Amelia's Birth Story

It's only been a week and 3 days since Amelia was born and I'm still randomly crying over her birth. After so much anxiety, fear, and doubt about my ability to go through another natural childbirth her birth story is my favorite one of all.

Last you knew, July 30th, the day before my official "due date", I was told by my OB that baby was happy and I might go another 5-7 days. I had him sweep my membranes with the estimate of "today or tomorrow" and, of course, NOTHING HAPPENED. Friday came, so did the in-laws, and we spent the day at home. Joe came home that night. Not a single contraction. I had to convince them that if nothing happened overnight I would be completely fine to drive to the airport Saturday morning to get my mom by myself.

I got up on Saturday morning, August 1st, around 5:30 after Joe had left for drill. I had an easy morning and got ready to get my mom on time only to have Emi have a complete meltdown as I was trying to leave. I distracted her with some sort of sweet snack she doesn't usually get. It was probably a cookie. Nothing else was happening. The plan was to get my mom just after 10, get to the hospital around 10:30-11:00, have my biophysical profile, and be home by Emi's nap time.... nice try.

Getting my mom was easy. Everything was on time. It's once we got to the hospital that of course things took FOREVER. I was put in a triage room and hooked up to the monitor. The fetal heart tracing was quick. 20 minutes with a very happy baby heart rate and even a few contractions that I never felt. It reminded me of Emi's tracing the day she was born. Then I was taken to ultrasound and the COMPLETE thing was done. Not only did she measure amniotic fluid levels (they were HIGHER), she did fetal breathing movements, gross motor, and fine motor movement. She scored a perfect score, 10/10. Dang. I mean, GREAT! But, dang.

So then we went back down to triage to await my discharge. We sat there until after 1pm. When the nurse came back in she told me she had to give me a diagnosis of "false labor" and relayed the message from my OB to "Keep your appointment for Tuesday." WHAT!?!?! That was still 3 days away! In my head this baby was going to be 10 lbs by then - even though I knew that wasn't true. No one mentioned doing another membrane sweep, or anything at all. Just stay pregnant. I was so anxious at this point I thought there had to be something I could do. I wanted her to come so I didn't have to wait anymore.

So, that was the start of it all...

What happened next was we got home and my in-laws were so wiped out by the kids they couldn't get out the door fast enough. I could tell they wanted to get home and rest as soon as they could. So they left in the mid-afternoon. I debated what to do, and decided that castor oil was an option I was willing to try. It was either going to work or it wasn't. And at least if it didn't I wouldn't be constipated anymore for like a whole day again, maybe. So at 4:45pm I took another 2oz dose of castor oil.... and waited. The research indicates that castor oil will put approximately 50% of women into labor within 24 hours. What I failed to read was the recommendation that you take it in the morning after a good night's rest. Yeah, take note.

Joe came home around dinner time. Still nothing...save for the comfortable relief from constipation. We put the kids to bed on time at 8pm. I must have been feeling some contractions at this point because nursing Emi during a contraction made me cradle my belly. But, I don't remember this being of any real significance to me at this point. We came out of their room and they were so tired from grandparent fun and no nap that it wasn't awful putting them to bed.

We all sat on the couch and started watching Miss Congeniality on TV - even though we own it on DVD and could have saved ourselves commercials. Anyway, I began timing contractions at 8:20pm. They were about 40-50 seconds long and 3-5 minutes apart the whole movie. Now, if I listened to my OB, I should have just gone to the hospital after the first hour. But they were virtually painless and I wasn't convinced they wouldn't fizzle out like last week. So, we stayed home.

Joe went to bed, and my mom and I finished the movie just before 10pm. She went to bed and I went to my room to get in the tub. We both thought, "Good night, I'll see you in the morning!" I got in the tub and felt GREAT. It seemed like the contractions spaced out, I wasn't feeling much at all, and I was so comfortable I started falling asleep over the edge of the tub in the near dark. I figured at this point it was best to go to bed. I got out of the tub around 10:40pm and got in bed. Immediately after I laid down in bed the contractions got painful, lasting only 30-40 seconds, but they were also about 1 1/2- 2 1/2 minutes apart. I woke Joe up around 11:10pm and told him "I think we need to call your parents back" because the plan was for them to drive back over here to be with the kids while my mom came with us to the hospital.

We debated for awhile whether it was really time to call them, if I should wake my mom up yet. What should we do? I figured I was going to get back in the tub while we waited for his parents. I got into the bathroom, couldn't stand up anymore, and had to turn right around and tell Joe, "I think we need to go. NOW. We can't wait. I have to go wake my mom up." Joe's parents didn't answer their phone. I woke my mom up and told her we had to leave now and we got into the car. We even remembered to put a large puppy training pad on the seat in case my water broke. Joe's parents called as we pulled out of the driveway to tell us they were too tired to drive safely, which we'd already figured, but wanted them to know we were heading in.

It took us 16 minutes from decision point to get out the door and on the road, or so says the contraction timer gap. I was already sleepy tired from getting up at 5:30, my mom wasn't going to be in the room with us now, and I was starting to sing through contractions. I told Joe I wasn't feeling brave and I just wanted an epidural. He said, "You can do whatever you want." I insisted. He kept mum, though he was thinking, "you're not getting an epidural in time..." We got to the hospital just before midnight.

We went to the ER and Joe ran in while I slowly made my way out of the front seat. Joe says he told them his wife was about to have a baby and upon describing the rapid timeline of my previous two births they wheeled me very quickly to L&D triage. I'm "AHHH'ing!" at this point through my contractions. It was Quiet. There was no one else. After that people started coming in. Joe joked, "Someone must have said the "Q" word." The all time jinx for nursing staff to go from a nice night to chaos.

Now, I give all credit to the L&D nurses (I have NO idea what they looked like or what their names were, haha) who took Joe seriously when he told them there was a baby coming, quickly, but still maintained their casual manner before an official cervical exam. I'm sure they've seen all sorts of hollering women not even in active labor. My contractions were still about 1-2 minutes apart. I was STILL insisting I wanted an epidural. I think it was the first thing I told everyone. The nurse checked me at 8cm and bulging bag. I knew there wasn't going to be an epidural...man, transition SUCKS. She went to the door and rambled off a very long list of names of people to call RIGHT NOW. The nurse asked if we'd called my OB on our way in - we hadn't. I'm that patient who didn't know how to call him myself. They paged him at home. He had apparently JUST gone home to feed and let his dog out because there was no one in labor. He was about 25 minutes out. I thought, "Nooooo, I'm not going to last that long!! We should have called on our way in!"

