A mother's musings on Mother's Day

My children already have a bond that amazes me. Kadence is obsessed with her baby brother, and loves "playing" with him, talking to him, singing to him......and especially loves feeling and watching him move. Nearly every day now she comes up to me, puts her hands on either side of my belly and says "You're tummy is even BIGGER! He's growing up!"

In turn, Alishus Gary (Kadence said that's his name today) responds to his big sister in a way he responds to no one else. Last month I made a trip to Abilene, and Kadence slept at Grandma Patsy's house that Friday and Saturday night, while I spent those nights with my best friend Ruth. Kadence wakes up around 7:30 every morning and comes to wake me up. Those two mornings though, since she wasn't there, that didn't happen. At 7:30 both of those mornings the baby started kicking hard, and moving around a LOT......as if he was asking where she was. His activity level remained high until Sunday morning when I met up with Mom and Kadence for church. When he heard his big sister, he settled down. He doesn't react that way for me. He doesn't react that way for Patrick. He only reacts that way for Kadence.

The other day she climbed up in my chair with me to talk to the baby. She bent down and told him "Ok baby, kick!" Then she looked up at me and said "He's going to kick you really hard now, ok?" There have been several occasions where his little butt have been sticking up, and she tells him "Don't shake your little butt at me!" She's very protective as well. She camped out by my recliner the other evening, and told me "I will protect you Mommy." Patrick had told her that I had to stay lying down or sitting to protect the baby so he didn't come out before he was big enough. I guess she decided that I needed protection as well.......however, she doesn't realize that she would be the only reason I need protection. :)

This morning she came down, went potty and then came into our room to tell us "We're out of toilet paper. Can you toss me a roll?" (She thinks that commercial is hilarious, and can't wait for the toilet paper to be gone so she can say that.) The baby started kicking, dragging his feet back and forth across the top of my belly and jumping around. It would seem that he thinks that's funny too. She climbed up on the bed to talk to and play with the baby. She got her baby doll and put her baby on my tummy and said "Baby Adyline, this is Alishus Gary. Do you want to play with Alishus Gary? Ok. Mommy, Baby Adyline wants to play with Alishus Gary." So she put Baby Adyline on my tummy, and Alishus Gary started moving her around. Kadence said indignantly "Alishus Gary is pushing Baby Adyline!" I can already imagine the ridiculous fights and arguments these two are going to have as they get older.

When I was ready to get out of bed (after Kadence finished singing rock-a-bye baby to her brother), Kadence decided she would carry the baby for me. She told me "I will pick him up." and put her hands on either side of my belly and tried to pick him up.....then walked into the other room holding an imaginary baby in her arms.

By this point in the pregnancy, most people are ready for it to be over. Granted, there's a lot of discomfort involved, and sometimes the baby's movements are downright painful. Not to mention, bed rest certainly isn't my thing. However, I'm going to be sad when this part is over. I won't miss the bed rest, the heartburn, and not being able to dry my own legs and feet when I get out of the shower....but I am going to miss feeling his little movements, and his punches, and kicks. I'm going to miss the way that Kadence puts her head on my tummy to see if she can hear him. I'm going to miss using all of the ridiculous names she came up with for him......Jack Black, Flynn Rider, Alishus Gary, Kato, Green Hornet....

On the other hand, I can't wait to see his face. I can't wait to hold him, and give him an actual name. I can't wait to see how my children interact in person. I can't wait to see my husband hold his son.

Each stage has it's blessings......and it's discomforts and annoyances.  I've heard too many women complain about just wanting their pregnancy to be over already., or wanting their baby to pass a difficult stage so they can move on to something better. Wishing one stage would pass just to get to the next seems like such a waste of experiences that you're not going to get back. Besides, wishing and complaining has never made time go any faster.....and usually just makes it go slower for those who have to listen. :) I hate being on bed rest, but each day that I am brings us one day closer to the end of this stage, and the beginning of the next. I'm not thrilled with the stage we're now in, but I'm cherishing the little moments that I won't get back once this stage ends.

Kadence drew me a picture this morning when we got up. She told me "That's your belly, and your silly face." She loves that she has a little brother in my tummy. :)

I love being a mommy! Happy Mother's Day!

