Biding Our Time

So, I think I'm done working, at least until my maternity leave is done. I told the other doctors that I would work up until the day I delivered, but recently it has become harder and harder. Luckily for me, this month has not been too busy. I am happy to say that I never skipped rounds, circumcisions or calls. I was able to fulfill all of my obligations and saw every patient scheduled. This, for some reason is important to me. I guess it's all about not being a burden to people. I already know they have to make a sacrifice once the baby comes. So, my baby is due on Tuesday, and Monday starts a new calender month. The other doctors just didn't schedule me for patients starting Monday. I guess they figured either I would have a baby by then or be too exhausted by then. Initially I wanted to work those days, but I think it is good to leave it how it is and just relax as much as possible. I feel my pregnancy aches and pains are reaching new heights. I hope this is the crest before labor, but I can't be sure (please let it be).

I had today off, not due to maternity leave, but due to the holidays. To help speed things along, I thought I should walk. It being such a nice winter, we all went to the zoo. Here are some pictures from our outing. Henry has graciously captioned all the photos. Enjoy!

 " I was behind the sun."

 "And a pow pow pow!"

 "Wee wee wee. Wahoo"

"Ahh"

"I really did have fun." Henry writes: edh     bhjjuyttred vvvvvvvvvnkmmmngyyyuiollpmmmbfvcdxszawerthgvvvbj,

It was a nice day, and hopefully it can kick start some labor.

Christmas

So as we are waiting for this little girl to arrive, life just keeps happening.  This last weekend was Christmas, and it was really great.  I'm especially proud of my little boy who was very excited about everything and was happy with the food, people and his presents. He never got greedy or selfish, and would often say things like " I really like my....." and talk about one of the gifts he got.  You could tell he was really appreciative.  

On Christmas morning, Henry woke up at 6:15 like he normally does and bounded into our room, full of happiness and excitement. He asked if he could open presents, and we said okay. As we were getting up, he ran to the the Christmas tree and picked out a present. Which present did he grab? It was a gift for me. The one that made him most excited was not a gift for him, but one for me. So, so sweet. I should say the gift was a Wii Zelda game and he is infatuated with Zelda right now. More about that later.  This picture below shows Aaron opening his gift from Henry. You can see how happy Henry is. I'm glad he likes to give presents as much as receive them.

 As for his presents from us, the biggest one is a real Zelda shield. His reaction was so cute and after he saw the design on the shield, he knew exactly what it was. For the last couple of weeks he has been running around with a Target foam sword and a make-shift shield from a velcro toss game. Not anymore! Now he can be the real Zelda. Here is my little warrier.

The shield is made out of wood and is much heavier and bigger that his previous one, but he seems to be adapting well. The whole day yesterday he went on and on about how much he likes his shield. In fact, last night he slept with it. At around 2:00am I could hear noise from his room. Henry was singing. He was saying "Da da daaaaaa," which I can recognize as the theme song to Zelda. He got up at this time and wanted to start the day. I brought him back to bed and he wasn't too happy with that. I threatened that if he didn't go back to sleep, I wouldn't let him sleep with his shield the rest of the night.  Well, that did it. He fell quickly asleep and woke up at his normal time.

There is so much more I could say about Christmas, but the main thing I feel is greatfullness. I have a great family (in-laws included), wonderful husband, healthy happy son, stable job, and good home. I have everything I need and more. I am very very fortunate and sometimes it's hard to remember. So, this holiday gives me some reflection time and some of my thoughts were able to drift away from the coming baby.  This baby is also another reason for me to appreciate my life. I'm just so excited to meet her.

Hopefully everyone else had a great holiday too.

Post Nesting

As of last Saturday, I am no longer nesting. I am in the next phase, which I like to call the exhausting phase. Maybe it was because I used all my energy on working Thursday and Friday, maybe it was because I didn't get a good night sleep, or maybe it was simply because I'm 38 weeks pregnant!

Since Saturday, I can't get myself to do anything besides the absolute minimum (get dressed, get to work, eat). The thought of cleaning, or really, getting up to do anything is so daunting that my brain immediately calls it not an option and I give up before I even started.

