Well…today is February 15…my due date! And even though I know a due date is an approximate, it still isn’t fun to go past something you’ve counted down to for nine months. Furthermore, I just keep getting more huge and uncomfortable. Rosemary is fascinated with poking and climbing on my belly, and I miss being able to breathe and bend normally.

I feel a little guilty for letting Rosemary watch a bit more Sesame Street than is probably good for her (what is it about Elmo that attracts ALLLLL kids?!). But, I can only spend so long going down the giant curly slide at the park with her (seriously) or sitting on the floor working puzzles. Hopefully no permanent damage will be done, and thank god for Netflix.

The baby’s room is clean and organized, but lacks anything very personal (except an exceedingly large moose). It feels fairly bare and I can’t wait to meet the little person who will live in there. I am imagining what personality will emerge….whether he or she will like dogs and fish and books like Rosemary, and what color we’ll eventually paint the currently green room.

Little clothes are washed and things are done and bags are mostly packed. I am still holding out hope that I’ll go into labor on my own, and won’t have to schedule an induction or a c-section. All up to the baby…let’s get this show on the road!

The old bump looks kind of small in this picture just because of my clothes. I assure you, I’m enormous. There are hard, shapely baby parts sticking out right and left, but mainly at the top…which has to be the baby bum. 

I am quite uncomfortable at this point, but I’m not surprised. I’ve been sleeping with a pillow between my knees for weeks now, but it’s not helping much any more. By the time I wake up (if I ever get to sleep, that is), everything aches. Especially my groin, hips and back. It is also epic to roll over, and I sometimes jokingly ask Andrew to just gently push me out of bed. And he has no idea how to react. I’ve also got wicked heartburn and am almost through my third Costco bottle of Tums this pregnancy (I prefer the berry choice to the mixed fruit). I’ve definitely been feeling some contractions on and off the past couple of weeks, but I know what real ones feel like, so I generally don’t get too excited. And what else… one of Rosemary’s favorite games right now is having me sit on the floor while she stands on the sofa and then jumps on me. Yes, like a diving board. So, that’ll be muuuch more fun once I’m no longer pregnant.

That’s all my complaining though. I cannot wait to meet the baby and I’m in complete awe that we will have two children soon. I really want to buy cute baby clothes and keep window shopping online, but I’m showing a great deal of restraint (especially because there are great sales on Polarn O Pyret right now). I know it will be much more fun to pick stuff out once we know the gender, but I also know that I will likely never get out of the house with Rosie and a newborn to do any shopping. But maybe if we go in the first few weeks when we have lots of help from generous grandparents we can arrange something.

We have names. Not sharing them, of course, but they’re pretty awesome. There are a few more things I’d like to prepare and do before the arrival. I decided we really need to build the crib in the baby’s room, even though it’ll sleep in the moses basket in our room at first. I like to think of it as a Rosie-proof cage where I could lay a helpless baby down for a few minutes. : )

I’m feeling a bit better about the whole delivery thing I was recently freaking out about. I’ve stopped googling things and stopped reading online message boards and such. Just trying to chill out about it and keep things in perspective. A healthy baby and getting home to my other sweet baby is all that matters. 

One week until my due date. Two weeks left, max. Keep your fingers crossed for spontaneous, crazy labor for me.

38 weeks and it’s February! I’m glad the baby waited until January ended. February birthdays are rare in our family, so it’ll be unique. For so long I have though of the baby’s due date around Valentine’s Day. And now it seems crazy close. The milk in our fridge expires after the baby’s due date, even. And at the latest, we only have three-ish weeks left. Whew.

I feel like I haven’t done much to prepare. But the baby has a place to sleep, a nice safely installed car seat, some diapers, and a hat that looks like a giraffe. I also am trying to keep on top of the laundry, keep the bathrooms cleaned and house vacuumed, and today I cleaned out the spice cupboard, which seemed really important.

