34/35 weeks

I had my midwife appointment last Friday. It was short, and not much news, but the nice part was that the midwife let Roxanne "help" a lot. It was very cute. She got to stand up on a stool and help with the doppler and help measure my belly. So cute! I'm still measuring large, but at the same proportion as last time, so the ultrasound results should still stand, putting the baby in the 62nd percentile for size. She didn't mention anything about another ultrasound, just that "we'll have to make an executive decision at some point" about the c-section versus not. I go back in two weeks.
I'm feeling OK. Just trying to wrap up about a billion things while also keeping my feet up as much as possible. The swelling in my feet and hands is starting to be obtrusive, in part because of the heat I think. I need to be drinking more water, but it's rough! Having to run to the bathroom every five seconds is trying enough, but when you add extra water, I might as well just stay within five feet of a restroom at ALL times. The baby's room is coming along well. I'm going to post photos on the house blog, but here's a few shots of the room, just for fun.

Some Roxanne photos...

OK, so I still can't find my camera charger, but my bosses have the same one, so I charged the battery at work. I asked Justin to take a few pictures of Roxanne in her dress up clothes while I was in class last night, since she almost always puts on one princess dress or another once she gets home. These were on the camera once I checked it after class.Here's a portrait of Justin by Roxanne. She loves taking pictures these days. I find this one particularly awesome.
Here she is in her Belle dress, with the addition of fairy wings. How can one make a princess even better? Add wings.
Yeah, she really really really likes pretending to be a princess these days. Can you tell?
She's also become a big fan of making weird hand gestures in photos. She's like a frat boy making some kind of secret hand gesture every time we get the camera pointed at her. Except hers have no relation to the Greek alphabet.

Happy Fourth of (rainy) July!

I hope you all have had a nicer fourth than we did. Well, that's not true. Ours was nice, but not what we planned, thanks to all the storming. We went to our neighborhood pool party, which was surprisingly fun. It was a pot luck, and I brought some baked squash and zucchini, which I promise didn't taste like a wintery dish. They are both in season right now, so the Farmer's Market had a lovely selection of them. Anyways, we had a nice time at the pool, but after we finished eating, it started thundering and the lifeguards made everyone get out. It seemed like things were only getting worse storm-wise, so we ducked out and went home. Roxanne and I napped while Justin mowed the lawn... We ventured back out later and had dinner at the new Big Tex Cantina in Decatur (yum) and tried to gauge whether or not the fireworks would be cancelled. By 9:30, it was still raining with intermittent lightning and thunder so we gave up and headed home. Roxanne got a consolation "dirt and worms" sundae at Bruster's on the way home. Late bedtime for Roxanne means tomorrow is going to be rough, but oh well. That's what holidays are about, right?

This weekend has been nice, but it went by way too fast! We wanted to get as much done on the baby's room as possible, since we are closing in on delivery day. But more on that later... We got out the baby clothes we had saved from Roxanne, and rewashed all of the 0-12 month stuff and are in the process of putting the roughly ONE BILLION outfits into the dressers in the baby's room. The good news is that we have plenty of gender neutral stuff in 0-6 month sizes. After that it's more girl-specific and summery, which won't work too well based on the fact that this baby will be 6 months old in winter-time, and the fact that it could be a boy. Although that is highly doubtful... We also sorted baby gear, and washed carseat covers and put things in easy reach for when the baby is actually born. We are so lucky to have more room this time around, and also so lucky to have such wonderful family to share equipment with. The only thing we need to purchase for the baby is the crib, but since my aunt and uncle gave us a pack and play with a bassinet attachment, we aren't in a huge rush to get it. We've settled on the Gulliver crib from IKEA, which with a decent mattress (also IKEA) will cost under $200. It was not an easy decision to not use Roxanne's beautiful crib, but after hours and hours of research on the new crib safety standards, we decided that spending the money would be worth the peace of mind. It's never a good sign that we would actually be breaking the law if we tried to resell Roxanne's crib. Seriously. It is now illegal to try and resell any drop-side cribs. Even thrift stores, etc., are no longer allowed to. If we knew this baby wasn't going to be a climber, or would only be in the crib for a short time, we'd definitely have just used it. But considering this is at least a 3 year deal (including the time that it will be used as a toddler bed) the extra investment just seems worth it. Can you tell I still feel a little guilty? On the upside, IKEA's cribs are rated very well, and they conform to European safety standards, which are more stringent than the American ones. Phew. It's amazing how much has changed since we had Roxanne...

