40 pounds

I can't believe it. 40 pounds are gone. Gone forever. I feel like a new person. My goal is getting close enough that it is in sight.

I've been working out like a mad women - 6 days a week. Running and strength training. But the weight has been coming off very slowly. I haven't been watching what I've been eating as much. So I'm back on track and following weight watchers. I've done it enough over the years to know what I'm doing and how to get results with it. So, off we go.

I have 16 pounds to go to get to my "goal weight", but would love to lose another 10 after that. I'll take the 16 and anything else after that is gravy. And I like gravy. LOL

Above is a picture of me that Todd took last night. I'm down 3 clothing sizes and will hopefully lose another 2.

By the numbers.

Just a few numbers to throw out there

33 - pounds gone forever

3 - sizes I've gone down

6.2 - miles I ran today

8 - days until we being our new workout routine

2 - pieces in my bathing suit

Current Will-isms

Here are a few of Will's latest over the last few days.

Today he hid my stability ball in the shower after I told him not to put it in the shower (as he rolled it past me as I'm blowdrying my hair). I asked him if he put it in the shower. His response was "nope, I sure didn't. There isn't ANYthing green in your shower right now".

Yesterday he climbed on top of me while I was laying on my bed. He said "mommy, you're soft". Soft? Hmm...I've been busting my butt working out. "Yes, mommy. You're soft. Like a pillow". Well, crap. Okay...."what about daddy, Will? Is daddy soft like a pillow?" "No, daddy is prickly." That made me feel a bit better. I might be soft, but daddy's a prick. heh

Then again today he stroked my bare arm and said "see, your skin is so soft, mommy". A-ha, much better. ;)

Having a baby makes you a negligent blogger

Sorry about that...I guess I haven't blogged in - oh, 2 months - whoops. Having two kids and getting in shape makes for busy days.

Let's see, what's the latest with all of us..........

Todd - he took a buy out from his civilian employer and accepted a big fat check to leave his job. Hooray! Last Friday was his last day. We're looking forward to a happier daddy, more free time and not too much less money.

Will - Just finished up his first year of preschool. He's a rowdy, loud and fun 3 1/2 year old. Which means I end up tired a lot. He frustrates me beyond measure, but I sure do love him. He says he wants to learn to ski this summer, so we plan on teaching him.

Evan - what can I say about this little guy? He's such a blessing. A great sleeper, eater and just over all, so easy going and happy. He's probably the best baby ever born. He sleeps 10-12 hours at night w/o waking and goes right back to sleep as soon as he's nursed. He's a great napper and a happy little guy. He's full of smiles and laughs. I'm looking forward to seeing him roll over soon.

Me - I'm on a mission. So far, I've lost 32 lbs. (remember, this isn't baby weight - this is MY weight. I only gained 4 lbs while pregnant with E and it was gone when he was born at almost 10 lbs.) Ideally, I'd like to lose another 30-35. But honestly, I'll be happy with 20 more. I've been running - a lot. It's amazing. I feel so empowered to be able to accomplish a goal every single day. I'm running about 3 1/2 to 5 miles a day. It depends on the day and whether or not I'm running on the treadmill or hitting the road.

My goals are go compete in a Sprint Tri - it's August 8th. There's another one July 11th, but I just don't feel I'll be ready yet. So I have 2 months to finish getting ready for the Tri. It's a 200 yard pool swim, a 9 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run. Over all, about as small of a Tri as you can do.

Todd and I are going to Dayton, OH in September for the Air Force Marathon. He's going to run the full marathon - 26.2 and I'm going to run the 10k (6.2 miles).

That's about all for now. I'll try and update again soon.

First time for everything

I nursed Will for 18 months. We had our fair share of trials, but managed to work through all of them. Evan has been nursing for less than a month and we've hit the big one. Mastitis has found it's way into our home - and into my bra.

Yesterday I started aching. Last night when I went to bed, I was sore and tender to the touch. I was freezing - I couldn't get warm, I cranked up the furnace and piled on 2 extra blankets in bed. I shivered and shivered and finally fell asleep. I woke up at midnight in a fair amount of pain - and still cold. I took some tylenol and made Todd hold me to try and keep me warm. I finally fell back asleep about 1:30.

This morning I woke up and checked the mirror. The tell tale red streaks where all over the upper portion of my left breast. My whole body ached and I felt like I'd been hit by a truck.

Thankfully the doctor's office got me in this afternoon and I was able to get a prescription for antibiotics. Hopefully I'll feel better quickly - this weekend is our shower and we have family in town. I certainly don't want to feel horrible all weekend.

Let's hope I never get mastitis again. Eep!

As if the numbers on the scale weren't motivation enough

I'm calling this a "before and after" shot. The picture of our family was taken at Easter last year (that's my dad next to me - Hi Dad!) I knew I was fat then, but look at my face. It almost looks swollen.

This picture was taken in Feb - 1o months after the group picture. And 8 months pregnant. Now look at my cheeks and my neck. Wow, oh wow!! Can I just say "damn, I look GOOD!"

That's the first 25 lbs. Can't wait to see what happens with the next 25. Woot!

Positive motivation

Last fall I packed up all of my summer clothes and put them away to make room for my maternity clothes in my closet. Today I pulled them back out and packed up the maternity clothes. I also had 2 bags of clothes a friend of mine passed down to me when she lost weight. Unfortunately for me, when I got home with the clothes, they had all been too small. So I packed them away.

Welp, they fit. They're a full clothing size smaller than I was wearing before I got pregnant. Actually, when I got pregnant, my current size was too tight anyway. So in reality, they're 2 sizes smaller than I was wearing when I got pregnant last July.

That feels awesome.

Only thing that will feel better is when they're all too big for me to wear!

I've been working out, also. I did 3 thirty minute workouts on the treadmill this week - Mon/Tues/Wed. I even ran 2 of the days. It felt great to get back to running. I can't wait to push it up to running a full mile. Today I took it easy and did a lower body workout video online (via youtube - gotta love it) and I'm taking the boys for a stroller ride around the block in a bit.

Todd will be home next week and I'm planning on hitting the gym for the first time. I figure if I nurse Evan and top him off well, I can run out for an hour and a half to go workout. Worst case, there's pumped milk in the freeze for Todd to give him. It'll feel good to get out for an hour and exercise my muscles.

I've set a goal for myself - I'm going to do a Sprint Tri this summer. The one I've selected is a 200 yard swim, a 7.5 mile bike and a 2.5 mile run. That's pretty much as small of a triathlon as you can get, so I think it's a good start. If that one goes well in July, then there's another in August. It's a 200 yard swim, a 9 mile bike and a 3 mile run.

