Off to the Hospital 2014

Early in the morning on Saturday the 19th, stuff started getting kind of real. Starting at 8 a.m. the contractions were 10 minutes apart all morning, but I didn't feel like it was a particularly big deal since they were mild and so far apart.  But by evening they were getting a little closer and a little stronger, and I told my mom she was on stand by....

In retrospect, maybe I should have called my doctor right away and they could have done a c-section, but I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I was still thinking that maybe a VBAC was possible since I never found out the baby's weight. Plus, even though this is my second child, I felt like a fist time mom - I'd only had contractions before when I was dehydrated from the norovirus, so for most of the morning I didn't know if it was the real deal or not. I thought contractions might last for a very long time or even dissapate.

Then around 5 or 6 p.m., James suddenly got sick with a 102 fever which made me feel beyond awful. I felt so bad for him but I had to leave all the hugging to Kevin because I was huge and contracting. And I was so hormonally worried for him-- I called the pediatrician immediately which is not something I usually do. I told him the whole story- including how I was in labor and we'd have to leave him soon.

Finally around 9 p.m. my contractions were sometimes about 5 minutes apart so I called my doctor's office to see whether they thought I should go to the hospital. My doctor said to go so they could see what was going on, so I called my mother and told her to come over. I felt really bad leaving James (1) when he was sick, (2) without telling him, and (3) on his birthday. At least I he was in good hands with my mom.

Picture right before we left for hospital (in between 6-minute contractions)

• Compare to going to my first c-section for James EXACTLY three year earlier in 2011

Due Date 2014!

37 Weeks, "Early Term!" April 3-9
I had my 37-week appointment on Friday, which showed I had made no special progress in my "going into labor early" pipe dream. Then Saturday, I went on a hospital tour, even though I know the hospital pretty well at this point, the maternity wing is new and some things have changed in the last few years.

Kevin and James built the double-stroller, and Kevin cleaned and installed the baby's car seat next to James's car seat, so now we have no back seating for adults. He also wrote, Things My Wife Complains About #28: Pillows.

The weather finally got spring-like!

37 weeks +1 day, and 20 days to go!

Baby progress: Three years ago, when I reached 37 weeks with James, babies were considered "full term" at that point. But now, the science has changed a bit, and they call 37 weeks "early term" (as opposed to "early term" before 37 weeks). The baby won't be considered "full term" until 39 weeks because the baby's brain and lungs are still maturing.

The baby is supposed to be size of a Winter Melon or Swiss Chard (no idea what those are) and weigh about 6 1/3 pounds, but she's really probably over 8 pounds. She's practicing some skills: inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping and blinking.
 
Symptoms: Terrible acid reflux so I can only sleep with my head propped on 3 pillows and a lot of back support (like on the couch). My left knee hurts. Some contractions.
Cravings: Beef, fiber, strawberries, chocolate
Anti-cravings: 2% milk is like water, anything even a little spicy
My Weight Gain: 28 pounds, 4 pounds less than last time
Things I Miss: Walking comfortably, sitting comfortably, sleeping, clothing fitting me, alcohol, you name it
Compare to 37 weeks with James, haha, we were so clueless and wrong about everything.

38 Weeks, April 10-16

I had my 38-week appointment on Friday, but I didn't learn much other than I showed no signed of progressing. So we scheduled a sonogram for 39-weeks to see how big our baby girl has gotten.

38 weeks + 2 days

James birthday playdate. The weather over the weekend was nice, but then it got cruddy again. Ash visits.

Baby progress: Baby is the size of a pumpkin. Let's stop lying, she's probably like 8.5 pounds now. She has a firm grasp, and her organs have matured.

Symptoms: Floating spots, head aches, stuffy nose, contractions- some Braxon Hicks, some more like the real ones, random temperature changes, dramatic mood swings. I've been sleeping better because I'm exhausted all the time.

Cravings: Chocolate, water, vitamin C in any form.

