Growing and Growing

Grandma is a book reading fool. Lucy is as happy as you might imagine given that little datum. I have actually missed my little troublemaker for the last week while Grandma's been entertaining her. I don't have her constantly in my space! Asking what I'm doing! Asking to be carried! Wanting to be exactly where I am!

I've started getting emotional about Lucy not being my ONLY anymore. My BEHBEH! She's such a good girl and she won't ever be my only Snuggle Bug ever again. Sniiiiiiiff.

But! She's growing so fast and getting so big. She's been waking up dry from naps lately. I think the running total is 7 out of the last 11 days.

And!

GET THIS!

SHE STOPPED BITING HER FINGERNAILS.

I don't think I've talked about it much here mostly because I've been trying to follow doctor's orders and ignore, ignore, ignore. Oh, but it's been so hard. Her poor fingers have been raw little red nubs for almost the last year. It was never a nervous habit, just a relaxing one. She would gnaw while she watched TV or when she was getting settled for sleep. The pediatrician equated it to thumb sucking and told me to try to distract her fingers with beads or some such thing when it was getting particularly bad, and otherwise just to ignore it and she'd give it up when she's ready.

I'd like to think I've been totally laid back about the whole situation, but (HA!) there's no way. I stressed about it from day one. I worried about germs. I worried about infection. I worried about gross fingernail buildup in her tummy. I worried about nibbling being a brain-cell burning gateway to OTHER bad habits. Booger eating! Glue tasting! Toddler delinquency!

The germ phobia was the worst part this winter. I was super vigilant about antibiotic-ing her hands every 20-30 seconds at the Children's Museum or the Zoo, after church and intermittently at the grocery store. With those tiny fingers always in her mouth, I was sure she was going to contract Mono-sars-swine-osis or whatever death warrant was being passed at the moment.

And now! All of a sudden! Almost a year later, she doesn't bite her nails anymore. Just like that. And I'm in a state of relieved awe. That's not to say I don't half expect another flare up just as soon as Second Baby shows his face around here. The prospect doesn't fill me with joy, but at least I know it won't actually lead to masochism and eventual juvie time.

I'm just so relieved that this phase has passed with the worst thing being a tiny little infected hangnail. And I painted those precious new little nubs of nail growth pink on my big grownup girl and it seems she's just as happy about it as I am.

This Week, I Tell Ya..

This has been such a long week. I mean, it's finally Friday, which is good, right? But I feel like it should have been Friday at least a few days ago. This week I've been pulling activities out of my heinie to keep us busy and going somewhere other than crazy.

My last day at work was Monday. It was bittersweet. I mean, I'm excited to have this baby and start fresh with students in the fall, but it also means I'm doing even more thumb twiddling until the baby comes. But it really is a blessing because the Bubba's work schedule isn't any different, and I know that you're probably sick to death of me talking about it but dude! 60-70 hour weeks! It's exhausting for everyone involved! And now that my work schedule is nonexistent, he can concentrate fully on meeting his deadline April 1 and I can work on keeping us all nutritiously fed and somewhat sane.

I had a midwife visit Wednesday at 37w3d. They still don't want to see me every week yet. And I'm still blown away at how laid back they are there. I think this was the sixth time I've gone into the office for a regular checkup. 6! In 9 months! And this was the group B strep test week, so I thought, Ah! The beginning of the poking checkups. Joy! But my midwife let me take the samples myself. It was so much more awesome than having to undress and get poked.

Bidou is leveling out in his growth - he was measuring about 38+ weeks, so no signs point to having a 12lb 30in baby. Which is nice. I go back and see them again at 39+ weeks "Unless you have the baby by then!" See? Laid back.

My weight gain has been weird, though. I mean, I've gained a lot more than I wanted to this time around (knowing how frakking hard it was to get off the first time around!) but I don't know where the weight is going - I still fit in my pre-pregnancy jeans (not that they're particularly COMFORTABLE because of the waistband/belly interference, but, just sayin' my hips/butt are the same size), and Bidou's not huge... when this baby comes out, am I going to look like a marshmallow on a couple of toothpicks? To be determined. I'll be sure to let you know first thing.

The past few days we've had a leeeeettttlee bit of sun, so Lucy and I have been taking advantage by working in the yard. I've weeded a lot. Our little garden patches are almost ready for the sprouts that Lucy's growing in our window sill. We've got bush peas and zucchini and butternut squash and bell peppers starting right now. And a variety of flowers. I'm pretty sure she'll be excited to put them in the ground. Yesterday we dug up several worms and bugs, and Lucy went from being fascinated to scared and back with every new one. I let her get filthy and dig with sticks and tromp around the yard in rain boots and she's been in heaven. Hooray for glimpses of Spring!

Tomorrow I have a churchy thing to help facilitate all day - the Catherine of Sienna Called and Gifted program. It's really cool, actually, and I'm happy to be a part of it. It's just that anything at this point that is "all day" sounds awfully intimidating. Especially since a quick trip to Target for cleaning supplies and toilet paper is enough to leave me begging for a nap.

