Our Baby Girl: Week 36

Week 36 is done!  I am now full-term and getting closer to my goal of May.  This week was so hectic.  Colin's daycare was closed for the week so Will and I had to scramble and figure out how we were going to cover time with Colin at home without using that much PTO.  Both of our jobs were having a very busy week as well.  I think this week was the most exhausted and stressed out I have been the whole pregnancy.  I am in between wanting baby girl to come and wanting to hold out until May.  Either way we are getting closer to little girl's arrival and all three of us are so excited!



Sneak Peak

My good friend (who happens to be a great photographer) and I went to Old Town Alexandria this last Sunday to have a little photo shoot.  It was so much fun!  Thankfully we were able to fit it in before baby girl's arrival.  She sent me a couple of 'sneak peaks' pre-edited.  So, I will write more about the overall experience and more about my friend as well once I receive more pictures...but here are just two or three to look at.



Taken by Amy D.



Taken by Amy D.

Taken by Amy D.

We Love Spring

Colin and I are home today and tomorrow so we are having some fun craft time.  Today we painted a birdhouse. We are going to put it outside on our deck, so the little birds can eat bird seeds off of the little birdhouse porch.

I was pretty impressed with Colin's decisions on where to put the wood stickers.  We took turns choosing. I was thinking that his would be all over the place but it turned out pretty cute.

Our Baby Girl: Week 35

Week 35 was kind of a slow week because I know that my doctor's goal was for me to make it to 36.  My appointment went well though.  My fluids increased and baby girl was moving more.  I did not notice it though.  My placenta is anterior (meaning it lays right down the middle of my belly and it is believed (the nurse did not seem sold on the idea) that it can mean you may not feel as much movement because of the location. It acts like a pillow. She does move when I eat ice cream so I have been prescribed a lot of that! 

I think Colin is getting really excited for his baby sister's arrival.  He has been such a good helper.

First Sleepover

This last week Colin had his first sleepover.  His cousins Aidan and Alexei came over.  Here is a couple of pictures of them before I woke them up.  Colin was so excited the whole time.

Colin's Superhero Haven

Since we were painting the nursery we wanted to change Colin's room as well.  We went with a Superhero theme and he LOVES it! 



When we moved in





Will and his dad worked on this




The only decorations that are not really superheroes are the little trinkets I buy him from my trips.  You can sort of see them on the top of his bookshelf.  Most of his books are in his playroom but his favorites stay in his room.

His big boy Spider-man bed!

Oh, Colin started naming his own stuffed animals.  Will would tease me for my names.  Tiger was Tiger, Lion was Lion and so on.  That is how the famous Bunny got his name. I thought it was a great way for Colin to learn what they were and it was easy to remember (for me).  Well Colin now has a Teddy Bear named Cheese, a Tiger named Bread, a dinosaur named Toasty, and a Lion named Soup.  I think it is cute and so adorable!  Will is a little iffy on it.  I bet he misses my names!

We put a few of the final touches on his room today.  Well I think we have one more thing to do but here you go.



We will eventually add to this wall. 





I did his name and Grandpa B did Captain America's shield.



Our Baby Girl: Week 34

What to share this week???  Baby girl is still not moving a whole bunch.  My doctor's goal is to have me make it to 36 weeks.  I am hoping to at least make it to May.  Fingers-crossed.  I have been trying to take it easy but it has proven a very difficult thing to do when one is 'nesting' and one has a 3 year old running around.  We are getting ready though.  Baby girl's clothes are washed, her crib is set up and her room is mostly done.  We need to order a dresser and hang up a few things.  Here are some pictures this week.  It was after a nap.  Belly is getting bigger.  I am really close to the 20 lbs mark, which right now seems to be all belly.  I had been wearing my regular pants this whole time with an amazing invention the belly band that allows you to keep your pants unbuttoned.  Well, I tried on my pants this last week and they would not go all the way over my bottom...so sad.  But it is a very good achievement to make it to 34 weeks and still be able to put the pants on!  Maybe the extra cushion in my bottom will help my tailbone!

