I'd Forgotten . . .

I'd forgotten how tiny newborn diapers are!!! While we were visiting my parents this weekend the girls & I spent a couple hours visiting my friend Kim and her family (the girls always have a blast playing w/ her kids). While we were there Kim offered me some newborn size diapers that she no longer needs. I pulled them out when we got home and they are SOO TINY!! And yet, they were almost too big for the girls when they were born. Granted, I fully expect this baby to be significantly larger than my month early twins were, but still . . . it's easy to forget how tiny newborns are.

In other news, the girls have gone from being ambivalent about gender of the new baby to both saying they hope it's a girl. I'm reminding them repeatedly that it could be a boy (I made the mistake of commenting to someone, in the girls' presence, that if the old wives tale about heartbeat speed is correct, than it's a girl (old wives tale states that hb over 140 = girls, hb at our last appointment was 150), and the girls really latched onto that and are insisting it IS true), but they insist it IS a girl. So hopefully they won't be too disappointed if it does end up being a boy.

In the TMI category

The baby (whom L has named "plum" from several weeks back when the pregnancy journal thing's description of the baby at that week's gestation described it as being near the size of a plum) had apparently decided that my bladder makes a great trampoline, sigh . . . The one thing that keeps it from driving me totally insane is that I keep reminding myself that at least this time the baby can't both jump on my bladder AND cram itself up under my rib cage at the same time, like the girls were so fond of working together to accomplish, sigh . . . :)

No kicks that could be felt from the outside yet (mainly because they're very much centered on my bladder) the girls are anxiously waiting to be able to feel the kicks for themselves :)

A Couple Notes on our Trip

We got back last night from a week & a half of traveling. We went to my parents', then all headed to Jamestown & Busch Gardens Williamsburg, then drove on down to Orlando for a week of Disney & Sea World, then back home.

Overall, I did alot better than I expected. I wasn't sure how my energy levels would hold up w/ days and days of constant walking & "going" but I really wasn't any more tired than I was last year when I wasn't pregnant. I think it did help some that, w/ my parents along, I could sit out the "kid rides" (kids wanted Mama & Papa to go w/ them on those) so I got short rests if I could find somewhere to sit near the ride. But really it wasn't bad at all.

By far my biggest complaints weren't pregnancy related, I started the trip congested, and about that time that cleared up, I somehow managed to get poison ivy (or something similar) ALL over my face/neck/chest!! I spent the week whining about being itchy, sigh . . . those patches have mostly cleared up but now I have random little patches scattered over the rest of me, so I'm STILL whining about being itchy. Need to re-vist the sites w/ natural remedies and see what other options I want to try now that I'm home. Anyway . . . pregnancy really didn't slow me down at all on this trip, other than a few more bathroom trips than normal LOL. On Friday, I was TIRED and just kind of ached all over, so I think I'd over done it by then, but dh was also complaining about being tired & achy & he's not pregnant, so I think it was just 5 1/2 days of straight amusement parks.

I also am pretty sure I'm starting to feel the baby. It's only at night, and generally when I'm on my left side (almost as if baby doesn't like me laying on my left side, sigh . . . not only is that the "recommended" sleeping position during pregnancy, it's also the position I find most comfortable, pregnant or not, so I'm going to be whining a BUNCH if baby doesn't decide it's an acceptable sleeping position here soon LOL).

Midwife Appointment

Our 2nd midwife appointment was this afternoon. Everything looks good. We heard the heartbeat loud & strong, though little wiggleworm kept running away from the dopler LOL. Heartbeat was around 150 for those who like to make predictions based on such things LOL. I'm measuring on target (it was at 16 weeks last time that the midwife mentioned that I was "measuring abit big" . . . )

Everything else looks fine (blood pressure, blood work from last time, all that good stuff). I've gained 6 lbs in the past 6 weeks.

We met the 2nd midwife today, I liked her too, so whichever midwife we end up with, I'll be happy :) She was nice about explaining things to the girls, even let them feel the jelly stuff they use on the dopler when they asked about it.

She also gave me a recommendation for a pediatrician. It's about 45 min from here, but they are ok w/ selective/delayed/no vax, are breastfeeding friendly . . . they are also a family practice so, while I'll probably keep using the birth center for gyn since it's so close, we could use this practice for our whole family, as needed. AND they use natural methods, homeopathics, nutrition . . . to treat things, which is, obviously, in line with my beliefs about such things :) So, I'm thinking we'll go with them.

As we were leaving she gave us a handout that shows the baby at actual size each month during gestation, which the girls LOVE (and I think it's pretty cool too LOL).

Next appointment is Dec 1.

I'm not doing so well at keeping up am I?

What can I say, it's been an uneventful pregnancy, and I'm busy w/ the girls, so not alot of time to sit around contemplating baby LOL.

Our 2nd midwife appointment is Monday, I'm anxious to hear the heartbeat, have the girls hear the heartbeat, and find out exactly where my uterus is located at the moment LOL. I keep feeling twinges that MIGHT be baby movement, but some of them I KNOW are too high (so just stuff shifting around to make room for the uterus I guess?) and others, I'm just not sure, cuz I'm not sure how high my uterus currently is.

