Your hours are numbered....

Well, the due date came and went. No kid yet.

Just got back from seeing my doctor. I'm at 3cm, so really at any time things could get a jump start.

My doctor had told me that she'd let me go a week late. So at today's appointment, I was ready to set up an induction for Friday. But I found out she'll be out of town Friday - Sunday. So we either had to schedule it for earlier this week or wait until next Monday (if I want my doctor to deliver, which I do). I know I would probably have him before Monday, but the thought of possibly having to wait that long is just too much. He's had his 9 months in there and now he needs his eviction notice.

So after calling Sean, we decided to induce on Wednesday. We'll go in at 11:30am after having (hopefully) a full night of sleep and a leisurely morning with the kids.

Now we know...at most 48 hours until labor starts. And a few hours after that he'll be here. Can't wait.

When will you make your appearance, Little One?

It's been a pretty quiet week as we're approaching the big Due Date. I've been enjoying these last few days of being newborn free. Getting a full nights sleep...taking naps...not being exhausted...I know this time is quickly slipping away and very soon - for the third time - we'll be at the mercy of a 7 pound infant.

I've been having some mild contractions this evening. About 5 or 6 during the past 4 1/2 hours. Nothing to get too excited about...but enough to make sure we have everything ready to go if it is time. Since I had a false alarm night with Noah, I'm a little more cautious about jumping to conclusions that it's the real thing. I'll believe it when the contractions really start hurting and getting very close together.

But regardless (unless he pops out in the next 2 1/2 hours) he will have a November 20-something birthday. I see my doctor again on Monday, and if I actually do make it to that appointment, then we'll schedule an induction for later in the week. She said she'll only let me go a week late, and if she lets me pick the day then we'll go with Friday. So at the latest, he'll be here by then. But lets hope it won't take that long...

There goes another one...maybe it will be tonight after all.

(Sunday morning: no baby)

Come on out, baby brother. I wanna play with you.

Ready to move on

Kids got up at 5:15 this morning. The latest they've slept all week. Maybe eventually they'll get back up to 6 or 6:30. Maybe.

(update: this morning (Sunday) they slept until 6:45!!!!)

**

9 days till the due date. So really, any day now. Just waiting. Bags are packed.

The kid is hanging pretty low and feels so heavy when I walk. I only have about 2 maternity shirts that still fit because my low-riding belly pokes out of the bottom of the rest. And I'm not even that big...I only gained 15 pounds with this one (as I did with Noah too).

**

Noah's word count is coming along slowly. He's advancing much faster in his motor skills than in his verbal skills (he can drink out of a cup without spilling and he can climb from the floor into a seated position in his high chair if the tray is off...what a little monkey).

But here are his current words: dada, mama, bye, fish, juice, uh-oh, water, ball, sock, and duck. He can do the animal sounds for a cat, dog and duck.

He communicates perfectly well with pointing, gestures, facial expressions and grunts/noises. So I think he doesn't feel very motivated to speak just yet. But that's okay, he's getting there. Maybe Erin does enough talking for him.

37 and a half weeks

There is no doubt that we are getting to the very final days left in the pregnancy. Not only are there 18 days left until my due date, but...

• he's majorly cramped in there and squirming like he just can't get comfortable
• I have to be helped off the couch (or roll off if I'm by myself)
• I can't comfortably sit at a 90 degree angle
• my heartburn is worse
• my other two kids can't sit on my lap because there's no room
• most of my maternity shirts don't fit anymore
• the Braxton Hicks contractions (practice contractions) are more frequent and intense
• at my doctor check-up this morning, she said I was 1.5 cm dilated, so we're on the way soon!

I've been telling Erin that her new baby brother will be here in a couple of weeks. This morning, she asked me if he was going to break my belly. I said no. And then she asked if I was going to open my belly to let him out. I said no again, but really couldn't find the words to give her the correct answer. Isn't parenting fun?

Really, really soon

I've had it on my to-do list for a little while to start packing the hospital bags. The one for the baby is easy, can be done anytime. And the one for me can have some stuff packed ahead of time, and then a list of things to go in last minute (things I use everyday). But I've been putting it off, maybe because packing this stuff up forces me to realize how soon this day is approaching.

I just got finished packing the baby's bag. Not as painful as I thought...only took 10 minutes. There was actually very little to bring for him. And looking at the newborn clothes very quickly brings back the memories of my first two being newborns. They are just so small and helpless.

A little over 3 weeks left until my due date. I think I've crossed over from the holy cow, slow down, I'm not ready...to lets just get this over with. His birth day will be here within the next few weeks and I'm ready to move on and adjust to life with 3 kids

This past week

Just finished up a wonderful week/weekend. Sean and I had our little cabin mountain get-away from Wednesday until Friday afternoon. It rained a little bit on Thursday, so we didn't get to do quite as much naturey stuff as we wanted to. But Friday morning we rented a pedal boat and went out on the lake, which was beautiful and peaceful. Overall a great trip and just enough quiet time to get us recharged and back to reality.

