Not Quite 38 Weeks!

Today is January 24, the day of my scheduled C-section.  I was supposed to go to the hospital at 9:30 to meet everybody and fill out paperwork and have the surgery at noon.  However, Mikey had other plans.

Around 4:30 Saturday morning I woke up with what I thought was a stomach ache.  It felt like a gas bubble, so I got up and spent about 20 minutes on the toilet trying to pass it.  I passed some and when I wiped there was my mucous plug.  I didn’t think anything of it, just because you lose it doesn’t mean labor is imminent.  I felt a little better and went back to bed.  Not 15 minutes later I was up again, feeling even worse.  The pain was really low, it felt like diarrhea cramps so I figured I had to go.  I’d been really gassy the last couple of weeks so it didn’t surprise me.  The pain came and went, I ended up pacing the bathroom for an hour, thinking if I kept moving it would help things move along and I could have a BM and go back to bed.  I even took some Gas-X, hoping that would make me feel better.  I finally managed to have a BM and went back to bed and was up again 5 minutes later.  At this point all my fidgeting woke Gabe up.  I told him it was just gas and I was fine, but he looked up descriptions of labor pains and they were exactly what I was feeling.  I had been in labor for an hour and a half and had no idea!  The pains didn’t feel anything like I thought they would.

We got to the hospital around 7 and they hooked me up to the monitors.  I went from 1 cm to 3 cm in an hour so they got on the ball with setting up for the C-section.  Of course my doctor wasn’t there so someone else had to deliver.  They gave me something to take the edge off the contractions but it didn’t do anything but make me a little sleepy.  Which was good, it helped calm my nerves.  Plus I was tired because I’d only gotten 3 or 4 hours of sleep before the contractions woke me up.

It was around 9:30 when they got me into the OR to do the C-section.  They gave me a spinal.  It was weird because the left side went numb first, it felt like my leg fell asleep, it was all tingly.  Then the right side started to go.  The doctor kept pricking my stomach with a pin to see whether or not I could feel it and how high up the anesthesia went.  Once I was numb from the chest down Gabe came in and they put up a sheet and got to work.  Of course there was a dark window on the other side of the room so even though there was a sheet Gabe could see everything in the reflection.  I didn’t dare look!  This C-section was much better than the one I had with Josh, it didn’t hurt at all.  With Josh they had to really fight to get him out because his head was stuck.  The most discomfort I felt with this one was when they were pushing on my stomach to push him out, it made it a little hard to breathe.  After they got him out I heard him cry and they held him over the sheet for me to see him.  He was all wet and red and wrinkled.  They cleaned him up a little and Gabe got to cut the cord this time and brought him over for me to see.  Then they took him to the nursery while they finished closing me up.  They stapled me back together, I look like I have a zipper!

Michael Alexander was born on January 22, 2011 at 9:59 AM; weighing in at 8lbs 1oz and measuring 20 inches.  I was right, he was another big baby!  He was still almost 2lbs less than Josh, but he was also a few weeks earlier than Josh.  If I had gone the full 40 weeks Mikey would’ve easily been another 9-10lb baby.  He seems so tiny in comparison, he’s swimming in Josh’s baby clothes.  We got to come home on Monday and we’ve just been trying to take it easy and adjust.  Josh doesn’t seem to be jealous, he’s actually really interested in Mikey, especially when he cries or when I’m nursing him.  Nursing isn’t as easy this time, Mikey’s mouth isn’t as big as Josh’s so it’s a little painful when he first latches on because he doesn’t get it all the way in.  I’m hoping he starts opening his mouth bigger when he gets the hang of nursing.

Now that this pregnancy is over, I guess it’s time to end this blog.  I’ll have to start a new one now, about staying home with 2 kids under the age of 3.  Thanks for reading and sharing this wonderful time with me!

Michael Alexander

37 Weeks!

Today marks 37 weeks and 2 days since the first day of my LMP.  We’re at the final countdown, just 5 more days till my C-section; 5 MORE DAYS!!!  I’m so done with this pregnancy, I can’t wait.  It’s a weird feeling, being so close.  It’s not like when your due date gets close and Baby may or may not show up on that day (most don’t) and you’re just kind of waiting around for something to happen.  No, I know for a fact Mikey will be here sometime between 12-1 on Monday!  With Josh I never went into labor so my due date came and went and nothing happened.  When I went over and people asked me when I was due and I would tell them 2 days ago, you should’ve seen some of the looks I got!  They acted like I was about to go into labor right then and there.

