Camryn: "Mommy, you look you're going to have a baby again really soon." Me: "That's not a nice thing to say!" Camryn: "But seriously, you do!"
I guess I can safely ascertain that 9 months is not long enough to undo 9 months of damage. Bummer. Some parts of having kids stink.
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
One Year Ago ...Alaska: Endicott Arm Fjord
I found this post from our Alaska trip last June that I forgot to post. So here is where Dave and I were one year ago: cruising Alaska, seeing Endicott Arm Fjord while I was pregnant with Adelyn. Fun memories!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
To Be or Not To Be... Frustrated, That Is
So I did post something for today, but a) I didn't write anything besides the title... and b) I set it up yesterday to post today. Does that count? Hmmmmm.... Maybe not. So I'm going to actually write something.
Today Adelyn turns four weeks old. The past couple days I've been hovering between getting frustrated and willfully ignoring that temptation. With that four week birthday I've been hoping for a return to a routine/normalcy, but I have to keep telling myself that normalcy has changed... if not forever, for a VERY long time. (Recite to self: "It is normal to not get things done with a newborn. It is normal to have a messy house.") Part of me tells myself to just relax and let go. The other part says, "Why are you blogging while she is asleep right now? You should be folding laundry. Or at least getting out of your pajamas."
I've had enough experience having kids that it's not like I expect myself to be going full throttle and have a perfect house and a routine organized life with a four-week-old baby. By this point in my parenting experience I am actually very well-adapted to adjusting my life to a child's pace: taking advantage of little openings to get things done when they come and accepting interruptions the rest of the time. But I often lose my calm and get frustrated when things get to the point that it seems like my life is one continuous interruption: interrupted sleep, interrupted meal, interrupted phone call, interrupted thought, interrupted sentence, interrupted feeding.... It seems like my daily life comes down to a balancing dance going between interruptions from Jackson and Addy: feed Addy while trying to verbally coax Jackson into his high chair; try to quickly get Jackson to bed before Addy wakes up and starts crying (or end up trying to rock/read story/nurse all at the same time); fold laundry before Jackson can dump the folded piles; change Addy's umpteenth diaper then run to pull raisins out of Jackson ears; blog until Jackson starts pressing the delete button and trying to close my laptop (happening as I type now...).
I understand that this is part of life -- no, this IS life-- at my current stage and I am willing to accept that. Jackson is at a stage where the daily endangerment of his person (and our household electronic equipment) is a simple unpleasant fact of life. I just do my best to rescue him or at least mitigate the risk from him standing on the oven door, destroying the DVD player, turning on the garbage disposal, walking on the counter, climbing into Addy's baby swing and so forth. (Did I mention that he got out one of my crystal goblets from the china cupboard up high the other day? That kid...) Adelyn is at the stage where she pretty much needs to be held or nursed most of the time-- and if she doesn't, she needs to be protected from Jackson's attention and love. But what if you are a person that craves order and control and completion? What if having a clean and orderly home makes you feel peaceful and happy? What if you would like to have an uninterrupted moment sometime before 2015? How do you avoid going crazy?
In a slightly different vein, yesterday I was actually feeling quite skinny. My stomach felt downright flat. I was so excited about this new development that I made the mistake of actually measuring it. Don't ever do that four weeks post-baby. (In case you were wondering, my waist was 1 inch smaller than my chest used to be in my post-Camryn skinny days. Whether that says worse things about my waist now or my chest then I will decline to comment on.)
Which brings me to the post-baby weight frustration... between Jared and Camryn (and Dave =]) I put on quite a bit of weight, so after Camryn really worked hard and lost it all, getting down to skinnier than I was in college. I eventually leveled out a few pounds higher, but it was still a really good, healthy weight for me. Then I had Jackson and never lost the last 10 lbs. with him. Now, having had another baby to add to it, I am much closer to where I was when I started losing weight after Camryn than where I was when I finished. That is really frustrating. I know I'm not even to the six-week point yet, but it still pretty much stinks. Don't you think you should get some kind of heavenly weight-loss reward for having babies? Too bad it doesn't work out that way. I'm eating healthy and having lots of vegetables, but getting it off is so much slower than putting it on.
So I'm at that lovely stage where almost none of my clothes fit: maternity tops are way too big, regular jeans are way too small... regular tops will be WAY too small for as long as I am nursing. But of course, I spent almost all of my weekly budget on Monday... buying vegetables so I can eat healthy and fit into my clothes again. GRRRRRR!!!
Now, of course I can just choose not to be frustrated. Weight gain is part of childbirth and with time and patience I can lose it. Looking fabulous doesn't need to be the focus of my life right now. Having a clean house doesn't either. Jackson will outgrow this stage eventually (right????) and Addy will outgrow the newborn stage faster than I want her to.
