As this post goes up, Lyndon and I will be greeting our new baby. Please keep us in your thoughts! Lyndon will update the blog tonight with the boy/girl status (after he has contacted his family in Australia), the name, and, if we’re lucky a picture or two.
In the meantime, here are some “first” pictures of Austin, fresh into this world! He was 5 lbs, 15 ounces, and 21 inches long. I’m taking bets that this one is MUCH bigger!
This post is more of a journal to myself for reference than anything else. Feel free to read along…
I definitely gained more weight this round, but I started out quite a bit under my starting weight with Austin, so I will actually end up a few (2-4) pounds lighter at the end of all of this. I find that bizarre, because I was TINY with Austin, and I feel just HUGE with #2. My belly is infinitely larger, and for the first time the other night I actually had swollen ankles and legs and fingers …can’t really complain about that, because it was my first experience with pregnancy swelling, was probably due to standing up all night and then staying up late cleaning, and it is gone today. Oh yeah, and eating copious amounts of fried fish. Sheesh. I don’t actually mind having a large belly, with Austin I felt like I somehow missed out on the true “Pregnancy experience” because I just never looked all that noticeably pregnant. Now I’m getting those knowing cute smiles from ladies in department stores, and it is kinda fun 
I think my biggest struggle has been that I’ve had a hard time finding clothes that are flattering and comfortable, and that STAY PUT! I loved wearing skirts and flowing tops with Austin, and pregnancy pants/jeans just don’t seem to work for me. That means that I’m not comfortable with how I look, and thus feel awkward. The few warm days we’ve had where I’ve sported a skirt, I’ve been a happy camper and truly felt like I was glowing!
Anyhow, I think I’ve done just fine keeping myself under control during this pregnancy. There was less time for exercise and rest, for obvious reasons, but I still managed to stay relatively active and will only have gained somewhere around 28 lbs – not bad. About 4 more than I gained with Austin. (and 10 of which came in the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas – that is a brutal month to be pregnant!) Thanks to fantastic genes (not Jeans, as I said above) I managed to get through without my belly button popping out, a fear of mine (however unfounded), and without stretch marks.
I crack up internally every time someone asks me “what does Austin think? is he excited?” Are you kidding? Austin isn’t even two years old…he doesn’t have a clue.
Well, I shouldn’t say that…he points to my belly and says “baby” and will give it kisses, but then a few minutes later he will point to his own belly and say “Baby.” He’ll go into the baby’s room, and bring me baby’s diaper (we’ve been practicing for that task), and he can name all of the character’s in Mercer Mayer’s “The new baby” (that has been read a million times.). But when it comes down to it, he has no idea how life will change. And honestly, I’m not worried and I don’t feel guilty at all. Sure, he’ll have to give up some (lots) of attention, but he will be loved just as much as before the baby. Ultimately, I know I’m giving him one of the best gifts there is – a sibling. I love my brother and sister, and although we certainly had our moments growing up, I can’t imagine not having them both. My life is so much better for having them both, and I would hate to deprive Austin of that experience. So yes, he will loose our undivided attention, but that loss is more than made up for in the gain of a lifelong playmate, one that he can comfortably make fun of his (fantastic) parents with, blame for mishaps, and generally use as his partner in crime. He’ll thank me later.
I also think that, while there will be adjustment period, soon enough having a sibling will be all he has ever known, and worry about how he’ll cope will be gone. Fingers crossed.
I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. If I’m being honest, I do hope it is a girl, just because it would be nice to have one of each and there is a decent chance this is our last babe. Plus, we’ve settled on a girl name, and we can’t agree on a boy name…so it would make the whole birthing experience less stressful. That said, Lyndon has told me he always wishes he had a brother, and I can see Austin loving that. And I do love MY boy name that I have picked out…if only I could get Lyndon on board
All of my sources, who guessed correctly last time, are convinced this one is a girl. And heck, it is TIME for a girl – Lyndon’s two sisters have three boys between them, and in my family, of the 13 grand babies, only three are girls, and the past 8 have been boys. Myself and two of my cousins all had babies in 2008, all boys…and we’re all pregnant again due in 2010…and the Aunt’s are all rooting for girls. And the best indicator of all – my mom had a Ouija board experience in July, before I was even pregnant, that clearly stated that her next grand baby would be a girl.
