Baby Doctor

Today we had an appointment with the Baby Doctor, so the kids and I loaded into the van early this morning and made the drive into the city. It only took about 30 minutes, but Lucy said it took FOREVER! She's always so rational. They sat and played with the toys for a few minutes until Max got a puzzled look on his face and walked over to me. "Mom? Are we getting the baby OUT today?" No, not today son...and trust me, I won't be bringing you to the doctor on THAT particular day. They have both been very curious about this baby brother and what exactly he's DOING in my belly and how is he going to get out. I gave them a very G-rated summary of how baby's are born...some get pushed out (I left it at that) and other times the doctor cuts open the mom to take the baby out and then sews the mom back up again. Max asked me if they use scissors. One day we were at the zoo in the hippo house and Lucy watched the birth video of the baby giraffe with her dad that they have playing there. She turned to me wide-eyed and said, "MOM! That giraffe just came out of the mommy giraffe's butt!" I saw her quick glance to my belly and realized that the g-rated version was now replaced by a much more graphic one. We haven't talked about it much since then. But they do ask me a lot about the umbilical cord and how the baby gets his food. Lucy has felt him kick a few times and really enjoys that. One time, Max yelled at my belly, "HI LOGAN!" and the baby gave a huge kick in response. It was pretty sweet. We are now 29 weeks...not much time to go and I still don't feel ready for three...when do you think I will? a few years from is my guess...probably about the time we start talking about #4.

Big Girl and Baby Blues

Lucy slept in a big girl bed today for the first time. We've had the bed set up in her room for a couple of days now, but have been waiting until we got some linens before she was allowed to use it. When we woke up this morning I told her we would get to make her bed today and that she could sleep in it for her nap. As she helped me make the bed, she would let out little squeals of excitement, and as soon as we were done, she said she was ready for a a nap right away...this was at 9:30 in the morning. We proceeded to make cookies for dad, play games and have lunch, and then it was time for nap. It took her a few minutes longer to fall asleep than usual, with so many different things to look at, but once she was asleep, she slept great. As I left her room, I felt a little bit of sadness at having such a big girl, that I crept back in and took a picture of her sleeping. I think the combination of pregnancy hormones, lack of sleep, and the fact that she is doing so many big-girl things these days has made me a little blue-sie. She is in the bed for the night tonight, so hopefully it goes as well as the nap did.
The other night (Tuesday) I started having some major contractions around 10:30pm. They were about 8 minutes apart and the whole episode lasted for about an hour and then subsided. In the meantime, Tyler was watching the clock and we were both discussing whether this could be 'it' or not. I started to feel a little panicky and told him I wasn't ready yet. For 2 weeks I've been walking around telling people that "I'm done" and the prospect of being in labour scared me to death. there were so many things I still wanted to get done before the baby came. I've been sewing a quilt for the baby which still wasn't finished and I knew I would get done if I didn't finish before he was born. And then little things like some laundry, cleaning the house one more time, and picking up a few things, like groceries. Over the last 2 days I have managed to get all of those things done, so now I feel prepared. I wouldn't quite call it nesting, because I haven't had a sudden burst of energy or anything, just the drive to finally get things done and stop procrastinating. Now I feel ready and I'm sure the baby won't come for weeks.
As Tyler and I were counting minutes between contractions the other night (which is much like counting the seconds after a lightening flash before the thunder), I got a bit emotional and told him I was worried about what having a 2nd child would mean. I was worried, not that I wouldn't have enough love for both, but that I would be busy and Lucy would feel the brunt of that. We've been just two peas for a long time and it's hard to imagine it being any other way. As a result, we spent a "Lucy and Mom" day today. We didn't leave the house and all and spent every moment together, except while she was sleeping. We baked cookies, played cards, did puzzles, sang songs, and just hung out together. It felt good to share that time with her. Tomorrow I'm hoping to take her swimming, just the two of us as well.

