My goodness. I’m still pregnant!

Baby

Baby Sister is still really hurting me with some of her kicks and punches and rolls. I’m glad she’s active, of course, but it can be very embarrassing to experience a particularly rough jab to the inside of my belly button when I’m out in public. When she really gets me like that, tears spring to my eyes and I can’t really focus on the world around me.  I prefer to laugh off the discomforts of pregnancy as much as possible, but with these moments I really can’t, and it feels like I’m being silly and people must think I’m needlessly calling attention to myself or exaggerating. Whether they actually think that or not, the idea that they might be thinking that is quite humiliating to me.

Other than her mean streak, everything is great with Baby Sister! 37 weeks means she is officially early-term. I’m not exactly sure what that means except that she’s more cooked and more ready to come out than ever – but each day counts! So while I’m very excited to meet her (oh! and the excitement is intense!), I’m definitely not desperate for her to come out if she doesn’t feel ready.

Me

The end truly does feel near now, and I find my mind constantly analyzing to detect signs of labor. Among other causes, I wake up nearly every hour all night long wondering if my water has broken, or if I just dreamt it. And the whole day is spent wrestling with these damn contractions.

After yesterday’s uterine shenanigans, I found out at the doctor today that I am 1.5 (ish) cm dilated now. Cervix hasn’t really thinned much, but at least there is a bit of movement in the dilation arena. It makes all the contractions feel worth it.

My cold is still lingering, and besides a phlegmy cough, my sinuses are really hurting. I can’t hardly think because the pain is so intense. Doc fixed me up with some antibiotics for a sinus infection, along with some Ambien to help me sleep, because this fatigue is unreal and I need to get some better stretches of sleep to store up some kind of energy for labor.

And again, I embarrassed myself – Total hormonal/emotional meltdown at the doctor’s office today. I’m just a mess with this sinus pain and the fatigue. Hopefully there is relief in sight and I can get myself back together. I’m barely functioning at the moment, and it is not a good place to be.

The good news is that the swelling in my feet hasn’t gotten any worse, and baby and I both measure within healthy limits. So doc is happy with us, and as soon as the sinuses and fatigue are in check, we should be back to just standard pregnancy gripes, which I would welcome at this point!

Lewis

I’m torn between tooting Lewis’ horn for how awesome he is, and complaining about his bedtime issues the past few nights. In the interest of staying positive, I guess I’ll focus on the fun stuff from this week. But because I’m so tired, it will be brief and in list format.

• Lewis visited a fire station for a school friend’s birthday party and it was so special and fun and he loved it and won’t stop talking about it.
• Kyle took Lewis on another adventure. In Lewis’ eyes, it’s only an adventure if it has a waterfall, so Kyle made sure it had one, and Lewis loved it and won’t stop talking about it.
• Kiddo has been eating tons.We went to my mom’s house and he devoured all kinds of things I didn’t expect him to touch (shrimp, tomatoes, pasta salad, bread, etc). This is way more fun than him not eating anything. Let’s hope it lasts!
• He’s all about the hugs. So, so many hugs. I usually get 8-10 before I’m allowed to leave him at daycare in the morning. Kyle gets just as many when he is leaving for work.
• Somewhere, kiddo learned that he should hold the door open for people. So when I leave him at daycare, he always gives me one last hug and then holds the door open for me while I leave. My tiny gentleman!

Today my uterus has been extra active. I’ve been having contractions more than ever and have been increasingly uncomfortable. 

I even embarrassed myself while I was with some girlfriends getting a heavenly foot massage/treatment by ending up in massive pain from some extreme kicks from Baby Sister and making faces/drawing attention to myself.

I also took two naps today and still feel like I haven’t slept in days.

Bad day? Early signs of labor? Time will tell. Either way, I’m very interested to go to the doctor tomorrow and get my cervix checked again. Something must have happened in the last week with all this action. 

I’m having such a “pregnant” day.