Soon we’ll know! I love the suspense, the surprise - I recommend EVERYONE wait to find out. Those who say they need to “plan,” I say phooey: all the kid needs is a carseat and a place to sleep, and you’re smart to buy it all unisex unless you KNOW that you are only having one baby. Plus, if you don’t know what you’re having your baby shower is full of useful items – diapers, bouncy seats, swings, carseats and strollers (all that are in unisex colors and thus usable for baby #2, 3, 4….), and green and yellow onesies. Perfect – everything you need, and the cute, gender specific clothes will come afterwards (believe me – we were flooded with incredible boy clothes!). If you know, your shower will be full of gender specific, adorable outfits, that you will put your bub in perhaps once or twice before they outgrow them – and the kid will probably puke on the outfit anyhow Those clothes are adorable, but not nearly as useful as the baby baths and the play mats… But hey, I’m biased. I figure there are few great surprise left in life, and this is one I intend to enjoy.
I’m doing my best to come to terms with this. I wish it could be different, I wish I could give birth naturally – because I KNOW I could do it…but it is just how it has to be. So acceptance is slowly coming. Hopefully I’ll get there.
Why a planned C: Well, despite my best intentions, I had to have a C with Austin – he was breech. We didn’t know this till I was fully dilated and ready to push (and I got there without so much as an IV, thankyouverymuch)…and then it was discovered that my little half-Aussie was a bit turned around. Since it was my first and they weren’t sure it was safe to deliver him breech, I had to “wait” (for probably 1.5 – 2 hours – ready to push the ENTIRE time and without the option of a smidge of pain relief…) for a doctor and anesthesiologist to get in (it was a Saturday) and cut me open.
So why must I have the planned C this time? Well, basically because no doctors around here will do a V-BAC. I would have to travel over an hour to the nearest Dr./hospital that will do them, which is just a bit crazy. That Dr. would be out of network for insurance, so infinitely more expensive, not to mention the amount of time spent in commute and $$ spent on gas. Home birth wasn’t an option for us – neither Lyndon or I are completely comfortable with the idea (although I support it fully for those who are into it!) and also would have been more expensive, ironically, because not covered by insurance. Simply put, I was given no options. So scheduled C it is. At least my Dr. is letting me go full term (my due date is technically the 26th, so the 22nd is pretty generous), and not forcing me to remove the baby early.
I am hoping against hope that I go into labor before the 22nd, just so that I “know” the baby is ready to enter the world and isn’t being yanked out before its time. But that said, I’m sure all will be fine, and I’m trying to make myself just relax and let everything happen as it should.
For some reason, having an “end date” has made me way more anxious than not knowing. Austin was three weeks early, and I was convinced that I was going to go at least a few weeks late, so I wasn’t prepared at all when I went into labor. It took me by surprise, which was fantastic because there was no nervous, anxious waiting. Lyndon and I had a fantastic, relaxed night and a full nights sleep before my water broke at 6 a.m. on Saturday. My biggest stress was calling the local chamber of commerce to let them know that I wouldn’t be able to man a crafts table for work at the Maritime Festival that day, as planned – and I pawned that off on my mom
Haven’t really thought about this one. Lots of people do it, they all survive…heck, my mom had three under 4, and I’m so glad we’re close in age now. We’ll make it! It’ll be crazy, but crazy can be fun, right?
I hate this thought. Moving on.
Not as easy a pregnancy as my first, but heck, I had a little one to chase after the entire time. Not too bad at all – considering all of the issues that women have, I really do this pregnancy thing well. I didn’t yack once, didn’t blow up like a balloon, and my besides sore hips and back, am still moving around just fine.
We had a little get-together at our house last night. Mainly to feed the folks who helped us get our yard/landscape looking all spick and span, although due to a twist of fate (namely, a car break-down on the expressway the night before) our friend Bill ended up cooking for us. But none of that is important right now. What does matter is, after everyone left at 9:30 p.m., I decided that I needed to make a list of EVERYTHING I wanted to accomplish on Monday:
Vacuum floors
Steam clean the floors
Vacuum the upstairs
Vacuum the stairs
Clean out the fridge
Unload dishwasher
Scrub the door to the garage (it was GROSS)
Vacuum out/clean my car
Quite a list considering I would have a toddler in tow…
And then I did something amazing. I did EVERYTHING on the list, except vacuuming out the car, BEFORE I WENT TO BED. Lyndon was just laughing, and kept saying, “You’re SO nesting. I haven’t seen you with this much energy in ages!” I’ll admit it was a little insane, but the floors were a mess (landscaping boys trodding in and out, and then staying for dinner, equals a very dirty floor) and the thought of waking up to them wasn’t appealing. And heck, if it was nesting, maybe it means the baby will come SOON? At least, these were my thoughts as I tucked myself into bed just past midnight.
Well, this morning I’m thankful I’ve already accomplished so much…but no baby. Patience….