Anti-cravings: Food sucks

My Weight Gain: 28-29 pounds (we had to get a new scale so my weight gain isn't very precise now- comparing it to my doctor's scale is still a little confusing), 5 pounds less than last time

Things I Miss: Not being pregnant.

Compare to 38 weeks with James

39 Weeks, "Full Term!" April 17-23

Thursday with James Finally started maternity leave. I had one blissful day before my contractions started. James's real birthday and Easter is Sunday, so I thought we'd open some presents today

Friday, April 18

This is not a normal belly shape, correct?

Baby progress: She's a watermelon, and she's still gaining weight!

Symptoms: CONTRACTIONS. OW. Headaches, dramatic mood swings, random temperature changes,

Cravings: Water, everything.

Anti-cravings: Coffee.

My Weight Gain: 28-29 pounds

Things I Miss: 

Compare to 39 weeks with James

I had my repeat c-section scheduled for the due date, April 24th. Our specific plans for baby were and remain a little hazy. We had a sonogram scheduled for Monday, April 21 that would tell us how big the baby is and give us a better sense of the likelihood of a VBAC working. But we weren't actually holding our breath for a VBAC. We figured if we got to the 24th, she was almost certainly going to be over 8.5 pounds which would make me a good c-section candidate.

I had some contractions on Thursday, April 17th as I was wrapping up my work. I thought the stress of working might be causing them, and they did suddenly stop when I wrapped things up. I had almost none on the 18th. Luckily I ran around getting stuff ready on the 18th. Also I took a whole bunch of photos.

Early in the morning on Saturday the 19th, stuff started getting kind of real. The contractions were 10 minutes apart all morning, but I didn't feel like it was a particularly big deal since they were mild and so far apart.  But by evening they were getting a little closer and a little stronger, and I told my mom she was on stand by....

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST!

Spoiler alert: Suffice to say, today is the due date and Miranda is already here at home!

Compare to due date with James.

Things My Wife Complains About #28: Pillows

Here is a quick pillow breakdown of the master bedroom:

Normal pillows: 4

Decorative pillows: 2

"Pregnancy" pillows: 2

"Wedge": 1

Total pillows: 9

I am allowed to use one pillow, but this pillow is given begrudgingly, as my wife claims I use no pillows. Actually, she claims I'm actively hostile toward pillows. (Apparently, this is genetic, as my brother did not even own pillows until my wife, horrified, insisted we buy him pillows.) In any event, two nights ago James figured out how to drench his pillow in urine, so now I have zero pillows. 

My wife complains, repeatedly, that there are "no pillows." I'm not sure how many pillows a queen-size bed can support, but nine seems like a lot with one six-foot non-pregnant person and one five-foot pregnant person. Often, my wife complains that I'm taking up too much room, which is sensible given that she is invariably surrounded on three sides by pillows. Only her feet have no pillows.

Of course, the nine pillows are never on the bed at the same time because the two decorative pillows are only allowed to be on the bed when people are not. I don't want to get into how ridiculous this is to me because I recognize that the concept of decorative pillows makes complete sense to about half the people in the world and no sense to the other half, and there is no gray area or hope of conversion.

It's also worth noting that one pregnancy pillow was recently banished for reasons I don't understand.

Possible solutions!

1) Replace me with Kevin-shaped pillow

2) Fill house with pillows, so wife might fall asleep anywhere at any time in comfort

3) Deal with a pregnant woman's demands for another half a month (hard)

James likes the pregnancy pillow

• Kevin's personal posts on our blog
• Kevin's articles for the outside world

Hospital Tour 2014

Even though I'm delivering at the same hospital as I did three years ago, and it is the hospital I had to check into a week ago for norovirus dehydration, I decided to do the hospital tour this Saturday anyway.  Our hospital built new maternity facilities immediately after I had James so a lot of things have changed. When I had James, I had to share a room with one really noisy couple that invited their whole family over to party, followed by the unhappiest couple in the world that would complain basically every 5 minutes that they were waiting for a private room. I got to drag my IV past all of them to get to the bathroom. Back then to get a private room you had to pay hundreds of dollars a night. But now, thanks to a generous donation to hospital maternity, everyone gets a private room!