Sean's parents were here taking care of the kids (thanks again!)...a challenging job to do with a stubborn 3 year old who won't listen to you and a 16 month old who is testing out the ways of the world. But they did a great job and everyone survived!

On Saturday Alex and Kara came down to visit and hang out (Sean's brother and his girlfriend for those who don't know). They brought their two big dogs, which the kids had both love and fear of. It was great to visit with everyone, and I assume the next time we see them it will be to introduce the new little one.

**

Speaking of him, only about 5 weeks left, plus or minus. I'm quickly getting to the stage where I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore. I'm ready for the heartburn to go away, my full bladder capacity to come back and to not have a belly that sticks out way too far. Also, he's a strong little guy and his kicks can borderline painful. Lately he's been pushing against my hip bone, I think with his head.

I've had it in mind to get another belly photo on here. I think it's been a while. Guess I better hurry up before I lose my chance.

Seems like yesterday...

Since Noah started preschool, he was forced into getting rid of his morning nap (which wasn't too difficult). So now he's sleeping in the afternoon for 2 1/2 to 3 hours!

During most of his first year of life he drove me crazy with his 30 minute naps. Then for a while I was getting an hour to an hour and a half out of him. But to regularly get up to 3 hours is amazing!

**

This morning I took a tour of the birthing center at the hospital. I just wanted to be familiar with where to go when it's time and to have a few minor questions answered.

Since I've had my hospital stay two times now - one only being a mere 15 months ago - it all came back like it was just yesterday. Even the small details of the things you want to forget (the things that make you wonder why you're doing this yet again).

In addition to seeing the hospital today, two friends of mine have delivered their sons this week. And looking at their photos on facebook is making me look forward to meeting mine. They are so tiny and sleepy...looking like old wrinkly men.

Only 2 short months to go...

30 weeks down, 10 to go

So we're 30 weeks in. Only 10 more to go. Once you hit the thirties, time just seems to speed up and then you've got this newborn. I'm not ready yet...

I had my sugar test last week (testing for gestational diabetes) and I didn't pass. So I have to go back this morning for an extended test. With Erin I failed the first and passed the second. So lets hope that happens again. The worst part of these tests is that you can't eat beforehand. Asking a pregnant woman to not eat for several hours is quite cruel.

Not a big fan

By far, my least favorite pregnancy symptom is leg cramps. I've had them occasionally with each pregnancy, and they are rough. It's no fun to have a tennis ball size knot in your calf for about 20 seconds at 4am.

Little Sea Monster #3

When I was pregnant with Erin, I had my blog titled "Lil' Sea Monster" (or something like that) for awhile. And of course that was referring to the fact that you could just look at my belly and see hands and feet stretching and pushing about. It's about the weirdest thing to watch this baby move from the inside.

I'm at that point now with the third one that you can see the movement when he's being active. He seems to toss and turn quite a bit. Erin has felt and seen him move a couple of times, but hasn't seemed too impressed. I'm guessing she probably thinks it's a 6 out of 10 on a scale of coolness. Oh well, I still think it's pretty cool.

Poor Noah, though. He will be too young to know that a baby's coming until he sees him in the hospital. I suspect we might have more jealousy with him than we did with Erin. She was just over 2 years old and handled it better than I could have imagined. We still have the problem with her that she just smothers him with too many hugs and kisses. At least with another baby around, that smothering will be divided between the two of them, and Noah will get a little relief :).

Maternity

I wish they made maternity clothes that wouldn't shrink over time. You can only where some shirts for so long before they become regular clothes (or could at least pass for regular clothes, but are certainly not big enough anymore to accommodate anything larger than a 6 month belly).

I have my first appointment this Wednesday with my new baby doctor. I picked her from the hospital's list...she was the only female in her own practice. She's new to town and pretty young (might be younger than me), so I hope I like going to her and that she knows what she's doing. As long as she doesn't drop my baby after delivery, I think we'll be fine.

Not much to report on the pregnancy. I guess I'm around 5 months now. Belly is slowly growing...trying to put on some weight. The movement is getting stronger and more often, but Sean still hasn't felt any kicks from the outside yet (actually, we haven't tried much to get him to feel anything...poor third kid doesn't get much attention...been there, done that).

Also, we have found that insurance companies don't like babies. We have a gap in our insurance coverage (the month of August) and we have found it impossible to get short-term coverage if you are pregnant (not only do the policies not cover any maternity care, but you can't even get the coverage at all if you are already pregnant). Luckily, the agent who got us our new auto and home insurance is going to hook me up with a plan that will take me - minus baby related stuff. So as long as the pregnancy continues to be uneventful, we'll be fine.

