Never. Before.

This evening, we got home from Bible study around 11 p.m. Normally, we get down there around 7:30 p.m., put Lily right to bed in the pack'n'play, and then wake her up around 10 when we leave for the 40 minute car ride home.

Tonight, I don't think she ever went to sleep. She cried about every 20 minutes, so we took turns going in there, putting her pacifier and blanket back in the pack'n'play (she threw them out each time), and laying her back down. 20 minutes later, lather rinse repeat. When she cried around 9:30, when everything was over, I could tell from her eyes (and her hair) that she had not gone to sleep yet. So we just took her out and let her play until we left.

Halfway home, she finally fell asleep. We pulled into the driveway, shut off the car, opened the doors. Nothing - still sleeping. Ryan went to her door, started unbuckling her and taking her arms out of the straps - still sleeping. By now, I'm amazed. Usually the minute we stop or at the least try to unstrap her, her eyes pop open and she's wide awake. So I keep watching - mouth wide open - as he takes her out and settles her against him to carry her inside. She's STILL SLEEPING.

I can't remember any other time in her life where she has not woken up after being transfered out of a car seat and carried somewhere. Before she was 1, we MIGHT have been able to carry her infant seat up to her room and get her into her crib quick enough that she'd go right back to sleep. But definitely nothing has come close to that since she's been forward facing and taking a much longer trip from car to crib in our arms.

Ryan came downstairs after putting her in her crib, and told me she stirred a tiny bit when he laid her down, but then she settled right in and kept right on sleeping. I still don't believe it. Maybe some people's kids transfer this way, but ours never has. Can I hope this is a sign of things to come? That the "soundly sleeping" toddler years will indeed hit our light sleeper?

I guess anything's possible...

How I'm Feeling - 38 Weeks

Met with Allison today. Weighed 167, so a total of 27 pounds gained and a pound/week since 35 weeks. More than the 25 total I would have liked, but oh well. It's so hard here at the end, where I feel like I'm done and can indulge...plus, I'm craving junk and sweets and just FOOD like nobody's business.

Blood pressure was OK and baby's heartbeat was great. Talked a lot about labor. Forgot to bring my birth plan with me. Again. Not that it matters so much for Allison and Tina as it does for the hospital nurses, once we get there, but I'd still like them to have it.

Here's a shot of me today, with 1.5 weeks left until my due date.



Two words come to mind: POINTY BELLY.

Alphabet Soup

My mom surprised me today by telling me we were going to Babies'R'Us to purchase the crib bedding I had registered for, for crib/baby #2. I was so excited! It was a combined gift from my parents, my grandparents, and two sets of aunts/uncles. If you ever read this, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Although the hand-me-down crib still needs a good scrub - especially between the spindles - we were antsy to try out the bedding when we got home to see how it all looked. The bedding will need to be washed before new baby can use it, anyway, so we weren't too worried. And Lily will enjoy romping around in there, trying it out, after she wakes up from her nap (funny how dust and pre-washing only seems to matter with a newborn).



Isn't it beautiful??



I bought the plate for the light switch myself while we were there ;)

Early Intervention

So Lily's "vocabulary" has increased to include barking like a dog and meowing like a cat. The barking is adorable, as she bounces her whole body with each "roof". And when we ask her to say "Dadda", she says "Babba" which is pretty darn close. She still repeats, "Mama" consistently.



Here she is on vacation last month, signing "Eat."

Everything else we ask her to say comes out, "Babba!" with much pride and gusto, because she figured out that saying "Babba!" when trying to say "Dadda" garnered much applause, so now that's her standard response to, "Lily, can you say shoes?" - "Babba!" "Can you say fish?" - pause - "Babba!" With a big, accomplished smile on her face. At least she's consistent.



Here she is, after I asked her to show me her tongue (looks similar to "eat", I know).



In the midst of asking to be helped out the box.

So I filled out the Early Intervention paperwork this morning, and they'll be scheduling an appt to come to our house and evaluate Lily sometime soon. I like that they do it in your own house where your child is more comfortable and more likely to be acting naturally. Here, she can play with her toys and babble and do all of her tricks.

My favorite trick...? "Lily, bring Mama her shoes. She's too pregnant to get up and get them herself." Haha! What do those Early Intervention people know, anyway?

Giggles

Lily is in her crib "napping" aka giggling and singing at the moment. I'm not sure what's struck her fancy - perhaps one of the many books or stuffed animals in there - but I'm just happy she's happy. Her funny, high-pitched giggle-squeals always seemed concocted for our amusement, but if she does them with no one else around, they must be real, right?

Any minute now, she's going to throw her pacifier and blanket over the side and fake cry until I come put them back in for her. What a silly girl - why do babies do this kind of stuff?



The real question is: Why do I keep falling for it?? I'm such a sucker.

Sewing / Quilting Room Inspiration

So I recently mentioned I got a sewing machine and was attempting to begin a Boppy slipcover of my very own? Well, look at this beautiful sewing/ quilting room I came across online. It makes me want to ORGANIZE! And sort by color!

And, you know, sew.

Of course, we don't have an entire extra room to dedicate to crafty projects or supply storage, but a girl can dream...

How I'm Feeling - 35 Weeks

My appt with Tina went fine this week. My belly is measuring normal (or so I assume - she didn't mention anything), the heartbeat was great (the baby had hiccups, so the doppler kept jumping off my stomach - so cute), and the baby's position was typical for 35 weeks (head down, butt on my right side, legs on my left).