I have my weekly doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I really am not expecting any progress. It feels so far out of my control and not something I can really focus on like last time. I feel like just being relaxed about it is the best I can do. But, I may get my first-ever pedicure next week…in case a stranger touching my feet does the trick.

I already can’t sleep from insomnia and discomfort, so I can’t really imagine a newborn is going to be THAT difficult, so I’m generally pretty excited. I can’t wait to find out the gender. I can’t wait to be able to easily bend over again to put on socks/clean up spilled puzzles/change Rosemary’s diapers/unload the dishwasher and every other daily task that right now makes me feel sore and exhausted. Having a toddler climb on me is doing me in, especially as she thinks my belly is some kind of step stool. I hope the birth somewhat curbs my recent craving for cupcakes and baked goods, because wow.

I have managed to catch a few episodes of A Baby’s Story and One Born Every Minute the past few weeks. I’m always super interested to watch, but I always end up a ball of nerves by the end. I cried the other day watching videos of Rosemary as a newborn. And I also cried when Rosemary was watching Marmaduke on HBO and the dog ran away. Totally practical.

Andrew’s excited for paternity leave. And probably excited for me to stop routinely complaining about my tiredness. Stay tuned.

Full-term now, and into the 38th week. I can’t believe it. And I can’t see my feet.

That said, I am really not expecting the kid to come out any time soon, solely based on my history with that sort of thing. I’m actually really laid back about the whole situation. The car has no gas, the hospital bag isn’t packed, the baby’s room isn’t set up, I’m not doing anything like I did last time to get baby out (reflexology, hypnobirthing visualizations, evening primrose oil, walking three miles a day, etc). I DID buy a pineapple today, but mainly just because it sounded good. And I have been sitting and bouncing on the giant ball lately, but mainly because Rosemary laughs really hard when I bounce with her on it.

My doctor’s appointments are weekly now. It seems extremely excessive to go pay for an hour of parking downtown to pee in a cup (getting increasingly difficult) and have my blood pressure checked, but I suppose a weekly stepping on the scale is a good reminder to lay off the cupcakes. As of today, I am not dilated at all. The baby is head-down and in a good position (I can feel a baby rump up on my left side). So we wait.

Sleeping is uncomfortable and the baby moves a lot all night, so I am perpetually tired. I am much more uncomfortable at this point than I ever was with my first pregnancy…so maybe that’s a sign that it’s making its way out?

In other preparations, I’ve installed the car seat, set up the moses baskets,and resolved our double-stroller issue. I’m thinking seriously about packing the hospital bag, but I generally need all of the stuff right now that I would put in there…so that might have to wait. And Andrew has started spouting off potential names right and left…none of which are very good. :) I’ve also ordered Rosemary a 4-foot stuffed rainbow trout from Cabela’s. We bring home the baby and she gets a giant fish. Seems only fair. 

I’m very excited to meet the little rib-kicker. Any day now….

35 weeks (more, actually, this is late, go figure). 

My two complaints are: 1) I am always tired and 2) my legs feel like those cheap wooden chopsticks right before you snap them in two. So much achy-ness.  I also have developed a taste for red velvet cake. Which is less of a complaint and more of a woo-hoo. Because it’s delicious. And I still have half a piece of red velvet cheesecake leftover from yesterday in the fridge. So…big plans for tonight.

The closer we get, the more I am really excited to find out if it’s a boy or a girl. I waver back and forth between feeling like I know that it’s a girl, and then between having no clue. And when I am struck with the inability to sleep, I like to browse the online world of shopping delights on my phone and imagine our baby in teeny tiny little elephant hats and stuff. I think we’ve settled on a girl first name, but are still waffling a little on the boy choices and the middles. Getting down to the wire…but I could never make a definitive decision until I meet the little tyke, anyway.

I am also trying to savor my twosome time with Rosemary. And the relative simplicity of tasks like walking to the library with one child. And still cleaning (do you know how hard it is to remove a cover from an Ikea Poang?)