There was a flurry of bodies in the room starting my IV, drawing blood, asking intake questions, getting vitals, and waiting for an L&D room to take me ASAP. I hollered at one point, "I'm feeling PUSHY!" and they all said, "No, no, no! No pushing!" It was a different feeling than Emi's pushy feeling, but it was still intense. They wheeled me to LDR8, and I managed to shimmy myself over to the bed grabbing the bedrail for dear life.

Dr. O was still about 10-15 minutes out, but the nurses gestured that the hospitalist was in the room on standby. I briefly waved. At this point I wasn't getting a break. The contractions were coupling before one would actually go away for a whole minute - maybe. I know I repeated again that I was getting pushy - cervical lip - and the same nursing response, "No, no, no! Don't push. We're waiting as long as we can for Dr. O to get here." I was thinking, "NO! I'm NOT!" Then from somewhere magic Dr. O walked into the room and we were ready to push. The nurses wanted to do all sorts of things like breaking down the bed, getting stirrups out, and offering an amnihook to break my water. Dr. O said no need for anything, I could stay on my side, and they only lowered the foot of the bed slightly.

I looked at the clock somewhere around 12:45am. I gave a few pushes and not much happened. I was in an internal battle between the oh so famous pushes where you hold your breath and bear down and my own comfortable, less forceful, open breath pushes. I had one weird pushy sensation accompanied by an "AHHH!" holler and the water bag exploded across the room! Not kidding, the WHOLE room. Joe said he missed it because he blinked. I was positive that the baby would just come out with the next push - or something. That's what's supposed to happen with third plus babies, right?! NOPE!!!!

It was another few pushes or so before Dr O told me, "Babies like to be in and babies like to be out - they don't like being in between." Obviously, many women push for 2, 3, 4 hours with no trouble, and I didn't get to see the tracing so I'm not totally sure how dramatic her decelerations were or how prolonged they may or may not have been, but I got the message that baby needed to come out. But, I wasn't feeling that pushing sensation I had with Emi at all and my contractions had THANKFULLY spaced out a little. Dr O told me my lack of pushing sensation was because he was pretty sure she was face up, which I was pretty sure of too from only having ever felt arms and legs out my front and frequently attempting my own Leopold's maneuvers. They asked me if I wanted to get on my hands and knees and see if would help her rotate. The idea of moving off of my left side and using muscles to support my body weight against gravity sounded AWFUL. No, thank you! So, Dr. O checked to see how far down she was because if she wasn't coming down I was going to have to change positions. She was 3+ (AKA ALMOST out) get with the program, Michaela! So, Dr. O started pushing on the nerves for me to cause the most uncomfortable need to push ever.

As many times as everyone kept reinforcing to me that if I just held my breath and pushed she would come out faster I was really struggling to do it. Open breath pushing was so much more comfortable and it stopped the pain of the contractions and gave me some sensation of pushing at the same time. I remember doing the same thing with Lincoln, only I had a stronger urge to push with him. I looked at the clock periodically and around 1:10am I realized I'd been pushing longer than I'd pushed with either Emi or Lincoln. Between contractions I was totally relaxed, I was able to put my legs down and just rest on Joe, whose fingers I was otherwise CRUSHING! I was beginning to have dramatic fears of needing forceps or vacuums or her being stuck and needing a c-section - for no good reason other than I was anxious, tired, and in pain. I knew I had to rally and really start pushing to get her out. It was going to happen whether I wanted to feel it or not.

Unlike Lincoln and Emi's births, I distinctly felt the ring of fire that describes crowning this time. HOLY CRAP! The hollering/screaming escalated because OMG, it HURT. And it was taking SOOOOOO LONG in my opinion. I had somehow moved from my left side to on my back-ish and mostly sideways in the bed. I was bracing my right leg on Dr O's shoulder, but I was still on my side enough my left leg was on the bed. I was half eyes open and half introverted at this point. I saw her head coming out through the panting breaths that controlled the expulsion of her head. Joe saw she was completely face up, and the moment her head was out I felt INSTANT relief. Dr O told me, "Now, stop. Open your eyes and look at me. Grab your baby and bring her out." So I let got of Joe's fingers, grabbed her as her shoulders were coming out and brought my own baby to my chest. Amelia Mae was born at 1:13am on August 2nd. I started crying - the first birth I actually cried.

She was eyes wide open and quiet but totally fine and happy. We dried her off and stimulated her on my chest and she got to hang out skin to skin under my gown. We waited until her cord stopped pulsing before it was clamped and cut. Dr O even told the nurses no IV pitocin. He told me he was fine with putting her to breast and using the natural oxytocin of breastfeeding to help with placental expulsion and bleeding. I was a bit slow to put her on because I was watching her and holding her, but I slowly sat up and she latched immediately.

She nursed both sides and was with me for over an hour before she was ever removed from my chest for weight and assessment. I guessed she was about 7lbs 4 oz. She was 7lbs 3.5oz, which was rounded up to 7lbs 4oz. She was 20.5 inches long. She got her newborn meds and was brought right back to me and nursed even more while she was totally awake. After about 2 hours of skin-to-skin, nursing, and transition we were moved to postpartum around 4am. We got a few hours of snoozing in. Sort of. More nursing. Lots of dozing off sitting up.

Joe got up early and went home to be there before the kids woke up. They must have known somehow (animal instincts) because they were awake and Lincoln was mad. Joe says he was waiting in the shadows of the door, "WHERE DID YOU GO?!" Joe told him, "Mommy had the baby last night." and Lincoln insisted, "I wanted her to have the baby in the bathtub!"

Essentially, her birth went exactly according to my birth plan - and no one even got the chance to read it. I joke that Dr. O went all midwife on me because it was pretty much the most physiologic birth I could have had. The only thing I look back on and struggle with a bit now was my decision to take the castor oil on Saturday afternoon. For one, I felt like I knew she was sunny-side up at the time, so I probably should have given her more time and maybe she would have turned and I wouldn't have had the challenge of birthing a face-up baby - no back labor this time though! Joe is convinced if she had been the right way she would have been born at home or in the car because she would have come faster. He might be right. The other thing was feeling so ready for her to be born, but at the same time not being prepared for how fast it would go for not really starting on its own. When would she have really come if I hadn't taken the castor oil? Would I still have been pregnant on Tuesday? Once she was here I kind of wanted her back inside to hold on for just a few more minutes, to feel her kicking and moving, and to spend another day or so with just Lincoln and Emi in anticipation.

We are so grateful for a fast, relatively easy birth and our healthy, easy-going baby girl. So much love!

Baby 3: 39.6 weeks (or the day I thought would be the day)

How far along: 39 weeks 6 days....

