Friday, December 27, 2013

UGH. COME OUT, BABY.

So I am officially over being pregnant.  I know I've said that before in different (nicer) ways, but I really AM totally over it.  And this is coming from a girl who loves being pregnant!

Well THAT'S creepy.

I've been "tired" of being pregnant just because I've been tired of being tired and what not.  Typical pregnancy woes for anybody who is or has been pregnant.  But for those out there with more than one child, you can relate to my current level of tiredness because you know how much more exhausting it is the second time around when you're pregnant AND taking care of another little one (or two or three).  It's not just all about you like the first time around.  And it is SERIOUSLY EXHAUSTING.

But I've talked about my heightened level of exhaustion for weeks, if not months.  That's nothing new.  And it's completely normal and expected.  What WAS new happened on Christmas night, I believe to be in the form of Braxton Hicks.  Well, either I was having some major Braxton Hicks contractions or just some major cramps (which are also apparently normal).  They started around 7:00 in the evening, while Lucas and I were sitting around watching TV.  At first I didn't think anything of it.....I just noticed that my belly was tightening and really becoming sore in my lower abdomen.  Then BAM!!  I had some super sharp pains that made me cry out and made my stomach tense up so tightly that I could barely move.  And of course it made the baby uncomfortable, so the baby was pushing and kicking and squirming around, which only made things worse.  Let's just say it hurt like a bitch and I was Googling causes and reliefs like a madwoman.  These horrible pains came off and on for a couple of hours (though not consistently) until I finally stood in a hot shower and then laid down on the bed (changing positions), which seemed to make it better.  I knew I wasn't in labor, but I sure was wishing it would cause me to go into labor!!  I was SO HOPEFUL that all that extreme belly tightening along with all that extreme baby squirming would cause my water to break.  But alas, it did not.

Nope.  Didn't happen.

I was terrified that yesterday was going to be the same way......loads of extreme cramps/contractions.  They hurt so bad that I really wasn't looking forward to them again.  I read that some women experience them like that for WEEKS.  And since I didn't have ANY pre-labor symptoms with Delano, this past Christmas Day was the first time I had ever personally experienced anything like that.  Luckily, I got off yesterday without a cramp or contraction.  And so far today has been the same.  I had some pretty sucky nausea this morning that took a while to sequester, but that was it.  My belly has been tightening a lot (which I guess could be considered contracting), but it hasn't been painful.  Thank goodness. 

I looked at my journal entries from 38 and 39 weeks from being pregnant with Delano, and it looks like the Number 1 thing I was battling back then was horrific heartburn.  I still (of course) have heartburn now, but it hasn't been "horrific" lately.  Thank goodness for that, too!  My 39 weeks journal entry also mentioned that at my 39 weeks doctor appointment, the doctor asked me if I wanted to wait it out or induce.....which is exactly what he said he would ask me at my appointment coming up this Monday.  Last time I decided to wait it out another week....this time I'm pretty certain I'll take the induction.  But we'll see.  :)

To wrap this up for now (since it's time to go eat dinner), here's my 38 weeks belly pic (which happened to fall on Christmas Day):


And my 38 weeks belly pic from last time:


Monday, December 23, 2013

Let's Have This Baby Already!

My child is about to make me lose my mind.  It's 4:40 pm, he has YET to nap today (besides about a 10 minute doze in the car) and he is currently screaming BLOODY MURDER in his room.  Like he's being mutilated.  He is in full meltdown mode.  YOU NEED A NAP, CHILD.  GO TO EFFING SLEEP.

Yep.  Looks about right.

I'm currently trying to drown him out by watching "The Holiday" and eating cheese and crackers.  And maybe also cookies.  And possibly chocolate.  I am SO not eating dinner.  And I could really care less.

And all in his bedroom just went dead silent.  THANK GOD. 

