Happy Birthday, Mom!

How special to share my due date with my mom's birthday today.
It makes me think about my grandmother whom I never met...the one I am named after...she was pregnant with my mom at the exact same time as I am with this 3rd pregnancy. I am also pregnant at the exact same time my mom was when she was pregnant with me. It's a very neat thing to be a part of and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Now to the birthday wishes-Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!!!
We wish we could be there in person today.

But we certainly did enjoy celebrating with you early when you were here and going to see The Help with you was lots of fun.

I wish you a day and a year of blessings. I wish you happiness like the happiness that you bring to others. I wish you joy and contentment and relaxation.
You are the most wonderful mom and you are so sacrificial, loving, caring, and kind.
Thank you for teaching me how to care for others who are less fortunate or different from me beginning when I was little. Thank you for raising me to know and love Jesus. Thank you for teaching me the importance of family.
Your smile and laughter can light up a room and to know you, is to love you.

We love you and miss you and wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!!!

Defying Statistics?

"I can't believe you are still here..." said my midwife today.
It was Paula-she delivered FJ at 36 weeks so she knows how wild this is that I am going this late.
I'm 39 1/2 weeks...yes that is late for me.
She began by discussing what to do if I go post-date.
Schedule my 41 week appt for next week, schedule an ultrasound next week to check amniotic fluid levels and schedule another NST at the hospital next Friday.
Their office allows patients to go to 41 weeks, 4 days which puts me at October 11th.
She said they would let the hospital know that I would be in that day (if the baby doesn't arrive before then) for an induction.
Because I am already dilated, they would start by breaking my water.
Relief. Because I prefer to go natural with no medication, I don't want Pitocin.
At least they will break my water first before trying that.
So, if not sooner, this baby will be born October 11th.

I asked-will you check me today?
She said only if I wanted her to...yes, I did.

Fundus was measuring at 39 weeks.
I'm still at 4 cm and still 50% effaced and baby is also still at -2 station. Cervix is soft which is good but still long.
Cervix is also still posterior...so much so that I had to put two fists behind my hips to lift me up so she could reach it.
She told me not to be discouraged.
I told her I had been feeling all this pressure and she said that's just the baby pressing down.

So, I have an ultrasound and prenatal appointment next Thursday and NST next Friday.

Now, let me backtrack a little-Prego brain really set in today. I thought my appointment was at 3:30. I got a call at 10:40 this morning asking where I had been at my 10 a.m. appointment. Oops! Thankfully, they wanted to me to come in at 11:15.
My kids are sick again so I had just been out on a couple of car-only errands...the ones where you can do drive-thru things.

I put them back in the car and drove to the appt.
Kristen got there as I was being put in a room and she took the kids out to the playroom while I had my appointment.

We haven't planned a birthday party for FJ...his 2nd birthday is this Sunday. We thought we would have a newborn by now and would just play it be ear.

So we may just take him out to eat this weekend or I may just wait till later in the month and plan a party playdate during the week one morning and invite just a few of his friends over.

Trying to keep it easy...he's just 2 so he has no idea whether there will be a party or not so we can keep it really simple.

As you know...we like to keep things simple and easy around here.

My Longest Gestation

Thursday, I told Wendy, I am officially the most pregnant I've ever been...I'm beating the statistics.
She said that I've officially gestated the longest out of my 3 pregnancies.

But because I was so sad when I wasn't pregnant anymore when I had FJ early, I am wise enough to photograph my belly a lot this time.

I took a pic on Friday when I hit...39 weeks-

 We went to a birthday party for our friend, Doug, in our neighborhood on Friday night. I took a pic with his wife, Laurie, because we were pregnant together with our 2009 babies and we are both pregnant again. She's 32 weeks pregnant and looks much smaller than I did at 32 weeks but we still got a belly shot-

 I keep planning things because well...there's no reason for me to wait around and not keep doing life plus it is really hard to just stay inside the house with two small children all day. Miss A just wants to watch TV and FJ gets bored.
So, I keep planning things. Last week I think I had something to do every morning and most afternoons too! This week, I've got stuff planned Monday afternoon, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
However, some of my friends very nicely will tell me, "for your sake, I hope you aren't at such-and-such event" but each time I've been there. So, I think they are sealing it for me when they say that. Ha!

