Last few days as a family of 4

I turned 38 weeks on Friday, and they let me pick a day for the induction. On Wednesday, May 30 (barring any complications or unseen events) we will go from a family of 4 to a family of 5. I was told to be at the hospital at 6:00 pm on Tuesday night, and they'll start the induction Wednesday morning. If it goes like Amelia's did, she'll be here before noon.

Knowing that this time next weekend we'll have a newborn around here has made me want to spend way more time with the two I have. As of Wednesday, everything will be different. It will never be just the 4 of us again. And as excited as I am about the baby, that makes me sad. I feel like I just got used to having the 4 of us, to having Amelia around, and just got our routine down pat. And now it's all going to be different.

I am excited - I'm looking forward to nursing again and the sweet newborn cuddles, and watching Amelia adapt to being a big sister. To having a baby again, and the sweet tiny clothes, and definitely the 2 months off during the summer where my only job during the day will be to take care of and pay attention to her. But I'm worried - about Amelia adapting to having a baby taking over some of my time, that something will go wrong with the delivery or something will be "wrong" with her, and about being able to be a mom to three. I worry about finances and no sleep and our overcrowded little house. And I worry if I'm ready for this or not.

Mike and Cadence went and spent all day yesterday together, and Amelia and I went shopping. Today we're going to church, then hanging out, and we'll spend today and tomorrow cleaning last minute things to make sure it's all ready for me leaving. I'll go grocery shopping, make sure the bed and everything is ready, and try to make sure my house is decent enough for company since I know there will be tons of it the next week or so. 

I'm scared and nervous and excited and just overwhelmed. I'm not sure what to expect or what this baby will be like, or how my little family will react to me having to give so much attention to this new little one at the house. It's scary, but exciting. And I just hope I'm up for it.

That's not the word I'd use to describe it...

I've heard lots of woman say that they loved being pregnant because they felt beautiful and womanly and sexy. Now, this is my 3rd pregnancy, and while I've ranged from "Holy crap, this is torture!! Why do women do this to themselves???" (first) to "This isn't so bad. I can understand why someone would do this over and over - bonus: cute babies!!!" (third), "Sexy" isn't a word I would have ever used to describe being pregnant. Ever.

It is true that some women experience an increased sex drive, especially during the second trimester, but even during that time I would have never said that I felt "sexy" while pregnant. "Beautiful"? Maybe. "Womanly"? Definitely. "Beached whale that waddles everywhere she goes"? Without a doubt. But not sexy. I can't find anything attractive about any of this:

• Morning Sickness - Nothing says "sexy" like running to the bathroom to puke multiple times a day.
• Swelling - Those sexy heels I used to wear? So extremely attractive when you have swollen feet and cankles.
• Headaches - I was one of the lucky ones that actually GOT headaches from the hormone shifts, and it was so awesome having to deal with vomit-inducing headaches for months on end.
• Weight gain - I know it's normal to gain weight because of the increased blood flow, the baby growing, etc, but you end up going for a few months where you've put on some pounds, but you don't really look pregnant yet. It's a lovely time.
• Sinus issues - because of the increased blood flow and weight gain, most woman have sinus problems. I've had it all three times. Gotta love stuffy noses, snoring, and sinus headaches.
• Hemorrhoids - Again, weight gain and blood flow cause hemorrhoid problems as well. Sex-y.
• Gas and digestive problems - As the baby grows, it starts pushing on your intestines and colon. It causes all kinds of lovely issues. Thank goodness my husband loves me and knows that I'm not always a gas machine!
• Non-stop peeing - Between Baby Girl on the bladder, and having to drink non-stop to stave off dehydration, I go to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes. I'm also going multiple times at night. I need to just buy stock in Angel Soft at the moment.
• No Sleep - There's the pregnancy insomnia, the fact that I can't get comfortable, the baby sitting in my ribs so I can't breathe, and I'm having to pee constantly (see above.) I keep telling myself that it's just trying to prepare me for her getting here, but man, a little sleep before she arrives would be nice!
• The Waddle - There's nothing sexier than a woman with a beach ball under her shirt, waddling like a duck. Quack Quack!