I’m nervous about the surgery, but I’m looking forward to skipping all the labor and pushing part!  Compared to the 23 hours I spent in labor with Josh a 30 minute C-section sounds like a piece of cake!  I bounced back pretty quick too, 2 days after we left the hospital I was out and about, walking around.  I didn’t have too much pain either, I just took the 800 mg ibuprofen they gave me.  And I think I only took it for about a week, after that I was fine.  The only problem I had was getting in and out of bed, and I couldn’t lay flat because it would pull at the incision and burn.  But that didn’t last long either.

I’m curious to see what my stomach looks like after I have Mikey.  With Josh I was real flabby for a few weeks, it was gross!  But this time I’ve only gained half the weight (25lbs as opposed to 50) so I’m not as heavy.  I’m curious to see how much I weigh after the first 6 weeks.

I wonder what Mikey’s going to look like.  I wonder if he’s going to have blue eyes too.  Josh didn’t come out anything like we expected.  We were expecting a brown-haired, brown-eyed boy.  Instead we got a blonde, blue-eyed 10 pounder!  I wonder how big Mikey’s going to be.  I doubt he’ll be 10 lbs.

I still haven’t gotten anything ready.  I haven’t washed any clothes or built the crib, I’ll do it this weekend.  We got the bathroom tiled today and we’re getting carpet installed Thursday.  I still need to get a dresser for Josh so Mikey can have the one that goes with the crib.  My mom’s coming up on Friday so Saturday we can do everything and Sunday I can relax.  All I want to do on Sunday is eat and sleep!  I want to pig out Sunday night and take a sleeping pill and pass out, otherwise I won’t get to sleep.  I’m surprisingly calm right now, but that may change in the next few days!

36 Weeks!

Today marks 36 weeks and 3 days since the first day of my LMP.  Or 37 weeks and 2 days based on my 12 week ultrasound scan.  That makes me officially full term!  And as of today I have 11 more days to go until my C-section.  I had my second to last doctor’s appointment today, I have one more next week and then it’s baby time!  She said the baby feels like he dropped.  I thought I noticed a lot more pressure on my bladder the last week or two!  It’s been awful, I’m so uncomfortable.  It’s worse when I’m out and it’s inconvenient to go to the bathroom, like when I’ve got a cart full of groceries and my rotten 2-year-old!

We took a tour of the maternity ward after my appointment.  That place is on lock down, you have to be buzzed in.  That’s a good thing, no crazy people stealing babies.  With Josh they put this security device on his umbilical cord similar to what they put on clothes to prevent shoplifting and it would set off an alarm whenever you went too far down the hall with him.  They do something similar here.  Gabe’s job is to keep an eye on Mikey whenever he’s out of my sight.

They’re going to give me a spinal block for the surgery.  I’m so nervous!  I don’t know what they gave me with Josh.  I had an epidural from being in labor, but when I went in for the C-section they gave me something else in the IV, I think.  I really don’t know!  The good thing about the C-section is it’s a quick procedure.  The doctor said her record is 11 minutes.  I don’t think that includes the putting Mommy back together part though.  I’m not worried about that part, I’m worried about when they pull him out!  Josh was stuck so it hurt when they took him out.  But after he was out I didn’t feel anything.  I remember it was a quick surgery though, I think I was only in the OR for maybe 30 minutes.  The spinal block only lasts an hour so it has to be quick!

My mom’s coming up next Friday to hold down the fort while I’m at the hospital.  Then Gabe’s mom’s coming up for a week the day after my mom leaves.  Then Gabe goes back to work and everybody goes home and it’ll just be me and the kids.  I’m dreading the first time I have to take both of them out by myself.  Josh is rotten, but maybe he’ll be distracted by Mikey and actually behave himself!  How am I going to go shopping with both of them?  If Josh rides in the cart and I put Mikey’s car seat in the back, where will my stuff go?  I could put Mikey’s car seat in the front of the cart and let Josh walk on his leash, but that would require Josh to go where I want him to and not grab everything.  Maybe I’ll just save my shopping for the weekend and leave Josh home with Daddy and take Mikey out, since I’ll have to nurse him.

I’m excited about having another little baby to cuddle and about getting my body back, sort of.  I’ve got a year of breastfeeding ahead.  My body is apparently ready, my left boob is totally leaking!  I’ve gained half the weight I gained with Josh so hopefully I’ll fit back into my clothes sooner.  I can’t wait, it’s been really cold here the last few days and I have no warm coats that fit!  All I have is a thin maternity hoodie.  I saw a coat at Target today on clearance for $15 but I only have 11 more days to go, it’s not worth it!