My phone just rang and I could not find the phone because Jackson had been playing with it. I could hear it ringing, not more than 5 feet away, but I could not find it. Finally after it stopped ringing I used the handset finder to locate the phone. I finally found it only 2 feet away from me... inside the Raisin Bran box, of course. (Of course!) That just kind of summarizes my life right now. But I can choose not to be frustrated. After all, a Raisin Bran box is a perfectly logical place for a phone to go... at least to a two-year-old.
Today Adelyn turns four weeks old. The past couple days I've been hovering between getting frustrated and willfully ignoring that temptation. With that four week birthday I've been hoping for a return to a routine/normalcy, but I have to keep telling myself that normalcy has changed... if not forever, for a VERY long time. (Recite to self: "It is normal to not get things done with a newborn. It is normal to have a messy house.") Part of me tells myself to just relax and let go. The other part says, "Why are you blogging while she is asleep right now? You should be folding laundry. Or at least getting out of your pajamas."
I've had enough experience having kids that it's not like I expect myself to be going full throttle and have a perfect house and a routine organized life with a four-week-old baby. By this point in my parenting experience I am actually very well-adapted to adjusting my life to a child's pace: taking advantage of little openings to get things done when they come and accepting interruptions the rest of the time. But I often lose my calm and get frustrated when things get to the point that it seems like my life is one continuous interruption: interrupted sleep, interrupted meal, interrupted phone call, interrupted thought, interrupted sentence, interrupted feeding.... It seems like my daily life comes down to a balancing dance going between interruptions from Jackson and Addy: feed Addy while trying to verbally coax Jackson into his high chair; try to quickly get Jackson to bed before Addy wakes up and starts crying (or end up trying to rock/read story/nurse all at the same time); fold laundry before Jackson can dump the folded piles; change Addy's umpteenth diaper then run to pull raisins out of Jackson ears; blog until Jackson starts pressing the delete button and trying to close my laptop (happening as I type now...).
I understand that this is part of life -- no, this IS life-- at my current stage and I am willing to accept that. Jackson is at a stage where the daily endangerment of his person (and our household electronic equipment) is a simple unpleasant fact of life. I just do my best to rescue him or at least mitigate the risk from him standing on the oven door, destroying the DVD player, turning on the garbage disposal, walking on the counter, climbing into Addy's baby swing and so forth. (Did I mention that he got out one of my crystal goblets from the china cupboard up high the other day? That kid...) Adelyn is at the stage where she pretty much needs to be held or nursed most of the time-- and if she doesn't, she needs to be protected from Jackson's attention and love. But what if you are a person that craves order and control and completion? What if having a clean and orderly home makes you feel peaceful and happy? What if you would like to have an uninterrupted moment sometime before 2015? How do you avoid going crazy?
In a slightly different vein, yesterday I was actually feeling quite skinny. My stomach felt downright flat. I was so excited about this new development that I made the mistake of actually measuring it. Don't ever do that four weeks post-baby. (In case you were wondering, my waist was 1 inch smaller than my chest used to be in my post-Camryn skinny days. Whether that says worse things about my waist now or my chest then I will decline to comment on.)
Which brings me to the post-baby weight frustration... between Jared and Camryn (and Dave =]) I put on quite a bit of weight, so after Camryn really worked hard and lost it all, getting down to skinnier than I was in college. I eventually leveled out a few pounds higher, but it was still a really good, healthy weight for me. Then I had Jackson and never lost the last 10 lbs. with him. Now, having had another baby to add to it, I am much closer to where I was when I started losing weight after Camryn than where I was when I finished. That is really frustrating. I know I'm not even to the six-week point yet, but it still pretty much stinks. Don't you think you should get some kind of heavenly weight-loss reward for having babies? Too bad it doesn't work out that way. I'm eating healthy and having lots of vegetables, but getting it off is so much slower than putting it on.
So I'm at that lovely stage where almost none of my clothes fit: maternity tops are way too big, regular jeans are way too small... regular tops will be WAY too small for as long as I am nursing. But of course, I spent almost all of my weekly budget on Monday... buying vegetables so I can eat healthy and fit into my clothes again. GRRRRRR!!!
Now, of course I can just choose not to be frustrated. Weight gain is part of childbirth and with time and patience I can lose it. Looking fabulous doesn't need to be the focus of my life right now. Having a clean house doesn't either. Jackson will outgrow this stage eventually (right????) and Addy will outgrow the newborn stage faster than I want her to.
My phone just rang and I could not find the phone because Jackson had been playing with it. I could hear it ringing, not more than 5 feet away, but I could not find it. Finally after it stopped ringing I used the handset finder to locate the phone. I finally found it only 2 feet away from me... inside the Raisin Bran box, of course. (Of course!) That just kind of summarizes my life right now. But I can choose not to be frustrated. After all, a Raisin Bran box is a perfectly logical place for a phone to go... at least to a two-year-old.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
In Labor
Well, for once in the past few weeks, things went according to plan. I am in the hospital in labor, hooked up to an IV and fetal monitors.