Then, of course, is labor and delivery. This is baby #3, and it's been 7 years since having the first. Yet, my husband still refuses to come into the delivery room with me this time. He was thrilled when my mom wanted to come in with #2, and has told me I can't have this one until at least May 28  because my mom won't be back from vacation until then. He is still scarred from the screaming, yelling, crying and cussing, not to mention the actual delivery itself in all it's bloody glory. Yep, that's pure sexiness right there.

There are lots of things I'm loving about being pregnant this time, and I do have my moments where I feel pretty and beautiful and excited about the new life growing inside me. However, I will be very very happy to be somewhere closer to a normal weight again, and not have to deal with a majority of the issues listed above. Maybe then I'll start using "sexy" to describe myself again.

Happy Mother's Day!

I've spent the day on the phone with PayPal (someone in New Zealand was using Mike's credit card), and Amelia's room won't be finished by the end of the day, but I got lunch made for me, Cadence brought me home a pretty plant from school and made me a card, and I've have had a blast hanging out with my girls. Happy Mother's Day to all the Momma's out there, and here's some pictures from my weekend.

4 weeks to go...

I had my 36 week appointment today, and everything is looking good. My blood pressure is good, her heartrate was strong, no signs yet of labor, and I'm now officially on weekly visits until she arrives. I also found out that my Group B Strep test came back negative, but since I was positive with both of the other girls, there's a chance I may get antibiotics anyway as a precaution. I start checks next week, and was told that if I was "easily induceable" at any point after that and want her here, they'll induce me. I'm going to try and hold out until at least June 1 (39 weeks), but at that point, I don't think I'd turn an induction down!

I've spent the last few days trying to get things ready. At work, I've talked to them about vacation time, maternity leave and insurance, and I also have the major list started for the guy that's going to be filling in for me. As far as the room, it's to the point I hope to start painting tomorrow night. Over the weekend we got all the trash and donated items out, both dressers are ready (one even has clothes!), and got most of the items put away that we are keeping, but don't need to stay in there. Today I got the carpet shampooed and the desk finished and pictures on craigslist for it. We're now down to painting, arranging furniture and toys, and then fixing the ceiling and ceiling fan when my dad is here this weekend. I also need to wash and put away Baby Girl's clothes, but hopefully we can get Amelia in there before that has to be completed. It's actually looking like a real room, and I can't wait to get her settled.

Cadence is almost finished with school, and the next two weeks are going to be so busy. This week she has Field Day on Friday, and next week is Awards Day. We also have Girl Scout meetings, a bake sale, her Bridging Ceremony then Memorial Day. I also have weekly doctor's appointments, and a shower for Stacey that I work with. At least I'll have a ton of things to keep me busy until Baby Girl gets here!

Picture filled update

Me, at 33 weeks

 
Eating lunch with my favorite first grader

 Easter:
 
 It's a purse!!!

 
 Nail polish!!

 
My pretty girls

 
The Easter Bunny even brought me stuff at other people's houses!

Day at the park and Museum with Girl Scouts:
 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Can I blame it on the baby?

It was brought to my attention that it's been 2.5 months since I updated anything, and I am so sorry! There have been a ton of things going on, so I'll give a quick rundown on our lives since February.

