Cooper's Birth Story

This is the short version as the adjustment from 1 kids to 2 kids is kicking my butt! But before I start to forget the details I wanted to get a few things on paper the blog to refresh my own memory.

This is officially the last picture of me pregnant at 41 weeks. I sat in this chair while my mom timed my contractions and we watched Desperate Housewives on TV. My contractions started at about 4 minutes apart, but by the end of the show they were closer to 3.

We headed to the hospital about 11:30 and I was 3-4 cm dilated. I was so thankful I wasn't still stuck at 1cm! They sent us for a walk where I progressed to 4-5cm. Because I opted for the epidural this time around we were admitted at this time and set up for monitoring.

I had the epidural about 2am and I got 'epidural drunk' as my Mom called it. I was just so happy to feel absolutely nothing. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The nurse kept asking if I felt any pressure and I said no over and over. Finally she decided to check me anyway. It was 3:55am and I was at 10cm! I guess my body really knows how to get babies out fast.

When it was time to push the doctors noticed that he was facing the wrong way. They brought in a specialist to manually turn the baby. At this point I was very glad to have opted for the epidural as I again felt nothing.

I pushed a total of 4 times. Yes you read that correctly, 4 times. Cooper came shooting out right into the doctor's arms.

I actually got to see him come out this time and the first thing I thought was 'look at all that hair'! They immediately placed him on my belly where James and I got the first glimpse of our new son.


While the doctor finished her ahem work on me, James had a chance to cuddle Cooper while Grandma took all the amazing photos.

We couldn't be more happy about the arrival of DJ our son, Cooper James.

That is the story of how our family went from a family of 3 to 4.

the end.

41 Weeks

No News. Still pregnant.

Speaking of Stubborn...

We had our first of 2 ultrasounds to monitor DJ while (s)he continues to bake in my little oven. DJ had 30 minutes for the technician to assign it 2 points each based on:

• practice breathing for 30 seconds
• tone
• movement
• size

DJ got the 2 points for size right away but waited a full 29 minutes to complete the other activities with movement being the last. If DJ did not make those couple movements in that last minute we would have been subjected to another hour or 2 of non-stress testing where I have to sit in a chair and push a button when I feel a movement. If DJ failed that I would have been induced today..... As it was we were there for a full 1.5 hours between the 30 minute ultrasound and waiting to see the doctor for the official results that the ultrasound tech has already told us.

The ultrasound at nearly 41 weeks was interesting. I couldn't tell what we were looking at. Your mind tells you that you should see more since the baby is bigger but that was not the case. We got to see the face only once and it looks chubby. Per the measurement, DJ weighs 8 pounds, 1 ounce. I asked her whether this was plus/minus a pound and she said in our case she would expect the baby to be between 7 and 8 pounds. I can live with that.

If baby hasn't arrived on its own by Monday, we get to go back for another ultrasound for the same tests. I really hope DJ does not leave us hanging right until the last minute again. Or better yet, let's have the baby before then so we don't even have to go for the second ultrasound. Yes... I like the sound of that much better!

Have a good weekend!

I. am. still. pregnant.

I repeat. I am still pregnant.

I went to the doctor today and am still stuck at 1cm with a very high baby. We have 2 ultrasounds booked and an induction scheduled for next week. I am still somewhat optimistic that the baby will come on its own but that optimism is slowly fading.

I have tried raspberry tea, acupuncture, vigorous walking, and even considered castor oil before reading about it on the Internet, then I chickened out....

The doctor suggested that it must be a boy since it was so stubborn. My Dad suggested it must be a girl since it is being so stubborn. I wonder if everyone thinks the opposite sex is more stubborn?

One more thing... it wasn't just me that was mislead into thinking DJ may arrive early. There were only 5 guesses for baby birth dates in November and the last one is tomorrow. I still have a smidgen of hope.

Happy Due Date DJ!

So I guess this is what 40 weeks pregnant look like....

I have been thinking all week about what I would write in my due date post all the while hoping I'd be writing a birth announcement instead.

Here I find myself at the date that I have counted down for 9 months and I still have no baby to show for it. I guess I do in terms of a big belly, but not exactly what what I had in mind :)

So here is what pregnancy at 40 weeks is like according to Amalah. She has a different approach and sense of humor then the baby center emails I receive and thought that her version of 40 weeks is much more representative

Your Baby:

• get out get out get out.
• get out get out get out get out.