Yesterday was a day of super-charged emotions. I cried uncontrollably all morning. Anxious, nervous, scared, excited, happy, ready, not ready. All of it. I had no plans, no appointments, and nothing was happening. I was so exhausted by the end of the day I made Joe pick up dinner on his way home and I went to bed really early. A few nights ago I was convinced I was just going to go in and ask for an epidural. Why spend so much time anxious over natural labor when I know there is an effective intervention at my request. Who cares anyway? I guess I care. But, I've also had to face that I need to give myself permission to ask for one if I need it or want it and it will still be OK! I've never had to labor for a long time, through the night, and on anything less than a good night's sleep. I have no idea what's going to happen this time.

In light of my early bedtime, I woke up SUPER early this morning unable to go back to sleep. Part of me was so excited about my "term" appointment at 10:30. With both Lincoln and Emi this was the appointment that sent us to the hospital to have a baby. I was convinced today would be the day. I would go the appointment, be told it was time because my AFI was low, call Joe and my in-laws, and head to the hospital this afternoon. I got up, I showered, I had breakfast, I wrote out the daily schedule/routine for the kids for my in-laws, I did my hair and makeup, and all of this by myself before the kids woke up. Then I took pictures just POSITIVE this was the last belly shot day and I wouldn't get the opportunity to do any on my "due date" -tomorrow.

So, you wanna know how my doctors appointment went? I thought so. It went something like this:

Weight 161.0 lbs, pee in a cup, wait in room 2.... make glove balloons again for kids.

OB: I have no problem with you going past your due date as long as everything looks good. I want to do a scan of your amniotic fluid level and if it's normal then we're good. If it's not, we need to have a different conversation. Less than 5 is not good. 5-8 is iffy. more than 8 is great. and greater than 25 is too much.

Me: Well, at this same gestation Emi and Lincoln both had NO fluid left. Their levels were less than 5! (for some reason, both their placentas were putzing out even though they looked good after birth, hahaha, after birth... bad joke)

OB: Well, let's take a look. *probe to belly*

Me: *instantly sees GIANT vertical pocket of fluid and knows all is good*

OB: *does all 4 quadrants anyway* Ok, your AFI total is 11.5. This placenta is working great. Baby is happy. An internal exam will help us determine how fast this is going to go from here. And your abooooooouuuut 2.5cm.

Me: *WHAT?!?!?!??! Are you kidding?!?! Thats it?!?!*

OB: If I do nothing you could go another 5-7 days. If I try to sweep your membranes my guess is it would be today or tomorrow.

Me: *that's what you tell me every.time. and OMG 5-7 more days!?!* At this point, she's only getting biiiiiggger. And Joe's got drill this weekend. Just do the sweep. Either it'll work or it won't.

OB: Now you're 3.5cm

Me: Great....

Emi: I see agina? *yup, Emi said that as I was sitting back up*

Yeah. Seriously. That's what happened. It's been like 3 hours and I've had maybe 5 contractions. Maybe. And that's counting nursing Emi down for a nap. I feel maybe a little bit lower and slower now, but pretty much the same.

I consoled myself with lunch at Paradise Bakery, a Dr Pepper, and 1.5 chocolate chip cookies. I shared the other half with the kids 'cause I'm so nice like that.

Now we're in limbo. Joe has drill tomorrow morning through Sunday evening. My mom doesn't come until 10am Saturday. Nothing is happening  - yet. My greatest fear at this point is that Joe will miss this birth because he's 50 some miles away. My in-laws said they would come out tomorrow while he's gone, so at least if something happens the kids are taken care of.

I have to go to the hospital for a BPP on Saturday and my next appointment is Tuesday at the Phoenix office. If she comes Friday night or Sunday afternoon/evening my doctor will not be delivering her either... she's got limited windows for arrival this weekend.

True story: I took castor oil (the WHOLE 2oz daily dose) last Sunday in effort to make her come this week. Other than some comfortable relief from constipation for a whole day, I only had about an hour of contractions 6 hours after taking it. I still have one full dose left. Not sure if I should take it tonight or not....

Tomorrow is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, which obviously has significance for myself as a Seattle University alumni, and for Joe and me as we were married in the Chapel of St. Ignatius on campus, so it would be a good day to be born in my opinion. If not tomorrow, then Joe gets his August birthday buddy baby and my mom will be here too. But, I have a feeling I'm going to be pregnant foooreeeevvver instead... It certainly seems like it sometimes.

Baby 3: 39 Weeks

Annnnnnnd 39 weeks is here and I'm Stiiiilllll pregnant! And HOLY COW, it hit me the other day that ANY DAY NOW there is a HUMAN BEING that will be coming out of my VAGINA!! AGAIN! WHAT?!?!!? This is crazy!! Lincoln actually told me today that I should have the baby here and that I should reach down and catch her myself. I have NO idea where he conceptualized that as a completely normal idea. Go, Lincoln! But, yeah, not planning on that happening.

Thursday's OB appointment went like this:

- 160.0 lbs

-150 FHR

- Exam: 1.5cm/70%/-1 "soft"

OB: Do you want me to try and strip your membranes? Because if I do, I'm positive you'll have a baby in the next day or so.

ME: No, that's what you said last time and it didn't work.

OB: With each pregnancy the chances of me being right get better.

ME: I have plans with friends on Saturday and I need to get my toes done first! She can come after Saturday.

OB: Ok, well, I'll see you next week if I don't see you at the hospital before then.

ME: That's what you always say.....

The kids got latex glove balloons with faces drawn on they've been playing with for two days very happily. Emi called it Mickey Mouse at first. It does look like the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse glove balloon.

And the best news is there are labor tubs now at my chosen delivery hospital! I'm SOOO EXCITED! I promise I won't try to birth in the water if I get a room with a tub to labor in!! I will also come in *that* much faster. If contractions EVER START!!!



I past few days we've spent our time cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. We've done a pretty good job of getting things all in order. Our car seat came today. I just HAAAAD to order a special color online and it came via TRUCK from New Jersey! Oye.

I've also done as much as I can for school. I took a case study and an exam last night and spent today working on submitting my discussion presentation on non-hormonal birth control that was 5 pages long (lots of bullet point lists) a few days early juuuuust in case. I still submitted it after midnight because there's just SO MUCH I CAN TALK ABOUT! GAH! She said it had to reflect the content we could fit in a 15 minute patient appointment. I timed it at 10 minutes, so hopefully I'm good. And I'm still up typing to you guys.

We took advantage of no baby this week to take some photos. Just so we can do it again when she comes!







These two are too cute. They wanted me to take pictures of them together. I love that their best friends. And I just LOVE Emi's dress and boots.

Two people this week speculated that I was having a girl because of how I was carrying. After ALLLLL the unasked for speculation about Emi being a boy the whole time we didn't know, NO ONE has said anything this time around. So it was kind of fun to have someone ask me and offer their guess.