When James was born they took him away from me for 4 hours and they wouldn't give him back! I was as mad as the post-surgery-drugs as I was on would allow. Now all the babies are supposed to room with the mothers as much as possible. Here's a picture of the nursery- empty!

All the babies are with their mamas!

One change that's very sad is that when James was born I was able to donate his stem cells through a New York State stem cell foundation so that other children who need them for cancer treatment could use it. But the foundation no longer has an office in our hospital. I've been looking around the internet to see if there's a way I can still donate, but so far no luck.

Other than that, the hospital now recommends that mothers get vaccinated for pertussis (dTap) with each pregnancy so that the baby gets a little of the immunity. They also recommend that all the caregivers- dads, grandparents, and childcare get the booster vaccine every 10 years. I got my booster on Thursday, so I'm all set.

I'm all packed and ready to go have this baby! Kevin also spent the weekend "nesting." He built the double stroller (with James's help) and installed the car seat and generally looked around for anything else we needed to get ready. We're ready! 16 more days though...

• A tour of the same hospital, three years ago!

Hospital Bag 2014

After my dehydration/contractions/hospital run last Saturday, I realized it was definitely time to pack the hospital bag.

Baby girl stuff thanks to family, Regan, and Cathy

For Baby:
Going home outfit, back up, socks
Hat to go home (and one for the hospital)
Pacifiers
Scratch mittens and Baby Nail clipper
The best receiving blankets
Coat/ warm blanket
Car seat

All packed!- Mostly

Paperwork:
Hospital forms- at hospital already
ID/insurance (purse)
Hospital information (from tour?)
Something to bring home baby information

Personal clothes:
Going home outfit
Robe
Socks, Slippers?, Flip-flops
Glasses (purse)
Snacks- granola, vanilla soy milk (doesn't need refrigeration), candy

Nursing stuff:
Nursing pillow, Cover
Nursing shirt/dress, Nightgown?, Intimates
Cream

Toiletries:
Soap, Shampoo/Conditioner, Tooth brush/tooth paste/ floss,
Lotion, razor, deodorant
Chapstick, makeup, tweezers, nail file
Hair things
Bag to bring stuff home

Electronics:
Camera, card, and charger (lens?)
Phone and charger

Sleep aids:
Tums
Ear plugs (for Kevin)

Visitors:
Hand sanitizer

Gifts:
Big Brother gift for James (We got him a Thomas train that works with his cheaper train set)
Gift for nurses (food- not yet packed)

9 Months Pregnant 2014

33 Weeks, March 6-12
I finally finished the nursery, and took some pictures for the blog. Though honestly, since it's so far in advance of the baby it's kind of messy already and will need straightening up before the baby comes. I celebrated my birthday over two days with Kevin, James, and Grandma Kathy: enjoying dinner, a flamenco show, lunch, a visit to The Met museum, and ice cream cake.

Clous at The Met, I'm 33 weeks

Sadly, James caught a nasty little head cold on Tuesday, and then Kevin caught it from him. I managed to avoid it so far.

Baby progress: Baby Girl is supposed to be the size of a durian (??) or a pineapple, but she's probably more like a 36-week baby as a winter melon or Swiss chard (whatever that is). She sleeps with her eyes open?
Symptoms: TMI
Cravings: Thai tea, citrus fruit
My Weight Gain: 25.5, but I'm .5 heavier than I was with James
Compare to 33 weeks with James

34 Weeks, March 13-19
We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with Cory and Robin. Kevin had his Spring Beak this week so we went for a quick babymoon in Atlantic City!

St. Patrick's Day!