• I'm now 33 weeks, and can't believe it's this close. I go in for my 34 week checkup next Wednesday, and will also get an ultrasound then. My blood pressure has been great, I haven't gained a ton, and so far, still not sick. It's been surprisingly good!
• We have some name ideas, but nothing set in stone yet. More than likely, though, she will either be a Julie, Madeline, Cara or Hannah. Mike and I both like them all, so we're talking about waiting until she gets here and seeing which we think she looks like.
• Still not much closer on the room, but hoping to get that settled this weekend. I'm going today to buy stain for the dressers, and Mike promises me that we'll work on moving computers and getting the rest of the stuff cleaned out of Amelia's room. All we'll have to do then is paint, then set it all up for her. I can't wait until we can move her in!
• My husband now owns a gun. He's been talking about it for awhile, and decided the other day to use some of his bonus money to go purchase one. It's a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22, and honestly, it's one scary looking gun. I was expecting something like a .22 rifle, but this looks more like a military machine gun. It's going to take some getting used to, seeing it in my house. He hasn't bought ammo yet, but already has plans to go down to Brookhaven to shoot soon.
• Cadence is loving Girl Scouts, and we're in the process of swapping troops since she'll be a Brownie next year. She went to the 100th anniversary thing last weekend, earned another patch on Monday night, and has another event on Saturday. She's really enjoying it, and REALLY looking forward to camp this summer!
• Cadence also got her report card yesterday - two 100s and a 98. :) She's getting to go today to visit the school she'll be at next year, and is really excited. It's closer to our house, too, so if I can (keeping my fingers crossed) be a stay at home mom after the baby gets here, I could walk her to school every day.
• Amelia is growing like a weed! She's now talking non-stop (and getting clearer and clearer every day), is in love with "Kitty-Kitty" (her stuffed Marie doll), and tries to climb on anything she can get near. She's also entered a screaming phase, which is oh-so-much-fun. EVERYTHING makes her shriek at the top of her lungs, and it's the one thing she does that's going to drive me insane! She almost sickening cute, though, and I love that little thing to pieces!

Things have been going well around here, and I'll try to get pictures up soon and post more often!

Books 4-7

Here are the most recent that I've read, and what I think about them.

4) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

There were parts of this book that I really really enjoyed, but a lot more that were just "meh." It was set in Sweden, and I know that had something to do with the parts I didn't enjoy that much - if it had been a place I was more familiar with, the landmarks and other situations would have made more sense. Also, most of the beginning and end deal with finance/journalism, and I really don't have much interest in either. And the other thing that threw me off was all of the casual sex. It wasn't graphic, and usually sex/violence/language don't bother me. But there was just SO MUCH sex, and a lot seemed thrown in there for no reason.

However, there was a murder mystery in the middle that I found VERY intriguing. It was by far my favorite part of the book, and I was actually disappointed when that was wrapped up and there was still about 1/4 of the book left. I made it through the rest, and I have book two here waiting, but can't bring myself to start it quite yet. Overall it wasn't awful, but it definitely wasn't the best book I've read recently.

I give it 3 books.








5) Snow White and the Seven Dead Dwarves: A Zombie Fairy Tale by Bob McLain

Oh. My. Goodness. This book was written by a guy who loves Disney stories and zombies. He started with the awesome story of Snow White, took it back to it's gruesome roots, then threw in a few Disney-like twists. It was very quick, and I loved it. It's definitely not high brow reading, but it was definitely fun, and a great way to spend the time while I was waiting on Cadence at the dentist. He is supposed to be releasing a full length novel called "Once Upon A Zombie," a story about zombies taking over the rest of Fairy Tale Land, and I can't wait until it comes out.

I give this one 5 books.





6) Alice in Deadland by Mainak Dhar

I'm apparently on a zombie kick at the moment, because this one was a combination of Alice in Wonderland and a typical zombie story. It wasn't a direct retelling of the story, and that gave it a nice twist.  I really enjoyed this story, and finished it in one afternoon. There were parts that were predictable, but overall, I enjoyed it.

I give this one 4 books.





7) Mile 81 by Stephen King

This story was very short, and ok. It definitely wasn't a typical Stephen King story, and was pretty predictable, but wasn't awful at all. It was a nice distraction for a Saturday afternoon, but something I'm glad I didn't spend a ton of money on.

I give this one 3 books.