Welcome

Welcome to my camera bag, Canon 55-250mm! You had me at ZOOM!!! I think you will be a wonderful addition to my 50mm. I'll be waiting for your arrival on Friday and look forward to getting to know each other over the weekend.


Seriously thrilled right now.

This is Serious!!!

I'll let the photo do the talking

36 Weeks

Today I am 36 weeks. In honor of making it to my final month for the first time, I thought I'd post a picture of my large and in charge belly. On nice days like today, when I venture out into my mom's very private back yard in my bikini, I feel very much like a beached whale. Particularly when I attempt to heave myself out of the lawn chair to dig dirt out of Lawson's mouth. It is not gracefull and not pretty. Did I mention her back yard is very private? You wouldn't see this whale beached just anywhere, believe me! I have to say, as large as my belly has become (okay... and my butt... and my thighs... and my upper arms, too....) and as uncomfortable as it is at times, I do kind of love having a built in arm rest and place to set my bowl of ice cream. I am also beginning to enjoy the look of fear that it invokes on some peoples faces that seem to think that the baby is going to just plop out of me in the produce section as I gather my groceries. I also enjoy informing the kind stranger who feels it is their duty to warn me that I could pop at any second that I do, in fact, have a month to go, according to my due date. Recently my favorite reaction has been from a little girl who was probably 8 or 9. She struck up a conversation with me, apparently not noticing my massive girth. After a minute, I turned to the side and looked back to see her jaw literally drop open as she squealed, "Oh, my gosh! You've got a baby in there!!! I LOVE babies!!! Is it going to be a Sarah?" I later figured out her name was Sarah and that was her unique way of asking if it was a girl. Pretty amusing.


Lawson also seems to love the belly and talks about his little sister "Num Num Ni" a lot. He has kisses and hugs for her round the clock and occasionally finds it incredibly funny to lift up both of our shirts and press our bellies together. Guess he wants to get as close to his sister as he can! Another tactic he's been trying for getting closer to her is testing out her clothes. This bath robe was a gift from my baby shower that was on top of her box of clothes and he was all about it! This photo could come in handy someday.


One complaint I do have at this point is that my body seems to be preparing me for being up all night. If I'm not up peeing, I'm up because I'm hungry or Lawson needs help falling back to sleep. Then there are nights like tonight when none of the above seems to be an issue and I'm up for absolutely no reason despite being exhausted and having technically gone to bed at 9pm. Well, it's 11:30pm and I'm still trying to tire my brain out enough to fall asleep.

Three are definitely aches and pains, but it's all seeming like less of a big deal now that we know that Dustin will be back in a week. Somehow, that makes everything a whole lot better! Cheeseball as I know that sounds, it's really true. I think a lot of my worries about him not making it back again or something going wrong have been calmed ten fold just knowing I won't have to go it alone this time around. And the anticipation of what an amazing experience it will be puts me on cloud nine every time I think about it! And as I am putting myself on cloud nine, I think I will also put myself to bed and hope for sleep to visit sooner than later. Well, I'll pee first, then I'll go to bed.... maybe after just a little snack.... and then another quick stop in the bathroom.....

There are Two

There are now two car seats in the back of my SUV. This is feeling very, very real. I know it may seem a bit early to install a car seat for Naomi, but if this were my last pregnancy, she'd already be two days old right now! I'm 36 weeks this weekend and the clock is tick-tick-ticking!!!! My hospital bag is packed (aside from a few clothing items I can't do without for the next few weeks), Naomi's bag is packed and now I just have to wait for Dustin to get here. When will he be arriving, you ask? IN ONE WEEK!!!! Well, kind of. He'll be back in Washington in one week and will hopefully make it down to Oregon within a few days of that. Lawson will finally have his da-da back and I will have my man back! And that would mean he most definitely, positively, for sure, without a shadow of a doubt would be there for the birth! That alone, puts me on cloud nine. Again, I have to make it another week or so before that becomes fact, but it's so close I could touch it! So happy right now!!!

The Naked Gardener

We have had a very welcome visitor these past few days... the sunshine! It's actually gotten up into the 80s and we've been spending the first part of the day playing outside on the swing and watering the plants... and just about everything else. Lawson's favorite part of the day seems to be just before we come in for lunch and a nap, when his wet and dirty clothes get stripped off and he's left in his hat and shoes. He is a very happy, naked gardener. Probably one of the few I'd ever want to stumble across!






When the sun is setting and it isn't quite so hot anymore, we head back out for a little more time in the fresh air. Once again, the watering can is a favorite companion and can be used to water all sorts of unsuspecting thing....




He also thought my rear end needed watering, but I didn't include a photo of that one.



He watered just about everything there was to water! But, today's another day and I'm sure the dump truck is thirsty again, so we've got work to do outside! There aren't a whole lot of gorgeous days without clouds in the NW, so we fully intend on soaking up our fair share of the rays!

Deflating

Balloons are so much fun when you are little! They float, they make your hair stand up on end and they make a glorious sound when you pound on them! The sadness ensues the next morning, however, when said balloons have somehow gone from sprinting toward the ceiling at every chance to barely hovering above the ground with no chase left in them. Lawson loves to put both his hands out, palms up, to ask my where something is or why something is and these limp balloons elicited exactly that response. These were not the balloons that made his hair jump off his head the night before! An early childhood lesson that sometimes good things must come to an end.

