39 Weeks . . . Are we done yet?

Ugh.  Both boys have been sick since last week.  Fevers, tummy issues, crankyness, coughing, clingy out of control, basically misery for all involved.  Add to that, I have never been this pregnant before, and I don't like it one bit.  But, I need them healthy before this baby comes.  Total catch 22.  I am definatly going to stay in the hospital for the maximum amount of time our insurance will pay for.  If not only for the better ac, but just to hide for a few days.  Not to have to deal with all three kids at once for a bit.  I am not going to lie, I am really nervous for this post-partum period.  Buddy has been super needy for only me for the last few weeks and it has been getting increasingly worse.  Bug has been wanting to be more helpful to me, but at the same time, not wanting to play with his brother or share with him or be very nice to him.  I don't know why, but it's kind of making me crazy.  But I did make dinner tonight.  And it was quite tasty, if I do say so myself.

Where is this coming from...

Picking up Bug from school today, and his teacher walks him to the car, rather than one of the other teachers who normally runs the pick up and drop offs.  This is either a good thing or a bad thing.  Usually it's a good thing.  Not so much today.  Bug bit one of his classmates.  WHAT?!?!  When I asked him about it, he said that the other child wouldn't share the new toy cars, so he bit him.  I am just at such a loss.  We haven't had any issues with Bug biting in over two years.  I don't know if it is because Buddy has started to get into some bad licking/biting habits, or if it's because Max (great brainless wonder of a dog) plays kind of rough sometimes and nips or what.  I just don't get it.  Talked to Hubby about it, and we are still deciding what is an appropriate punishment, because biting is never ok.  I just don't know why all of a sudden he would act out like that.

On a different note, I had my blood drawn yesterday by the best phlebotomist ever.  Normally my veins are really difficult to stick and I am deathly afraid of needles.  But I didn't even feel the stick yesterday.  From now on, any time I am going to have to have a needle poke, I want her to do it.  Today I hit 29 weeks, and I am getting very tired of contractions.  I told Dr. C about it yesterday, and he said as long as they go away within an hour or so, not to worry about it.  If they go on for three hours, I need to make a phone call to L&D.  It might be because baby girl is quite active and she is just irritating my uterus (and me in general when they happen), but as long as they stop and I don't start bleeding or leaking fluid, it's fine.  Joy.  But I am measuring about a week and a half behind schedule.  I can't help wondering if it isn't because of my inverted "T" scar.  Because I obviously didn't have a problem getting massive with Buddy.  I got to the size of someone carring twins.  I'm happy to stay small, but I hope she is growing well.

Now I want one too...

One of hubbies co-workers is expecting a girl also.  She is due in four weeks, and I just bought this outfit in mint green for her.  Now I am seriously considering a similar purchase in lavender for myself.  I love ebay.

 

I love TIDE.

We purchased a new to us Bosch washer and dryer front loaders.  I am in love.  They use WAY less water than our old dinosaurs, and the washing machine is so quiet.  I have had to keep going back and checking to make sure is it running.  And I have also started using Tide.  Yes, it's expensive, but after just one wash, there was a huge difference in the color of my clothes.  Especially the whites.  It is worth it to me to pay the extra for nice bright whites.  And, because machines are still in their "novelty" stage, the boys want to help me with the laundry so much more than before.  Which is you know, great, but also not so great.  But I don't want to discourage them in any way, because one day, they are going to have to do their own laundry. 

On the note of children, we started doing "Responsibility Charts".  If they get all of their stickers for the week, they get a dollar.  So far, there has only been one week where they didn't get that dollar.  I know it's not much, but Target's dollar section is the best.  And on Saturday mornings we make a trip.  If they don't see anything they want, they can save it for something they want that is more expensive.  The whole purpose of the charts to two fold.  Learn responsibility for your things and as part of the family, and money management.  Hopefully we have lots of success.  Fingers crossed.

I am reading a book that I think I am going to have to reccomend, but more on that later.  In the mean time, I would reccomend popping over to this blog tolovehonorandvacuum.com and doing some clicking around.  She is awesome.

I need a flow chart.