We’ve done nothing to prepare for Mikey’s arrival yet.  I went through all of Josh’s old clothes and sorted them but that’s about it.  They need to be washed and put away, but I need a dresser.  The dresser that goes with the crib is in Josh’s room until we get Josh a dresser.  Mikey’s room is currently a guest room; we’re renting a queen size bed for all the company.  So we’ve decided to put his crib in our room until the bed goes back.  He was going to sleep next to me for the first couple of weeks anyway.  I had a hard time getting in and out of bed after my C-section last time.  This time we’ll see if using a step stool makes a difference, otherwise I’m sleeping on the couch!  I’ll have to move the changing table to our room too.  It’s in Josh’s room right now.  He’s too big and heavy for it, he needs to start potty training.  We also have to install the car seat.  Once I have both car seats in there I don’t think there’ll be any room for anyone else in the back seat.  I think it’s time to get a minivan. 

I’m waiting for the nesting instinct to kick in.  I think I’ve been feeling a little more energetic this past week, but that may be just because I’m sleeping better since Gabe’s at work and I have the whole bed to myself!  I still need to go shopping for diapers and stuff.  I’m trying to remember all the newborn stuff I need.  I should have just about everything, it’s just a matter of finding it.  We still haven’t totally unpacked.  There’s like 8 boxes in our room that need to go so we have room for the crib and changing table.

That’s about it, I’m just biding my time til January 24!

35 Weeks!

Today marks 35 weeks and 4 days since the first day of my LMP.  I’m so tired of writing this blog!  I’m near the end, I just want it to be over already!  I had another doctor appointment on Tuesday.  They did the strep B test.  They just swab you down there to see if you have this bacteria and if you do they give you antibiotics when you go into labor, no big deal.  I don’t see why I had to do it though since I’m having a C-section.  The nurse also checked to see if I was dilated…holy crap!  It felt like she stuck her whole hand up there, it wasn’t pleasant at all.  I feel like she should’ve bought me dinner first!  I’m not dilated, she could barely get a fingertip in.  It was the same way with Josh, I never dilated or had contractions or anything.  Apparently my uterus is very comfy because my babies don’t want to leave!

At this appointment we also scheduled my C-section.  It’s set for January 24 at noon!  We have to get to the hospital at 9:30 to get set up, but by 1 I should be in recovery with a baby!  That’s in 19 days from now.  I’m totally not ready.  The crib’s in pieces in the garage, the clothes are still packed away, the car seat’s not installed, we have no diapers…Since I know when he’s coming I’m just waiting til the last minute to do those things.  My mom’s coming up that weekend to hold down the fort while I’m in the hospital so I’ll do everything with her.  I don’t think anyone’s going to be able to fit in the backseat once we install the car seat.  Those things take up a lot of room!

I’m getting anxious in this final stretch.  You would think it would be less scary since I know what to expect but it’s not!  With Josh I was so exhausted from lack of sleep and loopy from the drugs that I wasn’t that nervous about the surgery.  This time I’m going to be well rested and wide awake.  I wonder if they can give me something to calm my nerves, laughing gas works nicely!  Gabe should be allowed in the OR with me if they don’t put me all the way under.  And I hope they glue me back together again, it was nice not having to worry about stitches or staples.  I’ll have to ask the doctor all these things at my appointment next week.  I have to go weekly now.

By the end of this week I’ll be full term.  Mikey’s just biding his time in there now, getting fat.  I’ve gained about half as much weight this time as I did with Josh.  I gained over 40lbs at this point with Josh, now I’ve only gained 24.  I don’t see me gaining any more than 30 total.  So if I gained 50lbs total with Josh (10 of which was him!) and at the end of 6 weeks I was 18lbs heavier than pre-pregnancy does that mean if I gain less than 30lbs this time and have another big baby that I’ll be back to my pre-pregnancy weight after 6 weeks?  I’m going to pretend it does!  I dug out my regular clothes and put them in my closet because I won’t have time to do it after Mikey comes.  That weekend before my surgery I’m going to put away all my maternity clothes and just leave out the regular clothes I’ve been using as maternity clothes so I have something to cover the jelly belly.  I’m so sick of maternity clothes!  I know a few months ago I couldn’t wait to wear them, but it’s impossible to look cute at 8 months pregnant in the winter with a big belly and a big coat!  I look like a big pink gumball!  My one and only maternity jacket is pink.