This weekend was incredibly productive. Perhaps because we kept thinking it could be our “last” with just one kid around, there were all sorts of things knocked off the to-do list, and it sure felt great to see them go. For instance:
All in all, pretty good! The funny thing is that I can take responsibility for almost none of it – besides the socks. Everything else was done by either the hubby or my mom! I can’t thank either of them enough – for one, I don’t change tires unless completely necessary (stranded on the side of the road with no cell phone service may propel me to such lengths), and, then of course, there is the whole 9 months pregnant thing. Hard to run an edger or the roto-tiller when you can’t exactly reach the handlebars over your big belly. I had pretty much given up on getting the yard all pretty this year – it just wasn’t high on the priority list, but now it is looking great thanks entirely to my mom.
(cute side note – Austin was absolutely fascinated with the roto-tiller. He sat, outside, on my lap for a full ten minutes watching mom rototill the garden. Transfixed. Without even a slight movement, except every once in a while to whisper “tractor” as she pushed it by. You would have thought it was Sesame Street in 3D the way his eyes were locked on that thing!)
It’s not what you do…it’s what you see gets done.
Now I’m going to kick back and let Lyndon make me dinner.
Dear baby,
I’ve successfully survived a week of spring break art camp at work. The house is clean (well, as clean as I’m going to get it, unless I scrub the floor tonight…hmm…). Austin can say “baby” and does so with an excited grin. We’ve read Mercer Mayer’s “The New Baby” about a million times (thanks Jen!). My belly is large. My hips ache. The heartburn is more than annoying. Your bedding is all clean and fresh. Your room looks very cute. I’m dying to know if you’re a “Bloke” or a “Shelia.” We’re officially ready for you!
Except…we haven’t painted the ceiling yet. Your bassinet is still missing a critical screw that keeps it from falling apart when any weight is put in it. I haven’t re-washed the baby clothes since I got them out of storage. The screens aren’t up on the windows yet. I haven’t packed a hospital bag. I don’t know where your car seat is, and I haven’t washed the cover (which surely is covered in Austin drool). I don’t know where the lansinoh is (and oh how I will need it). I haven’t made one darn freezer meal. And I still have a list of “to-do’s” a mile long at work.
So maybe give me another day or so? Thanks
I have a lot to finish at work before I head out to have this baby. Class schedules to finalize and publicize, mailings to schedule, posters to make, volunteers and sponsorships to secure, grant follow-up to do, press releases to write, advertisements to sell, and even a few grants to write. (I work at a non-profit art education center) This is kind of important stuff - the success of our summer session depends on it, and since I’m the only employee, if I don’t do it….yeah. (hmm, maybe typing this list was the wake up call I needed. HELLO JANELLE, GET TO WORK!)
Yet, I’ve having the focus of a two-year old. My mom and I refer to these as our “Oh look, a Chicken!” moments:
I have the best of intentions – I start off on a task, but then my mind thinks “I wonder if the baby will have my nose (good) or Lyndon’s nose (….)” and then the phone rings, and someone asks me an unrelated question about work. By the time I’m done dealing with the phone call, someone is standing in front of me to pick up artwork from the youth show that just finished. I find their artwork, and sit back down…and it takes me five minutes to remember where I was. Just as I’m getting back to work, I’ll get an email that requires my attention right away, and then I’ll have to pee. While I’m up, I’ll realize I’m hungry and go to get a snack, and while I’m over getting a snack someone from the business office next door will ask me a question. I’ll head back to my desk to get the answer, but realize that I’m out of water and will need a refill. After I get my water, I’ll sit down and have to answer another email I’ve received. Then the phone will ring. Soon, my tummy is grumbling, and I realize I forgot to get my snack. So I head back over, but then I’m reminded that I never answered the question the asked…
You get the picture. An hour has passed, and what have I accomplished on my major “to do” list? Nada. And so goes the day. I suppose this absent-mindedness is a classic pregnancy symptom, and coupled with my fuzzy brain from the substandard sleep that has been mine lately, completely understandable. But I’m in need of some serious “work nesting” if this stuff is going to get done before the wee one makes his/her appearance!
Time to vote – will baby Mair be a boy or a girl?
Here is a belly picture:
For comparison – here’s how Austin looked at 37 weeks (he was born less than 3 hours later!):
Common questions answered:
My husband and I are having a debate. I hopped on my townie bike today (one of those granny-style bikes) to go pick Austin up from daycare. I would have walked, but it is about 1 3/4 miles and I had less than a half hour to get there – just not possible in my waddling state. I walk or bike whenever possible to fetch the bub – it is good for me, he likes it, and saves us the gas money.
Like I said, my bike is very granny-like. I sit completely upright, feel very balanced, and with the trailer behind me, feel like I would have to work pretty hard to tip over. Also, the entire ride is on either the bike trail, very slow and quiet streets, or sidewalks. Not an ounce of it is “in traffic” and there are no hills, blind spots, or places where you would have a chance of needing to ride on anything but flat pavement. So no problem right?