I just picked up the groceries I ordered during my lunch break, and found (to my surprise!) that I had ordered four (!!!!!!) kinds of ice cream, 2 kinds of cookies, 3 kinds of candy, and a container of whipped cream. But not one. single. vegetable.

Okay then.

And then on the drive home, I began to cry because it’s a beautiful day.

Seriously. I looked out the window and thought, “wow. What a pretty day”, and then began to sob uncontrollably.

So that’s where I’m at today!

I have recovered enough from my cold (day 3 – I’m an efficient machine! Can’t keep me down long!) that I finally had the energy to take pictures of the completed nursery AND write a post about all the beauty there is to behold. Consider yourself warned – there are many, many exclamation points, and way too much excitement on my end. I blame the hormones. Enjoy!

I figured we should start off with a panorama 360° view so you can see the whole thing and get a feel, and then go into some close-ups and talk deets. You may need to click/tap on this first pic to really be able to take it all in. After that, I’ll put little blurbs after each image giving you the low-down on everything.

So let’s start our “zoomed-in” tour by the door, shall we? The first detail is a painting I did with my “mama’s night out” group a few months back. It is hanging by the door, cut off on the left side of the image above. I’d include a detail shot of that, except that it is “art” by me, and that’s just embarrassing – hence the chosen location of behind the door. It doesn’t need a spotlight, but I am still proud to have made it myself for Baby Sister’s room.

The next (well, probably the first if we’re being honest) detail you’ll notice is the polka dot wall! This is by far my favorite feature of the nursery. I found the decals online at a place called UrbanWall, and they’re amazing. Kyle and I had the best time slapping them up on the wall kind of haphazardly, and we could not be happier with how they turned out. Lewis even helped put a couple up!

This next image is kind of a continuation of the previous, so I’ll just pick up where I left off – the mirror!! This was from my dad. He brought it to our house two Christmases ago, and we stuffed it in a closet, unsure of where its home should be. As soon as we found out we were having a girl, I knew this gigantic wall was the perfect place for the gigantic gold mirror, and that everything that can possibly be gold should be gold. It was an inspiration piece, of sorts.

We snagged a navy blue cube shelf to match the hand-me-down crib and provide some much-needed organization. There are currently a handful of books (more to come, I’m sure!), a baby’s milestones book, a lone decoration, and 4 bins in pink and gold to match the room (only two with contents at the moment – one with burp rags and one with baby toys). I’m sure the shelves and bins will fill up with things naturally over time.

Here is a slightly blurry close-up of the chair corner. The chair is from Lewis’ infant days, and has been replaced in his room with a “big boy chair” for reading stories and snuggling. We figured the cushy chair was vital to surviving night time feedings with Baby Sister just like it was while Lewis was tiny.

The lamp is Lewis’ favorite part of the room, because it is magical. It doesn’t have a switch, but instead sports a “touch” feature. Lewis loves to do his “magic trick” and poke the lamp to turn it on and off, followed by millions of toddler belly-giggles. You can’t see it, but the lampshade has a geometric gold design on it which is really subtle and pretty.

You can also see the cord which goes up to the video monitor in this picture, as well as a side table which moved from Lewis’ room to Baby Sister’s room, since Lewis doesn’t really need two of them. The side table sports a neat volcano-shaped nightlight, a digital clock, and the transmitter portion of the audio monitor (same as Lewis’, just a different color). I even managed to find a gold garbage can, which was disproportionately thrilling to me.

This image pans slightly to the right to show how we re-used the decorations from Baby Sister’s gender reveal party as window decor in the nursery. We’ve also got a lovely view out the window, a hand-me-down mamaroo rocker that will surely be relocated to the living room when Baby Sister arrives, and Baby Sister’s Adirondack chair. I’m sure you remember Lewis’ red one which we used for this monthly pictures – we found this pink one to recycle the idea for Baby Sister! And I am so excited that they each have their own! Tiny chairs really tickle my fancy.

This lovely picture was taken from the doorway of the nursery. Your first view when you walk in is this jam-packed wall of stuff. I don’t love how smooshed together it all ended up being, but I think it will be very functional, and we couldn’t figure out a more aesthetically pleasing way to place everything, so voila and herumph – here it is!