As for the nursery, we got some art on the walls, and really only have three or four things left to do. I finished knitting the pouf stool I've been working on, so now I just need to find time to stitch it up and stuff it. Soon! I'm also planning to make a mobile. I've been looking around online and I think I have some good plans, but we'll see. A big "to do" is to replace the light fixture in there. There is currently a rather rickety ceiling fan that is ugly and makes me nervous when the fan is running. I think we have a fixture we could use in basement (bought when we moved in but never installed). I'm just not sure how I'll get my 8 month pregnant self hoisted up and able to balance things well enough to switch the fixture. Justin could probably do it if I walked him through it, but I know he doesn't like dealing with the electrical stuff. Maybe we'll just call in some friends to help... :) I did finally finish the curtains this weekend though. I'd take photos, but even though I finally got our camera to work again, I now can't find the battery charger. Sigh. Trust me, the room is coming along, and looking cute. But if anyone has any leads on where to find CHEAP but large storage bins for toys, please let me know. That's one thing I haven't been able to find.

For the baby update: I had my ultrasound last Friday. Justin came, but it was a little anticlimactic, since we didn't really get to see much of baby bumblebee. We saw the top of the head and the heartbeat, but no face, no little feet, etc. And we certainly didn't get any fun pictures to take home! Oh well. I guess getting an ultrasound to determine the baby's size is probably not the time that they do all the fun stuff. As far as that goes, they estimate the baby to be around 5 pounds 5 ounces, which puts the baby in about the 65th percentile, which is great! After that I had a good visit with Judy, the most senior midwife at my practice, who I *really hope* will deliver the baby. She is very straightforward and doesn't sugar coat things, which can be hurtful sometimes, but she definitely knows what she's talking about. She said that I've done very well with my weight gain so far (I'm up about ten pounds since I got pregnant) and that might be helping with the baby being more "average" for weight. The downside is shoulder dystocia is apparently VERY hard to predict and can happen even in second or third deliveries, and even with smaller babies. So, for now, her proposed course of action for delivery is to schedule an induction for 39 weeks if I don't go into labor on my own before then, and go ahead and have a doctor on call in case I end up needing a C-section. If they schedule the induction, she said they will watch very closely for ANY kind of slow downs at any point in the labor. If any slow downs occur, they will proceed with a C-section, under the assumption that the slow down could be related to shoulder dystocia. I trust her judgement on things, in part because she is currently researching shoulder dystocia extensively because she's helping to defend a midwife who was involved in a "bad case of shoulder dystocia." I found out after Roxanne's birth that shoulder dystocia is apparently a big source of liability lawsuits for midwives and OBGYNs. It does surprise me a little, since shoulder dystocia only happens in about 1% of births.

Here's me at 33 weeks:
On an unrelated note, Roxanne has been telling me often that she is "so excited about the new baby." She has been playing pretend babies very very often the last month or so, too. Poor kid, I hope she feels that way in two months when she isn't getting as much attention anymore... She loves putting baby dolls or stuffed animals (also called babies) under her dress and then having them "come out" even though she tells me she doesn't know how they got in there. She tells me she has lots of babies in her belly and they kick her all the time. And she reminds Justin often: "You don't have a baby in your belly, Daddy, you just ate a lot of food." Poor Justin. He really doesn't have a belly though. Honest. He's as trim as ever. She basically talks non-stop these days (what's new?) and has started really showing her social inclinations. She wants to talk to everyone. She waves at strangers on the sidewalks and if they wave back, she tells me she made a new friend that she's never seen before. We've been gently trying to introduce the whole "stranger danger" concept, but I think it's not sticking at all. She wants to talk to anyone and everyone. I think she's going to really like starting pre-school in September. And let's hope that having a sibling around will help a little, too!