I've also been told recently by two people that the third baby always does something different. I wish I had known that several months ago! :-)

From the beginning, this baby has been surprising us and been teaching me all kinds of things...I'm continuing to learn so it will be interesting to see what this baby will teach us after he/she is born too.

An Unexpected Morning

This morning, Miss A threw an earth-shattering tantrum when she was supposed to be getting dressed. It was complete with screaming and crying. It took calling E to talk her down from her tantrum...and me talking her through taking her pj's off and putting her shirt and shorts on.

But we made it past that and I got both children into the car.

Made it to my prenatal appt in time.

Met up with my photographer friend, Kristen, who watched the kids in the playroom while I went in for my appointment.

My midwife, Wendy, whom I really like, listened to the heartbeat and couldn't quite get a good reading and the doppler kept cutting out. So, she went and changed the battery pack.
Battery pack changed and once again listening, she heard an irregularity.
This worried her and me.
She wanted to send me across the street to the hospital for an NST (non-stress test) to monitor the baby's heartbeat.

I didn't get upset till I told Kristen what we had to go to and then the tears came.

Called E and let him know the plan.

Went over to the hospital and Kristen played with the kids in the play area while I went into a triage/ante natal room.

Monitors were placed on my belly-

And the heartbeat was monitored for an hour-

I did cry a little during this...worrying about the baby.
I noticed the heart rate would accelerate when the baby or I moved.

Thankfully and gratefully, the nurse determined that the heartrate was just fine and she didn't hear any irregularities.
The midwife on call, Courtney, called and talked to me about it.
She agreed that it could have been a fluke or the doppler in the office.
She said she didn't see any reason for concern but that  I could follow up in the morning at the office as soon as it opens for another heart rate check. Or she could call Maternal Fetal Medicine and have an ultrasound done but she didn't know if it could be done right away.

Because the NST came out fine, the midwife and nurse didn't seem concerned and my children were in the waiting room, I decided not to push for an ultrasound and that I would follow up tomorrow morning for a heart rate check.

I had lots of people praying for me this morning and I am so thankful for their prayers!!!
My midwife checked me at my appt and I am now at 4 cm. :-) Still 50% effaced and baby still at the same station. I was happy to hear the number 4. Progress is great.

**Update-I went in Friday morning and Anne, the midwife, listened to the heartbeat and did not hear any concerns. Praise the Lord!!

Things Not to Say to a Pregnant Woman

Things not to say during the last 4 weeks leading up to her due date and past her due date (even if you are just kidding)-
1. You are still pregnant?
2. I think you are going to have that baby soon...
3. Any day now, huh?
4. You should have this baby on ______(fill in the date that works best for your schedule).
5. Please don't have this baby on ______(again fill in the date that works best for your schedule).
6. Please don't have this baby before ____(please fill in the date that works best for you).
7. Are you in labor? (Saying this when the pregnant woman calls you on the phone.)

Just some helpful tips! 

38 Weeks

This is a photo E took of me when I was pregnant with Miss A at 38 weeks plus a couple of days:

I didn't get to this point with FJ so there's no picture to compare for that pregnancy but here I am at 38 weeks, 3 days with this baby ( taken yesterday):

I think I look pretty similar...maybe a little more like a torpedo with Miss A.

Tomorrow I will be 38 weeks, 5 days...that's when I had Miss A...
If I go past tomorrow...and it definitely looks like I will...then this pregnancy will officially be the longest one I have had so far.
It's a good thing I like having a big round belly and love those kicks.
This baby may be my longest one yet...he/she likes to kick me in the ribs...I never felt the other two kick me in the ribs. So either this one will be "tall" or my uterus just has so much more room this time. Probably the latter.

Dacia Photography Maternity Shots

My friend, Kristen, took more maternity photos for me with the kiddos on Friday.
There are about 54 pics in all...if you are interested in checking them out, here's the link and password-
http://daciaphoto.smugmug.com/Materni-1/Laura

Password:  lauramaternity

"Homemade" Shirts and Number Banners

And the nesting energy continues....

I appliqued two shirts today. One for FJ's 2nd birthday and one for Miss A just because she asked for a shirt to be made for her too.

I printed a template of the #2 off the internet and went to JoAnn's with the kids and hubs yesterday to pick out fabric. We also made a quick stop at Target to pick up two white T-shirts.

E picked out a robot fabric for FJ and I picked out an elephant fabric for Miss A.