We chose this location for the crib for maximum noise control, because it is the furthest away from Lewis’ room and from the hallway in general. We’ve also got the dresser, which is the same as the one in Lewis’ room (just white instead of navy), a gigantic diaper pail, and a laundry tower. Off to the right of this image is the closet, which I’ll spare you a picture of, since who wants to see a full closet? No one, that’s who.

Here is a close-up of the crib. It was Lewis’ before the big boy bed moved in, but it is in fabulous shape because he never turned into a crib-gnawer (yay!). There is something about both my babies sleeping in the same crib that makes me well up a little, too (dang hormones). We have 5 fantastic options for crib sheets to help us survive the 3 P’s (Puke, Poop, and Pee), but I decided to start off with the polka dots since they match the polka dot wall on the other side of the room.

This picture also shows the lovely handmade quilt my mother-in-law made for Baby Sister, which I’m quite certain will be pictured in more detail during Baby Playtime in upcoming months.

Oh, what’s that above the crib, you ask!? Why those are the Star Wars pictures we picked up at Portland Saturday Market! Yes, that’s C3PO basking in a field of wildflowers and two storm troopers on a tandem bike riding through an alpine field. Thank you for noticing!

Here are a few little close-ups of the knobs on the dresser. OMG SO PRETTY, RIGHT?! Those were a killer Amazon find, and at first I was totally bummed that the blue ones only came in a set of 10 or 25, because I needed 12 (although they sent 11 when I ordered 10…so weird)! But then I found the pink ones in a set of two and, well, problem solved! *swoon*

Here’s a shot of above the dresser. We’ve got the standard-issue changing pad with a cover to match the sheets, and a wipes container. I expect you don’t need an explanation about what those will be used for. Ha!

I also found a gold desk organizer that works great for things like diaper cream, stain remover, hand sanitizer, butt spray and other necessities while still looking pretty. Above all that is this super fun, round, gold shelf that I couldn’t resist on sale at Target. I decided it would be a great place for both fun decorations and useful items at the same time.

Lastly, you’ll see on top of the laundry tower there is a white noise machine strategically tucked/hidden behind two matching gold bowls in different sizes where we are keeping Baby Sister’s headgear – one bowl for bows, and one bowl for hats. And did you see the itty bitty tiny adorable sunglasses?! I die. I swear. Too cute.

So that’s it! That’s the nursery! I’m pleased to my core with how it turned out, and Kyle and I – okay, Lewis too! – had a wonderful time putting it together.

 

I had my 36 week appointment today with a midwife at my doctor’s practice. My doctor is out on a well-deserved vacation this week, so I got to meet another person who might be there on Baby Sister’s birthday. I think I know 4 of the doctors/midwives now, which is comforting since you never know who will be on call when it is go time!

The appointment was good. It was different than with a doctor – much less clinical, in that she didn’t give me numbers when she checked my cervix, and instead just generally summarized what she felt. Today was also the group B strep swab, and she offered to let me do it myself, which I declined. That’s not usually an option with the doctors, and I was very uncomfortable with the idea of collecting samples for a medical test, especially when I can’t see past my belly to know where I’m aiming! Anyway, interesting to note the differences!

Baby Sister and I both checked out just fine. Heart rate was good, cervix is soft and starting to open (how much? “A fingertip”, whatever that means!), baby is head down, but not as low as when I went to the hospital for pre-term labor check. That didn’t surprise me, because I don’t feel her down quite as low as I did before. And her hiccups have been more at my hip than in my pelvis.

I got some advice about when to go to the hospital with my contractions now that we are this far along, since they’ve been changing again and I didn’t know what to think or what would be of concern this late in the game. The contractions have been strengthening to about a 3 on the pain scale, coming frequently (but not regularly), and even continuing when I lay down to rest. The midwife said that now that I’m 36 weeks, nobody is going to do anything to try to stop labor, so I only need to go in if it is real, aka I’m unable to cope and continue my business when they’re happening. That was really helpful information, and I’m feeling comforted knowing that contractions are actually a good thing now!

