Last belly photos

covered 39 week belly

uncovered 39 week belly

Today is the day.

I go in this evening to start my induction. I am assuming that this little one will be born tomorrow unless this turns out to be the worlds fastest induction. I feel like there are both a million things I should be doing today and nothing all at the same time. This whole knowing when baby is coming is very anticlimactic. I enjoy spontaneously going into labor. It is exciting. In the end all we want is a healthy baby, but still I wish things were a little different. Oh well.

This morning I made the boys pancakes and am doing some laundry. I will probably find some ridiculous things to keep me busy throughout the day too. I will probably be too anxious to try and nap though. I need to finish up the Belly Journal and make sure I bring that and the baby book to the hospital to get foot and hand prints. My hospital bag has been packed for weeks, but I will go through it 5 times at least. I hate this waiting!

G&G R have been here for a week now. The boys are still loving it! They spent practically all day at a Children's Museum last week. They went in the morning and then we all went back in the afternoon. It wasn't a very large museum, but it had plenty to keep them happy. There was a model train and a big sandbox that was a hit with Fletcher. Archie enjoyed role playing at the train station. He kept giving me a ticket to Chicago! There was also a bubble platform that you could pull a cord and be enclosed in a bubble. Fletcher was not interested but Archie liked it.

Over the weekend, Dave and I headed to IKEA and got a lot of odds and ends for around the house. We put up new shelves above my desk, got a coffee rack for the wall, magnetic knife holder, storage boxes, and a light for the boys reading corner. We hung up the curtains that my Mom made for the nursery. We finally have the co-sleeper attached to the bed and ready for baby. I got some Aden & Anais swaddling blankets and some more waterproof pads. I finally finished a scrapbook page that I started about 2 months ago too. I am going to get some photos from Archiver's today since I have a coupon and need my 39 week belly photo. I know I am babbling, but I didn't think that my nerves would be so jittery today. Gah!

The beautiful linen curtains in the nursery!

I should probably get started with my last day as a mother to two children. Hopefully I will be able to post a birth story blog within the week. If not, at least I can post some pictures of our new little boy or girl. Here we go!

I caved. Induction date is set.

For a month now I have been evading my Doctor when she has mentioned induction. I have had 2 growth ultrasounds in that time b/c of my gestational diabetes and the baby is measuring pretty accurately for where they are supposed to be with the exception of a big head. My diabetes is 100% diet controlled and my A1C levels came back great. Still, the standard of care is an induction at 39 weeks. I am very conflicted about all of this, but scheduled the induction with the hopes that baby will come on their own before Monday. Both Archie and Fletcher were born before 39 weeks so the odds are good...I hope. Also, the induction is scheduled at 8 p.m. I actually laughed when my nurse said it was so mom could get in a night of rest while the pitocin took effect. Has anyone ever actually been able to rest during pitocin induced contractions? At least she she was able to realize what a load she was feeding me and laughed as well.

In other news, G&G R. are here!! Can I say what a relief it is to know that I can go into labor now and the boys will be well cared for. That is always my biggest concern about going into labor with other kids at home. We had a back-up plan, but nobody wants to go into labor at 2 a.m. and immediately worry about waking up their older child(ren), getting them ready, and taking them to a sitters house. Now we just get to wake up G&G and let them know we are leaving. I am so thankful for family!

Dave's birthday was on Monday. He is now at the ripe old age of 32! We went to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and then had cake that I bought at Rheinlander Bakery, which also sells low carb, sugar free pastries! I had my first truly sweet dessert since my GD diagnosis. The Raspberry Mousse pastry was sinfully delicious. The Pistachio Almond Cream one was actually a little too sweet for me. That has never happened to me before. On the bright side, it did not spike my blood sugar so I will call that a win. For his birthday gifts I got Dave a coffee shop gift card so he can get out of the house during the day and work there for a bit if he wants. I also made him some wall art using my handy Silhouette Cameo. Not terribly exciting gifts, but I hope he had a great day regardless.

