lisa's pregnancy blog #2

Too tired to blog

2009-05-24T20:26:00.010-05:00

Photo from May 9th at 37 weeks.

I think we may have finally decided on a name for baby. Samuel Mitchell Gooden. We'll probably call him Sam (though Roland Mitchell is still on our minds too).

Everything is going normally and healthy with the pregnancy. As of our last appointment at the midwife's, baby's head is down, but he hasn't yet dropped. So we are just waiting. I've become very tired recently. At work I am usually ok, but beat by the end of the afternoon with my feet swollen. At home, I find myself energetic in the morning (going out shopping and doing chores) and then dozing off for a nap around noon. At night I've been getting up a lot more in the last couple days, and I've had some odd feelings in my kidney area. I'm sure it's all part of getting ready for labor. I'm not nervous anymore, I feel ready. I have so many Braxton Hicks contractions now, I just hope I can tell when it's the real thing!

I got a few more of the final things we'll need for the baby this weekend. At Target, I got size 1 diapers and a couple pacifiers, just in case. I also got a new baby monitor - thanks to Mom and Dad for that. The old one used to work great, but it hasn't been charging up reliably for some time.

Daniel's mom came into town Saturday and helped get things ready around the house. She washed a bunch of baby clothes for us and helped get the bouncy seat and bassinet all freshened up. She watched Johnny in the morning so I could go out to the store. And compliments of Laurel, I even got 3 new casual and cute maternity tops and a pair of shorts! They have been a much needed addition to my summer wardrobe. I'm wearing one of the tops in the photo above.

Turns out our pediatrician Dr. Slaymaker doesn't see babies at Research Medical Center like he used to, so we will have to have another pediatrician see the baby in the hospital. We still plan to see Dr. Slaymaker after the birth. Now I just need to iron out the details, making sure the other pediatrician can come to see him, finding out how to get the medical records to the Village Pediatrics office.

We haven't been able to set up the baby's room much, since we are still living in there ourselves while Daniel finishes our new bedroom. I can't wait to move in and have enough room for our queen-sized bed and the baby bassinet! Maybe I can buy a cute nautical light switch cover or some other decor items to go with the decals we already have.

Johnny continues to talk about his baby brother and that he is still inside my tummy. He talks about all the things they can do together when the baby gets older, like talk to each other, ride in the wagon or the special car shopping carts at the store together. I think he'll be a big help and great big brother. I am so curious to see how our family will be once we become a family of four!

Preparations

2009-05-12T21:20:00.002-05:00

I feel like I'm so close now. 2.5 weeks until the due date, but 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after are normal, so it could be any time now. Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions one night last week, but I was working late and it was hot. I felt better after things calmed down and then nothing happened all weekend. Monday I was nesting like crazy. Cleaned my desk. Recorded an outgoing message for my voice mail to play while I am on maternity leave. Same for email. I distributed a stack of paperwork a foot high to the proper people. I had so much energy last night I worked on dishes and laundry and then made brownies. Then today, with ridiculous over eagerness and self-sufficiency, I tried to move some boxes and pulled a ligament in my belly. Yikes! Very painful and scary on the way home. But after I managed to sit down and relax, everything is back to normal. The midwife said to take a tylenol and warm bath and things should be even better in the morning. Of course my "normal" now is waddling around stiffly every time I get up from sitting or lying down. It takes me 3x as long to get anywhere as it used to.

People at work think I look bigger this pregnancy and I'm certainly feeling less than eager to continue with my daily tasks. Last time, I don't remember feeling anything but happy to keep working. Ironically, two of the midwives have now told me this baby is a little smaller, maybe 6 lbs. That would be nice, we'll have to see. Baby still doesn't have a firm name. Mitchell seems to be the middle name, but for first names, I'm stuck. Samuel or Walter maybe. I think Roland would still be Daniel's pick.

Daniel is hard at work on painting and preparing our new bedroom. We finally picked out a color, a muted green shade I hope will be relaxing. However it turns out will be great, fresh and new. His sister Emily's graduation is this weekend. Maybe next week I will wrangle some folks to come out and help us finish off the bedroom.

Our refresher childbirth class is going well. We've had one class and we'll have another tomorrow night. We're going over lots of things that were good to be reminded of. I hope we'll practice a little more this time on our own. Visualizations, affirmations, comfort positions, etc.

We've gotten several books from the library about new baby brothers/sisters for Johnny, but I'm still afraid it will be a hard adjustment for him. He's so wonderful. I know he'll get a kick out of having a brother, but I know he'll want our attention more than ever, too. I'll enjoy being home with both of my babies this summer.

Getting closer

2009-04-30T21:11:00.002-05:00

We took a tour of the hospital and pre-registered today before our appointment with the midwives. They've remodeled, but the layout is still pretty much the same. There are giant tubs in a couple of the birthing rooms, which are great. The postpartum rooms are still rather small and only have showers.

