While Waiting on a Baby

While waiting on a baby, you want to keep your house clean. No one wants to come home from the hospital with a brand new baby to dusty furniture, floors that need to be scrubbed, bathrooms that need a good disinfecting, or counters full of crumbs. If you're like us and a babysitter is going to be at your house while you're in the hospital, then you don't want to leave things in a state of disaster for that person either. So for a good three weeks or so when you're in that window of "the baby could be here any time" you spend every day making sure dust isn't accumulating, the stove top is sparkling, bathrooms are freshly cleaned and smell of lavender, and there's not a stray speck of lint lurking on the floor. 

While waiting on a baby, you want to keep your refrigerator and pantry stocked at all times. You may need to leave the house any day now and someone else will be there trying to care for your toddler, so you probably shouldn't be out of milk, eggs, or any of her favorite foods. So you buy those things and then try not to use them, because after all- tomorrow could be the day. While you're at it, you'll probably want to make sure there are things to eat for the very sweet people who volunteered to take care of your toddler... you know, at the ready at all times, for three weeks. Don't forget to keep other necessities like toilet paper, clean towels, and hand soap stocked in each of your three bathrooms at all times. You probably also wouldn't want to leave a sink full of dishes, so make sure you wash every one you use immediately. Just in case.

While waiting on a baby, you want to keep your legs shaved. Not only is someone about to be up close and personal with your whole lower half, but you're going to be in the hospital for a little bit. I don't know about other people who have given birth, but I was lucky to stand up long enough to shower much less shave my legs immediately after delivery. So if you're not shaved going in, you're going to be pretty fuzzy when you leave. You'll probably want to shave your legs every day, just in case.

While waiting on a baby, you don't want to make any serious plans. Since labor is pretty unpredictable, unless yours is scheduled for one reason or another, you hesitate to make any real plans in the days and weeks right around your due date. You don't want to schedule anything that you have to be present for, or commit to attending a big event like a wedding because who knows if you'll be able to make it. Casual social plans are one thing, but anything beyond that probably isn't a good idea. Plan to spend those weeks/weekends cleaning your house, keeping your fridge and pantry stocked, and shaving your legs.

That's what I've been doing for the past 3 weeks... and will continue to do for the foreseeable future. Waiting on a baby is possibly more exhausting than taking care of one. Looking forward to {ok, praying for} the day I can ignore the dust while cuddling a sweet tiny baby.... :)

39 Weeks

Here we are... 4 days away from the due date. Things are going well. At my appointment last week everything looked good and the midwife felt that the baby is moving down further into my pelvis. I have noticed this change {ouch} and consider it to be an exciting step in the right direction! My next appointment is Thursday next week which will be 2 days past the due date. We are supposed to be allowed to discuss scheduling an induction if I get to that appointment with no baby. I'm not crazy about that idea, but I guess it will depend on how I feel by then. Carsen was born at 40 weeks + 5 days, so I think it also makes sense to give Reagan until 41 weeks before we go in after her. Who knows how I'll be feeling by then though. The only date I feel like I'd want to pick would be 3-31-13 just because that would be an awesome birthday. But alas, not only is that a Sunday when I'm fairly certain they don't schedule inductions, but it's also Easter Sunday. So no hope of getting to select that date. I'd really love for her to come out on her own this weekend. If she's born tomorrow then her birthday will be 3-23, while Carsen's is 4-24. That's kind of cool. If she's born Sunday then she and Carsen will both be born on the 24th and that's kind of cool too. Regardless of the date, I'm just reminding myself that she can't stay in there forever, and we're about to meet this kid very very soon :D

Stay tuned....

The Final Countdown

You know your baby-prep to-do list is all checked off when you have time for celebratory baby-girl-themed manicures :D

Meals are in the freezer, changing tables are stocked, the fridge and pantry are packed, hospital bags are ready, equipment is washed and set up, the house is guest-ready... and now we just wait. I intend to spend the time trying to relax, but also soaking up my only child while she's still an only child. The weather this week is going to be rotten so we won't be out going places, but maybe that's good for some extra snuggling, and book reading, and playing pretend. I know there will be less time/flexibility for those things once Reagan is here. 

I'm sure I'll also keep myself busy during any down time by continuing to find little things here and there that can be done around the house in addition to the "maintenance" items like dusting and keeping the kitchen and bathrooms sparkly. I'll probably wash and wipe things that don't really need it or that I otherwise wouldn't care about. And I'll blog, of course. I finished Carsen's quilt for her big-girl bed, so I'll put that post together with photos and my instructions. I found a few things along the way that I would have done differently than the tutorial I used, so I'll write about them in case anyone else is feeling inspired to make one. 

Stay tuned for updates on our status and progress between now and delivery!

