One last update

My OB had me go in for an u/s and the great news is that baby is healthy...completely out of room, but happy as can be. Another plus, my fluid levels are great. The only down side is that he is "sunny side up" (face up). As a result the back of his head and shoulders are pressing on my cervix (which I knew because holy hell does it hurt if I get up too fast). My OB thinks the reason my cervix is not dilating, despite frequent contractions over the last week, has to do with how much pressure my 9lb baby is putting on the opening. Some pressure good, too much pressure and the cervix can't open.

Long story short he doesn't think I will be going into labor on my own by Monday. Of course anything can happen but most likely I will be having a c-section on the 30th. If I do go into labor this weekend, given baby's positioning, it is likely that I will need a c-section anyway. The u/s tech estimated that he weighs between 8.5-9 lbs. 

While I am certainly a little sad to have my VBAC chances diminished, I have nothing in the world to feel "sorry" about, I am going to hold my baby in my arms on Monday!!! 

Now I just have to find a way to occupy myself until then :)  

Caged animal

I literally can NOT believe I am still pregnant. I mean that not as a complaint, simply a statement of fact.

Every five minutes I look down at my belly and yell, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!?" - Okay maybe I don't actually yell, or maybe I do.

When I was pregnant with Lily I had absolutely no "early labor" signs. I was also working full time and trying my damnedest to work right up until my due date. Lily was born at 40w6d, only after I was induced for low fluid the day before. In other words, she wasn't going anywhere on her own. This time around I have been having these phantom labor signs for 10 days. On three separate occasions in the last 5 days I have had contractions 10 minutes a part for an hour, only to have them stop completely. Of course two of those occasions were in the middle of the night. Anyone care to guess how much Lily cares that mommy didn't sleep the night before? Ha. Point being, it is starting to mess with my head.

I like being pregnant and if I didn't feel like I was on a slow death march to my scheduled c-section I would happily carry the baby well into next week. But I do have a deadline and I am starting to feel like I am running out of time. Adding to the caged feeling, every tree in my neighborhood is trying to kill me in full bloom. It is commonly known by my friends and family that my allergies are no joke. During my allergy test a few years ago the nurse thought she was going to have to send me to the ER in an ambulance when my arm blew up to three times its normal size after she administered the prick test. Instead, I passed out and was given a cortisone shot intended for someone twice my size...and then I threw up! Maple, Oak and Pine are my big three. I tried to go outside with Lily this morning for some play time, but after only 20 minutes my mouth, nose, and eyes were on FIRE. A few minutes later I started to wheeze (which scared the bejesus out of me) and we came running back inside. I spent the next hour in absolute misery. Sufficed to say the house is now on lock down and all windows and doors are to remain closed until further notice. I bet you are dying to come over for a visit! I am most disappointed that we won't be able to go for any more long walks. As much as my feet and hips were killing me, I felt like I was at least doing something to help move things along. Plus it gave me something to do. I suppose we could go and walk the mall, barf.

I am so bored, so very bored. I told Matt today that if I refresh my facebook feed one more time today... they are going to revoke my account. The house is clean. The laundry is washed, folded and put away. The grocery shopping is done. The bags are packed. WHAT IS THIS KID WAITING FOR?!?

My sister gets in tonight, here's hoping!!

My toddler is taking advantage of me!

I really have nothing new to report. A full week has gone by and there is no indication whatsoever that this baby is any closer to being born. I have been having contractions on and off so hopefully I am making progress but won't know anything until my weekly appointment on Thursday. For the record I am still confident that I can and will VBAC this kid if I go into labor on my own.

Like I said last week, clearly my will has nothing to do with getting this show on the road. I am still feeling pretty good overall. It is officially allergy season thanks to the unseasonably high temps this week and we have all been bracing ourselves. Today is the first day that I have really started to have symptoms, another reason I am really anxious to get this show on the road. I am a little swollen but suspect that my blood pressure is still well within the normal range. My feet hurt, but that has more to do with all the walking (coupled with the fact that I have been wearing flip flops) than anything baby related. If I had one real complaint it would be that I am not sleeping. I get up every few hours to pee, which after 6 months or longer, you do sort of get used to. But for the past week even when I am asleep my mind is so active that I don't feel like I am getting any rest. Last night I could have sworn I was awake, consciously thinking about the baby's delivery, but when I looked at the clock several hours had gone by...at least part of that time I must have been "asleep". It would be really great if I could just turn it all off and really sleep, but with less than two weeks until my scheduled surgery I really don't see that happening.

Aside from thinking about the baby all.the.time. things around the house are same old, with maybe a few slight exceptions...which brings me to the title of this post.