32 Weeks Tomorrow

So, this Friday we are going back to the special ultrasound place to have another "photoshoot" with baby bumblebee. At my appointment two Fridays ago, my belly measured large, which I find frustrating since I'm still only about 8 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, but oh well. The midwife had originally said we should do an ultrasound at 36 weeks, but after the measurement, she decided to do it at 32/33 instead. Justin came with me for that last appointment, so it was nice to have a second set of ears to listen to the advice and procedures we have ahead of us. Basically, if the baby looks to be very large at the ultrasound, we'll likely be headed towards a C-section, but she also mentioned the possibility of having another ultrasound at 38 or so weeks, so we'll see. Other than that, things are pretty OK with pregnancy stuff. I get sore and swollen and uncomfortable by the end of the day and the Braxton Hicks contractions sometimes freak me out, but I know it could be much worse. Chasing 3 kids all day and then taking night classes twice a week is not ideal at 8 months pregnant (especially in this Georgia heat) but I thank my lucky stars every day that it's doable. I don't know what we would do if I had been put on bed rest, and as always, I'm very very appreciative that I'm in the home stretch and we will be having a sibling for Roxanne soon!

We have a LOT to do before baby comes, but I'm just not feeling panicked yet. I think having to focus so much on work and school makes it hard to think about the hospital tour and getting the baby's room all done, but I'm sure part of it is also just that this is our second baby. I know that in reality, the baby won't be sleeping in his or her room for a little while, so I can finish up some of these projects while I'm on leave. I'm planning to take a week off before my due date and then 8 weeks after the baby is born. So 9 weeks total. I'm also taking the semester off of school, although I'll still be registered for "thesis research" hours, which imply independent study and don't require any classroom time or graded materials. I'm hoping I can get lots of reading done for my thesis, and maybe even have a prospectus written by the end of leave. That would be amazing!

Roxanne is getting fairly excited about the baby, although I know it's still pretty abstract to her. She usually says she wants a sister, and she often wants to buy things like tiny tutus for it when we are out shopping. She has been playing with her baby dolls a lot more, and tells me she is a good big sister to them, and that her dollies can be "friend babies" for baby bumblebee. She also often puts the babies under her dress and then they "come out" and she takes care of them. She "nurses" them, but apparently that takes place through her knee. She is very curious about all of that stuff, and I'm sure it will get more intense once the baby comes, but I'm not worried about it. She usually asks funny questions of the midwife, like "is the baby going to come out through a door in Mommy's tummy?" or she asks me and Justin: "Have you ever heard of the name ___" complete with some really really weird combination of sounds. Although she has suggested "Felicia" several times lately, because she says it sounds like a flower. She will sometimes ask, "don't you love that name? Can we name the baby that?" and Justin and I always tell her we'll put it on the list of choices for the baby's name. Usually she is fine with that answer, but sometimes, she'll push and want to know why we won't just go ahead and pick that name as the baby's name. She spent close to a week pushing a name that sounded like "awful-cough" and still sometimes brings it up every once in a while. She definitely means well, and it's hard to tell her no!