Lincoln is obsessed with the baby and my belly. He always wants me to lay down so he can snuggle ChiaMia. Which is really cute, but also REALLY uncomfortable now because he's heavy and he wants to be ON TOP of my belly. Tonight he told me she was going to come on "Saturday". which is either tomorrow, or the day my mom comes next week! Who knows which and who knows if he's right!

And a fun backlit boudoir shot. I wish we at least had pretty windows... but no, we don't.



Maybe the next post will be a birth story, maybe it'll be me at 40 weeks... who knows!

Baby 3: 38 Weeks

OMG, I am going to be pregnant FOOOOREEEEEVER!!!! There's a point where you're just kind of done and I'm at that point. I'm tooootally OK with this baby coming any day now. Except that my mom doesn't come until the 1st of August and I want her here. And I still need to get my pre-baby pedicure. Wah.

I had my 38 week appointment today. I lost 2 pounds - now I'm at 158.4. And there has been no change in my cervical exam (1cm/"thick"/"head right there"). Not sure why I got one today, but I just went with it for the fun of comparison with Emi's pregnancy (3cm/70%/”very low”). the nurse practitioner I saw today says it's not even "wiggly" it's very firm. She asked if I wanted her to try and sweep my membranes and I said no. I'll just be pregnant forever. Still not having squat for contractions even when Emi nurses. This baby is happy where she is.

I still have an obnoxious viral cough we all caught during vacation. My voice is crappy and I'm always trying to clear my airways. I'd like for all of us to be healthy for at least a few days before she comes. I don't want her to come early just to bring her home to get sick when she could cook a little longer. Stupid viral coughs. I can't believe how many times I've been sick during this pregnancy. It's astounding. I have no idea how much of a role school and stress played into everything, but man, it's been continuously something. Not cool.

My heartburn is maybe better, but sometimes not. I thought maybe that meant she'd dropped and things were going to start happening. I'm not counting on it. My doctor has been out of town this week, but apparently he comes home tomorrow. I have no idea if he'll be the one to deliver ChiaMia or not at this point. There are also storms rolling through this weekend - hopefully. Monsoon season is fun! So, maybe the change in barometric pressure will help me out. Probably not. I'll just be pregnant forever.

I have no motivation to do school :-( all I want to do is nest, nap, sleep, and nest. One day this week I was dead to the world on the couch all morning while the kids trashed the couch and the house around me. They were amazing at occupying themselves the whole time for the most part. A snack here, a drink there, some help occasionally. And then I still napped. Then another day this week I had a crazy nesting day and didn't stop all day long. I even skipped my afternoon nap and powered straight through. I completely cleaned the baby's room including vacuuming and steam cleaning. I also moved artwork in Lincoln and Emi's room. Lincoln and I cleaned the toy room. I did dishes and massive loads of laundry - specifically de-funking every towel, dish towel, and hand towel in the house with vinegar and baking soda in hot water. Now they're all nice and fluffy too!! I also taught Emi how to dunk Oreos in milk at snack time. I finally packed my bag for the hospital and charged all the cameras and formatted all the memory cards and packed an extra lens. I took a shower and shaved my legs. I also sorted through my jewelry and significantly downsized to the point I no longer need a jewelry box. It just doesn't make much sense for me right now with littles because I don't really want my ear lobes ripped open or to be choked or have anything nice broken.

So, another nesting crazy idea I had was to clean the co-sleeper like I'd seen on Pinterest where you soak it in your bathtub. The recipe I found was relatively arbitrary amounts of detergent (I used Norowex), vinegar, and baking soda in hottest water possible and let it sit for 30 minutes and rotate it and let it sit again then rinse it. I figured it wouldn't be THAT bad because Emi didn't really have blow outs at night or anything. OMG, SO GROSS!!!!!!!!!! The mattress was still SO GROSS after the first soak and rinse that I had to do it twice more before the bathwater wasn't disgusting! If you've used your pack 'n play or co-sleeper for any amount of time DO IT before your next baby comes. Holy moly. I should have taken pictures, but all you need to do is look it up on Pinterest and you'll see just how dirty other peoples' water was. YUCK. Tomorrow it's going to sit out in the sun ALLLL DAY and let UV light kill whatever is left.

Maybe tomorrow I'll go shopping for some red raspberry leaf tea, castor oil, and evening primrose oil juuuuust to help me out a llittle. But I probably won't. It's definitely been interesting to read the evidence on complimentary medications in labor. But, I'm not really feeling like intervening. She will come when she's ready. Juuuuuuust waiting now. I'm going to be pregnant forever!!

Baby 3: 37 Weeks

Since 37 weeks is "full term" and we just neeeever know when ChiaMia might decide to come *cough* probably not 'til August *cough* you all get weekly updates now. I figured it made sense since it will coincide with my weekly OB appointments.

I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday. I weighed 161.6! WHAT? So much for a pound a week.... JEEBUS! I weighed more with Lincoln and less with Emi at this point. Who knows... and I haven't even had any Oreos lately! But I want some...

I was interested in an internal exam since I was already getting my GBS test done, I guess more for the comparison between pregnancies than any belief that it actually means anything, but internal exam reveals 1cm/thick/"head right there". The comparison from Emi at this gestation was 1-2cm/"thin"/"low".

Lincoln and Emi are getting excited. I think Emi is finally connected the belly to "baby". Now we just have to keep hyping up that a real baby will come out and come home. They're pretty stinking cute though. Emi was in the bedroom the other day and brought out hand lotion, which isn't surprising since she loves lotion and rubbing it on her tummy or her legs. Then she ran back into the bedroom and came out the the doppler. She remembered Lincoln wanting to do it a few days prior and initiated it all by herself.

I'm in the nesting crazy when I'm not feeling totally lazy and tired. Joe's parents came out to help on Friday and I didn't stop moving. I went through Lincoln and Emi's clothes, baby clothes, did massive laundry putting away that had been sitting around for a month, and cleaned out my jewelry.

The other night ChiaMia was very awake and kept pushing really hard. It's been fun to play games and grab whatever knee or foot is prodding me. I realized really quickly that a foot was sticking out rather sharply. by the time I got my phone on and flipped the camera lens the right way she was already moving away, but I got a little bit of a footprint shot! -- stretch marks and all.

I want a poooool. I thought about buying one of those above ground pools with the PVC frames, but in all reality as long as I let the water cool off (it's that time of year where we have NO cold water and it comes out above 102 degrees barely on) my bathtub is big enough to be fine. There are other things to spend money on at the point. I tried out a few accessories for the city select stroller we have and Lincoln and Emi showed me that you can put two kids on the glider board - so I could fit 4 kids quite successfully on/in the stroller. But that's getting ahead of myself. Haha.