Today I'm exactly 38 weeks. It's funny, because before today I didn't think I overall looked pregnant. Now, I know I have a pretty big belly, but for the most part, that is where my weight has stayed. I haven't had leg swelling and I didn't think my face had the added weight look that I can see when I look at pictures from my first pregnancy. But, well, this is sad to admit, but I think my neck or cheeks or whatever expands on the lower half of your face has started to make me look "pregnant." Silly to think about, but for some reason I don't like it. With regard to my belly, still the only new stretch marks are the two red lines that hold her little butt in.

With this exhausting phase, I'm ready for it to be over, but not bad enough to augment it. I still want this little girl to be absolutely ready to come out, and choose the time herself. With Henry, I was induced so I never felt what it was like to go into labor. I would like to experience it this time. Maybe I'll change my mind when it's mid January, but for now I'll wait...and complain.

Nesting?

So, I've done almost everything I've wanted to. This last weekend I did a ton of cleaning, including vacuuming my stairs (I mean, who does that?).  I just really feel the need to have the house relatively clean now, because I know once the baby is born, it ain't gonna happen.  Every night since the big cleaning, I've been doing dishes so they don't pile up. This is a huge deal for me. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can think of no chore more horrible than the dishes. Yet, I'm doing it.  This makes me feel like I'm nesting.  So, it I am, I welcome it, because that means I'm getting closer to meeting the baby.

With regard to my belly, things just keep getting more achy and exhausting, but I'm hanging in there. It's more difficult to sleep and to get up from a chair. Nothing exactly new and all expected. Over all I'm hanging in there. Wish I had more productive things to say, but it is a waiting game.

A Little Better

After all my complaining, things have gotten a little bit better. I'm still achy all the time, but not as much and my energy has returned a little (although I would still love a nap every day). Still, things are going pretty good. My last OB visit was quick and easy. According to this blog, I only have 25 days left. Not too shabby. When ever she comes, I keep telling myself that each day I am one day closer. I have started crossing out days on the calendar simply because it feels like an accomplishment.

This week was the last week I have to do nursery rounds. Soooooo excited about that. Actually I will peek in there one time next week, but no more consecutive days. Starting tomorrow I have three days off, which is good because I do want to accomplish some home things. This week I read a blog where the pregnant women who cleaned her house every night to make sure she had a welcoming house after the baby came. That sounds like a great idea, although I might settle for a mostly clean house, or a house that at least the dishes are done in. I'm hoping to get the house in okay shape this weekend and keep it until the little one comes (wish me luck). I also need to finish packing my hospital bag.

Also, this little girl has make a mark on me, specifically two. When I was pregnant with Henry I mostly got stretch marks in the last month or so. I haven't gotten any new ones until now. This little girl has her bottom wedged up in my upper right abdomen. I guess her butt is getting bigger because there are two little red lines where her bottom is.  Kinda sweet, right?

A Tough Week

This week, I have really felt pregnant, and not in the happy-glow type way. Let me explain.  Before this week, I would wake up with some hip pain that easily went away, then I would be pain free all day (although a little tired). At night before I went to bed I would feel a little sore and achy, but then I just went to bed.

This week started off with a bladder infection, which is pretty common during pregnancy. I was placed on antibiotics, yet my body still felt bad. That night I had three strong painful contractions that were 10 minutes apart. It was enough to wake me up from sleep and to get me a little worried. UTI's can cause early labor, and I didn't want that. As much as I am looking forward to meeting my girl, she still needs to wait a while. If she was born now, she would have to spend some time in the NICU and even after that we would have to make sure she was keeping warm throughout the winter and growing enough. After 3 contractions, everything stopped, but I had difficulty falling back asleep. The next day was horrible for me. I was so exhausted and work was extremely busy. My whole body ached, especially my neck and upper back. During my lunch break I snuck in a nap and then took another nap right after work. All my energy was zapped.

The next day went a little better, but I have not gotten back to the "happy to be pregnant stage," and quite frankly, I don't think it will come back. When ever I move around, my belly and pelvis hurt and when I stand longer than 5 minutes, I long to be on the couch. I wish I had a normal desk job where I don't have to go room to room, but I suppose it could be worse. The hardest thing for me so far is rounding in the nursery and performing circumcisions. I have to be on my feet for over 2 hours and it is really hard on my back for the circumcisions. My big old belly gets in my way and makes me bend even further to get to the baby. 