You:

• get out get out get out. get out. get out.
• get out get out get out get out.
• and for real: GET OUT.

So first, the bad news. Less than 10% of babies actually show up on their due date. While the word “overdue” pretty much feels on par with the f-word during the final weeks of pregnancy, the sad truth is that many of us will end up there.

You may continue to trudge to work everyday, silently fuming about how this was SO NOT WHAT YOU MEANT by your plan to “work up until your due date.” You may start working from home, blaming an inability to fit into your shoes or keep the bottom few inches of your belly covered. You may be trying to convince your older children that no, FOR REAL, the baby still is coming, you swear, despite the fact that the cheerfully circled Big Brother Day!! on the calendar has come and gone. You may just be sitting around, waiting. And waiting.Endless walking? Mucus plug? Contractions? Spicy food? Sex? Anyone? Can I have some sign that this is almost over? Don’t make me break out the castor oil.

So there you have it. Being 40 weeks pregnant is not pleasant and a place most woman hope to never see. Myself included. You have now passed the day you have hoped would arrive for months and now you just keep waiting. For me, my new countdown date is Nov. 11. That is the day that they will induce me in the event that there is no natural labour in the next 11 days. That seems months from now.

For me, 40 weeks pregnant means no plans, no play dates, no spontaneity, and no fun. I go to sleep every night and ask James if tonight is the night. Every night he says no. Last night I got a maybe. When will he just say yes because that is what I want him to say. Even if he is wrong every night except that one special night when DJ arrives.

In the grand scheme of things what is one (or even eleven) more days of waiting for a lifetime of happiness with our second child. Now that puts things into perspective.

So now I will drink my Raspberry Leaf tea that has been steeping well over the recommended 15 minutes and enjoy my little ones kicks from the inside for what could be the last time. Or there could be many more moments like this over the next 11 days. But I know that one day soon we will meet this little critter that has already brought so much joy to our lives.

Discouraged

I thought I should do a quick post to let you know we are still waiting for DJ. I really thought DJ would be here by now. I always tell people not to expect early babies and here that is what I did without even realizing it. I was just so sure that DJ would be as early or earlier than Grady that I lost sight of the fact that my due date isn't until this Sunday....

I had a quick doctor's appointment where we determined baby is still very high so there is nothing she can do to help speed up the process. So the waiting continues...

My mom arrived on Sunday and I am so grateful for her and all the help she has provided even before that baby is born. I originally thought she would be more help after the baby was born, but it turns out that the closer you get to 40 weeks, the more tired you become, and the nicer it is to have a 'playmate' for your 2 year old.

Grady loves his Grandma and has shown it many times over the past few days. From waking up in the morning and asking where grandma is before he even says hello to you to leading you back to your chair to sit down so he can play with Grandma by himself. I hope this will help when the baby arrives as he will still have a playmate while James and I try to adjust to having 2 kids.

Grady is spending the day with Nana, who he loves to bits, tomorrow while Mom and I head out to do a little retail therapy and maybe even eat a meal in peace and quiet. But not not before heading to Grady's usual Thursday morning class to have some Halloween fun with his friends! I'll try and post some pictures if I can get him to stay in his costume long enough. I am not going to lie, I am a little concerned about the costume. He loves all things Halloween right now including the pumpkins, scary books, and the blow up decorations across the street. But the costume we are not so sure about......

39 Weeks

I have officially been pregnant longer with DJ than I was with Grady.

Here are some reasons why I beleive DJ should make an appearnce this week:

• My mom has arrived.


• I feel like an overstuffed turkey


• I am packed


• I am tired all the time


• I am not sleeping great at night


• I can no longer shave my legs. Seriously.


• I have all these frozen meals in the freezer that I promised myself I wouldn't eat until after the baby is born (Thanks to Dashing Dishes and Nana!)


• Grady is finally sleeping through the night on a more regular basis. Knock on wood.


• My clothing selection is so limited that I sometimes wear shirts with stains on them.


• One pair of the four pairs of casual pants that fit are capris. The weather is supposed to be cold this week so I am down to 3 pairs....


• I outgrew my seven maternity jeans weeks ago!


• We have visitors lined up for the whole month of November to meet DJ. DJ could still be in my belly or freshly born instead.


• All four of us have a Halloween party to attend next weekend.