Once I get released at my 6 week PP checkup, that'll give me just over 2 months to train. I'm going to go to spinning classes and swim laps at the gym. I just need to find a bike to use for the actual races.

I feel like a one legged man

........in an ass kicking contest.

Being a "single" mom of 2 is exhausting. We're doing well, no major catastrophies, thankfully. It is tough, but we're surviving. Everyone is still getting bathed, fed and the house is mostly clean. Okay, somewhat clean - but it will be clean again before Todd gets home. I've even worked out the last 2 days.

We only had 1 "accident" worth reporting. It involves marker and the living room carpet. Thankfully it almost all came out. Todd's more detail oriented than I am, so he can finish getting the rest of it up off the floor. ha ha

Our non-event

With everything else going on in our lives lately, Todd and I were both concerned about the stress a new baby would cause in our house and to our marriage.

Little did we know that by a week or so old, we'd dub Evan as the "non-event". He is the easiest, most laid back baby EVER. Todd even said it's almost like having a baby only part-time. He never cries - well, unless we're in the car or he's getting a bath. He's a great eater and a fantastic sleeper.

Seriously, fantastic sleeper. I don't think Will slept this well until he was about 5 months old. Last night Evan went to bed in the pack and play at 9:00. He woke up to nurse a little after 1 this morning. Then he woke again at 4:45 and slept until 7:30 after that. The night before he went down at 8:30, woke at 12:30 and then at 5:30. After his 5:30 feeding, I had to wake him up at 9 am so we could leave for Mom's group.

He makes me want to have a half dozen more.

Okay, not really, but you get the idea.

How lucky am I?

I lay mostly awake in bed this morning breathing in the scent of the baby snuggled up to my body, nursing at my breast. The sweetest smell in the entire world. Just past him I see the form of my sleeping husband in the half darkness. The sight of him is comforting and reassuring. In comes my other son. He climbs into bed and snuggles up to my other side and kisses me and whispers "I love you, mommy". The best words ever spoken.

My senses were overwhelmed this morning by how lucky I am to be surrounded by these three men.

Things I've learned after a second pregnancy

1. Having a second baby is 100 times easier than having a first baby. If I'd known this, I would have had the 2nd one first.

2. Weighing 23 lbs less than you did when you got pregnant at 1 week post partum makes for a great weight loss motivator. I'm seeing numbers on the scale I haven't seen in years. It's exciting and addictive.

3. Never believe someone when they diagnose you as a Type II diabetic while pregnant.

A bit of a scary afternoon with a happy ending

Yesterday proceeded as planned - another few hours of contractions, a bit of dilation and then an epidural (happy day). Evan was tolerating labor really, really well. But after a few hours his heart rate started to dip a bit during the contractions. This was the same thing that happened with Will and I wasn't too alarmed.

They turned off the pitocin and I spent the next several hours laying on my side in the bed with the oxygen mask strapped to my face. Evan would do well for a while and then he'd get angry again. So, they'd come in and roll me over to the other side. Since the pitocin was off, my contractions weren't as strong or quite as frequent. So we waited for my body to do the work and dilate my cervix more slowly than originally anticipated. At 5 pm I was told I could finally sit up again. I was able to sit upright and surf the net for a bit. The plan was for Evan's weight and gravity to rest on my cervix and dilate it that last 1-2 cm. A few minutes before 6 pm the doctor came to check on me. He made the joke that I was enjoying myself way too much.

Not for long.

He checked my dilation and something about my being checked set Evan off. His heart rate plummeted and things got a bit scary. Several nurses up front didn't realize the doctor was with me and they all came running into our room. It was tense for several minutes as everyone watched the monitors. I started praying that everything was going to be okay. I was afraid for the first time. At 6:02 my doctor started giving me instructions on what to expect - because if things didn't change 180 degrees in 60 seconds, we were going in for an emergency c-section. He was explaining to me that he'd have Evan out in under 5 minutes and that the rest of my surgery would take about 30 minutes total.

I was stuck on my side, frozen, not allowed to move. Barely breathing, listening to Evan's heart rate on the monitor. Everything stabilized quickly and the tension released. Every time a contraction came I prayed and listened to that heart rate. He was still having dips during my contractions, but not like he had been.

At 6:40 I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to start pushing - I wanted my baby out. I was too scared having him inside me at this point. Todd went and got a nurse and told them I wanted to push. I still had a rim of cervix left, but they told me that I could go ahead and start pushing.

They called the doc and told him I wanted to push. Ordinarily, I would have started without him, but they wanted him there. At 6:45 I pushed for the first time. I don't know what it was, but it was so much more difficult this time. I think I was working SO hard because I wanted him out SO badly. I was afraid for him and for me and I wanted him in my arms where he was safe. The nurses told me he was "right there", so it'd only take a few minutes.

At 7:02 pm, March 20th, 2009, Evan Parker entered the world. As he came out the doctor said "cord once, cord twice, cord three times." Evan's cord was wrapped around his neck and torso three times. Then as he slipped the rest of the way out we discovered the very scary reason for his heart rate issues. A knot in his cord. Thanks be to God that the knot was loose. The doctor slipped a finger through it to loosen it a bit. The reaction in the room was one of total shock.

He was big, a bit blue and really limp. Looking at his limp form was terrifying. The doctor was rubbing him as hard as he could and jostling him trying to get him moving. Thankfully he was crying within a few seconds and everything was okay. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief. He perked up really quickly. He ended up not even needing oxygen or anything.

We found out on Saturday that every member of the staff was watching the monitors at the nursing station while I was pushing - every time I pushed his heart rate was dropping down into the 30 beats per minute range. Everyone that's come in to see us/check on us - peds, OBs, nurses, etc have mentioned the knot to us. Word's gotten around about it.

Thankfully I'm sitting here watching a perfectly healthy, beautiful baby boy sleeping in his hospital bassinett. It was a whole lot of fright, but couldn't have turned out better.

Birthin' and bloggin'

Oh, how I love technology. :)

It's a few minutes before 10 am on Friday the 20th. Evan's birthday - it's official this time.

We arrived a few minutes after 7 and were taken to our room. Paperwork was filled out and my IV was hooked up. In regular fashion for me, the vein blew the first time and it took two tries to get the IV in. And as always for me, my blood pressure bottomed out and I almost blacked out immediately afterwards. The nurse said my pressure was 68/32. Then they informed me that I'm GBS positive, so they added a bag of antibiotics to my IV. And once again, I almost passed out.