Oh, and I'm sorry for the lack of photos. Our camera has been acting up a lot lately, giving this "lens error" thing and then shutting itself down, and from what I've read online, it is something we can keep temporarily fixing by banging it into things (I have not resorted to this yet...) or blowing out the lens cap until I feel woozy, and doing a little bit of rough handling with the lens as it comes in and out. But the bad news is that this seems to be usually a sign that the camera is on it's way to dying. Considering we've had it almost four and a half years, I guess we shouldn't be surprised. It was not a super fancy camera to begin with. Just like our Mazda, which is also breaking over and over and bleeding us dry, there is no money for a replacement right now. Here's hoping the special tricks keep working on this thing for a while. Or else we'll be taking baby photos on my Blackberry. :)

Oh, and just for fun, here's my 30 weeks pregnant photo at our old apartment when I was pregnant with Roxanne.
And here's me at 30 weeks with baby bumblebee. I guess my belly does look bigger... I guess I'm just confused because I always have been told that your belly is always bigger faster with your second baby. Better safe than sorry, I guess!

Baby Bumblebee Update

So here's my belly tonight. And my exhausted face after a day of work and a night of class... I am 29 weeks pregnant as of yesterday. I seriously thought I was 30, but after double checking in a half-hearted way, I guess it's actually 29... I have NO idea how I lost track of such an obvious thing, but I do remember that happening with Roxanne sometimes, too. I haven't been as good this time around about taking weekly photos (close to it though) or posting on the blog, so I have less occasion to "announce" or record things. I can say with certainty that I'm now on the every 2 weeks schedule for midwife visits. Once I'm 36 weeks, it will be weekly. Ugh. I had my last appointment last Friday, and my next one will be next Friday. Last week I had my second gestational diabetes screen, and I found out today that I passed! I'm very relieved, since it looked like I might not based on my borderline results from the first test. I also talked to the midwife about my due date and the shoulder dystocia/giant baby concerns. She told me that they would not let me go past 39 weeks, so I will either be induced or have a C-section by then. They will have me do a late ultrasound probably around 36 weeks to check on the size of the baby, and that will dictate a lot of the decisions about delivery. I'm sincerely hoping the baby looks to be a smaller size than Roxanne, and based on the fact that I've been measuring "on track" for where I am in the pregnancy, I think maybe I have room to hope...? I feel pretty sure that with Roxanne I was always measuring ahead. I've also gained about 5 pounds to date this pregnancy, although the weight gain has picked up and I'm having more trouble keeping it off. Partly because I'm starting to have some swelling, especially at the end of the day... But I swear I had cankles with Roxanne way before this point, so that has to be a good sign... The baby's heartrate was in the 140's, so not great for pin-pointing a gender, but again somewhere in the middle. Sneaky! I have to admit, in my mind, the baby is a girl. It just seems more likely. I'd be perfectly happy to eat those words, though! We'd be happy with either. I'm just hoping for a healthy baby. I'm still so relieved we've gotten this far. We feel very lucky. :)

Memorial Day Beach Trip

I'm sorry for the radio silence. I've been taking a Maymester class, which is an entire semester smashed into 3 weeks. Blergh. But it's over! My final was tonight, so I have a whole four days or so before my next semester starts up next Tuesday. This one coming up is going to be AWFUL. The syllabus is the stuff of nightmares... But I'll get through it. I'll be taking a nine week maternity leave starting on August 15, the week before my due date. I think that will be a really nice break. Back to the point; we just got back last night from a short trip to St. Simons Island. We had a great time, and got to meet up some with my sister and her family and my mom and stepdad and half-sister, too. We had lots of fun adventures on St. Simons and Jekyll Island, and it all went by too fast. I did remember to take some photos, although I fully admit I forgot the camera SEVERAL times. Blame pregnancy brain... Also, the photos are in reverse chronological order. The beach photos are all from Jekyll Island, where we had a nice visit to the Sea Turtle Hospital (as Roxanne calls it) again, and Roxanne was excited to show Justin. Then we went to Driftwood Beach at Jekyll, with all the giant, gorgeous driftwood trees. The beach there is lovely, but the part we were on faced an inlet, so not many waves and the water was really silty. Still nice though. The pier photos are from St. Simons. I'm telling you, I dropped the ball on the camera thing, so you'll just have to imagine all the cute images of Roxanne playing in the ocean and pool with her cousins. Sorry.