Baby progress: Baby Girl is supposed to be the size of a butternut squash or a cantaloupe, but she's probably more like a 37-week baby as a honey dew or romaine lettuce. These vegetables are really weird right? And they don't necessarily get bigger each week either.... She's listening to us talk and sing.
Symptoms: Started the week with trouble sleeping and throwing up at night! Awesome. By then end of the week I needed a ton of sleep.
Cravings: Mango!
My Weight Gain: 27 pounds, 1 pound lighter than last time
Compare to 34 weeks with James

Clous swimming at Atlantic City (my boys are so cute!)

35 Weeks, March 20-26
To close out Kevin's Spring Break, Brady visited. The boys went out, and when they were home we all watched the NCAA tournament. On Sunday, Lukas and Sarah over for kvetching (I am the reigning champion) and basketball. The weather was a little nicer so I started walking for exercise, but then the weather got cold again. I took a video of the baby going crazy inside my belly. Wednesday I had my 36-week appointment a day early and everything was good, but that night James got sick with the norovirus.

Baby progress: Baby dropped. Or drops. Sometimes it feels like she dropped, and other times not so much.  Baby is supposed be about the size of a honeydew melon or a coconut; about 5 1/4 pounds. But we know she's way bigger-- getting close to 8 pounds probably. She doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's probably over 18 inches long. Her kidneys are fully developed, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight. Her hearing is fully developed.

Symptoms: So sleepy! Bloody nose. Everything is itchy. Sitting and lying down are uncomfortable.
Cravings: Mango juice! Mandarins! Peaches. Citrus. Citrus. Citrus.
My Weight Gain: 29 pounds, 1 pound lighter than last time (maybe walking will help?)
Compare to 35 weeks with James

9 Months!, March 27- April 2
James and I got hit with the Norovirus hard. Dehydration gave me contractions and they got up to 4 minutes apart before an IV at the hospital stopped them. Luckily, Sarah and Lukas babysat James for us while I recovered. Thanks to my little emergency, I decided it was time to pack my hospital bag!

My "9-month photo" 

Baby progress: Baby keeps playing the up-down game where sometimes it feels like she's dropped and other times not so much. The baby is supposed to be about about the size of a head of romaine lettuce or a honeydew. She's supposed to be about 6 pounds and gaining an ounce day. But she's not. She's probably more like 8 pounds already. Wish I knew for sure!

She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Most of her systems are in working order at 36 weeks.

Symptoms: Terrible acid reflux so I can only sleep with my head propped on 3 pillows and a lot of back support (like on the couch).
Cravings: Mango juice, raisins
Anti-cravings: Bananas cause instant acid reflux and hurt, ice cream makes me kind of ill, no more coffee
My Weight Gain: 28.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds less than last time
Things I Miss: Walking comfortably, sitting comfortably, sleeping, clothing fitting me, coffee, alcohol, you name it
Compare to 36 weeks with James

Today, at 37 weeks +1 day, and 20 days to go!

Belly Dance 2014

I took a similar video when I was pregnant with James, but Baby Girl is way more visible.


March 25, 2014, 35 weeks + 6 days

• Belly Dance with James in 2011

Stomach Bug Hits Hard 2014

Warning: This posts has a lot of vomit. If you have a weak stomach, don't read it.

As some background info, ever since Daylight Saving's time, James has been getting up earlier and earlier, and has returned to his early toddler bed habit of walking into our room to chat. He ruins our sleep and then falls asleep for nap in the afternoon if he's too tired, so he doesn't care.

Tuesday
On Tuesday morning, James kept us up from 4:30 to 5:30. So when James asked me for strawberries and grapes approximately 500 million times, I wasn't exactly in a zen place. But I explained to him we didn't have any and even showed him the inside of the refrigerator. James is not so spoiled that I ran out and got him strawberries that day, but he is spoiled enough that Kevin brought them home that night after work.

Being up all night doesn't bother him- he can take a nap any time!

Wednesday
On Wednesday, shortly after I got up, Kevin briefly put his coffee down on the bathroom sink because he was going to shower while I had breakfast with James. James ran right over to the coffee cup and spilled it on everything in the bathroom. He got time out and we started the day mopping up everything.

