... bleh...

We decided instead of inducing yesterday we would have my midwife Karen strip my membranes and see if that started anything. It didn't. Yay for Karen, though. She came to the clinic twice on a Sunday to do it, once at noon and once at 7:00 pm. Now that we are nearing the end, all those horrible contractions and cramps I had for 3 WEEKS that made everything almost unbearable are gone, so it's nice I'm not in pain anymore, but now how am I going to get this kid out?! His growth has slowed down so I'm not so panicked about his size and more willing to wait it out. A little. My midwife is amazed I haven't had him yet- everything looks so favorable she told us she didn't know what was holding him in. I guess this little boy just wants to come when he wants to come, which I guess is ok. As long as it's soon.

William decided enough waiting for the baby, he has a life to live. Go figure. He dressed himself up entirely on his own in this little get-up the other day. I think my little boy thinks he is a white rapper or something.

.... and Waiting

Well, here is the deal. The baby measured almost 9 pounds on Wednesday, so we want him born as soon as possible (before it's IMpossible!), but my midwife said she has to have a medical reason to induce me before 2 weeks. But, she said as soon as a baby measures 10 pounds they are labeled macrosomic and that is a legitimate reason to induce labor. I know we will hit 10 pounds next week. As much as I would like to not be induced, I am SO uncomfortable carrying around this bowling ball on my hips, and also worried that the longer we wait the more difficult the delivery will be. We have an appointment Tuesday, so we'll see where we're at then. At the longest we will have wait until next Sunday (2 weeks early) and induce then.

Meanwhile, Greg and I have been researching and I have been trying anything that anyone has ever said could possibly induce labor. This includes: eating hot peppers, pineapple, spicy food, and Chinese food, drinking raspberry tea, acupressure, massage, different stretches, long walks, housework, and gardening. The last resort is castor oil, which I've head works, but I've also heard it just makes you really uncomfortable intentinally speaking. That, and the fact that we haven't been able to find it in any store yet leaves that option untried.

As soon as the little man gets here, there will be many pictures here to enjoy as Greg is eger to put our new camera to work (a bad economy may be bad for retailers, but Circuit City going out of business is good for us!)

While we're waiting for the baby, enjoy this cute pic of Will. This was taken mid-yogurt cup. I don't know what he loves more- yogurt or getting his picture taken.

Already Waiting... Still

Just a little update on baby #2. I have been having good contractions since Sunday that get just a tiny bit worse each day. In the morning I don't usually have any at all, but as the day progresses they get stronger and stronger. By the end of the day I wonder "am I really going into labor?" Then I go to bed and start all over the next day. Tuesday when I timed the contractions they were from 3 to 8 minutes apart and I had 9 in an hour. They are still pretty short though. I don't remember to time them, plus our clocks don't have second hands, but I guess they're about 3 to 7 seconds long is all.

Since I was induced with William I don't have much to compare this to. I would say right now I feel like I did with him about 3 hours after my Pitocin was started. Not very helpful. I know things are still so early (I'll be 36 weeks on Saturday), but, without getting into details, let's just say we know things have started. It's just a matter of when they will end! Last week the baby measured 7.1 pounds (the midwife said give or take 1 pound), so he's plenty big. Maybe he's just ready to go! William was 8 lbs 9 oz when he was born at 36 1/2 weeks.

It's such a strange time. The worse I feel, the more excited I get. Greg is excited too. I think anytime I call him during the day he wonders if it's go time. William has been cute. All he can talk about is "a baby." No matter what I ask him- "what do you want for breakfast, what should you wear today? where's daddy?" the answer is "A BABY!"

Holy Snow, Batman!

We have had quite the storm today. The snow started sometime before 5:00 am and fell all day long. We probably got about 8" on top of what we already had, making a foot or more. William likes to "help" me shovel the sidewalks- I shovel and he follows behind kicking and throwing snow back onto the walk. But he has fun and I get some exercise, so it's all good.

No pics

Hi there, sorry we have no new pictures to post on our blog. I know that's the best part. I am a bit backwards with hooking up computer stuff and since we moved Greg hasn't had time to do it yet. I don't know why- working full time and going to school full time should leave plenty of time in the day to do whatever your wife wants! :)
William is growing leaps and bounds and is more like a toddler every day. He has his temper moments, but then his is back to his same sweet self like nothing ever happened! His vocabulary is growing so fast- he can say sorry, Papa (Grandpa), ice, water, food, please, thank you, whoah!, all done, and identify his head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, hands, tummy (sometimes there is a baby in his tummy), knees, feet, toes, hands, and fingers. He can also identify and say the letters b and o, and we're working on m, y, d, and t. Oh, and he knows happy, sad, boy, girl, on, off, up, and down. Like many parents probaby do, I think my child is a boy genius and cute enough to be on the covers of magazines.
The new little baby is coming along fine. There are no signs of toxemia this time- yea! He's still measuring quite large and is to the point where there's not much kicking room so he just wiggles and rolls around in there. Honestly it makes me feel a little claustrophobic to think of him crammed in my stomach for 9 months, but I guess we all survived it. I'm excited to have him out and see him. We had a 4-D ultrasound about 3 months ago and he actually looked very cute and had the sweetest smile. I'm taking it as a sign that he'll be a happy child.
I'm optimistic our birth experience at Mckay Dee Hospital will be a good one. They have one room with a birthing tub that I'm really hoping won't be in use so I can try it. I've heard the tub is great for pain relief and I actually think it would be kind of cool to deliver underwater, but we'll see how things go. My midwife is pretty open to whatever I want to do and the hospital policy is surprisingly lenient. William's delivery was really good considering I had to be induced, so I'm hoping this one will also go well. From what I've heard, labor is tougher when you're induced, so if I could do that without an epidural, I'm confident I can go natural again this time.

FOCA

President Obama has promised he will sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which would make many things associated with abortion not only legal, but prohibit any state from passing anti-abortion legislation. The act would:
-Remove the existing ban on partial birth abortion
-Allow taxpayer funding of abortion
-Remove legal protection of religous-based hospitals who currently refuse to perform abortions
-Remove parental consent laws and waiting periods
-Remove legal protection for healthcare providers who refuse to perform abortions
According to Obama, this will "end the debate over abortion." Hah! As long as there are people out there who think it's their "right" to kill an innocent little person, I hope there are people out there who will protest and stand up for what's right! Please go to the link at the right and sign the petition protesting the passage of this act.

Back online

Well, we didn't fall off the face of the earth, just busy moving next door and settling in. I feel like I can't function until everything has a place. We're pretty much there though. It's a full house with Greg and I, Will, our cat Lucy, and the cat and dog that live here (Fuddrucker and Koda). Throw in the little boy I watch during the day, and there is never a dull (and rarely a quiet) moment around here. William settled in quickly. I was worried about him since he's never moved before, but he was his normal, easy-going self. He was very excited to discover the room he moved into has glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. He also really likes having a dog around, and Koda is very good with him.
Greg has also been really busy with school starting up again and working full time. The first week or 2 after a break are always an adjustment.
We had an ultrasound yesterday and the baby is measuring for a due date of March 17 (up from March 28), but for some reason my midwife is reluctant to change my due date. Oh well, I'm still planning on an early baby. I started having contractions last week. They are much more frequent and stronger than any Braxton-Hicks I had with Will.
We had a nice Christmas even though we missed my sister Tanza who went off to Tahiti and my parents and brother who went to Montana. That's the nice thing about having 2 families- we were able to spend a lot of time with Greg's parents and sisters.