There are those times, however, when letting the air out and taking some pressure off is actually a BAD thing coming to an end. Last week I posted about my blood pressure being high. Well, this week I am happy to say that the air has been let out of the balloon, so to say. I took it easy all week long and took my doctor-prescribed two hour nap every day. By Friday of last week, my diastolic number (the bottom number in a blood pressure reading) had gone down from the 90s to the lower 80s. On Tuesday my pressure was down to 120something/63!!! It took a week or so to get it down that low, but it seems that my body likes taking it easy at this point. Because it mysteriously went up so high and then back down, it's not at all out of the realm of possibility that I could go back on Friday and find that the balloon is once again full of helium. I'm hoping it's popped for good and we don't have to worry about it anymore, but I still have to continue taking precautions to ensure it stays as low as possible. Two hour nap, feet up as much as possible and lots of deep breathing. Better than bed rest!

My doctor is quite positive that Dustin will be back before Naomi decides to show up and even went so far as to discuss what would happen if I went over 40 weeks! I was under the impression that induction was not an option for me due to uterine rupture risk, but he said that if all my stats are good, he'd feel comfortable doing a very slow pitocin induction at 40 weeks. He is not sure if he's comfortable letting me go beyond 40 weeks because the occurrence of many of the things I'm already at risk for drastically increase after 40 weeks and it could be more dangerous to me than a slow induction. I am all for going naturally, but I'll take an induction over another c-section if it is an option!

Another little bit of knowledge I gained. I seemed to have gotten the estimated weight wrong last week. I thought that she was 4lb 11oz, but the correct weight was actually 5lb 11oz at 33 weeks. This week at the ultrasound, they didn't take measurements of the baby, so he measured my belly instead and found that I measured right on. The great news about this is that he would expect me to measure ahead if the ultrasound estimates were on track and he is pretty sure that she is a little smaller than the ultrasounds are leading us to believe. THANK GOODNESS!!! I had images of pushing out a toddler at my last few appointments as she jumped from the 70th to the 80th to the 87th percentile from one week to the next. If that trend continued, by week 40, she ought to be coming out singing the abc's!

So, as week 34 of my pregnancy comes to an end, I'm working on packing my labor bag. Slowly. I've been acquiring items for a week or two and pulling out a few things here and there to add to it, but somehow packing it seems a little daunting. I know this may seem early, but I had Lawson at 35 weeks and did not have a labor bag ready. I was at the mercy of those bringing me my belongings and had to explain in great detail the whereabouts of as many of them as I could remember. It was less than favorable, so I'm trying not to let history repeat itself. Anyway, the internet is full of lists of what to take and not to take and I'm pretty sure that there are some labor rooms that look more like a dorm room by the time Mrs. BYOB (bring your own bed) show up. People take the craziest things with them! I'm pretty sure the basics will cover it, but if anyone knows of some awesome magic object that should be finding it's way into my bag, let me know!

Alright, rambling over! Off to go find a bigger bag so I can fit the toaster oven and coffee maker in. Apparently, it's far superior to brew your own coffee so you don't have to go all the way to down the hall for the "nasty hospital coffee". Seriously, if you need a laugh, check out some labor bag check lists.

The Pressure is On

The twice-weekly appointments began today at 33 weeks. It all started with an ultrasound, which showed that Naomi is growing. A lot. I could have told them that! She jumped percentiles again. In two weeks she has gone from the 80th to the 87th percentile with an estimated weight of 4lb 11 oz. She is 2 oz shy of Lawson's birth weight! I realize that ultrasounds can be up to a lb off in either direction, so let's hope she's erring on the side of SMALLER and not BIGGER! I then got weighed, which is extra special when you've just consumed a burrito that certainly weighed 2lbs. And then we took my blood pressure. And then we took it again. And then my chart was checked. Ugh. It wasn't a shock, after all that checking a rechecking, when the nurse told me that my blood pressure was up. I can't remember the exact numbers but it was 140something over 90something. Not cool. SO, I'm still optimistic, but I have lots of time to turn pessimistic in boredom as I "lay flat on my back as much as I possibly can" (dr's words). Basically, I'm on modified bed rest.

I can't say that I'm terribly sad about laying around for the moment. I have had a hard time sleeping this week and am exhausted constantly, so it's nice to ignore the toys that need picking up due to doctor's orders. I know myself, though, and I've been known to go on cleaning frenzies even during tired days. It will get to me quickly. I will want to get up and organize and clean. Thank goodness, my mom is a clean-freak and keeps the place pretty spotless, so that will help my cleaning urges immensly!

For now, I'm really hoping to make it to June 1, so Dustin is back home and can be here for the birth. I also am really hopeful that I go into labor on my own before my blood pressure gets high enough that she needs to come out. They can't induce me because of my previous c-section, so if I don't go into labor spontaniously, it'll be a c-section. Babies are truly the biggest excercise in patience! I want to know how and when this baby will enter this world! I guess I'll just have to wait. Flat on my back.