I suppose I ought to take a belly picture here sometime soon. Though really I don't think I look pregnant (just fat LOL) unless I pull my clothes tighter around my belly . . .

My energy levels are much higher than they were in the first trimester. I still get tired if I try to go ALL day w/o sitting down to rest, but I can do a good bit in a day w/o any trouble. Good thing, since my to do list for our upcoming trip is rather ummm . . .LONG still LOL. DH is taking the girls to his mom's on Sunday so I'm hoping to get alot done while they're gone.

My appetite has also really picked up. No idea how much weight I've gained (our scale needs a new battery), will find that out on Monday too. But I'm definitely eating more & feeling hungry more often. Which is a good thing, I don't like that, early in pregnancy, I have so little appetite, I know the baby needs nutrients, but I also believe it's important to "listen to my body" and it's telling me not to eat much . . . so I'm happier now that my brain AND my body are telling me I need to eat plenty of healthy foods LOL.

I'm Still Here!

Just not keeping up with . . . life very well LOL. While I was very doubtful that I'd magically get my energy back when I hit 12 weeks, I DO think it's slowly returning. Monday I think I totally overdid it. We were at my parents' this weekend and came home Monday. So I got up on Monday, loaded kids & stuff into the car, went w/ my grandparents to get a bushel of apples from the orchard they go to (yum! My kids are loving that pretty much anytime they ask, I tell them to go on down to the basement & grab an apple, hee hee). Then we went to a friend's house, hung out & chatted while kids played, then she offered me some garden stuff if I picked it (she's 30+ weeks pregnant so not doing so much gardening herself at this point and her dh hasn't been able to keep up with the garden thanks to his work schedule), so I picked some tomatoes and such. Met my parents for lunch, then drove home. Got home still feeling pretty good, figured I'd unload the stuff that had to be unloaded (read fresh produce LOL), then sit down for awhile and check my e-mail & such, and then do some of the unpacking, kitchen cleaning, etc. that I needed to do. BUT my computer wouldn't connect to the internet so I figured I'd go ahead & do the kitchen cleaning & stuff right away so I could spend my evening (after dh fixed the internet) online. Apparently that was pushing my energy level abit to far (especially combined w/ the can that had had veggie hotdogs in it & I thought was empty & wasn't and stunk, and I've not done smells well this whole pregnancy). I threw up for only the 2nd time this pregnancy, and then just felt kind of "shakey" the rest of the day, alternately shivering and sweating, etc. Needless to say after cleaning up the bare minimum I DID sit down and rest, and just got up in small spurts the rest of the afternoon to get stuff done.

Yesterday & today I've had more energy, still trying to catch up from being gone, but definitely feeling more energetic than I have for the last several weeks. Today I even made tomato soup from scratch (YUMMY stuff!) which included running downstairs to stir it several times while we were doing school, and taking the scrap STRAIGHT to the compost since we've been battling fruit flies around here (because taking things up the hill to the compost has been one of those things I've not had energy to do as often as I should).

So . . . we have progress. I've promised the girls we'll go apple picking this fall, and I think that will be feasible by the time we've used up most of the apples we have. Now to see if the energy will hold for the thorough housecleaning that really needs to happen tomorrow!

I think I've got a sufficient maternity wardrobe now (once sewing is done). I already had plenty of shirts, a winter dressy dress, a s-sleeve (which I can wear year round, w/ a sweater if needed) knit casual dress, and a knit jumper. I ordered a dress & a jumper from a site I found that made clothes at reasonable prices, and they came a week or 2 ago. When I got them, I realized I needed a slip under them (which actually further increases my wardrobe because I have 2 drawstring skirts that I'd written off as not working during pregnancy since they require a slip & I didn't have a maternity slip. Doubt I'll wear them much since it's a winter pregnancy & they're summer skirts, but they'll be nice for FL next month which was my biggest concern since I really don't want to have to do laundry while we're there & wasn't sure how I'd manage 12 days w/o it LOL), so Mom's spoiling me and making me a slip. AND mom's b-day present to me was the promise to make a maternity dress or skirt, and I opted for a skirt since I have lots of shirts & nothing to wear them with. We went shopping this weekend and found a pattern & material, so mom's making me a black cordory skirt (which means I can wear it w/ casual stuff AND w/ a couple dressy blouses that I got from a friend, so I have more church options too). And she also agreed to turn a pair of maternity jeans into a skirt. We were going to use a 2nd pair of jeans for the extra material (pattern uses 1 pair of jeans plus the legs from a 2nd pair to make the kind of skirt I want) but while shopping for the other sewing stuff, found some fabric that will work well for that, so now that's all planned out as well. So . . . by the time my regular skirts stop fitting, I should have a denim skirt, black skirt, 2 jumpers & 2 dresses. Woo-hoo!!