I’ve only got 3 more entries till the big day.  The time is crawling and flying at the same time!

19 more days!!!

Notice my belly button is popped out…that means he’s done!

33 & 34 Weeks!

Today marks 34 weeks and 2 days since the first day of my LMP.  I know I’m super late writing this, but that’s why you get a two-for-one deal!  To begin with, I’m late because we moved into our new house last weekend, on the 18th.  The movers came and brought all our stuff so we spent all of last week unpacking and cleaning and organizing and going shopping for things for the house.  We had to find a washer and dryer because the seller’s took theirs.  They offered to sell them to us separately, but we got a really good deal on a brand new set so we didn’t buy theirs.  We’re currently renting a set from the rental place until ours come in January 7.  It probably would’ve been a little cheaper to go to the laundromat, but I’m in no condition to take Josh and 10 loads of laundry there by myself!

This past weekend was Christmas, our first Christmas in our new house.  I didn’t do anything.  I got Josh a few presents, just so he would have something to unwrap.  But he’s 2, he doesn’t know what Christmas is.  He knows Santa says “Ho ho ho” and gives him “Mmm” (candy canes).  We didn’t even have a tree, I drew one on some of the leftover packing paper and taped it to the wall!  I also wrapped his presents in the packing paper.  It’s called recycling!

This week my sister-in-law and her family came up to visit and see the new house.  They’ll be here till after the New Year.  The cable guy came today, he must’ve thought there were a lot of people living in this small house!  So we have cable and internet now, the phone will be connected on the 30th.  I don’t know why they couldn’t do it today, but whatever.  We got a new phone number!

I also had a doctor appointment last week.  I met the doctor.  She said my blood sugar was fine, I’m not diabetic so there will be no more blood tests.  Good, because my arm is STILL bruised from the draw they did 2 weeks ago!  I have another appointment next week and we’ll schedule my C-section then.  I feel weird picking Mikey’s birthday, I’m going to aim for the 24th or 31st of January.  My due date is January 31, but they were originally going to schedule me at 39 weeks on the 24th.  We’ll see what happens.  I’ve gained 22 lbs so far, about half of what I gained with Josh at this point.  I think my diet has something to do with it, since I’ve been watching the carbs and sugar and not eating everything in sight.  The doctor said I was measuring at 33 weeks (which is correct by my count) and asked me if I thought this baby might be smaller than Josh.  I think he might be, but only because he’s coming 3 weeks earlier than Josh.  And even then I think he’ll be between 8.5 and 9.5 lbs.

At 33 weeks Mikey was 4.5 lbs and 17.5 inches long.  His lungs were almost mature, he’d be fine in the NICU if born now.  The hospital I’m delivering at supposedly has a really good NICU, hopefully I won’t need it!  He can also detect light and tell the difference between night and day.

At 34 weeks Mikey weighs 5 lbs and is almost 18 inches long.  He gained half a pound!  His lanugo is almost completely gone, but he’s still covered in vernix to keep him from pruning up.  I don’t remember Josh having on him, they must’ve cleaned him up really good.  Mikey’s immune system is starting to develop, he’s making his own antibodies.

As for me, I just feel big and tired and want the next 4-5 weeks to fly by!  I don’t feel as heavy as I did with Josh, because I’m not as heavy, but it’s still a lot of work to haul myself around.  It’s especially hard to get out of bed for the umpteenth time to pee or if I foolishly sit too far back on the couch.  I’ve beached myself a few times.  I can’t wait to be thin again and get to wear all my normal clothes.  I just hope it’s still cool enough to wear my cute sweaters!

32 Weeks!

Today marks 32 weeks and 1 day since the first day of my LMP.  Just 6 more weeks to go!  I’m getting excited thinking about all the things I’ll be able to do once Mikey’s born.  I’ll be able to paint my new house, I won’t have a big belly in my way anymore, I can color my hair, I can start using anti-aging products, I can get back to the gym…the possibilities are endless!  Oh, and the number one thing I can do again:  eat sugar!  There are a ton of little Mom and Pop donut places around here, I’m dying to try them!  I have to go back to the hospital for another glucose test tomorrow.  Josh has a doctor appointment so I may as well kill two birds with one stone.  My doctor appointment is next week, I guess I’ll get the verdict on my blood sugar levels then.