Lily is smart and I am very much afraid of what that means for Dingle and I down the road. Seriously. There is no way that she understands what is about to happen to our family of three. Yes, she knows what a baby is, but there is no way she understands what it means to have the baby come and live here...I am not even sure Dingle and I know what it means to have another tiny person come and live with us. All that being said, she knows something is up and she is taking full advantage. As I just mentioned, I am tired and I just don't have it in me to be the consistent "setter-of-limits" that I normally am. It has taken Lily approximately one day to recognize that: tired mommy + the art of charm = getting exactly what she wants.

Neither Matt nor I ever give in to her when she is raging like a maniac, and trust me she can rage with the best of them. But this new found manipulation is almost worse. She is just so damn sweet! Today I let her watch two full episodes of Curious George (watch out Elmo the monkey is taking over) because she batted her eyelashes and there was cuddling. After our walk today she kept insisting that she was not hungry for lunch until I offered to let her sit in a little chair at the coffee table. And wouldn't you know it she was charming and sweet and ate everything on her plate. I am more than a little worried about the precedents being set, but honestly, am I going to fight with her about where to eat dinner later?

...nope, not even for a minute... as long as there is cuddling.

Full Term - A ticking time bomb!

37 weeks  4/8/12

Here we are ladies and gentlemen, baby boy is officially full term. 

At my appointment last week I got a bit of discouraging news. Baby boy is still measuring big, really big, like 96th percentile big. At 36w3d he was measuring 7lbs 9oz, accounting for error of +/-7oz he is already over 7lbs. For the first time this entire pregnancy my OB seemed skeptical that I will be able to VBAC. Because my previous c-section with Lily was not the result of stalled labor she has been confident all along that I would be able to avoid surgery this time. Due to the baby's measurements she is not thrilled about allowing me to postpone a c-section past 39 weeks. For those of you doing the math, that is two weeks from yesterday. She went so far as to offer to book the surgery for 38 weeks if I wanted to just be done with this whole pregnancy thing. I have to admit, it would definitely be tempting IF every fiber of my being wasn't telling me that a second surgery is not the way to go. We want to have more kids and it is pretty much universal consensus at my practice that 3 c-sections is the absolute limit, and that is under the best case circumstances.  

As of right now there are a few things that we know. First, because I had a c-section they will not use any drugs to induce labor this time. Once I am in active labor they will consider giving me pitocin to move things along if otherwise things are looking good for me and the baby. Second, my OB filed the paperwork for my c-section, I just got the call (literally just this minute) from the booking coordinator at the hospital!

 :::takes several deep breaths:::

I was able to postpone the surgery until the 30th!! Not only does that give me the best chance of going into labor on my own but it is also with the same OBGYN who delivered Lily (he also did the second surgery after my miscarriage last year), which just makes me feel AMAZING. I have total confidence in him and trust that he will take excellent care of me and the baby. We'll see how my OB feels about my decision when I see her on Wednesday (gulp). I have a feeling she isn't going to be too thrilled. 

So we are left with three possible scenarios:

1. I go into labor on my own and successfully deliver the baby before my scheduled c-section date. (If he really is a monster it stands to reason he will want out sooner rather than later...right?) 

2. I go into labor on my own but complications arise (i.e. he is a monster and I physically can't deliver him) and I end up needing a c-section. 

3. I do not go into labor on my own and the baby is delivered via scheduled c-section on April 30th. 

If it is possible to will this baby/my body to cooperate everyone should expect a birth announcement in the next ten days! Unfortunately, I don't think that my will has very much to do with how this will all play out. Once I am in labor I will definitely stick to my guns and hold out as long as is safe for me and the baby, that much I can control. What I can't control is the whole going into labor thing! Let's face it, if there were a sure fire "home remedy" for inducing labor everyone would do it. I am not above trying the old wives tales within reason. But I can tell you right now I am not about to ingest anything intended to "stimulate my digestive system". Yuck. 

So place your bets...date/weight! 

You're TWO!

Dear Lily,

You are two! Over the past few days Daddy and I have spent a lot of time looking at your baby pictures. If there is one thing I will never regret, it is taking too many pictures of you! Each and every picture brings a smile to our faces. You have changed our whole world over the past two years and to be honest neither of us can remember what we used to be like, before we were a party of three. To me you still look exactly the same as you did when we brought you home. Your tiny features are still so perfect and your eyes are always smiling. Daddy and I are positive that you are, in fact, the most beautiful little girl in the entire world.

Not only are you beautiful but you are so smart (maybe a little too smart) and sweet as can be (except for when you are not, in those cases we call in the exorcist). I can't wait for you to meet your baby brother because I know that you will just love him with your whole heart. You are a very affectionate little girl and love to give both me and Daddy lots of "sweet kisses" throughout the day. In fact if you are being whiny and not so nice, a sweet kiss will usually snap you right out of the funk. You love to spend time with Mimi and Doe and Grammy and Grampy. We are all so lucky to have so many people who love us so much! When it comes to talking on the phone or over skype you have become quite a ham. You love to watch yourself on the screen while we talk to Aunt Kate.