Ugh. I'm complaining too much.  I know I should be grateful that my little girl is doing so well inside me; it was just hard this week. Maybe I'll get used to it, but even if I don't, I only have 30 days or so left. I can do it.  Totally worth it.

 Anyway, here is my weekly picture. I think my belly is starting to drop (which might be why I am so achy).

For another story that is not about me, my family got together for a little crafting session. Our friends gave birth to a little boy and we needed a gift. Henry drew a picture, Aaron picked and cut the fabric and I did the sewing.  This is the result.

It was a simple project and a lot of fun.

Sorry about alll the complaining. No one should feel sorry for me (I don't). Maybe next week will be better. I'll let you know.

The Little Things

Last night before bed, Henry found an old toy that he used to have out, but we packed away. It is a turtle that has holes on its shell that causes a starry sky pattern when the room is dark. He wanted it on immediately, but it was out of batteries I told him wait until tomorrow. This morning I got to sleep in and Aaron was in charge of the Hanky. Apparently when he woke up, he immediately grabbed the turtle and reminded Aaron that it needed batteries. Henry had to go to the bathroom and while he did, Aaron quickly put the batteries in, turned off the hallway light and let the toy illuminate the space. When Henry came out he was in awe.

This reminds me of two important things. One is how incredibly lucky I am to have my husband who would even think of doing something like this.

The second is how simple happiness can be.

Stuffing it all in

I'm really starting to feel fatigue now that I only have 1 1/2 months left.  During the work week, I come home completely exhausted and find I can get nothing done. My job isn't that physically demanding, just getting up and down, moving from room to room. Still, we've been pretty busy and I guess that's all it takes for me to feel tired. So, when I have a complete day off, I want to use it effectively as possible. My first goal for my days off is always to sleep in.  It's just so nice to wake up naturally.  

On a side note, I woke up with Henry this morning and he was so cute. He started talking to himself at about 6:15 and stayed in his bed and talked to his stuffed animals and even sang a song until about 6:45. Because of his talking and singing, it was a nice gradual wake up. I asked him what he was talking about and apparently he was waking up his stuffed animals. So great.

Anyway, yesterday I got to wake up at 9:30 and I got right to work. I find I have more energy in the morning. Besides doing a ton of laundry, Henry and I started making Christmas decorations. He loved gluing and cutting so it turned into a Henry art project and a mommy craft project.  Here he is below cutting paper and then gluing everything together.

This next picture is a half way picture. I already had colored card stock. I cut strips and then varied the length of three strips. Then I folded them in half and glued each end. Not too hard....

yet they look great!

Henry and Aaron were upstairs when I put them up and when Henry saw the decorations he literally stopped in his tracks and just looked at them all.  After some silence, I got a round of applause (who doesn't need a round of applause every now and then).

Besides crafting, I got a little baking in too. Since this pregnancy, I have been baking a ton! It's actually been a lot of fun because Henry likes it so much. A few days ago I thought I smelled Spritz cookies for a split second. Since then I have really wanted to eat them. I know it is more a Christmas cookie, but why is that? It's close to Christmas anyway. We made them and they turned out delicious. I was thinking about doubling the batch, good thing I didn't. Henry got to pick the colors, the shapes and got to press the trigger down on the cookie press. Doesn't this picture make you want to eat them too?

I wonder if I will continue to bake after the baby is born. My guess is no because I won't crave them as much and my caloric needs will be down.  Still, it has been a lot of fun. My poor Henry is going to be so disappointed after the baby comes. No sugar cereals (well maybe a little for Aaron), no cookies, no cheese-itz, no ice cream. At least he gets a baby sister out the deal. 