Okay, off to enjoy my quiet house...Noah is napping and Sean and Erin are in Charlotte helping Alex move. I don't have long, though. He'll be waking up soon...

Found out a little early

I thought we wouldn't find this out until 2 weeks from now. But at my appointment this morning, she asked if I wanted to take a sneak peak. So now we know...and it was quite obvious that it's a boy, no doubt...

When we asked Erin what we should name the baby boy, she said "Noah."

The curse is lifted!

I felt very good yesterday and perfectly normal today! I'm so relieved that it has gone away! That was not a fun 5 days.

**

Our little one will be a year old in 11 days....how did this happen? I'm most excited about dropping the bottles and formula!

**

Also, we're moving in 5 1/2 weeks! That time is going to fly by because we have lots going on in addition to packing up the house.

Next weekend is Noah's birthday and a day trip to Chattanooga (to visit the aquarium and the children's museum...Grandma and Grandpa B are going with us). The following weekend is our going away party (my playgroup is throwing it for us). The week after that is a trip to Myrtle Beach with my parents. Then we come back home for a week and move on July 2nd!

4 days

My new mega-morning sickness continued strong over the last 4 days. It was pretty miserable. I've got Sean's mom here to help me with the kids since he is still in dissertation mode (the Big Defense is this Thursday). I'm not sure how long she'll be staying. I guess that's up to me and my tummy.

Today has seemed to ease up quite a bit and I'm feeling the same as I did prior to this past Wednesday (which means I get nauseated as I get hungry, which makes me not want to eat anything; I get full fast and therefore get hungry - and nauseated - not long after eating). But it's a little better than feeling sick from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed.

Around now is supposed to be when all the nausea goes away, for some it's at 16 weeks (I know for others it goes even longer...lets hope not). Right now I'm at 14. Two weeks seems like a long time....

NOT the most fun day

By far, today was the worst day of morning (morning = all day) sickness I've had so far in this pregnancy. I'm looking forward to going to bed so that I can stop feeling so sick to my stomach. I even called Sean home a little early from work to give me a break from the kids (which I never do).

The nausea hasn't been that bad over the past 13 weeks. It's mostly associated with hunger, but today it was pretty constant. Hoping it was a one day thing.

And I'm in the second trimester now, why isn't it going away??

We'll know in 6 weeks

Had a baby check up this morning. Everything is still looking great. Nothing really to report from the appointment. But in 6 weeks - June 29th - we'll find out if it's a boy or girl!

The tiny one

Aside from announcing the new baby, I guess I haven't talked any more about it yet.

I'm at 12 weeks now, going into the second trimester. So far, it's been pretty identical to my previous two pregnancies. I'm still getting nauseated throughout the day, but that's usually fixed by eating something. And I have to eat quite often to keep the nausea to a minimum. I'm hoping this will fade soon, it's certainly not fun.

That's really all that's going on so far. It's way too early to feel kicks or anything. We should find out if it's a boy or girl sometime in early July. We're kinda hoping for another girl.

I think that Erin has a pretty good understanding that we're having another baby. After we first told her, she lifted my shirt and said hi to baby Noah (even though he was sitting right next to her). I explained that it's not Noah, but a new baby. At least she got the concept that it's the same thing as before.

It's still early on, but I know time will just fly since we'll be occupied with the move and then it will be November before we can blink. I haven't completely processed having three kids yet, but I don't think I'll be able to until he/she is here. Although it can't be as bad as having my first, or adding a second one. We're pros now.

Welcome to the family, Little One

11 weeks along (ultrasound was at 8 1/2 weeks)

Due November 20th

The End is in Sight

At my last appointment, my doctor had told me that she'd be going out of town next week (leaving on the 6th - my due date). She said I had the option of being induced Friday or Saturday if I wanted.

Since my appointment this week isn't until Thursday afternoon, went ahead and called the office this morning to see about getting scheduled for the induction (in case Thursday was too short notice to be scheduled).

So, we are going in on Friday at 5:30am, unless of course he decides to come between now and then. So at the latest, he'll be here on Friday.

**

I know women are induced early all the time for various reasons, but I didn't really see myself doing this without medical necessity (or being a week overdue, or whatever).

We like keeping things as natural as possible: using cloth diapers, breastfeeding, eating as little processed food as we can, etc. So, to me, it feels like we're going against that by "forcing" labor to start early for convenience.

It's not even so much that I have to have my doctor. I wouldn't mind a substitute. But if I don't take this chance to be induced now, I could potentially go an additional week until my doctor gets back...and that would be an eternity.

So my need to let labor happen naturally and in it's own time has been overruled by my need to have this baby AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

It's a big relief to know that Friday is the day. I can make it till Friday.