37 weeks- Home stretch

Yay! Today Baby is considered full term! Only 3 more weeks until his due date, 2 weeks 1 day of work, and 4 weeks until he is evicted via c-section.

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com, about 6 1/3lbs. 

Weight Gain: 21+lbs

Dr's Appointment Update: I had a doctor's appointment on Monday and it was pretty anticlimatic. I peed in a cup, had my weight and blood pressure checked, and met with the doctor. Since I wasn't technically full-term yet, he didn't check my progress or do anything to get labor moving. I just had my Group B Strep cultures done and was on my way. Next appointment is Tuesday, May 1.

Sleep: Meh. Getting worse. It's hard to get comfortable. I wake up in the middle of the night from a contraction or having to pee and then I can't get comfortable again. I've been having wacky dreams too and my mind is usually racing when I wake up in the middle of the night. Luckily I'm so tired that I can usually get a good chunk of sleep in before I wake up the first time.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Nothing specific, although I did demand tots for dinner tonight.

Exercise: Commute walking and planking for 2 minutes at 2pm every day at work (yes, I checked and it is safe!).

Symptoms: BH contractions, pea-sized bladder, indigestion/heartburn when I lay down at night, and nesting.  

Our nesting has been very successful: The nursery is ready to go pending the arrival of a glider for Chase (and the glider from Chase's room moving back into the nursery). Chase's new room looks great. We finished re-finishing the furniture for the guest room and got the bedding we wanted so that room is ready. We got our new bed, new bedding, and new curtains in our room so it is ready. We organized and re-arranged our basement. All of the crates of clothes, holiday decorations, and other random stuff are stacked up. We created a semi-comfortable room with the trundle daybed so someone could sleep down there. We cleaned and organized by the washer/dryer and cleaned the floors. I have done probably 20 loads of laundry with baby clothes, bedding and blankets, baby gear, baby toys, and anything else that I think the baby might touch.

Of course there is still plenty of nesting that I can do if I so desire. Three closets need to be organized and there are two carpets that I plan on steam cleaning after I stop working (assuming baby still hasn't arrived).

Movement: A little less frequent this week than last week. More rolling or just pushing out in different areas. I think he's running out of room.

What's different this time: I'm uncomfortable...cue sad violin music.... I haven't been sleeping well, my hips hurt, my 50-minute commute each way that includes 25 minutes of walking feels so much longer when I've got to pee for 90% of it. I'm tired of commuting and working. And I'm outgrowing a lot of my maternity clothes so I feel like I don't have anything to wear.

Labor Signs: More frequent BH contractions. I had a bunch on Tuesday night.

Anti-Labor Signs: Despite more pressure in my lower abdomen, it appears that baby hasn't dropped yet (not clear that he will because he's the 2nd, but Dr said it does happen). The pressure might just be fatigue after holding up a big belly for months. I haven't lost my mp. Neither of these mean labor WON'T happen soon.

Best moment of the week: We've pretty much finished everything we needed to get done before the baby:
-Hospital registration sent
-Nursery ready
-Bassinet ready
-Carseat cleaned and ready
-Hospital bag packed with checklist of list-minute additions on top
-Presents to Chase from his little brother have been procured and are ready to go
-We have a pediatrician
-Stephen got his TDAP shot (whooping cough is going around again)

So there's a general relaxed feeling which is a nice change. I'm hoping to post some pictures of all of our house updates soon. Oh, and on the work front, I finally got to meet the Secretary on Tuesday!

What I'm looking forward to: A relaxing weekend that includes quality time with Chase  and preparations for Chase's birthday party! Oh, and a hair appointment on Saturday morning to address the blond issue raised in the last post.

36 weeks- 4 to go!

Well, it's happened. I've started to get uncomfortable. My back hurts. I have trouble getting comfortable at night and wake up stiff from not moving. I grunt when I have to pick things up. I get tired much more easily and feel so out of shape. Don't get me wrong, I still love being pregnant and I'm not terribly uncomfortable, but it's starting. 

Over the last week an enormous amount of time elapsed. Last weekend, it seemed like the baby wouldn't be here forever. On Easter, after I complained how big I looked in one of the family pictures, my brother said, "Well you ARE 8 months pregnant." I snarkily replied that I was "Only 7 1/2 months."

My bad, Joey. You were right. I was in denial.

Now I feel like baby could be here at any moment. It's mostly because of my discomfort (which I don't think happened until the very end of my pregnancy with Chase) and my size. Stranger and coworker comments have reinforced that I look like it's almost time. Today a stranger said, "Any day now?" to me. HA. While I could have been offended by this, I simply smiled and said, "Nope, FOUR more weeks to go." But I really can't believe it is that long (and I really do not know what the heck I'm going to be wearing in 4 weeks).

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com, about 6lbs. Since he was 5lbs 4oz last week and babies gain 1 oz a day at this point, that's probably pretty close. 

Weight Gain: +21lbs

Sleep: Waking once to pee and more if Chase wakes up (which he does about half the time,  sigh)

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Nothing specific.

Exercise: Walking as part of my commute, although that's getting tough because there is so much pressure on my pea-sized bladder.

Symptoms: BH contractions, having to pee CONSTANTLY, indigestion/heartburn when I lay down at night, and nesting.  

Movement: Frequent. I get some feet, knees, or a butt poking out on my right side when he's moving. Twice I've had the experience of baby dancing a jig for like 2 minutes. So cool.

What's different this time: Have I mentioned how much bigger my belly is this time?

Baby 2.0: 36 weeks

Chase: 36 weeks

(dang, I was a lot tanner and blonder too. I gotta work on those!)

Labor Signs: None except the BH contractions.

Best moment of the week: Getting our new (king-sized) bed on Sunday! I feel like such a grown-up. Now there's room for everyone....just kidding?