I spent yesterday madly doing laundry and some last-minute shopping with my mom getting ready for my Tues. evening appointment at the hospital. There is something unnerving about a set induction date: it is just strange to know that on this day you will walk into the hospital pregnant and come home no longer pregnant with a baby instead. Even though this is my fourth, there is still a feeling of nervousness and apprehension ("Will I be able to handle this?") and a little bit of awe and disbelief ("On this day a new person will come into the world... a new person that I will be trying to raise into a responsible adult.") And there are always last-minute issues- it's time to leave but Jackson is a wreck and doesn't want to eat, where is the camcorder?, etc. Despite last-minute craziness, we finally set off for the hospital last night.
Dave and I have a tradition of going out to dinner the night before I have a baby- the "last meal" before your life changes forever and you have to take a baby with you for months. =](Of course this tradition is much easier to do when you are induced with all of your babies.) We went out for a nice dinner, which helped to calm some of the nerves and stress of the day, before heading to the hospital.
I was at a 1 when we arrived at the hospital and had one dose of the cervix treatment last night, after which Dave and I watched part of a movie and dozed off. In the middle of the night the contractions started to get more regular, so they started me on pitocin. This morning I was at a 3, so they broke my water.
I'm plugging along with contractions, which are starting to get stronger and more uncomfortable, so I probably won't be blogging for too much longer... at least until I get an epidural.
I spent yesterday madly doing laundry and some last-minute shopping with my mom getting ready for my Tues. evening appointment at the hospital. There is something unnerving about a set induction date: it is just strange to know that on this day you will walk into the hospital pregnant and come home no longer pregnant with a baby instead. Even though this is my fourth, there is still a feeling of nervousness and apprehension ("Will I be able to handle this?") and a little bit of awe and disbelief ("On this day a new person will come into the world... a new person that I will be trying to raise into a responsible adult.") And there are always last-minute issues- it's time to leave but Jackson is a wreck and doesn't want to eat, where is the camcorder?, etc. Despite last-minute craziness, we finally set off for the hospital last night.
Dave and I have a tradition of going out to dinner the night before I have a baby- the "last meal" before your life changes forever and you have to take a baby with you for months. =](Of course this tradition is much easier to do when you are induced with all of your babies.) We went out for a nice dinner, which helped to calm some of the nerves and stress of the day, before heading to the hospital.
I was at a 1 when we arrived at the hospital and had one dose of the cervix treatment last night, after which Dave and I watched part of a movie and dozed off. In the middle of the night the contractions started to get more regular, so they started me on pitocin. This morning I was at a 3, so they broke my water.
I'm plugging along with contractions, which are starting to get stronger and more uncomfortable, so I probably won't be blogging for too much longer... at least until I get an epidural.
Roundabout to the Hospital
It's been a whirlwind weekend. On Thursday I went in for my normal OB appointment. I had been really itchy, so I had my blood drawn to check for a condition that I had at the end of my pregnancy with Jackson. During the last few weeks of my pregnancy with Jackson I had cholestasis of pregnancy. It is a rare liver problem that is caused by pregnancy that causes your liver to not process bile properly. Its most recognizable symptom is that it causes you to itch all over, especially on your hands and feet. It's not dangerous to the mother- although it is quite uncomfortable and somewhat inconvenient- but it can be dangerous to the baby and is associated with an increased risk of stillbirth or "unfavorable outcome." When you have this condition they recommend that you induce labor as soon as the baby is full-term or very soon thereafter to avoid risk of any harm to the baby. [This is why Jackson was induced two weeks early.]
On Thursday night I got a call from the doctor saying that the test came back positive and that I needed to come in the next day for an ultrasound and testing. While the ultrasound results were good- the baby looked great and healthy- the recommended course was to induce soon, since I had already passed 37 weeks. So this left Dave and I to decide with the doctor how soon we wanted to induce.
I hate decisions like this because you are trying to balance out factors, risks and statistics, let alone preference and convenience, but there is no way to really know if you are giving weight to the correct thing. So Dave and I sat in the doctor's office trying to decide: Do we get induced sooner or wait for a few more days so the baby will be a little more mature and our doctor will be on duty? After sitting for 45 minutes going back and forth, we decided that we didn't want to take any unneccessary risks, so we were set to go to the hospital on Sat. night (Oct. 3) for a cervix treatment with the induction starting Sunday morning (Oct. 4).
Of course, this suddenly made all of our babysitting plans, etc. for the hospital obsolete. I spent a good portion of the afternoon on the phone trying to figure out who was going to watch the kids. We finally settled that my mom would fly out the next day. She changed her plane tickets and I headed to the store for some last-minute purchases and tried to contain the nervous energy and stress that I felt.