• I may seriously go insane if I have to do another weekly photo and update!

Tomorrow is the day that James and I both independently chose as DJ's birth day in the baby pool. Let's hope we were right!

38 Weeks

Could this be my last pregnancy picture?

It could very well be as Grady was born in week 38. In this pregnancy, Grady's birth day is the eqivalent of Saturday. Saturday! So since this could be the last pregnancy post, let's have a little fun!

The picture above is a comparison of this pregnancy to last pregnancy at 38 weeks. Obviously it was a little warmer last time around. I almost pulled out the same dress to put on for the picture. That quickly became too much work. Observations? I seem to me maybe smaller this time? Looks like I am carrying lower as well. My hair is also longer. Finally. I have been growing it since April and still can't get a pony tail in it. To top it off, I get my hair cut on Thursday so pony tails are not in my near future....

I know this one is small, but if you click on it, it becomes bigger. This is my growth this pregnancy. I look at the first picture at 14 weeks and I remember thinking how big I was. I hadn't seen anything yet. I can't WAIT to lay on my stomach again. Not only for sleeping, but for reading books and doing puzzles with Grady. This whole side laying thing is getting pretty old.

As for my doctor's appointment today... it was uneventful. I thought it was funny that when she was feeling my belly she asked me if I knew if we were having a boy. Odd. I responded with 'no, do you know we are having a boy' she said simply no they don't write that in the file. I found that odd. Could a second little boy be joining our family soon? More trucks, diggers, Diego, and trains? Maybe we'll find out this week.... then again, maybe not!

37 Weeks

37 weeks, 2 days. 19 days left per the ticker. 19 days. Or it could be tomorrow. Wow. For your viewing pleasure here I am at 37 weeks exactly before thanksgiving dinner.

Front.

Side.

Back.

I love how from the back you can't really tell I am pregnant, then you get a side view and there is no mistaking it!

I had my weekly doctor appointment today and it was pretty uneventful. I asked a few questions about some things after baby is born, in particular breast feeding. Grady and I got off to a rough start in the world of breast feeding so want to try and remedy it earlier this go around. Supply was the issue, so not sure if anything can really be done. I already have a prescription to start the 'breast feeding drug' on day 3 if my milk doesn't come in. So I am happy about that.

Other than that, I am measuring right at 37.5 weeks and baby's heart rate was 142. Highest we have seen it in months! Baby must be getting excited to make its grand appearance!

The waiting continues.....

Weekly Doctor Appoinmtents

So after an eventful Friday, I thought I would recap my more routine weekly appointment that started this week. Usually I go on the way home from work which is the last or second last appointment of the day, so it is always late. Tuesday's appointment was a pleasant surprise. My appointment was for 9:10 and I was out of there at 9:22. Yes.... a mere 12 minutes later. It was fantastic. As for new info....

-the baby's heart rate was 137. This baby has not broken 140 the whole pregnancy.... which according to old wives tale means boy. Not sure

-baby is 100% head down. Since the ultrasound at 26 weeks when the baby was breech, the doctors are really into confirming each and every visit that baby has flipped. Apparently it would be rare for the baby to switch back to breech at this point.

- DJ's head has not 'dropped'. Apparently in second and subsequent pregnancies some woman do not 'drop' until labor starts. I was actually quite surprised that DJ was still high as I feel lots of pressure on my bladder if a move a certain way. Especially when I am exercising. So really this is a useless piece of information. Moving on...

- I am 1 cm dilated. This also is really insignificant as woman on second or subsequent babies can walk around dilated to 3cm and not know it. So I am not holding my breath that this means I will be giving birth this week.

So there is this weeks recap... until next's week appt....

Nothing beats a Friday morning spent at labor and delivery

I hope you sense the sarcasm in the title....

I haven't been feeling great all week. Dizzy spells here and there but nothing serious. It started Tuesday morning the same day as my doctor appointment but I didn't mention it as by the time I got to the appointment I felt fine and my blood pressure was normal so thought that was the end of it. Wrong!

This morning I felt fine. Not great but better than previous mornings. We had arranged to meet a friend and her son at the pool at 9:30 which we did. Grady did great wearing his life jacket and seemed to be having a great time. They have this river that has a current and jets resulting in some bubbles. The second we stepped into the evil river I felt awful. Very dizzy and even a bit nauseous. I told my friend that I needed to get out hoping to feel better. But I didn't.