I am now 2 days away from being officially 38 weeks pregnant, though due to the holidays I had my 38 weeks doctor's appointment today.  I was hoping Dr. Emberson would shout out, "Ok!  Let's go have this baby!!", but alas, he did not.  Everything looked good, and my 39 weeks appointment has been scheduled for next Monday.  I was told that next Monday I can decide whether I want to have this baby the old-fashioned way (wait until labor starts on its own) or if I want to pick my baby's birthday (via induction).  Next Monday is the 30th, so I'm thinking that if he won't let me check into the hospital that night (so that I can have this baby on the 31st) then I might as well wait it out.  But we'll just see how I feel by Monday.  I can tell that I'm feeling some over-being-pregnant hormones because certain things easily annoy me that normally wouldn't.  Or I should say, certain things annoy me GREATLY that normally wouldn't.  Because I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore!  I want my body back.  And my addiction to antacids to be over.  And my energy level back.  And my ability to sleep without a body pillow.  Or the need to pee. 

The look on her face pretty much sums up how I feel.  Like a great big giant SIGH.

Baby #2  gave me a little bit of a scare last week.  I had my doctor's appointment on Wednesday afternoon and all looked good.  But Wednesday night, there was NO baby movement while sitting on the couch watching TV, and NO baby movement while lying in bed.  And this is a baby that plays just about every sport and has a dance battle in my belly EVERY NIGHT like clockwork.  He/she also protests every morning when Lucas gets out of bed and I roll over to the opposite side and in turn wake him/her up.  Thursday morning, there were NO protests.  By about 11:00 Thursday morning, after there had been very little movement for over 12 hours, I decided to call my doctor's nurse line to see if I should be alarmed about it or not.  I knew that this was one of the most common things for moms to worry about (especially late in the game when a baby is often simply running out of room) but I was also having visions of my child's umbilical cord being wrapped around its neck.  The baby kicked around a little bit in the afternoon, so I decided to wait it out another day.  There still wasn't hardly ANY movement Thursday night and into Friday morning, but by Friday afternoon I had my little David Beckham/Anna Kournikova back.  Whew!!!  Now he/she is making up for the momentary "down time" by giving my insides a double dosage of painful pounding throughout the day.  I'd rather have that than a super still baby, though!

Maybe this is in my belly?
Or maybe this is?

So ok, Baby #2......I'm REALLY ready for you to make your appearance.  I know it's still a tad bit early, but I REALLY don't mind.  You're due in 2 weeks and 2 days anyway, so what does it matter if you're an early bird?  It's a good quality to have.  Unlike your father, who is notoriously late for life.

To wrap this up, here's my 37 weeks belly pic from last week (and the one from last time):

Still in there.
And still looks about the same as last time!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Can I Get By For Awhile Without Sleeping?

Here's my 36 weeks pic, as promised:

Baby got front.
And here's 36 weeks the first time around:

Look at how little the rest of my body is!  Of course it's summertime and I'm in a tank top in this pic, but I was still smaller overall.

So my laptop updated itself two days ago - a regular system update, nothing unusual - but now my laptop is running sooooooooo sloooooooow.  I have shut it down and restarted it multiple times.....I have removed the latest program update (a Java update)......and I have removed a few programs I didn't think we needed (or had no idea where they came from anyway).  It helped a little, but not fully.  Everything keeps "not responding" and therefore taking forever to respond.  Ugh.  So now I just have to wait for my brother to get back in town to try to figure out what's going on.

My future if I can't figure out this laptop slowdown.

I have a feeling I'm going to be blogging a lot more than usual the next few days (or maybe weeks), since it keeps me occupied while "sitting still".  Granted, I haven't been doing as much "sitting still" as the doctor would like, but I did manage some down time yesterday morning as well as this morning.  And even though Lucas and I did some running around yesterday, I didn't do anything strenuous.  We're going to grab some lunch and go grocery shopping here in a little while, but again, nothing strenuous.  Then tonight I can sit around at my parents' house when we go for dinner and then sit around at my house afterwards before bed.  I've read online that drinking lots of water, soaking in the bathtub and drinking 100% grape juice can help replenish amniotic fluid levels.  I've also read online that drinking lots of water, soaking in the bathtub and drinking 100% grape juice does nothing to help with amniotic fluid levels.  It seems like most women get prescribed bed rest while lying on their left side, which apparently takes pressure off of the placenta.  So over the next few days I guess I'll try drinking lots of water and grape juice, soaking in the tub at bedtime and lounging around on my left side when I'm not busy.  Even if it doesn't work it can't hurt, right?