We’re still living out of a hotel, hopefully this is the last week.  We’re supposed to move into our new house next Saturday and lease until close.  We’re waiting on the appraisal.  I’ve decided to give Josh the bigger, more open room.  I figure he’ll get more use out of it than Mikey will.  He has a lot more toys, bigger ones, too.  I have to divide all his stuff between him and Mikey.  I kept most of his baby clothes and all his baby toys so I have nothing to buy for Mikey.  Josh however needs a bed and dresser.  I want to get him a toddler bed next weekend so he can start sleeping in that, he is not going back in that crib!

Mikey’s getting big, right now he’s about 17 inches long and weighs about 4 lbs.  We’re supposed to be gaining serious weight now, about a pound a week.  Well, I’ll gain a pound a week, about half of that will be Mikey.  He may have a full head of hair.  Josh did.  He was born with a full head of dark brown hair that eventually lightened up to a dirty blond and is now a light brown.  I’d like to know how blond wavy hair plus black curly hair makes brown straight hair!  I’m dying to see what Mikey looks like.  Josh favors Gabe a lot, but he has my complexion.  He doesn’t look like he belongs on Gabe’s side of the family at all!  Mikey’s doing the same thing I am, just waiting.  He’s running out of room to do his acrobatics.  I can’t tell if he’s head down, I think he is because I feel kicks up high and when he turns I feel what I think is his back.  Maybe the doctor can tell me next week which end is up.  Towards the end with Josh I could tell he dropped and was head down, I could feel where his back and limbs were.  I hear second babies don’t usually drop til after you go into labor.  I’m not planning on going into labor so we’ll see if he drops or not.  If they hadn’t changed my due date and weren’t going to do the C-section at 39 weeks I’d still have 8 weeks to go instead of 6!

How much bigger can I get in 6 weeks?

6 more weeks til I can wear regular clothes again!

31 Weeks!

Today marks 31 weeks and 3 days since the first day of my LMP.  Today is also Josh’s 2nd birthday!  I can’t believe I was in the hospital giving birth to this monster 2 years ago, and I’m about to do it again next month!  We didn’t bother throwing a party for Josh, there’s no point.  He’s 2, he has no friends yet, at least not here.  No family nearby either (except for my SIL, who lives 4.5 hours away) so we just took him to this family fun center.  He went bowling, played in the arcade, and played in the climbing area.  He was so funny with the bowling:  he was using the ramp, but after seeing the people next to us throw the ball without the ramp he decided he was going to do it that way too and stopped using the ramp.  The only problem there was he doesn’t have the coordination or strength to heave a 7lb bowling ball down the lane, he just kind of dropped it and it slowly rolled toward the pins.  It stopped in the middle of the lane a couple of times, I didn’t know a bowling ball could do that!  I’m surprised he didn’t run down the lane after it.  We got him a little cake and took it to the restaurant we went to for dinner and the waitresses were nice enough to bring it out to him and sing Happy Birthday.  He loved the attention, everyone making a fuss over him.  This child is spoiled rotten!

I went to the doctor yesterday.  It was my first time seeing a civilian doctor.  It was actually a nurse practitioner, I think I may see the actual doctor at my next appointment.  I’m supposed to go every 2 weeks now.  They do things a little differently here.  For one, they gave me a TB test.  I don’t know what’s up with that.  Last time I had a TB test was a couple of years ago when I started working at the daycare, and that was just a screening.  They didn’t bother giving me the test because I hadn’t done anything to be exposed to TB.  But apparently a TB test is standard at this hospital.  Whatever!  My and Mikey’s vital signs are looking good, my weight was 153lbs.  If I recall correctly, I think at my last appointment a month ago, I was 150, meaning I’ve only gained 3lbs in a month.  Which means I’ve only gained about 21lbs total.  I wonder if cutting out sugar and watching my carbs has had anything to do with that.  I have to go back to the doctor’s tomorrow and do a follow-up glucose test.  They want me to do one this week and one next week, first a fasting level and then again 2 hours after I eat to see if changing my diet has had any effect on my blood sugar.  They also want me to do a cystic fibrosis test.  At the old hospital that was optional and I denied it, I don’t have any risk factors and I think those genetic screening tests cause unnecessary worry.  But apparently this doctor sticks with what the academy of obstetrics or whatever says and they say to do it so I have to do it.  Whatever!  I also had to leave a urine sample, something else I didn’t have to do at the old hospital.  Their method of collecting urine is a little odd.  Instead of going down to the lab and peeing in a sterilized cup with a lid they had me use the bathroom in the office and pee in a Dixie cup and write my name on the side.  No sterilization, no lid; just a regular old plastic cup, left on the counter, open.  There was already a cup in there when I went in.  I don’t know how accurate their results are from those samples!