Baby Prep To-do List

Well, I'm 30 weeks pregnant today, which means we have just 10 weeks until the due date! Time to get crackin' on the baby-prep to-do list. I mentioned I'd share my to-do list when I got it together, so here it is. I'll preface it by saying that I'm positive other things will be added along the way. Also, it is set up as a countdown by weeks. Since I am trying to work on whatever I can whenever I can (in the general prioritized order they appear on the list) the items listed for each week are what I want to have finished by that week, not what I'll be starting that week (I hope!).

8 Weeks
-Carsens room: painted at the very least, possibly textiles (quilt, bedskirt & window valence) depending. I have no delusions that there will be art on the walls and shelves perfectly styled/accessorized by this point. I'd be totally impressed with myself if I got her book shelves up.

6 Weeks
-Set up baby book: since I won't need to fill in that much at this point I'm hoping this won't be too tough to have done. And if it's there, hopefully it will be even easier to keep up with.
-Create hospital playlist: you know- music for labor, delivery and beyond

4 Weeks
-Hair cut: nice & short, because who knows when I'll be back for another one! And less hair = less care.
-Install infant car seat base
-Finalize "the plan" for day-of: double check with our on-call folks and make sure we're all on the same page for when it's go-time!
-Print & post babysitting info: essential info for whoever will be staying with Carsen while we're at the hospital (we have 3 couples who have very generously agreed to be on stand-by, and our parents as emergency options/place-holders since they'll probably want to be at the hospital)
-Pack bags: packing early minimizes chances of forgetting something important. Make a "last-minute" list to leave on top of the bag so I don't have to remember that stuff when the time comes either.

3 Weeks

-Laundry: clothes, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, etc.

-Fill dresser & closet

-Set up/clean baby equipment: swing, pack 'n play, toys
-Clean nursery: dust, wipe, vacuum etc. since it has been unused for a while
-Stock changing table

2 Weeks
-Set up bassinet: requires rearranging our room slightly, so its something we'd rather not do too far ahead of time
-Clean house for minimal maintenance: to make sure nothing is in desperate need of cleaning when a babysitter gets here or right after the baby arrives. Sort of a mini "spring cleaning."
-Stock essentials: mainly for the babysitter, but also for when we get home. I'd hate to have a babysitter show up and we're fresh out of milk or toilet paper.

I cut things off at 2 weeks because I'd really love to think that I'll be totally ready at that point, and since you never know when babies are really going to arrive it's good to allow for an early bird. I'd also like to have a little bit of time to relax so I'm not stressing over a to-do list until the last minute before labor. Luckily most of this stuff is pretty easy and I could knock out a whole section in one day if needed. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I'm sure there are a few things that will be added along the way, too. There are probably also some of you who can look at this list and think of half-a-dozen things that are missing. If that is you- speak up.

So that's basically what I'll be doing for the next 10 weeks! I'm hoping to keep the blog updated throughout, but if it gets spotty at least you'll know why :)

13.1 in '13

As you may remember from a few months ago, this summer I was training hard to run a half marathon this fall. Specifically, I was planning to run the half marathon that is part of the Baltimore Running Festival which is taking place next weekend, October 13. My training went extremely well. I really enjoyed it and amazed myself by running distances I never thought I could run, and felt great afterwards. I learned a lot about myself and about training. I learned that pushing beyond your perceived limits truly is mind over matter.

As you may also know, by next Saturday I'll be 16.5 weeks pregnant. When I found out we would be having another baby, and that I would be 16.5 weeks along by the time of the race, I made the decision to postpone my participation until next year. This was a disappointing decision for me since I had worked so hard and made so much progress in my training. At the same time, I knew that if I continued with my training or ran the half and something went wrong with my pregnancy, I would never stop wondering if running had something to do with it. To many people that seems silly. I have read the research 100 times in 100 different articles explaining that if you were a runner before you became pregnant it is usually safe to continue running through your pregnancy. There was even a news story about a mom who ran the full Chicago marathon last October when she was 39 weeks along in her pregnancy and delivered the baby 7 hours later. So yes, it's possible to continue training much harder than I was going to and still have a healthy pregnancy. That is great, but it's something I'm just not comfortable with. In addition to having reservations about running while pregnant, shortly after we found out about the pregnancy, I was practically couch-bound with nausea and exhaustion. I was lucky if I got dressed much less did any necessary household work. Getting changed and on the treadmill for several miles/hours was just completely out of the question. I've been feeling better now for about 3-4 weeks and I probably could have gotten back into my training routine, but like I said, I'm just not super comfortable with it. Things probably would have been fine, but I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if not.