My 36-week doctor's appointment was uneventful, but Kevin took James to a bookstore, so for the first time I enjoyed the quiet solitude of a medical exam like it was another babymoon. It was lucky actually that I chose this appointment not to bring James, because he was probably pretty infectious so I spared a bunch of pregnant women from catching his bug.

At snacktime, I gave him a big bowl of half grapes and half strawberries. He's old enough that he picks the grapes off the stems no problem, so I assumed he'd pluck the leaves off the strawberries too. Not so much. So I told him not to eat the leaves, and he responded, "But leaves are yummy." Oh-kay.

So I started making a dinner I thought Kevin would particularly enjoy: Five-Spice Hanger Steaks with Stir-Fried Brown Rice. I was feeling really fancy, but it was clear that James was already not feeling so great. I asked him if he felt okay, and he said his tummy hurt, and I suggested the strawberry leaves were to blame. He huddled under some couch cushions and watched cartoons with a glum look on his face. I appreciated that I could actually cook without him pestering me in the kitchen though so I went back to that- when I started a grease fire. James didn't even bat an eye to the fire alarm. I stopped the fire and called Kevin down to turn off the alarm.

I had only gone back to cooking for a few minutes when James puked all over the couch. I was totally unprepared and had nothing to mitigate it at all. I called Kevin back down to help. It took us both a long time to clean up James and the living room. Including giving James a bath. Kevin then took him upstairs in his pajamas so he could finish some work and I could finish dinner. I sent them up with a bucket "just in case" but I think think was a rookie parenting mistake on our part. We thought he'd puked from overeating or eating the strawberry leaves so we thought he probably wouldn't puke again.

So while I resumed cooking dinner, James puked all over Kevin and the upstairs bedroom. This time, we rinsed James a little, and then I held him under kitchen-arrest while Kevin cleaned the upstairs and brought down everything that needed to be washed.

I had just finished serving dinner. Just finished. When James tried to escape so I picked him up. He puked all over me. We both had to shower.

Dinner was now cold, but Kevin ate his quickly, gathered the laundry and went off to the laundromat. That's right, we're having a second kid and we don't even have a washing machine. Sigh.  I put James to bed with a bucket and towels nearby.

Our cold dinner- Five-spice steaks with stir fry brown rice (not a picture of mine)

Thursday
James woke up relatively happy. We took it easy all day, but the fact that he didn't get sick again lent weight to our theory that he'd overeaten the day before.

James coloring with crayons and a coloring book Chrissy sent.

Friday
Everything was okay until Kevin left to go to Manhattan to sign books at his publisher's and watch the NCAA UVA v. Michigan State game at Madison Square Garden.

 

Kevin's view

I put James to bed, relaxed a little, and became exhausted super early. I went to bed and pretty much as soon as I was comfortable, I was up again throwing up. Since I've been throwing up a little here and there in my 3rd trimester, I thought nothing of it at first. But three pukes in, it hit me-- James had a stomach bug and I caught it. Nonetheless, I was still feeling pretty positive since James had recovered so fast that I'd power through it. Nope, I spent all night sick. This is not fun in the best of circumstances but when you're 9 moths pregnant and can't bend- and need more hydration than usual- disaster. I started having contractions. I downloaded a little contractions app on my iPhone and noted they were getting closer together and and longer.  I tried to sleep but I was a mess and had to keep getting up to throw up more.

Saturday
I was dying. I waited until James woke up (kind of a mistake since it took a while to reach the doctor) called my doctor's office, and as expected they told me to come into the hospital. They kept me waiting so long in admissions that I warned them I might throw up. They gave me a little pink puke pan and continued their slow paperwork. When they finished they took me in a wheel chair to labor and delivery triage. By then, the baby monitor machine showed that my contractions were 4 minutes apart. They told us we'd have to be there all day, and James was already being a pain so Kevin took him to Lukas and Sarah's and then came back. (James had a great day- more on that later.)