Bug and Buddy are majorly into Ninja Turtles.  Hubby has a ton of them he collected back in the 80's.  Hand me down time.  I mean, have you looked at the price for one figure at Wal-Mart?  Why pay for them if we already have over 40 characters.  Including the main ones, ie: the Turtles.  Anyway, Bug is constantly coming up to me asking what this one and that ones name is.  My names of Creepy Pig Guy and Lizard Braces don't cut the mustard with him.  And the only turtle I know for sure, is the one I misplaced.  For those of you who don't know, the purple turtle's name is Donatello.

 

In other news, Buddy had his surgery on Wed.  In and out of the hospital in under 4 hours.  Shocking.  He is recuperating very well.  Only needed pain meds on the first day.  I didn't want to have both of the boys in the same room that first night.  They tend to jump around like wild animals once the lights go out.  So, I put Buddy in the soon to by babies room in the crib.  FAIL.  After 10 minutes of screaming, I was afraid he was going to open his incision.  So I took him into my bed thinking he would drop off after a few minutes and I could move him into the crib.  Nope.  It was close to 12:30 before he finally gave it up and crashed, at that point both hubby and I were dead tired, and I was afraid to move him because every time I shifted, he would fuss.  Needless to say, that was the worst nights sleep I have had in a long time.  Hubby slept with his head practically on the the nightstand, and I had Buddy's feet kicking my in the neck all night long.  The smallest person in the bed manages to take up the most space.  If we ever replace our bedroom set, we will be getting a king.  There is a reason I hate sharing a bed with my children. 

Bug made me just about pee my pants last night.  We were sitting on my bed reading the bedtime story when he stops and pats my belly.  He looks up at me and says "There is a baby in there."  "Yep, it's growing so it can come out" I said.  He poked at my belly for a few more seconds and says "You are getting bigger." then he points to my chest and asks "What is growing in there?"  He comes up with the funniest things.  He asked last week if the baby was going to come out of my mouth when it was ready.  After I told him no, he looks at me, all knowing and says "Oh, so your belly will just pop and the baby comes out."  After the fact it occurred to me I could have told him how he and Buddy were born (c-section) and not been too graphic.  This is actually something I have been thinking about for a while now.  I don't want my kids to have this ingrained fear of childbirth.  That is a big part of what is wrong with maternity care in our country, in my opinion.  We don't talk about it to our children, so when they have their children, they are usually going into it blind.  Most people don't do a ton of research and learning and reading unless they know someone or have had themselves and negative experience.  I want my kids to know that is it a normal, natural and healthy process that you don't need to be afraid of.  That being said, I also don't necessarily want them to be there at delivery.  I would just find that too distracting in the hospital setting, and I don't think it would be allowed as they are still so young.  Lots to think about.

But now I need to go and do a load of laundry and switch over the dishes while Buddy is sleeping.

I amaze myself.

Laundry and housekeeping in general are something I really struggle with.  I love a clean house and empty laundry baskets, but I hate doing the work to get there.  I have had this goal of doing at least one load of laundry a day, and I usually do ok and accomplishing that, but yesterday, I did three, count them, three loads of laundry.  Yes, you may call me Wonder Woman.  And, I kept the kitchen and den in decent working order.  I just didn't make dinner, or take a shower, or clean the bathrooms, or make any beds.  But we are not going to focus on what didn't get done.  No, we are going to focus on the positive.  I did three loads of laundry yesterday!

What is it about the bump?

I just don't get it.  Why do people seem to think that a pregnant belly is public property?  If I see a fat person, should I go up to them and rub their belly like a budda?  Will it bring me good luck or something?  Today marked the first day of my need for a shirt that says "Touch and Die".  On a more positive note, I was comparing pictures of this pregnancy with Buddy Blue's, and I am no where near as big as I was with him.  So that rules out a multiple pregnancy, now it is just a waiting game till next Wed for the ultrasound.  I am so nervous and paranoid. 

PANTS!!!

I have discovered a new love for yoga pants.  With every pregnancy I have really struggled with hip and low back pain.  And it does seem like it gets worse with each one.  Anyway, I was in agony today and decided to heck with it, I was going to use my pants to hold the hot rice bag against my hips.  AWESOME!!!  Relief was wonderful.  I could continue my daily stuff without being confined to my bed or the couch.  Just the occasional stop off to the microwave to reheat it and on we go.  Joy. 

