Food and the pregnant woman

I have gone through many phases in my eating habits during my pregnancies. There was a time when I was pregnant with Natalie that all I wanted was fried chicken. When I was carrying Vanessa all I wanted was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a while. Not long ago all I wanted, or could keep down for that matter, was frozen waffles (toasted and covered with syrup of course...and I am not even a big fan of syrup under normal circumstances). So why would it surprise me that I just got done eating an entire can of pineapple chunks while standing at the kitchen counter? My kids just looked at me while I shoveled in the yellow squares, only pausing to take a swig or two of Coke. And I am not proud of this, but I only asked if they wanted some after the can was gone (don't worry, they had just finished their afternoon snack of crackers, cheese, and mandarin oranges..it's not like I was starving them!). The sad part, I could eat some more!

OK, I can finally talk about this....

Last Thursday was Vanessa's 18-month doctor's appointment. We were all hoping for at least a little weight gain. She was 18 pounds 5 ounces at her year appointment and on Thursday she weighed 18 pounds 6 ounces....with a wet diaper. The deal was we wouldn't worry about her growth until this point. Since she hadn't gained or grown any we were off to the lab for full blood work. It was awful! Vanessa hates the doctor doing ANYTHING...let alone taking blood from her tiny little veins. She cried and buried her face into my chest. I wanted to cry too, but I knew that would just make things that much worse. We were told the results would be in by Friday. I called Friday, no results. I called Monday, no results. I called today, no results!! I was getting a little pissed. Finally a few minutes ago the nurse called and the results had finally arrived. Her exact words were that they were "obscenely boring lab results". THANK GOD!!!! There is nothing wrong with my baby (well, that's debatable, but nothing medically at least)! She is teeny tiny, but very healthy. Sounds good to me.
On the pregnancy front...I still am. I am slowly dilating and she is still very low, but other than that there is no progress. Even though I am not even to my due date I feel like I'm going to be pregnant FOREVER! The doctor wants to strip my membranes next Tuesday to see if that spurs anything on. Fun fun. Come on out Allison! We are all incredibly anxious to meet you (especially your Mama and your biggest sister)!

A very cold first field trip

I really didn't think we would get to go. It was cold and had been raining. But on Wednesday we bundled up and went on Natalie's first ever field trip to the pumpkin patch. The plan was to leave Vanessa home with Daddy, but he had to be to work early for an auction so she came with us too. It was SO cold. We all had on coats and hoods, but I hadn't brought gloves (bad Mommy) so our hands were like ice. We had a good time, got our shoes and pants muddy, picked our pumpkins, and Natalie got to do the various activities they offered. We didn't stay too long, but it was long enough...for all of us! Here are some pictures from the day!

Ouch. Now? Nope.

I am at that point in pregnancy where every little twitch and every little pain makes me think, "Maybe this is it!". Although it never is. At least it wasn't with my first two pregnancies, which both ended in inductions and threats that if BabyGirl didn't come out of my body right that second they would be grounded until they were at least eighteen.
I was fully expecting this mornings doctor's appointment to be a routine, "nothing's changed" kind of experience. Well, stuff has changed! I am dilated to a little over a two (not surprising considering this is my THIRD baby) and the baby has dropped VERY low (a surprise to all of us. Most women who have had babies before don't drop until labor is imminent). She hasn't been moving regularly lately so I was put on the monitor for a while. She took the opportunity to prove Mommy wrong and move and wiggle for the doctor. So everything is alright on that front. My blood pressure is holding steady and things are going well. Now we are just waiting. And waiting. I swear, the last month of pregnancy is both the longest and shortest period of time a woman will ever go through. Right now it seems like it might never end, but I have enough experience to know that in a few short weeks it will seem like it flew by.
Other than that we are in the midst of our busy week. Natalie has her craft class today at 2:30 then we will go try to squeeze in my work for the day and then it is out for dinner at El Mexico!Natalie is excited about her chance to indulge in her new found love of chips and salsa. Giant, messy, smothered pork and bean burrito here I come..even though I will pay for it later (thank God for tums)!

It's been awhile!

I don't even have three kids yet and it already seems like life is busier than ever! We are always on the go, or if we are home we are doing something around here that keeps me off the Internet. I haven't had anything really great to say, but I would have liked to blog more than once last week. Anyway...

We are all doing pretty good. We still need to get Larry over the crud we all have had for the past two or three weeks. The girls and I all got on antibiotics and are on the road to being healthy again. I am having a couple contractions a day, some pretty strong. I have never had a baby early (or on time for that matter) so I doubt it will happen this time. I will admit there is more happening earlier with this girl then the others. I have an appointment tomorrow morning and we will see if anything is changing with all these contractions! I sure hope so. I am so uncomfortable...as all you women who have been through this know, the ninth month is not very fun!