Speaking of bed, last night's attempt at sleeping STUNK A BIG ONE.  It was all the typical ailments of my current every-nights:  I couldn't get comfortable, I had heartburn, I felt nauseous and the baby (the one in my belly) wouldn't go to sleep.  Then I had the typical wake-up ailments:  I woke up about every two hours to pee, I chewed Tums at every pee break, I'd wake up on my right side with a screaming hip and I'd wake up on my left side with a screaming ribcage.  And I ended up in a hot shower at 5:00am trying to fend off the nausea.  AND my child (the one outside my belly) decided to wake up around 6:30am.  But last night I also had the ADDED SUPER BONUS of burping up my lunch from yesterday, which was like burning acidic lava in my mouth and throat.  I was brushing my teeth and practically eating all the toothpaste throughout the night to try to smother the flame.  It was awful.  FUN TIMES, FUTURE PREGGO LADIES OUT THERE.  Though I really hope you all fall into the group of those "special" people who don't have to deal with heartburn and eating your lunch a second time in acid form.

Equador gets it.

Now that it's December 15th, we finally bought our Christmas tree and broke out the decorations!  Woohoo!  I'll spend tomorrow doing some decorating, even though we don't have very many decorations besides ornaments.  We don't have hardly any decorations for any holiday, really.  I should be hitting up after-holiday sales throughout the year to stock up on decor for the next year.  I know this - I just haven't made it happen yet.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

This Baby Can Go Ahead And Make An Appearance Now.....

So now that I'm 36 1/2 weeks pregnant, I'm ready for this baby to come out.  I'll post my 36 weeks belly pic next time.....the camera and cord are in the other room.  :)

When I was pregnant with Delano, I was never "over" being pregnant, even towards the very end.  Yes, I was super excited to meet my baby, but the pregnancy was easy and I loved (almost) every minute of it.  This time around, I've reached the point of being OVER IT.  I'm tired of being exhausted, and of being sore, and of not being able to get comfortable, and of not being able to sleep, and of peeing 45 times during the night.  I'm tired of having heartburn, and random bouts of nausea, and of being exhausted.  Oh wait.....I already mentioned the exhaustion!  :)

I feel ya, lady.

Granted, I am FULLY aware that my life is about to drastically change when Baby #2 gets here.  I'm going to have two children under 17 months of age.  I'm STILL going to be exhausted and not sleeping through the night and pretty much run ragged in general.  I totally get that.  But at least it will be different from what's going on now.  At least I'll have my body back, for the most part.  The heartburn, nausea and nerve pain should go away, and even though I'll be getting up throughout the night, it won't be because I have to pee.  I'll probably still pee because I'm up and all and might as well, but you know what I mean.

Two kids under age two.

On Wednesday when I went to the doctor, I found out that my amniotic fluid level is low.  Not low enough to be an urgent matter (which would be "below 5", whatever measurement that is), but low enough to where the doctor wants me to try to build some fluid up before it DOES become an urgent matter.  I'm supposed to stay hydrated, which isn't a problem since I'm ALWAYS thirsty and drinking bottle after bottle of water throughout the day and night.  But he also ordered me to "sit still" as much as humanly possible.  He told me to skip out on cleaning and housework and running around and any extensive Christmas shopping for the rest of my pregnancy.  He encouraged me to sit on the couch and spend my time just hanging out and watching movies.  So basically a light version of bed rest, which can potentially help replenish my amniotic fluid level. 



