My progress update

Ok, so last week I said that I wanted to get certain things done, so let me report on them....

Bracelets. 
I made the twins name bracelets.

Then I made all five kids an initial bracelet.  I wasn't going to do one for Moose, but he put on Monkey's and didn't want to take it off.  To get him to give it back, I promised to make him one.  I was hesitatant to do it, but I love when he wears it!  It's very masculine.  Chick's isn't as cute as the others, I know.  I made hers just like Monkey's but in green.  She complained that she wanted the pink, but Monkey liked hers...so Chick got the leftover beads and it became a rainbow bracelet.  I don't like it at all, but that's what you get for being picky, I guess.

I also restrung a beaded necklace of mine that has been sitting around waiting to be repaired, so that was a huge little accomplishment.

Hair flowers.
Let me say right now that I don't crochet, but I do thrift store shop.  A year or so ago I found a bag of crocheted pieces-- squares, flowers, etc all in different colors.  I don't know if the person was just practicing a lot, or if they had several projects that they started and never finished?  But I knew that I could do something with it...so I put it all in my "refashion" box until inspiration struck.  Which it did a couple of weeks ago.  I looked through there and found that there were four flowers of the same color pink--all different sizes and patterns.  So I put felt and a barrette in the back, and a brown leather button on the front of each (all buttons are also different sizes), and voila: matching hairflowers for my four girls!  I also did a bonus light pink, and will also be finishing a white one soon.

Also I did the flowers for the hats that go with the cocoons.  I bought blue yarn, even though no one voted for it, and didn't like the flower.  So then I bought a raspberry colored yarn, and love it.  And I'm especially proud that I was able to make up a way to make the flower all on my own.  Like I said, I don't crochet, but I did want a similar look.  I think they turned out pretty cute ; )  Now to find a big wooden platter for the photoshoot...and of course wait for the little ladies to make their appearance.

The kids and I went garage saling yesterday.  I got a few clothes for Moose and Monkey, and a toy or book for each (they were very good), and some maternity clothes for me.  But mostly I got school and grow into clothes for Chick, and some things for the babies.  The first sale we went to was at my brother & SIL's house, and that's where I got the baby stuff and maternity stuff.  Including a maternity swimsuit that fits well and is green, but will still take every ounce of self confidence that I possess to get me to go out in public in it.
Funny thing about the garage sales: about 3 people asked if Monkey and Moose were twins (they were in a double jogging stroller).  I would respond by saying that no, they were 18 months apart, but that I am expecting twins.  Then the people would look at me and say, "Really?  How cool!  But you aren't very big!"  Seriously?!!  And no joke, it was about three different occasions--different people, different g-sales, same conversation.

One lady also said that I must be Mormon.  I don't know if she was kidding or not, but I told her that I was...to which she said something about us not believing in birth control.  I said that we're fine with birth control, and her friend said that we just like our families.  Exactly.

Speaking of liking my family: Moose has started saying his own prayer at night (with help, of course) and it is SO CUTE.  It's a good thing he is so cute sometimes, because he's a serious stinker sometimes and he needs to keep a good balance for self-preservation.

Ok, so here's my belly.  you can decide if you think I'm big or not.

I felt pretty huge with Moose...and looking at this post, I was pretty close to the size I am now...but my belly this time is a lot more rounded out--wider, higher, lower, etc. 

K, also HH worked on painting the nursery, but that'll get done this week, so no pics yet.
I didn't start the blessing dresses.
So for next week: nursery pics, blessing dresses.  That's probably all for this coming week, since I'm teaching preschool this week and will be starting layout as well.

19 week ultrasound report : )

Poor little Moose will be so outnumbered!  Maybe someday we'll get him a dog.
Dressing twin girls will be so much more fun than dressing boys!  But now I have two blessing dresses to make (if they'd been boys then I'd only have done bow ties).

The ultrasound tech took a really great picture at the end of both babies together, but didn't include it in the pictures that she printed, and it's not on the CD  (???).

Anyhow, other good news: My placenta is up out of the dangerous range, and my cervix is not shortening!  Yay!  I did have a lot of cramping last week, but we have ruled out the three most dangerous (in my opinion) reasons (I also was tested for a bladder infection, which I don't have).  I guess maybe I just need to drink more water.

Both little girls are developing right on track and everything seemed pretty equal.  They both were kicking each other, but they really don't have much leg room, so I guess it's okay. 

Here's a little video:

All in all, it was a very reassuring ultrasound! And a special thank you to my parents, who rescheduled their day to come watch the kids with very little advanced notice! It was nice to have them there, but it was also nice to not have to worry about them when they got bored with the ultrasound.

This, That, and Cute Kids.

Ok, here's an update on happier things than yesterday....

Last night I made three pans of beef enchiladas--one for dinner (but by the time I finished it was too late for last night's dinner, so we'll have it tonight), and two for the freezer.  I have leftover meat filling, so I think I'll mix it with beans and cheese and freeze some burritos too.

I just tried a new muffin recipe (Cinnamon Raisin) that is really good.  It has a sugar glaze on it, but I think they'll be fine with just some butter....maybe cinnamon butter?  The recipe only made a dozen, so I'll have to multiply it and make more for freezing.  I did half wheat flour.