That being said, they do suck. Especially now that I rarely get a break with them coming every 3-10 minutes no matter where I am or what I’m doing. They kept me up last night, alongside my stuffy nose, the chills and sweats from my fever, needing to pee, and general difficulty rolling over because I’m huge. Not much sleep to be found, unfortunately. But my fever broke overnight so life is somewhat improved today, even if I’m exhausted.

Oh! I forgot the best part of the doctor visit! I only gained 3 lbs in the last 2 weeks! Heck yes!!!!

Hi! Baby Sister and I have been hanging out together for 36 weeks now. We’re best pals!

Baby

She’s still in there! That means she’s stayed put all the way until my “minimum goal” of 36 weeks. I’m very pleased with that!

Sweet angel has been moving around a lot still. Mostly slow stretches, but a few jabs here and there that bring me to my knees. I was at my mom’s house yesterday and we all had a little scare when Baby Sister did something so violent that I cried out and doubled over in the middle of a conversation. After that, my belly hurt to touch (pain at like an 8 or 9 out of 10!). So mom, awesome L&D nurse that she is, sat with me and assessed what was happening until Baby Sister moved and we knew for sure that a jabby body part was the only culprit and nothing else had happened. Phew!

The biggest baby news this week is that the nursery is finished. All done! Nothing left! Complete! BEAUTIFUL!!!

I will take pictures soon and do a nursery “reveal” post separately. Stay tuned!

Me

Eww. I’m sick. I’m 36 weeks pregnant, it is 90 degrees outside, and I have a cold! What cruelty! Today has consisted of sitting around (and working, because c’est la vie), contracting, sweating, blowing my nose, not being able to hear through my stuffed up ears, wishing I could take some cold medicine, trying not to drift off to sleep during work hours, and willing labor to stay away.

Woe is me. Come to my pity party.

No going into labor until the cold is gone!

Lewis

He’s still 2. Which means he’s still all over the place!

Yesterday, for example, he didn’t want to eat anything but graham crackers and milk all day long. Then we went over to Kyle’s mom’s house, and suddenly he was ravenous. He ended up eating half a cheese/bacon stuffed hamburger, a bunch of french fries, a juice box, a yogurt/fruit popsicle, and 2.5 cheese sticks. Whew!

He’s been super moody lately (perhaps from not eating? ha!), and going to sleep has been a bit funny. So we’re wondering if the long-awaited 2-year-old molars might possibly be thinking about making an appearance. But it’s so hard to say, since two year olds are just moody by default sometimes!

Kiddo has entered a “daddy daddy daddy” phase. I am thrilled with the timing, and I hope it sticks. I’m not really up to much these days, so it’s nice that Lewis isn’t disappointed in my lack of participation. He’s totally satisfied with adventures (or as Lewis says, “ventures”) with daddy. If this trend continues, Baby Sister’s arrival might not be too jarring for Lewis!

We seem to have gotten him to a very good place ahead of Baby Sister’s arrival. We talk a lot about mommy and daddy going to the hospital for a couple days, how he’ll play with Grammy and drink juice, and then when we all go home, Baby Sister will come with us. He has his mind wrapped around the concept as much as you can expect. When we talk generally about Baby Sister, he always brings up how he’ll go to Grammy’s. So that connection seems to be well established and he seems comfortable with it. But we will see how it actually goes when it is game time. Connecting an abstract concept to reality is quite advanced!

Now that all the “big stuff” is set and ready for Baby Sister, like most of the nursery, the hospital bags, the name (!!), and getting far enough in pregnancy that she is allowed to come out, I find my mind freed up to look at the little things.

This is a very exciting phase, and it is one I had forgotten from my pregnancy with Lewis. I really enjoy feeling “ready”, but still tweaking and getting things in order without all the pressure and anxiety.