As I was loading bags from the cart into my car, my cell phone rang. It was my doctor again. As she was looking over my chart and filling out the paperwork for the induction, she noticed that on my very first ultrasound the baby measured slightly small. She hadn't changed the due date to be later because she wanted to confirm at the 20 week ultrasound. When the baby had also measured slightly small at the 20 week ultrasound, she had forgotten to go back and change the due date. So that meant that we could be inducing a 36 week old baby, which would put her at a greater risk for lung problems and other issues. So the long and short of it is that we moved my induction to Wed. Oct. 7th, so the baby would be between 37 and 38 weeks, no matter how you calculated it.
So... I called my mom yet again and she booked her third set of plane tickets. This change of date did, thankfully, give us a little bit more time to prepare, but the whole thing made for a very stressful weekend. "You're having a baby in a week and a half!" "No wait, you're having a baby tomorrow!" "Actually you're having a baby in a few days." I thought the whole point of inducing labor was so that you could pick a date and plan around it and make it more stress-free. ;) Right?? If only babies were more cooperative.
On Thursday night I got a call from the doctor saying that the test came back positive and that I needed to come in the next day for an ultrasound and testing. While the ultrasound results were good- the baby looked great and healthy- the recommended course was to induce soon, since I had already passed 37 weeks. So this left Dave and I to decide with the doctor how soon we wanted to induce.
I hate decisions like this because you are trying to balance out factors, risks and statistics, let alone preference and convenience, but there is no way to really know if you are giving weight to the correct thing. So Dave and I sat in the doctor's office trying to decide: Do we get induced sooner or wait for a few more days so the baby will be a little more mature and our doctor will be on duty? After sitting for 45 minutes going back and forth, we decided that we didn't want to take any unneccessary risks, so we were set to go to the hospital on Sat. night (Oct. 3) for a cervix treatment with the induction starting Sunday morning (Oct. 4).
Of course, this suddenly made all of our babysitting plans, etc. for the hospital obsolete. I spent a good portion of the afternoon on the phone trying to figure out who was going to watch the kids. We finally settled that my mom would fly out the next day. She changed her plane tickets and I headed to the store for some last-minute purchases and tried to contain the nervous energy and stress that I felt.
As I was loading bags from the cart into my car, my cell phone rang. It was my doctor again. As she was looking over my chart and filling out the paperwork for the induction, she noticed that on my very first ultrasound the baby measured slightly small. She hadn't changed the due date to be later because she wanted to confirm at the 20 week ultrasound. When the baby had also measured slightly small at the 20 week ultrasound, she had forgotten to go back and change the due date. So that meant that we could be inducing a 36 week old baby, which would put her at a greater risk for lung problems and other issues. So the long and short of it is that we moved my induction to Wed. Oct. 7th, so the baby would be between 37 and 38 weeks, no matter how you calculated it.
So... I called my mom yet again and she booked her third set of plane tickets. This change of date did, thankfully, give us a little bit more time to prepare, but the whole thing made for a very stressful weekend. "You're having a baby in a week and a half!" "No wait, you're having a baby tomorrow!" "Actually you're having a baby in a few days." I thought the whole point of inducing labor was so that you could pick a date and plan around it and make it more stress-free. ;) Right?? If only babies were more cooperative.
Due Date Dilemma
As my due date draws nearer and nearer, the question always hovers, "When should we induce the baby?" I have been induced with all three of my kids. I have really big babies (think 9 lb. 11 oz. and 9 lb. 15 oz.). My last baby was induced two weeks early and still measured 10 lb. 1 oz. I happen to have an unfortunate family history of big babies- both mine and Dave's mom had babies that were over 11 pounds- and my mom had the added plus of always delivering a couple of weeks late. While I have done fine with deliveries so far, I have no desire to see if my body can handle an 11 pound baby or how large my babies would be if I went two weeks overdue. So inductions are a great option for me. It's also kind of nice to be able to plan ahead a little bit and know when you're going to have the baby.
My mom has planned to come out and help with the baby and has been waiting on pins and needles for me to settle on an induction date so she could book her tickets. Just as we got to the point of setting when I was going to be induced, another complication came up. My 91-year old grandpa (my mom's dad) got engaged last month and was set to be married over Thanksgiving in November. But he decided that he couldn't wait that long and so he moved up his wedding date to October 17th... the weekend before my due date. This made it decidedly more complicated because if I was induced a week early (as I planned to be) then my mom would need to be at the wedding at the exact same time that I would need her help. Then it turned out that my OB was going to be out of town for the weekend that we wanted to be induced, so I would have to have someone else deliver the baby. The odds were stacking against us.
