1.29.12 ~ German Pretzels Don't Start Labor

Notice how my belly is still big and the baby is still in it.

1.29.12 ~ Waiting....

Vera's here in New York visiting and we're all just waiting, waiting, waiting for the baby to come. Unless something drastically changes in the next day or so, it doesn't seem like Little Baby Girl will make her appearance before Vera has to fly back to California on Tuesday morning. Today we're going to venture out with some walking on the itinerary to try and get the baby to move down a bit. I've been having some Braxton Hicks contractions - mostly in the afternoon and evening, but nothing painful or regular - so it could still be a bit. We are still over a week away from our due date after all. And if Baby listens to her big brother at all, she's waiting to come because he's been saying "not yet" when asked if he's ready for her.

Here's a little excerpt from Liam's daily chart from the toddler room last week:
"Eventually, Liam started to use the scanner on the [toy] register as a telephone. Kara suggested he phone the doctor to see when this baby sister of his was coming. Liam had a conversation with the doctor and when he hung up he told Kara that they didn't know when the baby was coming. Liam called the doctor back several times asking similar questions, but the doctor was not specific. Liam then phoned his mother to tell her the disappointing news."

Disappointing, indeed.

Last week I went to my friend Corinne's house and she took a few belly shots of me. She took some really beautiful pictures - this is my favorite of the batch. I'm gazing out into the city, just longing for some regular contractions, or broken water, or baby name inspiration to strike.
Thank you, Corinne!

1.20.12 ~ 37 Weeks

1.17.12 ~ Porn for Pregnant Ladies

I had to re-post this Porn for Pregnant Ladies from Pregnant Chicken. It has me cracking up!

1.16.12 ~ More Toddler Room

Here are some pics of Liam at school from December.

1.16.12 ~ Future Photographer

Liam got a children's camera from his Aunt Jessica for Christmas. He has been running around taking A LOT of pictures. When I finally took a look at his memory card, there were quite a few gems among the 200 plus shots. I did a little "post production" work and present the best of the batch here for you. It's so cool to observe the world through Liam's lens.

1.15.12 ~ Anytime

On Wednesday (or Saturday, depending on the due date you believe in), we'll be considered "full term".

So, Sweet Girl, your Mama gives you permission to make your grand entrance any time after Wednesday, if you're feeling fully cooked. We're ready for you and we can't wait to meet you. 

(By the way, somehow between working, breastfeeding, and taking care of their baby, Brittany and Jonas found the time to make us that beautiful mobile above. I was loving the one they made to hang above Heiko's bed and am delighted that our little girl will have a similar mobile to admire during diaper changes. Thanks, guys!)

1.14.12 ~ Playoffs

I think I am losing my mucus plug through my nose. Sorry - sick joke, I know. You know what else is a sick joke? Having a cold during the last month of pregnancy.

I’m laying on the couch right now watching a football game without Jason. He took Liam to Baltimore earlier today so that he can go to the Ravens game tomorrow. I’ve probably never watched football on my own before, so this is a first. But I have a personal stake in this Broncos/Patriots game. If the Patriots win (and it’s looking like they will), the Ravens won’t get a second home playoff game next week. And this means Jason and I don’t have to have the conversation about whether he should go to Baltimore again to attend that game or not. Our due date is still a bit away, but every bone in my body thinks this baby is coming in January. I could be totally wrong of course, but I don't want to tempt fate. So, I’m happy that Jesus isn’t helping Tim Tebow tonight. 

1.11.12 ~ Blood Pressure

Today we are 36 weeks along according to babycenter.com (where our due date is calculated as February 8th). Although, weirdly, it seems that the our midwife has a different way of calculating the due date. According to her, the due date isn't until February 11th, which means we'll be 36 weeks along on Saturday instead. I guess in the long run it really doesn't matter. 

Yesterday I had an appointment with our midwife (they are every week now!!) and I’m more or less on bed rest again. Barbara said to be laying down any time that I possibly can. My blood pressure was 138/85 (I think) in her office after I’d been laying down for a few minutes. But no protein in my urine – so not preeclampsia.. just hypertension. Carol was here over the past weekend helping Liam and me while Jason was in Baltimore. She brought along my mom's blood pressure cuff so we'd been measuring periodically. It varied pretty drastically based on the time of day and my activity level.

Basically Barbara said we’ll do all we can (laying down, eating low sodium and high potassium) to wait this out and let me go into labor spontaneously. But if my blood pressure stops coming down when I’m laying down (especially if the bottom number is consistently in the 90’s) or if the bottom number goes above 100, then she’ll induce. Other warning signs, she said, are headaches and loss of vision. She said if it comes to induction she wouldn’t use pitocin since this is a vbac, but would try and break my water to see if that starts anything. But if she can’t get to the bag of water to break it or contractions don’t start after she breaks it, then we’ll have another csection.

Jason and I are working out a plan to make sure Liam is taken care of when he's not in school. I can still do some things for him and can certainly lounge around the house with him. But we'll make sure he still gets time outside and a proper meal every now and then, too!

Also, Barbie guessed the baby’s current weight at about 5 or 5.5 lbs. Not too big and not too small (her words!). 

1.7.12 ~ Christmas in Baltimore

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Liam had a fantastic time talking about Santa, opening presents, and looking at the house decorations in the burbs.

We got to play with the sweet, new, little babies in our family.

We ate delicious food.

We said goodbye to the Jeep as we prepared to sell it (which happened today actually, sniff sniff).

We had some quiet moments.

But we also had some stressful ones. Jason's Dad had a heart attack and landed in the hospital getting triple bipass surgery. The surgery went very well and he's recovering nicely now, but it was still a scary and stressful time.

Now we're back in New York and getting ready for the new baby. We've washed a lot of baby clothes, moved some furniture around, set up the cosleeper, and put a lot of stuff away. We need a few diapers, but otherwise we're pretty much ready for Liam's little sister. We only have about four more weeks to wait. Now if only we could settle on a name!