33 Weeks

So, today's been a good day. I'm 33 weeks and it's all good.  I thought it would be fun to compare this pregnancy with last pregnancy. It's a little hard because I am wearing a dress now, but I'm pretty much the same size. Besides being tired, I'm doing alright. I have noticed that I am starting to waddle a little. I can stop it, but it just seems natural that my toes want to point out when I walk. I think it's the laxity in my pelvic ligaments. I also blame those ligaments for the hip pain I wake up to most days.  Really though, it hasn't been too bad.

We had a little fun at my doctor's appointment today; we got to have an ultrasound. I guess my doctor likes to take a look close to delivery to make sure the head is down and that I have enough amniotic fluid. I'm good on both counts. Her face is backwards, so although we couldn't get a good glimpse of it today, it makes labor easier. I'll take this trade-off.  We also got another surprise. Our baby has lots of hair! You can see it with this ultrasound picture. It is the fuzziness around the head. My doctor said it's a good amount and it makes me even more excited to see this little girl.  I've secretly wanted a baby with hair. I wonder if it will be dark like Aaron's.  

If that wasn't enough today, we also toured the hospital. Since we have been there last, they have started remodeling. There is a whole new labor portion with a new entrance, new elevators, and most importantly, new delivery rooms.  The big drawback is that even though the labor rooms are swanky, the mother and baby unit is just the same as when we were with Henry. About half the rooms are minuscule in size and last time we were unlucky enough to have one of those rooms. Sleeping at night was really hard. The first night Aaron tried to sleep in a reclining chair. The second night he slept in my small bed. It doesn't seem good to start off taking care of a newborn already sleep deprived.  Hopefully we can get a big room this time. Maybe less people will deliver during the holidays.  Henry took the tour with us and was a little disappointed we didn't bring our baby home. We told him next time we will.

A few days ago before bedtime, Henry told me he didn't want any other mommy. So sweet and I reciprocate that sentiment. Even if Henry has tough days, he's perfect for us and I wouldn't want any other kid.

Short Fuse

These last couple of weeks Henry has been lucky enough to have some fun events scheduled. The first event was Yo Gabba Gabba Live. We bought tickets to the show months in advance and Henry was so excited that it was finally time to see the show. Yo Gabba Gabba is all about fun music that gets kids to dance.

This picture above is right before the show. Henry is very excited and we had superb seats (first row on the balcony). Then..... the show started. I think they said something like, are you ready to have fun, or some other thing to get the crowd into the show. They repeated the phrase a couple times and then at the end there were two loud bangs and confetti. Well, we weren't expecting this. Suddenly Henry went from being super excited to being filled with fear. His whole body tensed up and started crying. I picked him up and tried to sooth him, but really it wasn't working. In between the acts, you could hear Henry crying. He probably cried for a good 5-10 minutes. On one hand, I am his mother and want to comfort him and make him feel better, but on the other had I have to teach him that some things are okay and are not harmful even if they are scary. Plus, we paid good money for this show and there was no way I was leaving just as it was starting.

So, eventually he stopped crying and had his hands over his ears and eyes closed and refused to watch. What is a parent to do? That's right, bribery. If he watched the show, he would get a little light up toy that you can see in the pictures above. It worked! After that he opened his eyes and then after intermission, he unplugged his ears. He never got out of his seat or danced, but he watched the rest of it. People have asked him about the show and he says at first it was scary and then okay.

This picture is taken during intermission when I got paged by a hospital. While waiting for the show to go on, I arranged to discharge a newborn with adequate follow up. Not bad, right?

So, then yesterday we went to the Buck O'Neil race. Henry has been asking and asking to run a race. Before I was pregnant we were doing more races and Henry loved it. I'm not running much anymore, except to chase my boy around the bases.

This little baseball field was constructed by the Negro League Baseball Museum. It's pretty cool and Henry loved it.

Unfortunately for us, he was running a little too fast around the field before the race and fell. He skinned his knee and hurt his hands a little. I've skinned my knee quite a few times, and they really can sting. After the stinging went away, so did his positive attitude. He didn't even want to run in the race anymore.