Here's a pic of the template, the fabric, and the finished product-

Upclose shot-

Miss A's shirt process...fabric and shirt-

Cut out elephant...ready to be ironed on-

Sewing around it after it was ironed on using Steam-A-Seam-

Finished shirt-

Cost of this project:

1 Shirt-$4.00

1 Shirt-$6

Fabric purchase of 1/4 yard of robot fabric and 1/4 yard of elephant fabric-$2.80

Total cost per shirt-

Miss A's shirt-$7.40

FJ's shirt-$5.40

Friday night, I wanted to make this number banner I had seen on No Time For Flash Cards.

My purpose was for A and FJ to see numbers around the house more and it's just a great way to review them. 

I used some great colored scrapbooking paper that my mom gave me years ago that I had never opened. For the numbers, we had some leftover house numbers that E used to put on our recycling bin. 

To tie it up, I used some twine that E had in his tool box.

My number banner doesn't look exactly the same and I don't have a fancy playroom to put it in so we put it up in the unfinished part of our basement above my sewing machine and E's turn tables. 

Here's the finished product...excuse the rust stains on the brick walls...I actually tried to "retouch" them using the Mac's iPhoto editing tools but it didn't do much good-

Maybe my next nesting project should be to get those rust stains off the wall...

2 Things

2 big events happened during this pregnancy so far:
we survived our first earthquake and a hurricane all in one week.
On August 23rd, one day after my parents left to go back to Louisiana, I was sitting in the basement as FJ was napping and Miss A was supposed  to be napping...or resting...
While I was on the computer, I felt our townhouse start shaking.
Being that we are very close to an airport and that I've never experienced nor expected an earthquake, I thought it might be a plane flying too low or a fleet of planes...which is actually kind of scary.
It took me a moment to really realize that something was happening and by the time I realized it might be something huge...it had stopped.
I went ran upstairs to get Miss A because she was crying...
The first thing she asks me as I round the top of the stairs-"Mommy, did you make the house shake?"
Ha! I laughed...no, with my wide girth, I did not make the house shake.

FJ was still sleeping so Miss A and I stepped outside to see neighbors who had also come out of their houses.
I was still expecting to see some kind of plane flying overhead.
I asked my neighbor if she had felt the same thing and she had.
We all figured out it must have been an earthquake.
I came in and turned on the TV and there it was...the epicenter in Mineral, VA about 2 hours away from here. It was a 5.9 earthquake.
I couldn't believe I had just experienced an earthquake in Virginia.

That weekend, Hurricane Irene, was heading up the east coast.
We are a few hours away from the coast, however, people were hitting the stores like we were much closer.
Plus, we were told we would be getting rain and crazy winds.
So, we prepared and bought the obligatory few bottles of water and some non perishable canned goods.
Then the weekend came and yes, we got some wild wind and a little rain but not what they had quite predicted for our area...thankfully.
Even some of the coastal towns that got hit, were spared.

So, why did I blog about this?
Because I want this little baby to know what it lived through when he/she was still in utero...I like to think he/she will find it fascinating one day.

1st Day of CBS

Today, was our first day of CBS for the school year. CBS stands for Community Bible Study. This is our third year. It's for any denomination so there's a great mix of women of denominations as well as ages, seasons of life, backgrounds, races, and cultures.
It's from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays.
Being that Miss A isn't in a formal preschool this was a fun first day for her. I didn't hype it up too much as they both had colds earlier in the week and I wasn't sure if we would be able to make it.
God answers prayers and my children's noses weren't leaky faucets today and Miss A hadn't had a fever in 48 hours so we were in the clear.

I took pics of them with their backpacks on ready for CBS-

They have backpacks so they can carry their folder in it back and forth each week. Also, it makes a handy diaper bag for FJ and it means I can actually carry a purse!

This year, we are studying the book of John. Last year, we did the book of Acts and the year before we  covered several books in the Old Testament.

This year I am back in the Babes in Arms class. I was in this class two years ago when I was prego with FJ. My teacher calls this the "grace class" as most of the women in the class are pregnant or have newborns and we are all happy to just be there each week! During class, it's quite normal to hear a crying baby, see a baby rolling around on the floor playing with a toy, see a mom pushing a stroller around the room to get the baby to sleep, or to see a mom nursing or feeding a baby all during our discussion of the current chapter. It's quite the laid back class.
I really like the teacher and I am quite happy to be back in her class again. She did joke with me at the end of the year last year that there were other ways I could get in her class without getting pregnant! :-) She has 10 children...9 of which she birthed herself and 1 which she adopted. So, she is also quite the laid back person herself and truly understands how overwhelmed or emotional any of us might feel at any given point in time.

