mommy talk #5

Mommy Talk for Monday May 28th to join us, head on over to A Little Mommy Talk!

What was your favorite maternity
"could not do without" items?

So I'm a little late on this...my brain was taking a vacation on Memorial Day!
In addition to many of my favorite maternity clothes (which made me feel cute even when I wasn't), I have two must-have items:

1. The Bella Band...or a product like it.

With this wonderful item, you might even be able to get away with never wearing maternity clothes at all. I used it my entire pregnancy. It saves money and allows you to wear your favorite clothes, no matter how big you get.

2. Tae Bo DVD

I tried to do this workout throughout both pregnancies. I love it because I enjoy kick boxing and I could modify the moves to fit my ever-changing body. It was the one thing that was able to make me feel like I was in control of the some part of my life!

*end of mommy talk!*

So this has nothing to do with the above subject, but did anyone watch the Miss Universe pageant last night? I was up late watching some TV because I was making some milk for my baby...which, by the way, also makes me feel similar to Jenn:) Anyway, our very own Miss USA was going down the runway by herself and tripped and fell on her backside right in the middle of the evening gown competition. And it wasn't a pretty fall whatsoever! At first I started cracking up laughing because it was so hideous...but then I felt bad for her! How embarrassing and disappointing to train up for a competition like Miss Universe and fall on your butt! Poor thing. But she still got fifth place. Hmmmm....end of tangent...

A third child?

I feel ridiculous just writing that title! Nope, I'm not pregnant...not even thinking about it. Actually, it is just the opposite. Soon after Parker was born, I really wanted to have another one right away. Thank God we had a bit of sanity left and waited until Parker was over a year old! This time, however, I feel so different. We would really like a third child and, in my heart, I really believe that I will be pregnant again. But when the thought of being pregnant again and having a newborn comes up, I have no desire to go down that road anytime soon. I really love having two boys. Parker has transitioned fairly well and Griffin is pretty much a dream baby so I really don't think it has anything to do with how hard this gig is (which, I admit, is very challenging at times).

As I imagine the few years ahead, I am just so excited to be able to give my two boys all of me when they need me most. They are both so young and needy and I want to be able to really enjoy these years before they are both in school. I spent a lot of this past year feeling a bit guilty about not being able to give Parker everything he needs in a mama because I was sick and tired. I look forward to all of the activities we are going to be able to do and to be able to live life as a family of four! We will never get these years back and they are oh, so special!

The goal right now is to wait until Parker is in school before we have another baby. I get a huge smile on my face as I write that. I just feel so good about being able to put my whole self into learning how to be the best mama to just Parker and Griffin. I love that we're not looking ahead to the next big thing and trying to enjoy what God's given us right now...this is not something I'm typically great at. However, I know that these are just goals right now and that God changes hearts in big ways all of the time...and I look forward to seeing what He has for us. Right now, though...it is just the four of us and I'm a happy mama:)

p.s. the picture has no significance. It is a Norman Rockwell and I just liked it. So there:)

a special day

We decided to go get our pictures taken the day before Griffin was born. We just wanted to do something fun and capture the moment before our family changed. It was actually a lot of fun and it is neat to be able to look back on that day! It is hard to imagine that this was just a week and a half ago--things are so different now! There are many more cute shots of Parker, but these are a few that I really like today...tomorrow it will be different, I suppose:)

the countdown is on...

Wow...and I'm feeling my nerves really come into play. Today was a tough day for me emotionally and physically. First of all, I didn't sleep much last night at all. I felt like a zombie this morning...and all day. We spent 4 hours at the hospital this morning doing a bunch a pre-surgical stuff, including an amniocentesis. I have to say that it was pretty scary for me and I hope to not have to do that again. It wasn't that it was so painful, but I was terrified when I saw that needle go into my uterus right above my baby's head. We did get to see that our babe has some hair! I hope he or she has hair like Parker's...he has the best hair. After the amnio, I felt pretty crampy and had a little bit of a hard time walking around. Then I had to get a Rhogam shot. Shots aren't terrible, just not fun. Then, I went over for a non-stress test for baby. Baby seemed a bit excited about the amnio, as well as the little one couldn't stop moving. But all is well and the nurses seemed pleased. And then, I went to a meeting to sign a ton of forms and talk about the surgery for way too long. And finally, I went to two more places for some blood work. I really don't mean to complain, but I was so exhausted and started to feel like a piece of meat with all the needles and stuff.

