Well, hello there...

On Thursday, 11/29, I went into work with a full day of meetings ahead of me. About mid-morning, I noticed that things were starting to feel a little...funny...with the false contractions I'd been having off and on for the last couple of months, so, around noon, I started tracking the contractions to see if maybe we had moved out of the false stage and into the actual contraction portion of the party.

Sometime, between 3:00 and 4:00PM, the contractions were moving along at a steady pace and starting to get a little painful, so I called Steve to let him know I'd be heading home early. Oh, and also that we'd most likely be heading to the hospital that night. Because, yeah...
By the time 6:30-ish rolled around, I was bent over the kitchen table, with a heating pad pressed to my lower back, trying to breathe through the pain. And you know what?

I am TERRIBLE at breathing through the pain.
We got to the hospital around 7PM, and I was already 5cm dilated, which was a much better result than the first time I went into the hospital with Brigid, when they sent me home for not really being in advanced labor. I immediately asked for some kind of pain medication, because again...breathing just doesn't cut it for me. I am a wimp. And surprisingly proud of it. By the time they actually got me into a labor and delivery room around 9PM, I was 8cm dilated and begging for an epidural, since the initial pain medicine they'd slipped into my IV was starting to wear off already.

I am a BIG fan of the epidural. Big. Fan.

The final centimeter was a long time coming, and my water never did break on its own (since I managed to avoid pain-induced vomiting this time around), and we were even starting to wonder if the baby was going to make it on the 29th or hold off for a birthday on the 30th. But where I spent at least an hour pushing with Brigid, baby number two came in about six minutes flat. Second kids, man.

Of course, it probably also helped that this kid's head is measuring in the 8th percentile, instead of the 80th percentile, like some OTHER kids that I know. Not to mention any names or anything.
  
*coughBRIGIDcough*

And at 11:40PM, Caitlin Rose made her appearance, weighing 7lbs 11oz and measuring 20inches long. And she is absolutely perfect. The nurses were a little concerned with her ability to breathe when she first came out, because she seemed to have a lot of fluid in her. And they heard a murmur when listening to her heart, which put everyone on alert, given Brigid's heart history, and earned baby Caitlin her very own heart scan. Everything cleared up, though, and as of today, she's even regained enough of her birth weight to satisfy the doctors.

See? Perfect.
(Yes. We named the baby Caitlin in the end. Brigid got her way, after all. This surprises absolutely no one, does it?)

Week 38-ish Update

I hit the 38 week mark in this pregnancy last Friday. Brigid was born at 38 weeks and 3 days. In this pregnancy, that would have been yesterday.

Guess who is still not here, yet?

And it's not through any lack of trying on my part, I swear! My parents were in town last week for Thanksgiving, and we had amazing holiday weather here in Georgia. So, we walked Brigid to the playground on Wednesday afternoon. We walked the dogs and Brigid around the neighborhood on Thursday, to get them all out of Steve's way while he was cooking Thanksgiving dinner. We went to IKEA on Friday, then followed that up with ANOTHER walk around the neighborhood with Brigid because Steve seemed to have over-indulged in the holiday festivities a little bit, and needed some quiet time on the couch.

And to top it all off? Steve had not, in fact, over-indulged on anything, but instead had come down with Brigid's stomach virus from last weekend, and a short few hours later, I had followed suit.

That's right, I am not above using a little illness to kickstart my contractions, when they are taking their sweet time in starting.

Unfortunately, not even that seemed to get things moving, as I went into the doctor for my weekly check-up today, only to be told that there is no progression. At all. NOTHING IS HAPPENING. THIS BABY WILL STAY WITH ME FOREVER.

Not that I'm overreacting, or anything.

I did use the full day I spent in bed on Saturday recovering from the bug to plot out the last few items on my to-do list, so when Steve and I were both feeling moderately better on Sunday, we went out to get diapers and diaper paste and a coming home outfit for the kid we still haven't managed to name, yet. And I handwashed a bunch of toys I've been meaning to handwash. And I made a midnight order on Amazon on Sunday night when I realized that even with all of my last minute planning, I'd still forgotten that we needed liners for the diaper pail.

(PSA from me to you: Amazon Prime is ABSOLUTELY worth the subscription. Being able to order one item, with next day delivery, WITH FREE SHIPPING? Get it. Seriously.)