My doctor thinks this baby will be fairly small, like Rosemary, who was only 6lb 5oz even though she was two weeks late. I’m measuring on track, but when we listen to the heartbeat and feel the baby’s position, she comments on it still having room to wiggle. Baby moves a lot and I’m certain its feet are up on my right side. Apparently it is also quite a bit lower than it was a few weeks ago, and I can feel thwomps (hands?) down there, too.

On the home stretch now. Getting excited!

I am so very tired. I’m not going to place the blame fully on the baby, as it mostly belongs to the big sister. But the baby is a whirlwind of movement whenever I actually get the opportunity to sleep. And, I have to get up to pee approximately 12 times per night. I also constantly feel like I may have swallowed a tiny volcano. Even if all I eat is Rice Krispies and skim milk, a course of Tums will inevitably follow. And, finally, there is a constant dull ache in my lower half that can only have one culprit.

I’ll admit, I’m getting a little nervous. I’m pretty relaxed about the whole labor and delivery thing, surprisingly. But the prospect of one more baby and even less sleep is weighing on me. I can barely keep clutter and toys and laundry and dishes in check right now. I already can’t get my first child to eat more than two bites of anything, nor has she slept solidly in more than a week. As much as I love being a mom, I sometimes feel like the double responsibility might be my kryptonite.

I’ve been struck by the realization that, at least at first, I will be completely housebound with two small children. Popping down to store to get milk with just Rosemary yesterday afternoon was epic (even though she is well-behaved and stays near me, it takes all my hands to wrangle her, as she doesn’t ride nicely in the carts any longer), so I can’t even imagine towing a breastfeeding infant along, too. But, when I do get up the courage, we have ordered the parts to turn our iCandy Apple into a double stroller, which is exciting (thanks, Mom!) Also, Andrew’s parents got us a baby monitor and another 2.5 tog infant Grobag sleep sack. And some friends got us a Puj tub, which I’m looking forward to trying out. Everyone’s been very generous, and I’m feeling a lot closer to being ready for the baby’s arrival. I’ve washed several newborn-sized sleepsuits and onesies, prepped the infant car seat (but haven’t figured out how to put it in the new car yet), gotten out the Moses baskets, washed the sheets and towels, bought a pack of newborn diapers, and am thinking about packing our hospital bag in the next week or so. I’ve also been doing some things that just need to get done, like cleaning out the fridge, washing Rosie’s car seat cover, and generally trying to organize things. 

So…life is a constant thought process of just hoping we can do this, and being excited to meet our newest addition. A few more weeks, and life is going to get a whole lot more interesting!

I know this is super blurry, and I already feel guilty enough that I haven’t used my real camera to take a single belly picture thus far, so hush. However, being a laundry-doing, diaper-changing, cleaning-mac-and-cheese-off-the-floor, unable-to-bend-over, prepetually-tired mama these days, I am rarely wearing clothes that aren’t yoga pants and giant t-shirts. In which I just look like the Kool-Aid mascot and not obviously pregnant.  I took this ONE picture with my iPhone before I had to re-evaluate priorities, as Rosemary was starting to rip a piece out of a pop-up book.

So, where is the time going? I don’t know.  Christmas is like 10 days away. And we have mere weeks left before this baby makes an appearance. My biggest worry regarding the baby lately is that I will go into labor at the the end of an exhausting day. Which is pretty much every day, at this point. I’m not sure if that’d be worse…or waiting around forever and never going into labor (a la Rosemary style). I have to say, that I just feel like this baby is going to cooperate a little more. My body already feels more ready than it ever did the first time.

I’m starting to get really crazy about getting things done. Random things. Like getting the car serviced, getting Rosemary a new dresser, cleaning out the fridge, washing the car seat covers, going to the dentist, organizing the bathroom cupboards, vacuuming the couch cushions once a week. I also want to see The Muppets and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in the theaters before I lose my small window of opportunity. And I don’t know what yet, but I want to do something with Rosemary, just the two of us. (Not see a movie…yikes).