When we got home, I started crying because everything is starting to feel so real. I need to just keep focusing on the fact that we get to meet our baby very soon and not think about the things that scare me. I feel quite embarrassed that I'm nervous about this and it is sort of hard to admit. Tons of people do this everyday. I know that in my case, having a c-section is the safest way (for both of us) for the baby to be born and I'm so thankful for modern medicine. It isn't the pain involved in surgery that scares me; it is the fact that my abdominal cavity will be wide open and there are some very important organs in there:) I don't know...I'm just rambling along here. Basically, I'm a bit scared and I feel silly about it.

I also need to just be done talking about it. I'm sorry if you've called and I haven't responded. I just need to lay low right now. I am so excited to introduce our little one to all of our friends and family after he/she makes the big appearance! At this point, we're thinking that we'd love visitors in the hospital, so please just call and come on by. Let me know if you want to know where we'll be. If you're interested, check back here on Wednesday evening to see who we've added to our family! My sister will either be updating this blog or her own: Daring To Dream.

Please keep us in your prayers during the next couple of days. The delivery is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 am! We will post some pictures as soon as we can.

Oh, and I thought that I was done posting pictures of my belly, but I thought I'd add one last one to have on record what I looked like two days before D-day:)

bad blogger...

hmmmm....anyone know why Blogger has been partly down for most of yesterday and now this morning? I've been trying to comment on some of your blogs, but it isn't working. Bummer. Good thing it is free, eh?

I didn't notice that I had my 100th post a couple days ago...I think this is 102! How fun. I really love blogging and I'm so happy that I started. Now, if only Blogger would cooperate!

I tried to take a picture of a recent ultrasound image we got. This is the one where the babe was smashed up against my hipbone, so it is tough to make out the profile at all. You can see, though, that the little one has not so little cheeks:)

So, last night I was awake from 12:30-3:30 because I couldn't breathe very well. This little kid's toes are so high still. I think if the baby had his/her way, we wouldn't meet this little one for quite a while. Our baby has quite a shock coming on Wednesday morning when we get to meet the little peanut. Can you imagine the shock of your home being broke into and then these huge hands pulling you out into the cold and having to learn to breathe on your own...all at once? Sounds awful! No wonder they don't like to come out and meet us:)

A lesson from our Lazy Bones...

If you don't move, you might just get chubby!

We had our ultrasound yesterday and our appointment today to find out how our little baby is growing inside of me. As I mentioned before, the doctor was concerned that the baby was too small because I am measuring about 4 weeks behind. However, we have no reason to worry because we found that we actually have quite a chubby baby already. I was shocked to hear that the baby is already weighing in at 6lbs 14oz at 361/2 weeks! This means that in two weeks, we'll likely have an 8 lb baby born a week and a half early. Can't imagine what we could have if I went to 40 weeks! We got a few little peeks at our baby's face, but it was actually really hard to see anything because he/she is so crunched. The baby's face is literally smashed into my right hip bone and refused to move even a little bit. The tech did get a few distorted shots of the face and it was quite apparent that this baby has super chubby cheeks. According to the doctor, our little one also is carrying quite a bit of weight in the girth...I can relate right now:) The baby really did look cute, even with the nose smashed into something. All this time, I thought I was carrying this tiny baby. I'm so shocked, but we're so excited to meet our little bruiser! Two weeks from today....or less, if I have anything to say about it!

pregnancy, baby, and not much else...

So... if you aren't interested in reading about the last weeks of this pregnancy or about babies, then I would stop right now and discontinue reading my blog until normalcy is established in my brain:) Totally kidding, but I just wanted to warn people about this condition of mine and that it isn't going to change anytime soon. I have 20 days or less left until I meet this little baby...whoa. Am I ready? Well, we have everything set up and have the major things we needed to purchase: a double stroller, a sling, a BundleMe, etc. But as far as emotionally being ready to have two kids? Nope...not at all, but this baby is coming whether I am ready or not!

I'm at that stage of pregnancy. You know, that stage....everything hurts from the extra weight I'm carrying around, I run into everything, I can think of nothing else but getting him/her out, I only want to eat cookies, I need Joel to help me tie my shoes, I am winded by climbing up our four stairs or taking a shower...it really is so glamorous.