Getting the trend, here? I love needles. LOL

My doctor came and checked me a few minutes before 9 am and pronounced I was 3-4cm, 80% effaced and Evan was +2 station. He told the nurses to go ahead and roll with the pitocin and we'd get this party started.

I've been on the pitocin for about an hour and having regular contractions. Still nothing too strong or painful, so we're just hanging out. I currently have a blood pressure cuff, 2 ID bracelets, 2 fetal monitors strapped to my belly (one for contractions and one to monitor Evan's heart rate) and an IV with saline, antibiotics and pitocin dripping.

So much for that idea

I'm still pregnant. VERY pregnant.

I was up early on Tuesday morning (no surprise there). I got ready and woke Todd up about 15 minutes before we needed to leave. He got ready and we took our bags downstairs. My dad had gotten up to meet us and helped me load the car while Todd ate a quick bowl of cereal. We waved goodbye and made the trip in the early morning darkness to the hospital.

Todd dropped me off at the door and I rode the elevator up to the labor and delivery ward. I gave my name and info and she checked me off her list and took me to a room. We walked past the room I delivered Will in and I felt a stab of nostalgia as I saw it was occupied by someone else.

Todd found me a minute later and joined me in the room. I changed into my hospital gown and Todd snapped a few final "belly pictures". I sat on the bed and we waited. And waited.

I got up to pee and our nurse stopped in - she said she'd come back. My doctor stopped by at 8:00 and talked to us for a few minutes and then left again. We were still alone when he came back at 9:00. By this point, I was starting to wonder what the holdup was. We'd been there 2 hours. By this point last time my IV was dripping and my water had been broken.

And that was when my doctor informed me the last words I could even imagine "I hate to be the bearer or bad news. But we had a few nurses call in, we're just too short staffed.". Todd said "you're sending us home, aren't you??" And he repliled "yes".

Punch me in the gut and take the breath out of me. I wanted to cry.

The doctor said I could come back the next day (today) and they'd induce me. We ended up agreeing that we'd wait until Friday since that's when he's on call again. I've been with him for over 3 1/2 years and he delivered Will. I really, really want him to deliver Evan, as well. So, I'm throwing myself under the bus and holding out until Friday.

I thought the constant phone calls, texts, emails and facebook notifications BEFORE going to the hospital were bad. But oh my goodness - the number of calls, emails, text messages, voice mails, notifications, etc after giving the news that we WEREN'T having a baby was unbelievable. I had 4 people call me on my phone just between 9 and 10 am. I just wanted to be left alone. I switched it to "silent" and dropped it to the bottom of my purse, not to be touched again until today. Telling the story over and over and over was the last possible thing I wanted to do yesterday. I answered the phone for the first time today about 4 pm.

So for everyone that hasn't heard back from me, please don't take it personally. I've reached the "I'm done" point in this pregnancy and rehashing any of it is the last thing I'm interested in doing right now. I'm not calling people until I'm calling with the news of his birth, so please be patient.

On the upside, my doctor blessed me with a fresh prescription for Ambien. I took one and slept like a ROCK last night for about 9 1/2 hours. It was blessed relief. I'm looking forward to another good night's sleep tonight.

So, stay tuned as the saga continues. Hopefully Friday we'll actually see the fabulous labor and delivery of Evan Parker come to fruition.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I guess I'll never look at today again as just a day for beer and Irish music. I'm having a baby today. It's a little after 6 in the morning and I decided to take a few minutes to get online before needing to get dressed and load the car for the hospital.

Will decided to remind me he's still my #1 priority, at least for a few more minutes by waking up at 5:30 when my alarm was set for 6:20. It took a bit to get him resettled, but now he's sleeping soundly in his bed. I'm actually glad he woke up. I managed to get in one more snuggle and kiss from my first baby boy.

It seems completely surreal to me that in little more than an hour I'm going to be hooked to an IV and have my water broken to put me into labor. I think it'll seem much more real by lunch time when I'm begging for an epidural. ha ha

So, in the meantime, please say a prayer for a safe and healthy delivery of this new little love in my life. I cannot wait to meet him today and find out who has been in there and what he's like. I'm so excited to know we are completing our family today.

A trip to labor and delivery

The last few days have been building in excitement and intensity. I've started having some signs of early labor. They resulted in a climax of several hours of contractions on Thursday evening - to the point that I called labor and delivery. I had been contracting every 5-6 minutes for about an hour and a half. This was the first time I've ever had contractions where I felt like I might actually be in labor. I was hopeful they'd at least tell me I was 4-5 cm and could stay to see if I'd progress.

So I grabbed my purse and away I went to the hospital. Todd stayed home with Will and our packed suitcases, awaiting word from me to call our babysitter and join me at the hospital. I was giddy at the thought that we could be ready to have a baby.

I get to the hospital a few minutes before 11 pm and get hooked to the monitors. In the about 45-50 minutes I was on the monitor, I had 1 contraction. ONE. Sigh. The nurse checked me for dilation and there was nothing new to report since Tuesday.

I changed back out of my gown and into my clothes and headed back home - without a baby.

I swear, he's NEVER coming out. LOL

38 week appt

Today I was worried about being in a hurry. My appointment was at 12:45 and I pick Will up at 2:00. Thankfully, the timing worked out and I made it to school at 1:45.

My blood pressure was still on the low side, which is typical as of late. Everything else looked good.

Evan cooperated for his NST and I didn't have to spend an hour on the monitor. Then it was off to my ultrasound. Evan scored another 10/10 on his BPP. It took a while for Brooke to convince him to breathe - he was being a bit uncooperative. I ended up feeling really light headed and she had me move onto my left side to relieve the pressure on my arteries. While giving me a minute to recoup, Brooke switched into 4D so we could see Evan's sweet face. I started to cry. That's the first time I've ever cried during any ultrasound. He was just so sweet and fat. I can't wait to kiss his fat little cheeks.

So, she finished up the ultrasound and pronounced him to be 8 lbs 5 oz. Exactly what she estimated his big brother to weigh the day before he was born. Hmm..........

Then it was in to see the doctor. I was finally going to get an internal. I told him I was hopeful he'd tell me I was 3-4 cm dilated. He checked and then had a huge grin on his face. He said "yep, you're 3". WOO HOO!! Even his nurse laughed with excitement.

Then we went into his office to schedule my induction officially. He checked his schedule and declared Monday to be a madhouse, so we booked Tuesday morning at 7 am. So, unless he decides to dislodge himself between now and then, Evan will be a St. Patrick's Day baby. Which was actually a secret hope of mine. :) Although I'm still holding out that he'll come before next Tuesday.