So. Everything is washed. All newborn paraphernalia has been reassembled for action. I have bottles and formula water (in case it comes to that, again) and diapers and wipes and, as of this evening, I will have diaper pail liners. I've packed a bag, for me and the baby. I don't have the infant carseat installed in the van, but I have it ready to be installed, and I think that's as far as I'm going to get until the kid gets here.

Which, at this point, might not be until January. Whatever. At least I'm prepared.

Week 35-ish

As of this past Friday, I am officially five weeks out from my due date. FIVE WEEKS!

Or, you know...three weeks, if this kid follows the path set by her big sister. I mean, not that I'm putting any expectations out there for this, or anything, but I may or may not be planning to take up jogging and deep-knee lunges right at 37 weeks.
(Honestly, I've been lucky. This pregnancy has been a breeze, compared to what I know other people have had to endure. The odd round of indigestion and the constant punches that are being thrown from the inside aside, I've had things easy. But that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to the day when I can bend over without grunting or get up from bed without rocking myself back and forth for momentum a few times before I can finally make it. That's going to be a bigger day for me than Christmas, my friends, and as much as I love Christmas...well, that's saying a lot.)

Week 31 Update

When I went in for my monthly check-up last week, my doctor informed me that my growth had not, as she had hoped, evened out at all, and just like when I was measuring 30 weeks at 26 weeks, I was, at that time, measuring 34 weeks at 30 weeks.

Considering my doctor was trying to 'naturally encourage' labor at 37 weeks with Brigid, just because I was measuring a week ahead of schedule, my FOUR WEEKS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE belly has her a tad concerned about what, exactly, is going on inside of me right now. Especially because I am actually weighing less with this kid than I did with Brigid, so we can't exactly blame this growth spurt on my love of chocolate milk shakes.

(Well, that's what I'm telling myself these days, anyway. Completely related, have you tried the caramel apple Milky Ways? Because they are nothing short of amazing, I swear...)

So, I've officially earned myself a previously unscheduled ultrasound visit (I KNEW when the doctor told me after my last ultrasound that they wouldn't need to see me again unless something odd came up, he was jinxing me...that ass) (just kidding, he wasn't an ass...but I still stand by my jinx claim), which is scheduled for Tuesday. Then, I'm back at my regular doctor on Thursday, because we've entered that every-two-week-check-up portion of the pregnancy, and THEN I should have a better idea of what to expect.

And, I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of expecting a 14 pound baby at this point, because if I'm measuring four weeks ahead of schedule, belly-wise, I'd think any normal sized baby would have plenty of room to stretch out and relax in her spacious home. This kid, however? Well, this kid has (for the last 24-hours straight, mind you) very painfully lodged some very hard body part directly under my ribs, and it is not comfortable, at all. In fact, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if this turns into a Kristen-Stewart-in-Twilight kind of birth at this point, because...burrowing. I swear to all that is good, this kid is burrowing her way out of my stomach as we speak.

I can't wait to see how many hits I get when we post THAT video online...

Week 28 Update

I don't remember having too many problems when I was pregnant with Brigid, and when she came out, she was just as laid-back and easy (or as laid-back and easy as a baby can be) out in the world as she was when I was carrying her.

Which is what has me terrified of the kid I'm carrying this time around. There is more movement, which I am, in my infinite pregnancy logic, taking to mean that this second child will not sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time. And I don't know if it's the fact that I know what kind of awesomeness waiting for me now, when I didn't before, but this pregnancy seems to be twice as long as the first one. And since I already HAVE Brigid at home, there is much less time for sitting on the couch and relaxing, and between that and the increased responsibilities at work now, I. AM. TIRED.

And then.

THEN this kid decided to give me indigestion so terrible last night, I really thought I was going to be sick. Which meant that even when I should have and could have been sleeping, I was not actually doing anything of the sort.

I mean, I know that we're not supposed to play favorites with our kids, or anything, so I'm not...

 

(But Brigid is totally winning right now...)

26-Week Update

I have this pregnancy tracking app on my iPhone that updates me on the baby's progress each week, while also offering 'helpful' tips each day about what I should be eating, why it's normal that I feel like I should just move into the bathroom since I spend most of my time in there anyway, and how my weight gain should be progressing. It's annoying, really, all of those shoulds, but it has a nice countdown the the due date, so I just focus on that part.

Anyway, one of those daily tips that recycles through every few weeks is the reminder that I should be tracking pregnancy memories along the way, since I will want to remember this whole experience someday in the future.