 

I was SO thirsty, and I couldn't drink anything. I was so desperate for the IV. It felt like forever and a day. It took them three tries to get the IV in my arm (I thought of dad). Finally by 9:30 a.m. the IV was in. But it's funny how when your worst symptom is under control, you move right along to worrying about the next. I was so queasy, and the doctors told me I would get Zofran to help. After the IV, I asked about the Zofran, and there was some confusion. First the nurse asked me who had said I was getting that, then when I asked again she said it wasn't in from the hospital pharmacy yet, finally they admitted the doctor had never called it in. But I am used to this sort of thing at hospitals; I have my stripes. (The nurse even asked if I was a nurse when she caught me reading my lab work.)

I finally got the Zofran at 11 am. I felt a lot better at first, then it wore off a bit. One problem was that I mainly felt better when I was sitting up, but they didn't want to let me do that because the the baby's heart rate would drop on the monitor. Lying down felt awful. Then I threw up water everywhere - the nurse did a very half-hearted job of cleaning it up. But then I really did start feeling better, and after a quick check-up they released me. After I got home the bug really didn't bother me anymore.

Though I feel horrible today and I'm not sure if it's leftovers of the norovirus, or just pregnancy rearing its cruel head. Oh well, 23 days to go.

Babymoon in Atlantic City 2014

When I was pregnant with James we had a "stabymooon" which is a word Allison made up to help me describe a cross between a babymoon and "staycation." The word "staycation" was all the rage back then because the media had to find a way to talk about people being poor in the new economy in a way that didn't sound totally depressing. But since we live in New York, staying nearby still allowed us to do basically anything we could imagine.

This time, we waited a little longer, and I was a little wiser to the fact that walking too much would be unpleasant, so I thought it would be nice to just soak in a hotel pool somewhere.  Hotel room rate comparison revealed that the cheapest rate anywhere in our vicinity was actually in Atlantic City. I guess the theory is that you will make up for the cheap room rate by spending money on gambling and food at the casino. Plus, the Borgata has a much nicer pool than we could get locally.

James's first time at a casino

Gambling all my pennies on wishes in the fountain

When we got there Kevin stood online behind hundreds of senior citizens waiting to check in early while I entertained James with a walk around the Borgata. As soon as we were checked in we changed into our bathing suits and went for a swim. Two interesting things: one is that it's kind of liberating to be so huge. It felt really awesome to wear a bathing suit and not suck in my tummy. Second, going swimming in my 3rd trimester was accidental genius. The minute I stepped into the water, the reduced gravity felt like a huge relief on my back. It was like handing the baby to someone else to hold for a minute. I could lie on my stomach. I could even bend a little at the waist. It was magical.

James and I are all suited up

For James, the swimmies took some getting used to, and he alternated between being afraid and clingy and trying to assert his almost-3-year-old independence. But we couldn't get him to try floating on his own until it was almost time to go to dinner. He loved the pool though.

Clingy fun in the pool

Trying to teach him to kick or tread water

Clingy fun with Dada

Trying to dunk Dada

Family picture on a timer!

Look Ma! No hands! (OMG,look at that cute face!)

Promptly starts swimming away

We all took quick showers before dinner, which was itself an experience for James since he usually only takes baths. He seemed to enjoy the shower a lot as long as it didn't get his face wet at all. Ha. We went to dinner at a casual noodles place called N.O.W. where you had to sit at long tables with strangers. At least James was decently good at the restaurant and even ate a lot of dinner. He even got almost an entire mango juice to himself.

Walking to dinner inside the Borgata

Me and baby girl at dinner

After dinner, James and I shared a big gelato at Borgata Gelato, then we went to bed. Kevin went gambling for a little while as part of his pre-baby relaxation. I was happy to have gone to bed with James, when James woke up super early the next morning. After a big breakfast we went swimming again before checkout. This time James was a lot more comfortable with trying to swim back and forth between me and Kevin or being shuttled around by us in the pool. A very successful (and pleasantly short) babymoon overall. We agreed that James had the most fun, and when we got home he declared that he didn't want to be home, he wanted to "go back to the big house," which is what he decided to call the Borgata. Maybe in another 18 years, buddy.