Less than a week to go

Well, it's officially Tuesday the 10th - so we're at a week or less. A week from right now I'll be in the hospital, holding our sweet boy in my arms. I'm overjoyed and scared to death all at the same time. I can't wait to see his face and to finally meet him - to memorize every detail of his face, to count his fingers and his toes. To learn the smell of him.

On a slightly lighter note - I'm just looking forward to him getting out of my belly. The combination of a nearly 9 lb baby (we'll find out how big he's gotten tomorrow) and a lot of amniotic fluid leads to being VERY uncomfortable. Not only is he large, but because of all the extra fluid, he still has a lot of room to move. And a very large baby packs quite a punch. And kick. And elbow. His movements are unbelievable and they hurt. A lot. I'm looking forward to him punching someone else for a little while.

Babyproofing

I'm borrowing a page out of a light book I'm reading called "The Diaper Diaries". It's too funny not to post.

Babyproofing

The widely accepted concept of babyproofing is all wrong. The goal should be to protect the HOUSE from the BABY, not vice versa. Here's what may happen if you don't protect your house:

1. Baby will take graham cracker and jam it into DVD player, thus rendering DVD player unusable.

2. Baby will flush all magnetic alphabet letters other than Q, Z, V and J down the toilet, making it impossible to spell anything meaningful as well as causing the toilet to overflow.

3. Baby will stuff cat into hapmper where freaked-out kitty will throw up on fine washables.

4. Baby will fill tub with water and drop the following items to see if they float: your husband's 1896 pocket watch (will not float), photos of your grandmother as a baby (will float initially), your BlackBerry (nope), one of your diamond earrings (uh-uh), and a paper cup (yes!).

5. Baby will play with TV remote, resulting in the selction of 47 Pay-Per-View movies.

6. Baby will take your nine bottles of perfume, pour them into your husband's cowboy hat from his boyhood in Montana, and then dump it all into your sweater drawer.

7. Baby will remove diaper in front of fridge, then proceed to poop in a saucepan, on the leather recliner and under your authentic oriental rug. Where it will remain undiscovered for 3 days.

8. Baby will take your car keys and scratch a mark on the antique walnut coffee table before tossing them in air, after which they'll land in the garbage disposal.

9. Baby will tear pages out of book of Impressionist Art and use vaseline from diaper bag to stick them to living room wall.

He's becoming so independent

Last night we ate dinner a bit late - it was 7:00 before Todd came in from working on his car and we all sat down to dinner together.

Will was obviously starved by then. In the length of time it took me to prepare Todd's plate and mine, Will consumed almost his entire dinner and was asking for more. So, I stopped and refilled his plate - more bbq chicken, corn, baked beans. I sliced a couple more strawberries for him and also microwaved some leftover green beans and threw them on his plate. He ate ALL of this food, too.

He's excused to go watch Diego while Todd and I finish eating. Afterwards, Todd took the car for a test drive to confirm that the brakes were finished and said that he'd be back when Diego went off and he and Will would take a shower together and he'd get him in bed for me.

Will knows he gets a snack after dinner if he eats really well. I'll usually let him have a popsicle or ice cream if he ate REALLY well. He actually asked for a banana (aka a bana) and he ate all of that, too.

Diego went off about 3 minutes before Todd returned home. In that length of time, Will announced "I'm ready to go to bed now" and headed upstairs. I helped him brush his teeth and he got into bed on his own. He was just about asleep when Todd got home at 8:02. Todd was so disappointed because he was looking forward to spending 15 minutes with Will before bed and he couldn't talk Will into getting out of bed and taking a shower.

My sweet boy is growing up. Eating great dinners (he's a good eater, anyway), choosing healthy snacks and putting himself to bed at 8:00.

I love that little boy.

This week's Will-ism

Will said a few things this week that cracked me up - let me see what I can remember.

The other night he and I were taking a bath together. Todd was flying and most evenings that Todd's at work and I'm on bath duty, I cheat and we get in the tub together. I don't do too well bending over the tub to bathe him.

So, Will looks at my huge belly sitting between us. And here's the conversation that follows:

Will: Mommy, my want baby brother Evan to come out of your tummy.

Me: He's going to, buddy. And really soon, too.

Will: I want him to come out so I can go back in your tummy.

Me: (gulp) Well, you're too big to go back in my tummy buddy. You'd never fit.

Will: My will become a baby again and get really small and fit back in your tummy.

Me: Okay, but I want to warn you - it's really, really dark in there. There's no light in my tummy at all. Evan is sitting in there in the dark, all by himself.

Will: (who hates the dark these days) It's dark in there?

Me: Yes, very dark. Evan can't see ANYthing in there at all.

Will: Mommy, are there bats in your tummy????

It's a good thing we were already in the bathtub, otherwise I would have peed in my pants.

The compulsion to nest is overwhelming

I spent hours and hours compulsively cleaning everything yesterday. I couldn't stop myself and just sit down to rest. And it did nothing to put me into labor - just beat the tar out of me. Here's what I accomplished yesterday:

Helped Todd bleed the brakes on his car
Sweep kitchen
Load, run, unload, reload dishwasher
Clean fronts of all kitchen appliances
Scrub down kitchen sink and all countertops, walls and cabinets
Cooked dinner
Cleaned powder room floor
Cleaned Will's potty chair
Scrubbed powder room toilet
Wiped down and polished sink in powder room
Cleaned mirrors and glass - inside and out
Vacuumed the whole house
Washed and put away 2 loads of clothes
Washed and changed sheets on our bed
Scrubbed toilet and both sinks, countertop and mirror in Will's bathroom
Scrubbed toilet, both sinks, countertop and mirror in our bathroom
Cleaned up entire play room and all the mess in Will's bedroom, too.
Straightened up guest room

As of yet to be accomplished today:

Re-sweep and mop kitchen floors - must restrain myself from getting the scrub brush out and getting on my knees to scrub it
Sweep and mop wood floors
Dust office, dining room, entertainment center and our bedroom furniture
Clean our bedroom mirror

Dust the hallway railing - esp. the part on the floor
Wash my car (really??? This is getting really compulsive if I actually wash my own car, too)

Wondering if I can restrain myself from sanding the drywall mud in the bathroom. Think Todd would care if I started priming and painting in there myself? Yeah, probably.

38 weeks today

There's not much to say except that I'm miserable.

The Ambien is all gone. I didn't sleep more than 30 minutes last night and it was awful.

My whole body hurts like I've been beaten with a baseball bat.

Sigh.

