Waiting for a Lovely Lady

My due date has come and gone. I am finished with work. My little lady has been moving around like crazy, but she's not moving OUT! She's one day late. And I'm beginning to really wonder what she looks like and what it will feel like to hold a newborn again. Please come soon, my lovely lady!

Monday Morning

It's Monday morning and I'm back at work. My maternity leave starts on Thursday. I was hoping that it would start much sooner (like, maybe two weeks ago), but, alas, here I am.

I can't complain though. We had a really fabulous weekend with Benny. We also managed to get more done on the house. For the past three weekends, I've cleaned like crazy. I don't want to have a new baby and a dirty house. My mom reminded me that the baby will probably come on Thursday, just when the house is at its dirtiest. She's probably right. But, if she decides to come today, the laundry will be done, the floors mopped, the furniture dusted, and so on. We put all of the curtains up - even curtains in the basement! Nate said, "Wow, it's really starting to feel like a house!" And the house is looking great. We still have a lot do, but the house is most certainly baby ready.

We spent Saturday at the mall (exchanging curtains and whatnot). I love that we can bring Benny somewhere new and it's like a whole new adventure to him. There were some cars INSIDE the mall and his world was flipped upside down! We had our neighbors over for dinner and went to bed early. Yesterday Benny and I cooked breakfast for Nate and then read books, watched movies, and generally relaxed while Nate washed and waxed both cars.

And now we wait. And wait. And wait. At my appointment on Friday, the doctor mentioned inducement. I wouldn't get induced until absolutely necessary - two weeks after my due date. That means this baby could stay right where she is for another two and a half weeks. I shudder SHUDDER at that thought!

One More Week...

Maybe. Just maybe. One more week until we welcome this baby girl. We are ready. We cleaned the basement, bought a guest bed (finally), installed drapes, cleaned the house, packed the hospital bag. Twiddle, twiddle, twiddle my thumbs. I've tried to walk this baby out, clean this baby out, sex (yes, sex) this baby out. No luck. Waiting this baby out never really crossed my mind. That's pretty much what I'm left with though.

Two Weeks to Go

As I quickly approach the 38-week point (tomorrow), I am reminded that the last month of pregnancy is like a sick joke. And it gets sicker with each passing day. Wondering: Will she come today? Or do I have three weeks left to go?

Last night I woke up and swore that my water broke. Nope, I was just really sweaty because I forgot to open the window. Today my back and my abdomen were killing me. Contractions? Nope, just my body's reaction to carrying approximately 30 pounds in one localized area. To top it all off, Baby Girl was moving like crazy, which makes things a little uncomfortable at this point.

But, the fake outs are good reminders that we still need to prepare for this baby girl. I need to pack a hospital bag. Nate needs to install the car seat. I need to sterilize bottles and find my breast pump. Nate needs to install the stemware rack (priorities, yes). We both need to mentally prepare ourselves for a new addition. Benny seems cool with it all. Today I told him that I was going to grow my hair out to my belly. He said that the baby could eat it. Fair enough.

I'll try to keep the blog fairly updated in the next few weeks. It will mostly be complaints, but what more can you expect from me???

Action Shot!

We are nearly finished with the kitchen (yes, after nine whole months!). Here's an action shot of me - at nine months preggers - painting the walls. I was pretty committed to getting this task finished prior to labor. We just need to install a stemware rack and then we're officially DONE. Well, not officially. We still need to finish up a few details, but DONE enough! Pictures coming soon!

The Tale of Two Pregnancies

Picture 1. Me at about 35.5 weeks with Baby Girl L.

Picture 2. Me at about 36 weeks with Benny.

Same dress. Same size belly. That's pretty amazing. I warned everyone that I would get big, like really BIG. And here I am. However, my boobs are MUCH bigger this time around. Holy moly. I like my hair way better in the 2007 picture. Must grow it out!

Showered

I am one lucky pregnant lady. I had a great weekend with the ladies. My mom drove up to help me clean the house before Little Lady arrives. We washed windows and organized the basement. My mom is the best!