Today I scheduled the ultrasound for next week, and I can't wait.  I'm a worry wart, so I'm looking forward to seeing the babies and making sure things are good.  We had what we THINK was two good heartbeats at my appt on Monday, but they were very close together so it's hard to be sure that they were different babies.  I've also started having contractions...I hear it's common to get them earlier with each subsequent baby, and especially with twins, so I'm trying to just ignore it...but I'll feel better to be checked out.  In most of the stories that I've heard the problems don't really start this early anyhow...and my previous pregnancies really have been wonderful.....

I've done two hats on the knifty knitter.  Two isn't so great considering how quickly the knitter goes, but I was trying new things.  On one I did a coordinating band of purl stitches, and on the other I did a knit-purl alternating pattern and had it come to two points with two pom-poms. The pom-poms didn't turn out so well, so I think I'll be redoing them.  Anyhow, it's been fun : )

(Both hats are for the Relief Society service project at church, but I'm planning to do some for my kids soon)

This is a picture of the new bunk bed.  The girls seem to be alternating who sleeps where.

My sister, Laura, gave us this awesome congrats gift.  It was so clever and fun that I had to share:



Nametags, for when we are so sleep deprived we need some extra help remembering who we are.  Matching flash cards.  Juggling balls.  Doublemint gum.  He or she, what will they be.  D&E candles...which set will we need?  There was also a box of Mike & Ike's-- to help us start thinking of names (This present was given to us a couple of weeks ago and has been sitting on the counter waiting for me to take the picture...I can't blame HH for eating the Mike & Ike's in that time!)

Chick:

I can't believe what a good helper she is these days.  I think if I let her she'd bring me breakfast in bed each morning.  She is looking forward to helping with the babies, but in the meantime she's great with Monkey and Moose.

Dance class is going well, as is preschool.  She did a great job reading me a book last night-- the contractions threw her for a loop since she'd never seen them before in her reading, but she took it all in stride.

She's set a good example of imaginative play for her siblings.  There's a recurring theme of wars and people "firing" other people (which is catching them on fire)...I think it's because several American girl stories are set during war times.  We just finished reading the entire Addy collection, and it was a good way to discuss civil rights, etc.  I don't think I made it through a single chapter without getting choked up, but I did a good job of hiding it.

Speaking of American Girls:  I've mentioned before that my girls love the Molly movie.  The other night Monkey must have asked Chick something, and Chick's response was, "The food which is on my plate is..."  I smiled and said, "Did you just quote the Molly movie?"  "No, Mom.  She says 'THAT' not which.  'The vegetable that you are lucky enough to have on your plate is...'"  HH and I had to laugh: no, she hadn't quoted the movie, but evidently she could quote the whole thing if  need be!

Monkey:

My goodness this girl can really crack us up.

Whenever she sees a pregnant woman she asks if the woman has "two twin babies in her tummy"...I'm trying to help her understand that USUALLY babies come one at a time.

Monkey likes to pretend to have "two twin babies" in her tummy too, and I love hearing their names.  "Faltelana" and "Christiana" are common ones...anything ending in "ana" is popular with her.  She's a good little Mama with her baby doll, too.  She feeds her the bottle, and then walked around holding and bouncing her carefully and saying, "shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh" softly and lovingly.  It melts my heart every time.

The other night the girls learned the phrase "female" and "male." Monkey said "Mama and Chick and Me are female."  "Moose and Daddy are mailboxes."

Monkey outgrew calling the "hospital" a "hopsital" but she still has funny little ways of saying things.  One of my favorites is getting "she" and "her" mixed.  As in: "She's going to she's house."

Playing with an awesome new toy from her birthday party.

 Moose:

Ah, dear little stinker Moose.  He throws more tantrums than any child ever, it seems, but he's also very loving and sweet, and plays well with his sisters.
He sometimes goes potty in the potty seat, and I think we'll ramp up the effort in the summer when he can be outside more.  (he'd probably do really well if we consistenly gave him the opportunity...I'm just not up for the effort and possible mess right now!)
He says a lot of words now...pretty much anything you ask him to, if he's in the right mood.  My favorite is "BaLaLa" for Banana.

He's obsessed with "truck!" and "woof" and "neigh!"  (the animal sounds are always instead of the animal name, but paradoxically it's always "kikky" and not "meow")

A less positive thing: he never goes voluntarily to timeouts.  Any suggestions?  I'm trying to not pick him up (the kid is a TANK, and I can REALLY FEEL IT when I do pick him up, which can't be good), but I have to be consistent in disciplining him...he already seems to think he can get away with anything.

Oh, another funny thing: he was looking at a picture of himself from before he cut his forehead, and he touched the picture on the forehead and acted concerned (obviously wanting to say something).  My guess is that the cut is part of his definition of himself right now, so it was weird for him to see a picture without the cut.  He points the cut out to people a lot....

sorry about the red-eye.  It matches his sweater, at least....