For those of you who know me well, I am NOT one to just sit around doing nothing.  I'm not a neat freak or a super organizer or anything like that.....and I definitely avoid certain housecleaning duties until the dirt is slapping me in the face.....but I am rarely content sitting around being lazy, even as an exhausted pregnant lady.  First of all, I have an almost-16-month-old to entertain and keep up with all day every day.  I clean up the kitchen and pick up the house on a daily basis.  I take care of the dogs and cats on a daily basis.  Lucas and I split the dinner cooking about 50/50, so I'm often preparing dinner in the evenings.  I sweep the floors usually on an every-other-day basis, and I typically mop them every other week.  I scrub down the bathrooms (my most despised chore) every other week, and they actually NEED to be done this coming week because Lucas's family is coming into town next weekend and they definitely need a sparkly clean bathroom to use.  Our house is two stories, so I'm constantly going up and down the stairs (which is currently EXHAUSTING).  And I get stir-crazy at home, so it's actually rare that Delano and I just stay home all day.  Plus my calendar has been packed full of events lately, from doctor appointments to holiday dinners to Hunter Museum shifts.  And of course I've been doing some Christmas shopping in there as well. 

This is where my brothers are right now.  They even bought the tickets for the special Mickey holiday party that's happening either tonight or tomorrow night.  And I would SO be there too if I could be - ya know -  NOT RESTING.

Needless to say, my first three days of "sitting still" were an absolute FAIL.  Wednesday night, immediately after my doctor appointment, I bartended a Christmas dinner party at the Hunter.  Thursday was a typical day of picking up the house and running a few errands before meeting friends out for dinner.  And yesterday included delivering supplies to my neighbors for our annual Christmas Candle Lighting, having lunch with a friend and then bartending another Christmas party at the Hunter.  Right now I'm doing a good job at "sitting still" (kind of hard to write this otherwise), but as soon as the baby wakes up from his nap, we'll all be headed out to do some Christmas shopping and pick up a Christmas tree before Lucas's company Christmas dinner this evening.

Ok so maybe we're not picking out a tree THAT way.

If I look to my left, there's a basket of laundry sitting in the rocking chair that needs folding.  I'm also aware that there's a basket of bath towels sitting in the bedroom floor that need folding.  I cleaned up the kitchen already from this morning, but the upstairs floors could really use a sweeping.  And I'll probably do all of these things here in a few minutes.  I mean, really, how extensive is folding laundry and sweeping the living room?  I'll even turn on the TV while I sit and fold laundry.  :)

Luckily for me and for my doctor's advice, last night was my last shift at the Hunter for a while.  And I also won't be accepting any independent contracting jobs for a while, either, unless somebody would like me to do something that doesn't require any travel (like just report writing).  That reminds me that I need to email my "boss" to give him the heads up.

So that does it for now.  Unless something drastic happens (like my water breaks), I don't go back to the doctor's office until next Wednesday (when I'll be 37 weeks).  They'll check me again to see if I'm any closer to having a baby!

Weird.  Just weird.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

35 Weeks Pregnant, Smellin' Like Cocoa Butter.

35 weeks yesterday!

There it is in all its glory.
And there it is from the first time around.

The baby has definitely dropped, but when the recent pic was taken it looks like he/she is planted right in the middle of my belly, as it is exceptionally round (unlike last week when the belly pic was flatter and pushing more towards the bottom).  I had my doctor appointment yesterday - I asked if I should be concerned about the potentially early baby drop (for pre-term labor reasons).  He said nope!  He said if I were to go into labor tonight, "we'd just have ourselves a baby".  No big deal.  So okay then!  I now have appointments every week from here on out, so my next appointment, which will include my final ultrasound, will be next Wednesday.

Today my right thigh and groin muscle have been yelling at me all day.....I think the baby must be pinching a nerve somewhere.  And I've been on the go since about 9:00am.  Now, at 4:30pm, I am finally parked on the couch with a heating pad wrapped around my thigh and groin, my laptop is in my lap and last night's episode of Top Chef is playing on TV.  The dogs are sound asleep in the floor and the baby is sound asleep in his crib.  I really could use a shower, but I'm just not in the mood to make the effort.  It can wait until later.  My greasy ponytail will just have to do for now!