So, Jim pushed him most of the way. You can tell by this picture how excited he was about everything.  Aaron and I lagged behind Jim and Mary and turned around early to catch up with them. When we caught up with them Aaron took him out of the stroller and told him to run. He seemed excited and took off with Aaron. Then we applauded and he got very upset. Apparently, we weren't supposed to cheer him on. Who knew? He lost it again and refused to run. He walked a little, crying the whole time, and then finished the race in the stroller. I was very disappointed. He was so excited and I think the injury just ruined the whole event. Jim said something wise to me yesterday. He said that Henry is so advanced in many ways, but emotionally he's just a 4 year old. He's right, maybe my expectations are just too high. When he was little he was so sensitive to everything. I can't expect all that to disappear. It takes time. So for now I'll be grateful that we watched the whole Yo Gabba Gabba concert and that we all finished the race. With time, he'll get better, but no rush. He's just a 4 year old.

Cooking With Grammy

I've had a busy week. I've been rounding in the newborn nursery every morning. I'm happy to say that this morning was my last morning. Time for a little break. The good news is that I only have one more week total to do nursery rounds before the baby comes. That makes me happy and makes me feel like I'm on the home stretch.

Anyway, amid my business, Jim and Mary were occupied themselves.  This weekend Rob and Jenny went to St. Louis alone and the girls had some grandparent time. We went over yesterday to help out a little and for Henry to play with the girls. It was a great time, but not much resting.

The best part was dinner time when everyone wanted to help out with the meal preparation. Both Henry and Anna did a great job of tearing up the lettuce and putting the vegetables in the bowl. They both love peppers, so I'm not sure how many peppers actually got in the bowl vs in their mouths. I love it when Henry helps me cook, hopefully Grammy feels the same way.

 While the older kids were helping to cook, Ashley was doing her best to stay involved too.

 Quickly Ashley was hungry and I got a chance to feed her. I'm ashamed to admit, but I think I'm a little rusty. The food got all over her face and she didn't like me cleaning her face too much. Such a cute face, even with broccoli on it!

It's so nice to have Henry's cousins around. Anna and Henry are really playing together and it's fun to watch their progression.  There were a couple times I happened to see Anna patting Henry on the back or Henry give Ashley a hug. All un-provoked and oh so cute! Can't wait to see how our baby will fit in the mix.

Post Holiday Let-down

Well, I supposed it was bound to happen. The birthday/Halloween high, must have its corresponding low.  Yesterday was my day off, and since I feel pretty recovered from my cold, I wanted it to be a productive day. In the morning Henry and I made a list of things to do. I think he likes lists as much as I do. This time he put things on like "play Super Mario Galaxy" and "blow up balloons." I hate to say it, but we never finished the list because we never blew up balloons. Ooops.  Anyway, yesterday was a busy day filled with an OB appointment (went well and my doctor wasn't mad at me for the last visit), grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning. Even though these were on the list, Henry was not happy about it. All he wanted to do was play Wii, play computer games or eat candy.  Really, that's not a very healthy day.  So Aaron and I tried our best. Aaron took him to the park and we read to him, but the whole day he kept asking about those three things and would have a little tantrum when we said no.  The worst part is that he kept asking every 5 minutes. Man, that can really drain you. I think he got used to us celebrating him and he's not wanting to get back to reality. I definitely see a correlation to his frustration and playing lots of Wii/TV/computer games. This bad day yesterday makes me feel like we need to reel things back a little. I suppose it's my fault for spoiling him a little. This will stop because I miss my lovable boy.

This morning he was a little mad I wouldn't let him play Wii, but he got over it pretty quickly. Yesterday we did get Henry a hair cut. He did great and this is the result.

 I took this picture above and Henry said he did not like it and wanted to try again, so I took another one.

He posed for this one and is happy with the result. Why wouldn't he want to smile?  Still, it's a good hair cut that's not too short.  Sorry the pictures are not the best quality, I took them with my phone.  I wish my sister-in-law was around 24 hours a day and that way I could guarantee great pictures. I guess she has her own life or something.

Halloween Night

Last night we celebrated Halloween and had a great time. Jenny's sister Anne and brother-in-law Todd were nice enough to invite us over. Our night started out with a Halloween parade near their house with all the neighborhood kids. We sported our best Star Wars dark side impressions. Sadly, we were not as recognizable as I thought we were going to be. Some kid asked me if I was Princess Leia. Really? I guess I can only claim responsibility for my son and hope that in time, that kid's parent's will school him in the facts of Star Wars.