Prego Update

Here are some things I've learned in the past week or so (or things that lots of people are asking):

Are the babies Identical or Fraternal Twins?
Identical.  There seems to be only one placenta, which is the indicator that they are identical.  They have a thin dividing line between them, so they do have their own amniotic sacs.  (so I think the tech term is that they are Mono/Di twins).

Identical twins are more risky than fraternal-- just because they are sharing more.   I'm trying to not borrow trouble by thinking too much about it.

Only 1/3 of all twins are identical.

Do Twins Run in your Family?
Well, sort of, but it's back a ways, and I think it's on my Dad's side (I've heard that twins really only transfer through the maternal line, but I haven't looked into it much).

BUT Identical twins are not thought to have anything to do with genetics.  Or Fertility treatments (which I wasn't doing anyhow), or maternal age (so it is NOT because I'm getting OLD).  It's just a fluke.  A totally random case of the egg deciding to split.

I had planned to stop at four, so maybe Heavenly Father wanted to sneak in that extra one.  I'll take that as a vote of confidence that he thinks I can handle it : )

Why was I bleeding?
 I have a low-lying placenta.  So right now I'm on "pelvic rest" until we know more.

A low-lying placenta could become problematic later in the pregnancy.  HOWEVER seeing it at this stage is not a big deal.  In fact, there's a 99% chance that as the uterus gets bigger the placenta will rise higher.

I haven't bled since the day of the ultrasound, and it's another hypothesis of mine that Heavenly Father wanted to give me an early heads up that there were two...since I don't usually get ultrasounds and I had no reason to believe that there were twins.  We might not have known for a while.

How am I doing?
I'm exhausted, but I always am for the first trimester.  Hopefully it'll pass in the next week or two.  I get insomnia during pregnancy, so that doesn't help.  But I try to take a nap each day.

I've also been having a lot of cramping--most likely due to the low placenta.  But my midwife suggested taking magnesium, which has helped tremendously.

I am a little bit of a worry-wart, so I'm trying to focus on the positive aspects. 
The ultrasound showed two active, equally sized peanuts. 
At my midwife appt we heard two healthy heartbeats. 
I haven't gained any weight yet....

I think I'm still in shock a lot of the time.  I keep expecting someone to say, "nevermind, we made a mistake...there's just one baby after all."

Will we find out the gender?

Yes!  We never have before, because we like the surprise, and also because we don't do ultrasounds unless medically necessary (which was only once at 6 weeks to find out a duedate).  This time there is more preparation, less freetime after they arrive, and already plenty of surprise!  The more that I can know for sure, the better.  And besides, we'll be getting a lot of ultrasounds, so it'll probably be obvious at some point.

The next midwife appt is in two weeks, and the next ultrasound will be in three weeks...at 15 wks, too early to find out yet probably.......

Will we have a home birth?
No.  My midwife doesn't deliver twins,  to begin with.  We'll see her for most of our routine checkups.  She's suggested a very twin-savvy Certified Nurse Midwife for the hospital birth.  I hope that the births can still be vaginal, but I'm not really going into this with preconceived expectations...whatever it takes to have everyone make it out healthy.  I know that things will already be drastically different in a hospital, and I'm a little sad to not get to have another wonderful birth at home...but at least I got three of them.  I could find another midwife who would deliver twins at home, but I'm not comfortable with that.  (and if the placenta doesn't move, then it's an automatic c-section anyhow).

Am I excited?
Sort of.  I was excited to be pregnant, and since this is my last time I was excited to go through this last one appreciating it (I actually like to be pregnant for the most part).  Then this happened, and it's suddenly not a "last time" experience but a "first time" one.  I feel like a total newbie, and I have extra risks...so I hope to enjoy it, but I mostly am hoping that I will be healthy and have two healthy babies at the end of it all.

I can't even get far enough ahead to think a lot about having two babies!  It'll be total chaos and I'll likely never leave the house : )  But I do love babies, so when I can wrap my head around the idea, then I like it.

It's been easiest to focus on the concrete details: names are in the process of being picked, dinners are starting to be stashed in the freezer, and I've found some fun things on pinterest etc.  Some of my favorites are:

funny onesies--
  
  


and baby cocoons!  (and I know how to Knifty Knit now!)
 

Guess that's all that I have to say about that.

My Crazy Roller Coaster Day

When I think about things that happened this morning, it's hard to believe that it was today...so much has happened today.

Well, first of all, let me tell you that I am expecting!  I'm 11 weeks along, and have known since week 4, so I've known for a while now.

This morning I was having some cramping, and then at lunchtime I started bleeding.  More than spotting (which I don't do anyhow). 

Of course I freaked out, cried, called my Mom, my Husband, my Midwife.

My midwife set up an ultrasound, I took the kids to a friend's house, and off I went.

And I sat.  In the radiologist's office for two hours.  waiting.  Trying not to think about what was probably happening (I didn't want to cry in the waiting room, you know?!!)

Finally it was my turn.
"Let there be a heartbeat!" I though as I lay down on the table.
And then the picture appeared on the screen. 

Beating hearts.  Two of them! 
Two active, kicking, wiggly babies!

All I could say was, "Oh my goodness!  Oh my goodness, are you serious?!  Really?!!"