At our appointment, Kim said the baby was way down, but not yet totally engaged. She thought he was only about 6 pounds, so he may be smaller at birth than Johnny turned out to be at 8 pounds, 3 oz.

I got a double dose of showers this month. At work, there was a luncheon to celebrate the impending arrivals of the 3 babies to women in our department and the wedding of another. It was a salad potluck and Daniel and Johnny we able to attend. Then later, some of the moms from the neighborhood threw a group baby shower for me and two other moms who are expecting. It was a lovely evening out for me filled with yummy steak sandwiches and sparkling grape and pomegranate juice cocktails!

Nesting

2009-04-06T19:42:00.003-05:00

Lots of nesting going on this week. So far, I've bought the baby a car seat:

Thanks to Mom and Dad for their help. We decided to go with the infant car seat this time around. We hope Johnny will be big enough to move to a booster when it's time for the second baby to move to his convertible seat.

and some cute nautical decals for the walls on his room:

I LOVED the cowboy decals my girl Jessica got for Johnny last time around. They are convenient and easy to move around. We've even moved them over to Johnny's new room. So I figured since we feel rushed for time getting ready for the new baby, the decals will be an easy way to liven up the baby's room.

and a Winnie the Pooh baby book:

Johnny has a Winnie the Pooh book as well, but a different version, so this one will be a nice addition.

30 weeks

2009-03-31T21:38:00.002-05:00

New belly portrait by Johnny at 30 weeks.

I'm starting to feel more aches and pains in my hips now. And more reflux at night. Thanks to Susan's suggestion at work (one of my 2 pregnant co-workers), the pineapple I've been eating before bed seems to have curbed that.

We moved Johnny into his beautiful new room and new twin-sized bed this week as well. It really turned out great and I am so proud of Daniel and Johnny for the hard work they did on it. Next up will be painting Daniel's and my new room (Johnny's old room) some shade of blue/green and moving us out of the baby's room.

I just realized tonight we only have about 8 weeks to go. I haven't yet scheduled the birthing class refresher, but I did get a couple of books at the library that we found useful last time. I also need to read up in my Baby Whisperer book about newborn care. And we need to make a plan for where to take Johnny once labor gets going strong. Happily all the relatives are volunteering! But there's so much to do and I'm so tired at the end of each day I can hardly wrap my mind around where to begin.

Pregnancy Progress

2009-03-23T20:59:00.000-05:00

So far so good. I made all the rest of my prenatal appointments. Every 2 weeks until May and then once a week. I finally passed the glucose tolerance test too! Yea! No more worrying about gestational diabetes. Seems I'm gaining about an average amount of weight and no series issues. Baby was not in a head down position this week, so he must still be moving around. I definitely feel him moving around a ton. Still no certainty on names. We've been tossing around: Samuel, Luke, Roland, Thomas.... We've decided to do the private childbirth class with Melanie this time. She comes to our house, twice I think. That way it can be done at our own pace and she said she lets us borrow the videos to watch at our leisure. Daniel feels it's important for us to feel as comfortable and confident as possible going into the labor. Sounds good to me.

Still working on Johnny's new room. We're on the last coat of green paint. We decided to wait until later to do carpet or a new area rug. For now he'll have to settle for a blue Persian-type rug we already have. And I'm looking for a wood twin bed frame. Found one on Craig's list we're going to go check out tomorrow after work.

Last Trimester

2009-03-12T22:28:00.000-05:00

We've officially entered the last trimester! The glucose tolerance test was borderline last week, just like with the first pregnancy. But instead of going straight for the 3-hour version, which I endured (and passed) last time, they are letting me take the 1-hour test again, this time without fasting in the morning. Here's hoping! My appointments are going to be every 2 weeks now.

On remodeling: Daniel and Johnny have been working on setting up Johnny's new room. The walls are sanded and the floor has been covered with drop cloths. Pretty soon Daniel can start painting the ceiling and priming the walls. We've picked out a lovely shade of jungle green for the walls. I still need to explore carpeting costs vs. a rug. I can't wait to get Johnny's new room finished so we can move him in, move us into his old room and get started on the baby's new room!

Registry Info

2009-03-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

Not sure a baby registry really goes with a second baby, so we can just call this our wish list.

Babies R Us

I think we'll go with a nautical look for the nursery. The room is already such a beautiful shade of stormy blue.

Sonogram pics

2009-03-09T17:53:00.001-05:00

Practice

2009-02-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

Lots of practice contractions these days. Mostly in the evenings, but I've had them in the morning and late afternoon at work, too. Really stop me in my tracks and make moving around hard. But as long as I can sit or lie down, they seem to quit in 10-15 minutes. I still have trouble really telling when contractions end, it feels like my whole belly just tenses up for long periods. Maybe I need to drink more water. The midwife recommended drinking more raspberry leaf tea again to help tone my uterus. And I'll start a regimen of alfalfa pills sometime towards the end of the pregnancy as well. We talked about the bleeding after my last labor and she said it was due to the uterus not contracting enough after passing the placenta to stop the bleeding. I took a lot of alfalfa after the birth I remember.