This stubborn little devil isn't going to budge until the 16th. And he's going to do that to torture me on purpose. He's going to be nearly 10 lbs just to spite me. LOL

Final details

We're coming down to the wire. I'm working on getting together the last few things to be ready. Today I bought a nursing cami (wanted to buy a bra, too, but no luck) and baby Tylenol. I didn't have any baby meds in the house. I bought thank you notes

I picked up snacks to pack for Todd for the hospital - lucky devil gets to eat while I'm in labor.

I'm charging my iPod and loading a few new things on it to keep me entertained while in the hospital.

My bag is mostly packed - I'll just need to throw in my toiletries when it's time to go. My pj's, slippers and robe are already in there.

Now we just wait. And wait. And wait.

And just one more picture

She's mine - I just can't for it to come in. And for the weather to improve. Finally, my OWN wake board. Bring it on, baby.

Because I love him so much....

Just a cute picture of my little guy and I from yesterday. I love him.

Ode to Ambien

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways......

Sleep, blessed sleep.

Sure it involves a bit of stumbling around to go to the bathroom and a few drunk dialed phone calls to my husband on his way home from work.............but totally worth it.

In the insanity of not being able to sleep in weeks and weeks, I'm finally getting a little rest before Evan gets here.

Granted, it'll all be snatched away again shortly (12 days or LESS), but I'm considering myself to be a sleep camel - I'm storing it up right now to use as reserves after he arrives.

Now, if only we can guarantee my water won't break in bed, it'll all be good. LOL

This week's appointment

Nothing exciting to report - it was pretty run of the mill. Evan looked great (as always) on his NST and BPP. My blood pressure, urine and weight were all good.

I met with the doctor and he officially scheduled me for the 16th to come in a 7 am to be induced. However, I'm holding out to not make it 13 more days with this baby inside my belly. Maybe 4-5 days. I'd like to go to my Mom's Group on Friday - then after that, bring him on. :)

Todd's flying right now and scheduled to fly 3 more times between now and the 13th. It's making me a bit nervous, but I'm trying to keep the paranoia in check. Worst case scenerio, I end up calling Command Post and they'll radio the jet and let Todd know to come back asap. Here's hoping they don't have to do that.

This week's accomplishments

It occurred to me last week that Evan is arriving - soon! In fact, he'll be here 2 weeks from today - or less. Todd's standing firm that Evan won't arrive before our induction date. I'm tending to agree, but the nesting instinct is too strong for the logical part of my brain. So, the flurry of activity that occurred in this house last week was pretty amazing.

It started on Monday with a trip to Babies R Us and Target for last minute items. Socks, undershirts, nipples for bottles, baby wash and lotion, and a stroller blanket. A friend and I got together child free (minus the babies in our bellies) and made the necessary purchases to ensure I'm ready for Evan's arrival.

The nursery was mostly put together - we never took it apart after we moved Will. But I spent a lot of time in there last week. I washed everything - 2 loads of blankets, sheets, burp cloths, boppy covers, etc. Two loads of clothes and all of my newborn and small sized diapers and wipes. Five loads of baby laundry. Everything is now put away and carefully organized.

I dragged most of the rest of the "baby support equipment" down from the attic. The pack and plays are both set up - one next to my side of the bed and one in the office downstairs. I washed the covers for and assembled the baby gym and bouncy seat. I even installed the infant carrier in the car.

The diaper bag is packed and ready to go. Evan's hospital bag and coming home outfit are ready. Even my bathtime organizer is loaded and ready with wash, lotion, wash cloths, etc.

This week my only real project is to pack my bags and triple check everything is ready to go.

Officially Full Term

This baby boy is officially fully baked. I turned 37 weeks yesterday, making him full term. So now, in (almost) the words of Mike Myers - baby, get outta my belly! LOL

I don't remember feeling like this with Will (although Todd says I did, I just don't remember), I am DONE being pregnant. D.O.N.E. I won't lie, I'm apprehensive about his arrival - physically getting him here, being in the hospital and the sleepless nights. But it's got to be better than his still being inside of me. Oh my goodness, I am just so FULL of baby. I have to tinkle every 10-15 minutes, I can hardly walk, I can't breathe and the swelling has set in. My ankles are swelling over my ankle socks and I had to wrestle my rings off this morning. I know the swelling is what caused my fingers to get fat because my wedding ring fit better 3 days ago than it has in 4-5 years. Every time I move, he kicks the living tar out of me. I'm starting to worry he's going to crack one of my ribs before he makes his great escape.

In spite of my complaining, I have always loved being pregnant - with both boys. It is such a miracle and a blessing. I am so fortunate that God has chosen me to be their mother. I know there are plenty of people who would give anything to be in my shoes. And for that, I am blessed. I consider every moment sacred and thank God for giving them to me and allowing me to carry two healthy babies to term.

But I now know in my heart of hearts that I have NO desire to ever be pregnant again. This little man is officially completing our family. It makes me happy to know who our family is and I know Todd's relieved to never have to figure out what to do with a daughter. LOL

So, stand by. The laptop is obviously coming to the hospital with us and announcements and information regarding Evan's upcoming labor and delivery will be posted. :)

36 week appt

Alternate title - Oh my God, there's a 7 1/2 lb baby in my belly.

Yes, you read that right. With 20 days before my doctor will induce me, I'm carrying a 7 lb 7 oz baby. He's measuring perfectly and in good porportion. He's just big - 95th percentile big.

Funny, I've gained no weight, but there's a nearly 8 lb person living inside of me. Not too shabby.

On the extra good news front, the doctor took pity on me and prescribed Ambien - finally. Prepare for me to sleep like the dead tonight. I'm taking one at 9 pm.

A breakthrough

Friday while we were at lunch Todd made a suggestion and I think it has stuck.

I think, think, think this baby boy has a name. :)

What a wonderful weekend

Oh how I love my son.......but, boy oh boy, how I loved our free weekend, too. :)

Friday after Mom's Group, I loaded Will up in the car and headed towards Chattanooga. We stopped along the way and picked up Todd for lunch. We enjoyed Ruby Tuesday and dropped daddy back off.

About 20 minutes after we were back on the road, Will announced he needed to pee and poop. So, we stopped at a Wendy's in Cleveland, TN and he did both. I was so proud of him. Then....back on the road we went.

We met my parents just outside of Chattanooga and made the transfer. I loaded his suitcase, some toys, the bed rail and potty into my mom's car and waved good-bye to my little boy.

Sweet, sweet freedom. LOL

The drive home went so quickly. I got home and took a nice, long, hot bath. I brought the laptop in the bathroom and turned iTunes up really loudly while I got ready. When Todd came home from work I was getting ready in the bathroom with a glass of wine and dancing along to the music. If you'd told either one of us that getting ready in the bathroom, listening to music and having a drink would turn me back into being "me", I don't know we would have believed you.

