Still here :)

Yep, we’re still here and I’m still preggo…a full 37 weeks!  I had a minor panic attack Monday when the doctor told me I was already 3 cm dilated (sorry if that’s TMI for some of you!)….with Makenzie I never dilated beyond 1 1/2 cm before I was induced at 41 weeks and with Micah I was dilated 2 cm at 38 weeks and in labor 2 days later.   But we’ve made it nearly a week and in that week I’ve gotten everything put together at work so that I can go on maternity leave (hopefully) without any major crises, made a couple meals and bought some MSPI friendly groceries (yay rice milk)!  And most importantly, this baby had another week to grow –my doctor thought baby was pretty small (on track to be a 7 lb baby at 40 weeks….but that meant only about 5 lbs at 36 weeks)….so each week this babe can grow is good!

I wouldn’t mind having 1 more day in the office to finish up a few last minute things….anything beyond that is just a bonus – and I’m sure my partners would prefer I make it another week so that they don’t have to cover my 5 court hearings scheduled between April 2 and 9!  

Reality check

We’ve officially hit the 36 week mark – and here’s a picture to prove it!  Holy basketball belly!  

Hard to believe we’re only 4 weeks from meeting this little monkey (or 2 weeks if this one is as early as Micah or 5 weeks if we’re operating on Makenzie time…I’m hoping for something closer to 2!!)

For the most part, I think we’re ready – the crib is up, baby clothes are washed and put away, hospital bag is semi-packed and I’m pretty well done with being preggo….but there is part of me that keeps remembering that it will not get easier!  Life is about to get a whole lot busier, sleep will be less frequent and instead of 2 kids yelling for mom, we’ll soon have 3.   And when I think about the possibility of a repeat of Micah’s first three weeks, I think maybe I should hope for 6 more months of pregnancy just to prepare myself emotionally.  Micah’s first few weeks were ROUGH - lots of crying, no sleeping, and then figuring out the poor little guy was MISERABLE because he was dairy and soy intolerant.  Things definitely improved once we figured this out – but it still wasn’t easy.  I had to cut all dairy and soy from my diet – and when I inadvertently ate something with dairy or soy in it, we were right back to crying, hurting baby and a guilt laden mama.  Not exactly the recipe for a fun household. 

I’ve spent lots of time praying that this time will be better – that  we won’t have to deal with MSPI issues or if we do, that I’ll be better prepared and it won’t be such a crisis.  And I’ve  spent lots of time putting together a “game plan” for making round 3 better, even if we do have MSPI issues….probably the biggest thing - admitting when I’ve had TOO much and need a break (and not feeling guilty about taking a break from crying baby).  I’ve also decided to start with a dairy/soy free diet as soon as this baby is born – and then we’ll try slowly adding in dairy and soy…I’m hopeful that by doing this we’ll avoid 3 weeks of crying baby and if we notice changes with just a little dairy/soy, it will be easy to correct the problem!  AND, as soon as we know we’re done with MSPI issues….whether that’s right away or in 6-12 months – there will be a PARTY….with lots and lots of ice cream!

Before I was a Mom….

Before I was a mom, I never knew:

* how exasperating putting shoes and socks on a 2 year old  could be….especially when it’s the 4th time I’ve put them on in 20 minutes as we’re trying to get out the door, and I know he’ll take them off as soon as he’s buckled in his car seat which means we’ll put them on yet again before we get to our destination.

* how glorious a WHOLE night of sleep with NO interruptions could be (or how exhausting countless nights with babies waking up too many times to count would be)!

* that I would get tired of words like “mama carry” that some days I would want to scream

And quite frankly, I’m glad I didn’t know these things or I might have chosen differently…..and I wouldn’t have ever known:

* that the sound of little feet sneaking into my bedroom at the crack of dawn would melt my heart and bring a smile to my face.

* that I would be sad when I realize I’ve heard phrases like “mama carry” for the last time because it means my babies are growing up

* the joy and amazement (and understanding of “faith of a child”) that would come in hearing my 4 year old explain that she has eternal life because she asked Jesus into her heart and now He lives there.

A Random Quick 5

I can’t seem to put together a coherent blog post lately, so here’s a quick 5 update:

1.  Mom-cation…..I took a little vacation last week and it was wonderful!  Actually it wasn’t even vacation – it was continuing ed, all day on Friday.  BUT, I decided to make the trip more enjoyable and I took off work at noon on Thursday, picked up kiddos from daycare and brought them home (and put them down for naps so I didn’t have to leave with Micah crying! )  then I took off for Lincoln and spent the afternoon/evening doing a little shopping, having ice cream with a friend and snuggling her 8 week old little guy.  Friday morning I picked up Panera for breakfast  and headed to continuing ed (there’s nothing like a cinnamon crunch bagel to make 8 am continuing education more enjoyable!  I can’t tell you how nice it was to have a little break from the “norm”…I loved getting out of my routine, not getting up with kiddos in the night, and just hanging out with a good friend that I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with!  But, I’d be lying if I didn’t also tell you that I raced home as soon as we were dismissed Friday because I couldn’t wait to get home and snuggle my babies before bedtime! 

2.  Makenzie is growing like a weed!  Seriously.  At one point when we measured her this fall she was 42”….and now she’s nearly 45”.  I just bought her new size 6 jeans.  She’s 4 mind you – just turned 4 in November.    AND she’s hilarious!  She talks like she’s 4 going on 14 – and sometimes her sass gets her in trouble, but sometimes, its just plain funny.  The other day she asked me a question and when I responded, she stopped in her tracks, thought for a minute, looked at me like I was crazy and then said in her most serious voice, “are you kidding me?”  I thought I might die laughing!

3.  Micah is doing SO much better with his sleep!  We actually had several nights in a row last week where he stayed in his bed ALL night –coming into our rom around 5:30 or 6 in the morning and settling in on our floor with no screaming.  Thank you Lord for a good nights sleep!  This was shaken up a bit this weekend when the poor guy came down with a fever and cough but I have high hopes that when he’s done coughing his lungs out, he’ll go right back to sleeping!  And when he’s well rested and feeling good, he’s a total comedian!  He’s into babbling nonsense words, mocking all of his sister’s sassiness, and making funny faces just to get a laugh!  I need to get him on video! 

4.  Whoever invented time changes apparently did not have children.  Enough said. 

5.  We’re (hopefully) less than 6 weeks from meeting this little one!  I keep telling myself that even though my due date is almost 6 weeks away, the ultrasound said baby measured a week earlier and Micah was 10 days early….so I really should have closer to 4 weeks left!   I’m choosing to ignore the fact that Makenzie was a week late and that could happen again….I’ll deal with that if/when the time comes, for now I’m enjoying the idea of only having 4 more weeks of pregnancy left!