The boys are loving having G&G here. They are going to the park, getting to fall asleep with them, reading stories, playing Lego, and just getting spoiled in general. When we went to the bakery they each got to pick out a cookie. I had them ask the gentleman helping us all by themselves and they were both so polite. Totally worth the sugar crash later...almost!

 It is not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

 Archie with his piggy cookie. Appropriate.

 Fletcher and his baseball cookie.

Dave's Boston Cream Pie Birthday "cake"

The moments that remind me why we are doing this again

When I think about having a newborn around I tend to remember the sleepless nights, spit up on everything, milk stains on my shirt, gassy, crying babies, 2 a.m. fights with Dave, the endless amount of bottle and pump parts that need washing, and did I mention the lack of sleep? This past week, however, my two boys have been reminding why we thought 3 kids was a good idea. On my morning to sleep in, Archie came up into my room with a flower that he picked for me in the backyard and a hug. Not wanting to be left out, Fletcher wanted a hug too. Getting woken up with flowers and hugs is probably the best way to wake up in my opinion. At the library a few days later, instead of holding my hands in the parking lot, the boys held each others hand. It was completely unprompted by me and luckily I had my camera handy so I could capture the sweetness of the moment. How could I not want another child? I am not delusional enough to think that puppies and roses are going to abound in the next few months, but I am reminded that it is totally worth all the crappy nights that are ahead of us.

On Tuesday we had our last growth ultrasound to see how large the baby is because of my gestational diabetes. At our penultimate (thank you Prof. John Su for teaching me one of my favorite words) ultrasound, the baby was sleepy and we didn't really get a look at him/her. This time around though we got to see the chubby cheeks and adorable face of the baby we are going to be holding in less than 2 weeks. Both of us kind of had our moment of calm at that point. The fact that Grandma and Grandpa R. are coming for a month starting on Monday also helps!

I have been trying to take the boys to the park a lot since they have been such troopers going to to all of my appt's with me. We tried out two new parks this week. One was kind of neat b/c it was a sensory park ideally suited for special needs kids. How cool is it that my new town has thought of these things? The boys liked it, but I think it could have used more shade trees. However, I would be sweating in 60 degree temps right now. The other park was in our neighborhood but we haven't been there yet. In our little square mile where our house resides we have 6 playgrounds and an abundance of trails with open space. This park had a nice climbing wall, tall slides, and wasn't near any major roads which is a great plus. I liked this one a lot.

Dave has officially completed 2 weeks of working from home. I am quite pleased with how well it is going. The boys accept that when Dad is in this basement he is "at work" and not to be bothered. There was that one day where Dave went to get the mail during nap time, slammed the door on the way out and in, and woke up the kids! I have forgiven him though since he has been rocking out the honey-do list. Plus, the basement bathroom has never been cleaner now that Dave works down there. Ivy, whose litter box is down there, is also thankful.

Over the last few weeks Fletcher has really just advanced leaps and bounds with his communication skills. Fletcher has been talking for almost a year, but the quality of what he is saying is just astounding. He is talking about his feelings, using adjectives a lot, letting us know what he has been up to, etc... Yesterday after Dave took them to the park he came home and told me everything that he did using full and complete sentences. It is really kind of cool. Archer is getting ready to start school next month. I have his uniform but we still need to get all of the back to school supplies. I am so excited for him. He has been asking to play with friends a lot lately. He doesn't have any play mates, but he calls kids that he meets at the park friends. I cannot wait until he actually has kids he can play with everyday and have real friends. It breaks my heart to see him sad when no kids are at the park. Only 3 more weeks until school!

I am still doing really well on the menu planning and food budget. I am completing our 3rd month and the amount we spend is getting pretty predictable. Our garden is also starting to produce a lot of squash, tomatoes, and the chard is still coming up. It is nice have fresh veggies at every meal and knowing what is going to be for dinner every night. It also provides a nice amount of leftovers for our lunches. I imagine our grocery bill will be going up a bit now that Dave will be eating all his meals at home, plus snacks throughout the day. Once the baby comes we will probably have a few months of more processed foods as well and that usually equals more money. At least I have built up a nice repertoire of meals that we enjoy and are relatively easy to make.

