26 weeks

I had a check-up this morning, complete with the lovely glucose test.  I didn’t get any ominous phone calls from the doctor’s office today, so I assume that came out just fine.  My weight is up a total of 23 pounds so far.  (For some reason, that doesn’t sound too bad, but the actual weight itself freaks me out a bit, so we won’t talk about that.)  My blood pressure was fine and his heartbeat sounded marvelous.  My uterus measured at 28 cm. I think those are all the stats.  Here’s what the doctor said:

“You’re measuring 28, should be 26.  If you measure 2cm off, 2 appointments in a row or 3cm off once, there’s a 5% chance that something’s wrong.  That gives us a cheap way to get another ultrasound in, but usually everything’s fine.  You’re up 23 pounds. At this point, you should be up 16 pounds, plus or minus 5, so ehhh…. The normal range is 15-50, so unless I think you’re going to go over the 50 pound mark, I won’t yell at you.”

I think he even said that all in one breath – or so it seemed.  Then I blamed my additional weight gain on the discovery of ‘Stacker-mallows’ which lend themselves to microwave S’Mores.  My Dr. asked what kind of chocolate I was using.  When I said I was just using the standard Hershey’s, he said I needed to grow up, start being an adult, and use dark chocolate on my S’Mores.  Then he gave me my card to make another appointment in 4 weeks and we were done.

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure you’ll have to read it again if you read this frequently, but…  I know there are many women who would not appreciate his style, but I really like my Dr’s sense of humor and his straight forward, matter of fact presentation of information.  If I had questions, I know he’d answer them, but he’s usually pretty clear on what’s going on, so I’m not left with any gray area.

Here are a couple pictures of my belly, with comparisons to when I was pregnant with Chloe Mae.  Even before I measured big today (which I don’t think accounts for most of the actual size of my belly) I was feeling huge, and the pictures made me feel even bigger.  I was looking at a picture from when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Chloe and decided I’m at least that size now.  So we recreated that picture last night, and sure enough, I think I look at least the same size.  And I have a couple months to go.  Oy!!

Cheese and crackers

When I was picking Chloe Mae up from MissK’s tonight, Chloe was pretending to go grocery shopping.  When I told her it was about time to go, she was making another trip to the store, for cheese and crackers this time.  I told her finish up her shopping so we could go home to see DaddyMort.  She decided she better take some cheese and crackers home for daddy.  Apparently, she was holding it in her hands, so she kept her hands in fists the whole way home.

When we pulled in the driveway, she ran right inside so she could give daddy his cheese and crackers.  She also decided that mommy and Chloe could have some.  Chloe Mae was pretty pleased with herself and I was pretty pleased to watch her imagination at work!!

Baby D Update

What’s Devon up to these days, you ask??  Well, according to BabyCenter he should be about 13.5 inches long and weigh about a pound and a half.  They say he can be compared to a rutabaga, but I can’t say that helps me much.  He should be starting to pack on the baby fat soon and start growing hair.

I feel like I’m carrying very low and his kicking seems to confirm that.  The movement (as I’m trying to call it – especially around my sweet daughter who doesn’t understand why the baby can kick mommy, but she’s only supposed to kick balls…) is definitely becoming more frequent and noticeable. I can’t discern a hand or a foot, but there are times it’s pretty clear that he wasn’t just shifting around a bit – there’s force behind his movements!! I’m not getting any rib kicks or punches, but sometimes I feel the kicks so low I could swear he’s plotting his escape already!!

DaddyMort is my hero, and even in the craziness of getting ready for vacation last week, he found time to get the first coat of paint on in Devon’s rooms, so hopefully we’ll be able to get the rest of the painting done soon and start getting everything put together.  Right now, the whole house is a bit of a disaster area with the baby stuff cleared out of his room to make room for painting.

I’ve been feeling pretty good for the last couple months.  The morning sickness and extreme fatigue had gone away, but I wasn’t too big yet.  Unfortunately, over the last week or so, the heartburn started in full force, I’m having trouble sleeping, I’m feeling big and awkward and have more back pain.  Lucky for me, DaddyMort’s broken finger is healing up nicely, so maybe I can talk him into a few more back rubs 😉  And even though I have about 15 weeks to go, I feel like I’m entering the home stretch and can handle the discomfort for the next few months.  At least in my currently optimistic mood 🙂

I’m a Planner

I will admit, I’m a planner.  I’ve always been one and imagine I always will be.    In elementary school, I planned my birthday parties and gave my mom a to-do list.  I’ve already started coming up with plans of how DaddyMort will use his vacation time when BabyD arrives – based of course on what day he arrives.  Especially since Chloe’s been born, I’ve tried to tone it down a bit, because I understand that every minute of life can’t be planned out.  But none-the-less, I’m still a planner.

Here’s how my obsessive planning has come into play with regards to our upcoming vacation:

-The minute our plane tickets were booked, flying out of an airport several hours away because they were half price, I found a hotel to stay in that has a bedroom suite.  This way, we won’t all have to go to bed at 8PM like Chloe Mae, and there’s a kitchen in the room as well, so we can take food and drink with us without a hassle.  There’s also a shuttle to the airport with free parking while we’re gone.  The best part – I got it for only $55, which would basically be the cost of parking!!

-About a week ago, I started The List.  The List includes a section for each bag we’re taking – checked bag, carry-on, diaper bag, hotel bag, cooler, bag for the car… and what needs to be packed in each bag.  I broke it down to include specific quantities – i.e. not just books for Chloe, but 3 books in the diaper bag and 5 in the suitcase.  Then last night, yes 2 nights before we’ve leaving, I packed everything possible on the list.  Obviously there are certain things that can’t be packed until the last minute, but have no fear, a new list was created for such items – including when they can be packed and what bag they should go in.