He seems to think I’m being crazy, and I just don’t agree. If I thought for a second I was putting the bub in danger, I wouldn’t bike, but nothing about it feels wrong. My doctor even said it was OK as long as I felt stable…which I do. I rode my bike right up to the day I gave birth to Austin!
Granted, I’m a bit bigger this time, but still not as big as most poor pregnant women get – I still have an “innie,” and had a few people who see me monthly just figure it out in the past few weeks (although I think they just win the “not very observant” award). And biking feels SO good…it stretches my legs and gives me that “wind in my face” feeling that I love – all while probably moving at a top speed of 8 mph. After a walk, my hips and lower back are sore, and I don’t get that after a bike. Don’t the benefits of a bit of exercise outweigh the slight risk?
Pregnancy is just bizarre. Even if you have it easy, and I certainly think I fall into that category, weird things start to happen to your body and mind as you grow a tiny new human being. Your needs change in ways you would never imagine, and suddenly you find that you’re surrounding yourself with odd new “necessities” that you would never have imagined in your pre-pregnancy self.
Case in point – I now go nowhere with my stash of Tums. 
Before there was a small being compressing my stomach and forcing acid in the wrong direction, I had never felt the incredibly uncomfortable sensation that is heartburn. I always thought folks just needed to suck it up and stop eating so many chili cheese fries, but, for me at least, it doesn’t matter what I eat – just around 5 p.m. my esophagus starts to tingle and soon I’m reaching for those chalky little tablets that offer some relief.
The second surprise “best friend?” Gotta be the body pillow. I hate sleeping with extra pillows – just more stuff to crowd our bed – but man do these things provide some relief from the funky funk I get in my hips and back. Curling up with a body pillow means that I can find a position that passes for comfortable, and thus get some much-needed rest. Thank you, oh creator of the giant pillow.
(I have a friend who recommends you name your pillow, as you will spend more time cuddling with it than your hubby during pregnancy, and a name helps to create a more intimate relationship.)
Personally, my small but adorable scarf collections has been a lifesaver. They not only draw people’s eyes away from my expanding middle, but they also help disguise the fact that I am wearing yet another long sleeve, black maternity shirt. My maternity wardrobe is quite sparse (I’m just not into splurging on clothes that I will only wear for a few months, while I’m not feeling my most attractive), and I have a hard time not looking the same every day. A scarf makes a big difference…and, I can (and will!) wear post-pregnancy. An accessory worth splurging on while pregnant!
Finally, at least for me…cereal. I don’t know what it is about cereal, but when I’m knocked up, I can’t get enough. Even when I’m queasy, cereal sounds, and tastes, oh so good. The cold milk and crunchy carbs just touch me in all the right places. In fact, I’m getting hungry right now, and there may be some kashi go lean calling my name…
I have a confession to make – I’ve stopped exercising. Mind you, I have (in my mind, anyhow…) a good excuse, but I have officially stowed my (very tight!) sports bras and sports socks away till after the baby comes to visit, and I’m totally OK with this decision.
All through my pregnancy with Austin, and for most of this one as well, I was diligent about getting my sweat on 4-5 days per week, be it through videos and DVDs at home, biking, XC skiing, snowshoeing, or walking. I’m sure this was part of the reason I didn’t blow myself out during pregnancy #1 (I squeaked by only gaining 24 lbs, which was probably gone after 2 months…and was totally one of those bitches who could squeeze into my (looser) pre-pregnancy jeans about a week after coming home). And I maintained this same schedule, as much as I could, during this pregnancy. But for the past two weeks, I SWEAR that my hips have been spreading. I have this ache in both of my hips and lower back, and the more strenuously I move, the worse it gets. It started after the first beautiful, sunny spring day we had this year. Lyndon and I took Austin for a five-mile walk – which felt great! Sunshine, warmth, skin exposed to the sunlight and taking in some vitamin D…but once we got home, I started to ache, and it has just gotten worse. In the mornings, when I normally pop in a DVD and get moving, I can barely walk, and I just don’t think that lunges, squats, and step aerobics are going to improve my state.
Mind you, I’m still trying to keep myself on track by taking short walks here and there, stretching, and playing with a very active 19 month old, but for the first time in a really long time I have absolutely no guilt about resting my body, and it feels great! Mornings are no longer a rush of get dressed – excercise – shower – make the baby breakfast and the hubby coffee – attempt to eat while drying hair and cleaning oatmeal off the floor…instead I can move at a leisurely pace, even check Facebook and blogs, enjoy my breakfast, and play with Austin. It is liberating to give up the morning exercise guilt and just let me body concentrate on growing a healthy baby. I only have a few weeks left before life takes a swing towards crazy, and I intend to savor every last moment of calm that I can!
