It is baby day!

I am off to the hospital in a few minutes.  I guess I am not surprised I am being induced, but I wish I had started labor on my own. I waited until 41 weeks, and I think I have waited long enough.  I am pretty nervous, excited, and anxious.  I guess knowing what I have waiting for me has me a bit scared, but in the end I know it is worth it.  Next time I post I will finally have news of a baby!

No baby

I am still waiting on this baby to make her appearance.  I have been walking, squatting, and on my feet all weekend.  Nothing!  I do have some contractions, but they aren't regular enough to really count.  I even tried nipple stimulation and sex.  This kid isn't budging!  Hannah was 4 days late and born on the 3rd of June.  Today I am 4 days late and it is the 3rd of December.  I was hoping she would come today so they would be exactly 2 1/2 years apart.  It doesn't look promising.  My guess is I will make it to Thursday and be induced. I really don't want to be induced, but I am running out of time and options.

Due Date

Today is my due date.  Nothing is really happening other some back pain and pressure.  I didn't expect to go early since I was late with my first, but every pregnancy is different.  My doctor prefers if patients start on their own so he does wait until 41 weeks before inducing.  At my last appointment, we went ahead and scheduled the induction for December 6th should I not start on my own.  It is a little weird knowing I only have a week (at the most) left before this baby is born.  I am definitely ready to not be pregnant any more even if it means labor.  I am dreading labor because the first time around it was long and horrible.  I hope the second time is a bit faster.

The one thing I have noticed this time is how many people are shocked that I haven't been induced yet.  I am just now at 40 weeks.  It seems like so many women hit 37 weeks and they start inducing just because they are uncomfortable.  I am uncomfortable, but if baby isn't ready then she isn't ready.  I agreed to wait until 41 weeks.  I would even wait a few days after, but the doctor thinks it is safer for everyone if baby comes out around 41.  When I tell people I am waiting an extra week, they start saying bad things about my doctor.  Once I tell them it is my choice to wait, they are surprised.  It may only be a few weeks, but there is a difference between a 37 week baby and a 40 week baby.  Hannah was so alert when she was born.  My cousin's baby was born at 37 weeks, and she said he wasn't very alert and he had trouble eating.  It is amazing what those extra few weeks can do for a baby.  Your due date is at 40 weeks for a reason.  Now that I am 40 weeks, I am willing to try all the old wives' tales about starting labor.  My doctor told me to try sex and nipple stimulation.  I am doing a ton of squats, and I will start walking around the neighborhood tonight.  I may even try the pineapple again.  I tried pineapple with Hannah.  I have no clue if any of it actually works, but fruit and walking are good for me so I figured they can't hurt anything.  Hopefully, I will have a new post in a few days about a baby.

Food, food, and more food

I had my 37 week appointment today.  Somehow I gained 6 pounds in one week!  I have no clue how that happened.  I think the doctor was a bit off with their scale.  I blame most of it on a full bladder and water retention.  I am so stinking swollen lately I feel like a marshmallow.  (Or it could be the large quantities of crappy food I keep eating.)

This past week has spent preparing all our freezer meals for when the baby is born.  For $150, we made 11 meals, 10 frozen pizzas, and a crap load of pancakes for breakfast.  That is not including leftovers that the casseroles will yield.  I think we did a pretty good job.  It sucks to pay that much up front, but at least we have food ready to go so I won't have to venture to a store very often with two kids, and I don't have to worry about making a menu.  We did this with Hannah and it was so nice.  The only really big thing I have left to do it pack the hospital bag.  I keep putting it off, but I am not sure why.  I think packing a hospital bag makes it real, and I am not ready for reality.  I know I should do it since the doctor said the baby is low and it could be any day.  I am ready to not be pregnant, but I don't think I am ready to handle two kids.  Hannah is really testing boundaries lately, and it is driving me crazy!  I don't even want to think about it getting worse after the baby is here.