I'm excited, and terrified. 
I can't keep up with three kids, let alone five.
We'll need to get a mini-van. 
It'll be my first hospital birth (but hopefully not my first c-section). 
We had D names picked out, but now we need E names as well.

Crazy realizations keep popping to mind.

I don't feel like I've really had a chance to process it, and I'm sure the coming months will be quite an adventure (for that matter, the coming YEARS are likely to be an adventure!).

But there you have it.  My roller coaster day.  And my big news.  times two.

The Arrival of our new Little Man

Finally I get to tell you about the arrival of our Little Man (who will be referred to as such until he grows into an official nickname). 

The Short Version:

6:00 - Membranes Stripped

7:00 - Membranes Stripped

8:00 - Water Broken & Contractions started

10:30 - Got into the Birth Pool

11:45 - Got out to go potty & labor out of the pool for a while

11: 50-ish - Started Pushing

12:04 - Little Man Born!

This is my wonderful Midwife team: Carmen, Me, the baby, Charlotte the midwife, and Christine

The Long Version:

I had my membranes stripped, first by Christine & then by Charlotte...which produced some cramping, but nothing significant.  I was dilated to about a 3, and 50% effaced with a super soft cervix.  After the stripping I tried side lunges and Christine gave me a great foot massage.

So, at 8:00 p.m. we decided that Charlotte could break my water.  I did have my qualms about doing it, but I trust Charlotte, and she was confident that it would be ok. 

I am SO GLAD that I did.  Here's why:  the sac is actually two layers that are stuck together (like 2 layers of cellophane).  Sometimes (like 1 in 25+ births) the two layers separate and get fluid between them (for a better description go HERE).  That's what happened to me.  In those cases it's common to have false labor, because things don't progress the same.  I had quite a lot of fluid between the layers, and once the outer layer was broken I immediately started having regular contractions.

We decided to not break the second layer until we'd waited to see if things progressed on their own (so technically she didn't break my water, because it was all still sealed up).  For the first hour I had contractions that were about 2-3 minutes apart & became pretty strong.  During that time Charlotte had run to a nearby grocery (with instructions to call if things got serious). 

When she got back she checked me and I hadn't dilated at all.  I had been laboring on all fours, and she suggested laying in a more reclined position, so that the baby's head would apply pressure more directly on my cervix rather than being tilted forward.  So I spent a little more than an hour laboring on my bed.  I actually don't know what progress was made during that time, because I didn't want her to check me and say that it was the same. The contractions during that time were very strong and didn't feel like they ever really went away...which was the same with my first birth.  Finally I said that I didn't care what my dilation was, I was getting into the birth pool (my written birth plan said that I wanted to wait until I was to a 5 before getting in).

I can't say enough about how much I love my birth pool.  That has been the most wonderful part of all three of my births.  I actually relax enough to focus on what the contractions are for & what my body is doing, and I can relax completely between contractions.  This time I relaxed to the point that I fell asleep between them almost every time.  Then I would wake up and watch my belly contract.  The contractions were hard, but with the nap between them it helped to keep things in perspective.

After a while, though, I began to wonder, "how long is this going to go on if I have time to fall asleep between contractions?  Don't they have to get closer together before I can get to transition?!  Is this baby EVER going to come out?"  I said as much to Charlotte, and she suggested that I get out & labor somewhere else for a little while, as well as go to the bathroom.

I did NOT relish the idea of getting out, knowing that the contractions were already as strong as I wanted to feel, but at the same time I felt like the labor was going to be never ending and I wanted it to hurry if I could help it.

I got to my knees (still in the pool), and had a contraction.  I stood up and had a contraction.  I went into the bathroom and had two contractions.  On the second one I wanted to PUSH.

"CHARLOOOOTTE!" I yelled.  She burst into the bathroom, saw me starting to bear down, and quickly told me to get off the toilet because we can't have the baby there!  She helped me back to my bed and checked me.

Five.  Dilated to 5.  But it was actually just a lip of the cervix in the way, which she moved and let me start pushing.  

My Mom and Chick were awoken and came to see the birth. HH came in from another room & started taping it (he'd been in and out through the labor). At first Chick was sleepy, but then she woke up enough to know that the baby was coming out and took it all in stride. When the baby was out she was SO JAZZED. It was really fun to see her reaction.

The pushing lasted about 15 minutes, I think, but it felt like forever.  {Every segment of this birth was reasonably short, but each one felt like forever, actually.  My sense of time gets pretty skewed during labor, I guess}.  

Anyhow, they encouraged me to feel the baby's head as it started to crown, which was the second saving grace of the birth.  I felt it, which was helpful, and then I moved my hand and they suggested that I feel again--I couldn't believe how much progress had been made in a short time and I knew that the baby was almost out.

I should mention that I'd never EXPERIENCED the "ring of fire" so feeling the baby's head helped to negate the burning that I was experiencing and thought would NEVER END.

Anyhow, when the head came out they saw that the cord was wrapped around the neck twice, and it was too tight to slip up over the head, so they did what is called "somersaulting" and slipped it down around the body as they encouraged me to slowly kind of "grunt" the baby out.  They got the cord straightened out without having to cut it early.