We're almost ready for baby...almost.

 

We officially hit 32 weeks on Thursday...now we just have to make it through 5 more, and this boy can come out!

The crib arrived Thursday, and was unceremoniously dumped on the front porch by UPS. Patrick wasn't going to be home until close to midnight to bring it in, so one of our wonderful neighbors came and brought it in for me. It's so nice to have neighbors that we not only like and hang out with, but are willing to lend a hand when we need them. Kadence keeps disappearing into their house when we're outside. Last time it was to steal food, because she didn't want to eat the burritos that Grandma Patsy was making for dinner.

Patrick put the crib together when he got home Thursday night. I just wanted to make sure all the pieces were there, and that nothing was damaged...but he insisted that if we were taking it all out to look at it anyway, he might as well put it together...it took about 2 hours, and so he didn't finish until around 2:30am. It looks quite nice though, and he did a good job. :)

He said the sooner he got it done, the less stressed I would be about being on bed rest, and not being able to get anything done myself to prepare for the baby. I can't lie, he was right. The crib is in our room, where it will stay for awhile. Our room is downstairs, and the other 3 bedrooms are upstairs...and there's no way I'm going upstairs every few hours to feed the baby.

Kit Womble, a college friend and photographer from Sweetwater (who I also did a summer session in Spain with) came and did maternity pictures with us today. (I had permission to be up for them.) Bryan and Kristi Roof also came through for a quick visit on their way to Oklahoma. (Kristi was one of my roommates in college right before Patrick and I got married.) So not only did we got to do the maternity pictures, I got to hang out with two of my best friends from college...that makes for a pretty good day. :D

My allergies got a lot worse after being outside for the pictures, so I had to use several tissues at a time when blowing my nose for the rest of the day. Kadence saw me get yet another tissue and told me "Mommy, stop wasting tissues!"

The pool opened today, so after Kadence woke up from her nap we went to the pool for an hour. Patrick and Kadence "swam" while I just sat in the pool, soaked up sunlight and chatted with our neighbors. A little girl accidentally splashed Kadence in the face pretty good while practicing kicks...Kadence sputtered 'Be, be, be, be nice!" I didn't have a single contraction while we were at the pool...then we got home and I had 3 in the next hour. So it seems like living in the pool for the next 4 weeks seems to be my best option. :)

We were watching "Babies" before bed. Mom has never seen it, and Kadence loves it so it seemed like a good way to wind down from a full day. We got to the part where a rooster is walking around on the Mongolian baby's bed and Kadence said "That's distusting!" She had to say it again before I figured out what she meant.

Mother's Day is tomorrow. I can't really do much for my Mommy this year since I'm not allowed to go anywhere or do anything. She's the one doing nice things for me..but I AM growing her another grandson, so it's not like I'm doing nothing. :D

32 weeks = bed rest. :(

The Saturday before Easter Kadence was having some attitude issues (shocking, I know), and threw herself on the ground in a tantrum...the problem with that being (other than that she was throwing a tantrum), I was holding her hands at the time and didn't let go in time. End result, low back/pelvis issues. I stretched, iced etc and figured it would be ok until I had time to see my Physical Therapist...and then I didn't think about it again since Mom was here the next day, and I didn't have to be doing as much after that.

Wednesday night after a trip to the bathroom, I started having really bad Braxton Hicks contractions...and was awake for several hours because of them. I counted 6 in one of those hours, and 7 in another. My lower back and pelvis were killing me when I got up the next morning, so I called my PT to set up an appointment. There wasn't a time that day that worked for both of us, but I ended up going in Friday morning...and continued with erratic and painful BH contractions until then. After she spent a good deal of time getting my issues worked out, I went home. Things went back to normal, and the contractions stopped being an issue...until Monday when they started back up again. Some of the pelvic pain had come back as well, and thankfully I already had another PT appointment scheduled for that afternoon. After I left, once again everything was pretty much back to normal...until that night when Jack Black finally decided to finish turning head down. He spent a good deal of time doing so, and continued that level of activity the next morning (which Kadence was greatly amused by). All the extra activity had started the contractions back up.

