D-Day

Today is my due date. I'm 40 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby boy that may - or may not - weigh 11 lbs.

This has been some week. It started out with the stomach flu on Sunday night and contractions that made me pray I wouldn't go into labor under these circumstances. Thankfully Thor stayed in and I was feeling fully recovered by Tuesday when I painted our office with the thought that maybe we could make this the nursery. Then on Thursday I got rear ended driving to buy a baby album which resulted in my being completely hysterical after the accident, getting my blood pressure taken by an extraordinarily handsome fireman, minor damage to my car (the other guy's car was totaled), and a full fetal diagnostic at my doctor's office and then the hospital. Baby and Mommy are both doing fine and the nurse gave me some of that post-partum fruit juice nectar with the crushed ice that I remember so fondly.

While getting Thor checked out, I learned from the ultrasound that he is measuring 10 lbs 12 oz already. My doctor strongly recommended that we schedule a c-section to avoid any possible risk of shoulder dystocia associated with delivering a big baby which could result in paralysis of his arm. Tuesday is the Big Day. This was a tough decision as people have big babies all the time that pop out healthy and the ultrasounds notoriously overestimate the size, but this is a decision between my doctor and myself in the interest of bringing my healthy baby boy into the world. I don't much care for risk. After much worrying and deliberation, I found the many stories and words of encouragement from other c-section mamas to put my heart and mind at ease.  Now, what I'm most anxious about is no longer the surgery or the recovery but being away from my two little girls for 4 nights. Cap's dad is taking on the monumental and saintly task of watching both girls while I'm in the hospital before my Mom comes on Friday night and I get released on Saturday.

Unless I go into labor before, we'll be celebrating the birth of our baby boy on July 26. Til Tuesday . . .

Pre-Baby Maternity Leave

With Addie I worked past my due date. With Eliza I took a week off and then she came 6 days late. With this guy, I promised myself I would try to take more time to relax and get ready. With two wild little girls I need this. Of course I don't know when the big guy is going to make his debut, but the plan is to take 3 weeks off before my due date.

While on pre-baby maternity leave, I was expecting more time lounging around the house in my pjs watching daytime TV but that hasn't been the case - yet. I guess that's for when the baby is here and I'm a slave to a milk sucking podling. Instead, I've been busy checking things off my To Do List, going to the doctor and, yes, seeing a lot of movies in the theater. This has been a priority.  I've seen 6 movies, the last one being Super 8 where I was the only person in the entire theater. I've been loving the time to myself.

I've taken the girls out of the aftercare program at school so I pick them up at 3 and pretend I'm a stay at home mom for a few hours. Also within the two weeks I've been off, Addie was home sick from school one day last week and then Eliza today (no movies for me). Maternity leave isn't reality though as no one expects me to "keep house." If this was my job, going to the movies every day probably wouldn't fly. Right now, I'm carrying a gigantic baby (more on that below) and can barely walk across the house without needing to sit down so if I want to go to the movies, I go to the movies.

One of the activities we've done at home is painting Mommy. We bust out the face paint and I let the girls use me as a canvas. It's win-win. I get to sit down for a while and they can exercise their creativity. In this belly masterpiece, there are two flowers and a girl with long, long white and silver hair that circles my stomach.







So about this big baby. Today my doctor gave the baby a label - macrosomia - perhaps a  term you have heard used in the news lately in regards to a particular record-breaking behemoth of a baby born in Texas. Am I freaking out that I'm going to have a 16 pounder? No, but there are certainly health risks involved if the baby is larger than normal. My doc said he thought everything would be fine and I'd have a normal delivery but he did warn me that if there is any concern, he would do a c-section. I'm going in for another ultrasound next week where we'll know more. He told me some horror story about a baby getting stuck and it's shoulder becoming dislocated resulting in paralysis of that arm. No thank you! I want the baby out in whatever manner ensures his health and safety, and mine. My doc also thought the baby wouldn't come early. Looks like I might get another week of movie going.

22 months

While baby brother hasn't emerged yet, this is the age that Eliza will become a Big Sister - 22 months.

Eliza continues to grow into a joyous and confident toddler. She talks so much more often now, although I think only her teachers and family get to hear it. Right now, she should have been asleep an hour ago, but she's alternating between singing and shouting Happy Birthday from her crib. Other favorite songs include ABC and Patty-Cake. She wants to do everything her big sister does, and we are hoping this will mean getting potty trained early. I'm not holding my breath.

She has taken a fondess to the baby doll, which Addie named Freddie when she was 2. Eliza changes Freddie's diaper, gives her a bottle and races her around the house in the stroller. I'm hoping she'll be as caring to her little brother because she is going to be in for a big surprise! Currently, I think she believes that my belly button (which she calls a belly butt) is named Baby Brother.

Happy Fourth!

This weekend it really started to feel like summer. We swam, played in the backyard, hung out with friends and ate cupcakes. Let me tell you, floating in a pool at 37 weeks is a treat.

I miss fireworks, something I've found ellusive in LA, but otherwise it was a fine holiday weekend.  Ironically Addie insisted on having a tea party on Independence Day.

I'm also grateful that Cap decided not to attend his 20th high school reunion in Oregon this weekend as we all rely so much on his help and support as baby Thor makes it harder and harder for me to get around. I went to my doctor today and was told that Thor decided to flip around and is now feet first - not good. I'm pretty sure he did that yesterday as I felt like a bobcat had been trapped in my gut. I go back for an ultrasound on Thursday and am hoping he'll decide to rotate on his own again before I go into labor.








We stuck the slide in the splash pool in our backyard.


And I wonder why we keep finding leaks. Eliza insisted on wearing her sister's swim cap in our yard.