Sharing gelato.

Our last visit to a casino was in Vegas in July.

Nursery 2014

One of the best parts about updating the nursery is how much James loves his new room. We kept the nautical theme, but I tried to make the new baby's side girlier by adding mermaids and more pink. On James's side, we got him a new bed Kevin's family bought him Jake and the Never Land Pirates' sheets, and we tried to make the room generally more fun by adding wall decals.

Baby girl side with mermaids. Though she still need some mermaid dolls.

Peak in the crib! (though we'll take out everything before she sleeps there)

Changing table's new location with baby gear inside- and new cheapy drawers

James is seriously in love with his room now. He calls his room "under water," and invites people to come under water with him, and then he shows them all the fish. At his suggestion we even added a few fish to the ceiling. Kevin also set up my old iPod in his room so he could listen to all his nursery rhyme jams in there. He sits in his little rocking chair singing all the songs or paging through his books.

James's side

James's reading nook

A view of both their beds

The girls are both ready!

The boys enjoying the "reading nook"

And here's a picture of what our room looks like right now since baby will be sleeping in our room for a few months.

Co-sleeper on my side and glider that will move to nursery when baby does.

• The Nursery in 2011 when we got it ready for James's arrival
• When we switched the crib to a toddler bed for James in July
• Here's the last post about updating the nursery complete with a video of James "helping."

Updating the Nursery 2014

At first we thought we might have the kids in separate rooms, but when it occurred to us that having a baby, having Kevin go on book tour, and moving all the same summer was not a good idea, we decided that the new baby would stay in our room for the first few months, and then she'd share a room with James until we bought a house.

This is the nursery when we first set it up in 2011. We finally changed the crib to a toddler bed in July for James. So we wanted to reclaim the crib before the baby came so that James wouldn't blame the baby for taking his bed, and he'd have time to adjust to a new one. So our first step was to clear out the room a little, and rebuold the crib.

Crib-as-toddler-bed

Moved the diaper changing table

Where James's toddler bed is going to go

My boys building the crib for my little girl!

Here's a super awesome video of James tightening the screws on the crib for his sister:

James building the crib.

I also had to clear out all the clutter in my room to make space for the baby's first home. So we have the nursery and the space in our room all set up now. I'll post the pictures in the next post.

8 Months Pregnant 2014

29 Weeks, February 6-12
We visited Regan and Chris and James had a fun playdate with their girls Morgan and Payton.

Reading to Payton

Baby progress:  First hiccups I could feel (2/11)! Baby is about the size of a butternut squash (or acorn squash?) and maybe 2.5 pounds. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is getting bigger for her growing brain – which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. There's lots of rapid growth now!

Symptoms: Still throwing up once a week (when I overdo it with sugar), acid reflux, stuffy nose, trouble walking without pain- uh-oh. Evening grumpiness- big time!
Cravings: Burgers, bananas
Anti-cravings: none
My Weight Gain: 20 pounds, but still 1 pounds heavier than last time. Getting closer though!
Thing I Miss: Not worrying about the acid content of foods
Compare to week 29 with James

30 Weeks, February 13-19
Kevin and James enjoyed a snow day at home. We celebrated our last Valentines Day as a family of 3.5, and had our 30-week sonogram the same day. We celebrated Kevin's 34th birthday with Lukas and Sarah.

She looks like James.

Baby progress: Baby girl is supposed to be the size of a cabbage and weigh almost 3 pounds, but our sonogram revealed she's actually about 4.5 pounds. That's more the size of babies that are 33 weeks along, so she's really more like a pineapple. They didn't estimate her length, but we're not really worried about it. She'll probably be taller than me, because it would be hard not to be.