At 35 weeks the first time around, I was struggling with very swollen and sore ankles, feet and wrists.  I wrote down that they ached all the time and that I was concerned about preeclampsia.  But the doctor talked me down from that concern, as I didn't have any other signs to worry about.  I do remember being able to literally squish fluid around in my calves and ankles...SO WEIRD.  But it gave me a reason to have Lucas rub my feet and ankles every night!  :)  I also mentioned that I had developed some small spots of spider vein explosions, but that I still did not have a single stretch mark at 35 weeks.  This time around I don't have any new spider vein explosion areas, and I also don't (knock on wood) have any stretch marks, either.  Some of the skin on the underside of my belly has been looking a little "crinkly" lately, but it hasn't "stretch-marked" yet.  Last time I ended up with some stretch marks AFTER I had Delano, when my belly was all saggy and droopy and trying its best to shrink back to a normal size.  It kind of looked like I had been attacked by a bear.  Or a mountain lion.  It was an area of pale-ish parallel lines (more on one side than the other) that I could have, SHOULD have, totally described as attack scars.  You know, during that "scary episode" I had out in the woods.  If they pop up again this time (which I'm sure they will), I'll have to take a picture.

That's EXACTLY what happened.

I slather my belly daily with cocoa butter (or shea butter, if that's what I happen to have).  There are reports that topical oils/creams actually DON'T work to prevent stretch marks, since stretch marks originate from underneath the skin.  But I don't care if it really works or not......I'm fine with slathering up if for NO other reason than to believe that it MIGHT be working.  Plus you just can't go wrong with smelling like cocoa butter all day.  :)

I've been working on a car seat safety post in between my regular la-de-da-here's-what's-going-on-in-my-life posts.  Just as an informative piece for parents who might not know some of the things that even I didn't know until recent months.  But just maybe I'll pass along some info that a fellow mom/dad honestly didn't know.  And maybe it will get them to reevaluate their current car seat situation (if indeed it may need to be reevaluated).  I'm hoping to finish it up soon, but it's taking me a long time to write.



I hear the baby fussing, so I guess it's time to free him of his cage.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

35 Weeks and Pre-Term Labor??

I'm 35 weeks tomorrow, and this baby is LOW.  And when I say low, I mean LOW.  I can feel little limbs pushing my skin out ON TOP OF my pelvic bone when I lay down at night, which is an extremely weird feeling. 

"Dropping is where the baby engages the pelvis."  No kidding!!

Delano never dropped, at least not to any effect that was noteworthy.  I Googled info about when a baby drops, and typically it's closer to the due date (after 36 weeks).  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon, so I'm definitely going to ask if I should be concerned about pre-term labor!  I know I requested this baby to come early, but this bun needs to cook a couple more weeks first!  Early dropping is a symptom of pre-term labor, but there are also other symptoms that I haven't had - like any bleeding or the leaking of amniotic fluid.

In other news.....we finally got the "new" guest bedroom in organized, working order and the twin bed set up in Delano's room!  Delano's room is done.  The guest bedroom still needs some tweaking, but besides a few odds and ends, it's pretty much done as well.  I thought I would paint the room soon, since all the dark furniture against the melon-colored paint was originally making the room look even MORE dark, but I've changed my mind (for now).  Getting rid of the excessive clutter along with changing out the curtains and the bed comforter really lightened things up.  I think the room needs a ceiling fan - Lucas says it's fine without one.  I think he just doesn't want to put one up.  I'm still going to rally for a ceiling fan, though.  :)  Both the other two upstairs bedrooms have fans!  People like ceiling fans.  Except interior designers.  The designers on Trading Spaces were ALWAYS taking them out.

The new and improved office/guest bedroom.
The new and improved kiddo's room.
Floor space!  And my child chewing on a hair comb.

What else is new?  I have an appointment with a podiatrist on Friday.  I'm thinking I may have some heel spurs going on, so I need some advice on what to do since my feet pretty much hate ALL shoes except my Teva flip flops.  I thought it was a "pregnant only" thing last year until my feet never got any better after Delano was born.  So hopefully I'll have some answers Friday.

I also made a dentist appointment for next week.  I'm WAY overdue for a cleaning (about 2 years), so I'm hoping to get nothing but good news next Thursday regarding the insides of my mouth.  I wanted to go ahead and get the dentist appointment in NOW, before Baby #2 got here.  Then I'll have 6 more months before I'll need to go back.

I'm sure I have more things I could jab about, but it's bedtime (aka reading time) and so I need to let the dogs out, put them to bed and then feed the cats before putting myself to bed. 

Rock on!