend and then take her back on Monday to have her listened to again. Hopefully each time we do the treatments, she'll get a little less scared; I'm sure watching a little Elmo can help in that department. Too bad they don't have a DVD about Elmo getting a Neb. treatment :) So, that's been our Saturday so far. Gabe and I are supposed to go to the Redskins pre-season game tonight, but now I'm not sure. I want to go because this is probably the only game I'll get to all season, but if Maddie is still as bad as she is now, then I can't put that on Sandy to deal with. So, we'll see how the day unfolds. Also, I'm 37 weeks pregnant today (no big deal) and to be honest, I almost feel less pregnant than last week. Not sure how that's possible, but maybe because my mind has been so preoccupied with Maddie's sickness I don't have time to focus on me. That's the news for today :)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Nothing to report

Just a quick note to say we went to the midwife today and there isn't any news to report. She didn't check me like I thought she would. She just did the usual stuff and thinks that Grace is probably around 5 and half pounds at this point. Gabe and I both think she'll be just a little bigger than Maddie at birth, but maybe not by much. I go back to the midwife in a week. So, other than that, Maddie has come down with a little summer cold (runny nose, sneezing, clingy, etc.). Which means we may just be laying low tomorrow. We'll see how she sleeps tonight-hopefully well because I'm exhausted.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Sick as a...

pregnant woman in her last weeks of pregnancy? (Betcha thought I was going to say dog!) So, last night I was up until 12:30am because the nausea that I was experiencing was unbearable. I did not have this issue this late in pregnancy with Maddie. It was reminiscent of the first 3 months of pregnancy where the only thing I could stomach were saltines and ginger ale. It started with heartburn right after dinner and then progressed to I-could-vomit-at-any-minute by 10pm. Then I spent the next 2 and half hours watching TIVO'd episodes of Bridezillas (don't ask) and trying to wash down the acid that kept coming up with some Sprite. So, needless to say, I'm tired. And, unsure of why last night's sickness occurred and determined to not feel like crap today. So, that's where I'm at.
Separate from all that drama, Gabe and I went to see Coldplay in concert at the Verizon Center in DC on Sunday night. It was awesome! To be honest, I've always liked Coldplay, but not enough to want to trek to DC at 9 months pregnant and listen to loud music (it's not the Dixie Chicks-for which there are no obstacles :) But, I went and promised to be a good sport. Well, it turned out to be a terrific show with great songs played. Gabe and I had a blast and I kept calling it my "last hurrah." We didn't bring a camera though, so there's no pic's to post. I have a few funny ones of Maddie to put up and hopefully I can get to that later today.
Doctor's appointment tomorrow and hopefully some news to share. We're off to Gymboree :)

Friday, August 1, 2008

Not much to say

The title of this post says it all. We're pretty much just in waiting-for-the-new-baby mode around here. We put the double stroller together yesterday and Maddie LOVED it. She kept getting in the front seat (the big kid seat) and saying "bye-bye." Gabe and I were saying the new stroller is like a limo for kids. It's so long compared to a regular stroller, but I'm sure I'll get used to it! A couple of other mom's at Gymboree have them and they look normal pushing them around the mall :) Gabe and I finished our Prepared Childbirth class this week and we have all the breathing exercises that we need to practice. Last time I went into labor, my water broke, but no contractions-so the breathing wasn't as necessary. I'm hoping this time will be a little different, but we can't plan these things. My next doctor's appointment is Wednesday next week and that will be the first time they will "check" me to see if I'm dilating at all. Sorry if it's TMI, but that's what's going on. Today is the 1st of August and it's exactly 1 month from my due date. So, not much longer to go. I'm trying to enjoy these last weeks of pregnancy since I won't be doing it again, but that's hard to do when my back hurts bad enough to bring tears, I'm too big to turn over in the night to try and get comfortable, and it's 90 something degrees with humidity. Maddie is constantly talking about the baby. She sees me and says "hi, baby" every morning. She lifts my shirt and uses her stethoscope to listen to the baby and then she says "baby okay." I try not to talk about the baby too much with her, but she's seen and been around a lot of babies recently and she has a natural curiosity about them. I keep thinking about when I'm in the hospital and Maddie is being taken care of by Sandy, Gabe and my Mom. I've read that she'll miss me, but I may miss her more! I'm sure she'll do fine, but it will be a change for her and then when she does see me, I'll be showing up with this baby that we've been talking about since December 28th! (That's the day I found out I was pregnant). Gosh, that seems like forever ago.
So, I thought I didn't have much to say and now I've just rambled considerably. But, that's what's happening at Casa de baby. Also, I plan to change the title/address of this blog once Grace gets here, but I'll post what that is and how to find it when it happens. Have a great weekend.