Baby 3: 36 weeks

36 weeks was official while we were on vacation. ChiaMia is chilling and I'm getting tired of being pregnant while being happy as could be at the same time. In general nothing new has been going on. Still no contractions in sight unless I'm nursing Emi and they don't stay beyond the nursing. The only thing that comes with that is a feeling of a missed breath or heart palpitations and a massive headache right between the eyes. It's weird since I've never had that before, but it's been every nursing session for weeks. I thought maybe it was related to caffeine, but my intact has been so much less lately and I don't get withdrawal headaches. I also though dehydration, but it doesn't matter how much water I've had to drink at all. So i'm not sure why. My BP has been fine, I'm not worried about pre-E.

 



 

I think I'm denial that there's a baby coming soon. Like soon. She could come this month! Whoa. Not sure why it hasn't hit me yet, but it definitely feels like I have all the time in the world and I'll just be pregnant forever and I'm going to have to go through labor and birth anytime soon. At the same time my anxiety is building over the birth. I'm anxious about what's going to happen this time. Will she be born at home? Will we have plenty of warning? Will she go past her "due date" and be augmented for oligohydramnios like Lincoln and Emi? Is she going to be OP because that hurt SO F'ing so bad I don't know that I can do that again. Mental prep...

 



 

I love this cute Target Maternity swimsuit. I think I bought it before I was even pregnant and I'm so glad I got the chance to wear it! I'm so tempted to go find the cheapest 3 ft deep swimming pool I can and sit in it in my own backyard for the next 2-4 weeks. I think it sounds like a much better idea than taking 2 kids to the community pools. We'll see what I come up with...

Baby 3: 34 Weeks

How far along: 34 weeks

Baby is the size of a: cantaloupe

At my last appointment:  weight146 (lost a pound either because of a difference in scales or because of a nasty GI bug that hit all of us last week); measuring: 34cm (perfect), and she is head down. I felt her flip (during a GI bug moment of "oh, dear God, Baby, please do NOT move.") It's not the easiest to do Leopold's Maneuver's on oneself, but there definitely is a difference between a bobbly head and a pointy little rear end.

Short and skinny on what's been happening: Yep, it's all downhill after 32 weeks. Starting with an AWFUL GI bug. I was so sick I lost an entire day of school work just before the last big assignment was due because I could not get out of bed if I wasn't in the bathroom. Joe had it the days prior, Lincoln had something that could have been it, and Emi was spared. I had it worse than anyone and I'm still not back to normal. I am in full waddle mode. Mucho soreness of the weight-bearing pelvic joints and my lower back. I'm happy as a pig in mud though! I'm so excited to see what she looks like. I'm starting to wonder more and more if she'll look like Emi and Lincoln or if she'll be the "black sheep" and come out the opposite. I also wonder if it's possible that another girl could look any more like Joe than Emi does.

It's also been a high of 114+ degrees for the past few days. It was so hot trying to take pictures I could hardly breathe. I probably took 1/2 as many pictures as I usually do AND didn't even get the third one I usually take because It was so hot I didn't care. This week is therefore dubbed 'casual week'.

I was writing my birth plan out during the last week of the term while listening to lectures on labor and birth and I felt like it was necessary for me to cite all my particular desires in APA format with a reference page. Not even kidding. So much school in my brain. I've actually gone back and forth so much more this pregnancy on whether or not I want a physiologic birth or an epidural. I've been more fearful this pregnancy about being able to do it again, perhaps because Emi's labor was so much more painful due to her occiput posterior position and the accelerated rate of her active phase and second stage. I've also been much more fearful that something will go wrong during labor. But, all the evidence points to the benefits of physiologic birth in pregnancies like mine have all been, so I'm going to start there and see what happens. I know the superstitions when a woman walks in with a physiologic birth plan - I'll have my name on an OR before they'll put my name on anything else. But, I'm not totally crazy, and I've been with the same provider practice now for 3 pregnancies, so hopefully we'll all be on the same page.

Lots of nesting going on. I have a to do list a mile long and more than on project going on at once. Maybe by the time she gets here most of them will be under control. Maybe.

I love swimming. Submerged in water is truly the most comfortable place to be during pregnancy. I am excited to be belly up in the Atlantic Ocean in a week. Salt water is always better. I'm also very interested to see how no school and salt water help my eczema. It's still only on two fingers of my left hand, but it's been feisty. We need a family vacation so badly. I'm very hopeful that OBX is going to be as peaceful and serene as everyone has made it sound - taking into consideration the amount of peace and serenity that is possible with 2 other young kiddos. I've already warned family that there will be napping done by me, and that means when I'm napping the kids are allll theirs. Thanks, Family :-)

Well, I'm the idiot that can't take a hint and sleep when the kiddos sleep, especially in light of NO SCHOOL WORK for 2 weeks. I should be jumping at all opportunities to go to bed early and maximize sleep and catch up on some serious sleep debt. Off I go! If I can't sleep, maybe I'll be back.

Baby 3: 32 Weeks

Yay for 32 weeks! it's been one of the best weeks of all my pregnancies. Since I haven't gone to my appointment yet and I've been suuuuper busy, I figured I'd do something silly. I enjoy reading Jessica Garvin's blog and she just did a 9 truths and a lie post, so I thought I'd steal the idea for pregnancy related things that have been going on in the last two weeks. Ready? See if you can point out the lie.

1. I found a cure for my pregnancy eczema. Eucerin cream! I had Joe buy me some when he went to the PX with the kids last week and it's been amazing. Completely non-irritating, not greasy like Dermaphor, and has made a huge difference. I'm so happy.

2. I've learned that I pretty much have every common pregnancy "complaint" out there, except I don't "complain" about them to my doctor. One of the normal things of pregnancy is a change in your carbon dioxide levels and the compensation the body goes through because of it. It creates a relative hyperventilation and I can definitely tell it's gotten worse in the past few weeks. I'm constantly lightheaded. Not dizzy, but just straight up lightheaded with a mild headache. I tried hydrating and eating and it doesn't change anything, so it doesn't seem to be dehydration or hypoglycemia. I'm going to ask about my labs for anemia at my next appointment.

3. Tums isn't cutting the heartburn anymore but I'm lazy and haven't gone to the store to get anything else over the counter like Zantac. I feel like I'm constantly burping. Lincoln thinks it's pretty funny. It's worse at night by far. There are some days I can get away without it, but certainly not on days when I eat chili. It's thankfully been a deterrent for the soda habit too.

4. I don't stop picking my nose. Like ever. I can't breath!! And blowing doesn't work either because it's SOOO dry and crusty. I took a test today and spent 45 minutes telling myself I could not pick my nose on camera. I didn't. I saved my professors that sight. Aren't you glad I told you that too?