I’ve been having horrible leg cramps and gas pains, so bad that I can’t walk sometimes.  The leg cramps are in my calves, mostly when I get up in the morning and try to stretch before I get out of bed.  And I had the worst gas pain in my hip this morning, it was awful!  It really hurt to walk, and the pain would radiate to my back and stomach.  And Mikey kicking and me having to carry Josh didn’t help any!  I don’t know how the heck I had a gas pain in my hip, but it was there and it was brutal.  I woke up with it, but I figured it would go away after a while.  I was wrong, it didn’t go away until I took some Gas-X.  Not 5 minutes after I chewed up the tablet it went away.  I’m so uncomfortable, and the third trimester fatigue is setting in so I have zero energy.  My feet are starting to swell if I do too much walking.  I’m not sleeping good; we have a full size bed in this hotel room and I have a husband who likes to sleep either sprawled out or practically on top of me.  There’s not enough room for him, me, and the belly!

I’ve been reading a lot about Braxton-Hicks contractions.  I haven’t had any, I didn’t have any with Josh either.  But I’ve still got 7 more weeks to go so we’ll see.  From here on out, Mikey will put on about a half a pound a week until his debut.  He’s currently at 3.5 lbs and a little over 16 inches long.  Let’s see, at that rate he’ll be around 7lbs.  Yeah right, I’m guessing more like between 8.5 and 9.5.  Since I’m having a scheduled C-section, they said I could pick the day after 38 weeks.  I feel kind of weird picking my baby’s birthday!  But at the same time it’s nice to know when he’s coming, and that I won’t have to be in labor.  I plan on pigging out the night before and taking a sleeping pill so I can get some sleep.  I think I may have slept an hour in the 24 hours I was in labor with Josh.  I was so tired when he was born that I couldn’t see straight.  And I was starving and they wouldn’t let me eat because they were afraid I would throw up because of all the medications.  This time I want to go to the hospital well rested and not starving so I can get in and out of the OR and be alert enough to see Mikey and be ok to wait to eat for a little bit.  I’ve been telling Gabe to bring me all kinds of sweets while I’m at the hospital, since I’ll be able to have them again.  There’s a ton of donut shops and bakeries here, and I can’t eat at any of them!  I searched like crazy for something like that in VA and couldn’t find any, here they’re on every corner.  I’m so ready for this pregnancy to be over!

30 Weeks!

Today marks 30 weeks and 1 day since the first day of my LMP.  Just 8 more weeks till my C-section, as long as the new octor doesn’t change anything!  I’ve been trying to stick to my low carb, no sugar diet but it’s been a little difficult on the road.  We’ve been living out of a hotel for the last 3 weeks and eating out almost every day.  And then with Thanksgiving this past weekend I ate a little more than I should have.  But it was Thanksgiving, how could I not have sweet potato casserole and apple pie?

My feet are starting to swell.  Not a whole lot, but I’ve got sausage toes!  I’ve been trying to keep my feet elevated, but it’s hard to sit back and relax when you’ve got a million and one things to do.  I had a mani-pedi over the weekend and got my hair cut, we were at my sister in law’s for the holiday so I figured I’d take advantage of a babysitter while I had one!

We had our home inspection done today, there were no major defects, just some minor repairs that shouldn’t take more than a few weekends to fix.  Hopefully the sellers will do them for us before we move in.  We might be able to lease the house till we close and move in sooner, that would be great!  I only wish I could paint, I can’t do that till Mikey comes.  I was trying to get Josh to pick out his room, but he was more interested in pointing at the ceiling fans.  I want to give Mikey the bigger room because he has more stuff, but Josh is older and has a lot more toys.  The 2 rooms are about the same size, one just has a high ceiling and bigger window and a built-in storage unit in the wall.  Maybe when we get our furniture I’ll be able to see what fits better in what room.  Josh will just have a twin bed and dresser, but Mikey will have all the nursery furniture: crib, changing table, dresser, rocking chair.

Mikey’s brain is growing this week and getting wrinkly.  His eyes are also wide open now when he’s awake.  He’s super active, it seems like he’s constantly kicking.  He hasn’t grown much this week, most of his energy has gone to brain development.  He’s still about 15.5 inches long and about 3 lbs.  He’s shedding his downy lanugo hair, his body can regulate temperature now so he doesn’t need it.  And his bone marrow has taken over red blood cell production.  As for me, I’m so ready for this pregnancy to be over with.  Every day I’m just a little more sure that I’m done after this one.  I’m having enough of a hard time being pregnant and running after 1 kid, I can’t imagine being pregnant and having to run after 2 kids!