Speaking of naps! My mama-llama comes on Monday to help/entertain us! So this weekend will be full of Getting Stuff Done. Oh, I've been consistently knocking stuff off our Baby List, you'll be happy to know. Really, the stuff that's left is stuff that can be left. Go me! I did leave the pampering part - because a fancy-pants mani-pedi spa day is first on the list for me and the Llama to do when she gets here. And Lucy's convinced that "Gram wants to hug and kiss me. But she'll read me lotsnlotsa books!" So that works out for her (Even though I'm sure she's trying to figure out a way to sidestep the first part - Lu is not a cuddler.). So, everybody wins!

Now, just to make it to Monday...

Friday Photos

Learning the particulars of tree climbing...

Playing with Photo Booth

Almost There

A couple more weeks!

36 weeks 3 days.

I retired the striped shirt.

It just couldn't stretch any further.

My "nesting" has been mostly insatiable shopping for things that baby "needs." You know, like an Easter outfit. And a fuzzy blanket. And just the right warm socks. I'm trying really hard to keep the immanent hospital bills in mind when I want to buy something, but geez, this kid really needs a pair of khakis in 0-3 month size to match his big sissy's Easter dress!

Otherwise, not much else is new on the baby front. The days slip by and every so often I'll have an OMG THIS BABY IS GOING TO BE HERE SOON moment, but mostly I forget about it in terms of baby because I'm so focused on what it means in terms of fatigue and its impact on Lucy care. Ah, the Second Child Shaft. Sorry Bidou.

Oh, and guess what? I think we might have a name. Maybe.

My mama is coming in a little over a week. I'm excited to have her around both for Lucy's sake and for my own! Just think of all the naps I'll take! Mmmmm.

My next midwife appointment is next week, and then I think I start seeing her every week. The point where things start getting serious for me. This baby is a'comin'!

April's Coming. Time to Procrastinate.

So it's March. Many of you have probably already noticed. For the rest of you, you're welcome for the update. I know that's what you come here for.

This morning I showered and put on makeup and did my hair and put on a cute (if there is such a thing when you're 8+ months pregnant) outfit for the sole reason of organizing and preparing our taxes. You got to have the right mind set, you know? And yet, here I am writing on my blog only to procrastinate looking at these dull documents and putting them all in order and filling in the right numbers on the right lines.

Normally, I like doing our taxes. I like figuring it all out and looking for secret breaks and credits that nobody wants to tell you about. I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment when I finish them. It's the wannabe math major in me (Did I tell you that I started college as a math major? True story.). But this year? Meh. And it's even easy this year. Straight forward. Both the Bubba and I only have one W-2 each! And simple charity credits! And simple student loan credits! Easy peasy. And yet. Here I sit telling you about it instead of doing it.

What else can I tell you about since I'm wasting time? Update post!!

Lucy's been better behaved lately. There had been quite a bit of TV watching going on around here just so that I could either a) rest or b) get things done around here. It started with a 1/2 hour show right away in the morning so that I could shower and get dressed. Well, as an experiment this week, I cut out the TV entirely, well, all electronic stuff for her (including Skyping with Grandma in the morning) and the new Nook that she loves and calls "my nookbook." And all of a sudden her imaginative play is fun again and when I'm getting stuff done, she plays independently. It's not very useful when I need a rest, but usually if I lay down on HER bed in HER room she will deign to do puzzles quietly while I catch 40 winks. She doesn't seem to expect to be entertained and have attention on her all the time. (Thank you Baby Jesus.) And, it helps that the Bubba is not traveling this week and our routine is somewhat back to "normal" whatever that means anymore.

I did indeed gain 90 pounds in 4 weeks like I warned you last week. And my midwife did indeed have a little something to say about it. But I told her that I would have gained at least a fiver even if I WEREN'T pregnant because of what a hard month it was. Ah well. She said she wasn't too worried about it because I gained a lot with Lucy too and it all came off. And that's when I fell in love again. I love my midwives.

Otherwise, the Second Child is doing well. There's not a whole lotta room in there for him any more, so it seems like he strikes out in Crouching Dragon slow motion instead of the quick one-two combos he used to lay on me. It stretches and distorts my belly and is basically uncomfortable and weird. My innie belly button is now outie, something that didn't happen last time. I have to believe that some of this is because I'm smaller this time around. Or maybe it's just new and weird because I'm carrying this baby straight out from my spine and not all over my whole midsection like I did with the Bird. Either way, Bidou started rocking out one evening when I was working and it was totally obvious under my patterned shirt. My student saw the alien movements right away and needless to say this poor 13 year old boy was completely creeped out and is probably still trying to wipe the image from his brain. Poor kid, had so much time before reality like that should hit.

We have a tour of the birth center scheduled for this Saturday morning. The Bubba seems to think that Lucy can come with us. I'm imagining that I will be doing the tour alone after 5 minutes when the Bubba and Lucy have to excuse themselves. Whatever. All I need to know is what doors are accessible when and where to find the L&D triage room. I don't know why they schedule these things for an hour. Nothing like making 8- and 9- month pregnant ladies stand around on swollen feet for an hour.

Our baby list is getting whittled down. Slowly but surely. It feels good to see some things crossed off. More things I don't have to worry about. Fourish weeks. It's so weird to think that in one little day Lucy isn't going to be my ONLY anymore (sniff!!) and that we're going to be a family of four. It really stretches my brain.

Speaking of brain-stretching, I think I've exhausted the minutiae of our ever exciting lives, so here I go back to staring at these numbers. Taxes, ho!