The baby pinked up immediately and had a very lusty yell.  A boy.  A beautiful, alert boy.

His stats were:

9 pounds 2 ounces
22 inches long
14 inch head as well as 14 inch chest

I'm glad that we "induced" as we did, because he was big enough & developed enough as it was, and the placenta had a few spots where it was starting to calcify.  His hands were getting dry too.

Some interesting things about the Little Man:

• 
  
  He has the longest fingers that I've ever seen on a baby.  They are like spider legs: long and thin. 
• 
  
  He definitely has "rooting" down pat, but falls asleep almost as soon as I start to feed him.
• 
  
  He is very alert when carried facing outwards.
• 
  
  He looks a LOT like Chick did when she was a newborn, and she looks a lot like HH, but with a round face from her mama. We'll have to see how the Little Man turns out....
• 
  
  His hair is fair, but MAY be similar to Monkey's.
• 
  
  He is LOUD.  He doesn't exactly cry, but rather screams like he's being murdered.
• 
  
  He has two big sisters that ADORE him.  He probably won't appreciate them fully.

As for me:

I'm doing well.  I'm still dealing with crampy/contraction-y stuff, but even though I had a couple of stitches, I am in FAR less pain than with either of the others (despite having just delivered a large baby).  I've had enough help and support that I'm well rested and get to just take it easy for the next few days.  I've adjusted to the idea of having a SON, and am excited to make funny little newsie caps and bow ties!

The Game Plan (in long, rambling, philosophical format)

I never did have ice cream; we didn't have the right flavor. Instead I had an uber-delicious banana-ovaltine-peanut butter smoothie. Hmmm, I think I'll have another one in a few minutes, now that I'm thinking of it.... Anyhow, it tasted as indulgent as ice cream, but less guilt. I also had some dark chocolates & popcorn. And I did plop down for a movie, but not until evening--I spend most of the day on the phone (SIL, Sister, Sister, Sister, Mom, husband, Midwife) and that was better therapy than couch potato-ism. (though I think I used all the minutes for the month....)

What evolved was a game plan. (if belly pics and detailed prego stuff bothers you, then stop reading now):

Tomorrow at 5 pm my Midwife & team will bring their sleeping bags and gear. She'll strip my membranes again, and continue to do so every half hour or so. She may also break my water, if it hasn't broken on it's own post-stripping. I'm dilated to 2.5, 50% effaced & super soft. The water bag is bulging, and the baby is low. She's surprised that I haven't gone into labor already, and doesn't think it's going to take much to get things going. So the baby will probably arrive sometime on Friday or Saturday (Sunday?). We'll probably avoid castor oil all together, and just stick with the stripping, possible AROM, walking, squatting, and accupressure.

The pros:

• it saved my sanity just to HAVE a plan!
• good timing. HH will get to finish a busy work week, and promises to take some time off work next week. My Mom has knee replacement surgery scheduled for Tuesday, so she'll still be able to meet the baby & help out a little bit. In place of my Mom, at least one sister will be available to help out a little when HH goes back to work. (The scheduling of all of this is what prompted having a plan & it also was what prompted the pity party & stress).
• [TOTAL TANGENT...BEWARE] In conjunction with the good timing, it also allows me to have "babymoon" time. I know that there are lots of people who disagree with me on this, but I believe that new mama's should have down time. Rest for their bodies, time to get breastfeeding established, time to deal with hormonal shifts & new baby stresses. And rest from life. Because seriously, I have my kids every day. I have to get up and make breakfast and get the kids dressed and be here for them all day. And while I love that I get to do that, I also would like a break. After 9-10 months of building and building, it just seems anti-climactic to have life return back to routine (where I do all the regular work + the new needy little person) immediately. I think it's nice to be able to catch up on sleep a little, and have family stop by for visits & to get to celebrate the wee one and rest from the usual day-to-day. The day-to-day can wait a week...can't it? (but I know that a few of my favorite people disagree & pride themselves on the fact that they don't need help & can jump right back into the game.... so maybe I am selfish.)

The cons:

• I'll be 8 days overdue, which is nothing to scoff at, but I do believe that babies should come when they want, in most cases. What if this baby just happens to need more time? Some babies do. I'm not miserable (though I don't like the waiting), so to hurry a baby just to accomodate schedules is unsettling to me.
• while the stripping is ok (It won't MAKE a baby come), I am not so sure about breaking the water. I just don't really like the idea of doing anything that's permanent. Once the water is broken, it's broken. My midwife says that my body is ready enough & I'm overdue enough that breaking the water will result in a baby & not a hospital visit...but there is that chance that things won't go as planned (because really, low-risk birth isn't something that should be PLANNED in my opinion).

Feel free to share your opinion on any of this.

Anyhow.

Yesterday Chick went to the bouncy house with Uncle J & Aunt B & cousins. She'd never been, and I'm so glad that she got to do it. She wanted to go again today.

We also had a playdate (a playdate that sent chocolate chip cookies home with us! How great is that?!), and of course I had my midwife appt.

I also got a speeding ticket, which was a bummer. I can't remember the last time I got one...I don't think it's been since I've been married. I was totally sobbing...I don't deal with that sort of stress well. The officer was unmoved.

