Waiting...

So this baby was due on June 6th. We are still waiting for the grand entrance, and I am beginning to get a little overly focused on it I think. Every old wives tale about how to get labor started is being put to the test around here. We even had tomato-basil ravioli with basil sauce and a salad with oregano balsamic dressing tonight! So maybe we will all go into labor.

Of course I didn't help that on Tuesday my midwives started talking induction with me - that completely stressed me out and made me feel so pressured to get things rolling. I feel like everything has gone by the wayside except for getting this baby to come out. I am a big proponent of letting the baby cook as long as it needs to, so this is new territory for me. I've been trying to stay busy so I don't think too much about it, but it is easier said than done!

The plan for now is to continue to do all the things we are doing, do the non-stress test on Saturday - the ultrasound, fetal heart monitor and all - and then I've got an appointment for acupuncture on Monday morning. So hopefully we can get the ball rolling before the 18th, which is when the induction is scheduled for. At this point, since I'm fine and the baby is fine, I suspect I wouldn't come for the induction anyway...

Who would blame these kids? I guess it is warm and cozy in there!

The Devil is in the Details

We have been working hard to get some of the little things done around here and I thought I'd show you some of the most recent work.







We finally got the ceiling and soffits drywalled and finished in the gym (we just hired someone when we recognized it wasn't going to happen any other way!). Then, we moved some shelves over from the other side of the room and made a little media center there. Looks pretty good!








We also put new closet doors in the downstairs hallway and finally finished the doorways - thresholds, molding and all! Honey did an awesome job cutting the quarter round and molding. At least I feel like we won't be worried about a baby crawling over and unfinished floor!

Baby COME OUT!

Now I know that most pregnancies last more than 40 weeks. And I know with Peanut, we went to almost 42. So I have been preparing myself to go late this whole time. I've been telling people who ask that I am due in "mid-June" rather than saying the due date. But now, I have only one regular client left at work since I've done such a good job transitioning and preparing. (Go me!) Both of my side jobs are completed. I am starting too go a little stir crazy as it has been raining for days so I am cooped up thinking about when this baby will show itself. My due date is tomorrow, and so far, we've got nothing. I know I shouldn't expect anything, but I still have some part of me that thinks there is some magical knowledge about that day and I will wake up tomorrow with big pressure waves and know that it is the day.

Everyone we see asks Peanut if she is ready to be a big sister and when she thinks the baby will come. She says "June!" very brightly, but I can get her to pin down a day :( so she is not helping with the prediction. I have been doing all the right things (aside from not thinking about it of course) to help make this baby come, but to no avail as of yet. I am feeling a little impatient, and am wondering if there is something I need to do before I can relax and let the little one come. We just got our new insurance cards today - maybe that was it? We ordered a new charger for our video camera - it won't be here for a few days. Is that the hold up? I still need to get some outlets changed out and put some wall plates and safety covers on - maybe that's it.

I think I need to make lots of plans for the next two weeks and stay really busy so I don't make myself completely insane with waiting!!!

Just like gorillas

Now that we have this huge yard, we have a whole new set of issues that we really didn't anticipate. Of course we have deer that meander through and eat everything. OK, so we have a fence around the garden and we'll see if it works. We have birds and squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits, tent caterpillars, ladybugs, wild strawberries, weeds, mushrooms...all of these things we expected and accepted. Somewhere along the line we forgot about ticks. Yes, our yard is teeming with ticks. I'm not even sure when tick season is but whenever it started we knew immediately. We had to pluck a few ticks of Peanut within a week, I've had a few, honey has had a few and of course the dog has some riders.

Now I know which ticks are which and how long they need to sit and eat before I get nervous, but honestly, the whole thing is just gross. We spray ourselves and the dog before we go outside to play and do a tick check before we come in. Today Honey caught one traveling on Peanut's arm after we came inside. Got it before it bit her so that was nice. The other night, Honey came to me with the tweezers and pulled his shirt up so I could get one off of him. Then I did a quick check and found one I'd missed before as well, so he pulled it off me. We are starting to feel a little like the gorillas you see on nature videos picking nits off each other! Try to do a tick check when you are 9 months pregnant - it is a little hard to see your whole bod. Now, Honey has to check all the parts I can't see to make sure I am not missing any. Thank goodness, because we found another I would have totally missed the other day.

I have been trying to talk up the idea of getting some chickens so we can have fresh eggs. I recently discovered that chickens eat ticks, so now that is my strategy for pushing the idea of a chicken coop. Plus I think it would be pretty funny to have chickens right at the edge of the golf course. We could train them to be quiet until someone started to swing...

Mommy Stress

Peanut has started taking a little music class, and we have gone to three classes so far. The kids are 1-5 years old so there is a big spread of age and ability, and the class is pretty short (30 minutes). The teacher does lots of different things with singing, instruments, movement, drama and it all seems fun for the kids. Now I know my Peanut, and she takes a bit to get warmed up to things like this. We have taken one other class before - sort of an open gym - and by the last few classes she was really getting into it. Now we are three classes into this thing and my little one is the only one who runs circles around the room and around me while the other kids are all sitting and mostly following along! She does come back when there is something she is interested in, but mainly, she runs. There's a part of me (OK, the part with the masters degree in child development) that knows not to expect a two year old to sit quietly and follow directions, but there's another part of me (the mommy me) that knows the other moms are watching me and thinking "why doesn't she pull her kid back in?". I think since I am hugely pregnant I am being cut some slack here, but I do feel like I am supposed to be reining her in more. But she is a wild woman and I like that about Peanut!