CBS brings great structure to my life for personal study of God's Word but it also brings structure to our weeks. I've missed it and it's good to be back!

Going Home Outfit(s)

Recently, I appliqued two different onesies as gifts for two friends of mine who are due about 3 and 4 days before me. One is having a girl and the other is having a boy. This will be the third child for both of them
I picked one animal that looked more girly and one animal that looked more boyish.
But after I showed the completed onesies to my husband one night...he liked them so much he said I should keep them for our baby.
I liked his idea and appliqued another onesie for one friend and a bib for the other friend.
So, here are the onesies I appliqued and will be taking to the hospital with me...

 The "girly" one-

 The "boyish" one-

Now...we just wait and see!

Numbers

I'm writing this post from my phone. It's the first time I've tried this.
Bare with me.
Went in today for a prenatal appt.
Midwife, Paula, checked me.
I wasn't expecting any change from.last week.
But, to my surprise, there was some change.
I'm now 2 cm dilated, 50% effaced, the baby is at -2 station, and the cervix is soft and more anterior than posterior.
After I came home from my appt, I felt lots of pressure for a while. It was so uncomfortable, I had to sit down.
To compare, I was 3 cm and 50% at 11 days before I had Miss A and just 2 days before I had FJ. But FJ was only at -3 station.
So maybe I have 2 days or 11 days or somewhere inbetween...or somewhere over 11. Time will tell. However, it is always nice to know that my body is progressing.

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Stress, Blessings, and Perspective

Stress
I have Restless Leg Syndrome every night and now it has permeated during nap time too.
I have come to dread night time because I know it means me not sleeping in my bed...
it means me not going to sleep till 1:00 a.m. or later...
it means me starting off the night on the floor...
or on the couch or laying on my belly on two pillows...
or sitting up...
just trying to fall asleep.

I also have two sick children in my house now.
Last night, Miss A kept waking up every 30 minutes crying.
I decided to just sleep on her floor instead of mine...I was having RLS and she needed me.
Around 3:00, I felt her forehead and it felt warm...she had a low fever so I gave her some Motrin.
Finally around 3:30 a.m., I fell asleep for the night on her floor with her beside me.
I woke up at 6 a.m. and told her I wanted to go to my bed now.
She didn't want me to leave so I told her she could sleep on our floor next to our bed.
She agreed to that...she actually does that a lot in the mornings or during nap time.

Later in the morning, her fever rose to 101 so this time she got Tylenol. She's very stuffy and has a runny nose and sneezing.

FJ came down with a cold on Friday also.

Remember the post a month ago about the trial of E's reaction to some medication he's been on?

Yeah, he's still dealing with those reactions...but over the weekend the rash basically spread to his face...and it seems to be returning on his body. It's had him down and you know that when a parent is down about something that it can change the dynamic of a household.
Blessings
One thing I had been stressing over seems to be getting better however.
I was stressing over not having any help this time with baby #3 other than the first week with my husband being home.
I know there are plenty of moms who never have any help and I know I will survive.
But I get baby blues for the first 4 weeks after our babies are born and having help makes the baby blues not as bad. I've been afraid of having those BB's again.

I asked my moms group for prayer for us as we adjusted to a new baby without having help and for the baby blues not to return this time.

The amazing moms in my moms group have been asking how they can help. I had no intention of soliciting help when I sent out that email. Just wanted prayer for our adjustment.

I've had emails and phone calls and just women asking how they can help.
I've had one friend, Shannon, say she would like to come over and help during the day.
I've had two other friends say they can bring their kids over and entertain my kids while I nap.
I've had another friend say she can come over and make lunch for us.

Even since all this stress this weekend, we have one friend's husband bringing dinner over to us tonight and will be praying for E this evening.

E's mom volunteered to order us groceries online today because we needed to go grocery shopping. She also volunteered to bring us dinner and come over and help this week.