5. Emotions are running high. I have no coping left because I have been in a progressive cycle of staying up late studying and getting up extra early with a small little girl who thinks she's a rooster and the sunrise at 5am means "get up, let's go". After a few days of only 4-5 hours of sleep the tears just stream. Joe took Emi to the coffee shop this morning and let me sleep. Husband for the win. I feel like I can do two more weeks of school now and not melt in a puddle of anguish over scores in the low 90's.

6. I may have eaten a whole bag of double stuffed Oreos in a day. I blame it on the stress of the last few weeks of this school term combined with Joe's asinine employer needing to staff the PD with overtime on nearly every squad for every shift because of the shortage of officers city-wide.

7. I love when ChiaMia is awake and moving and I get to feel little arms and legs pushing. I can usually ID what lie she is in (she likes to be transverse, but she does go all the way around still). Lincoln loves it too and is convinced that every bump sticking out is a butt.

8. I booked a pedicure and a massage for myself last week on Joe's first day off. My feet needed some love because they've been swelling (notice no rings on anymore too, my hands were getting fat and they were in the way of my progressive eczema) and my back has been hurting to the point I was having trouble putting weight on my right leg whenever I tried to take my first step. The Blue Daisy is awesome. I told them I'd be back at 40 weeks if she hasn't come out yet and we would do all the pressure points to get labor going.

9. I wore this shirt at 32 weeks for my pictures for Lincoln and Emi  so I figured I just had to wear it again. I guess I need to keep it just in case even though I think Emi's pregnancy was the last time I wore this shirt and I'm trying to prune my wardrobe so technically it should go. It's not actually a maternity shirt. It's Candies from the Kohl's juniors section.

10. I may be nesting just a little bit. I may have also started "cleaning" or "reorganizing" virtually every room in the house. I guess if I'm not moving across the country during a pregnancy I can at least change up every single room. So far we've moved a couch from the teen room to the "tall ceiling room" AKA the office/5th bedroom in effort to make the teen room the designated play room. I also have started the project of going through all of Emi's clothes, Lincoln's clothes, my clothes again, and yeah.... it's a disaster.

So, which do you think is the lie?

If you guessed the nesting one you're WRONG and you obviously don't know me. You're welcome to come over and help, but it's going to be messy.

If you guessed the Oreo one you're right, but I do have a serious affection for double stuffed Oreos and it's definitely reasonable to believe that I could eat the whole thing in a day, so I can see how you may have believed that to be true. The second half is true. The City can kiss it in just over a year in my opinion. Ask me how I really feel, I dare you.

My next appointment is on Thursday! I'll let you know how that goes in a mini-post. Maybe. Next up is the END OF MY TERM!! I can't wait! I have 4 tests, 1 SOAP note assignment, 1 Learning activity, and 1 Reflection all by the 19th. Time to buckle down and get it done! Then I get to slow down before ChiaMia comes and enjoy the last few weeks before she arrives with a little more time to get stuff done. And take more naps.

Baby 3: 30 weeks

How far along: 30 weeks 4 days

Weight: 147.8! WHAT THE?!?!

Measuring: 29cm - spot on.



Narrative of the past few weeks: This term has been so stressful. I just can't not put 110% into everything and I can feel it affecting my body alongside all the pregnancy crazy. I've had trouble sleeping and I have super weird dreams including one in which I was laughing with Kristen about an informal quiz question at a student gathering and someone called an honor code violation on me such that I had to talk to all the faculty so they could decide what to do with me because I was such a good student, they were really surprised to encounter this situation with me, and they weren't sure if they could let me stay in the program. Talk about a nightmare!! I also got a 92% on a test last week and I cried.

If crying over a 92% doesn't tell you, I'm overly emotional. There have been many an evening that Emi and I both end up crying and Lincoln goes into nurture mode to take care of us. He is the sweetest little boy I could ever have imagined and that just makes me cry even harder when I look back at how consuming my depression was during his pregnancy and postpartum. He gets pillows off the couch and puts them on the ground and tells me to lay down for a minute. He gets me tissues and tells me it's ok and to calm down. He gives me long hugs and they're the best. Even Emi knows and gives a very concerned face and likes to sit on my lap. Or she cries harder because I'm crying.

I've had one day this last week where I had to rest because of constant contractions. I actually napped for a few hours and woke up and they weren't gone. It was also the same day that Officer Kerrie Orozco of the Omaha Police Department was shot and killed and I lost it it and cried all evening. It was such a bad day (also the same day at the 92% - but talk about perspective) that I even called to see if Joe could come home early. By the time he got home the kids were asleep and the contractions had finally stopped, but I went to bed early and had nightmares about honor code violations.

I also have gotten eczema on my fingers!!! I've NEVER had this before and it's totally because of stress. The only thing that has been helping is dermaphor that we've had in the cabinet forever because it was part of Emi's discharge packet. I don't put lotions, creams, or anything on my babies for a very long time so it just sat and sat and sat in my drawer. Now it's mine.

OMG, the heartburn!!! I've been woken up twice this last week for stomach acid regurgitation in the middle of the night. Nothing like waking up to hot stomach juices in your mouth! YUCK! Thankfully Tums are still working.

We just back from a trip to Seattle for the weekend for Mom and Bob's wedding and I'm still swollen from the flight. I'm going to need to start swimming to help de-fluid me because it's HOT HERE. Seattle was chilly and Phoenix is HOT. Breaking 100 this week! I might need to take my rings off because it's in my feet and my hands.

Shakeology is a digestive function life saver. I can't believe that after I broke the vitamix canister I never just thought to put in the cup with milk and SHAKE IT. I'm so dumb. Anyway, I finally got so miserable I told Kristen, 'cause that's whast best friends are for, and she cued me in. I can't go a day without it! It's helped a TON with the sugar cravings too.

Sooooo tired. I need daytime naps. Again, Lincoln is such a good boy that he just plays iPad in my bed during nap. #noshame.

I'm now at appointments every two weeks! Next one is June 11th!

Baby 3: 28 Weeks (Hello, third trimester!)

 

How far along? 28 weeks! The beginning of the third trimester, and I can tell! Did you know that week 28 is the beginning of the third trimester because 28 weeks used to be the earliest presumed viable age of a prematurely born baby? Well, now you do. That's one of the reasons that the trimesters are not divided equally across the 40 weeks of pregnancy (+/- those few extra weeks). Thank goodness for the advances in medical technology that have completely redefined viability.

Baby is the size of: an Eggplant. She should weigh approximately 2+ pounds.

Weight gain: I weighed 137.4 at my appointment last week. I now start going to my OB every 2 weeks and I should begin gaining a pound a week. So what's that? 12 more pounds.... probably more like 15 or 20 if I keep eating Oreos...

Cravings: I don't have a whole lot of room for food, but I do like alll sorts of things, including sweets. I have not been very disciplined about the sweets. Take for example the cookies I baked with Lincoln and Emi the other day.... anyone who knows me knows I just wanted to eat all the dough, but I didn't. I made the cookies and now they're being EATEN!