We went to our 32 week check up, and Kathleen checked Jack Black's position and confirmed that he had moved where he was supposed to be...and also noted that I had a large amount of amniotic fluid. I had a BH contraction while she was palpating me, and I told her about the issues with the last few days. Because it's not normal to have that many contractions at this point, we agreed that she should check me. The exam showed that I am already 50% effaced, due in large part to the amount of water causing extra pressure, and my own activity level probably wasn't helping. I shouldn't be effaced at all at 32 weeks, so this is something of a problem, since labor is imminent at 100%, and we TECHNICALLY still have 8 weeks to go. I've known he was coming early for quite awhile now...but this isn't exactly what I had in mind.

So I'm now taking an extra liquid calcium/magnesium supplement to help bring the contractions down to a minimum of 2 per hour. I'm also on partial bed rest for at least 2 weeks (I can be up for an hour after being down for 2), and at our next appointment if that has slowed my progress enough, then I won't be AS restricted...although the gym is now completely off limits. :/ If that hasn't slowed the progress enough, I will continue the bed rest another 2 weeks until I'm at 36 weeks...at which point I can resume all normal (moderate) activity and let things progress how they like.

Mom is staying to take care of Kadence (and me) since that's not something I can really do now. Poor Mom...she just came to visit...she's already been here a week and a half, and now might be here until after the baby is born. I don't think she was planning on moving when she decided to visit. :)

I'm now on day 2 of bed rest...and I'm already going a little insane. There's a house being built across the street, and another a few houses down...the noise from the construction isn't helping. There are things to be done, and I can't do them...although the majority of the essentials are taken care of. I have the bedding, the cloth diapers, some newborn diapers, car seat, double stroller, and the crib will be here tomorrow...so I suppose the rest can wait.

The pool does open on Saturday, and I figure I can rest in or by it just as easily and effectively as I can in bed...so I'm hoping that will help the time pass easier...otherwise I'm very likely to get very cranky since inactivity doesn't agree with my by any means.

Here are the 30 and 31 week pictures. I'm not actually 32 weeks until tomorrow, so I haven't taken 32 week pictures yet...so I'll post them later when I do.

 

 

3rd trimester....and other stuff. :)

I planned on updating at least weekly, but so far it seems to be more like a monthly thing.

Things have been progressing well with the pregnancy. I've actually been doing so well in Physical Therapy, that I am now just going in as needed, rather than scheduling an appointment every week. I've managed to continue going to the gym regularly, which has helped quite a bit....with everything EXCEPT weight gain. At my 28 week appointment I had gained 28 lbs. Apparently, not going to the gym = less weight gain. Seriously. The one week I didn't go AT ALL because my hips were hurting, I only gained about half a pound. Next week I was back in the gym, eating the same amount, and gained twice that. Should be interesting to see how the backwards progression happens after he's born. :)

I currently have a 4 inch separation between the edges of my abs, so that's making things difficult...it's not being helped by the baby in the least. He insists on lying transverse at this point...which wouldn't be a problem, except that when he's stretching out, he's pushing the edges of my abs further apart.

Health wise, other than allergies I couldn't be better! I've had no edema at all so far. My wedding rings (which were on my necklace LONG before this point last time) are still loose and easy to remove. My blood pressure has stayed roughly around 110/70 give or take a few points...with the exception of one evening when it dropped to 102/62 causing some dizziness, but adding more salt into my diet took care of that.

Speaking of allergies, they've been making me completely miserable. Yesterday Kadence asked me if I was ok. I told her not really, because I couldn't breath, and my head and tummy hurt. She said "Ok I will build you a purple airplane with sparkles, and take you to the hostible (hospital), and the doctor will make you feel better." :)

I've mostly been taking pictures every 2 weeks. Now that I'm in the 3rd trimester though, I'll be doing it every week.

Kadence has started asking repeatedly if her baby brother can come out now...and usually gets upset with me for being mean and telling her no. She interacts with him a LOT...always rubbing my belly, singing to him, talking to him. One morning she crawled in bed with me asked to watch a show, and kept her hand on my belly for an hour waiting for him to wake up and move so she could feel him.