Well today is Saturday and maybe our last weekend before the baby comes so we need to get stuff done. Dave is cleaning out the cars, moving the boys' car seats to the back, and installing the infant seat. I am cleaning all the bottles and accessories and figuring out where to put them. I also need to find all the baby socks and bibs and launder them. The pack n' play and co-sleeper are getting put together, the house is getting as clean as we can muster, plus we have the boys that need supervision and what not!

What a difference a GD diagnosis makes. I weigh almost 25 lbs. less than I did at this point in my previous pregnancies and I feel the best too. I haven't been able to indulge in any pregnancy cravings, but at least I won't be paying for it after this LO is born. 

4 weeks until my due date

I am 36 weeks today. My oldest was born at 37 weeks and my 2nd at 38 weeks, 2 days so I am not expecting to make it to my due date. I don't think my OB wants me to either and since I do not want an induction I am keeping my fingers crossed. The standard of care for a woman with gestational diabetes is to induce around 39 weeks. However, since mine is diet controlled and the baby is not measuring large, if I make it that far I will decline an induction unless the baby is in distress.

36 week belly

My 2 hour post prandial's have been kind of low lately and I have had ketones in my urine. I stopped documenting everything I ate last week and I think that I have been carb starving myself which would explain both problems. It is so hard to find that happy balance between too many and too few carbohydrates. By the time I figure this whole diet out the baby will be born and I won't have diabetes anymore. It is kind of frustrating really. I go in two times/week for my non stress tests and I have weekly appt's with my OB. We have always teetered between wanting 3 or 4 kids. With this whole gestational diabetes this time around though, I am thinking 3 might be our magic number. On the bright side, I started off each pregnancy around the same weight and ended each one 50 lbs. heavier. This pregnancy, I have only gained 25 lbs.and have been holding steady for almost 10 weeks. Not being able to indulge in ANY pregnancy craving sure does help curb the weight gain. I had french fries for the first time since my diagnosis and my blood sugar levels were the highest they have been yet. It was my reality check.

Trail mix keeps them occupied during my NSTs.

The boys have been both a riot and rioting lately. Archie is learning how to push Fletcher's buttons and it is the cause of many a headache around here. However, they have their moments when they are cooperating, talking with each other, and helping each other out that gives me hope. They love playing games on our phones, tablets, and computers so I can get some down time when we have had a really trying day or when late 3rd trimester fatigue kicks in. This past week is when I have really started to slow down. It has also been the week in which I have done the most work. I noticed ants in the family room a few days ago and have been a cleaning kick b/c I hate bugs! I also washed the baby swing, bouncer, car seat, car seat bases, and the two boxes of baby toys we still had packed away. The newborn cloth diapers are clean and folded, all the clothes are hanging up in the closet and Dave painted the nursery. I need to wash the bottles next. I think we finally realized that the birth of this child could happen any day at this point.

Happily blowing bubbles

Showing off his Duplo creation.

Today was Dave's first day at his new work from home job. He had a 5 hour lunch meeting with his Colorado contact/co-worker and came home really excited about his work. The boys even played in the basement without bugging him. He will still need to find some good places to work outside the home for those days when his headphones aren't cutting it, but I think he will be happier overall with this new change. I am very excited to have him around. Not because I am expecting him to help much during the day, but it is just going to be comforting having him here while I deal with 3 kids all day. I've gotten used to him after all these years!

I have been crafting like crazy lately. I made 4 art canvasses for the kids rooms, am making a name plaque for the new baby, I made closet dividers for the nursery, working on a project for Dave's birthday, making some cards, and want to get started on a mobile for the nursery. I love, love, love my Silhouette Cameo! I can finally imagine a project and complete it with the help of my die cutting machine.

 This is a bad iPhone photo of the unfinished canvas. Same with the photo below. I apologize. 

Once the nursery gets a little more put together then I will post more photos. The pale grey with white trim on the walls looks fantastic too!

That's all I've got for now. Sorry my posts have been more pregnancy related lately. It is forefront on my mind.