We decided to leave and I felt so awful that I opted not to drive. We are so lucky to have Nana living close by so I called her hoping she would come and pick us up. I quickly called my OB to see if I could get in. I wasn't optimistic as they conveniently close at noon on Fridays but I didn't know what else to do. The receptionist said if I was really concerned to go to the Maternal Unit at the hospital. Although that was not how I hoped to spend the morning, I also did not want to spend the entire long weekend worrying so we opted to take a drive to the hospital.

To make a long story short, my blood pressure was fine, the baby movement was good, and the it turns out the dizziness is not related to my pregnancy at all. The doctor thinks that the dizziness is being caused by my never ending cold combined with pregnancy congestion. It is some sort of inner ear thing that starts with an 'L'. She gave me a prescription for a steroid nasal spray, but I opted to try a more natural approach first. My bff Deena recommended a Neti Pot to clear my sinuses. It is actually kind of gross. You pour saline solution into one nostril and it drips out the other nostril. I have done it exactly once so far. I really hope that it clears up my sinuses and makes these dizzy spells disappear before baby arrives.

So now we have our trial run under our belts. Bring on the real deal!

Excited. Scared. Nervous. Excited.

That is what I am feeling at any given moment at 36 weeks pregnant with baby number 2.



My how it is different this go around. With my first pregnancy I was just over the moon excited about becoming a Mom. No longer did I have to watch other moms with their newborns and wander when it would be my turn. It was my turn and I just couldn't wait to start this new chapter of my life. I was naive. Unprepared. Inexperienced. Excited. Excited. And more Excited. With baby number 2, I know what to expect and how the first few weeks can be rough. I know how it feels to be sleep deprived, emotional, frustrated, and completely in love with your new child all at once. It is an emotional rollar coaster to say the least. It was for me anyway. As this pregnancy is coming to a close I have a rush of emotions that I didn't experience with my first pregnancy. Excitement is still the dominant feeling, but every so often these other nasty emotions creep in....


Excited. I am beyond excited to meet the newest member of our family. Will it be a baby brother for Grady who will grow up adoring his big brother, playing together, and becoming best friends. Or will it be a baby sister for Grady to protect over the years and eventually try to date her friends in highschool. Either way we are thrilled and just beyond excited to see what our completed family will look like. Equal or overruled by testosterone!


I am excited to hold the baby for the first time and hear its first cries. I can't wait to see James holding his 2nd child for the first time with less fear than he did the first time. The day Grady was born was the best day of my life and I expect DJ's birthday to be the best day as well. I could tell the story of Grady's birth over and over and never tire of hearing it. I am so excited to live what I expect to be one of the best days of my life all over again. I get shivers just thinking about it and how close we are to meeting this precious child of ours.


Scared. I am at that point in pregnancy where you start to remember what you must go through to meet the baby and get to the excited stage described above. Labour. It could be the labour from hell, or the best labour you could ever imagine, or it could even be a c-section. It doens't matter how the baby enters the world, it will not be fun. When I had Grady, at some points I actually forgot that we got a baby at the end. I just wanted the labour portion to stop. I would consider Grady's birth to be a relatively good one as far as labour's go, so I am a little nervous that I will not be as lucky this go around. Minutes after Grady's med-free birth, I told the James, my Mom, and the nurses taht next time I was all about the epidural. I clearly remember the nurse telling me that if my birth is anything like the first, there will be no time for an epidural. Essentially I was told not to hesistate once labour has started, go straight to the hopsital, do not pass go, do not collect $200. I am hoping that it happens so fast that I don't have a chance to feel the pain. A girl can hope, can't she?


Nervous. I am nervous about having 2 kids. The adjustment to having one kid was hard. Overwhelming. Tiring. Frustrating. But when that one kid napped, you got a breather. I don't envision that being the case this time around. How am I going to occupy a busy 2 year old while I breastfeed a baby? How will Grady react to the tears that his mommy is sure to shed at one point or another? How will Grady adjust to being a big brother? Will Grady know that I still love him as much as ever even though I will preoccupied with a baby the majority of the time.