The little things I’ve been doing this week include washing the infant car seat cover (absolutely vital? no. felt good to do? yes!), dusting the bassinet and putting on the sheet, ordering a breast pump, putting batteries in the clock for the nursery, setting up the baby monitors (video and audio), scheduling bill payments through the end of August so I don’t have to worry about that, etc.

We even did a “test run” at work where my colleagues pretended I wasn’t there and tried to work without me. It was a good dip in the shallow end, because it was a slightly less busy day than normal, with our biggest client out all day at meetings. The team did awesome, and just needed me to step in to answer a few questions here and there. I hope it boosted their confidence, because I thought they did great (even though they were stressed and busy and had too much to do. They handled it like champs!). Next week we’ll try again when the big client is back, and they’ll go into the deep end with another test run on my (usually) busiest day of the week.

Pretty exciting times. We’re cruising towards 36 weeks, and the anticipation is building. Every contraction I have now is analyzed with big hopes that maybe we’re seeing signs of it being “time”. Wishful thinking on my part so far, which is really for the best, since each day Baby Sister stays in is good for her. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for my water to break and get this party started. I’m so eager to meet our sweet girl! We all are!

Another week gone – many, many pounds added! Don’t we look massive and glorious!?

Baby

STILL INSIDE! It’s funny – after all the weirdness this pregnancy, I was so desperate to keep Baby Sister in, that I’ve had a pretty hard time adjusting to the fact that it is actually OK for her to come out now. This last week I worked on making the mental shift from “holy crap, please don’t come now” to “Ok no, now would be fine. I feel finished, thank you very much!”

Success! As of today, I’m READY, DAMMIT!

Part of the mental shift came from getting the last of the stuff we needed at my baby sprinkle yesterday. My sister-in-law and my sweet friend Shalyce threw me a lovely “tropical” themed party, and it was just wonderful. Not only did I get a ton of great stuff, but I had the best time being with some of my favorite women on this earth. And bonus on top of all of that? Delicious food (easily Baby Sister’s favorite part, judging by her kicking!)! The hostesses had Hawaiian food catered in by my favorite Hawaiian restaurant, and then my mother made a very tasty coconut mango cake (!!!!!). I could not have had a better time, a fuller heart, or have had a happier tummy.

There were still some “needs” (and a few “wants” that felt like “needs”) left on the list after the sprinkle yesterday, so I went ahead and ordered the last of the stuff last night and this morning. As soon as that all arrives, Baby Sister really will be all geared up (and we will be so broke)! And having all the gear makes this mama uber excited for Baby’s arrival.

Another part of me feeling “ready” now, is that Baby Sister is getting really, really big in there. I’m not terribly uncomfortable when she isn’t moving (thank you, long torso!), but when she gets going, it can take my breath away. Yesterday her favorite move was sticking her butt out my right side – you could literally grab her whole butt with your hand! My stepfather-in-law even felt it, which was super fun and good for a laugh. Today, in addition to moving everywhere, her best move seems to be jabbing an elbow or a foot or something else pointy out my left side. When she does these big, jabby moves, it seems like she is trying to escape, and this tired mama is inclined to let her. Hehe!

Me

The final part of me wanting Baby Sister “out” is selfish – I am very much looking forward to the weight coming off. I am dutifully taking pictures because I know I would regret it later if I didn’t have them to look back on, but I don’t like what I see. I am so, so big. And it isn’t just swelling – I’m just so fat! I’m embarrassed to be seen in public because I know people see how big I’ve gotten. It’s impossible to hide.

So I’m excited to see the numbers on the scale go back the other direction, and to start liking what I see in the mirror again. Not that I’ve ever been easy on myself when it comes to my appearance, but this pregnancy has really pushed me to the extremes of my self-esteem, and I’m not enjoying that part.

A very minor part of my size is actually due to swelling, surprisingly. I don’t remember any real swelling in my feet and hands when I was pregnant with Lewis, so this is new. I did have to take my wedding ring off with that pregnancy, but that was just weight gain, I think. This time, my feet are swelling ever so slightly, to the point where I’ve had to loosen the straps on my Birkenstocks – thank goodness they have that feature!! And I chuckle a little bit when I look down at my fat “piggies”.