Highs and Lows

I was all set to do a Halloween recap yesterday, and then the crap hit the fan.  My husband has been struggling a bit flying the jets in training.  He thought he had it all figured out until an instructor said he needed just a bit more practice.  That meant a few training flights, which went great, and then a final flight with the CO.  That final flight was yesterday.  It went well except the CO thinks that the husband just can't stay ahead of the jet like he needs to, and so he is recommending my husband be re-designated to another aviation community.  He thinks the husband has great flying skills, but tailhook just ins't his pipeline.  So now we wait.  We wait to see if it is approved.  We wait to see what they give him.  It is a bit scary. Luckily he didn't say you suck and you are out.  He can stay in and fly which is all he wants to do.  He has told me that some days he wishes he had been given his second choice out of primary because he wasn't having fun with the jet.  He knew he was having problems keeping up with the jet.  He didn't want to fly the jets anyway, but the plane he wanted to fly requires the carrier landing training first, and then on to the specific training for the plane.  He is disappointed in himself.  He has never failed before and this has been hard for him to digest.  He isn't sure how to respond to it.  I don't know what to do or say.  He isn't the first to be moved to a different pipeline out of here.  I know of two others in the last few months.  These planes are hard to fly.  I am very grateful he was given the chance out of primary to fly them.  You never know what your skills will be with a plane until you try.  It turns out this just isn't his plane.  Thank goodness the Navy has other types out there.  He is a great pilot.  I know he will be a great pilot for the Navy.  I think in the end he ended up with a confidence issue and that is never good when you are trying to fly the jets.  It sucks, but at least he is still in.  We have no Plan B.

Also yesterday I realized how bad Hannah's separation anxiety has become.  I dropped her off at the CDC for hourly care while at my doctor's appointment.  They said she was upset the entire two hours she was there.  She wouldn't eat lunch, and she fell asleep out of exhaustion.  She cried when I picked her up.  She said she is scared when she is there.  She gets so excited to play with other kids, but she wants me to stay there while she plays.  She went to my neighbor's house for about 30 minutes on Wednesday while I ran an errand, and she had no problems.  I think it was because she was with someone she knows, and Hannah loves playing with their daughter.  She was even upset this morning when I took the dogs for a walk and she had to stay home with her dad.  I am hoping with a lot of time and patience this phase passes.

Thursday did have a bright spot.   I had my 36 week appointment.  When he measured my uterus, he said he could feel the baby's head way down low (which I already knew because I could feel it.)  He decided to do a cervical check since I have been having contractions.  It turns out that I am already dilating.  Not much, just a finger tip.  It took 2 days of mild painful contractions to dilate to 1 with Hannah.  I was a bit surprised.  He told me to start monitoring my contractions.  He is hoping I do make it to 38 weeks which is when he is comfortable continuing labor.  I know that just because I start dilating now doesn't mean I will go into labor tomorrow, but it does make me a bit anxious.  When he checked me, he had no problems feeling the head.  She is right there, and I can definitely feel her.  So I guess I am playing the waiting game now.  I still haven't made my freezer meals nor have I packed my hospital bag.  The people here are throwing a baby shower for me on the 18th.  Hopefully I make it to the 18th otherwise I will be taking the baby to the baby shower.

Dads can nest too!

So, I think my husband is nesting.  He is starting to clean out the car more, he is trying to stay a bit more organized, wants to make freezer meals now, and he wants to build stuff.  Remember how I showed a picture of the nursery and its sad state?  This is what we were using for storage:

Plastic drawers

Neither one us really liked it, but it is what we had so we decided to live with it.  Then my husband got the nesting bug.  He went out and bought materials to make a cabinet for her.  In one weekend he built this huge cabinet that holds all her stuff.  I had other stuff crammed under the crib, futon, and still more shoved in the linen closet.  This cabinet holds all of it!  I have nothing stored under the crib anymore.  The finished product:

He even picked the color for the doors.  Hannah helped him paint.

I added some cute baskets for helpful storage inside.

The plastic storage is now holding toys in our dining room/playroom downstairs.  It may not be the prettiest or fanciest piece of furniture around, but it hides all the stuff and should work long term.  I was pretty impressed with the final product especially since this was his first time building something like this.  Now he wants to build a new bed frame for us.  I told him that would have to wait until we had a house with a garage so he didn't leave saw dust all over my house.