I wander how I can possible love another child as much as I love Grady. Grady is the center of my universe and has been since the day he was born, even concieved, and right now it is hard to comprehend that I have enough love to give this second child. I trust that it just works itself out. The old saying that 'love doesn't divide, it multiplies' has to be true. It just has to be. There is no other way to explain how parents all over the world have multiple children and just continue to love each one as much as the other. It is baffling. I never knew this kind of love until I became a parent.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Last Day

Today is my last day at my current job. Not just for maternity leave but forever. I accepted a year long contract that I started Sept 14, 2009 while a former co-worker from my accounting firm days was on maternity leave. At first I was hesitant about accepting a contract, but it actually turned out really well. It gave me the chance to 'try out' the whole working mom thing. Would I like it? Would I prefer to be at home? After 54 weeks, I think I have some answers.

Do I like working? I like using my brain and having adult conversations through out the day so in some respects I do like working. Don't get me wrong, there are countless reasons why I don't like working but overall the actual work is OK. I worked hard to get my CA designation and I hate to see it go to waste. So I would like to keep my fingers in it whether that be volunteering, working full-time, or working part-time.

Would I prefer to stay at home? Yes. Most days I would prefer to lay around the house in my PJs with Grady. Going to the park, the mall, for play dates, and all the other fun things that come with entertaining a 2 year old. I also know there are days that your child just will not cooperate and you just want to go back to bed. It was those days that I was happy to be going to work :) Our weekends are full of fun times but there just isn't enough time in the weekend to do all the fun stuff and the errands. On the other hand, there were mornings where I couldn't wait to get to my desk and drink my coffee and check my emails without a 2 year old sitting on top of me or trying to close the computer!

Where does this leave me in terms of going back to work after baby number 2? I think over the past year I have decided I would like to work in some capacity. Is that full time? Not ideally. I found juggling being a parent and a full-time employee hard to say the least. There was never enough time in the day to work 8 hours plus commute, make supper, play, bath, bedtime, adult TV time, and cleaning. Guess which one took the hit...... Our house is a disaster most days. At 9:00pm, when Grady finally went to sleep, I just couldn't motivate myself to do anything other than lay on the couch and catch up on my TV watching. I suppose being pregnant could have played a part in it as I was pregnant for most of the year I was at work.

Because of the lack of energy and late bedtime all the errands got pushed to the weekends. So any shopping, groceries, returns, etc all had to be worked into the 2 day weekends which were already filled with fun things that we didn't get to do all week. We had play dates, music classes, gym classes, dinners at Nana's, trips to calaway park, trips to the science center and the list goes on and on. So again, the errands and such take a back seat for family time. Which is exactly the way it should be, but still difficult to watch the 'to-do' list grow and grow with very few items being ticked off. Again being pregnant added extra items to this already long list in preparation for DJs arrival.

I think I would like to work 3 or 4 days. I like to think that this mix will allow me to enjoy the best of both worlds. A few days of work, a day or 2 of errands, and a family fun filled weekend. I could be completely wrong and the moms who work 3 days have a whole other set of issues. The first one I think of is daycare. Now you have to find a part-time daycare/dayhome that you like. And that is just the beginning...

As hard as it is for a planner like me, I have to wait and see how I feel in a year, what jobs are out there, and what our situation is. But overall, the working/daycare experience was a positive one for us.

With that being said, I am beyond thrilled to be off for another year! Let the play dates begin!

Before starting this post, I read the post I wrote after completing one week of work back in September 2009. I'd like to re-address some of the points I made and see what has changed.


Before - Grady still cries when James drops him off at daycare
After - Grady is still not eager about going to 'Suzy's house'. There aren't tears every drop off (from what I am told) but there are still tears.

Before - Grady has been getting up in the night a few times a week (I hope due to teething)
After - After about 9 months of sleeping through the night, Grady is getting up once a night again about 75% of the time. Maybe it is the new bed? We still haven't figured this one out.

Before - I have to pay $20 a day to park at work
After - I still pay to park. Not quite that much as I got a monthly pass. But still more than I'd like to.

Before - Getting up before 6am
After - Believe it or not, Grady is starting to sleep in more. We haven't gotten up before 6am in quite some time. I am literally knocking on wood.

Before - I miss seeing Grady all day
After - I still miss Grady during the day, not all day, but I think of him often or look at his pictures around my office. Nothing beats that little voice at the end of each day saying 'hi, hi mommy'

Before - Not enough time in the evening to catch up on housework
After - Still not enough time in the evening to catch up on housework

Before - not enough time to exercise
After - I started walking at lunch with my co workers. The goal was 3 times per week. Sometimes it was 2 times, sometimes 4. It all evened out.