-I used the power of Google and found an outdoor shopping center about 2 miles from our hotel that has an Old Navy – this is important because I have a pair of shoes that I need to return for Chloe and obviously going to an O.N. in Kansas City is easier than Des Moines 🙂 – a Children’s Park so Chloe Mae can run off some energy and plenty of food options for dinner.

-I have a stack of papers including our hotel confirmation, e-tickets, directions to the hotel and from the hotel to the shopping center and a map of the shopping center ready to go.  As much as I love our phones, I don’t want to be driving around lost on our way to the hotel and depend on cell phone reception or get to the hotel and deal with someone unable to find our reservation and have no proof with me.

DaddyMort’s been poking fun at me for my obsessive planning, but I’m hoping that with enough planning ahead of time, our vacation will actually be relaxing!  We don’t have any definite plans when we arrive in Austin, so I feel like I’m doing pretty good on giving up control a bit, but I’m pretty sure once we arrive and I talk to my family a bit more, I’ll start developing plans.  What can I say, I’m a planner and I kinda like it 😀

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This post is linked to Things I Love Thursday.

My Amazing 2-Year-2-Week-Old Daughter!

We’ve been busy lately and I didn’t feel like I had enough time to get across just how amazing Chloe Mae is by her birthday.  So this is a couple of weeks late (and her actual due date!), but she’s still amazing, so I feel like I can still share 🙂

The moment they put Chloe is my arms 744 days ago, I was amazed that this little human being had been growing and changing in my womb for 9 months.  We spent our days in the hospital surviving – feeding her and ourselves, changing diapers, trying to work in a shower for me, and sharing our new baby girl with the friends and family who came to visit.  The day we were going home, we were so excited and couldn’t get out of the hospital soon enough.  Then we got home, looked at each other and said, “Now what?!?”  

Chloe Mae has kept us on our toes pretty much every moment since then.  However, I cannot imagine a better gift than the chance to watch your children grow and learn in the world.  In the last 2 years (and 2 weeks!) Chloe has turned into an independent, strong-willed, cuddly, caring little girl.

Her favorite activities currently include reading books, either with someone or by herself, doing puzzles, and playing pretend – with her food and dishes, her babies or a broom and a dust-rag.  As I mentioned yesterday, actually ‘cooking’ with mom and dad or cleaning with us is even better!  

Although there are still squabbles over a toy now and then, and she isn’t always in the mood to share, Chloe has gotten a lot better at sharing over the last few months.  She seems to understand that we have to let other people have turns, although she would usually prefer that her turn last much longer than her friend’s.  

Chloe Mae also seems to have developed a sense of compassion.  Ever since DaddyMort broke his finger, she routinely gives him hugs to help make it feel better.  With a growing belly and increasing back pain, I haven’t been able to carry Chloe as much as she’d sometimes like.  When we explain that Mommy’s back hurts, she usually responds with a concerned look on her face, saying “Mommy back hurt. Daddy up!”  When she heard a baby crying at the store the other day she said, “Baby no cry. Baby happy!”  Then we talked about things we could do to make the baby happy – singing songs or reading books were her favorite ideas.  I’m hoping she remembers these ideas next fall 🙂

She is a very independent girl who likes to do things because she likes to, not because we suggested it.  Going down the slide is super fun, and Chloe Mae might spend 20 minutes on the slide loop on a trip to the park, but if we suggest the slide the next time we’re there, she avoids it like The Plague.  The salmon we had at dinner the other night was pretty good, until one of us asked her to take another bite of it, then she told us she didn’t like it.  The exception to this rule involves smoothies.  It doesn’t matter whose idea a smoothie is, if she hears that word she’s all over it!!  She even likes smoothies made with carrot juice and spinach.  We’ll be set if she’s ever on a soft foods diet!!

Chloe has her routines and likes to stick with them.  When I go in to get her out of bed in the morning, she hands me her books, George and monkey, then jumps up and down in her crib while I pretend like I have everything I need.  I ask if there’s anything I’m forgetting and she answers with an enthusiastic, “Chloe!” and giggles every time.  Then she goes potty and we head into our room to cuddle on the bed while we read books and she eats Cheerios and drinks milk.  As soon as DaddyMort is done with his shower and ready to go, she tells me that I’m “PU stinky!” and that I need to go shower.  Our whole day includes little routines like this.  

And in case you haven’t met him, this is George:

Chloe spends most of her days and nights with George and her mini-monkey blanket in tow.  If we have to leave them at home for some reason, Chloe makes sure they’re well taken care of before we leave.  They might get tucked into bed, sit on the couch with books or get set up with some paper and crayons at the table.  And I’m pretty sure they get more hugs and kisses than we do.

I doubt there is a parent of a toddler who doesn’t feel overwhelmed at times.  Some nights after we put Chloe Mae to bed, we just collapse on the couch and wonder how we’re going to do it again the next day.  I’m sure that won’t go away by next year or by the time she’s 12 or even almost 26.  But there are so many other times that I am flat out amazed by the gift that my daughter has been in our lives so far and I forget all about the exhaustion and exasperation.  I know that the 2-year-old Chloe Mae we get to enjoy now is unique to any Chloe Mae she’ll become, so I can only hope to remember the amazing days that we have with her now and will have with her in the future.