Anyway, the parade was great and we got to see lots of costumes. The weather was absolutely perfect;  such a change from the wintry mix of past Minneapolis Halloweens. After the parade we had a lovely dinner and then on to the fun!

As you can see above Anna is a Pink Lady from Grease and Kate is princess Jasmine. They all did great going door to door, especially Kate and Henry. I think they fed off the energy of each other and wanted to run from house to house forever. Henry said at one point that someone told him to be careful about "spooks" and that was what he was doing. When a kid went by with an especially scary costume (usually a skeleton or the guy from "Scream") he would just freeze. When the offender went past him, then Henry would resume walking.  Funny guy.

After getting all the candy it was time to check out the haul. Not bad for a 4 year old. Henry even got a birthday present from the Fimmens. It was a set of easy readers that are absolutely perfect for him. We read some last night and they are a hit.  After that we went home and called it a night. Such a good night.

The big 4

Happy Birthday Henry! 4 years! Woo Hoo. I am loving this age right now. Last night I asked him what he wanted me to make for his birthday breakfast. He started talking and I started writing.

Here is Henry's birthday recipe.

1. First waffles
2. Then pancakes
3. Cups of eggs
4. Blend
5. Add 2 colors (red and yellow)
6. Then you add the frosting
7. Then that's it, that's all

Well, as you can see from the picture, he just had waffles and milk.

Too bad I'm at work today, but I'm sure he'll have a great day and then we get to go a party and then trick or treat. What a great birthday!

H Pumpkin

Faulkner's Pumpkin Farm

Henry saw a painted pumpkin that his cousin Anna did on her blog recently. She painted around a letter "A" for Anna and Henry thought it was the coolest and wanted to paint an H pumpkin for his blog! Henry and I (Aaron) went to Faulkner's Pumpkin Farm with Grammy, Poppy, Rob, Jenny, Ashley & Anna (Laura was feeling a bit under the weather and took the opportunity for a long nap). After lots of fun playing at Faulkner's (feeding animals, bouncy houses, and Henry's favorite, "Mario Karts" (pedal cars for kids)) he picked out his pumpkin and we painted it as soon as we got home. I blocked out the H with tape and here is the result:

I asked Henry what he wants to say about his pumpkin: "Sometime I want to fight it. Sometime I want to smush it. I love Mario Kart."

Sick

Well, this being fall and Henry in preschool, it was bound to happen. This last month the whole family has been sick. First it was Henry and me, then Aaron and now back to Henry and me. Poor little Henry has an ear infection with bad tasting medicine. He does such a good job and we can convince him to take it because it will make him feel better (and we give him a popsicle after it is done). I'm impressed at how reasonable he is. Hopefully in the next few days he'll perk up.

As for myself, I just have a bad cold. The worst thing is that I cannot take medicine to help the symptoms (well I can, but every medication has side effects and risks and I would rather not).  Last night my nose was crazy. Instead of fighting it, I just gave in and went to bed at 7:30.  I had to work today and wanted to be in the best condition possible. It's not horrible, but I don't like blowing my nose all the time and feeling absolutely void of energy.

With regard to my pregnancy, I am definitely in the home stretch. Over 75% done! I am glad of this and will now take things easy. I stopped walking to work as of now and I find myself more often than not with my feet propped up at home. Instead of thinking about 10 weeks to the big day, I'm chopping it up into mini goals. My first goal is 32 weeks, for the morbidity of the baby significantly decreases at that time. After this, it will be 36 weeks, which usually is the time you can take your baby home at. After that, 38 weeks, a nice, term date. After 38 weeks I'll go with whatever. I had a dream a few nights ago that I delivered her at 34 weeks. Let's home that is not a premonition, although in the dream I did get to see her face, and it was beautiful. I can't wait for that part.