I had no idea how much stress can occur about what other mommies think of my parenting and my kid! Learning for us is happening all the time and the best way to learn is by fostering what a child likes to do and being there to support her in her exploration. Sometimes though, I do feel like there is a little structure missing from our learning that other families seem to have tied up nicely. Oh well, she's a sweet, loving, curious, impish, two year old - what are you gonna do?

Since I Needed Something Else to Do...

I decided to scrapbook Peanut's birth. I figured that instead of having random papers and pictures and footprints in a box (mixed in with our wedding mementos) I would get them into a book before the new baby arrives. So, I needed a book, some paper, a little glue, and some markers. All non toxic/non acidic or whatever so the photos don't get ruined. This seems simple enough, but of course, it is not. I arrive at the store list in hand and realize I need all kinds of stuff to do this "right". I need stickers, a paper trimmer, adhesives, etc. And a new addiction is born.

I've done some scrap booking before, when it first became "the thing" to do and when I realized I was not using my 1700 kinds of scissors or my foam die cuts or my papers or whatnot, I gave it all away on freecycle. Now I want it all back, but I'm sure my old stuff is no longer appropriate in the new scrap booking world, so maybe it is just as well that I had to spend $150 to set up a book for my daughter 2 years after she was born. I have to admit, that it is turning out beautifully and I am thoroughly enjoying reliving the whole thing. Our doulas had written her birth story and taken pictures throughout labor and delivery (don't worry - we have edited which photos are in the album significantly!) and it is so nice to see it all together.

Meanwhile, of course, there are a million other things that I really need to do. Like yesterday I moved the car seats around so I could install the base for the infant seat. The cover is still drying (had to wash it from being in the shed) and I hope to get it on and the seat installed before little one's arrival. The funny part of that is seeing Peanut facing forward for the first time today in the car. I had no idea what she was doing back there - she is usually pretty quiet and reading her books, but has lately begun to ask for "mimit" (this means "music"). So today, she asks for music and then as she listens, has this thoughtful concentrating expression before she either says "this" and then begins bobbing her head to the tune or scowls and says "more mimit" since she doesn't like this song and wants another. The dancing head is what got me - she is really jamming out back there! It is so funny to see.

Turkey Time

For whatever reason, the expectation is that when you are pregnant you are thoroughly uncomfortable. This is so true in our culture, that I think women try to have more symptoms and make them more significant than they really might be. I have also noticed lots of people deciding that since "full term" is 37 weeks, that they could "pop at any time" after that, and then start to get really antsy when they are STILL PREGNANT. This is ridiculous, since "full term" just means that the baby will likely be fine and no longer a preemie if they are born then. Most pregnancies go past 40 weeks if left to their own doings. My "guess date" is in the beginning of June, but since Peanut was born well after her guess date I am prepared for mid June to be it. I'm happy to wait it out until this baby is ready to go - I do have to say that I feel a little like a turkey with my belly button popped out like the Butterball timer.

So far, I have felt "appropriately pregnant" this whole time, and while I have the usual aches and pains and such, I have focused on the positives. For example, as my hips have slowly stretched apart and loosened to the point of sometimes not being able to walk immediately upon awakening, I have told myself "my hips will be so relaxed and loose that this baby will just fly right out!". When I've got raging reflux, I think "thank goodness the baby is pushing up high and not yet down low making me take pit stops every 15 minutes". Well, today is the day I will take advantage of my right as a pregnant American woman to fully complain about how achy this all is.

I don't understand this "nesting" thing. How can people have a burst of energy and do all these crazy things and not feel like they are going to drop dead? I did a little painting yesterday and some gardening, and today I did some more gardening and felt like I would fall into the mud. I have projects I want to do, but I am sitting on the couch watching the Duggars. Last night I woke up several times to change positions (this is not new - sleep is short and very interrupted) and every time had something click. pop. contract, kick, or just generally ache. I slept on my hands and knees for a while which seems the best spot. Why there has not been a pregnant sleeping sling invented I'll never know. Seems like a good idea with an endless supply of consumers.

And what about the stretching? Oh my - my belly feels tight and hard and stretched to the max even though I know I was bigger last time. My ankles are swollen, my lower back aches, my calves are so tight, and my veins are bulging. Shorts are a necessity in this hot weather, but I just feel badly for those around me at times for having to look at my possibly half shaven legs - I can't see the whole darn things! Who knows how close I got to getting them clean shaved?! And know that the waddle is thoroughly integrated into the gait pattern, I just feel larger than life - like I am taking up an immense amount of space.

You know what? I like being pregnant. I am so excited to be able to carry a baby and create a life. It is all worth it. So that is my complaining, and now I am done. One week or four more - I'm in for the duration. I am so grateful that my body works this way and makes a sibling for Peanut possible. Even if I do feel a little like a turkey.