The other thing I thought of to extend my FL trip wardrobe is to wear sweatpants on the days that we're just driving all day anyway, sweatpants are comfortable, but I don't like how I look in them (pregnant or not), but a day when pretty much my family and a handful of random strangers at rest area bathrooms are all that will see me, it's an option.

And finally, my birth pool (otherwise known as a wading pool LOL) came!! Woo-hoo!! Dad suggested that it would be faster to fill the pool using buckets in the tub (fill a bucket, set a 2nd bucket under the faucet to fill while you dump the first one . . . repeat ad nauseum) and would save having to buy (& figure out how to hook up) the sink thing & hosing. But I need to pin dh down on whether he's willing to do it since I COULD hook up the sink thing/hosing and set it to filling on my own, I'm thinking I probably won't feel like carrying around buckets of water while I'm in labor. . . so we need to figure that out sometime in the next 4 or 5 months LOL.

Planning Ahead

Something motivated me this weekend to do some real digging into the whole birth pool thing. At the orientation thingy (at the birth center) the nurse said they recently got a birth pool that can be used (either at the birth center or for a homebirth) but there's a rather hefty charge for using it. So I thought I'd look into what my other options were. First I looked into renting a birth pool on my own, but that's even more expensive (when you factor in shipping especially), so that made the birth center charge sound not so bad . . . but then I recalled vaguely that an online friend had talked about getting a kid's wading pool and using that for her birthing pool, so I went first back into the archives to see what she said about it, but could only find brief mention of ordering a wading pool, and then talk of testing in (older siblings love that "hey, lets go swimming in the house today!") and using it and such but nothing real nitty gritty on the specifics of it. Then (duh) I thought I'd go see what I could find on the homebirth forum at mothering.com (my overall assessment of the message boards at mothering.com . . . people tend to be quite untollerant of views that differ from their own, it's not someplace I'd go and post, looking for empathy/support/hugs/warm fuzzies HOWEVER it's an awesome resources for all things un-mainstream LOL) and lo & behold, w/o even having to hunt, there was a huge long sticky at the top of the forum about birthing pool options, including what kind of kiddie pools work well (inflatable, w/ inflatable bottom for some padding, in the 100 gal range so you don't run out of hot water filling it . . . ) links to specific ones that people have used w/ success, and great detail in the instructions on what you need & how to use it to fill & empty the pool (though after reading about the options for emptying the pool, I'm leaning toward opening a window & hanging a hose out of it LOL . . . I think we'll for sure do that if there's room to set it up in the bathroom (since that window opens to the backyard where draining a bunch of water would be no big deal for sure) if we have to set it up in the "school room" those windows open onto the front porch roof & the main sidewalk to the front door so that wouldn't work so well unless I could talk dh or dad into getting out on the roof or maybe it could be done from the ground w/ a longer hose?) and running the hose along the porch roof so it drained off hte end of the house not onto the sidewalk . . .) otherwise you waste SO much water running water through to drain it & w/ our slow draining tub (that I don't have much faith will be fixed by then, or ever LOL) that doesn't sound like a good option). Anyway . . . after reading through the whole thread, it seemed like a no brainer to by the $20 kiddie pool from amazon and the necessary "acquarium supplies" from petsmart (though I want to check w/ Dad and make sure he doesn't have any of them already before I buy those) and call it good for under $40! I debated trying to figure out when stores put out their summer stuff to see if I dared wait & get a pool from Toys-r-us (or wherever) next March, but finally decided not to risk it & went ahead & ordered it from Amazon.

So . . . the birthing pool, otherwise known as a kid's wading pool, is on it's way to us :)

While I was on the homebirth forum, I also found a massively huge (also stickied) thread about good things to have on hand for a homebirth, and read through that whole long list & wrote out my own list that is probably overkill (especially considering how short, easy my last labor was) but still . . . alot of it isn't so much buying anything as just making sure things are nearby or where others can find them (having a bowl nearby in case you need to throw up . . . things like that) and alot of the suggestions dealt w/ things to do for tears & such, to ease the pain post partum, which I don't remember being bad at all last time, and that was w/ less than ideal labor position (flat on my back), a doctor who looked at me like I'd lost my mind when I said no episiotomy, etc. Of course it was also w/ 5 lb babies and I'm sure this baby will be much bigger LOL. . . so I made note of all the suggestions and can use them IF I need them, but probably won't do much "prep work" in that regard . . .

Anyway . . . it felt good to be making some actual progress toward planning such things, and have the birth pool ordered so that's a major thing off the to do list.

Beyond that, nothing too exciting happening here. I'm running really low on energy, not at all helped by the fact that I am EXHAUSTED in the afternoon but can't get to sleep at night for the life of me! And weekends make it worse because dh is around so I CAN nap when I'm so tired in the afternoon but then I have an even harder time falling asleep at night, sigh . . .

Yesterday at bedtime I was telling the girls that, according to one site I read, the baby is now "about the size of a plum" so as she went up the ladder to her bed L said "goodnight my sweet little plum" awwww :)