Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

It’s kind of funny (in a not so funny sort of way) how my body has changed as I’ve gotten older and as a result of each of my three pregnancies.

Little was born when I was 27. I gained a total of 24 pounds while I was pregnant with her. At my 6 weeks post-partum check up I had lost 26 pounds. Then I lost another 20 pounds while she was nursing.

Boo was born when I was 29. I gained a total of 32 pounds while I was pregnant with him. At my 6 weeks post-partum check up I had lost 22 pounds. I lost the other 10 pounds before he was a year old, but then gained them back before my pregnancy with Baby Girl.

Baby Girl was born when I was 30. I gained a total of 40 pounds while I was pregnant with her. At my 6 weeks post-partum check up I had lost 20 pounds. And here I am, as Baby Girl turns 2 months old, holding steady at 20 pounds to lose.

So, I decided to get going this week in an effort to reclaim my jeans. I’ve teamed up with my SIL for encouragement and support, and we’re embarking on a get-in-shape/weight loss journey.

Right now I’m just doing T-Tapp, a 15 minute toning/cardio routine that I’ve had success with in the past. After the 14 day “boot camp” with T-Tapp I plan to add in some Wii Fit or walking as well.

I might have also mentioned in Matt’s hearing that I might need to do something drastic like give up chocolate. So I guess I’m doing that too. Short-term, at least.

And to further my accountability, I’m going to write about my successes (or failures) right here.

Wish me luck.

And motivation.

Okay, so I haven’t blogged in…well, in forever. I wish I had a really good excuse, like I was caring for a newborn, but, alas, not yet.

So here are a few random pieces of information concerning the baby girl

~In November we bought a minivan. You might remember that I was having a really hard time with the idea of driving a minivan; I have to admit, however, that it really isn’t bad. We ended up getting a Honda Odyssey, and I like it a lot.

~Last week I washed several loads of laundry to get all of her tiny little clothes ready to wear, blankets ready to wrap up in, and burp cloths ready to spit up on. We have approximately 3 dozen burp cloths…is that normal?

~Her crib is in her room and the bumper pads are washed, but there is no sheet on the bed, the changing table is filled with non-baby items, and Little’s name is still hanging on the wall. Guess we still have some work to do there before she moves into the crib.

~She is well stocked on diapers. We should have plenty of tiny disposable diapers to get us through the first week or two, and I’ve got the GroBaby and BumGenius stash waiting in the wings.

~The infant car seat is installed in the van just waiting to bring her home from the hospital.

~I am 39 weeks 4 days pregnant. Officially the longest I’ve ever been pregnant. And she doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to make her appearance. I figure she’s waiting until later in the week when it’s supposed to snow. Or possibly for Spring.

~I alternate between being extremely ready for her to arrive and perfectly content for her to stay right where she is. I think this has more to do with the potential reactions of the 3 year old and 20 month old than the baby herself.

~That said, I can’t wait to meet her. To hold her. To see what she looks like.

And I think that about sums it up. I’ll keep you posted.

Well, today marks the completion of 3/4 of this pregnancy journey. The wee babe and I are kicking along, and I feel like I’m getting bigger by the day. It’s very likely that we will be greeting this sweet baby girl in less than 10 weeks! Where has the time gone?!

Monday I went for my last every-four-weeks doctor appointment (and passed my glucose test with flying colors – woohoo!). It always seems that once I drop to appointments every 2 weeks the rest of the pregnancy flies by; I’m sure it will be even more so this time with the holidays upon us.

At this point in my pregnancy with Little we were buying a house, preparing for a beach vacation, and packing boxes (not to mention I was working 30ish hours per week). With Boo, I was cleaning like CRAZY. Not just my usual household cleaning, or even the usual baby-prep cleaning; I was dusting baseboards and door frames, wiping down walls throughout the house, cleaning blinds, and thoroughly cleaning the refrigerator. Right now, I’m lucky to make it through the day upright (and usually that’s after I’ve taken a nap). I don’t know if it’s just this pregnancy or having a 3 year old and an 18 month old or what, but I feel like I have very little energy and can just barely keep my head above water with the laundry and day-to-day housework that needs to be done. Oh well, I’ve learned to accept it.