Night after night, I lay in bed and feel wild kicks and rolls and think about having this kid, for real, in my arms. Also about getting up and getting more Tums. All in good time.

I am feeling gigantic these days. Bending over is like trying to plank on top of a basketball. For some reason, I feel much more pregnant at this point than I did with Rosemary at like 37+ weeks. 

I panickly asked my OB if there was a massive baby inside me when she was doing the heartbeat and measurements at my appointment earlier this week. She assured me baby was measuring fine and right on track. And she laughed when I said that when I squat down (which I do a lot, given the toddler who likes to smash Lucky Charms into the carpet), it feels like a baby could just fall right out. Apparently that’s normal for second pregnancies. Phew. 

In other news, I don’t have anemia, I passed my one-hour gestational diabetes test, and I have no more blood draws or tests and whatnot if everything continues healthily and normally. Still on track to have a VBAC, but I did ask what happens if I don’t go into labor on my own. Apparently, they will let me go two weeks past my due date, but no more. At that point, I would either be gently induced or they would schedule a c-section, depending on how favorable my body was for labor at that point. If I have the baby two weeks after my due date, that puts a birthday on February 29. How crazy would a little leap-year babe be!?

When I think of my due date, I just automatically think past it, given my past experience with such timelnes. But, like I said, maybe it’ll just fall out on its own in a timely fashion while I’m retrieving blocks from under the sofa. Voila.

Things are just chugging along, and I can’t believe how fast it’s all going. We have a hospital tour next week, and I’m excited to see the place. We have been stalled on names, but are getting excited to meet our kiddo. Twice this week, I’ve had strangers comment on my pregnancy, which means I might finally be looking obviously pregnant. Though, usually the comments are when I’m wrangling Rosemary into a shopping cart, and are along the lines of, “Wow, lady, you are going to have your hands full!”

Full hands = better than empty ones. Bring it, week 30.

This is the weirdest picture ever, I get that. My eyes look spastic, because I am trying not to let Rosemary fall off the bathroom counter (putting her up there to wash her hands has resulted in her wanting to get up there every time we go in there). And, yeah, we’re in a bathroom.

Anyway, the pregnancy—which, clearly from the lack of progress pictures, I have a difficult time focusing on. I am 23 weeks now and time is still flying by. The kid’s the size of a papaya. I had a doctor’s appointment last week and things are going great. The heartbeat is strong and the baby’s always really cooperative. I got a flu shot, and the baby’s the appropriate size and I am not gaining too much weight. Which is all I can hope for. Andrew can feel it move from the outside and also see my belly move when he/she wiggles around, now. Rosie is still clueless, but it is getting a little more difficult to nurse and rock her with my belly sticking out more and more. 

I’m feeling good,for the most part, just always a little sleep-deprived. The baby’s always pressing into things down low, and making me need to pee about six times a night. I’m also always thirsty, which doesn’t help things. However, I am usually so exhausted, I can fall back to sleep pretty quickly.

The baby is growing and growing and it’s becoming a lot more real as I feel him/her move around more powerfully. We’re thinking of names for the little one, and getting really excited to put together the room he/she will eventually sleep in. Roll on week 24!

I’m getting to that point where I can feel something blocking my range of motion when I bend over (which is often, as I spend 80% of my time on the floor being climbed on). I haven’t really gained any weight, since I lost some in the beginning and was still a bit padded from Rosemary in the first place, but I feel a whole lot bigger, for some reason. Definitely looking more plump than last time at this point, but I still don’t think anyone would guess “pregnant” when out and about.

We’re almost halfway there, but it still feels a bit unreal to me, even though I feel movement in there every day.

All of our tests have come back normal. Very low risk of down syndrome, spina bifida, and other genetic disorders, which is great. We have our big ultrasound on Friday. We’re not finding out the gender, but I have a feeling I’ll be trying to look the whole time so I can make a guess. Sort of like shaking your presents before Christmas.

I’m just hoping everything continues to be healthy and uneventful.