After my midwife appt I stopped at the pawn shop & the thrift store. : ) I bought 2 nursing tops (one isn't actually a nursing top YET but it will be when I alter it). One of them is the same nursing top as what I just ordered from OldNavy.com (THANKS, POLLY!!!) but it's a different color and a size smaller. It's a little too small, but I think it'll be good in a couple of months...and now I know to be super excited about the one that I ordered, which will fit just perfectly!! I also got a dress that buttons in the bodice, so I'll be able to wear that for nursing too, I think. And its flattering enough that I think I'll be able to wear it right away & it should just keep looking better and better as my body gets back to normal.

Today I got out the biggest of my "normal" clothes, that hopefully will fit, as well as the smallest of my maternity clothes, and put away most of the big maternity stuff. Kind of fun to see some different things in the closet...I'm big enough & low enough that I'm very limited these days.

And I took 41 week pictures.

Nothing.

Some of you seem to think that I'm always doing something, and I'm here to tell you that sometimes I do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Sometimes, like on Friday, I turn on a movie so that we can sit around waiting for naptime. Then we nap, and then HH gets home and takes care of the girls so that I can sit around doing nothing some more.

On Saturday HH took care of the girls while I ran errands and went to the thrift store (big score: 2 yards of new minky fabric for $.99!). Once home I pretty much sat around for the rest of the day.

Sunday was church, and naps, and more nothing. Oh, but I did bead a necklace. I'd bought a clearance pendant from Michael's for $.50 on Saturday, so I beaded a necklace to go with it. Our next family picture is going to be black/gray/white clothes with accents of red poppies, so the necklace will work nicely (even if it's not a poppy).

Monday started out rough. It was raining. HH and I were not on the same wavelength, and we both were getting frustrated with each other. Anyhow, the way things turned out: we ended up getting in the car for a drive. We just wandered (HH is great at "What's down this street?") and looked at houses, and flags, and new stores being built, etc.
Our drive took us to Alfy's for some pizza and a fun relaxed lunch that I didn't have to make.
Then we headed home, but we passed a park and it wasn't raining and Chick wanted to stop. So we did. The girls played, and I walked laps around the playground (to no avail). Then some friends from church happened to come along, so we played/chatted with them for a while. Then as we were leaving we ran into some more friends (from when we were single) and chatted some more. Then home for naps. Then we all worked out in the yard. I squatted while weeding in the garden (to no avail). Then we had dinner & watermelon for dessert.
It ended up being exactly the kind of day that I'd wanted. HH also worked on some house projects, but they aren't photo ready yet : )

Today I'm a little stressed, so I've decided that today I'm going to throw a pity party. I'll be serving chocolate, ice cream, too many carbs, and maybe raspberry tea (to no avail). I'll be attired in stretchy cotton and possibly a scowl. Yesterday's makeup. Hair brushed, but not styled. And for activities? I think a movie and naptime.
Maybe I'll throw in a Castor Oil Cocktail.

The Happenings.

So, instead of having a baby this week, we've visited with family and friends, which has been very fun. Here's a picture of when Aunt Mindy came to visit and painted Chick's toenails : )

I also went to the thrift store on Monday, and bought a non-maternity skirt for me. I also bought a few baby items, and 2 suit jackets for $1 each (with plans to make a couple of THESE cutie patootie hats ...though smaller if I can manage it). Oh, and a big bag of crocheted pieces...mostly squares and a few random flowers. Unfortunately there weren't any hats, but I guess I'll just buy neutral hats and pin flowers on separately.

I've also done a surprising amount of freezer cooking. I made 2 sheets FULL of meatballs, and blended up tons of spinach for spinach ice cubes to use in smoothies. I froze strawberries (also for smoothies), and made 4 loaves of braided bread (though seriously, my mixer does all the work...I did 2 loaves and discovered that it took almost completely no work from me, so I did 2 more loaves). And I made some raisin bran muffins. Today I think I'll do granola bars if I feel industrious enough.

Anyhow, Chick had her last day of preschool yesterday. The mamas were invited for a celebration at the end. They got Grad necklaces & diplomas, sang songs that they've learned over the year, ate special treats, and were sent home with cute packets with their class picture and such. It was so much fun : )

Yesterday, as a condolence prize (since I wasn't getting a baby) I went and got a pedicure. Then I picked up pizza for dinner & rented a couple of movies.

Today we'll watch The Princess & the Frog (I've been holding out on that one because in the pictures she's the most immodest of all of the princesses -except Jasmine- and I hate that Chick thinks that you dress immodestly if you are a princess). Anyhow, I should probably do laundry and g-bars, and I hope to do some sewing and napping. And my aunt will take the girls for a little visit to the mall playground, so I'll get some alone time : )

Just waiting.

Nothing to report. No baby.

On Friday I just sat around--we watched "The Wizard of Oz" and took naps and that's about it. I tried to take a walk by myself...I think I might have gone a mile total, but by the time I returned home I was barely waddling & felt like my hips and/or pelvis were about to fall apart.

Saturday I did some laundry & cleaning, and HH worked on basetrim & deck railing.