We both dressed up - I even wore heels - and headed out for the night. We saw a movie and then went out to eat afterwards. We came home and spent some quality time together.

Saturday morning was Heavenly. We woke up when we were ready to and snuggled in the bed. Saturday afternoon we did whatever we wanted - ran errands, went out to lunch, went shopping together. We even went to the boat dealer for a while to visit the guy that sold us our boat. We even ordered me my very own wakeboard for this summer.

We headed home to shower and get ready for our next night out. I dressed up again and even wore a new pair of 3 inch red heels. :) We went out to a local bar/wing place for dinner. Then we headed downtown for the hockey game. We had a blast watching the game, people watching and just laughing and having a good time.

Sunday we spent the day wandering around the real estate market - always a favorite past time of ours. Then we had an early dinner at Lakeside before coming home. Todd worked in the garage for a few hours on a project and I spent a long time soaking in the tub.

What a wonderful, wonderful weekend. We both really enjoyed reconnecting.

Busy week and time to reconnect

It's going to be a busy week this week - and of course, they've closed school for half the week, so that just throws a wrench in things. Isn't that always the way? I don't even know why they've closed schools this time. It's always something, isn't it?

Anyway.........today is my day to make sure the house is caught up and ready to go for the week. Thankfully, we got a lot done on the house on Saturday before having company, so it's mostly just a few things that need to be done today. Tonight Todd and I have an appointment, so we'll be dropping Will off at a friend's house to play while we're gone. So, housework and appts today.

Tuesday - no school - funny how that works out. I sure am glad I arrange my OB appointments during the 10 hours a week Will is at school. Now I need to ask someone to watch Will tomorrow so I can go to the doctor. Todd's at the base tomorrow night, so it'll be "single mom" day for me, anyway.

Wednesday I'm watching Will's best friend in the morning - hopefully that'll lead to them occupying each other and not behaving like gladiators needing referees. LOL With those two, you never know.

Thursday I have another appointment. It's down at UT and should be pretty interesting. I'll keep what it's about under wraps for now, but it should be pretty eye opening and interesting. Thankfully, Will is actually going to be at school - so no childcare arrangements need to be made. I believe Todd's planning on being at the base again that night, too.

Friday is the big day. Hooray!! In addition to my regular Friday morning activity of going to Mom's group - but Will and I are making the drive to Chattanooga. While Todd's at work on Friday, I'm delivering Will and a suitcase to my parents - who are meeting me 1/2 way between here and Atlanta.

This is our big break. Todd and I have never had a weekend alone without Will at home. Sure, we've been on trips (one vacation and a couple of weddings, etc) where we've been away alone since he was born. And those have been really nice. But this weekend is going to be different. We're going to be home. Alone. Together. Sleeping in our own bed and waking up whenever we want to and staying in bed for as long as we want.

This is going to be our last chance to spend a little alone time together for a while. We're looking forward to reconnecting, bonding and just having fun. We both feel like we haven't taken the time to do the fun things together that we used to do. We're looking foward to going out on Friday night and Saturday night and just having a good time together again.

35 weeks

This baby boy is due in only 5 weeks and my anticipated induction date is 1 month from tomorrow. That means soon. Really, really, soon.

I'm so excited to meet him - to see his brother meet him and to watch his father with him. But most of all, I can't lie - I just want this baby out of my belly. And soon.

We've been calling him baby Jack-Jack (from The Incredibles) because he's so wild. I swear, there might be an entire litter of puppies in there. This baby boy has at least 2 dozen limbs - always moving. I don't think he ever sleeps in there. LOL

I go back to the doctor on Tuesday for my weekly appt and testing. Then next week should be my first internal exam - I'm hopeful to hear that some of these contractions I've been having off and on have caused at least a bit of progress in there. :)

Salma Hayek is my new hero

Click here to read the story about Salma nursing a hungry African baby in Sierra Leone while on a Goodwill trip recently.

And for the record - I no longer love youtube. There was an attached video of the event, but it apparently violates their terms of service, so it's been deleted. I forgot that feeding babies is pornographic.

34 week appointment

Yesterday was my 34 week appointment. We're really, really starting to get down to the wire here. This little man will be arriving before too much longer.

First are my stats: Weight - exactly 1 lb over my prepregnancy weight. I had some yo-yoing going on the last few weeks with my weight - gained a bunch, lost a bunch, stablized back at my same weight.

My urine and blood pressure were both good.

He scored another 10/10 on his testing - biophysical profile and non stress test. Brooke has estimated his weight at 5 lbs 8 oz. He was extremely active this week and was moving all over the place for the ultrasound and the monitoring.

I met with my regular doctor (haven't seen him the last few appts). We talked about possible induction dates. We didn't schedule it, or anything, but agreed on Monday, March 16th. He'll be on call that day, so I want to be induced on a date he'll be there.

So, 33 days - or less. I'm hopeful this little guy will come before then, but I'm not holding my breath.

Maternity portraits

Not a lot to say, so I'm just going to load them. They're gorgeous. I am totally blown away.

Hands down the best picture taken of me in YEARS.

Maternity portrait session

I met with an aquaintance this morning - she's a budding photographer and offered to take maternity pictures for us. She's wanting to build her portfolio, so it's a win-win for both of us.

We met at a local park this morning at 10:00 and she took probably 150 pictures in about an hour. I cannot wait to see how they turn out. She's emailed me the first couple and they are shockingly good. I can't wait to see how the rest turn out. Here's one of them.......more to follow.

We're planning a date and time for next week for her to come out to the house and get more pictures. We're both wanting to get pictures of Todd and I both together. I can't wait. :)

Spring is in the air

Yesterday was actually a nice day outside. We spent the afternoon out in the yard. Will rode his scooter and we puttered around a bit. I noticed for the first time that the tulips in the yard are starting to push through the mulch. Spring is almost here. And for the first time it occurred to me, we'll be bringing this baby home while the tulips are in bloom. I cannot even explain how much that makes me happy.

Now I know why I didn't get pregnant sooner. Bringing this baby home while the tulips are blooming is going to be perfect.

34 weeks today

The spinning baby on the page turned. And since my baby turned 2 weeks ago, I don't need to freak out, after all. But, that just means I'm going to be full term in 3 more weeks. And induced in about 5 weeks. That means this baby is coming - SOON.