After multiple conflicts doomed my preferred induction date, it was finally set for Oct. 16th, only a few days before my actual due date of Oct. 21st. You mean I can't just pick the exact dae when I want to have my baby and make sure it comes then? C'mon, where are the perks of being induced?
My mom has planned to come out and help with the baby and has been waiting on pins and needles for me to settle on an induction date so she could book her tickets. Just as we got to the point of setting when I was going to be induced, another complication came up. My 91-year old grandpa (my mom's dad) got engaged last month and was set to be married over Thanksgiving in November. But he decided that he couldn't wait that long and so he moved up his wedding date to October 17th... the weekend before my due date. This made it decidedly more complicated because if I was induced a week early (as I planned to be) then my mom would need to be at the wedding at the exact same time that I would need her help. Then it turned out that my OB was going to be out of town for the weekend that we wanted to be induced, so I would have to have someone else deliver the baby. The odds were stacking against us.
After multiple conflicts doomed my preferred induction date, it was finally set for Oct. 16th, only a few days before my actual due date of Oct. 21st. You mean I can't just pick the exact dae when I want to have my baby and make sure it comes then? C'mon, where are the perks of being induced?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Bon Voyage
I have been in California for almost one week now. My mom figures that for family visiting trips it takes about a week to show up, unpack, get settled and do projects before you are ready to actually go out and do anything (unless you count going out to lunch). =] True to form, we have spent this week shopping for maternity clothes and making a formal to take on the cruise. When I get back from Seattle/Alaska, we plan on actually taking the kids to the beach, and going to do some fun outings.
Meanwhile, I'm realizing that I really am quite pregnant- and out of shape to boot. Pushing Jackson around the mall in his stroller for a couple of hours (granted, he is over 30 pounds...) feels like a full-fledged workout. Yeah... I guess that means I'm not exactly in top shape. The one exception is my arms, which are plenty toned from toting 30-lb. Jackson around. I always find it a little funny when people say I shouldn't be lifting stuff while I'm pregnant. While I think it is very thoughtful, most things I try to lift aren't nearly as heavy as Jackson, who gets carried around, pulled out of trouble and put in or taken out of his carseat or stroller all day long. To truly avoid any heavy lifting, I'd have to have a nanny. But I digress...
Tomorrow morning I fly to Seattle, where I will meet Dave to leave on our cruise. We will get to enjoy (that doesn't seem quite strong enough of a word... maybe savor?) a full 7 days without the kids. As much as I love my kids, I'm thrilled for the break (Thanks mom! I know your house will recover eventually...), for the chance to sleep in, for the trip and especially the time with Dave, minus cell phone calls, tele-conferences and work emails. Now if I can only avoid gaining 15 pounds while on the cruise, all will be well. =]
I will be "at sea" for the next week so I will be pretty much off-line. But, just in case you can't live without my posts for an entire week (ha ha), as a going-away present I have set up some catch-up stuff to post each day that I am gone. Enjoy!
Meanwhile, I'm realizing that I really am quite pregnant- and out of shape to boot. Pushing Jackson around the mall in his stroller for a couple of hours (granted, he is over 30 pounds...) feels like a full-fledged workout. Yeah... I guess that means I'm not exactly in top shape. The one exception is my arms, which are plenty toned from toting 30-lb. Jackson around. I always find it a little funny when people say I shouldn't be lifting stuff while I'm pregnant. While I think it is very thoughtful, most things I try to lift aren't nearly as heavy as Jackson, who gets carried around, pulled out of trouble and put in or taken out of his carseat or stroller all day long. To truly avoid any heavy lifting, I'd have to have a nanny. But I digress...
Tomorrow morning I fly to Seattle, where I will meet Dave to leave on our cruise. We will get to enjoy (that doesn't seem quite strong enough of a word... maybe savor?) a full 7 days without the kids. As much as I love my kids, I'm thrilled for the break (Thanks mom! I know your house will recover eventually...), for the chance to sleep in, for the trip and especially the time with Dave, minus cell phone calls, tele-conferences and work emails. Now if I can only avoid gaining 15 pounds while on the cruise, all will be well. =]
I will be "at sea" for the next week so I will be pretty much off-line. But, just in case you can't live without my posts for an entire week (ha ha), as a going-away present I have set up some catch-up stuff to post each day that I am gone. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Dressing Up
I haven't posted for a few days, so I guess I'm trying to make up for it by doing a bunch of posts all at once.
The kids and I are here on our extended California trip for a reason: Dave and I are leaving on Saturday to go on a cruise to Alaska. Mom is going to watch the kids here and I will fly up to Seattle to meet Dave. After the cruise, I will fly back here to visit until 4th of July, at which point Dave will join up again with us and we will drive home (at least that's the current plan).