Vacation

It has been quite awhile since my last post. We took a 10 day vacation back east and things are just now settling down. This was our second big road trip in the last few months and the boys did so much better this time around. A lot has to do with how and what I packed. When we drove to Texas in March, I packed a huge variety of snacks and so many toys with lots of pieces. The magnets got thrown on the floor, the crayons got eaten, thrown, broken, and stuck in car seats, the snacks were too sugary and there were too many choices for the boys. We spent half the trip picking things up, searching for the last piece of the puzzle, and breaking up fights about snacks. This time I wizened up and packed much differently. Toys needed 2 or less pieces, the options were far fewer but more enticing, and we were also less accommodating in fetching thrown toys. Their snack buckets had about 5 options and those were all the snacks I brought. I also packed  a lot more fruit and veggies. This trip was longer than our first, but more successful. We are hopeful for more road trips in our future.

We got to see lots of family this trip and it was great. The boys are remembering their cousins, Aunts, and Uncles and get excited to see them. We made a short stop to visit Aunt Amy, Uncle Chris, and their cousin and then we headed to MI for a family reunion with most of their Aunts and Uncles from my side of the family. The kids has a great time playing together and it was nice to have the extra helping hands around too! They got to play in a huge sandbox my brother built, drink slushies, swim in the pond, play in Grandmas basement playroom, and spend hours with their cousins. I got to see my parents, siblings, cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandma, best friend, and lots of my cousins kids that I have never met before. It was nice.

Dave driving a tractor and filling up the huge sandbox. "Best vacation ever!"

Archie enjoyed his 2nd time in the lake much better.

The best of the bunch. Dave looks beat!

Sisters being silly. 

The hardest part was really watching what I ate because of my gestational diabetes. Since most foods did not have the nutritional information readily available, I had to be conservative in what and how much I ate. I don't think I ate enough honestly as my weight stayed the same from my last Dr. appt., but at least I didn't overdo it and spike my sugars too much over and over. The humidity was also killer! The first few days in the Midwest I had a persistent headache. It was most likely a combo of the heat, humidity, and not drinking enough water. I forgot how sticky that extra moisture makes you feel. Getting back to my dry, high altitude was a welcome change even if our swamp cooler broke in 95 degree heat!

I am now 34 weeks pregnant and cannot believe how close we are to delivering. My oldest was born at 37 weeks exactly which means I could have a baby in as few as 3 weeks and at most 5 weeks. I now have weekly NSTs (non stress tests) and at 37 weeks they will become biweekly. My appts will also become weekly once I am 36 weeks. The nurses and receptionists know me by name now! My nurse is also fantastic with the boys. My normally shy Fletcher will go with her to get toys and let me do my own thing. They have also been great playing while I am hooked up the monitors for my NSTs. On the flip side, the nursery is not painted, clothes are not washed, the swing, car seat, bouncy chair, and pack n' play all need a good washing,  and we still need to agree on a boys name if this one comes out XY. I am feeling the time crunch.

In other news, Dave has accepted a new position with a new company starting in two weeks. He is very happy since he will be doing what he loves to do - programming...a lot! I am selfishly very excited too since this is a work from home job. I am fully aware that he needs to be able to work uninterrupted and it will actually be quite difficult for me to keep the boys away from Daddy while he is working. However, it also gives me the flexibility to make Dr. appts and have Dave either come with us or watch the boys while I am gone. It also means that his hours aren't strictly 9-5 so he can do some things that would be harder for him to get done if he had to be at work during certain times. Once things settle down a bit, he is going to look for a place that rents desks for people that work from home. He will probably also head out to the library or coffee shop some days to work too. I think he is excited b/c it will feel like he is in college again and Dave loved college!

I am not sure if I mentioned before about Dewey peeing in the house. I am thankful, in a weird way, that he ended up having a urinary tract infection. That is way more easy to treat than a behavioral issue. He is on a 2 week course of antibiotics and once we are sure they worked we are going to get someone in to clean our carpets. I am looking forward to having the basement not stink anymore! In other dog news, they managed to get out of our yard this past weekend after a big storm knocked out a fence slat that we didn't notice. They must have been out about 30 minutes before we noticed they were missing. They are tagged and micro chipped, but that doesn't stop you from imagining the worst case scenario. Luckily, karma repayed us for all those times we have gone after stray dogs and found their owners for them. They were only a few cul-de-sacs away and together. Piper was getting some loving from the people that found them, but Dewey was evading capture like the little turd that he is. Another advantage of Dave working from home is that he can slowly start replacing our fence in the morning before he "goes to work".