A-OK

I want to thank every one for the kind words yesterday.  As far as the tech could tell, everything seems to be okay.  She didn't think it looked like my body has started labor, but I will get confirmation at my next appointment.  She did take some pictures of the baby for me.  She said Meeghan was very photogenic and cooperative so she took quite a few.  I have never had an ultrasound this late in a pregnancy so it was neat to see a baby so big.  She is definitely a girl which is nice to know since we did have a bit of a doubt.  She is just over 4 pounds which seems so big at this stage.  Hannah was barely 7 pounds and  I could hardly push her out.  I am hoping this one isn't any bigger otherwise I am afraid to know how long it will take to push.  She is also head down.  I was pretty sure she was head down, but it is nice to know for sure.  Hopefully she stays that way for these last 8 weeks.  So now, I am trying to hydrate like crazy and rest as much as possible to keep as comfortable as I can.

32 weeks is too early

I had my 31 weeks 6 days (or we'll just say 32 weeks) appointment today.  I had asked about Braxton Hicks since I am having a ton of them, and I don't remember it being like this with Hannah.  He decided I need an ultrasound to rule out pre-term labor.  It was a bit scary to hear him say that since I really didn't think it was that serious, but I guess he wants to be cautious.  There is always a small chance that my body has started labor early, but I certainly hope not.  I am uncomfortable, but I can hold out until she is old enough to deliver.  I really hope it is just I am not drinking enough water, or my very stubborn daughter is causing me to be a bit more stressed this pregnancy.  I am chugging away with the water, and trying to find every quiet game I can to make sure that I don't send myself into premature labor.  We will see what they say.  The ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

The second time around

I remember when I was pregnant with Hannah I had to have everything done right away.  I needed the nursery set up and organized months before she was due.  I needed that stroller and car seat also.  There would be no waiting until just a few months out to purchase those.  I was a freaking lunatic about everything. This time around not so much.  I do have all the stuff out of storage, but that's because we went to pull the freezer out of storage and grabbed everything we needed while we were there.  It is clean and it is all sitting in the crib.

It is safe from Hannah and the dogs...for now.

I realized I still have a few things to buy, but I keep telling myself I have plenty of time.  In reality, I do have two months, but there is no way I am hitting the stores in mid November.  Luckily, the things I do need are small and stuff I almost forgot I needed like a hamper or a laundry basket.  I still need to wash all the clothes as well. I only pulled those out because I needed room in Hannah's closet for some of her stuff.  For now they are sitting in plastic storage drawers that Hannah was using until this month when we finally found a dresser for her.  

Not classy, but it works

The husband has decided he doesn't want to use these drawers again for the baby so he is going to build an armoire of sorts.  I am impressed that he can do it because I have no freaking clue how to even start building one.  Hopefully he is able to finish it in October so I can start washing clothes.  Hopefully the storage drawers will be moved into the playroom/dining room and used to store toys.  The only thing we did pretty early was paint her letters.  We decided we better just do it so we don't change our minds about her name.  Once the letters are painted, the name is set.  So...here is my name reveal.  My family is not a fan of it, but I figured it is my kid not theirs so they will have to get over it.  

Meeghan Fallon will be her name.  I was hoping Fallon would be the first name, but the husband thought the name was too out there so it became her middle name.  It is pronounced with a long E sound instead of a short E like in Megan.  We wanted a Celtic name this time around so we hit Google until we found one we agreed on.  The goal was to find an uncommon name that wasn't too crazy.  I am hoping it works.

10 Weeks to Go!

I have no idea where the time has gone, but I am on the home stretch of this pregnancy.  I am ready for it to be over, but not sure I am ready to tackle caring for two kids at once.  I have been having a ton of contractions.  Luckily, they are not are regular or of any concern.  It is getting harder to find a comfortable position to sleep, and my feet are swollen at the end of each day.  I am on my feet so much with Hannah, and I don't wear shoes in the house, so my poor feet are taking a beating.  I don't have cankles yet so I consider that a victory.  I finally have the nursery set up.  All that is left is purchase a few things, and wash, wash, wash!  I forgot how many outfits, blankets, and sheets I have.  I don't remember washing that much stuff before Hannah was born.  We still need to make some freezer meals, but I think that will be done next month.  Other than that, I think all 3 of us are becoming pretty anxious to meet the newest member of our family.