Well, you want a pregnancy memory, iPhone app? Have I got a pregnancy memory for you...

I went into the doctor's office today for my gestational diabetes bloodwork test (to make sure I don't have it, as is standard procedure), and the took belly measurements, to see where I was along the progress chart, size-wise. I will be 26 weeks along tomorrow, but today?

I MEASURED AT 30 WEEKS!!&*&%#!!

I measured ahead with Brigid, too, but the most I EVER hit was two weeks ahead. Now I'm at FOUR?!?!

No.

I even made the NP measure a second time, because COME ON. And still...30 weeks.

She said since the baby measured normal at the last ultrasound, there's really nothing to worry about, so there's that. But at this rate, by the time the end of my pregnancy comes around, someone will need to roll me from place to place, because I will be just one large ball of pregnancy belly.

That should be a good look for me, no?

The Bump: (almost) 25 Weeks

I've done an absolutely terrible job of documenting this pregnancy around here, what with my all-consuming desire to just get these nine months over with already, so I can move on to the sweet and squishy OMG LITTLE BABY YAY FOR BABIES!!$#*&!*%! portion of the party, but yeah...
Let me introduce you to Big Hoss, my very pronounced baby bump. BH and I aren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment. I mean, she's doing what she needs to be doing, what with all of the healthy baby growing and whatnot that's happening right now, but did we really need to get THAT BIG, THAT QUICKLY, there, buddy? I am NOT exaggerating when I say that I know three people who are due before me (INCLUDING ONE PERSON WHO IS HAVING TWINS, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD), and I've got them ALL beat on the size of my stomach.

Fifteen weeks to go, kids. Fifteen weeks to go.

Now, who wants to start taking bets on how many times Hoss and I get stuck in our beach chair while we're off on vacation next week?

Baby, The Second: Week 23

We went in for our third ultrasound today, with the added fun of a fetal echo request, because we wanted to see if we'd be facing a similar heart issue with this one that we faced with Brigid. Not that we'd be able to do anything about it if we did find a problem, but you know when the absolute worst time is to find out that there is a problem with your baby?

When you've only had that baby for 24 hours. Hospital hormones are not to be trifled with, my friends.

The good news is that, as far as they can tell from the ultrasound, we don't seem to be facing the same issues here that we faced with Brigid. And that's somewhat of a relief, anyway, even if you can never be 100% sure that everything is ok until she comes out.

(Also...she's still a she, as evidenced by the shot of her girly bits she greeted us with, clear as day, when we started the ultrasound process. So, we have that going for us, which is nice...)

The bad news is that it took us an extended period of time to get the views we needed to show that there didn't seem to be a problem, because this kid is STUBBORN. Every time the ultrasound tech had me shift so she could get a better look? This little snot shifted with me, effectively blocking whatever it was we needed to see. We had the same problem with Brigid, when they were trying to get a decent measurement on her at her second ultrasound, to the point that they made me get up off of the table and sent me to the waiting room to 'bounce around in my chair for awhile', to see if she'd shift to a more manageable position.

That's right...I raise them difficult over here.

But...things are good. All of the baby's measurements look fine, I've passed all of the bloodwork tests they've given me, and her heart appears to only have holes where it should have holes. She did measure in at 1lb 7oz, which, at this point, puts her in the 58th percentile in size, compared to her big sister, who, at an ultrasound two weeks earlier in the process, weighed in at 1lb 2oz, which put her in the 77th percentile.

If she keeps this up, my doctor might actually expect me to go at least the full forty weeks this time. I'm going to have to get back on the Oreos to beef this kid up, I think...

Pregnancy Update - Week 21

Other than announcing that there is a baby on the way, and mentioning that said baby is to be of the female variety, I have done a very poor job of documenting this pregnancy. And that makes me sad, because with Brigid, I kept a running diary of every little thing that happened to me throughout the process, and how it all made me feeeeeel, and what my health stats were very week, and blah, blah, blaaaaaah.

Blah.

The second child inferiority complex starts in the womb, apparently.

But really, it's not that I'm not so OMG!!EXCITEDBABY!!$#!YAYBABY!!! about this whole situation, it's just that I have nothing to say about this pregnancy that won't sound annoyingly trite and obvious.

I'm tired - Of course you're tired, you idiot. You have a two year old at home. Suck it up and get used to it, princess.

I have heartburn - Sure, you've had maybe three or four bouts of not-so-great indigestion, but you were thisclose to vomiting for three straight months last time. Plus, some people vomit through their entire pregnancy. So...boo-freaking-hoo.