Say hello to my little friend...

...the Glucometer!

 

I finally met with my Dr. a week and half after getting my gestational diabetes diagnosis. It turns out that 2 of my 4 blood draws during the 3 hours test were abnormal. My fasting was high and my 2 hour draw was high. The 1 hour and 3 hours were withing normal range though. We talked about my diet, the fact that I had lost 4 lbs., and the size of the baby, which is right on track for 30 weeks. She told me it sounds like I am doing everything right and that my diagnosis shouldn't be a huge concern if I keep up with my current lifestyle. She gave me a glucometer, but only wants me to test twice/day and will call me in a week to see what my numbers have been. Based on that information she will decide what to do after that. If the numbers look good then she will only have be testing my blood sugars every other day to make sure they are on track.

I have tested my BSLs (blood sugar levels) 6 times so far. Only 1 draw has been over the recommended limit by 7 mg/dl. The others were in the 70s and 80s. The high draw came after a meal in which I normally wouldn't have had an apple with, but I cut one up for the boys and ate the other half. I also didn't take my walk immediately after dinner like normal either. Knowing what certain foods are doing to my body is quite fascinating. However, knowing how much additional test strips cost, even with insurance, has limited my curiosity to two times/day. I am testing my fasting level in the morning and then alternating which meal I test 2 hours postprandial (after eating). With my levels being so much under the recommended 120 mg/dl at 2 hours postprandial, I am thinking that I have been too conservative with my carbs.

Despite things looking pretty good, I am still going to be getting NSTs (non stress tests) at every bimonthly appointment, 1-2 more ultrasounds to check the growth of the baby, and my Dr. doesn't want me to go past 39 weeks. If I don't go into labor naturally before then, however, I may fight her on that because if the size of the baby is looking normal then I don't see a need to be induced. Since my boys were born at 37 and 38 weeks, respectively, I am not too worried that this LO will wait much past 39 weeks anyway.

I am finding some great recipes for diabetes online and am thoroughly enjoying some of these new dishes I never would have found otherwise. For dinner last night I made Penne with Walnuts and Peppers and wilted mustard greens from our garden. They were delicious! My night time snack was a ricotta cheese spread in 1/2 a roll up with blueberries. Dinner two nights ago was Black Bean Salad in a pita with hummus with Roasted Snap Peas. We have been eating so well since this diagnosis!

30 weeks

1 hour glucose test = fail

The dreaded 1 hour glucose test given around the 28th week of pregnancy came and went last week. There is nothing like breaking a 12 hour fast by drinking 50 grams of glucose, sitting in a Dr's office for an hour, and then getting your blood drawn. That is, until you fail that test and you go back in to drink double the amount of glucose and get your blood drawn 4 times over the course of 3 hours. I failed my 1 hour when I was pregnant with Fletcher and passed the 3 hour. Looks like I failed the 1 hour yet again and am going back tomorrow for the 3 hour test. It is rare that I get 3 hours to myself and I would much rather spend that time eating a leisurely lunch, shopping the bulk foods section without yelling at kids to keep their grubby hands off the food, or even reading a book in bed while the kids are out with Dad. Instead, my 3 hours will be spent fighting nausea, the shakes, headaches, and trying to get comfortable in a waiting room chair.

I am one of those people that actually enjoys pregnancy. Yes I get morning sickness in the first trimester, heartburn, hemorrhoids (sorry if you didn't want to know that), round ligament pain, nerve pains, PUPPS rash, heat rash, and all those other glamorous side effects of pregnancy. However, I love the kicks, rolls, hiccups, knowledge and where and what my kid is up to all the time, the weekly belly pictures, pants with belly panels, and body pillows. I even love the middle of the night panic when your water breaks and you realize you are about to have a baby. One thing I really hate though, are all the tests done during pregnancy. I get why they are done and I am not one to eschew modern medicine, but sometimes I feel like they add more stress as opposed to give piece of mind.