Before - No time to make dinner
After - Plan, Plan plan!! I pre-made dinners, and always knew what were having before I got home from work. Even if it was just chicken fingers and kraft dinner!


Before - I have to go to bed before 10 to make sure I am not a zombie the next day
After - Learning to function on less sleep. We go to bed at 11pm, get up at 6am and right now one of us gets up and sleeps with Grady for an hour or so. I think we are sleeping less than we did at this time last year. And will probably less in a short month!


So now on to anther new normal. For a month. Then we move on to the new new normal with DJ. With kids I have learned that nothing ever stays the same for long!

35/35

I read a lot of blogs. Like 30. Some of them I know IRL (in real life) and others I have found over the past 2 years. James thinks it is strange to read about the lives of people you don't know... I think it is cool to follow someones life, especially if they are good writers. Most of the blogs I read are about pregnancy and motherhood but I read each one for a different reason. It could be that our kids are the same age, we are due the same month, they make me laugh, or some even have made me cry. Whatever the reason, I enjoy reading them.

What is the point you ask and how does this relate to my 35th week of pregnancy with DJ? From reading all these blogs I have learned that when you reach the 35th week you only have 35 days left (7days x 5 weeks). There is a little piece of trivia for you!

On to the not so exciting news of last weeks doctor appointment.

1. The baby is still head down. Yeah!

2. I have all my doctor appt's booked into November which means I should be able to see my regular doctor each and every time.

3. I found out my doctor is on call October 26th. Believe it or not, no one guessed that day in the baby pool. That is the day I am now hoping for. I did not like the doctor who delivered Grady. I didn't really know it at the time but as I remembered things over the next few days I didn't like her bed side manner. I love my doctor and would love for her to deliver DJ!

4. This was the first time that I didn't even sit down before they called my name to go back to the room. I show up on time at the earliest, so this was still not early. With that being said, I still sat in the room for nearly 30 minutes. I read a book on labor. Bad decision. I may have reached that point where I should no longer think/talk about labor. Ouch.

I told you nothing exciting happened!

Just for fun, here is a comparison with me at 35 weeks pregnant with DJ on the left and Grady on the right. I purposely put on the same shirt.

Some observations:

1. My hair is longer this go around. Finally, since I have been growing it since April and no one can tell. All i want to do is put my hair in a pony tail. That isn't asking too much... is it??

2. I look to be carrying higher in the picture with Grady which means girl. Wrong. Or maybe it means boy this time because I am lower.

3. I look more basketball-ish with Grady. I mean like there is a basketball under my shirt. I appear more round this time which means girl.

4. I don't look as old as I feel compared to last time. Not sure if that makes sense, but I sometimes feel like I have aged 10 years since Grady was born.

So there you have it - Week 35 in a nutshell!

Stats.

Being the accountant that I am... I have summarized the baby pool to see where we stand so far. There are still a few people I am waiting for guesses from.....

• The biggest question asked to expectant moms is 'do you know what you are having?'. If I was relying on the results of the responses so far I would have to say it is split 9 votes a piece. On Grady's baby pool the overwhelming majority was boy and of course they were right! So I thought this would give me some insight. As of today it has not.

• The majority think that DJ is going to be in the 7 pound range (78%). Only 1 guess is below 7 pounds and 3 guesses over 8 pounds. Thank you for not thinking my baby will be as big as I was when I was born..... Don't know how you did it Mom :)

• As for dates, 40% of the guessers think that DJ will arrive between October 24th and 27th. I am not sure that it matters that James, Grady, and I are 3 out of those 7 guesses! Here's to hoping DJ arrives in October!

So that is where we stand thus far. I am hoping that some late guesses will roll in to settle the boy/girl tie. Although I must admit that the majority of people I talk to think boy. They have me so convinced that I even wanted to readdress boy names with James this weekend. Just in case.

If you want to add in your guess, click the orange and white expectnet button at the top right of the blog!

DJ's Baby Pool!

It is time to officially make your guess.

Will DJ be a boy or a girl? How much will (s)he weigh? When will DJ arrive?

Head over to expectnet.com, in the top left corner under baby name enter 'babydj2010' and guess away! Or just click on the Expect Net button on the right hand side fo the blog which will bring you right to the guessing.