I can't wait to meet him and I'm scared to death at the same time. I can't wait to hold him in my arms. And I can't wait to see his daddy holdling him to his chest - the way he did with Will that first time. And I really, really can't wait for him to meet his big brother. I think my heart will burst out of my chest at that moment. I'll want to memorize every single second of that. I can't wait.

My potty trained little man

With all the excitement with the baby lately, I haven't posted about Will's potty training successes lately.

This kid is officially POTTY TRAINED. He hasn't even had an accident in over a week - and it was 3 days accident free before that accident. In spite of being at school, church, a friend's house, running errands, etc. He uses the bathroom all by himself when he needs to go. Granted, I need to wipe his bottom after he's gone poop, but I'll do that any day of the week over changing diapers.

He's on the verge of being potty trained over night, too. He's waking up dry in his diapers about 5 nights out of the week. I'm going to give him another month or two before trying underwear for bedtime, though. Honestly, I didn't even anticipate thinking about it or working on it until for another 6 months or so, but apparently he's ready. So, we'll play it by ear.

Closing in on 34 weeks

This isn't an official "belly picture" since it was taken on Friday, but it's two days shy of 34 weeks. As I mentioned in one of my last posts, I had dropped a few lbs back down again after gaining them. This week has been particulary stressful and I don't know if it's the stress or maybe a touch of a stomach bug, but I've managed to misplace a few more pounds. Okay, like 6 lbs.

According to my home scale, I'm back to weighing 6 lbs less than I did the day I found out I was pregnant with this little troublemaker. I'm trying to remember how much weight I had gained during my pregnancy with Will by this point. It was close to 30 lbs. So, it's logical to assume that I may have lost an actual 25-30 lbs of my own weight along with the weight gained during the pregnancy. It makes me anxious to see how much weight is going to fall away after this baby is born. I know with Will, all my pregnancy weight was gone in about 3 weeks.

Between the dark hair (which I have become QUITE attached to), the glasses and the much thinner overall appearance, I think I look pretty damn good. Even in this picture in a casual t-shirt and not a stitch of makeup. I feel my confidence in myself coming back again.

And yes, you will notice in the background that my bathtub has 2x4's surrounding it instead of tile. We're in the middle of a bit of a construction project right now. :) The white tiles are gone (minus what you can still see on the walls around the tub) and 12 inch polished marble tiles will soon be surrounding the tub. I can't wait to see it all finished.

My little boy is going to be a man

Way sooner than I anticipated, too.

Just a bit ago I was in the kitchen making egg muffins for the week. Todd's joined me on a low carb kick, so these are the perfect breakfast to make - esp. for hectic weekday mornings. Will went into the back yard to play a bit and I told him to stay on the deck since he didn't have shoes on. (It was actually nice outside, so I don't feel bad about him being in his socked feet on the deck.)

I look outside the window to check on him just in time to see him with his pants and underwear around his knees. Peeing into the fresh morning sun. Sigh............apparently it really is nature versus nurture. I think it goes without saying that I haven't taught him how to do that.

33 week appointment

After spending most of yesterday at the hospital, I was NOT in the mood to head back today for my regularly scheduled appt. But, any chance for an ultrasound is a good thing.

Had my weight checked first - the 4 lbs I gained last week were lost again this week. So I'm still up 3 lbs total. Off to the ultrasound - it was a quick one, but it was still great to see the little guy. Fluid, movement, respiration and placenta all looked good.

Then we headed over for the NST. And of course, the little man fell asleep. So I had to repeat the test twice before he was active enough to get a good reading on it.

I was able to see the doctor afterwards. He said that things look good and everything is still on track. He confirmed what yesterday's doctor told me - don't stress the contractions unless they are stronger or more painful than yesterday.

He also said that this last month or so is the most important time for me to control my blood sugar closely. The baby's pancreas will start functioning soon and he'll take over regulating his blood sugar. So keeping my sugar steady and level will help him regulate his and will helpe to ease his transition when he's born - which will hopefully mean we won't have to supplement.

The doctor also said that he's excited about my lack of weight gain. He said as long as I'm eating healthy and getting enough calories - he doesn't care if I lose weight or gain it. He said that if I control my sugars really well and eat extra healthy (but not diet, of course) over the next 6 weeks, I'll likely deliver below my pre-preg weight. That makes me happy!! I'll be well on the way back to the old me after this baby is born!

A tale of two hospitals

Sunday night was the beginning on a stressful 24 hours. I was getting ready to go to bed about 11:00 and I started having cramps and contractions. I couldn't get comfortable, so I went downstairs and poured myself a glass of wine in hopes it would help me relax. I turned the lights back out again at midnight and tossed and turned until 1:30 am. I went back downstairs to check on Todd (I figured he was asleep in his chair). He came up to bed and I told him I was having contractions but hadn't been timing them.

About 1:45, I got up out of the bed and went downstairs for the third time. This time I sat down and started timing the contractions. They were close - about 2-3 minutes apart. The OB had told me to call if I have more than 5 contractions in an hour. After I had 6 in 15 minutes I called the on call nurse. She said I needed to come in to labor and delivery to be checked.

I went upstairs and got dressed and woke Todd. I told him I was going to the hospital and for him to stay home (didn't want to drag Will out in the middle of the night for nothing). I had 4 contractions while driving to the hospital. They were relatively strong - enough to make me have to breathe through them.

I arrived at the hospital a bit before 2:30 am. I changed into a gown and got hooked to the monitors. My nurse told me I had a steady contraction pattern of every 2-3 minutes. She checked me and said I was about one centimeter dilated. She started an IV and gave me a dose of terbutaline to slow/stop the contractions. She also gave me a dose of of pain medication (I don't know what) to help me relax. The contractions slacked up a bit, so she gave me another dose of the terb to help them stop.

After being there for several hours on the monitor and IV, they declared I was free to go. I was told to stay on bed rest for the rest of the day and to contact my doctor's office to see if they wanted to see me. If the contractions started up again, I was instructed to call the doctor right away.

I called Todd at 6 am to come get me. I wasn't allowed to drive myself home because of the meds I had been given. He was worried about what shape Will would be in if he drug him out of bed, so we arranged for a friend of mine to come and pick me up. She arrived shortly after 7:00 and took me home. We got Will up and dressed at that point and Will went to his best friend's house to play.

Todd and I gratefully fell into bed just before 8 am to try and finally get some sleep. We got up about 11. Todd fixed me a sandwich and I got up to use the bathroom. I immediately had a contraction, so I got back in bed. My friend calls and says they're closing the schools (it had snowed about 3 inches), so she was going to drop Will back off. When she arrives, Todd talked to her about heading over to the hospital to pick up his car. So, off they go. Todd takes our camera with him and says he'll drive Will around for a bit and snap some pictures of the snow.