The word  fail implies that you aren't good enough. I know that I cannot help how my body processes sugar during pregnancy. That is the logical half. The other part though is berating myself and wonders what I could have done differently. Also, a diagnosis of gestational diabetes means that both me and my baby would be at higher risk for developing diabetes later on in life. Add that knowledge onto my already fragile hormonal reactions and it makes for quite the disappointment. Luckily Dave is super supportive and has a job that is very flexible. There is no way I could take this test with my kids in tow.

They also found out that I am anemic so I get to take iron supplements on top of my prenatal and DHA pills. They also suggested I stock up on colace because of the undesirable side effects of extra iron intake. Some days I want time to slow down before this baby arrives. Days like today, however, I am looking forward to the next 10-12 weeks flying by! That was nice to get off my chest.

So this is what's it's like having two small kids.

Where does the time go? In the 7 months since my last post, which feels like last week by the way, we have done a whole lot although it doesn't really seem like much. The days sometimes seem to drag on and on, however, the weeks fly by in the blink of an eye. My boys are 7 months older, I am 6 months pregnant with our third child, and we have lived in our new house for over 7 months. We love our new town! Dave and I will still drive around and think how lucky we are that we live here and get to raise our children in such a great environment. I always hear that things will work themselves out and yet I am always surprised when they actually do work out.

You may have caught the 6 months pregnant statement above. Baby R. #3 is scheduled to arrive in August. We are leaving the gender a surprise mainly because I want to pretend for a little longer that we won't have 3 boys in 3 months! I will say though, that my boys are the cuddliest, sweetest Momma's boys ever! Both boys like to feel the baby move and will say hi to my belly. It is so much fun being pregnant with kids that are old enough to kind of understand what is going on.

25 weeks

 Archie is going to be starting preschool in the fall! He is so ready to start school, but I am not sure how ready his Mom is going to be though. How did he get so big, and smart, and old? He is writing letters, numbers, and drawing shapes. Just this week he has begun to sound out letters into words. His vocabulary is astounding too. Not a day goes by that I have to remind myself he is still just a 3 year old boy.

Very seriously reading the map at the zoo.

Fletcher, who recently turned 2, is also changing by leaps and bounds. He is speaking in sentences, colors really well, has great coordination, and definitely has a mind of his own. He is fiercely independent and want to do everything by himself. He won't be starting any sort of school until fall of 2014, but it will be nice to have some time with him and the new baby while Archie is at school this year. Hopefully, having that time as the oldest in the house will help him forge some new paths for himself.

Enjoying his birthday cupcake!

Fletcher Elliott: A Birth Story

I woke up at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, April 26th with what I thought were gas pains. I took some gas-x and laid down but the pain wasn't going away. It took me about 30 minutes to start realizing that maybe these were contractions. I had to be induced with Archer so I never really experienced normal contractions before. Dave called L&D and I spoke with a nurse who confirmed that I was most likely having contractions and they were 2-3 minutes apart. I got off the phone, finished packing our bags and headed to the hospital. On the way there my contractions started hurting really bad especially in my lower back.

Once at the hospital they checked and I was almost 6 cm's dilated so I was admitted and I immediately asked for the epidural. The anesthesiologist arrived at 5:15 a.m. and as I sat up to get the epidural my water broke. I had gotten the epidural with my first labor so I knew what to expect this time around. It started to numb half my torso so I had to turn and let gravity help numb the other side too. I was able to move my legs this time around which I actually appreciated and it did not affect the epidurals effectiveness.

I tested positive for group B strep so they have to hook me up the antibiotics, but I am allergic to penicillin so I got a bag of a different antibiotic. Also, because my labor was quick they only were able to administer one bag so we had to stay 48 hours in the hospital instead of just 24. Anyway, back to my birth story. By about 7:40 a.m. I was fully dilated to 10 cm's but I did not start pushing until 9:05 a.m. because Fletcher's head was not as low in my birth canal as the nurse would've liked so I sat up and let gravity try to force his head lower. He was also sunny side up so the nurse had me do some practice pushes to see if he would try to turn on his own. He didn't until the very end though.