Background Info:

• James was late and weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces
• I was over 2 weeks late and weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces
• Grady was 8 days early and weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces

Can't wait to see what you guess!!

33 Weeks

I had a doctor's appoint last week and thankfully it pretty uneventful. The doctor did confirm that the baby is head down now and that it is very unlikely that the baby would switch back to a breech position... YEAH! I did have that second or two where I remembered where the baby would come out now that he/she is head down and quickly pushed that thought out of my head for another 6-8 weeks!! I am just happy to hopefully not have a c-section.

About a week ago I started feeling DJ hiccuping. This was a major clue that baby had turned as they are very low in my belly. Very similar to Grady I feel all the kicks on the right side of my belly and the hiccups slightly to the left. The doctor even mentioned that on second (and subsequent) births the baby can take longer to turn because it has more room as the uterus is generally bigger. With that said, I was measuring right on at 33 weeks. I feel smaller this time (believe it or not) but the photos don't lie... I am essentially the same size as last time.

Another interesting moment was when she was feeling my belly for baby location and whatever else they are looking for and she hit one spot where I actually jumped and said it hurt. She said it was the bum. She asked if it felt tender when she wasn't touching it and I said no. She didn't really elaborate on why it was tender. I figure she pushed the baby's butt's right onto one of my organs.... Just call me Dr. Christy!

Last piece of info from the appointment is that the heart rate was quite low compared to last visit at 120bpm. It was 135 last time. I don't think either baby has ever had a heart rate this low. She said it was in the normal range of 110 to 160 and wasn't concerned but would check my chart for history to be sure. It started at 150, then 140, 140, 135, and finally 120. She essentially said I was just trending downwards and that if DJ is active that it wasn't a concern. DJ was kicking while she was checking the heart rate and she asked if baby was active. Stupid me thought that she could tell from the change in heart rate... turns out DJ was kicking the doppler. So maybe you shouldn't call me Dr. Christy quite yet!

All in all it was a regular appointment. With a shorter wait I might add. only 15 minutes compared to 45. Score.

32 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 32 Weeks

Size of baby: over 19 inches long and weighs just over 3 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Ummmm. Yes.

Gender: Boy..... or Girl.

Movement: After complaining that I never felt this baby move and waiting until well after 20 weeks to get some good kick, DJ has recently taken up karate in my ute. I would go so far to say as this baby is more active than Grady. Not only do I get kicks, I get full on body movements dragging across my tummy. DJ is still most active after 8pm and into the late hours of the evening. If I wake up in the middle of the night I am almost certain to feel a few jabs from the babe. I love the constant reminders that I am carrying around our baby! Even at 3am....

Sleep: What sleep? Between my growing belly and me being a stomach sleeper usually, sleep is not great. Throw in a toddler that has gone back to getting up 1-3 times a night and not much sleeping is happening at our house. I joke that it takes 5 minutes for me to just roll over. I take the blankets off, remove pillow from between legs, roll over, replace pillows, and finally replace blankets. It is a process.

Symptoms: I don't really have symptoms. I hate my iron pills that have made me feel more bloated than I knew possible. But not sure that really counts.

What I miss: Carrying Grady. I just can't carry him around anymore with the extra weight of baby and added weight of said toddler, it is just too much. He knows most of the time to ask Daddy for 'up please'.

Cravings: None. Well besides the sweets I always crave - pregnant or not!

Best Moment this week: Seeing Grady kiss and hug the baby, aka my belly. We even sang twinkle twinkle to baby one night before bed. Yesterday he even carried around upsy daisy (from In the Night Garden) and pretended to change its diaper. He then put her in his booster chair and strapped her in and fed he crackers. Maybe Grady will be a great helper and big brother after all!

What I am looking forward to: My doctor's appt on Wednesday. I can't wait to hear whether the doctor thinks DJ is head down. After this appointment we start going every 2 weeks. Some people hate this stage... I love it. From getting weighed to hearing the heart beat - I love the appointments. Except the wait of course!

This week was a bit of an eye opener. James' friend (and MC at our wedding) and his girlfriend were due with a baby the week before us... guess who had a baby last weekend at 32 weeks... you get the picture. From what we understand, the baby is doing very well for being born so prematurely and is already breathing on his own at 4 pounds, 4 ounces. What was really cool was to see pictures of him and see what a perfect little newborn he is. At 32 weeks they really are little humans and I have one taking up residence in my tummy for the next 8ish weeks.