As far as preparing for the baby goes, we still have a lot to do. Things like buying a car large enough for all three of our children to ride in, moving Boo to his big boy bed so the crib will be available, putting Little and Boo into the same room so the baby has a spot. You know, the little stuff. She also has all of five diapers. Guess that’s the part that really matters. At least if we want to stay dry while holding her.

She does have a name. For some reason it was a lot harder to figure out her name than it was with the other two.

She does have clothes. I’ve gone through Little’s clothes and pulled out what I think the wee babe will probably be able to wear. I have also been given a lot of clothes (with more to come this weekend) by a sweet and generous friend who had a baby girl in January 2009.

She will be very welcome and well loved. I just hope Boo doesn’t “over love” her!

And that’s the summary for the 30 week mark. Have a great weekend, everyone!

GIRL!

I tried to post from the doctor’s office yesterday, but my phone and Wordpress weren’t cooperating.

Baby girl is healthy and very active. Everything looked good on ultrasound, so now we just look forward to meeting our new daughter in a few months (she’s due in early January).

I’m afraid Little is going to be disappointed about the hair pulling thing, though. I have a feeling baby sister will love to touch Little’s pretty hair as much as a baby brother would have.

Today is the big day…ultrasound day! In a couple of hours we’ll head to the doctor’s office and find out whether this wee babe growing inside of me is a boy or a girl. I’m very excited!

Little has fluctuated between wanting a baby brother or a baby sister for the last several weeks. Yesterday she told me she wants a baby sister because a sister won’t pull her hair like Boo does.

Boo would probably like to have a baby brother. That would give him a built in, lifetime wrestling and rough-housing partner. But he’s too young to express his opinion.

Matt and I just want a healthy baby. Early on in the pregnancy I felt like the baby is a girl, but the last few weeks I haven’t had a strong feeling one way or the other. Matt hasn’t voiced an opinion (he usually doesn’t on this matter).

My two best friends are split – one thinks it’s a girl, the other thinks it’s a boy.

The extended family (grandparents, my aunts, our siblings, etc) are probably pretty evenly split based on those who’ve said anything.

Either way, we’ll know in a few hours, and we’ll be ecstatic to know it’s a healthy, growing wee babe.

Now it’s time for the second installment of the “Me and My Baby” meme.  Here is a portion of Boo’s life story…

Were you married at the time? Yes, we’d been married for almost 7 years when Boo was born.

What were your reactions when you found out that you were pregnant? We were a bit surprised but very excited.

How old were you? 29 when he was born.

How did you find out that you were pregnant? About two months after Little weaned, and a couple weeks after her first birthday, I began to suspect that I might be pregnant again.  There were a few days here and there where I didn’t feel all that great, and I was feeling a bit more tired than usual.  I decided to take my temperature a couple of mornings (as in FAM); the first morning it was up and I just knew that I was pregnant.  I picked up a test while I was out running errands.  When I took the test it immediately turned pink; there was no doubt it was positive.

Who did you tell first? I called Matt at work to tell him.

Did you find out the sex? But of course.

Due date? April 19.

Did you deliver early or late? A few days early.

Did you have morning sickness? Yes.  Not as quite as bad as with Little, but I threw up regularly and felt bad for most of weeks seven through sixteen.

What did you crave? Chick-Fil-A waffle fries.

Who irritated you most? I’m sure it was Little or Matt just because they are the ones I’m with the most.

What was your child’s sex? It’s a boy!

How many pounds did you gain throughout your pregnancy? About 30.

Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? So far I’ve been blessed with smooth pregnancies; no complications with this one either.  I did, however, have three stomach bugs during my pregnancy (including one the day before he was born, but that’s another story) which was not fun.

Where did you give birth? in a hospital.

How many hours were you in labor? My doc inadvertently broke my water during my weekly visit.  That was about 4:30 or 4:45 in the afternoon and he was born at 12:12 am, so about 7.5 hours.

Who drove you to the hospital? I drove myself.  I was at the doctor’s office, which is directly in front of the hospital, when my water broke.  Matt was on his way home from work (had just left the office when I called), and my mom was at my house with Little, so I was on my own.

Who watched? Matt was the only one in the room through the whole thing; my mom was there until I started pushing.

Was it vaginal or c-section? The old fashioned way again this time.