29 Weeks!

Today marks 29 weeks and 1 day since the first day of my LMP.  I totally forgot I was supposed to write last night, my days are so messed up!  We’ve been living in this shoe box of a hotel for a week now and my days are running together, I don’t have a schedule anymore so I can’t tell what day’s what.  We’ll be out of here soon though, we’re leaving on Wednesday to go to my sister in law’s place for Thanksgiving, then we’re checking into an extended stay hotel when we get back.  We found a house we liked and put an offer on it and they accepted so hopefully we’ll be in it by Christmas!

I’ve decided that Mikey is way more active than Josh was, he moves almost constantly now!  It’s driving me crazy, between him and Josh I get no peace!  Mikey seems to have found a comfy spot that involves his feet being in direct contact with my ribs.  He also likes to punch, as we saw on the 3D ultrasound, so he kicks one side and punches the other.  Today he was stretching out top to bottom, with one end on my bladder/cervix and the other in my ribs; ouch!  I can’t tell head from tail yet, but I can feel knees and elbows moving across my stomach and it’s kind of creepy.  At the end with Josh I could tell which way he was laying and which end was up.  Mikey still has room to move, I feel him rolling around.  Sometimes he kicks so hard or moves so quick it startles me.

Holy crap, I just realized I only have 9 weeks left!  According to the doctor’s measurements, I’m 30 weeks today and supposed to have my C-section at 39 weeks.  But that was what the old doctor said, I don’t know if my new doctor is going to do the same.  I’ve never been to a civilian doctor as an adult, I’m not sure if they do the same procedures.  Either way, I’m having a baby at the end of January, unless Josh drives me into labor before then!  I don’t even know if I would know I was in labor, I never went into labor with Josh so I wouldn’t know what it felt like.  I know it hurt like hell when they put the Cervadil in, and it hurt when it was time to push, but I can’t remember what that felt like.  I’m not even sure if I’ve been having Braxton-Hicks contractions.  My belly feels hard every now and then, but I can’t tell if it’s a contraction or just Mikey stretching.  It doesn’t hurt so I’m not worried about it.

My feet have been hurting after standing all day.  They’re not swollen yet, but I’m sure it’s not far off.  My feet swelled with Josh, I had cankles!  My shoes didn’t fit so I had to either wear flip-flops or Gabe’s sneakers.  My smaller maternity shirts are starting not to fit, I think I’ve got maybe 5 out of the 10 I packed that still fit, we need to get our stuff out of storage soon!  I think at the end with Josh I only had 2 shirts that fit.

If born now, Mikey would have a 9 out of 10 chance of surviving.  And the hospital I’m delivering at supposedly has an awesome NICU so we’re good there.  Obviously I’d like him to bake a little longer, but if he decided to come early at least he’d be in good hands.  His brain can now control breathing and body temperature, both very important functions.  I’m supposed to start doing kick counts now; this kid kicks so often I don’t bother.  Sometimes he kicks too fast for me to count!  Right now he’s about 15 inches long and weighs about 3 lbs.  I think he’s bigger, he’s gotta be.  Next time I feel kicking on both sides I’ll get the tape measure and see how far apart they are.  I’m dying to know how big he is, if he’s going to be bigger than Josh.  I was betting he’d be between 8.5 and 9.5 lbs, but with this high blood sugar and being born a week early (really 3 weeks earlier than Josh) I have no idea!

28 Weeks!

Today marks 28 weeks and 2 days since the first day of my LMP.  Holy crap, I’m almost down to single digit weeks remaining!  We successfully moved halfway across the country, I’m now blogging from this “lovely” hotel room on the base, more on that later.  Here’s a break down of how our trip went:

Nov 3 – Movers came and packed up all our stuff.  Cool!

Nov 4,5 – We cleaned out the apartment and packed up the stuff we were taking on the road.  We also spent 2 nights on an air mattress and that was all we could take.  It was also very boring with my laptop as the only source of entertainment.  I thought Josh would be upset that all his stuff was gone (we kept some toys for him) but he was having all kinds of fun running through the empty apartment.

Thank God for Nickjr.com and Dora clips!

Nov 6,7,8 – We checked into a hotel because we couldn’t take the air mattress anymore and we were so bored.  Josh liked pushing the elevator buttons, he got the hang of it real quick!