This week is proving to be just as busy as last. Today will be pretty slow once we pick Nat up from school. We may go to the library or some other quiet, relatively quick outing. Tomorrow is my doctor appointment, Natalie's craft class (we missed the first one last week...bad Mama!), and Girls Night Out dinner at El Mexico! Wednesday is Natalie's rescheduled field trip to the Pumpkin Patch, although it is supposed to be about 50 degrees and raining, so we will see if that actually happens. Thursday the girls have doctor's appointments for Vanessa's 18-month checkup and flu shots. That should be fun! This weekend is so full of stuff. The church is having a chili cook off and trick or treat celebration and the zoo is having their Halloween party. We have got to figure out when we are going to what. I love this time of year!!!!! It is so full of fun activities. One of the most wonderful things about having kids is getting to relive all those fun things that kids get to do!

I have lots more to say, but as usual, I have an adorable 18-month-old climbing up my legs wanting to play...so I think I will go have some time with her. I promise (ok, ok, I will TRY) to post a lot more this week than last!

It's All Relative

Recently I was talking to a girlfriend I hadn't talked to in a while. She innocently asked how I had been feeling.

Me: Actually, I've been feeling pretty good lately.
Her: You're not throwing up anymore?
Me: Well...yeah, I still throw up. But it is usually only once a day.
Her: And the other days?
Me: Two, three, maybe four times at the most.
Her: I didn't throw up four times throughout my whole pregnancy.
Me: You are SO lucky!
Her: Yeah, but I had some hellacious heartburn for a while.
Me: I have been having some heartburn too, but not too bad.
Her: I had it like four or five times a week.
Me: I have some every night but as long as I take a couple tums and then lay perfectly still for a while it's not too bad.
Her: Every night?
Me: Yes. But like I said, it's not that bad. What is bothering me right now is the sciatica.
Her: The what?
Me: You know. When all that baby weight sits on your nerve and you have those sharp pains that shoot down from your hips to your toes. Especially when you are carrying an 18-month-old around.
Her: I never had those.
Me: Oh. Well, they suck.
Her: Sounds like it.
Me: *Sneeze, cough, cough, cough* Sorry, we are all trying to get over never ending colds here in our house.
Her: Wow. Loni, your idea of feeling pretty good is incredibly warped.
Me: Yeah, I was kind of getting that impression too.

Writer's Workshop Thursday

Writer's Workshop Thursday

hosted by Mama's Losin' It

MY TEN BIGGEST FEARS

1. ANYTHING happening to my kids. I cannot even contemplate the horror of something bad happening to my babies. I don't even like to talk about it.

2. An intruder in my home. I actually lay in bed at night and plot my strategy if this were to happen. My husband is a very heavy sleeper and I have often been scared that I wouldn't be able to wake him up. This is why I keep a little glass of water on our dresser, just in case I need to throw it on his face to get him up!

3. Elevators. Oh, how I hate elevators. If there are stairs or an escalator I will take them if at all possible. I hate going somewhere with multiple floors while pushing a stroller. I have to take the elevator then, and if I were prone to hyperventilating, I am sure that is when I would do it. This leads me to my next fear...

4. Being buried alive. Small, confined spaces freak me out. This would be the ultimate small, confined space. I don't even like to watch movies where this happens.

5. Dying without being able to tell someone exactly how to raise the girls. This is my control freak coming out. I am always telling Larry or my Mom things that they should know if I wasn't around anymore. Things like you have to give Vanessa snacks in groups of two because she likes one in both hands. Or that when Natalie wakes up crying from a nightmare you can try to comfort her, but really she just wants you there laying beside her while she cries it out for a while. Yeah, I even have those "open in case of my death" letters that contain more instructions. Control. Freak.

6. Change. I have always feared change. Growing up was so hard for me because there was constant change. You can imagine how I reacted when I got my first period! And then on the other hand....

7. Staying the same. Yes, I know this is hypocritical. But as much as I fear a lot of change, I also fear not ever moving forward in my life. It would be horrible to find myself in the same ruts in twenty years.

8. Dirt roads. I grew up on a dirt road. A lot of my friends lived on dirt roads. And I rolled my first truck at the age of 15 on a dirt road. I was young and stupid. I was going too fast and got over into the loose gravel on the side, lost control and over I went. When I "woke up" running down the road covered in blood it was the most scared I have ever been in my life. Luckily I was ok, just a few cuts and bruises, but the mental scars stay with me to this day. I am ok when I am driving because I feel like I can be in control. When someone else is driving I freak out. I grab the arm rest and hold on for dear life.

9. Failing. I want to succeed. I am not sure yet how I am going to gauge my success in the end, but I know I want to get there. I know I want to be a good mom and raise good daughters. I know I want a career that I like, am good at, and can provide a good life for my family. I know that I want to get past my hangups and overcome my more negative points.

