Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Today I am officially the most pregnant I’ve ever been.

When I hit 36 weeks or so, people began asking if I thought she would come early. Based on the progression of my children’s gestation, we’re right about where I thought we would be. E was 39 weeks, J was 39 weeks 4 days, S was 40 weeks 3 days. When they hear this, people almost always ask, “don’t later babies usually come earlier?” Well, maybe statistically, but not around here.

I go back to the doctor this afternoon (unless Baby M surprises us in the next few hours) and we’ll see if we’re making progress toward the big day. Doc wants to induce next week (at 41 weeks) if she isn’t here yet. I’m not wild about scheduling an induction since I would like to avoid pitocin, but we’re to the point where conventional medicine says it’s time for baby to be born (don’t get me started…unfortunately, we live in an area that is unfriendly to midwives, birthing centers, etc).

All I can do is rely on God to know what is best and trust that whatever happens is in his hands.

Either way, I’m ready to meet this baby girl!

I can count the number of weeks until we meet baby girl on one hand. It’s a significantly lower number than the number of weeks since I last posted here. This is both encouraging – because it is so stinking HOT here right now – and a bit frightening – because we still have much we would like to accomplish before her arrival.

I don’t, however, find myself anxious. Maybe it’s because we have so much else going on that I don’t think about it much. Maybe it’s because God is pouring his peace into me moment by moment. Maybe it’s because I don’t feel the pressure of having everything “perfect” for her arrival like I did with the first (and even the second). Maybe it’s just because I’m so tired from life with a Kindergartner, preschooler, and toddler (not to mention the heat). Whatever it is, it is good.

I’ve tried to spend the last few weeks doing things with the kids, getting some schooling done, and trying to stay cool. But now that we’re down to three and a half weeks until the due date I’m beginning to realize that there are some things that need to be done. Such as diapers; we don’t have any small disposables and her cloth stash isn’t ready to wear. Such as car seat installation; we have the seat in the car, but right now there isn’t a seat available to install it into. Such as a place for her to sleep; we have a couple of options, but still need to do some work for her to have “her own space”. Such as clothes; they are all in the attic, but they need to be brought down, sorted through, and washed. Nothing major. All things that will get done. But definitely things that need attention.

I figure no matter what is or isn’t done, she will come when it’s her time to enter this world. And, quite frankly, she won’t know what “should” be ready for her.

Matt and I have always said we work best on a deadline. Let’s see how much we get done.

I want to write, but I only have a very few minutes before the littles emerge from rest time. So, I’ll give you a few outtakes from our day.

~ I am 23 weeks pregnant today. We have a lot to accomplish in the next 17ish weeks.

~ I wore a pair of non-maternity pants to my meeting this morning. I’m wondering how I kept them on my body pre-pregnancy.

~ S got her first busted knee this morning. J was trying to be helpful and hold her hand. He pulled a little too much.

~ We left home this morning in the rain. J had rain boots and no rain jacket. E had a rain jacket but wasn’t wearing her boots. I was wearing sandals. How’s that for prepared?

~ I’m trying a new recipe for dinner tonight. The listed prep time was 20 minutes. It took me almost an hour. And 3 pots/skillets. It’s a slow cooker recipe.

~ J’s birthday is this week. He’s requested a blueberry cake with chocolate icing. And Buzz and Woody on top.

~ E is singing a song to J about “never, ever play with matches.” At least we have fire safety covered.

~ In the car this morning, E was pretending to be a cat named Rainbow. She told me I could call her “rain” or “bow” or “rainbow” or just “cat”.

Hope you are all having a great Monday!

So, after writing about not being sure if I want to write, here I am again. However, I’m making a list because this is a bunch of random stuff.

1. I’m tired of the kids “blog names”. I have several reasons: Little isn’t so much my “little bit of girl” anymore and I’m realizing it more and more as we approach Kindergarten in the Fall. Boo – the boy received his name in utero before we knew whether he was a boy or a girl. We’ve never called him Boo; however, Boo (or Boo-Boo) is Baby Girl’s real-life nickname. Sometimes it gets confusing (to me) who I’m writing about. And then there’s Baby Girl…since we don’t know the gender of baby number 4 yet, Baby Girl may or may not be the “baby girl” anymore.

So, what am I going to do about it? Instead of changing their nicknames I’m going to go with single letter designations. Henceforth, Little will be known as “E”, Boo will be known as “J”, and Baby Girl will be known as “S”. And, for now, baby number four will be known as number four.

2. S is walking now! She decided about 3 weeks ago to let go and take a few steps. She’s been building up her “endurance” since then and is on her feet most of the time now. She looks so cute as her tiny little body toddles around.

3. S goes to the doctor again this morning to discuss her weight gain “issues”. At 13 months she weighed 16 lbs. 14 oz. and the doc was really wanting her to be at 17 pounds by then. We’ll see what we find out this morning.

4. I’ve turned that 16 week corner in this pregnancy and am feeling much better. Today is doc appointment day, and I am really looking forward to hearing baby’s heartbeat. I’m hoping we’ll have the big ultrasound 4 weeks from today and find out whether this tiny one is a boy or girl.

5. E and J are doing great. They are constantly making us laugh, making us smile, and making us question our ability to parent. Just as it should be with little ones, I suppose.

I think that’s all for now.

In an effort to get back to writing, I’d love to know if there is anything that you guys would like me to write about. Any questions for me, any ideas, anything you’d like to read about?

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.