It's funny, because while seeing Alaska has always sounded fun, it hasn't exactly been top on my "must visit destinations" list. But, we found an amazing deal on the cruise, we wanted to find an excuse to get a trip without kids before the new baby comes, and the idea of a no-planning, everything-included vacation sounded perfect, so we just decided to go for it.
The cruise has two "formal nights," which would be really fun except that I don't really have any formals. This is further complicated by the fact that I am pregnant. Is there really such a thing as a flattering maternity formal? Um, unless it fits perfectly... big bump + glitz and fabric= sparkly elephant tent. You add to this that I'm trying to find a relatively modest formal (sleeves, please?) and I don't want to spend a bunch (nordstrom.com has beautiful ones for half the price of my cruise ticket but that kinda defeats the purpose) and that really leaves me with few options.
I had pretty much admitted defeat-- I would have to try to dress up my plain black maternity dress with some glitzy jewelry. But my mom insisted that this was just not right-- you have to have a formal for formal night. Luckily for me, my mother is not just opinionated: she is also an amazing seamstress and can make almost anything with a picture to copy. So she is designing and making me a maternity formal for the cruise. This is after we found a great dressy little black dress (that still fits and looks decent over my bump) for an amazing deal and she added sleeves to it.
My inherited sewing talent tops out at making pajamas, but hey, if you aren't blessed with a talent you can always appreciate it in others, right? =]
The kids and I are here on our extended California trip for a reason: Dave and I are leaving on Saturday to go on a cruise to Alaska. Mom is going to watch the kids here and I will fly up to Seattle to meet Dave. After the cruise, I will fly back here to visit until 4th of July, at which point Dave will join up again with us and we will drive home (at least that's the current plan).
It's funny, because while seeing Alaska has always sounded fun, it hasn't exactly been top on my "must visit destinations" list. But, we found an amazing deal on the cruise, we wanted to find an excuse to get a trip without kids before the new baby comes, and the idea of a no-planning, everything-included vacation sounded perfect, so we just decided to go for it.
The cruise has two "formal nights," which would be really fun except that I don't really have any formals. This is further complicated by the fact that I am pregnant. Is there really such a thing as a flattering maternity formal? Um, unless it fits perfectly... big bump + glitz and fabric= sparkly elephant tent. You add to this that I'm trying to find a relatively modest formal (sleeves, please?) and I don't want to spend a bunch (nordstrom.com has beautiful ones for half the price of my cruise ticket but that kinda defeats the purpose) and that really leaves me with few options.
I had pretty much admitted defeat-- I would have to try to dress up my plain black maternity dress with some glitzy jewelry. But my mom insisted that this was just not right-- you have to have a formal for formal night. Luckily for me, my mother is not just opinionated: she is also an amazing seamstress and can make almost anything with a picture to copy. So she is designing and making me a maternity formal for the cruise. This is after we found a great dressy little black dress (that still fits and looks decent over my bump) for an amazing deal and she added sleeves to it.
My inherited sewing talent tops out at making pajamas, but hey, if you aren't blessed with a talent you can always appreciate it in others, right? =]
Curves Ahead...
We made it to California on Saturday in a mostly uneventful drive. The kids and I have settled in at Grandma and Grandpa's house and Dave flew back home on Monday night.
Since we arrived, my mom and I have been entertaining ourselves by shopping. (This would be a much better form of entertainment if I hadn't blown a big chunk of my monthly budget on plants for the yard.) I am finally outgrowing the last of my "bigger" regular clothes and need maternity clothes all around. I got out my box of maternity clothes before I left for CA and got back a few things that I had lent out. To my horror, a lot of my maternity clothes from my last pregnancy are already tight and don't stand a prayer of lasting the whole pregnancy. And this is even though I only gained 1 pound last month!
I know it is pointless to obsess about your weight while you are pregnant. I also know that getting bigger around the middle while you are pregnant is pretty much inevitable. But excuse me for a moment while I moan, "Why me? I don't want to be fat!" OK, I know it being pregnant is different than just gaining weight. It is a localized bump, not an all around broadening (at least in theory...) and it looks cute. Right? Right??? Well, unfortunately I don't really feel cute, just big. I feel bigger now than I did at the end of my last pregnancy and I'm only 5 months along. I'm really hoping that I just have an overactive imagination and not an overactive appetite.
So, to remedy the situation, my mom and I have been shopping for new maternity clothes that are cute and fit me well (instead of looking like my tummy is about to pop through at any moment). We have found some cute things and this has helped, but dangit I still just feel big. I know... I did this same thing the last time I was pregnant and I just need to accept it and not be self-conscious about it. Big can be beautiful, big can be beautiful, I love my curves, Round and Proud, Round and proud....