I ended up pushing for 1 hour and 45 minutes. With Archer I pushed for 2 1/2 hours so this was a slight improvement. My labor nurse was awesome! She had be try pushing in a few different positions to see what worked best for me and the baby. With my last delivery I just sort of laid there the whole time. My last 3-4 contractions were probably when I felt the most "pain". Fletcher's head was crowned and I had to wait until the next contraction to push again. Dave, my Dr. and nurse were just standing there having a normal conversation as I was laying down with a head half way out of my vagina. The pressure was intense, way more than I felt when delivering Archer. It made me love the epidural even more.

At 10:50 a.m., just 8 hours after feeling my first contraction, Fletcher Elliott was born. He was 8 lbs., 10 oz and 21 1/2" long. I had a second degree tear that needed stitches but considering he was a full 2 lbs. heavier than Archer I think that was pretty good. My recovery this time around is going so much better as well. I am just taking over the counter Motrin for my cramping and tearing pains and even then I only need to about once/day. Fletcher was born very red because he had an excess amount of red blood cells. He also spent 2 days in a billibed to treat his jaundice.

We have been home over a week now and things are going well. He breastfeeds like a champ and sleeps in between nightly feedings. Archer is starting to show some interest in him, but is still pretty ambivalent. All in all, I am very pleased with this labor and am loving being the mother to 2 boys.

No baby yet

I am 37 weeks, 6 days pregnant today with an 8 lb. baby apparently. Since Archie was born at 37 weeks, 1 day this is officially the longest I have ever been pregnant. I had an ultrasound last week b/c Fletcher has been measuring big. The ultrasound tech estimated that he was about 7 lbs. 13 oz. and my Dr. agrees with her assessment. I have been having mixed feelings about wanting him to be born soon, but I think I am less nervous than I was a week ago. I still have more anxiety this time around than I did with Archie. I think having 2 kids under the age of 2 is a little daunting.

My sisters have been here helping out. Mary and Marlene left earlier in the week and Amy is here until Sunday. I was hoping Fletcher would be born while they were here but that doesn't appear to be the case. We have a neighbor lined up to watch Archie for when I do go into labor but I really wanted family here. I always see pictures of people visiting the new baby in the hospital and it makes me a little sad that we will have no visitors yet again. Maybe when we have baby #3.

Archer still continues to amaze me everyday. He is such a smart little guy and I am constantly surprised with his innate desire and ability to learn. He is still a little boy though and makes me laugh with all his quirky antics and mannerisms. Some of the faces he makes are hilarious!

4-7 weeks left!

When I was pregnant with Archer I basically just breezed through it all. Yes I had the occasional heartburn and my belly certainly got in the way, but I was by no means miserable or in pain. Pregnancy the 2nd time around is no walk in the park for me. I hurt in places that shouldn't hurt, I get heartburn just thinking about food, I have shooting nerve pains down my back and walking is not possible some evenings. That said, I still want to do it again so we can have a 3rd and maybe even a 4th kid down the road. The end result is worth all the discomfort.

I am now in my 33rd week of pregnancy. Archer was born at 37 weeks, 1 day. If this baby follows suit then I could have another little boy in less than 4 weeks! That is soon. Statistically more women go into labor during a full moon or during a snow storm. April 17th is the next full moon and coincidentally I am also going to be 37 weeks, 1 day pregnant on that particular day. Only time will tell!

During this past week I feel like Fletcher has dropped a bit. Does my belly look lower in the 2nd picture or is it just me?

(32 weeks, 1 day)

(33 weeks, 1 day)

I just need to survive the next 4-7 weeks. I can do it especially now that Archer is walking a whole lot more and is very independent. He likes to do things by himself and only asks for help if he needs/wants it. He likes to pick out his own books for us to read and if he is still hungry will hand us his bowl. The only real drawback is that he likes to walk when we are out running errands and that adds a lot of time to our outings. It's very hard to shop when Archie is pushing the cart at a nonstop pace. Oh well!