Also new this time is my belly button popping out. It is subtle, but it is definitely out! It flattened long ago, and with Lewis the flattening was where it stopped. But I’m just so much damn bigger this time that my belly button is growing out of me! That and my fat piggies are pretty much the only part of being bigger that make me laugh at all.

Speaking of bellies – I can’t wait to lay on my stomach again. I miss that so very much.

Last night I couldn’t sleep due to a headache and leg cramps. I think I must have been dehydrated, because I’m feeling better with some water this morning, thank goodness. But my contractions persist. They’re still off-and-on painful, but even when I’m not having a contraction, I’m experiencing pain in my pelvis/hips constantly. It literally never lets up. All the pain and contractions make me suspect that I’ll have the baby within the next week, but who knows?!

Lewis

This kid has got to be growing. My goodness! There are meals where he just eats everything in sight (I know – my kid. It is almost unbelievable!), and he has been sleeping like a log. 3+ hour naps, 11+ hour nights, and going down easy for everything because he’s so tired. And when I have to get him up in the mornings for school, he’s hard to rouse. This is the same kid who basically didn’t sleep for 2 years, and has always gotten us up by 6:30 at the latest.

Who knows how long this will last, but he’s blowing our minds right now! One of my favorite gifts from the baby sprinkle was a growth charth to track the kids’ heights, and I can’t wait to measure Lewis once Kyle hangs it up, because I bet you he’s just shot up since his last height measurement at his 2 year checkup!

Lewis’ catch phrases this week are: “Holy cow!” and “Oh my goodness!” (a correction from “oh my god”, which he learned at school and we’re discouraging)

We took kiddo shopping at Babies r Us over the weekend to pick up a birthday present for Baby Sister. He doesn’t know it, but Baby Sister will also be getting him a present (TBD what it will be). Anyway, the shopping trip was a smashing success, and so adorable! Kyle came too, and we were both floored by how thoughtful Lewis was with his gifts! He didn’t even get upset that we weren’t picking things out for him (although we did get him a new pair of sneakers and a fun bath toy because we couldn’t help ourselves).

He picked out a Minnie Mouse hairbrush/comb set, which is so perfect coming from the Mickey Mouse loving big brother! Then he ran over to a display of backpacks and picked out a unicorn backpack. He also grabbed a teething ring/rattle, and a stuffed pink turtle that rattles, crinkles, has a mirror, and is generally adorable. I tried to get him to pick the octopus instead, but he insisted that Baby Sister wanted the turtle (“not THAT one mom!”).

At the end, he picked the gift bag and bow. In true Lewis fashion, he picked a Paw Patrol bag (his favorite show!). I asked him if he thought Baby Sister would like the doggies the best, and he was quite confident she would and shunned all other options. Then he grabbed a sparkly blue bow, and when presented with alternative options, he kept saying, “no! The blue one!”

Big brother Lewis is a very generous guy. So he did also try to get us to buy Baby Sister a new stroller, a big kid carseat, a bathtub, a chair, a bike, a rocker, and one of those activity/stand-and-play toys. But he accepted gracefully each time that Baby Sister didn’t need those things because we had them already. He would just say, “okay!” and then run to the next thing and say, “Baby Sister need this?”

*Swoon* So cute!

Here we are! Huge, but happy!

Baby

Imagine my surprise when I got the weekly update emails today and they said that Baby Sister is now almost completely developed in every single way, except for her lungs! I thought that was a 36 week milestone, but I am thrilled that it came 2 weeks earlier than I remembered!

By all accounts, an otherwise medically normal baby would very likely have no long-term issues if born today or later. There would be a NICU stay for short-term issues – probably for lungs, possibly for feeding – but other than that (which I don’t mean to minimize, because any time in the NICU at all sounds absolutely brutal!), Baby should be A-OK!