The sonogram technician said that she was already head down and was unlikely to turn around now, but I can feel her kicking and somersaulting all the time. She particularly responds to James crying or screaming.

The sono-tech also said the baby has some hair already, but given what a baldy James was, I am not holding my breath. I have a ton of hats all ready for her, and I'm probably going to get some decorative headbands soon too.

Symptoms: Absent-mindedness and clumsiness, stuffy/bloody nose, some seriously painful baby kicks, grumpiness. No throwing up this week! I think I learned to stop eating sugar when it starts disagreeing with me.
Cravings: Greek coconut yogurt, fish, LAVENDER- seriously.
Anti-cravings: Indian food. No thank you.
My Weight Gain: 21.5 pounds, just half a pound heavier than last time! (though last time I had gained 27-30 pounds already, but I started heavier this time)
Thing I Miss: breathing, going for walks out in the sun
Compare to week 30 with James

31 Weeks, February 20-26
Christina and I took the train to DC to enjoy Girls' Weekend with Laurie, Megan, Janice, and Ash.

Girls Weekend

Baby progress:  This week, baby girl is supposed to be about the size of a coconut or pineapple, about 3 1/3 pounds, but really now we know she's probably more of a cantaloupe, and about  4 3/4 pounds. She should now have toenails, fingernails, and some hair.

Symptoms: My left knee hurts (this happened last time too), stuffy nose, acid reflux at night (though mercifully not much during the day)
Cravings: Peanut butter, bananas, smoothies (mostly fruit, yogurt, bananas), chicken, lettuce (what, why?)
Anti-cravings: Beef
My Weight Gain: 21.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds less than I weighed last time!
Thing I Miss: Breathing
Compare to week 31 with James

8 Months!, February 27-March 5
Kevin and I finally decided on a baby name- it's mostly Kevin's choice of name (still a secret though). My mom came to visit and I showed her the nursery, and she helped me pick Itty Bitty's coming home outfit. Kevin and I went out for date night in Flushing, Queens.

8 months + 4 days

Baby Progress:  I had my 32-week doctor's appointment 3/3. It was pretty uneventful but at least they can see that she's still upside down. I guess that would be good if I had any faith that she was going to come on her own before passing the 8.5 lbs VBAC cut-off. They didn't try to figure out her weight.

She's supposed to be about the size of a large jicama and about 3 3/4 pounds, but since she was about 3 weeks ahead in weight last time, she's probably more of a honeydew melon right now, and certainly over 5 pounds by now. She'll probably gain about half a pound a week now. She's on track to be newborn-James-size at over 9 pounds. So she now has a deadline. If she's 9 pounds by the day before, she's coming out on her due date, April 24.

She "sleeps in" frequently, and stays up late dancing. She hiccups frequently. I am SO! excited!. to meet her!

Symptoms: Headaches, bloody nose, threw up again (after date night-yay), I am SUCH A GRUMP anytime I'm thirsty or tired, acid reflux but only at night, absent-minded, clumsy, cried one day because I was so tired.

Generally, this pregnancy has been much harder on both me and Kevin. The third trimester has been especially hard for me, I think because this time I'm older plus I have to take care of  James while I work from home. It's harder for Kevin because he's been getting up with James for 6-7 days a week, and generally picking up a lot of slack while grow a person.

Cravings: CHOCOLATE!!, grape juice, salt, one day I craved lettuce, vanilla a little, yogurt.
Anti-cravings: 
My Weight Gain: 23.5, still half a pound less than last time, but I'm starting to lose ground here. Possibly I haven't been drinking enough water?
Thing I Miss: Having physical and mental energy. I have none.
Compare to week 32 with James

Bonus belly shots:

Kevin calls this pose "Fashion preggo!"

James tickling my belly post bath (anything to avoid bedtime)

Carrying both my babies

And as of yesterday, I have exactly 7 weeks to go! Baby has a weight-deadline on April 24, 2014 at 9:30 a.m.!