While they were gone, I started contracting again. So I went ahead and called the doctor's office. The nurse decided after talking to me that I needed to come back in to labor and delivery. But since my contractions weren't stopping after the meds they'd given me, they were concerned about preterm labor. They told me not to go to my regular hospital (just a few miles away), but to head to the University of Tennessee where they have a large NICU. Her words were "our hospital can't handle a 33-weeker and you'll need to be at UT if you deliver, that way you don't have to be transferred via ambulance."

Suddenly, this all seemed too real and I started crying. I called Todd and told him we had to go to UT because I might really be in labor. I started packing a bag and Todd hurried home with Will. I packed an overnight bag for Will and called my parents to have them on standby in case they needed to come up to get Will.

We dropped Will back off at his best friend's house with his overnight bag and headed downtown. We managed to make it through the terrible maze that is UTMC to find labor and delivery triage.

I got checked in, changed into a gown and hooked back up to the monitors. They said the on call doctor would be by shortly to check on me. They continued to record contractions every 4-6 minutes. The doctor finally arrived (a few hours later) and gave me a Fetal fibronectin test. She said this test would be able to tell if my cervix was breaking down and if delivery would be within 2 weeks. She checked me again and said I was still only 1 cm - so all these contractions hadn't caused any progress - which was good news.

She said if the test was negative, I could go home and take it easy for a few days. She said if the test was positive, it didn't mean I was going into labor - but that is was more likely. She said if that was the case, they'd have the perinatologist come and meet with me to see if I needed a prescription to keep the contractions at bay.

We finally got the test results an hour later - about 6 pm. They were negative. Thankfully, though all of this, it was only false labor and not preterm labor. We were released and told to take it easy for a few days.

We picked Will up on the way home and stopped for an ice cream to try and relax after a long day for all of us.

I fell into bed at 11 pm and slept the best I've slept in weeks - I think I actually slept the entire night. If I woke, it wasn't for more than a minute or two.

Sunday night: 10:30 - DTD 11:00 - start having contractions 11:30 - drink a glass of wine and try to relax 12:00 - try to sleep - lay in bed, tossing and turning 1:45 - get out of bed and start timing contrax 2:00 - call doctor's office - told to come to L&D 2:15 - wake Todd up and tell him I'm leaving 2:30 - arrive at hospital Hook me up to the monitors - contrax every 2-3 minutes. 1 cm dilated. Give me 2 shots of terb and a dose of some sort of painkiller to relax me. 6:30 am - released from triage to go home on bed rest. Todd's home with Will and I'm not allowed to drive. My friend picks me up and returns me home. She collects the now awake Will and takes him to her house. 8 am - 11:15 am - finally sleep for a few hours. Todd's called in to work, so we both catch up on our rest. 11:30 - Shannon returns with Will and picks up Todd - they leave to go get his car from the hospital. From 11:30 - 12:15 - I have 8 more contrax. Doctor's office says they're getting ready to close (we had a snow storm), so I need to come to the hospital. But since my hospital doesn't have a NICU, they want me to go to L&D at the Univ. of Tenn - our local NICU. In the event of having to deliver a 33 weeker, they want me at the right place instead of having to transfer us via ambulance. 2:00 - Will's been dropped back off at Shannon's house with an overnight bag (just in case) and Todd and I arrive at UT. 2:00 - 6:00 - still contracting every 4-5 minutes. No progress on my cervix - still 1 cm. Doctor performs a fFN test - results take an hour - so they finally let me eat something. Test comes back negative - WOO HOO!! False labor! So, they released us a little after 6 pm and we picked up Will and came home. She said I should anticipate to continue to contract regularly. She said that unless they get noticibly stronger (they were already stopping me in my tracks and taking my breath away) or very painful, to just live with them. So, that's the story. LONG NIGHT AND DAY, but we're all okay. Went back to the doctor this morning for my weekly appt. I had gained 4 lbs in the last week at my last appt, but lost it back again. So I'm still only up 3 lbs total. Spent an hour and 20 minutes on the monitors since the baby was sleeping and wouldn't give them a reactive test. Ultrasound looks good - fluid, placenta, respiration, etc. She didn't measure him this week since he was measured last week (4 lbs 8 oz). I go back next week for another u/s and nonstress test. The doctor said that between now and when the baby is born I really need to buckle down on my diet and control my sugars very carefully. That the last month or so is when his pancreas will be taking over and it'll help ease his transition if my sugar is carefully controlled. The doctor also said that by being more strict on my eating plan (but obviously not "dieting" by any means) that I'll likely deliver this baby weighing less than my pre-preg weight. Which makes me VERY happy. Makes being diabetic be not all bad.

32 week appointment and a shocking comparison

I had an appointment at the doctor's office. It was the first of my weekly appointments with biophysical profiles and non stress tests. So, here are the stats:





On me:





I gained 4 lbs in one week - wow, that's more than I've gained total. But now that it's been a few days, my home scale is showing that as a fluke - I'm still up only 2 lbs total. I'll gladly take that knowing it means the weightloss after this baby is born is already jump started.





My blood pressure was good - much better this week - 100/55, I think? I can't remember, now.





No protein or sugar in my urine, so that's all good.





Next we did the ultrasound and non stress tests on the baby. Here's some info on what they're looking for in the baby by doing these tests. He did everything he was supposed to do - fluid looked good, his heart rate was great and we got to see him practice his respiration. He ended up scoring a 10/10. So that's great - means he's doing well in there.





Brooke estimated his weight (and she's really good, so I know she's pretty much right on) at 4 lbs 8 oz. So he's growing well - up to the 68% for fetal weight at 32 weeks.





My parents came to the ultrasound with me since they were in town and Will was at school. My mom is completely incapable of seeing anything on an ultrasound. She reminds me of Rachel on Friends when she has her first ultrasound.





But, it worked out to our advantage. Brooke switched the ultrasound machine to 4D so that mom could see the baby and identify him. He is SO cute and chubby. He looks so much like his big brother. I really think he's going to look just like Will when he's born.


Here's the best news of all - he's HEAD DOWN!! Woo hoo!! Now I can stop stressing about needing a c-section. Brooke assured me that the chances he'll turn again are slim to none.

He's such an active little baby. He's moving all the time - kicking, punching, squirming. Just having a 24/7 party in there. Yesterday morning Todd and I were laying in bed and he had his hands on my belly. He started laughing and said "I swear that kid is trying to play the bongos in there". It sure felt like it.

Up top there are pictures of the baby this week and Will at a day old - you tell me if they look alike.