That being said, I don’t think this little girl is on her way just yet! And I’m happy to be her incubator as long as she’ll stay in. It is just a relief to know that if these Braxton Hicks contractions did turn into the real thing, it mostly likely wouldn’t end in disaster.

Baby Sister’s front-runner name still hasn’t changed. Her nursery is still in the same nearly-completed state. And she hiccups ALL THE TIME!

Mama

I had my 34 week checkup today and my doctor called me “medically boring”. That sounds so insulting, but it was music to my ears! She said it after I revealed that my dizziness is all but gone, my contractions hadn’t changed, and my only other complaints were standard stuff she hears from everyone.

Hooray for being uninteresting!!!!!!!

So what are my run-of-the-mill complaints? Well, the contractions still hurt (boo!), I still feel pressure down in my pelvis, my hips kill me when I sit, stand, or lay down (AKA all the time), I have heartburn, I am so very, very hot all the time, and I’m tired.

Oh. And I’m so damn fat. I’ve gained almost as much as I gained with Lewis (and still with 6 weeks still to go!), plus I started out heavier than I did with him. So I’m a freaking freight train!

But even so, you have no idea how happy it makes me to list out those complaints. Aren’t those glorious?! Nothing on that list is going to send me to the hospital. None of it is special. None of it is novel. I am just a sweaty, uncomfortable pregnant lady. Nothing to see here!

I co-hosted a Baby Sprinkle for a dear friend of mine who is due 3 days before me over the weekend, and that resulted in a very happy heart, and very aggravated pregnancy symptoms. It has been two days, and I think my body is still yelling at me for having “too much fun”, but it was so worth it!

It was so special to celebrate another mama-to-be, especially one whom I’ve shared this entire journey with, literally from deciding to try to conceive all the way until now. The only thing that could make doing this pregnancy/mama thing better than it already is, is doing it parallel to someone else. Sharing this experience has made this pregnancy so exciting for me, and I can only hope that I was able to honor our friendship and show her how special she is to me on her “sprinkle” day.

Sorry, pregnant lady getting a little emotional over here. What else is new?! haha!

Lewis

Oh Lewis. You and your tantrums. And your sweetness. And your stories. And your kind heart.

I’m at a loss as to what to write about this little dude. So instead of writing something, I’ll show you a picture from this past weekend that made my soul light up. Nothing like seeing your kid experience pure joy to make you feel more joyful than you knew was possible.

Lewis just pooped in the potty! Out of nowhere!

Another week in the bag. Here we are!

Baby

Baby Sister is still on the inside – a cause to celebrate! She’s big, and strong, and sometimes violent, and I’m loving her to pieces.

Not sure why, but I’ve been feeling a little extra excited the past few days. Maybe because we are pretty sure we have her name? Maybe because her room is “substantially complete”? Maybe because I’ve been feeling better and can focus on the future a little bit better, rather than being stuck in the misery of “now”? Whatever the reason, I am just dying to see what she looks like.

And yes, the nursery is mostly finished! Yesterday Kyle donned his Mickey Mouse “#1 Dad” tshirt, and built the last furniture item. He also put up everything on the walls! So other than a few knick knacks, and cleaning up the cardboard and the tools, Baby Sister’s room is ready to go! Her clothes are even in the drawers, if you can believe that!

Me

You probably caught this above – but I’ve been feeling better! “Better” is a relative term, so things still aren’t totally easy and normal, but I am so grateful for the improvements. The biggest improvement is that I haven’t felt dizzy in days. DAYS! I remember that the perinatologist said that around 32 weeks, pregnant ladies’ blood vessels start to constrict a bit. She mentioned that I might start to feel a bit better when that happened for me, since that would help with the low blood pressure aspect of my struggles. She seems to have been correct!

I’ve still been keeping up on my water intake the best I can, just to be on the safe side. And that seems to have been helping keep any remaining dizziness issues at bay. However, I’ve still been contracting – albeit not quite as much. The contractions do hurt occasionally still, especially when I “overdo it”. They often hurt in my belly, my back, my hips and my bottom. And sometimes they fool my body into thinking I’m having abdominal cramping that sends my digestion into a bit of overdrive.