Nov 9 – We hit the road!  We drove all the way through Virginia into Tennessee, through the mountains.  I’d never seen mountains so that was pretty cool.  Josh wasn’t impressed.

Mountains along I-64 in Virginia.

Nov 10 – We were trying to make it through Tennessee to Arkansas, but there was a really bad accident and the highway was shut down.  It took us 3 hours to go about 10 miles.  We didn’t get very far that day.

Nov 11 – Since we didn’t go as far as we wanted to the day before, we had to stop in Arkansas.  There was an AF base along the way so we stopped there for the night.  It was early when we got there so after we checked in to the hotel we took Josh bowling for the first time.  He was scared at first, I guess because of the noise, but once he got the hang of it he loved it.  He would get his ball from the rack and carry it over to the ramp and push it down and clap, he was too cute.

The fact that I scored 6 points higher than a 2 year old doesn't say much about my bowling skills!

Nov 12 – We finally made it to Texas!  But we stopped about 3 hours short of our destination because it was getting lately and we were tired and hungry.  The area we had stopped in had a line of thunderstorms come through earlier, along with a tornado.  I was paranoid the rest of the time we were there.

Almost there!

Nov 13 – We got to our final destination.  It was a very boring ride this last day, there was nothing to really look at.  But it was a short drive, compared to the other days, and we were so happy to get off the road.  And then we saw where we’ll be staying for the next few weeks…

This hotel on base is the worst TLF (temporary lodging facility) that I’ve seen.  The whole point of the TLF is to be like an apartment, with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc.  The ones we stayed at on other bases had 2 rooms, 1.5 or 2 bathrooms, a good-sized kitchen, and a washer and dryer in the room.  It’s supposed to be a temporary place to live while you look for a house.  I wanted to cry when we walked into this one.  It’s old and has outside hallways (the other ones had indoor hallways and elevators or where like duplexes with just one floor) and it’s very small.  The kitchen is microscopic, there’s not enough room for me and the belly in there, I have to rearrange the dining chairs in order to cook or wash dishes.  There’s no counter space, nowhere to put anything.  The dining set is an L shaped bench and 2 chairs around a small table.  The bathroom is very tiny, I can barely close the door when I’m in it.  But the icing on the cake (mmmm….cake…) is that it only has one room!  And no furniture, just the little thing the tv is on.  Josh is sleeping in his playpen in what would be the closet area of the bedroom.  We called the front desk when we saw it and tried to get something bigger, but all they have are 1 and 3 rooms and you must have at least 3 kids to qualify for the 3 room, they don’t have 2 rooms.  They said this room can fit up to 4 people, I don’t know where!  The couch pulls out into a sofabed, but to do that you’d have to move this armchair, and there’s nowhere for it to go, except in front of the door, which is a fire hazard.  It’s not so bad because Josh is little, but what if I had 2 bigger kids, or a teen age boy and girl, where are they supposed to go?  It’s ridiculous.  We need to get out of here ASAP.  The only redeeming feature of this TLF is that it has a really nice playground right outside.

Super tiny bathroom, good thing I'm relatively skinny!

Our living room.

I got set up with a civilian doctor, I have an appointment on Dec 7.  I’m curious to see if the care is different, I’m sure it is.  The hospital I’m going to is supposed to be a really good one.  I also set up an appointment for Josh’s 24 month well baby visit.  I can’t believe my baby is going to be 2 in a few weeks!  I need to see about getting Mikey set up with the same doctor, it’ll make my life easier.

And speaking of Mikey, his eyes are opening now and they have color.  He’s about 15 inches long and weighs between 2-3 lbs.  I have no idea how much I’ve gained because I have no scale.  I was 150 a few weeks ago, I’m curious to see how much weight I’ve gained, eating this stupid low carb, no sugar diet.  I’ve found some pretty tasty sugar-free alternatives, but I’m concerned the fake sugar might be worse than the real sugar.  I’ve been kind of cranky because of the lack of sugar, I think I may start sneaking some.  I’d kill for a donut!

I’m rounding out nicely!

If you notice, I’m wearing something different, the movers packed my picture outfit!

The fact that I scored 6 points higher than a 2 year old doesn’t say much about my bowling skills!

Almost there!

That’s it, that’s the whole kitchen. Fridge and microwave are on the other side.

Our living room.

We stuck Josh’s playpen there, he gets the Closet Suite.

Super tiny bathroom, good thing I’m relatively skinny!