Since we arrived, my mom and I have been entertaining ourselves by shopping. (This would be a much better form of entertainment if I hadn't blown a big chunk of my monthly budget on plants for the yard.) I am finally outgrowing the last of my "bigger" regular clothes and need maternity clothes all around. I got out my box of maternity clothes before I left for CA and got back a few things that I had lent out. To my horror, a lot of my maternity clothes from my last pregnancy are already tight and don't stand a prayer of lasting the whole pregnancy. And this is even though I only gained 1 pound last month!
I know it is pointless to obsess about your weight while you are pregnant. I also know that getting bigger around the middle while you are pregnant is pretty much inevitable. But excuse me for a moment while I moan, "Why me? I don't want to be fat!" OK, I know it being pregnant is different than just gaining weight. It is a localized bump, not an all around broadening (at least in theory...) and it looks cute. Right? Right??? Well, unfortunately I don't really feel cute, just big. I feel bigger now than I did at the end of my last pregnancy and I'm only 5 months along. I'm really hoping that I just have an overactive imagination and not an overactive appetite.
So, to remedy the situation, my mom and I have been shopping for new maternity clothes that are cute and fit me well (instead of looking like my tummy is about to pop through at any moment). We have found some cute things and this has helped, but dangit I still just feel big. I know... I did this same thing the last time I was pregnant and I just need to accept it and not be self-conscious about it. Big can be beautiful, big can be beautiful, I love my curves, Round and Proud, Round and proud....
Monday, June 8, 2009
It's a Girl!!!
I had my ultrasound on Thursday and we found out that we are having a girl! Camryn is absolutely thrilled that she will no longer be outnumbered. =] It was very clear from the beginning of the ultrasound that this was a female baby- and she was not afraid to show it.
In other good news, every thing on the ultrasound was perfectly normal and healthy (no false alarms or worries like Jackson's ultrasound...). They also confirmed the due date of October 21st. We are really excited!
In other good news, every thing on the ultrasound was perfectly normal and healthy (no false alarms or worries like Jackson's ultrasound...). They also confirmed the due date of October 21st. We are really excited!
Friday, May 29, 2009
19 weeks and counting...
I am 19 weeks along now. My "bump" is getting bigger... and bigger and I'm starting to outgrow all of my bigger regular clothes and get more solidly into maternity clothes (sigh!). Which, of course, means that I am at that fabulous stage where I am constantly tugging at my maternity pants to attempt to keep them up at a reasonable amount of belly coverage. They start out fine, but if you do any moving or bending, it seems like next thing you know your capris are full-length pants....
The kids are counting down the days until Thursday when we find out if we are having a boy or a girl. Jared is hoping for a boy and Camryn is dying for a girl (I know, surprising). Jackson is oblivious. =] People ask me which I'm hoping for: I wouldn't mind having another girl- that would even things out, as well as making Camryn's life. =] On the other hand, I have a VERY boy nursery (blue and fire-engine-red walls with a sports wallpaper border) and I don't really have any desire to repaint. So either would be great... which is good because we don't exactly get to decide.
Speaking of growing bigger... Jackson continues to outdo himself. He is now a prolific climber: the step-stool is his new best friend. He uses it to play with the water and ice dispenser on the fridge (thank goodness for the lock feature!), to incessantly climb in and out of his high chair, to reach light switches for his flipping pleasure, to stand on top of the kitchen table, etc., etc. He also is an eating machine (when he wants to be). He can down an entire 1/4 lb. Costco hot dog. He just ate 2 eggs, a piece of toast and 1/2 a pear for breakfast.
Jackson's other obsession is throwing things. He has always been a big thrower and likes nothing better than giving a toy or another object at hand a good overhand hurl. His new obsession is with throwing things OVER edges... such as folded laundry over the upstairs hallway railing, shoes over the edge of the deck (our backyard is two stories below- it is quite a task to go fetch them) or a piece of banana over his head and into my back or my water glass. Fun times.
The kids are counting down the days until Thursday when we find out if we are having a boy or a girl. Jared is hoping for a boy and Camryn is dying for a girl (I know, surprising). Jackson is oblivious. =] People ask me which I'm hoping for: I wouldn't mind having another girl- that would even things out, as well as making Camryn's life. =] On the other hand, I have a VERY boy nursery (blue and fire-engine-red walls with a sports wallpaper border) and I don't really have any desire to repaint. So either would be great... which is good because we don't exactly get to decide.
Speaking of growing bigger... Jackson continues to outdo himself. He is now a prolific climber: the step-stool is his new best friend. He uses it to play with the water and ice dispenser on the fridge (thank goodness for the lock feature!), to incessantly climb in and out of his high chair, to reach light switches for his flipping pleasure, to stand on top of the kitchen table, etc., etc. He also is an eating machine (when he wants to be). He can down an entire 1/4 lb. Costco hot dog. He just ate 2 eggs, a piece of toast and 1/2 a pear for breakfast.