Clothes: My belly now creeps out of my shirts if I wear a normal shirt. I'm totally the pot-bellied man sitting on the couch with his shirt up over his belly, only I'm not a man and I'm not drinking beer. And my belly button stick way out. Screw real pants. I'm in stretchy pants and basketball shorts... although you could argue that's what I always wear either way.

Sleeping: Oh, how the TIRED is BACK. I need naps. I sleep restlessly on occasion because with all the pillow support and Joe and Bella in a queen sized bed I feel like I have NO ROOM. Should I not mention that Joe has been gone all weekend and I've slept GREAT with the bed to myself? No? OK. I keep finding myself on my back. I apparently want to sleep on my back a lot and even if I put a pillow between my legs and a pillow on my side to try and tilt me if I do roll, I still find myself on my back most mornings.

Movement: So much movement now! I love it. It's changed so quickly from just bumps and flips to little distinguishable body parts pushing and prodding. Lincoln got to feel a really good kick for the first time yesterday and his eyes got SO big and he was so excited, "I felt the baby kick me!" Emi wants to put her hands where Lincoln does but she has no patience to wait for a kick. She's very reactive to caffeine and is always perky at night. It's fun because you can now watch my belly change shapes.

Belly: I can't really sit up very well anymore with the belly in the way. It's like one day I could curl over myself and the next day it was gone. I now need help getting off the couch, or I have to lean sideways first. Getting off the floor is also becoming a 3-step process. I've also noticed my balance has dramatically changed and I'm getting that hip instability. Lincoln loves my belly. He's the sweetest boy and I am so much more excited for him to meet this baby than I ever was when I was pregnant with Emi - and I thought Emi was a boy and that he was getting a brother!

Signs of labor: I don't know if it's because I've done TWO assignments this week on the onset, assessment, and management of early labor, but I've noticed over the past few weeks just how often I have palpable contractions. I always notice it after nursing Emi, but I also notice random times throughout the day when my tummy gets tight and my lower chest does too. It's a bit of a breathless sensation, like air just doesn't go as far down, and that's usually what clues me into the rest of it. I don't remember this when I was pregnant with either Lincoln or Emi (save for the nursing contractions).

Best moment of the week: Surviving Friday. Haha. I have no idea what my crazy brain was thinking other than "get all your big assignments done before Memorial Day" because we will be in Seattle for Memorial Day, and then it's just going to snowball out to the end of the term when we head to North Carolina days before the term actually ends... After doing that with Baltimore last term I was sooooo stressed I swore we wouldn't risk doing that again. But, of course, North Carolina has been booked since last year and we, of course, already scheduled flights in the middle of the week. So my goal was to NOT leave everything to the last week again. Well, I managed to book 4 assignments in various classes to all be due by the end of this weekend. When drill weekends happen I lose my main study days, which also happened to be this weekend -AND it was another 3-day drill. F my life was all I could think. I HAD to take an exam on Friday night after the kids went down, no matter how tired I was or whether I was ready or not - and Emi would NOT go down. Lincoln is great, he puts himself to bed practically. But Emi is teething eye teeth (horrible, horrible teeth) and she's trouble.

Anyhoo, we have 90 minutes to test and I have to start 4 hours earlier than the IT scheduled hours because of the time change, which just makes on time bed time extra important because I have to start by 9:30pm if I want all 90 minutes.  Because she wouldn't stop screaming I finally just had to let her scream and tune her out to test. I only ended up with about an hour. Thankfully, I didn't need the whole hour. I thought the first test in this class was really hard. I had a really hard time understanding the questions, so even when I narrowed it down to two answers and then one I still missed a bunch, so I studied extra hard for this one. It paid off! I only missed 1 and I know exactly what one it was and why I missed it. Also, I don't know why this happens, and it happens more now, but sometimes I get really sharp chest/shoulder pain and I have a really hard time breathing because I can't take a full breath before it feels like a sharp catch. Of course this feeling started about half way through the testing time and it just gets really distracting. The only resolution is lying down on my side and it's instant relief as long as I say laying down, but I can't just go lay down in the middle of a proctored test. I was getting squirmy but I had flagged a few questions and I just needed to answer them. When I saw 98% after hitting submit I was so relieved. I ended up staying up until 2am doing other work, but getting that test out of the way was such a relief. Needless to say, I was SOOO TIRED come 6am Saturday morning when Emi woke up... *sigh*

Looking forward to: Deciding officially this week if I'm doing to take a term off or just go part-time for the next two terms to give myself some time with ChiaMia before clincials. It's been a really hard decision to slow down and delay clinicals by a term, but 3 months is really just a drop in the bucket and newborns are only little for so long. I know it'll be better in the long run, I'm just so used to tucking my head down and steamrolling ahead it's a big shift for me. But I'm also so used to being a stay at home mom that I think having the extra time will really help me when it comes time to do things with ChiaMia I haven't had to do with Lincoln or Emi - like bottle training and not being the one to put her down for bed every night with a boob.

Baby 3: 26 Weeks

 

26 Weeks in a nutshell: Sorry there isn't more detail, school is just a whole different kind of monster this term! I need every.minute.i.have. (hence the pictures above with flat, bad hair after being gone all day)

-Heartburn!

-Foot and leg cramps!!

-It's getting hard to sit up off the couch and get up off the floor.

-I'm starting to feel Braxton Hicks contractions.

-Lots of movement throughout the day and night.



we went to Montezuma Castle and Well near Sedona, AZ on Friday for a family day. I needed the time for school, but I needed a good family day and road trip more :-) We had lots of fun. You can see behind my shoulder the window to an old indian dwelling on the side of a rock face. Below me is a sinkhole full of water that you can't see. Apparently they've never found the bottom....

 

 

Baby 3: 24 Weeks

We have reached viability! Woohoo!! I'm hoping she stays put through her due date, but if something were to happen at this point intensive neonatal care could sustain her life.

I just started my fourth term for school and the only way I'm even doing this post is to simultaneously listen to a lecture on perspective of birth risk. Nothing like watching a whole bunch of videos on cardinal movements of a baby through the pelvis and realizing holy crap, that looks impossible!! I can't believe I'm doing this again! Even after two successful, quick, non-medication deliveries I am totally doubting myself that I can do it again. But then I hear powerful statements by this keynote speaker in my lecture, who is an OB-GYN, like, "if a woman chooses an epidural, accept that birth is no longer normal and will need active management." and it's good fuel for determination and preparation over the next few months.

I thought at this point of the pregnancy I would start taking pictures every week since so much growing happens- yeah, not going to happen with school to do. Doing these was hard enough. LAST day as a 29 year old!

