37 Weeks

Here we are at 37 weeks and wondering how long we will have to finish getting baby materials ready. We have the mini van with Xander in his new booster seat and Josie in her 5-point harness but still need to put in the base for the baby carrier. The new table that sits more people arrived in September so there will be room for us plus the high chair. Josie's bed has been moved to Xander's room and the crib set up in her room so that midnight feeding, changing and crying are less likely to bother the kids and Chris. The swing, bassinet, bouncy chair and baby mat are all cleaned and ready to go. The baby clothes have been picked through to find anything appropriate for a girl born in February and some clothes have been bought to help keep the baby warm (since Josie was born in June and wore little outfits).


So far the doctor says there is no progress. I'm definitely having daily contractions but they are very sporadic so I haven't worried about calling the doctor or heading to the hospital. In fact, everyday I think "I should pack my hospital bag" but nothing actually gets packed. I am a little stressed about maternity leave which starts next week. There is a sub lined up who is ready to go but that doesn't make it easier to turn over my class to someone else.



Xander and Josie are very excited for the baby to get here. They are the only ones I let talk to my belly because they are so cute. "Hello, baby, this is Xander." "Shhhh, baby, it's time to sleep." Hopefully they will keep up the good attitudes once the baby is here.

While this hasn't been a difficult pregnancy, there have been more hiccups than with Xander or Josie. There was the time I fell and had to go to the hospital for observation. Then Josie might have had Fifth Disease. Then Chris might have had shingles. Then I did get his rash, scratched it and developed impetigo. So currently I have a contagious rash on my left forearm and am taking antibiotics. Hopefully it clears up before the baby arrives because it will hard to nurse a baby without touching her.

Fever Time and Potty Training

Josie, like me, has had a cold for about a month now. It is nothing serious, just snot galore. And she definitely does not have it as bad as I do. Chris is disgusted when I blow my nose because it goes on for about five minutes and a half dozen tissues. Josie doesn't do great with tissues yet and is refusing to let me use the Snot Sucker (as I call it) on her.

But she did have a weird period two weeks ago where she would randomly develop a fever. She'd wake up and be fine. She would eat her breakfast. Then within thirty minutes she would be shivering and huddling on the couch. This happened at home a couple times and a couple time at the sitter's house after she woke up from a nap. Tylenol helped and she slept fine at night. Her appetite diminished a little but not enough to worry. After the fourth round of this I caved and made an appointment with the doctor.

Surprisingly, Josie did have a fever at the appointment. Usually she is fine once I bring her in, making me feel like I'm an overprotective helicopter parent. Initially the doctor said Fifth Disease because along with the fever and cold symptoms, she also had a light rash on her tummy and a red area on her cheek (Fifth Disease is also called Slapped Cheek Syndrome). He started telling me to just wait it out and continue with Tylenol if needed.

Then the doctor looked at me, remembered I was 33 weeks pregnant and Fifth Disease is a problem for the baby. So he backtracked a little and left the room to get more information. When he returned he brought two other doctors to look at Josie to get their opinion. Josie was a little freaked by having three doctors huddling over her but at least she didn't break down crying. The one doctor said the rash looked more like a strep rash, so Josie was tested for strep throat but that came back negative. While all of the symptoms added up to Fifth Disease, they also didn't make sense in the order that they appeared. So we left with the original orders of keeping an eye on her and Tylenol when needed and the additional order for me to tell my Ob/Gyn about the possible exposure to Fifth Disease.

Now for the really weird part of Josie's sickness. She pretty much became potty trained. Usually when kids are sick they get worse and have accidents galore. Not Josie, she actually advanced to the point of yelling "Have to go pee!" as she streaked past me to the bathroom. She wanted to wear her big girl panties and started refusing to wear Pull-Ups. She insists on using the restrooms whenever we go out, especially at church. Sure, there have been a few accidents.

Granted we have been attempting to potty train Josie since she turned two. However, that was in California so at the time I figured that moving back to Ohio would just make her regress. So I encouraged sitting on the potty but didn't stress about it.

Once we were back in Ohio, I gave her some time to adjust. At random times in October, November and December I would put her in training pants and break out a sticker chart. The raisin rewards were (and still are) a big motivational hit. Then I'd have a rough day and not feel like cleaning up any messes and would revert to Pull-Ups.

More recently, the sitter had begun talking up wearing big girl panties. And then Josie received some princess panties for Christmas. I think those two things were all that she needed. I still put her in Pull-Ups at night, but half of the time she doesn't even need them then.

I do expect there will be some trouble once the baby arrives. I could be wrong though and she will just spend the time learning to write instead of having accidents. Any way about it, potty training Josie has been much easier and faster than it was with Xander.

Christmas

Ah, Christmastime. It was just busy enough to make me exhausted this year. The kids loved, loved, loved it. Even now, three weeks later, Josie will ask where the Christmas tree went and Xander will ask what Santa is doing now.