Today was church. Also, during the insomnia hours of the morning I FINISHED COMPLETELY Monkey's baby book. The first year is entirely done, so the baby can come anytime now.

And for dinner we had Chicken nuggets with yummy peach sauce (THIS recipe, which is quadrupled for freezing). I made a few alterations: less butter, I baked them on a rack rather than directly on the cooking sheet, I substituted bran flakes for some of the bread crumbs, and I broiled them for a few minutes at the end to get them crispy. Everyone ate them & seemed to like them. They're definitely best with the sauce (didn't try them with ketchup, though...maybe they'd be good that way too). Since I've decided to boycott Tyson chicken as well as all store-bought nuggets (except maybe T. Joes...I'll have to look into that), I'm glad that these turned out well.

I don't have pictures of the scrapbook, but here's a picture of the most recent baby gown, which was made using a high school track tee (both parents are athletic, and the dad teaches & coaches track at Jackson High School). (HERE is the tutorial, for those of you who wanted it. Seriously, super easy). It looks like that's winning the poll, so I'll be making another one soon to have on the display table for F.F.

Hmm, I guess that's it. I have more little projects to work on until the baby arrives, but now that the scrapbook is done I don't have anything urgent...so the baby can come...preferably on Tuesday (5-25-10).

It's the Little (and big) things.

First off: baby update. Still waiting. One more week. I'm still at a 2, baby was at 0 station at my last appt, and I still have a soft cervix but no real effacement.

Today I'm thinking that maybe it's a girl...I might be thinking that just because I thought of what I would want to try for a blessing dress : )

But also, a boy is problematic. We don't have a solid name for a boy. The name that we've had written on the white board in the kitchen for months now is falling out of favor with me, and I found out that HH isn't completely sold on it either. Unfortunately HH doesn't like any of the other names that I suggest. I just called and left a new suggestion on his voicemail, so we'll see what he has to say about that. A girl would be easier because I LOVE our girl name. I even love the crazy nickname that Aunt Becky would give her (Chi-chi. Crazy but cute!).

Anyhow, this morning I was toasting bagels, and bagels made me think of "Have you heard about the Morgans" which I saw the other night. If you haven't seen it, they're a NY couple who witness a murder & are put in the witness protection program. I was reminded of this one scene and it had me laughing semi-hysterically for several minutes...so I'm sharing.

They've just arrived in the little Wyoming town that they're hiding in, and they are in the car with their host. They're talking about a store there (Bargain Barn)

Meryl: I've never been to a Bargain Barn.
Host: You're kidding. (or something to that effect)
Meryl: No, I've never been to a Bargain Barn. There aren't any Bargain Barns in New York.
Host: I don't follow you.
Meryl: Well, there aren't any Bargain Barns in New York, so I've never been to one.
Host: I still don't follow you.
Meryl: (totally exasperated, and enunciating every word) THERE AREN'T ANY BARGAIN BARNS IN NEW YORK, SO I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ONE.
Meryl's Husband: There aren't any in Chicago, either, which is where we're from. (because of the new identities).
Host: Oh, you don't say.

Anyhow, I'm sure that didn't translate to funny on my blog, but just hearing Sarah Jessica Parker trying to get him to understand her as she keeps saying the exact same thing (because, really, how do you say it any more plainly?) was pretty darn funny. And anything that gives me a good laugh when we're late for preschool has got to be a good thing, right?

So that was the "little" thing.

The "big" thing is a quote that I heard in church on Mother's day. I don't want to forget it, so I'm putting it in here. The speaker told the following about Peter Buffett (son of Warren Buffet):

Though $90,000 was the only inheritance Peter Buffett received from his father for personal use, he and his siblings have received an enormous sum of money -- $1 billion -- to do charitable work. That money came as something of a surprise, and Peter was taken aback by the "awesome responsibility and opportunity."

He says he and his wife spent several years researching how to be most effective as philanthropists. Ultimately, they settled on a charitable way to "invest in undervalued assetts," which Peter Buffett admits is a "page out of my Dad's book."

"We found that young girls, adolescent girls-- in the developing world in particular--are the greatest undervalued assett we've ever seen," Buffett says. (NPR. To read more about it, here's the link)

I figured it out!

Yesterday was another "Oh! This feels just like the other day but I SWEAR this is real!" I was having what felt like constant ligament pain, which lasted for hours during church. Then when we were driving home I started having contractions. A couple of hours later they eased off, and I was left wondering...am I really that easy to fool?! (Thankfully I only called my Mom to say that MAYBE this was it...no sleepovers this time).

This morning I realized: It's the smoothies! My sister is starting at Bastyr soon to become a nutritionist and bought my Mom a smoothie recipe book at the Bastyr bookstore. Mom lent it to me. The grape & strawberry popsicles are going to be a HUGE hit today...HH and I took sips of the leftover bit, unfrozen but SO VERY DELICIOUS! And so easy.

Anyhow, I digress. For myself I made the smoothie that has raspberry leaf tea in it. Raspberry is supposed to be a uterine toner--it doesn't start labor, but it helps your uterus to be stronger, so a shorter pushing phase & less chance of hemorrhage (as well as other complications), and it also helps with milk production for new moms.