Acceptance

I think I have finished my mourning phase of realizing I won't have a little boy.  I know my husband is still bummed about not having a boy, but I think we both have come to the realization that two girls will be fun.  Plus there is always the chance to adopt later if we would like a son.  Honestly, part of me is sad I would never get to use the name we chose which is silly I suppose, but it is how I feel.  I am excited now to have another girl.  Hannah is really sweet with babies, and I hope it continues with her sister.  A name has been chosen and slowly I am trying to put a nursery together.  Right now it looks like the contents of Hannah's baby days have exploded all over the room, but I still have a few months to get it organized.  The biggest argument lately has been the amount of pink in the room.  I am not a fan of a ton of pink for a girl.  I have always thought it was more fun to use to primary or bold colors, but my husband wants this room pink.  We can't paint since we are renting so that does help some, but man it was almost World War III to choose the colors for her letters. I wanted something a bit different, and he wanted pink.  Just pink.  I compromised a bit and agreed to two shades of pink since Hannah's letters are two shades of purple.  Luckily he is letting me use the accent color of green to go with the pink so I don't feel like I am walking into Pepto Bismol.  It is crazy how wrapped up in our disagreement we can get, and it doesn't really matter what the room looks like.   I just wish I were a crafty person so I could make some fun decorations myself.

Is it November yet?

Tomorrow I will be 26 weeks, but I feel so much bigger than that!  It is getting harder to keep up with Hannah.  I feel like a bad mom some days because trying to take her outside to play is exhausting.  It is so hot and humid here that I can only last a few minutes.  I am running out of fun indoor games to play.  I hear it does cool down in October so I am hoping the last month of the pregnancy I can get outside with her more.

We went to San Antonio this past weekend to visit Sea World and see the town.  Hannah loved Sea World.  I didn't think it was as big as the one in Orlando, but the splash park was all she really cared about.  She got to meet Elmo and Abby which she thought was fun even though she doesn't watch Sesame Street anymore.  It was dang hot, but I survived.  We did visit the Riverwalk, and drove around the Alamo.  We know we will probably go back before leaving Texas so we will visit more stuff next time.  I hope to make it to Austin some day before we leave.  I have heard about all this great stuff to see and eat there.  I would love to visit.

Ultrasound Results

I had my anatomy scan yesterday, and  it looks like I am having another girl.  I will be honest, I was pretty sad when I found out.  I thought for sure that it was a boy, and it was a shock to hear I am carrying a girl.  I am pretty certain this is my last pregnancy so I was hoping for a boy to have one of each, but two girls will be fun.  At least I know what to expect this time around. If, in a few years, we decide we want a third we can always try to adopt a boy.  The tech said the baby looks pretty good which is the best thing I can ask for regardless of how I feel about the gender.  I know the shock will wear off, and I will be excited to have another girl.  Although the idea of having two teenage girls does scare me a bit.  The husband joked that he is being punished for something since we have two female dogs, and now two daughters.  I am glad he is used to estrogen already.

Big news!

I am really bad at blogging these days.  I feel like such a slacker.  I don't really have a routine here yet, and I know that is part of my problem.  I have also spent free time trying to catch up on my online class which I now want to quit, but that is a post for a different day.

Since I finally made it to a doctor yesterday, I feel comfortable announcing that my family will be adding a new member in November!  I am just about 12 weeks pregnant, and this pregnancy is kicking my butt.  Hopefully, it will get better since I am almost to the second trimester.  I have been so tired that I prefer to lie down as soon as I have the chance.  I am excited and terrified at the same time.  I am still unsure if I can juggle two since I can barely handle one kid right now, but I guess I will figure it out.

My prediction for this baby is boy.  This pregnancy has been so different that I just feel like it will be a boy.  I guess I will find out in July!