Happy Sunday!

31 Weeks (yesterday)

Let me first say I am beyond annoyed with blogger. I just finished writing a great witty post, as usual, and I lost it. I lost it all. So this is my second attempt at the same post. OK - let's get to it.

Here is the my picture taken yesterday at exactly 31 weeks. Although I have no makeup on and I am not even sure I combed my hair after I showered, I really wanted to tell you about the outfit I am wearing in the picture.

While I was on vacation visiting my parents (post to come....), my mom and I went to Walmart to look around and get some 'girl time' in before I left later that day. I went on a mini shopping spree. For just over $50 I got this shirt, a long sweater, long leggings for post baby, and 2 necklaces (including the one I am wearing in this picture). Not bad for an hour shopping trip if I do say so myself! The best part about the shirt in this photo is it had been marked down to $12. I tried it on with my leggings and my mom and I loved it, but it had a hole. We searched for a different one to no avail so got a $3 discount bringing the total price paid for this shirt to $9. My Mom was able to fix the hole with her sewing machine in less than 10 minutes. What a deal!

So back to the leggings. As some of you may have figured out, me and leggings are a work in progress. Just when I am getting more comfortable wearing flip flops and capri leggings, the season is changing and I need to convert to the longer ones. My question now is what shoes to wear? My logic is boots - like Uggs. But does it make sense to spend $200 on boots to wear with leggings that cost $6? James would argue no. I would argue that what good is a pair of pants that you can't wear outside the house because you have no boots? So now I am already scheming about what kind of boots I will buy. I of course want to have the boots purchased and in my closet before the baby is born as I foresee said leggings being a staple in my post baby wardrobe..... I'll keep you posted.

For comparison, here is my 30 week photo during my pregnancy with Grady.

Dare I say I look smaller this go around?

On second look, I don't think so. I do not feel smaller. I am already uncomfortable moving around and especially bending over. I now unload my groceries while sitting on the floor and organizing them into what goes where as to minimize bending over to pick the groceries up. At first I thought maybe it was because I am bigger than last go around, but now I think it is because I didn't spend nearly as much time sitting on the floor. With a toddler around my day to day activities are very different than they were when I was pregnant with Grady. There was no playing on the floor, carrying around a 30 pounder, going to the park, putting a child in and out of car seat, picking up toys etc etc. Things are different this go around.

Different but better.

30 less a day

That is how many weeks pregnant I am now. I know... we are just about at 30 weeks. This pregnancy is flying by more quickly than I ever expected. With Grady, the pregnancy seemed to pass slowly as I was just so excited to meet our first child. Don't get me wrong, I am equally excited to meet our second child, I just don't have as much time to think about and enjoy every moment. Yet another thing that is just a little different this time around.

This, my friends, is the time of my life I have looked forward to for my entire life. Being married, expanding our family, and enjoying our family. This moment is what I have waited for. I was one of those kids who loved her dolls. Each one was named Lori-Anne. A name I thought I had made up until I met one in grade school. Not so made up I guess. I nurtured these dolls, turned my closet into Lori-Anne's room, and pretended they were real. I wanted to be a mommy.

There was a time in my life, before I met James of course, that I thought this time in my life would never come. I didn't date much growing up and decided that maybe I wouldn't ever get married and have a family. It was at this time that I chose the CA (chartered accountant) route for my career. If I wasn't going to have a family, I might as well have a career. Approximately 4 months before I started said career I met James. And for the first time in my life I pondered the what ifs? What if this was it? What if we got married? Had kids? How many would we have? Would we have boys or girls? What if? What if? What if?

And here I sit - with most of my what if's answered and I have to remind myself to cherish every moment. I don't want to let the next few years pass me by only to look back and wish that I took more time to enjoy these years, document them, and to make the most of these years that are proving to more difficult, tiring, and rewarding than I ever imagined.

As I sit here and write I feel DJs kicks and I am excited and sad at the same time. Excited I am fortunate enough to be having our second child with my husband who I can literally feel kicking me from the inside out. Sad that in due time I will forget what that once felt like. I wish I could record that feeling and enjoy it for years to come. As much as I love nurturing DJ nestled within my belly, nothing can express how happy I am that DJ will soon be snuggled in our arms ready for kisses.

Believe me, there will be lots of kisses.