Yesterday, two friends threw me a baby shower at Bistro Vendome - a great little French restaurant downtown. It was so nice to see most of my friends from Denver in one place. They made me feel showered with love and friendship. And they showered me with some great baby gifts: like eight weeks' worth of service from the cloth diaper service, some great clothes, a breastfeeding cover up, and other helpful stuff. This little lady is going to have some great role models! My mom wasn't able to come to my shower when I was pregnant with Benny, so this one was extra special because she was there.

More Preggers Pictures

I finally worked on some pictures this weekend and posted them to our Picassa account. Here is a summary of my pregnancy. I have been big for awhile! The first photo is from Benny's birthday party. Nate was making weird gestures around my belly and you can tell how entertained I am! The second photo is from June - on a weekend when we were potty training. Benny is on his toilet, watching a movie. I am engrossed. The third photo is from a short hike on Mother's Day in May.

Preggers: 32 Weeks

These aren't the best pregnant shots ever, but you get the picture. In this picture, you can't really tell how big my belly is, but you can trust that it's like a shelf for Benny to sit on!

Preggers: 31 Weeks

Preggers Faux Pas

As I get bigger and bigger with child, it's amazing to sit back and listen, really LISTEN to what people say to me as a pregnant woman. Of course, I try to take compliments well and other comments with grace, but sometimes I wonder what people are actually thinking when they comment on my appearance. Because I think most people are well-meaning, I thought I'd include some inappropriate things to say to a pregnant woman as well as some flattering comments (even if they're not true).

When a woman is pregnant, she knows how big she's getting. She's perfectly aware that her body is being contorted in ways that seem impossible. So, saying things like "You're getting so big!" "Are you sure you're not having twins?" or "Wow, you seem to have gained some weight" are all bad options. Also, don't try to guess a pregnant woman's due date. I can't tell you how many people guessed - at 8 months - that I was due any day. And then, to add insult to injury, they would often follow up with, "You're not due for another eight weeks, wow. Are you sure?" Yes, we're sure, people. We are most definitely sure.

I love, love, love the people who recognize that expressing disbelief at my body size is probably inappropriate. Rather, they focus on the positive: "I love the way you carry - it's all out front!" "You're all belly," and the like will go a long way to make a pregnant woman feel good about herself. The best compliment yet: "You look great! A lot of pregnant women would be envious of you." It might not be true, but those words certainly are nice to hear.

Name Game

After posting my "Things I Want" bit yesterday, I ended up purchasing a lovely necklace with two letter charms. I've been waiting to buy a charm necklace for awhile. When I saw this, it spoke to me, so to speak.

Here's a photo:

Here's the game: I ordered a "B" charm for Benny and an "L" charm for Baby Girl. It's a clue for you. Feel free to guess the name!

12 Weeks and Counting

On Friday I'll hit the 28-week mark of my pregnancy. That means 12 weeks, give or take a few days, to go. That means that I've hit my third trimester. That means that my belly is getting BIG.

I've had a little time to reflect on this pregnancy lately. When I was pregnant with Benny I kept an inconsistent journal about how I was feeling, what he was doing, etc. I have not checked in with myself or this baby nearly as much during this pregnancy, but I feel like I should take some notes about it. Somewhere. That somewhere just so happens to be here.

The pregnancies have been vastly different. The only thing that seems to be tracking the same is my weight gain. Although I feel MUCH bigger this time around. I had morning sickness with Benny, but that included vommitting (sorry for the graphic content). With this babe, I just felt like I was going to puke for about a month straight. It didn't matter what time of day it was or how much/little I had eaten. I was able to run this time around - until around five months. But, I haven't been nearly as active since. With Benny I walked all over Austin. Could be because I had more time on my hands.

I'm not nearly as tired this time around. My dreams seem to be more vivid. She isn't kicking as much or as consistently as Benny did. Maybe she'll sleep better in the first few months. I have acne. My nails aren't nearly as strong and my hair seems to be falling out rather than getting longer and stronger.

But, the biggest different about this pregnancy is the name game. With Benny, Nate and I argued for months about his name. We had an idea, but we couldn't agree on a freaking name. We wanted to use Nate's mom's initials B.J.B. So we were rather limited on choices. Nate didn't like any of the B names I liked. When we decided on Benjamin Jasper Brown, Benny's arrival was about two weeks away. Nothing like procrastination.