People Skills

We went to the obstetrician for the first time today. Up to this point we've just been seeing our family doctor to save us the drive to south Calgary for each appointment. Our OB is a great Doc, but could probably brush up on her bedside manner. She's a little abrupt and chaotic at times, but makes me feel confident because she definitely means business when it comes to birth and babies. She was our Doc for Lucy as well and so she was able to compare my chart to the last time. According to her records I am the exact same weight and all my measurements are exactly the same as last time. Here's hoping that means our baby's temperament will be exactly the same too...probably impossible.
As for her lack of people skills, the OB also delivered (no pun intended) some bad news by saying she didn't think I'd be early. Maybe a few days, but not to plan to be going into labor anytime this week or anything. She obviously hasn't learnt that this is not exactly what an 8-month pregnant woman wants to hear.

Too Soon

In case anyone else missed it, last night was a fairly clear night, with some pretty alright weather in this here province. I know this because I saw most of the night. I decided to go to bed at 10:00pm last night. Pretty decent (ie. lame) for a Friday night. I was enjoying my much needed time in bed when at 11:30 I was awoken by some killer back labor. I continued to have contractions every 20-25 minutes, mostly in my back, hips, and legs until about 4:30am. I wouldn't have been surprised in the least if my water broke last night, but fortunately, things calmed down and I was able to get some sleep. Tyler was up at his parent's house playing RISK with his siblings till 3:30am, so he missed much of it, which only meant I had more of the bed to roll around in while trying to find a comfortable position. The worst part was that the contractions were just far enough apart that I'd just be settling down and falling back asleep when another one would start. No signs of labor today, but here's hoping the next 4 weeks aren't all like this.
I am getting to the point of feeling like I'm ready to be done, but when the prospect of early labor actually hits you in the middle of the night, you really start praying hard that your secret daytime wishes aren't coming true.

2nd Ultrasound

Well, the ultrasound yesterday went off without a hitch. We were able to get in and out fairly quickly, even though they told us it would take about an hour. It's fun to have an ultrasound at this stage: 1) you don't need to drink as much fluids so you're not as uncomfortable as you are at the 18 week ultrasound, and 2) seeing the positioning at this point is a lot of fun. I know where he's been kicking me a lot, so it's fun to see an actual foot, or knee or elbow exactly where you thought it would be. Max is getting a little squished these days and so it was difficult to make out everything on the ultrasound as clearly as the first one, but we did get a good profile view of his face and that little round head that looks so familiar. At one point we got a good front shot of his face and it looked like he was practicing his sucking reflex. It was neat to see. His feet are up at my belly-button and side, which is where I feel most of the action, so it wasn't a surprise.

We had this ultrasound to determine whether my placenta had moved or not. At my first ultrasound it was a bit low, which is always a threat for placenta previa, and a possible c-section. Although the ultrasound tech didn't tell us anything ('the results will be sent to your doctor'), from what I could see, it didn't look like it was going to be a problem. But I guess you never know. I go to the doctor on Tuesday to hear about the results, so hopefully all is well. He's also supposed to give me an information package with all of my stuff in case I go into early labour. It seems strange to be at that point already where we're starting to talk about labour. Am I that close to being a mother of two? Although with how uncomfortable I'm getting these days, I think I'd rather this baby be out than in.

Unlike last time, this tech didn't let us take any pictures home with us, so we have nothing to show for our time spent at the ultrasound, except for this belly shot I just took of myself. I realized that I don't have very many pregnancy pictures this time around, and that's not really fair. Don't want to be one of those families who has a whole album of the first child, and the remaining children are all able to fit into one album...hmmm, whose family does that sound like? We can verify that it is still a boy. No mis-givings there, so no need to be thinking of girlie names I guess.
(Heather at 32 weeks)
See you in a few weeks buddy!

Baby Boy

It's a boy! At our ultrasound we decided to find out what we were having, although we had a pretty good idea it was going to be a boy as I had been feeling quite different with this pregnancy as compared to the last. Lucy's getting pretty fascinated with the burgeoning belly and likes to hug and kiss it. She seems pretty excited about the prospect of a baby brother, but we'll see if that holds up after a few days of not being the center of attention. She's pretty good at sharing, so hopefully it'll go well.