On Wednesday night and again on Saturday night I drank this smoothie--each smoothie had about a cup of tea in it (among other ingredients).

This morning I made the connection that Thursday and Sunday...about 12-14 hours post-smoothie were when I had so much going on, but at the same time so little going on : ) Sunday's episode lasted a shorter time than Thursday, I assume because I needed less toning the second time. But that explains why I didn't dilate at all, but I did have contractions.

This is still an untested hypothesis...I'll drink some more smoothie tomorrow night and see if Wednesday has the same results (I don't really want to feel like that tomorrow--too much going on). Some might say that I should just stay away from it altogether, based on the difficulty of the results, but I do think that the results will lessen as my system gets stronger. We'll see on Wednesday.

******
Unrelated: I'm down to 3 2-pg layouts + 2 partial pages for Monkey's book!!

Impromptu Sleepover

On Thursday night I had a little sleepover. The guest list included: Charlotte (my midwife), Carmen & Stephanie (Charlotte's backup midwife & assistant), and my Mom. They all came at around 2 or 3 a.m., and all but my Mom left at 6:30 a.m., because it was really not that exciting of a sleepover.

HH helped to decorate for it by putting up a pool in our bedroom, and then he went to work later than normal. I had hoped that he wouldn't be going to work at all on Friday, but since there wasn't much going on & the sleepover was breaking up, he went ahead and left.

All in all the sleepover was anticlimactic. In fact, though I still can't believe it, I measured a 2 on Wednesday morning, and then at the end of the sleepover I still measured a 2.

I've decided that this sleepover is the downside to a homebirth--you can't just be sent home & it's quite embarrassing.

I refuse to call it what some might (the opposite of TRUE), because though I thought that maybe I'd made the calls a bit prematurely I thought FOR SURE that this was IT. AND PLEASE no one leave a comment saying "You'll know it when it's time" because this is my 3rd time and I really did think that Thursday night was IT.

But, though my measurement didn't change, and the contractions went away eventually, I am no longer getting kicked up near my ribcage...the kicks are now closer to my lack-of-bellybutton (which is incredibly sore now). So I don't know if that's a common thing, but I do think that things contracted down & the baby is more scrunched than before. ...maybe it's just wishful thinking. I'm doubting everything now. What do I know?

Oh, but at around midnight that night I did lose my mucus plug (sorry, TMI?). Kind of exciting. HH says that I saw it when I was expecting Chick, but I really don't remember ever seeing one. So now it's documented. Thank your lucky stars that I'm not such a hard-core blogger that I would take pictures, lol.

Anyhow, here's a picture of me, in what I thought was early labor at the start of week 38.

Here are my cute girls.

Here's the picture wall : ) I still have one more frame to fill--it's going to have an applique in it, but I haven't made it yet.

Here's a before pic of the center frame.

Right now HH is working on putting railings on our back deck. We had a picnic lunch in the backyard, and Chick and I went to a super fun birthday party for one of her friends from preschool & church.

I've spent my free time this week working on Monkey's baby book, which I hope to finish before having another baby join in the fray. I'll post some pictures of my handiwork when I feel more inclined to take pics. I've gotten 10 pages done (5 2-pg layouts) + finishing up some that had things missing. I still have at least that much left to do, though, so I'd better go get busy.

And for the record, I'm guessing that this baby is a boy. What do you think?

Oh, but before I go, I've been asked to teach a project at Fantastic Friday at church. It needs to be something that can get done in an evening...what project would you want to do at a Fantastic Friday (uh, that I've done...I know, that narrows things down a lot)?

Getting some Closure

Friday evening/night I had a lot of contractions. They weren't especially strong, but they did persist regardless of change in activity, and in the early morning hours they were pretty regular & seemed stronger than earlier. The tricky things had me fooled--I even called my midwife at 4 in the morning (she'd rather be called with a false alarm than not have ample warning since she has to drop everything that she had planned).

Anyhow, it was a false alarm (and I'm SOOO glad it was because all of my family was going down to my uncle's memorial-- 2+ hours away, and who would come help out?!!). I was pretty excited thinking that the baby was coming, but I had one thing that really bothered me to not have done: the closet doors.

After that night of poor sleep, HH gave me my Mother's Day breakfast in bed a day early : ) and then I fell back asleep and slept until almost 10:30!! Unheard of. It was wonderful.

Then, to make the day even better, HH spent the whole day painting and hanging the closet doors for me : ) They don't have handles in yet, but here are some pictures (complete with a crazy baby).

HH thinks that the room is boring now, with "nothing to look at" ...as if I want to look at clothes hanging in the closet & storage boxes on the shelf! To remedy the "boringness" I ordered prints of some pictures to finally get that photo arrangement finished. Stay tuned.

So yesterday was really the great mother's day, but today has been a lovely, sunny Sunday. Chocolates and a cute framed picture of chick that she decorated in nursery at church : ) A stop at the park to watch the stream for a few minutes, a very refreshing nap after church, and HH took the girls out into the yard while I made dinner (plus extras for freezing) in much appreciated solitude.