Jackson's other obsession is throwing things. He has always been a big thrower and likes nothing better than giving a toy or another object at hand a good overhand hurl. His new obsession is with throwing things OVER edges... such as folded laundry over the upstairs hallway railing, shoes over the edge of the deck (our backyard is two stories below- it is quite a task to go fetch them) or a piece of banana over his head and into my back or my water glass. Fun times.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Sun!
After several days of reinforcing the fact that spring does NOT fully arrive in April in the Northwest, the weather actually changed its mind. The sun came out and the afternoon was BEAUTIFUL. It was warm and sunny. I took the kids to play out in the front yard and we went on a short trip to the park. I guess part of me is still a California girl at heart -- it's hard not to have your spirits lift when the weather is so gorgeous... it's also hard not to secretly hope that the weather will just stay like this until November. I can always dream, can't I?
It was nice to get the kids out of the house. Jackson LOVES to go outside. Whenever the front door opens, he makes a mad dash and tries to get outside, regardless of how freezing or rainy it may be. He gets so mad when he is inevitably dragged back inside. So he was thrilled today to actually be free to roam around in the great outdoors. His favorite place outside is... the middle of our street. We got it down to a routine: Jackson would charge into the street as fast as his little legs could carry him. I would go after him and drag him back to our yard. Repeat. After a while I got tired of picking up my 30 lb. "baby," so I just followed him around and he happily ran down the middle of our street, grinning from ear to ear, with mom trotting behind him. [We live on a fairly quiet street, by the way. I'm not trying to tempt fate.]
Jackson's latest discovery is books. He loves to sit and look at books for whole minutes at a time (hey, it's a long time for his attention span). ;) He will actually sit and listen to some of the story when I read to the older kids.
Today's dinner (potatoes and leftover Easter ham) was much more well-received than yesterday's. Last night I made Arroz Con Pollo (Mexican Chicken and Rice). This was not an attempt to be mean, or even healthy-- it's one of their friend's favorite meals. But you know you're off to a bad start when Jared says, "Mom, can I have Split Pea Soup instead?" (Split Pea Soup was my last meal that they weren't big fans of...) and Camryn says, "I don't really want a dinner treat." Honestly, was it really that bad? Did you even try it? I'd almost rather have Jackson (who just hurls things off the tray of his high chair when he doesn't want them) than have people tell me how the yummy dinner I worked hard to make is yucky.
I am now 13 weeks pregnant, so I'm hoping that the 2nd-trimester boost of energy will kick in soon. Today I made the mistake of taking a nap while Jackson took his nap. I slept the whole time and spent the next 2 hours after that fighting to stay awake. Not even the beautiful weather or sneaking leftover Easter candy could rid me of the desire to go crash on the couch for another couple hours. So here's hoping the nice weather stays around AND that my 2nd trimester (and the burst of energy that comes with it) hits sooner than later!
It was nice to get the kids out of the house. Jackson LOVES to go outside. Whenever the front door opens, he makes a mad dash and tries to get outside, regardless of how freezing or rainy it may be. He gets so mad when he is inevitably dragged back inside. So he was thrilled today to actually be free to roam around in the great outdoors. His favorite place outside is... the middle of our street. We got it down to a routine: Jackson would charge into the street as fast as his little legs could carry him. I would go after him and drag him back to our yard. Repeat. After a while I got tired of picking up my 30 lb. "baby," so I just followed him around and he happily ran down the middle of our street, grinning from ear to ear, with mom trotting behind him. [We live on a fairly quiet street, by the way. I'm not trying to tempt fate.]
Jackson's latest discovery is books. He loves to sit and look at books for whole minutes at a time (hey, it's a long time for his attention span). ;) He will actually sit and listen to some of the story when I read to the older kids.
Today's dinner (potatoes and leftover Easter ham) was much more well-received than yesterday's. Last night I made Arroz Con Pollo (Mexican Chicken and Rice). This was not an attempt to be mean, or even healthy-- it's one of their friend's favorite meals. But you know you're off to a bad start when Jared says, "Mom, can I have Split Pea Soup instead?" (Split Pea Soup was my last meal that they weren't big fans of...) and Camryn says, "I don't really want a dinner treat." Honestly, was it really that bad? Did you even try it? I'd almost rather have Jackson (who just hurls things off the tray of his high chair when he doesn't want them) than have people tell me how the yummy dinner I worked hard to make is yucky.
I am now 13 weeks pregnant, so I'm hoping that the 2nd-trimester boost of energy will kick in soon. Today I made the mistake of taking a nap while Jackson took his nap. I slept the whole time and spent the next 2 hours after that fighting to stay awake. Not even the beautiful weather or sneaking leftover Easter candy could rid me of the desire to go crash on the couch for another couple hours. So here's hoping the nice weather stays around AND that my 2nd trimester (and the burst of energy that comes with it) hits sooner than later!
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