Perspective
All those things I've just listed are such huge blessings to us!!
The funny thing is...I've been stressing about having a newborn and two other children to care for, E's side effects from his medication and having no help...now, that seems like a cakewalk compared to having two sick kids, a husband not feeling well, and my extreme lack of sleep.

Also, because of the RLS and the cramping and other discomforts of late pregnancy, I've been starting to feel ready for this baby to be born. But when I realized my kids were sick, I soon started singing a different tune. I would be happy for this baby to stay in for another week or more till my other children are healthy and my husband is feeling better. 

Amazing, how perspective can be changed so quickly.

I also know that things can always be worse....it just helps to blog about this stuff so I can vent and look back and see how God pulled me through this.
I know this too shall pass...I hope it all passes quickly.

Nesting Energy

Energy entered my body yesterday from an unknown source that can only be chalked up to "nesting".
I have had no energy to sew in a few weeks or even do much at all during nap time but...nap.
However, yesterday, before naps, I finished sewing a bib while the kids played for a few minutes. (I had previously precut my fabric and pinned it...it just needed to be sewn.)

During naps, I appliqued a onesie for a friend who was having her baby at that very moment...so maybe I was actually nesting for her baby at that hour...I've been known to do that too.

I also proceeded to do two loads of laundry and get them folded.
Then, I still had energy left over to cook a complete meal. I usually only have energy to cook dinner which comes after a nice nap.

Maybe that energy came from taking Benadryl the night before at a reasonable time and going to bed at a reasonable time.

My bladder and BH contractions still woke me up but I felt rested yesterday morning.

Today, I still had some of that energy which is surprising considering I was awakened by Miss A twice and my full bladder about every 1 1/2-2 hours (which is the norm for me right now).

I HAD to get my kids out of the house today. They had stayed inside all day yesterday and even though, it was raining, we were getting out of the house.

1st stop was the post office to mail out the onesie above. It's a size 0-3 month Gerber onesie and those things are tiny so I had to get it out before my friend's baby got any bigger than a newborn.

2nd stop was Border's to see if there were any kids books left and there were...but mostly all the good stuff was gone and everything was just "picked over". So, we left there with nothing.

3rd stop was the Library. We made it in time for the music time for ages 2 and up. We met some new friends and both kids had a blast dancing, singing, clapping, and shaking the shakers and bells.
Post music time, FJ and I looked for books to check out while Miss A played a game on the computer. That's the #1 thing she asks to do when she's at the library.

FJ impressed me with his determination to pull almost every board book off the book shelf and then actually take a moment to look at the book and then take it over to the table and sit in a chair and look at it. Who knew?
Miss A brought over several books to check out too (she quickly bored with the computer...who knew that too?). We weeded through her choices as I am not up to carrying 30+ books home from the library or keep up with that amount at home.
We ended up choosing 7.

When we got home, we had lunch, read books and FJ napped. I dozed off and on for about an hour while I could hear Miss A playing quietly outside my room.

After that, I got up and returned some phone calls and put away laundry. I even unloaded the dishwasher.

As for how I am feeling-yesterday after my appointment, I had lots more pressure. But today, I have had just a little and just a few BH contractions. I feel pretty good actually...as long as I don't sit too long. That's when my upper left side of my back decides to ache. What's up with that anyway? If I could use logic on my back pain, I would explain that it would make more sense for it to hurt when I am standing or bending...not when I sit or even lay down.

So, that's my nesting story...

Oh and I realized I really have no clue what gender this baby is....I find myself sometimes thinking it is a girl because Miss A refers to the baby as "her" and "she" so much but really I just don't know!

The Long Haul

I went in for a prenatal appointment today.
My midwife asked if I wanted to be checked because of all the pressure and cramping I've been having.
(I had more cramping Friday night.)
I said yes.
She checked me.
I'm only 1 cm dilated and the cervix is still posterior.
It needs to be anterior to deliver.
She said this doesn't mean that I couldn't still go into labor soon but...
She thinks I'm in this for the long haul this time.
She said that FJ's early birth could have just been a fluke.
So, there you have it...no baby arriving early it seems.
That's okay because I've been praying this entire pregnancy to make it to 37 weeks.
Just makes me think that maybe I should have gone for that homebirth after all.

The View from Miss A's Eyes

Miss A has grabbed our camera lately and taken some pics of her own...here is the world from her eyes. All of these were taken in our basement-

Her knee-

 My belly-

 Washed newborn and 0-3 month clothing-