Someone at work told me they could tell I was pregnant because I used the bathroom a lot and my hips were getting bigger - Ok...well...yeah, that sucks. NOBODY wants to hear that their hips are getting bigger, even when they can see it happening for themselves. But still. That's not exactly ground-breaking stuff there, is it?

And...I swear. That's all I've got. I feel fine, outside of work stress and general toddler-aided exhaustion, and it's kind of just business as usual right now.

I mean, my blood pressure is excellent. I'm gaining weight at a slightly less alarming rate (although, still somewhat alarming when I actually sit down and think about it, which I try not to do that often) than I gained it with Brigid. I can feel the baby move, sometimes, when I stop moving around (so...when I sleep, basically). I have a pile of already-done baby laundry waiting to be folded and put away, with another load or two still needing to be done. At some point I intend to brave the mess that is our basement to find the swing and the pack n' play, so I can start to reclutter my living room with stuff. And maybe I'll look for the bottles, too, just so they're ready if they're needed.

I do have a very big need for teeny-tiny hangers, but that's about the most pressing thing I've got going on right now. Oh, and I guess we are going in for a fetal echo in a couple of weeks, to see if Brigid's heart condition will be shared by her little sister, but I'm trying not to think about that right now, because there's really nothing I can do about it one way or the other, and we'll just deal with what comes at us, same as we did before.

Believe me, I'm not complaining, because NOTHING is better than an uneventful pregnancy, but still...I'm going to have to work on this whole sharing of attention thing, I think.

I wouldn't want my little sisters to realize that the first-born really IS always the favorite, would I?

Next Steps

Well....I'm having a second girl.

And I'll be 19 weeks along on Friday.

Up to this point in my pregnancy, I've been putting my to-do list off with the understanding that once I found out what I was having, I'd really get to work on making sure things were ready around the house for December.

Piles and piles of clothes around the baby's new room? Can't do anything with them until I find out what I can and can't use.

Potential names that Steve and I might like? There's really no point in going through that process until we can eliminate half of the names.

But now, I know what I'm having. And seeing as how Brigid came along around 38 weeks last time, I could technically be halfway through this pregnancy.

That's a thought right there, huh?

(Side Note: I don't know if this baby will be as early as Brigid was or not. She was measuring around 7lbs with about three weeks to go, and her head was LARGE, so my doctor decided to do what she could to 'hurry the process along' at my 38 week check-up. Considering B was 7lbs 11.5oz at birth, I appreciated the help, because I didn't want to try to deliver a 9lb baby at full -term. I think, though, that it made the labor process a little longer than it would have been, because I'm not sure Brigid was really ready to come out. I just imagine that this kid could end up being a 40 week baby, if left to her own devices. I guess we'll see...)

So, I guess it's time to start on that list, maybe? The first item on my list is going to be make a list, because between bottles and baby gear and diapers and all other manner of newborn paraphernalia, I'm not even sure what all it is I need to do before December. So I'm focusing on the organizing and laundering of Brigid's old clothes, because that is a problem staring at me every day from the bottomless pit of mess that used to be the floor of the nursery, while adding some time for an over-dramatic wailing about how THERE ARE NO GOOD NAMES LEFT IN THE WORLD!!&#!sadface!#$! because Steve and I have tried ONCE to come up with a list of names, and we weren't able to really agree on anything that we liked.

But pregnancy is not the time to be rational, people, so I will do my best to avoid any semblance of sanity at all costs. You may want to avoid me for the next few months, if that's an option open to you...

(Sorry, Steve, that most definitely does not include you. Love you and stuff!)

It's a....

GIRL!!!

I shouldn't be at all surprised by this, seeing as how that's all my family does, really, if myself, my two sisters and my current daughter are any indication.

Brigid was in the room with us during the ultrasound, and after months of telling us that it was a baby brother in mommy's tummy, when Steve told her it was actually going to be a girl, she responded with a less than enthused...

No boy? Oh well.

But then in the car on the way home, she told us she was going to pick out a couple of outfits for the new baby and that the two of them would be sharing clothes.

So I think she's just fine with her future sister.

(And I'm not going to lie...I'm pretty freaking ok with two girls, myself. I mean, it would be such a shame if all of Brigid's clothes didn't get used a second time, right?)

(LITTLE GIRL!!!! YAY!!!)