10. Being alone. I am so dependant on the support system that has built itself around me. I have my husband, my kids, my parents, my in-laws, my extended family, and, of course, my friends. I couldn't get through a minute, let alone a lifetime, without them.

So, there you have 'em! Your turn!!

33...nope...34 weeks!

I had a much better doctor appointment on Monday (if you remember my post about my last appointment you will know that it HAD to be better than that!). Everything was looking good...no urinary tract infections, normal blood pressure, ever growing abdomen...but I did mention that I had had quite a few minor contractions.

***Quick cute story*** We went to Wal Mart on Sunday and while walking through the store I had a contraction. I stopped, grabbed the cart, and gave an involuntary "Oh!". Natalie looked at me with great concern and said, "What Mom? Did you see a neat toy?"

Anyway, when I mentioned the contractions the doctor decided to do a quick exam to make sure they weren't doing anything. It turns out I am already dilating, and my cervix is thinning. With that info, the fact that I have consistently measured bigger than my 11-21 due date would suggest, and my insistence that I conceived very, very early in my cycle we moved the due date to the 14th of November. She even thinks we should go ahead and plan on that date to have the baby if she doesn't make an appearance before then. I go back in two weeks to get checked again and we will be able to make a better decision then. Let me tell you, I am not mad about this due date getting closer rather than farther away. I am ready to not be pregnant! Maybe not so ready to have another actual human being living in the house, but definitely ready to not be pregnant!
Another little tidbit from this appointment..I have been coughing so hard since I caught this horrible cold. I asked in half seriousness if anyone had ever coughed so hard they put themselves in to labor. I really thought she would laugh at me and say no. But, to my surprise, she said she had actually had a patient that had coughed so hard she broke her own water! She said that she was farther along and more "ready" for her water to break anyway so not to worry about it. Now every time I cough I think I am going to have to catch a newborn! Now THAT would be a story!

Tanganikya Wildlife Park

Even though, technically, I am still sick with whatever Natalie brought home from school we all felt well enough this weekend to have a little family fun. On Saturday we went out for a yummy lunch and then drove out to Goddard to go to the new Tanganikya Wildlife Park. It was fun (but expensive...at least for us people without a lot of extra money floating around). It was a windy day and we were told by more than one zookeeper that all the animals were exceptionally lazy for some reason, so maybe we didn't pick the very best day to be there! But Natalie had a great time feeding the lemur and the birds and both girls enjoyed watching the rest of the animals going about their day. There is still a lot of construction going on and I am anxious and curious to see what it will be like when they are done. Maybe then it won't seem so expensive! So....here are some pics from the day:
That's all for now, although I have a lot more to post on (Halloween decorating, a change in my due date, more cute pics of my kids...).

Things I Don't Want to Forget

I don't want to forget the times that all Natalie wants to do is lay with me and "snuggle bug" until we absolutely have to get up and get on with the day.

I don't want to forget Vanessa's desperate need to be in the bathroom whenever anyone goes so she can wave goodbye when the toilet is flushed.

I don't want to forget how Natalie called her little sister Sniffer for months until it suddenly changed over to Squeaker.

I also don't want to forget how Natalie uses Vanessa's nicknames in songs (ie: Twinkle Twinkle Little Squeak).

I don't want to forget the few times that Natalie has gotten in the van after Pre-K and been so excited to tell me something that had happened during the day. I love the excited look on her face as she goes through the events she had so much fun with.

I don't want to forget that yesterday when I picked Natalie up her teacher's aide Miss Shannon said, "This kid just cracks me up! She makes my day!" and how proud I felt and how happy I was that there was someone else that understands my baby's quirks (and appreciates them).

I don't want to forget how hard bedtime is in this house, because there will come a time when they are past Mama putting them to bed and then I will most likely be very sad.

I don't want to forget the way Vanessa hugs us. She full on sprints to us and wraps her tiny arms around our legs. Heaven...pure heaven.

I don't want to forget how we all wave at Daddy as he drives off for work and he waves back and "hornks" his horn for us.

I don't want to forget the way we also have to be at the door waiting for him when he pulls in at the end of the day.

I don't want to forget the note Natalie wrote to us and then read aloud last night. It was full of the reasons why she loved us and how much fun we have together. It was SO sweet.

I don't want to forget the way my girls look first thing in the morning with heavy eyelids, messy hair, and those "happy-to-see-me" grins.

I don't want to forget what it was like to be a first time mommy, and then a second time mommy, and the time getting ready to be a third time mommy. It has been so different every time.

I don't want to forget the bond my girls have at this point. The way they want to protect each other all the time (especially when the other is getting into trouble). They fight and then they turn around and hug each other until they fall over.

I don't want to forget anything.