Instead I've decided to take these 40 weeks to let my body focus its efforts on baby-growing. If you've ever been pregnant and had a toddler to take care of full-time, you know that daily life is pretty exhausting. Rather than logging miles, I'm doing more yoga and strength exercises. Maintaining a reasonable fitness level is important to me. I want to stay strong throughout my pregnancy and be able to get back into training as soon as possible after the new baby is born. Since the baby will be born at the end of March, I'm hoping to be back to training by the end of May/early June to give myself plenty of time to build back up to 13.1 for the fall. Of course, I could be kidding myself to think that I'll have all this "nap time" to jump on the treadmill and run for an hour. That will have to be determined at the time, but I'm optimistic :)

Anyone else out there have favorite tips or tricks for staying fit during pregnancy? I have a pin on Pinterest for 40 Weeks of Fit Pregnancy [from FitPregnancy magazine online] which is great for overall pregnancy health if anyone else is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant soon :)

Big Announcement!

I know this is the only reason you came back, so I figured I should put it out there already...

That's right, C is going to be a BIG SISTER in March! We're very excited :) And can I just say, it feels good to finally have it out there. The first trimester was not my friend - very different from my pregnancy with C, so it was difficult not to explain why I was so exhausted, didn't feel well, and never had time or felt up to doing pretty much anything. Luckily as the first trimester wore on things did improve. We're in week 15 now [ending 15, starting 16 on Tuesday] and I wouldn't say I feel 100% but I definitely make it through the day much easier than I did from weeks 7-12. 

So the due date is March 26th, just a month before C turns 3. We originally thought we'd want the next baby to arrive closer to C's 2nd birthday or maybe around 2.5, but when it turned out that he or she would be arriving closer to her 3rd birthday that instantly seemed like perfect timing. We'll have a little more time to let the potty training thing happen without a rush or new baby being born right in the middle of it. She'll be a little older and hopefully more able to understand what's going on. Another perk of her being a little older is that she will hopefully be more interested in helping than in reverting back to being a baby herself. I know that age is no guarantee of that, she will have spent more time getting used to being an only child so that could totally backfire. Only time will tell! 

We get asked a lot if C knows and/or if she's excited. We have told her that we're going to get a baby at our house like her tiny, brand-new cousin Sami-Anne. She loves Sami-Anne [8 weeks old], so hopefully she'll feel the same way about a baby living at our house! She will tell people that we're getting a new baby at our house, but I'm sure she is wondering exactly when this is going to happen since we've been talking about it for several weeks now, which is like 6 years in toddler-time, and there's still no baby anywhere. We didn't explain that the baby is in mommy's belly mostly because I think that can be extra weird for kids when they don't understand the whole "where babies come from" thing. Maybe we'll talk about it as the belly gets bigger or when she can feel the baby kicking from the outside, but for now I think it's enough to discuss the fact that there's going to be a new baby. 

Boy or girl? We're finding out on October 31st! Funny that's it's Halloween, I know, but the office only had Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday that week and I am not one to wait. I was honestly hoping to find out the week before that since J's sister's wedding is on the 27th and the whole family [mostly] will be in town. C'est la vie. As for our prediction? We're seriously thinking BOY. Not for any valid reasons, just that this pregnancy has felt totally different than the last one and the baby has been somewhat uncooperative when we had our very first ultrasound and my first regular check up when the midwife tried to listen to the heartbeat. Both appointments when fine, by the way, and everything looked and sounded perfect, but it took a little wiggling to get a good reading both times. With C, she was perfectly cooperative all the time. Her birth was even unusually smooth. She was "sunny side up" [face up] and that usually makes for a very long birth but she was born in 20 minutes/4 pushes. Additionally, girls are super rare in J's family. In fact, C was the first girl born in his family in 21 years. If we were to have a second girl, they would be the first sisters in his family in two generations! [J's grandmother has a sister, but I'm not sure about his grandfather having any/more than one] The two babies of C's generation born after her were both boys, and there is another boy due in December. Of course, this has no scientific bearing on whether or not we would have another girl but I'm just saying it would be totally out-of-pattern for his family. I have also had three separate dreams that the baby is a boy. In one of them we saw it on an ultrasound, and in the other two the baby was born. When I was pregnant with C and I tried to picture myself as a parent, no matter how much I tried my mind always pictured me with a little girl [about C's age now] who looked exactly like I did when I was little. Call it what you want, but that's precisely what I got! My #1 reason for thinking it would be a girl is that we have absolutely zero ideas for a girl's name. It would figure. Thankfully, we'll know in a few weeks and I can stop racking my brain for girl names if the baby is a boy. 

I took one photo of myself last week when we started the 2nd trimester because I was shocked at how much of a bump I have already. It definitely showed up much faster than the first pregnancy. 

[14 Weeks]