Gratitude

This pregnancy has been different, and one of the main reasons is that I am not the first anymore. When I was pregnant with Henry, I didn't really know anyone who was pregnant or had a little one. I had to buy all my maternity clothes and stuff for the baby. It was a little fun picking out things, but expenses can really add up.  This second time around things are much different. Since Henry, a lot of friends and family have had children. When I got pregnant the second time around, I received maternity clothes from 4 people. I believe I have only bought two tank tops and a dress this whole time. Not bad, not bad at all. I should say my only gripe is that all 4 people are shorter than me so sometimes a skirt or a dress seems a little to, um, casual, for work.  I just put on a pair of leggings and call it good. It is so hard buying clothes that last a few months and then you're destined never to wear them again (at least in my case). It's been really great not having to worry about my clothes.

But really folks, that is the tip of the iceberg.  Since we found out we are having a girl, we've stocked up. It's been marvelous, my sister, sister-in-law and good friend have given me as much girl appropriate things as possible. I am frankly overwhelmed with all of their generosity. As of this last weekend, Aaron and I are completely ready to care for this child.  We have a FULL dresser filled with only 0-3 month clothes. Amazing. All I can say is thank you.

I can't wait to return the favor someday.

Star Wars Party

Well, Henry's birthday party is passed and I am quite relieved. It's nice to just sit and relax and not have all that planning to do. My sister and mother came a couple days early and helped with everything. Renae made the cake and my mom made all the appetizers. Renae also made this cute little Yoda hat for Malcolm as you can see below. The whole day was a pretty big success and I think Henry had a lot of fun. He was able to sword fight as much as he wanted (which was a ton). I mean, look at the smile on his face.

As you can tell by his outfit, he was a storm trooper like me. Aaron was Darth Vader and all the kids were Jedi's (Malcolm being the famous Jedi Master Yoda). Some adults were kind enough to dress up too (Thanks Jenny, Rob, Mom, Renae and Jim). We found this great Darth Vader pinata and the kids had great fun getting it open.

After the pinata there was cake, presents and more sword fighting. All in a days work for a jedi.

I look forward to more themed birthday parties, but for now I would like to rest. Being a 30 week pregnant storm trooper is a lot of work.

Birth Plan

Last night I dreamt about my baby almost all night. Well, I woke up twice to use the bathroom, once to pick up Henry's stuffed animal and many times to re-situate my body. Every time I remembered bits of my dreams and they were always of her. In the dreams I was just holding her, feeding her, cuddling her. I can't wait.

Last night I watched a sit-com about the arrival of a new baby. In the show, the mother had an 18 page birth plan. Of course, nothing turned out right, but it got me thinking. I need a birth plan. After searching my soul, I think I've come up with it and I am ready to share it with the world. Here it is.

1. Go into labor

2. Have a baby

This is pretty ideal, but it doesn't cover all situations, so I might need a back up plan. Henry was induced because he was post dates. In attempts to cover all situations, here is my secondary birth plan.

1. Get induced

2. Have a baby

Now I haven't talked to Aaron about it yet, but I hope he agrees on the plan. Having a baby is a wonderful wonderful thing and I do not want to leave the experience disappointed. I expect that I'll get an epidural sometime and I hope to deliver normally. If my OB thinks I need a c-section, well, then I'm going to do it. I don't want to set myself up for failure and I trust my body and the OB to do the right thing.

Now that I have a plan, I'm ready to have this baby!

Pregnant Strom Trooper

Henry's birthday is coming up fast. He decided that he wanted a Star Wars party and has been excited ever since. This is the first time he wanted to help with the actual planning and it has made things a lot of fun. When he went to the YMCA the other day, he told the workers about the party. When I took him to the park, he told the other boy about the party. It's so cute to watch how excited it makes him. He started off by choosing characters for everyone. At first Henry was going to be Darth Maul because of the double edged light saber. Then it changed to Darth Vader, then Luke Skywalker and then a Storm Trooper. I think he settled on the storm trooper because he will have a gun, but sometimes he wants to be a guy with a light saber. I told him we can just pretend he took the light saber from a good guy. During his indecisive time with his character, he has always been steadfast with mine. I know what you're thinking, maybe the only female character in the whole movie, right? Umm, nope. I was always going to be a storm trooper. Also, Aaron was always destined to be Darth Vader. I think it is pretty interesting that he chose the Dark Side for all of our family. What does that mean?