Pretty soon I will be posting pictures of Archer's newly painted room! Dave finished painting yesterday and we just need to put up the wallpaper border. I am so excited to start moving stuff into his new room and getting the baby stuff back into the nursery. I started unpacking the newborn clothing and it is all so tiny and cute. I cannot wait to dress Fletcher up in them! Soon enough.

10 weeks to go, or less.

In a little over 2 months we will be a 2 child household. I am still feeling pretty good relatively speaking. I have the usually heartburn, difficultly getting up, putting on shoes and socks is a chore and carrying Archie upstairs makes me feel like I've run a marathon. However, I feel like I have fairly easy pregnancies compared to what I hear from other people. I am getting very excited to meet Baby F though and cannot wait to fall in love all over again when I first lay eyes on him!

(Almost 30 weeks. Ignore the fake smile.)

Archie will be 17 months old tomorrow and I cannot believe how much he has grown and changed in his short life. Every new thing he discovers and learns is such a treat as a parent to watch. Just over the last 2 days he has started walking a lot more. He will go 10 or more feet without faltering. He also chooses to walk about 1/3 of the time compared to just once or twice per day as he had been doing for a few weeks.

Another of Archie's newer developments is to point to things he wants you to see. Before he would point to things that he wanted, but now he points out things that he thinks are interesting and wants to share with you. At the airport the other day he wanted to show me how cool the luggage carousel by pointing and smiling. I love that he wants to share his world with me!

(Sleepy boy)

We spent the last week in NJ at Grandma and Grandpa R's house. It was actually quite a relaxing trip as G & G provided 2 extra sets of very helping hands. Archie did not display any sort of anxiety towards them and Dave & I were able to spend some adult time together without worrying about him crying the whole time. In fact, we were told that he didn't cry at all after we left. We got to hang out with some of Dave's friends, eat some good food, sleep in and veg out. Thank you so much Bob and Joan for giving us the gift of date night and the letting us relax while you watched Archie!

(Family picture)

(Archie with Grandma & Grandpa)

Hello 3rd trimester

Every website I check has a different date in which my 3rd trimester officially starts. Today I am 27 weeks, 5 days pregnant and I declaring myself in the 3rd trimester. Archie was born 3 weeks early and chances are likely Baby F will be too so here I am! To celebrate I made oatmeal pancakes with fresh strawberries on top for breakfast. Dave said they may have been the best pancakes I have ever made. I just followed the Oatmeal Pancake recipe and made a few minor adjustments. I ground up 2/3s of the dry mixture in my food processor and let the batter sit for about 5 minutes before cooking. Next time I will replace the white flour with whole wheat. Otherwise, a super delicious recipe.

In other news, I had my 3 hour glucose test on Tuesday morning. When I left the house Dave and Archie were still sleeping. It was super cold and snowy and I really just wanted to crawl back into bed. Anyway, I got there and they drew my blood then gave me 5 minutes to drink 10 oz. of fruit punch glucose drink. They drew my blood again at 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours. For the first 2 hours I worked on my scarf and then I started rereading Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich. It wasn't the most pleasant experience of my life, but it went by pretty quickly. I got a call yesterday saying that I passed the test and do not have gestational diabetes! I really hope that I do not have to do that again during my next pregnancy.

Yesterday Archie was playing near our bed. He likes to drop things in between the mattress and bed frame. Well he somehow slipped and smacked his eye against the frame. He only cried for a few minutes so I knew it must not be too serious, but he is sporting quite the bruise. Once we have 2 boys running around I am going to have daily panic attacks and a Costco supply of band-aids.

(tough guy with his black eye)

In the developmental front, he has been practicing walking a lot more over the last 2 days. He walked almost 5 feet when Dave was watching him and he's walked about 3-5 feet every time he has attempted it since then. To him it is like no big deal, but Dave and I are ecstatic. He also has been showing a increased interest in books. Before he would just pull them off the shelves and open and close them. Now there are about 3-4 books that he consistently brings over to me or Dave and wants us to read and reread them a dozen times. He will point to the page numbers or pictures and wait for us to tell him what it is. He also points to letters and numbers all over the place. This is such a fun age!

(in between eating crayons he will color a little)