I had my 36 week OB appointment today. I was quite excited for the appointment because I thought my doc would be able to tell me if I was progressing at all and that we'd be able to talk more about the surgery and such. However, the doctor was running about an hour and 40 minutes late. I was so frustrated because Joel had walked over from work to watch Parker and he will now have to work much later because of the time he took to spend at the OB office. And Parker was missing his nap...which is really never a good thing. Since the doctor was running late, I literally spent five minutes with him and we weren't able to talk about the things I wanted to. He actually is a great doctor and the only reason he is late all of the time is because he is so chatty with his patients. This time, though, I think he was realizing how late he was and he hurried through my appointment. Thankfully, my weight, blood pressure, and baby's heart rate are just fine. I have to go in twice next week because he scheduled me for an ultrasound since the baby is measuring about 4 weeks behind. I'm really not worried about it, though. Parker always measured behind and I've gained the exact same amount of weight and look about the same as I did with him and he was very healthy. As much as I look forward to seeing our little baby again on the ultrasound screen, I'm really not looking forward to the torture of having to resist looking for some gender give-aways! It is starting to make me crazy not knowing!

I have posted some more growing girth pictures and this time I've included a frontal view for fun! This may be the last time I post pictures of this expanding belly because I don't think we'll see much change from now on...so enjoy!

I think it is time to start guessing! What do you think...Boy/girl? Weight and length? Will the baby come earlier than the 7th? Any guesses on names? I'd love to say that whoever guesses the closest will be rewarded with something material but I'm sure I will have other things on my mind after the arrival....so how about a nice pat on the back?

You all are just too sweet to still be reading:) I promise, there will come a day when these sort of things aren't taking over my brain!

Attitude Adjustment

It occurred to me the other day that I needed an attitude adjustment. I kind of think that even my blog has been reflecting how tired and crabby I've been feeling (sorry!) and I realized that I have a choice in the matter. I'm always the one to tell other people that they have choices when it comes to these sorts of things, but sometimes it is tough to swallow your own medicine!

I have seven weeks left as a mom of one and I've made the decision to stop trying to do everything perfectly and to just enjoy my son right now. Now that I've made this decision, I feel much less overwhelmed and worn out. Instead of trying to keep up our normal routine, it is okay to slow down a bit and not go out and do some sort of activity every single day. These outings are really what tire me out and frustrate both of us. I don't want to remember these last couple of months before #2 arrives as being difficult and tiring. We're going to take it easy and just play up a storm, read tons of books, and sing silly songs right here at home...and I hope that Parker enjoys it as much as I do:)

Growing Girth: Installment #5--30 weeks

So...my OB agreed with me and I will have this baby in my arms two months from yesterday! February 6th at 7:30 am. How strange is it that I already know my baby's birthday and the time of day he/she will be born, AND the names we have picked out? I'm glad that this isn't our first because I really liked everything being a surprise last time. This time, I'm okay with it because I've prepared. After the scheduler called me with the time of the surgery, I was relieved that we hadn't found out the gender again. There are so many great things about both ways--finding out the gender ahead of time or not. There have been times when I've gone back and forth. In fact, we're not entirely sure what we'll do with a third. However, for us...this time...we're really enjoying the whole process of trusting God to prepare our hearts for that moment when the baby's gender is announced. I was telling Jenn that it is sort of like a little test of faith for me! I'm so excited!

I'm getting large. I'm about 30 weeks now so I guess it is about that time when everything sorta starts moving fast! Found out yesterday that there is a reason that I'm so tired, I look like a zombie, and my lips are tingly...I'm anemic again and actually thrilled to find out so I can start taking iron to boost my levels back up. Parker will enjoy some more action around here, as well:)

Here is my lovely belly:) Large. I like it, though. I'm actually carrying a little higher than with Parker and look less like I have a spare tire around my waist....which is a good thing!

*okay...so I have just edited this to admit, again, how crazy I've become. I originally posted the second photo and then started to become embarrassed at how posey I looked and took another picture of me posing different. Then, I realized that this picture looked worse because I truly look like a zombie with no lip-gloss or anything. So THEN, I decided to chop off the head part and post a headless belly picture. And I've decided to keep up the "posey" picture to represent how ridiculous I've become. Oh my....*

~insomnia~

It is almost four in the morning and I've already been up for a couple of hours just waiting to fall asleep again. Is this a normal pregnancy symptom? I've read that a lot of women in their 3rd trimester can't sleep because they can't get comfortable or they keep getting up to go to the bathroom. This isn't the case for me because I, thankfully, have neither of those problems. I just can't sleep and it is super-annoying because I know that my little one will be waking up in a few hours and he won't care if I feel like a zombie...he wakes up running and I have to run after him:)

Anyway, this is all I have to say at 4 am. And believe it or not I can't even find any cute pictures to post right now because they're stuck on my camera with a dead battery. I just thought that blogging a little would help me in the sleep department. So far...not so good :(