I've been having trouble sleeping lately. Not sure why. Either I'm too hot, too full, too hungry (go figure), or just I don't know what. I hope this stops soon...I need to stock up on rest before this new baby comes!

Weight update: 164. So I gained three pounds in the last two weeks. Technically, the scale said 163, so I'm not sure why she recorded 164, but I'll go with it. So that's a total of 24 pounds gained with 5 weeks (really four, as of tomorrow) left to go.

It's funny how good I've felt about my weight gain during this whole pregnancy - feeling like I was doing so much better than last time - when in reality, I'm pretty much neck-in-neck with what I gained last time (though I'm starting 7 pounds higher). WHAT?! That means I gained a heckuva lot of weight at the end. NOT AGAIN!!!

Another Baby, Another Crib

We picked up this crib from local Freecyclers who no longer needed it. It is in great shape (minus some scratches, dings, and baby chew marks throughout), we love the design and color, it converts to a toddler bed (Lily's crib does not - though that means the front rail of this crib does not drop for easy access...bummer), and it came missing some hardware that cost us less than $20 to order from the manufacturer (Kolcraft). Not too shabby for a beautiful crib that was otherwise free! Looking forward to getting a crib mattress and bedding for it, so we can - you know - actually put a real live baby in it.

Or most likely a little Lily will be trying it out first ;)

We had to remove one desk from the red room and both make some concessions as far as what we were willing to part with (it's difficult having one PC user and one Mac user sharing an office, let alone a desk - haha) to get the crib to fit, and to also make room for another changing table dresser (which we have yet to procure).



This is the current arrangement. Works for now. The idea is, the new baby will sleep in here, with all changing and middle-of-the-night items in the dresser, while all other baby-related stuff will stay in Lily's room. That way, this room will remain our office/guest room...at least for now. We'll see how long that lasts.

Lily's New Digs

I wouldn't be surprised if she starts asking to sleep outside in her new house sometime soon. We haven't shown her how to use the slide yet, because that's just too much work. She can keep trying to climb up it for a while.



She gets so happy every time she looks out the window!





I love this picture:



So happy.

Thanks to Freecycle (again) for this loot. Now my desire for the $299 log cabin at Costco may subside. Free is much better.

Birth Plan

Last night, I edited our old birth plan for baby #2. I plan on bringing a copy with me to my 35-week OB visit next week, so they have one on file. Not that they really need one, since they would automatically do everything on it even if I didn't tell them to. I will bring another two copies with me to the hospital when I'm in labor.

I've decided to post a sample birth plan online, should anyone out there in Internet-land have the desire to create one themselves and not know where to get started. Feel free to use this as a jumping-off point for your own plan, personalizing the purple text as you go. Don't worry - our plan was originally created from copies of other plans we had seen, as well.

* NOTE: This particular plan centers around a natural birth with Bradley training, so if that's not something that's important to you, this is probably not the best plan for you to start from. I know this sounds obvious, but please be sure you completely understand and agree with your final birth plan before submitting it to your birth team. If you have any questions, discuss them with your doctor or midwife beforehand. *

SAMPLE BIRTH PLAN:

SMITH BIRTH PLAN
Month, Year

To: Obstetrical Nursing Staff at Hospital Name
From: Couple's Full Name
Due Date: Month, Day, Year

We are very excited to be delivering our baby at Hospital Name with Midwife or Doctor's Name. We feel our Bradley classes have prepared us for a healthy, natural childbirth. We understand that complications may arise, and ask that we be consulted and informed before administering any medications or performing any procedures.

We are excited to have you on board with our labory and delivery preferences, as outlined below.

For First Stage Labor, we would like:
- Father's 1st Name (father) [add "and midwife" if applicable] to be present at all times
- To labor naturally - please do not offer pain medication or oxytocin
- Freedom to walk or move around as much as possible during labor
- Only intermittent external fetal monitoring when necessary
- Minimal use of ultrasound monitoring and no internal fetal monitoring
- Freedom to return home if less than 5cm dilated
- Freedom to use shower prior to membrane rupture
- Limited vaginal exams to avoid possibility of infection or premature rupture of membranes

For Second Stage Labor, we would like:
- Freedom of position at all times
- To avoid an episiotomy and would greatly appreciate natural measures to help stretch perineum (warm compresses, massage, etc.) - if an episiotomy is absolutely required, please perform a pressure episiotomy
- No time limit on pushing, so long as baby and mother are doing fine
- Baby given to mother immediately after birth, to breastfeed as soon as possible
- The option for Father's 1st Name (father) to cut the cord, once pulsing has stopped
- Baby to warm on mother's chest with blankets, should warming be required
- Local anasthesia should stitching of perineum be required

For After Birth, we would like:
- All routine newborn exams/procedures delayed to allow for family bonding
- All physical exams/procedures done in mother's room - when not possible, Father's 1st Name (father) should be present with baby at all times
- Proper breastfeeding assistance - and please DO NOT give formula to baby

In Case of Ceserean, we would like:
- Father's 1st Name (father) allowed in operating room at ALL times
- Mother's 1st Name (mother) to be awake during surgery
- Mother's 1st Name (mother) to only have one hand tied down during surgery
- Proper breastfeeding assistance as soon as possible after surgery - and please DO NOT give formula to baby

Please feel free to ask us any questions. Thank you in advance for your support - we are looking forward to sharing our baby's Birth-day with you!

Sincerely,
Couple's Full Name