But honestly, truly, I would take these contractions over the dizziness anytime. It is so much easier to manage a little pain and discomfort than to feel disoriented, short of breath, and need to lay down. I can go about a fairly normal life with the contractions, which is not something I can really say of the dizziness. So this feels like a major win.

My only other complaints at the moment are that my hips are quite sore still, making sleep difficult, and walking a bit of a challenge. I have also been getting some intermittent heartburn, and I’ve noticed a few stretch marks in places where I didn’t get them with Lewis. But these small annoyances are so run-of-the-mill that I almost welcome them as a replacement for the dizziness. Bring on the “normal” pregnancy stuff! I’ll take it!

All of this “normalcy” has made me feel so very optimistic about how long Baby Sister is going to stay in. The less weird things are, the more likely it seems that we’ll make it to full term. My anxiety levels are dropping along more with each “normal” day.

I haven’t talked about cravings in a while! Lately, they have included ice cream sundaes, popcorn, ice cold carbonated beverages, and cucumber + cheese on toast. Although I think the toast craving might be on the way out after a good, long run.

I got my hair cut and dyed yesterday for the first time in ages. My last haircut was 6 months ago, and the last time I altered the color was well before Lewis was born. So I’m thinking it may have been about 3 years! I feel amazing. With all the weight I’ve gained, I feel so very disgusting, and I had hoped that refreshing my hair might help me feel better about myself. Sure enough, it worked! I love it!

Not sure if this link will work, but my stylist posted a couple pictures of my hair. https://www.instagram.com/p/BWF3lTijht8/

Lewis

Lewis has been mostly cheerful lately. He’s had some silly little two year old discipline problems that we’re working through as they come up. You know, things like throwing and hitting – not cute!

Poor buddy hates getting in trouble so much that he usually breaks down immediately after being scolded and has a full-on meltdown. Our new go-to line is, “We’re not mad at you, we just don’t like what you did.” After a few minutes, that usually sinks in and he starts to calm down. Then we ask him, “would you feel better if you said sorry to [person] for [offense]?” He usually says yes, gives the person in question a hug, says sorry for his infraction, and then announces, “I’M HAPPY NOW!”

Clothes have also become a daily battle, as opposed to an occasional fight. He usually becomes obsessed with whatever shirt (sometimes pants, too!) he is wearing, and decides it is the one he wants to wear forever. We max out at allowing the same outfit for 24 hours (he gets sooooo dirty!), but we face big meltdowns if we try to change him. The meltdowns double in length and intensity if the clothing item is purple, or if it has Mickey Mouse on it. Although, last night Lewis got to try juice at Grammy’s house, and then he found out that the zebra on his jammies is drinking juice, so I’m pretty sure he’s going to want to wear the zebra/juice jammies forever now. They might have joined purple/Mickey clothes in the “I could wear this forever” category.

We’re ramping up the frequency of talking about Baby Sister’s upcoming arrival so Lewis is as ready as he can be. He is so, so excited about Baby Sister – he claims he loves her, he wants to be in her room all the time, he wants to “snuggle” her (he rests his head on my belly)… but we haven’t found a way to convince him that it’s going to be fun to stay at Grammy’s house for a few days when Baby Sister comes. As soon as we mention that, he frowns and says, “NO! I don’t LIKE Grammy’s house!”, which is – of course – a total lie. He loves, loves, loves it there! What he actually means is, “no, stupid mommy. It will not be fun to be at Grammy’s without you.”

Fair enough, kiddo. But remember – Grammy gives you juice. I think that’s our ticket. After he tried the juice yesterday evening, the whole drive home he was telling us from the back seat, “I like juice a lot. That was special. I like special juice!” While I’m not keen on making juice a staple of his diet (he gets plenty of sugary beverages in the form of Pediasure!), I am jotting this down as a bribery tool. Use what you’ve got, right?!