Speaking of talking, oh.my.gosh (one of your favorite phrases right now), you're vocabulary is sort of ridiculous. Most of the time Daddy and I have no idea where or how you pick up the words you do, but you have proven time and time again that you are listening and that you don't miss a thing! You have been speaking in complete sentences for several weeks now. You have such a vivid imagination and spend most of your day playing with your dollhouse dolls and winnie the pooh figurines, acting out elaborate plot lines. You also LOVE stuffed animals and no matter how many times Daddy and I cull the heard you always have an full entourage. Right now your bedtime inner-circle consists of your cabbage patch dolls, Sophie and Baby, Elmo, Tiny Elmo, Dog, Max, and Ruby...throw in blankie (which you still call "B" occasionally) and it is more than Mommy can carry up the stairs in one trip.

A few weeks ago you started sleeping in a big girl bed! You have done such a great job. For the most part you obey the rules (aside from completely destroying the mini blind!) and every morning you are so proud. You have started to distinguish between big girl things and baby things. You seem very excited about the idea that your baby brother will be sleeping in the crib and eating in the high chair. (Did I mention you eat all of your meals at the table/counter in your big girl seat?). A few days ago you found an old paci in Mommy's drawer and proudly announced that "pacis are for babies" and then you walked over and rested the paci on my belly for your brother.

We spend a lot of time playing at home. Partially because even though we had no snow this winter it was still too cold to play outside and partially because Mommy is having a hard time keeping up with you with her big belly. When we do venture out you love to go for walks, especially if we find ourselves at the playground. You also like to go to the library and right now you are really in to going to the grocery store to look at the lobsters. By far your favorite outing of the week is to Music Together. You can (and do) sing so many of the songs word for word, you also love to dance in the center of the room with everyone watching. When we are at home you spend time after dinner playing piano and the guitar with Daddy. You have always seemed to respond to music, even when you were just a tiny baby you loved for Mommy to sing to you. We are really curious to see if your love of music now will continue in the future.

For the next few weeks Mommy and Daddy are trying to make the most of our time as a party of three. We talk about how things will change when your brother gets here, but I know you have no idea what's about to happen. No matter what it is so important to me that you know that the more love we have in our house the better, and bringing home the baby means more love for all of us! I wake up every.single.day thrilled to be your mommy. Even when you are acting naughty (and some days that is all you do) there isn't anything I would rather do than be here with you. I love you so much coo coo girl. And just now when I called out to you and told you I loved you so much, you replied with a grin "I love you SO much Mommy!".

I told you, you are pretty much the best thing ever.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday Lily!

I asked Lily what she wanted to do today. The first thing she said was "have cake", which really should surprise no one.
The second thing she said..."Go to store and see lobsters, uh-huh!!!"

How can I say no to that?!?

Happy Birthday to my sweet little coo coo girl. I will write a longer post to celebrate your big day, as soon as I stop crying. I love you more than anything.

One last post about the big girl bed and then I promise I will stop...

Lily has been in her big girl bed for 2 whole weeks! The transition has been so wonderfully easy I put off posting about it until now to avoid jinxing this good thing we have going.

We had one little hiccup last weekend when, as expected, Lily started to test the boundaries of her new privilege. I suspected that she may have gotten out of her bed on Sunday morning when I noticed that some blankets and laundry were messier than I would have left them. I didn't have real proof and she was in the bed when we went in to get her. At nap time later on that day Lily confirmed my suspicion when she kicked the baby monitor off the bed rail as she was climbing down. I scurried upstairs (as fast an 8 month pregnant lady can scurry) and caught her hanging from the end of the bed. I only wish I had my camera ready because the guilty look on her face was priceless.

After a stern talking to I put her back in the bed and closed the door. Not 3 minutes later she had made her second escape. Again we burst into the room, scolded her and put her back in bed. As soon she heard the click of the door latch she was on the move yet again. After a week of compliance we were at a total loss for what to do next. I am an avid believer, and devoted follower of The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp. Lucky for me he also wrote a book entitled, you guessed it, The Happiest Toddler on the Block. I have not had a chance to read it yet but was able to google: what would Harvey Karp do?!? His advice, do not interact with the child, positively or negatively, simply put them back in bed and leave the room. Anyone want to guess how many more times we had to go in the room??

TWO.

THAT'S IT,
T-W-O!

THANK GOODNESS FOR THE INTERNET!!

In all seriousness I was in disbelief that she was so responsive. Knock on every piece of wood in the house, we haven't had a single escape attempt since. (Matt installed a web-cam so that we could keep an eye on her)

Not only has she stayed in the bed, she took an actual nap every day this past week, whoa. I am officially patting myself on the back for this one! One transition down, three hundred to go.