Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Elana and the Halloween Parade

Today Elana's school had a Halloween Parade, which sounds like a much bigger deal than it actually was, but she definitely had fun! Between pregnancy and being pregnant (see what I did there?), I haven't had the energy to give the kids a normal Halloween prep: we barely got pumpkins, have yet to carve them, didn't get any new costumes, and have NO intention of going out tonight. O:) I'm the best mom...


Elana saw cookies on the table... just keep marching little girl!



Elana's Class







 


Almost 38 weeks!


In 2 days I'll be 38 weeks. This is me, holding my packed hospital bag... wishing it was time to go. Baby Sam is still breech and I swear it's the most uncomfortable--painful end of a pregnancy I could imagine. *Yes, I complain too much.* Trust me, having two kids already, I understand the value of the third still being in utero but seriously, this is not better. I can't wait for Sam to be out of my belly and into my arms. I promise I will sleep more, have less pain, and actually be able to eat. This pregnancy has made me feel like a woman growing a baby is not natural... So in a week (and 2 days) I will be so happy to have an elective c-section a week before my due date! :)





Last night my very sweet husband put together the gliding cradle I ordered for our room. It didn't necessarily need to be done yet, but it was hanging over me (since it arrived 9 hrs earlier) so after he put the kids to bed, and even though I couldn't help, he graciously indulged my desire to have it done.



And this morning I set out to get some bassinet sheets. I was a little worried because bassinet sheets are notoriously never quite the right size... and then it occurred to me to make my own! I stopped by JoAnns and picked out some super soft fabrics for all of $25. WIN!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

A New Dresser for Will


This is Will's new dresser--except that it's an old dresser. :) My grandma passed down two dressers when Colin and I got married. I painted one of them white years ago and put in the guest room (now it's in Elana's room). With Baby Sam coming soon, I decided to upgrade Will from the "baby dresser" we ordered with the cribs a long time ago to the second big dresser. Last week I painted it blue (Will had the choice of dark blue or dark gray) and updated the hardware. He seems to like it just fine. :)

Friday, October 19, 2012

Colin's Bday!

It was yesterday but I'm just now posting pics. :) Poor guy, only had about 30 minutes of actual birthday celebration; the rest of the day was filled with drama, hyper kids, and a very pregnant wife that basically collapsed from exhaustion at 6:30p. Ah life as a family! ;)


(cake from Mad Hatter: Will chose tall candles because "daddy's tall")


(Birthday dinner: PF Changs!)

("Daddy's silly")






Friday, October 12, 2012

35 weeks



I had my 35 week check up today, also my ultrasound to check baby Sam's position and get his weight estimate. There was a distinct moment one night (a couple weeks ago) when I thought I felt him turn. Since then movements have felt a little different and he hasn't felt as high... I was convinced he was no longer breech. But I was wrong! He is still head up and even had both feet by his head (instead of just the one), making his current position "frank breech" (translation: bum and manly parts "presenting" first... this kid might be a show-off). :) Ha. His current weight estimate is just a little over 6 lbs, putting him in the 69th percentile. 

My doctor's office was totally laid back about Sam's position, offering me a number of options if I would like to do anything. The truth is, I want a c-section, but I don't want it to be elective... I want it to be what I should do (because my baby is breech, for example). So, I totally scheduled that sucker for November 9 (they like to do it the week before your due date). It's very difficult for me to reconcile how different I feel between Elana's pregnancy/birth and Sam's. With Elana, I wanted to reduce interventions for the sake of an easier birth on my baby. After my first experience giving birth, I had a very long recovery and I feel confident that many of those lingering issues would be felt again during the postpartum phase (think years). My OB and I talked a little about complications/recovery of a c-section and she pointed out that there is a significant difference in outcomes between planned c-sections and ones that occur after labor has begun--basically if they're planned and completed ahead of time, they tend to go much smoother. I know a c-section will still require a recovery period, but at least the pain will be in a different location. Sam could absolutely still turn, but at this point I'm not sure that I would change my birth plan.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Oakwood Park

This is our neighborhood park.


It's amazingly close to our house and has a fenced area (this is critical for my situation).




And swings, which are clearly for spinning:


Our neighborhood park has had a rough history with issues of very open drug use and clear disregard for children at play, however the local police have really helped us out by responding to our concerns as a neighborhood about how the park had become unsafe for children. The police have stepped up their surveillance and frequently patrol the park to make sure the park is being used appropriately. I was so happy to take the kids on such a beautiful day to enjoy our neighborhood park! A huge thanks to the Durham Police!



Sunday, October 7, 2012

Watch out


This is Colin's pumpkin bread. It is soooooo delicious! Today was cold and overcast so we turned on our heat and snuggled in to the early darkness of the evening. With the smell of pumpkin bread filling the house, I started to think about the holidays. I get a little carried away with just how much I enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is not just a song to me... it's a reality!  I am super excited to be in our "new" house for the upcoming holiday season. I'm also a little concerned because I love decorating and having everything festive; it will be tough to accomplish in the fairly unfinished state of our house. I feel myself wanting to kick it into high gear to get as many projects done as I can before our world is rocked with holidays and a newborn! :) So watch out, because I might be a little over caffeinated/crazy over the next 4-6 weeks. ;) ha ha ha!