Before sending out the Christmas cards, I attempted to take some fun holiday pictures of the kids by the tree to include. Unfortunately, I don't fully understand how to use my fancy camera and the kids were extra squirmy. So most of the pictures turned out blurry.


Some of the pictures featured someone stealing the spotlight.

And some of the pictures were a bit too goofy.


Once Christmas arrived it was visiting, visiting, visiting. We went to Chris's uncle's for Christmas Eve where Josie cried and ran away from Santa Claus while Xander ran up to give Santa big hugs.

Christmas day arrived with a guitar for Xander. That was what he really, really wanted from Santa.
Ok, funny story time. Chris and I woke up before the kids and were downstairs getting breakfast when we heard Xander get up. Chris walks to the back door and slides it open and yells out "It was good to see you, Santa, see you next year!" Then he walked over to the stairs and told Xander he just missed seeing Santa Claus and he might see him out the window. Xander raced back into his room and looked out the blinds and then burst into tears that he missed Santa Claus.

That's right, Chris started Christmas Day by making Xander cry.

It did get better once we coaxed him downstairs. He was excited that Josie was getting a bike and then realized that he also received a bike. Josie had fun ripping off all of the paper of her gifts. It was fun.



We did visit my family that day and the bikes were brought along and ridden in the basement. Xander immediately ripped the bows off of his handlebars but Josie refused to take her bows off.


Over the next few days we had several different visitors and I know at some point we Skyped with Chris's mom. The kids love doing that, especially Xander because he could stop talking.

Week 29 with a Spill

I began Monday morning with the start of the every-two-weeks visit to the OB/GYN. It was a pretty pointless visit just to make sure everything was progressing. The doctor was impressed that I'd only gained four pounds since my last visit because everyone else had gained eight or nine pounds with Thanksgiving. Yeah?

So I went about the usual Monday routine. Chores, Xander to school, Josie to the sitter, me to school and then pick them up and head home. We arrived home and I went to check the mail. Then I took an unplanned trip.

The curb along the driveway is maybe, maybe, half of an inch high. I managed to trip over it just right so that I keeled over like a plank. No arms windmilling, no stumbling steps, just "Timber!" I landed on my hands and belly.

My first reaction was "Wow, hope no one saw that" but as I rolled over to push myself up I realized that I'd really just belly flopped on my little baby. I did not completely freak out but I was not calm and collected either. I ushered Josie inside (where I found Xander digging into the cookie stash) and set everything down. I changed my clothes, since they were nicely soaked from the puddles and realized that my belly was actually red where I'd landed on it. Hmm. There weren't any big red flags, so I stalled by looking up "Falling" in "What to Expect When You're Expecting." It pretty much said the baby was fine but call the doctor anyway.

So I called the OBGYN and left a message. The nurse called back and immediately said that I should head to Labor and Delivery at the hospital to get checked out, she even called ahead so I would be admitted.

That, of course, left me with the kids. I figured I'd be in, get the heart rate checked and be out. Still, I didn't want to haul Xander and Josie along and have to spend my time yelling at them not to touch anything. Fortunately, the first neighbor I called immediately said she and her husband could watch them. In fact, she insisted on driving me to the hospital which I accepted when I realized that I was shaking.

Off to the hospital where I was immediately checked in and strapped in to a baby heart rate monitor, contraction monitor and blood pressure monitor. Chris arrived about thirty minutes later. I had my blood drawn and ultrasounds done. It's still a girl and already weighs about 3.5 pounds. But no signs of problems. I did have to stay for about 4 hours. Poor Chris was starving by the time I was given the 'okay' to eat. But we did get to hang out and watch television while another friend took over with Xander and Josie and put them to bed.

At about 9 I was given the all clear to leave. Chris and I headed home and I headed to bed. I woke up feeling fine Tuesday morning but became increasingly sore as the day went on. Today I woke up sore but am starting to finally feel better. I am wimping out of carrying large loads or leaning over to help small children but I expect to be back to full Mom status in another couple of days.

Now I'm just paranoid about the snow.

Lessons from Dad

Tonight, after dinner, Chris taught the kids some very important lessons.

First, Chris had a talk with Xander about farting etiquette. They discussed the rules as follows:
1) No farting at the table while people are eating.
2) No farting in front of girls, including Mom, Josie and Grandma.
3) No farting in school unless you are on the playground.
4) It's always okay to fart in the basement.
5) It's okay to fart in the bathroom.

Xander then practiced excusing himself from the table to go fart in the bathroom.

Next, Chris taught the kids how to do jumping jacks. Xander and Josie love to exercise with us but they haven't quite coordinated the arms and legs. So they all gathered in the kitchen to practice in slow motion. I really need to get these things on video.

Week 28

This pregnancy is still progressing as expected. I'm 28 weeks now, still due on February 19. I have to say that this pregnancy has made me feel the most... pregnant. I had morning sickness longer than the others. I have been incredibly moody for most of this pregnancy; Chris is breathing a sigh of relief that it seems to have passed. There's the usual heartburn with the added fun of daily bleeding gums and random bloody noses. There was even a brief spat of nesting when I cleaned the vent at the bottom of the refrigerator.