Did you take medicine to ease the pain? I was bound and determined that I was going to deliver without medication, but they started a pit drip (b/c of my water breaking) and I gave into the pain and asked for an epidural.  The epi was wearing off in a major way by the time I started pushing, so I felt much more this time around than with Little.

How much did your baby weigh? He was exactly 8 pounds.

What did you name your baby? His first name is a family name (he’s the latest in a long line) and his middle name is biblical.  We called him Boo in utero before we found out his gender and it stuck as blogging name.

How old is your baby today? He’s five months old.

I saw this meme on my SIL’s blog the other day.  I haven’t yet written out the kids’ birth stories, so I thought this would be a good way to record some of that information.

Were you married at the time? Yes, for 5 years.

What were your reactions when you found out that you were pregnant? We were so excited; we knew we were ready to add a little one to our family.  I was also a bit nervous as I think all first time moms are.

How old were you? 27 when she was born.

How did you find out that you were pregnant? I had been charting my temps (using FAM), so I knew that having a higher temp for more than 16 days probably meant I was pregnant.  I tried to wait 21 days before I took a test but only made it 18.  The first test must have been defective because it only made part of a plus, the second test registered positive almost immediately.  We found out on Nana’s (Matt’s mom) birthday.

Who did you tell first? I called Matt at work and then my best friend, Nicole.

Did you find out the sex? Yes, I think it would have driven both Matt and me crazy not to know.

Due date? August 7.

Did you deliver early or late? a week early.

Did you have morning sickness? that would be a yes.  I threw up every morning and felt terrible the rest of the day for 8 weeks.

What did you crave? pineapple pizza from Papa John’s during the first trimester, anything spicy the rest of the time.  I went through 2-3 jars of salsa per week.  I also had a major aversion to the smell of coffee until about 17 weeks; I almost threw up one night in the cereal/coffee aisle of Target.

Who irritated you most? I can’t recall one person in particular that irritated me, but I’m sure everyone irritated me at one point or another.

What was your first child’s sex? she’s a girl.

How many pounds did you gain throughout your first pregnancy? 24.

Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? not a single one, thank God.  I didn’t even have any swelling until the very end.

Where did you give birth? in a hospital.

How many hours were you in labor? my water broke at 1:45 p.m. and I hadn’t had a noticeable contraction yet.  They started a pitocin drip about 4:00 p.m. and she was born at 10:33 p.m.  So labor was just under 9 hours.

Who drove you to the hospital? Matt.  When I called him at work to tell him my water broke and he needed to come home he didn’t believe me at first; I think he was in shock.

Who watched? Matt was there the whole time and my mom made it into town about the time I started pushing, so she got to see her first granddaughter come into the world.

Was it vaginal or c-section? she came out the old fashioned way.

Did you take medicine to ease the pain? I had an amazing epidural when I got to 7cm; I didn’t feel a thing after that.

How much did your baby weigh? she was 7 pounds 1/2 ounce.

What did you name your first born baby? she has a beautiful name that I love, but we call her Little around here.

How old is your first born today? she’s two years old.

Little was born on her Pops’s birthday.  Matt called Nana and Pops while we drove to the hospital to let them know that Little’s arrival was imminent.  They were at Nana’s college registering for her Fall semester classes, so Pops had to call us back when they got somewhere quieter so he could hear Matt.  I think he thought we were calling to wish him a happy birthday; he was quite surprised to hear that his granddaughter was on her way on his birthday.  It’s pretty neat that she shares a birthday with her Pops.

Good morning all. Just a quick note to let you know that Boo was born around midnight this morning. He weighs exactly 8 lbs. and is 20.5 inches long. Jana and Boo are both doing well and should be home tomorrow.

Still pregnant…

38 1/2 weeks. Good heartbeat. Good movement. Good blood pressure. A few more contractions. A little more discomfort. A little less sleep. Ready to pop. Waiting to see what the next few days hold.

There hasn’t been too much to report this week. Little and I have been enjoying the warm, sunny days with lots of visits to the park and outside play time. Matt planted flowers in our flower beds over the weekend and some in pots last night; it is nice to see the color outside the windows after the drab winter. Little refers to the flowers as “da-da’s fowfers” everytime she sees them. Now we’re gearing up for more rain this afternoon and tonight and a few-day cold snap (hopefully the last of the season).

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!