The little boss

Whew, Roxanne is getting to be a sassy kid. I keep reading about how 3-year-olds go through tough phases, and yeah. Don't get me wrong, she's still awesome, just a little more challenging. She's always had such strong opinions, but now she is almost impossible to deter on things because she can take matters into her own hands. She's extremely independent, and doesn't want you to do much for her. She wants to climb into the car, buckle herself into her carseat, pick out her own clothes, put on what she can figure out on her own (before dissolving into a fit when she can't totally succeed on her own...) and definitely get her shoes on by herself. Basically, anything that she is physically capable of doing by herself, she wants to do by herself. In some ways, it's definitely nice, but in others, it gets old. Like when you are in a hurry and you just want to buckle her in and not wait for her to fiddle with her whatever six toys she's brought into the car, or buckle her babydoll into Ben's carseat (if he's not in the car), etc. etc. before buckling herself. She's always had strong opinions about the radio in the car, and wants the volume up to her liking, but now she's starting to (try) and pick the station, too. She likes the station we often listen to, which is an indie rock/college radio type XM station, but she will sometimes ask for "Fifties on Five," which she asks for just like that. And some days she's very patient about listening to NPR with me in the mornings or evenings, but other times she'll demand "music please! I don't want to listen to the news." Fair enough...

She's getting back into playing with baby dolls, which had been thrown over for playing with tiny Hello Kitty statues and Squinkies and Calico Critters. She still loves the little things, but now she wants to feed her babies, and change their clothes, and talk about their diapers. I'm not sure if it was brought on by talk about Baby Bumblebee, but I think it's cute. We talk about the baby kind of a lot, just in terms of trying to talk about how much the baby is going to love Roxanne and want to play with her. She has plenty of experience through my job about how much babies cry and require attention, so I'm actually not all that worried about that aspect. I think she'll adjust to sharing me fairly well since she already does every day with a baby and another toddler, but I do worry sometimes about her jealousy with Justin. They have gotten so close now that he has nights during the week of just the two of them. I worry that fall semester especially will be rough. I'll have class two nights a week, and the semester starts on my due date. So Justin will be at home with a brand brand new baby and Roxanne by himself. On the upside, I'm basically only taking one class, and it's shorter, so even though it's two nights a week, I'll be done and home before 9, whereas I usually am not home until after 10 twice a week. I'm sure they'll figure it out, but I hope it won't be too rough on them both! I've been trying to do plenty of reading about helping toddlers transition to having a sibling, etc., and I'm hoping that since she'll be 3.5, she'll be able to handle it fairly maturely. At least not too violently...

In other Roxanne news, she's still obsessed with writing and painting and drawing. She is very into letters and spelling. She loves "Super Why" on PBS Kids, and will often pretend to be "Princess P" from the show. I've been trying to scale her back on TV that isn't educational in an outright way, and keep her mostly watching PBS shows. She seems totally fine with that. She always wants to talk about different letters and what words start with them. I make letter color sheets for her so she can practice tracing the letters, and she definitely likes to. I don't hawk over her and monitor what she's doing, and it's all very laid back. I'm nervous about teaching her to write because she's left-handed. I have been reading about lefty toddlers, and it sounds like you have to be careful not to try and teach them writing the same way you would a righty. Sounds silly, but looking at the research, it totally makes sense. I'm trying to find a good book/workbook to help educate me and Justin about how to help Roxanne as she's learning to write. I keep reading that if you force them into righty habits in writing, they will often hit a point in school where they lag behind in writing skills. For now, we're trying to encourage her to keep practicing writing and learning the sounds letters make, but not in a scary, or even school type way. I'm a firm believer in the concept that just because a toddler can read or write does not mean that they should. But I love it when she asks me "Does "B" start with "Baby Bumblebee?" She always phrases that backwards. It's so cute.

Sorry for no photos this time! I've been bad about taking any...