She and I were talking about him the other day, and I referred to him by one of the names we've been considering. She looked startled and very confused and asked "What did you call him?? I thought his name was Jack Black!!" I told her that his name wasn't really going to be Jack Black...that was just a nickname we were calling him right now. She thought about it the rest of the day, then came back with some alternatives. Flynn Ryder, Bad Guy, and Alishus Gary. Yeah....we're just as likely to use Jack Black as we are one of those 3. :)

She found my nursing wrap one morning, and I found her "being a maker food" for her baby.

There's a local farm where I get my eggs and honey. They have a strawberry field, and they let you come pick your own strawberries. Kadence and I went and picked a boxful, and she had sooo much fun. Granted, she squished quite a few before she got the hang of it. :) Between the picking and the eating after they were washed, she was covered in red...and refused to eat anything else that day...not that I blame her...they're REALLY good.

We were on our way to the gym a few weeks ago, and I received an indignant lecture...from my 3 year old. I had to slam on the breaks and go around someone who stopped in the middle of an intersection. Kadence asked if we were on a roller coaster, and I said "No, someone was just being stupid." Her response? "Mommy, we don't say that! We don't say stupid!" then she muttered disgustedly "Someone was being stupid." and then resumed her lecture...."We don't say that! I'm not upset with you, I'm just 'pointed with you. Don't say that ANYMORE!" Getting through that without laughing was actually painful.

At one of my appointments with Kathleen (our midwife) Kadence had to go to the bathroom with me, so she was in there when I used the strip to test my urine for glucose and protein. The next day she was in the bathroom and told me "I need a stick. Can you go find me a stick to pee on?"

She has quite an active imagination. She brought me one of her play plates with a rubber floppy frisbee disc that has "hair" around the edges. She told me "I made a tomato hat. It's not for looking at. It's just a tomato hat. It's for God." She also makes up quite a few of her own songs...one of which went something like this..."And I will shout! And I will shut my mouth! And I will born the baby! And I will cut the baby, because I'm Spiderman!" I asked why she was going to cut the baby, and she said "Because that's how you born it." Apparently, she meant the cord...but I never did figure out how Spiderman was involved.

Speaking of Spiderman and her imagination...She was pretending to be Sleeping Beauty the other day...and she was waiting for Spiderman to come save her.

For that matter, she wanted to be Superman when we were at a playgroup, and since there was no Superman outfit, this is what she came up with.

I was letting Patrick sleep in a little one Sunday morning...but Kadence had other plans. She went and woke him up rubbing a handful of cold lotion on his back. The resulting reaction had me laughing the rest of the day.

We were on our way home from the gym, and Kadence was playing with a piece of paper. She folded it up all nice, and then held it up for me to see...and informed me "This is 20 bucks for Starbucks and the bookstore." She's only 3, and she's already blowing all her (fake) money on books and coffee...good girl. haha

She FINALLY had her 3 year checkup...4 months late. She had to get one booster shot, after which she informed me that her blood hurt. She kept trying to play me with it...whenever she wanted something and I told her no, she'd say "But I have a boo boo! My blood hurts! It will make me feel better!" I'm not that easy...but I do appreciate the effort. :) Her excuse for not taking a nap that day was "I got shot. Taking a nap will make it worse."

We were in the car, and Patrick had given Kadence a licorice stick. She started misbehaving shortly thereafter, and he told her "Dad gave you candy, so you at least need to be a good girl." I told him "Yeah, you can't bargain with her AFTER the fact." and Kadence said "Stop trusting me." I think we got him straightened out. lol

I overheard an short adorable conversation...

Kadence: Daddy, I want you.

Patrick: What do you want me for?

Kadence: I want you to be a prince.

We had a short, but very bad storm the other night, which included a lot of hail. Patrick went up to Kadence's room to get her when it started hailing so that she wouldn't freak out when she woke up. She was perfectly calm, and cuddled with him in the living room until it passed, and then went right back to sleep when he put her back to bed. The next morning I asked her about it, and she said "I was scared cause it was really loud, but Daddy was a good saver. He came and got me." Guess Daddy is her prince after all. :)