SNIPPETS:

Apple Cider Vinegar for heartburn is SO GROSS I'll stick with Tums, thank you very much. BLECH. I know it's supposed to be good for you, but YUCK YUCK YUCK. Maybe this baby will have hair even though Emi still doesn't....

I am starting to feel the spinal changes. It's hard to sit up, my abs are just GONE, and it's weird to get in and out of bed with Lincoln since he's on a bottom bunk. I have to do a weird roll and pull myself up and out and I hit my head if I'm not careful.

Weird dreams. I still sleep on my back but I should probably stop that soon.

I can tell my milk has changed. Emi doesn't seem to care, but she definitely doesn't stay on as long and my bras are a totally different size.

Scarf//Belt//

 

Baby 3: 22 Weeks

How far along: 22 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: spaghetti squash. I find spaghetti squash to be highly variable in size… so who really knows.

Sleeping: questionable. I'm turning into a light sleeper and if I wake up I struggle to go back to sleep. I was awake 2 nights last week in Baltimore for over 2 hours in the middle of the night. Now when Emi wakes up with the sun around 6:30 I also don't go back to sleep. And i LOVE rolling over, and over, and over, and over, and never getting out of bed.

Wearing: well, obviously not this white shirt for much longer. It was a bit snug to button at the belly button. I did buy a new pair  of below the belly maternity pants to get me through Baltimore last week and for the winter when I'm on my way back down. It's been in the 90's here outside Phoenix so pants and long sleeves are a wardrobe of the past now. The night time weather and morning weather are still nice enough that you can really wear anything and be comfortable.

Belly: my belly button is sticking out a bit and people are starting to notice in public. I dropped the kids off at pre-school today and one other mom who has kids similar in age asked me carefully if I was expecting.

Movement: lots in the middle of the night. One night last week Joe was late and I was binge watching Once Upon a Time's 3rd season at 2am and she was all over the place. Joe said the same thing about the early AM hours a few nights ago when he woke up and snuggled up to me.

Gender: I asked Emi this week if she wanted a sister and she said. 'Uh HUH!" and I asked her if she wanted her name to be ChiaMia and she said "uh HUH!" she's on board…. or uh HUH is just her newest thing.

Best part of the week: not being in school, binge watching Once Upon a Time, and just relaxing to enjoy things.

Looking forward to: another whole week of break. maybe some sleep. we have a doctor's appointment this week I think. I hardly know what day it is, much less what's happening in the future.

Baby 3: 20 Weeks

How far along: 20.2 weeks

Baby is: approximately 8 ounces per the anatomy scan last week.

Weight: +3 lbs!

Sleep: It's finals week. I'm staying up late and then having weird dreams. I want to fall asleep in Lincoln's bed every night when I put him to bed.

Eating: Have you seen how much food you're supposed to eat if you follow an eating plan like the 21 Day Fix? JEEZ. I am so not eating enough apparently. I need way more veggies (always, since I HATE veggies). and I really struggle with protein that doesn't also count as fats (like cashews or cheese).

Clothes: :-( the winter is gone. Summer is here. It's 80's and 90's now, so I'm moving into tank tops. I would like one good pair of maternity pants though since I'm so lazy about shaving my legs and it does still get nice at night and in the morning. … for now.

My new favorite thing ever for sprucing up tank tops is making vests out of all my scarves. Since it's way too freaking hot to wear them around my neck I never to get wear them! that is until I saw how to tie it into a vest. LOVE!

Movement: Lots of it. She still likes 11pm but I can feel her throughout the day too.

Gender: Yes, ChiaMia is still a girl. Very much so. She was quite willing to let us see at the anatomy scan. Lincoln does not want to name her what we are thinking of. He says, "I don't like that. I like ChiaMia better. It's a good option."

Best part of the week: Anatomy scan. ChiaMia is NOT gigantic like the US tech reported to the NP (who I will say was super nice during this encounter and very helpful at deducing where the wonky due date came from and communicating to Dr. O my concerns. I was very impressed with how she handled my crazy and I am so much more open to building a relationship with her now. Maybe she was just having a bad day last year or was tired of dealing with stupid people). Anyhoo, ChiaMia measured at an EDD of 7/31 at the NT scan and 8/5 at the Anatomy scan. So she's slowed down a bit and is only around 35% percentile. Whew, I thought I was on track for an 8+ pounder (which I still could be since Emi was 8).

Looking forward to: VACATION!!!! It's finals week right now and I'm swamped. I need a reset period.

Baby3: 18 weeks (+interview with Lincoln)

 



 



Lincoln's part is at 6:15 if you only want to see what he says.

How far along? 18.1

How big is baby? Sweet Potato

Sleep: Emilyn slept two whole nights in a row - ALL NIGHT. (she's 18 months soon) so I slept ALL night too. Actually I woke up because she didn't, but I didn't have to get up. I also thought I heard Lincoln one of those nights so I went to see if he was OK and his lamp was on and he was out cold on his back with his legs cris-crossed. So i don't know what I heard. Maybe coyotes.

Clothes: I've been so swamped with school, sick, and hermitage mode that I haven't really gotten dressed except for today. Definitely starting to pooch. Belt: I got years ago from the store Fireworks in Seattle. Necklace Charms: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (my patron saint for the year (and from Edel) and St. Raymond Nonnatus (patron st. of midwifes)

Cravings: Just trying to make good choices (or at least more better choices than poor choices - there has been ice cream in the freezer). My favorite snack to try and curb some of those sugar cravings is a shake. I can't tell you enough how much we LOVE our Vitamix. I use it almost every day, and if I don't, Emilyn now asks me to because she and Lincoln both really like it. She knows, man. Anyways, my favorite shake is a recipe from Tony Horton:

Chocolate Vegan Shakeology

5-6 whole frozen strawberries

1/2 C frozen blueberries

1/2 C cashews (all natural)

1/2 C ice

almond milk (unsweetened original) to cover

blend and yum.

Symptoms: I'm feeling pretty good. Just a bit run down from being sick last week and from working so hard at school.

Belly: Getting curvy :-)

Movement: Yes! Very distinctly. It's getting fun. I can feel it from the outside too but we haven't gotten Joe to feel it yet. She's usually awake in the 11pm hour and I'm always awake to notice. It's so amazing to me how all of a sudden one day it's there when the day before it wasn't. Life amazes me. I guess that's why I'm so interested in going back to school to know all I can and share with others.

Looking forward to: The anatomy scan. We'll confirm if she's actually a girl, look at the heart & look at the brain extra close, and see what shenanigans she's up to. I'm also looking forward to the end of my term and getting some FUN stuff done!! Not even FUN, just PRODUCTIVE. Sorry, Kelly, I promise I will get a box of 18-24 month boy clothes to you soon, I haven't forgotten!!