At week 20 we did get an ultrasound with the results being that the baby is healthy and a girl! While we strongly suspected a girl, Chris still had to put his head between his knees and do some deep breathing.

Why does this picture keep loading upside down??

The baby is getting more and more active. I think Xander must have left a sign that says 'Kick Me Here' because this baby is getting the same spot on my right side right below the ribs.

Xander and Josie are excited about the baby. They will randomly talk to my belly to say hi or good night. If someone asks Xander about the baby he will list all of the things he plans to teach her, such as running and basketball. He has decided to name the baby Sally so I try to give him gentle reminders that his father and I might decide on a different name. Josie loves playing with her stuffed animals and will tuck them in for a nap.

I have had the best intentions to stay healthy this pregnancy so that I don't surpass a certain predetermined weight, because I'm stubborn like that. I have three prenatal workout videos but only get to do about half of a video twice a week. And, once again, I am a carboholic and can not stop myself from eating baked sweets. Ah well, at least I am getting some exercise and nutritious food in.

Here I am at 26 weeks. I feel like I am the size of a Buick but I've been repeatedly told that I look good. Maybe people can just tell I need the compliments.

Halloween

Halloween has come and gone but I still need to document it, right? Just like I still need to document the well checks in August and the ultrasound in September. I'll get caught up eventually.

This Halloween has definitely been the most fun so far. Xander is old enough to have fun with it and Josie is old enough to know that if Xander is having fun, she should too. First up, we attended the Trunk or Treat event at school. Xander wore a Buzz Lightyear costume and Josie was a butterfly. Surprisingly, they both chose to wear the same costumes as last year. Well, Xander did have to get a bigger size, but a friend let us borrow one.

So the Trunk or Treat consisted of pizza, trick-or-treating in the parking lot and then a costume contest. My friend Mandy helped us out and the dinner went well. We were headed outside for the trick-or-treating when something strange happened. Josie stopped. I tried to coax her out the door and she just shook her head and backed up. I looked around to see if someone had a scary costume that freaked her out but didn't see anything. Again with the coaxing followed by head shaking and backing up. I finally asked her what was wrong and she replied "No outside. Trick-or-treat." To which I explained that the trick-or-treating was outside. "Oh? Trick-or-treat outside? Okay!" and she took off.

The kids had fun and it was definitely entertaining to see how all of the car (van, trucks) were decorated. Josie was most mesmerized by the disco van. Xander was too busy racing around with Chris for me to know what he thought.


Next up, Xander's class at school had a Halloween party. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to wear the Buzz costume because it was a one piece suit and not restroom friendly. So after I repeatedly asked him what he wanted to dress as for school he decided to be a super hero. He already had the cape. I pondered making a mask, cuffs, maybe a utility belt. Then the day before I realized that I wouldn't have time. So we picked up a shirt and some iron-ons to make a Super Xander shirt.

He was thrilled with it. And the shirt can worn as a regular shirt, so I feel like it was a win-win situation.

We picked up six pumpkins at the nearby nursery but didn't get to carve them until just before Halloween. We only carved one each, so there are two left over to continue the seasonal vibe until Thanksgiving. From left to right we have Chris's, Josie's (she mostly scribbled on hers and said she wanted circles), Amanda's and Xander's pumpkins. The kids were extra excited when they had candles inside them. And Xander was also excited to try toasted pumpkin seeds.

Side story: In Xander's class they counted out pumpkin seeds and glued them to a picture of a pumpkin. I'm fairly certain that Xander tried eating some of those seeds.


Finally it was time for trick-or-treating in our neighborhood which fell on Halloween this year. We nearly didn't go due to van test driving (there's another post I need to catch up on) but we got our act together at the last minute. Josie was decked out as a butterfly again, my favorite part is putting her hair into little pigtails for antennae. Xander decided to wear his super hero costume.

We needed an air traffic controller with the flying children in our house.



Some people seemed confused by Xander's costume (what, it's a homemade, original? we didn't spend oodles of money on a cheap costume that would immediately fall apart but was easily recognizable?) but that didn't deter him from flying down the sidewalks with his cape billowing behind him. Josie's little wings were a little slower, so we ended up splitting up.

I finished up the block with Josie. It took a little practice but she eventually got that she wasn't supposed to reach into the bucket and grab candy. She was hesitant to say "Trick or treat" but was always quick to say "Thank you" which earned lots of aaaaaaaaws. There were a few costumes and decorations that scared her. She would stare at something and cling to me. I tried to reassure her it was pretend but I found it was just easier to pass up the houses with scary decorations or costumes.

Meanwhile, Chris took Xander a little further out. Xander's bag became so heavy that Chris had to unload some of the candy.

When we had all returned home, the kids were allowed a treat and sent off to bed. Then Chris and I delved in and helped ourselves. Because, really, we did just as much work as they did.