Our baby boy is really moving around a lot now. I can feel him kicking on both the left and right side of my belly at the same time. He must be stretching. Almost knocked the cup of tea off my belly one night this week! We talk to Johnny about his new baby brother a lot and now sometimes he asks if he is moving and if he can feel it. Unfortunately, Johnny's attention span is pretty short and he really keep his hand on my belly long enough to feel anything. But maybe a little later on. Johnny also talks about taking baby brother to the park and carrying his car seat. So cute!

Baby name conundrum

2009-02-11T20:19:00.000-06:00

Still no baby names picked out! But, Johnny's baby brother is very active now, kicking all the time. We bought some new maternity pants for me as the khakis from last time are now officially too worn to wear to work. We're starting to make plans for what we need to buy - new carseat, twin bed for Johnny (so the baby can have the crib mattress back), new baby monitor, etc.

We're planning to switch rooms around, too. Johnny will have our old room, we're thinking of painting it green. I also would love to put some sort of carpet or cushy rug in there as we love playing on the floor. We'll take Johnny's old room and make the 2nd floor porch into an office for Daniel (eventually). And Daniel's office will be the baby's room. It's a beautiful shade of stormy blue, so maybe a nautical theme would be nice. I'd also like to get carpet or a rug for his room., but that could wait since he won't be playing on the floor for awhile, or we could play in Johnny's room anyway.

We're starting to think of taking a refresher childbirth course. I'm hoping that will be enough instead of the 4-week class we took last time. I think Melanie is still teaching, so that would be nice.

Here are some photos from Jan. 31 - approx. 22 weeks along. I'm more than half-way there!

Sonogram today

2009-01-08T21:39:00.000-06:00

We went for our sonogram and check-up with the midwives today. When we first found out we were pregnant, I thought having another boy would be best. Easiest, because I'm used to raising a boy, and having 2 brothers in the house to play together would be fun. I was a little scared of having a girl, the unknown. But then everyone else started talking about having a girl and we picked out a name, and we had been trying at least a little to conceive a girl this time around. So I worked on it and I warmed up to the idea and before I knew it, I think I convinced myself we were having a girl. And I thought about how fun that would be to try something new, to have a baby girl in the house. And today we found out the baby is a boy. And that felt a little strange, I think maybe we both had thought it would be a girl. So today as I gazed at the tiny black and white sonogram pictures, it was like starting over. Now I need to warm up to the idea of having another baby boy. But even with these mixed feelings, as I look at those little photos, I can't help but think about all the potential and the wonder and newness of this baby. What will he look like? What will his name be? How different he will be from Johnny. And I welcome him. I look forward to meeting him.

December update

2008-12-29T21:52:00.000-06:00

Christmas #1 is over. We all had a really nice, if chaotic and busy, time in Indianapolis. I didn't quite understand that having 4 kids under 9 running around all day every day would be so crazy. Pregnancy updates: last visit to the midwife (16 weeks) and I didn't gain a single pound since the last visit 4 weeks ago. They were not too concerned, but told me I should snack more and eat lots around the holidays. At least the last part I can check off. My belly is now super-showing. Everybody at work can tell and I can no longer squeeze into non-pregnancy blouses and pants. Must go shopping. Need at least a second pair of khakis and second long-sleeve blouse. Baby's heartbeat was down to a slower (still normal) 140-150 beats per second, so no real confirmation of the baby's sex. Sonogram scheduled for next week, so we'll find out then. They said the VCR that's hooked up to it isn't working so well anymore, so we may not be able to record it like last time. But we'll try. I took a Brazilian samba workshop one Saturday and miraculously my hip pain is gone. I must have shook my lower half back into position. Midwife recommended a chiropractor, but I would rather a massage. Ah, I hope Nicky moves back to town soon. Tonight the contractions were a big pain after dinner. Very uncomfortable. Johnny was sweet and gave me and my belly kisses when I told him it hurt a little. I can't believe how grown up he is. He got a baby doll for Christmas which he plays with on and off. And we brought back from Indy the melamine tea set I had when I was a little girl and he played with it for about a half hour after dinner. We all needed more coffee, he said. This may have been due to the 5 mugs in the set.

Test Positive

2008-11-27T21:59:00.000-06:00

This will be our second child. Due May 31, though I suspect it is really sometime the next week after. It seemed like we waited forever to tell everyone. First family & friends and finally co-workers. Everything is out in the open now, we are about 14 weeks along. Not really showing much yet. We've had 2 appointments with the midwives so far. We heard the heartbeat at the last visit - 170s-180s. Midwife suspects a girl. This pregnancy seems pretty different from when we were having Johnny. More fatigue, more nausea, more emotional craziness. Though perhaps it's just my memory failing. Haven't done much planning yet, but I've checked out my favorite books from the library again - Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and Baby Bargains (7th Edition). I also got another with birth stories from a midwife, it's been fun to read, but the experiences are very different from the ones I remember in Ina May's Spiritual Midwifery.