What I'm looking forward to: 36/37 week Dr's appointment on Monday afternoon. And only 3 more weeks of work in an office!

And now some more pictures:

Trying to see my feet

 Chase wanted in on the belly pictures:

Belly-to-belly

Lovin' on the baby bump

Easter 2012

We spent Easter weekend in NY with Helen's family. Although he got to hunt eggs at Nonnie and Pop's house, the camera didn't come out until we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Easter afternoon. The photos speak for themselves...

 Yay! Addy, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Meg are here!

 Before they got dirty/lost it, we took a bunch of pictures of Chase and Addy:

 (these keep getting cuter- I can't pick the best one!)

 Now back to egg-hunting...

Time for family pictures!

 

 (outtake)

And back inside to play!

We had such a fun day. Holidays are really becoming magical again as we get to experience them through Chase's eyes!

35 weeks, 35 days

(this post is a few days overdue...)

How big is baby: According to the ultrasound on Wednesday, 5lbs 4oz. That's how big I was when I was born!

Weight Gain: +20lbs

Sleep: Waking once to pee and more if Chase wakes up.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Nothing specifically except Pirates' Booty- cheesy puffed snacks.

Exercise: Er...walking as part of my commute

Symptoms: Still having BH contractions. Sometimes they are very uncomfortable and sometimes they come frequently, but nothing that indicates real labor. I'm also really emotional. And I've been nesting like crazy, but that might be more due to Stephen's spring break than hormones.

Movement: Still frequent, particularly before bed (after ice cream ;-))

What's different this time: I don't remember Chase being so reactive. If Baby 2.0 is not active and I push around him, he pushes back or moves around. It's reassuring when he hasn't moved in a while.

What I'm looking forward to: Checking things off the to-do list this weekend: washing swaddling blankets, playmats, and toys; cleaning the carseat; putting things up on his bookcase; and starting to get the hospital bag ready. It's all becoming very real!

Best moment of the week: Seeing Baby 2.0 at the ultrasound on Wednesday. Chase even came with us, although he was a little skeptical of what they were doing to Mommy's belly. Baby 2.0 looked great, even if he had his hands in front of his face--something he's been doing this entire pregnancy. I'm going to attribute that to his being a good sleeper and not stubborness.

The belly: As big as I ever was with Chase. I'm outgrowing maternity clothes and getting comments on how close I am all the time.

Only 4 more weeks of work!

Chase at 23 months!

Holy cow, this is the last "monthly" Chase update that I'll write-- the next one will be the big 2 years! I'm not going to dwell on it because it will make this pregnant and hormonal Mommy tear up.

Chase has had such a fun month! He got to see family, had a fun weekend with Nasya, and has been loving the warm spring weather. He loves being outside and throws a tantrum when we try to bring him in (acting like a 2-year-old alerady). But I'm getting ahead of myself.

At 23 months, Chase is:

Saying something new everyday. He says almost every word we say (watch out!), even hard ones. We now try to give him the words he needs to identify or describe what he is talking about, like ketchup instead of dip (dip is also maple syrup). It's amazing how many words he remembers the meaning for.

Chase's sentences are becoming more complex: he's had a couple of 8 word sentences lately. Last week he said, "Chasey look at the truck through that window," and yesterday it was, "Daddy, Chasey shoot the basketball in the hoop."

He still refers to himself in the third person, but there are more mines, my, and yours lately.

His play talk is almost all real words. Maybe this is because we understand him better, but for example, when he is pretending to make us coffee he talks about the milk and mixing.

He sells hello and goodbye to us when we leave the room, whether that is going to work or just upstairs.  He also loves to get into his little tykes car and tell us he is going places, often work. This morning he told me that he had dropped the baby off at Sona's (the woman who runs his daycare) and was headed to work.

He was sick earlier this week so we've been a bit of a rough patch with sleeping. He's been waking up a couple of times a night and I, wanting to get back to sleep as soon as possible, have been putting him in our bed or sleeping with him in the guest room. (I blame the pregnancy hormones) It is actually really nice to snuggle with him (even if he is kicking you while he snuggles) and he's been sleeping later, but we really want him consistently sleeping through the night again by the time the baby comes.

As for baby prep, Chase went through a short bout of babying his bear, but he forgot about the bear for a few days so I think that's over. He knows that there is a baby in Mommy's belly and he sees the baby's room and some of his gear. Chase likes to pretend to sleep in the baby's crib and got himself stuck in the baby's bumbo this morning. He also loves all of the baby toys that used to be his. He has two books about waiting for baby and the new baby, but they are kind of boring and he loses interest in them pretty quickly (as opposed to books about trucks and construction equipment, which he loves). We show him pictures of family and friends, mostly with him when he was a baby and he recognizes the baby in the photos as "Chasey baby." I've tried to tell him that I will be going away for a few days when the baby comes but that Grammy and Grampy will come and that they will all come see Mommy and baby in the hospital. It's hard to say whether or not he understands what is happening, but we are doing our best to prepare him.

Invitations have been sent for Chase's 2nd birthday- I'll post details soon. We're hoping it doesn't have to be postponed due to an early arrival of his little brother. 

Happy 23 months, sweet boy! 

Wordless Wednesday: Making Daddy Proud!

Wordless Wednesday: Baba for bear

Monday night we dressed Bear in a pair of Chase's pajamas. Then Chase wanted to wear those pajamas, so they switched. Chase put bear to sleep in the baby's bassinet. Bear was the first thing he asked for when he woke up on Tuesday morning. He obviously had to come downstairs, sit in a high chair, and get a baba. Bear went back to the bassinet before we left for the day. Before we left, Chase added, "Bye bye, bear. See you 'morrow. Have fun."