Me being pregnant and all, I was hoping I could minimize my costume and just wear a white t-shirt and call it good. Well, that's not exactly what happened. Partially because Henry is also a storm trooper and partially because I got inspired, I now have a full costume (minus the mask because Henry doesn't want anyone to wear masks). My costume started out with a long sleeve shirt and sweat pants. Aaron looked at a storm trooper picture and sketched the black parts on the costume, then I painted it all. As you can see, I look pretty scary.

I'm sure no Jedi would want a match with me. I know I haven't put any pregnancy pictures of myself of this blog, so let this count. This is 29 weeks.

As for myself, I think I'm feeling pretty good. Last week I had a cold and was zapped of all energy. This week I feel healthy and the energy came back. It has been really nice since Aaron has been a little under the weather and Henry has been as active as ever. I'm still able to walk to work most days, but at the end of the walk my lower belly aches a little. My nurse at clinic gets worried when I walk because I walk "too fast." I like staying at least a little active. It makes me believe getting in shape again won't be such an uphill battle later.

I had my OB appointment today. After I peed in a cup I went to the waiting room and I heard an announcement for my doctor to go to the hospital for a delivery "now." His nurse came out and asked if I heard the announcement and if I could wait. She guessed it would be about 45 minutes, but really, it could be a lot longer if things didn't go smoothly. I told her I would rather not, and then asked her if we could just do the appointment ourselves. I mean, 29 weeks, they don't do much. They check the urine for protein, take my weight, blood pressure, measure fundal height (the size of the uterus) and listed to the baby's heartbeat. I have done all those things in medical school. She said she could do the doppler, but had never measured the fundal height before. I told her I could help and we did it. It was kinda fun and our measurements were right on target. I told her to call me if my doctor wanted anything else and I would come back. He never called, so I think we did a good job. It was kinda fun. I see him back in 2 weeks so it's not an overly important visit.

We'll see what he has to say in a few weeks.

Oh, and by the way, since Henry has started planning this birthday party, he has also extended it to his next birthdays. My favorite is a Zelda party when he turns 18. I can't wait to see it!

Busy and Tired

These last few weeks have been pretty tiring (with me being pregnant and a little sick). That being said, we still have had a lot of fun. We got to go to an apple orchard and Henry got the pleasure of being bit by a horse. Luckily he got over it pretty quickly and ended up enjoying the rest of the time at the orchard. As you can see by the picture above, Henry got some roller hockey action. It's fun to see him out on the roller blades. He is very cautious, but has started to got faster and faster. We'll see if he follows in his father's footsteps for roller hockey or if he can make the jump to ice.

This last weekend our friend Jackie got to come and visit us. It's so rare that friends actually make the trek down here. This was Jackie's second time. The first time Henry was just a little baby and we kept pretty much to the house. This time I wanted to show her what Kansas City had to offer her. We ended up going to Blanc Burgers on the plaza, the Jazz Museum, the Negro League Baseball Museum, Oklahoma Joes, Loose Park and the in-laws house. Not too bad for a weekend. I do like this city a lot, but there is always the inevitable comparison to Minneapolis. Still, compared to Mpls we have better barbecue, compared to Mpls we have better Jazz (or at least Jazz history), compared to Mpls..... um maybe that is it. Maybe it's not about which city is better, but just about enjoying the city that you are it. Now that I've been out of residency for over a year, I have found some great parks, trails, and sports. I'm sure every city has hidden things, you just have to search hard for them. It took me 6 months or so to find a basketball team.

Anyway, it was great to see Jackie as always and the weekend made me wish we lived in the same city. But for now we don't, so visits every other month or so will due. Jackie does have busy schedule, with being a National Champion and all (http://mnbrassinc.org). Thanks for coming Jackie!

And, as for me and my pregnancy, I think we've settled into a routine. I now expect to get achy when I walk, but I am still able to walk to work. I now expect to wake up several times a night to use the bathroom. I now expect to wake up in the morning with sore hips. I now expect to get hungry every 3 hours or so, and last but not least, I now expect this little girl to move around like a crazy circus person interrupting all of my thoughts and putting the focus back on her.

So typical!