I have been trying to get back into my routine of prenatal yoga every morning.  But as it took forever for our house to recover from the flu, I really got out of the habit.  But everyone is healthy, and I need it for me and the baby, so, I am going to sacrifice a little bit of sleep every morning and just do it.  This means I will have to put an end to the morning ritual of the boys climbing into bed with me for 30 minutes to an hour.  They watch tv and I snooze.  Probably not the best of habits, but when you are sleep deprived from being uncomfortable and getting up 4 times a night to relieve yourself as well as deal with the children who don't think sleeping thru the night is necessary, I will take whatever I can get.

But now I need to go reheat my rice pack and wash towels. 

Ugh...

16 weeks

I am so tired.  And tired of having to pee, and back aches, and hip pain, and eye strain head aches, and not being able to brush my teeth without puking, and round ligament pain, and heartburn, and looking fatter than I should, and weird cravings, and weird aversions, and my deoderant not working, and the new mustache (eww).  And there are still five more months and its going to get worse.  But, I am grateful to be pregnant.  I am grateful to feel the little nudges and rolls.  And the silly things my children say about babies in bellies.  And an amazing doctor. (see http://abovebeyondbirth.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-amazing-dr-cummings-and-his-wisdom.html?m=1 for more info.)  My dream would have been a homebirth.  But the midwife group said they would be more comfortable if I delivered in a hospital.  But, I did finally find a doctor who wasn't going to insist on bedrest at 36 weeks and a c-section at 38 weeks.  Now, I just need to facelift my house before school is out and it's too hot to want to deal with it. 

Housework

I hate housework.  There are no two ways around it.  I love the results, but I can't stand the process.  That, and it NEVER ENDS!!!  Truly, I wish I could just pay someone to keep my house as neat and tidy as my families are.  But, that won't teach my kids the value of work.  Yada, yada, yada.  Just grit my teeth and do it, right?  I am trying a new method I found on Pinterest.  When I follow my schedule, my house stays in ok shape, but I have been feeling really lax the last week and it looks just like if used to.  Blast.  It's time for renewed dedication.  Besides, if the house is tidy, hubby and I usually fight less and there is more harmony in my home.  On to the vaccum and windex.

What does it take to get a family picture...

At my sisters wedding, I thought it would be a good idea to try and get in a family picture.  I wasn't planning on it being this difficult.

Take one...

Take two...

Take three...

Take four...

Take five...

Take six...

Take seven...

Take eight...Oh just bag it.  We're hungry.

Seriously!?!?!?!

I am completly with my mom on this. I really don't get too involved in the political hooplah that goes on, and I really am not very vocal about much of it. But this is insane. I actually watched the movie clip and I am blown away. I think it may have started out as a way to protect from people who would use the guise of joining a protest/gathering to harm those in political authority, but it goes beyond that into infringing on our rights to gather, speak and make known to our leaders that we have a greivance with them.

Watch the video as it explains better what the law is.

~Me

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While I'm not big on all of the political negativity, this is something else entirely. I'm planning to write to my congressmen about this and ask where they stand on this. I'm hoping mine voted against. This is more outrageous than Michelle Obama's Marie Antoinette spending.

*****(mom)

---

Send this one on. Most folks believe the judge!

Let me get this . . . It would be a felony (more than one year in prison) if guilty of protesting even around President's aides, as well as President? **************************** Is there any news coming out of Washington that is not disappointingor scary? This says the bill was supported by both parties. Watch whatJudge Andrew P. Napolitanosays about this! Subject:YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!! New law makes it illegal to protest in Obama's presence UNBELIEVABLE…… WATCH THE FOX NEWS VIDEO New law makes it illegal to protest in Obama's presence This means that, wherever Obama is, HIS secret service can have you arrested, fined, and imprisoned for more than a YEAR if you ask him something he doesn't like...or say something he doesn't like...or if you are carrying a sign he doesn't like. Sound like he's more like Hitler than Lincoln to you? WATCH AND BE AMAZED AT HIS LATEST MOVE TO STAGE A TAKE OVER OF AMERICA... Guess you've probably heard about this, but sending it on anyway. It's probably the scariest thing this guy has done yet. Are you aware of this new law, signed by Obama in early March 2012? http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=7SGWH3kirzg&vq=medium