With this baby, there has been little discussion and even less bickering. I settled on a first name and a middle name rather quickly. Nate agreed without much hesitation. That happened shortly after we found out that we're having a girl. The struggle, at this point, is keeping the freaking name a secret.

But, with three months to go, we should be safe.

On a separate, but related note: Benny is most certainly starting to notice that things are a little off. He told me that the baby would sleep in mommy and daddy's room, not his room (oh, my little Bear, you're in for a bit of a disappointment there). Today he told Nate that he was going to have a little sister and that he would be a big brother. Nate asked if he was going to help out with his little sister. His response: "I'm going to help get the baby out of mommy's belly." So, he's starting to think about how the baby will get out of my belly. This should provide some interesting discussions in the future.

Spring Break: Good for the Soul

For the past six years, three college friends and I gather for a weekend to recharge, reconnect, and bask in the glow of good friendship. One of my friends calls us her "strong ladies." And I would have to agree. We met at Iowa State while I was there for a year. They are amazing, smart women. Jayne graduated last year with her JD from the University of Nebraska. Smaifeld has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. Katie is a talented dietician - and so much more. Jayne lives in Minneapolis, Smaifeld lives in San Francisco, and Katie lives in, wait for it, Bejing. This year we met in Minneapolis. It was a fantastic weekend of food and conversation. It's good for my soul. And now I'm counting down for next year's spring break, wherever that may be!

Girl Parts

We learned that the "it" baby is a "she" baby last night. As the ultrasound tech put it, "I don't see a penis ... those are the girl parts." We're having a little girl! Hurrah! We won't get the results of the ultrasound back for about a week, but everything looks normal - heart beating, right size, etc.

Happy day!

Big. Like, Really BIG!

The other day a co-worker mentioned that she saw a pregnant lady who looked like she was ready to burst. I said, "You ain't seen nothing yet!" and proceeded to find a picture of myself when I was uber preggers with Benny. Here's the picture:

Her response: "Wow!" Laugh laugh. Ha ha. And then I had a moment of clarity, "I'm going to get THAT BIG again." No more laughing. Sigh. The thing is, I wasn't even full term in that picture. That was probably taken around 36 weeks. And I'm well on my way. I can still wear some of my normal pants (only because my bump is setting up high this time), but I'm already in maternity shirts. I had hoped to wait until at least five months to fully transition into maternity gear. Now it's looking more like four months. Yikes! It's a good thing babies are so freaking cute!

Mmmmmmm.

Vanilla bean ice cream. Mmmmmm. That is all.

Baby, Baby, I Can Hear Your Heart Beat

Heard the baby's heart beat today. 154 beats/minute. That's one healthy heart.

I'm 13 weeks, three days today. I don't officially enter the second trimester until Friday, but I'm feeling very good. I have gained a bit more weight than I thought (although my clothes have been telling me otherwise). But, if that's the most pressing concern of the pregnancy, I guess I can deal with it.

Only six weeks, four days until we can find out what we're expecting - boy or girl. I've had a strong boy feeling - going as far as calling the baby a "he." But, it's not nearly as strong as the feeling I had with Benny. Plus, I'm not as tired this pregnancy and I've been craving sweets. According to old wives' tales, that means it's a girl. I can only wait and see.

Beer Gut

Even if I had wanted to keep my pregnancy secret until after my first trimester, I would have had a hard time concealing it. I've had a "bump" since week 10. Now the bump is growing. I can still wear my regular pants, but barely. With Benny, I didn't start showing until at least four or five months. I know this is to be expected in subsequent pregnancies, but it's a little disconcerting.

I am continuing to run until it's uncomfortable. Nothing too crazy - between 2 and 4 miles. I'm determined to keep in shape during this pregnancy. My goal is to run a half-marathon by next June. Physically that shouldn't be a problem. Time-wise, two babies may make that a little more difficult.

Benny seems to be fairly excited about the baby. He doesn't talk about it unless we ask about it, but he'll say, "Hello baby," when he sees my belly. Very cute. I asked him what he wants to name the baby. First he said, "Baby." Then he said, "Robert." There's a baby Robert at daycare. Funny kid.

#25

I have accomplished something big. Check out #25 on my list of things to do. Something big indeed!