Our Baby Girl: Week 33

Well this week was somewhat eventful.  I was threatened with the dreaded bed restriction.  I went for my regular appointment on Wednesday and told my doctor that baby girl has not been moving very much the last couple of days.  Like a drastic change.  So, she had me do a non-stress test and baby girl was reactive in the beginning but dropped off.  Then she did a sonogram and noticed that my placenta is already looking older (so smokers placenta once again) and that my fluids around baby look low.  Thankfully they measured OK.  She gave baby girl a test which she scored 6 out of 8 on.  She did not do a breathing gesture and is concerned that if she is not happy in her surroundings that she may not be developing her lungs like she should.  It does not help that I am still measuring small and she is measuring big.  I wish my belly would grow to give her more space!

So, she told me to pack my bags (just in case) and then set up an appointment for me at ATC.  Talk about a stressful night.  I was 33 weeks (almost 34) and still have a month and a half.  I am realizing that she may not make it to her due date of May 14th but at least May 7th would be nice.  Or at least May!  She is roughly 5 lbs right now and I would like her to be bigger.  I would rather have a bigger baby than a small one.  Colin was 7 lbs 9 oz (and lost to about 6 lbs 2 after birth) and he was a good size. 

Thankfully she did better the next day.  She did the breathing gesture once and did better on the other test.  She is not moving as much as she was but is moving more than the last few days.  Stressing mommy out! 

Our Baby Girl: Week 32

I am a little late getting this out but we had a busy weekend - and I am just exhausted.  I am not sure I have a lot to report.  We are getting very excited to meet our little girl.  Also nervous.  This time I know what to expect but I think that is almost making me more nervous.  Last time I just waited for it to happen.  Now I want to know how it will happen...will she have to be induced? Will she be early?  etc, etc.

I feel OK for the most part.  Still in pain and still wishing I could sleep more.  Not quite at 15 lbs yet so that makes me happy as long as baby girl is OK.  I would not mind gaining some more weight if that meant she and I would be measuring the same.  I am thinking she is still ahead of week 32 and I am still behind it.  I do feel like she is limited on space in my belly, so it does need to get bigger.

Also, here is a video of Colin tonight.  He recently started dancing and singing "shake your booty".

Looking Back: 6-9 Months

Hmmm...Colin between the ages of 6-9 months seems so long ago.  I realize I am making this a lot harder on myself by reminiscing during my  second pregnancy and 3 years later, but I really want to get caught up. 

~~ 6 Months ~~ 

May/June 2008 -- 18 lbs

During this time we were still in our apartment, which was quickly becoming too small for our very curious little boy. Colin was able to sit up pretty well on his own.  He was so active (and has not let up) as a baby. Always on the move. He started by rolling to places that he would want to go, then he quickly progressed to scooting on his bottom (very cute), and then he would crawl but more like a snake.  He did not want to get up on his knees.  So, he would use a lot of arm strength, which made it harder on himself. At the beginning of this time he started sleeping through the night - Will and I had us a really good eater who ate fairly often, what can you do!  We appreciated that he decided to let mommy and daddy sleep until 5 AM.  We started introducing fruits when he had tried most of the vegetables.  I was a little leery of things that can possibly upset my stomach (due to my families history of stomach issues) but Colin (so far) has not had any problems.  Except during the first month or two.  At 6 months was when his love for bananas started and has not stopped.  

Colin laughed a lot.  An adorable laugh too!  It seemed like he was experimenting with laughing. Those months (well all months) were so fun.  I loved seeing him discover new things.  I could not find any of our pictures from the game, but at 6 months we took Colin to his first professional baseball game (Nationals).  He seemed to have a good time.

~~ 7 Months ~~ 

 June/July -- 20 lbs

Sadly, during 7 months he started waking up again in the middle of the night.  I cannot remember why though.  I think we increased the amount of oatmeal he was getting and that helped...I think.  My memory is terrible!  He still wanted bananas all of the time. Colin was always making noises.  He was destined to be a talker (I know like his mom). He was saying "mama" a lot and playing with his lips all of the time.  It was like he discovered them all over again.  Colin had his first tooth at this time as well.  We barely noticed though.  He never really had any issues with it causing him to be cranky.  We were and are very lucky with C-man's disposition.  He is almost always happy (probably 90% of the time).  We just really did not have to deal with a cranky baby.  Well -  we did a little when his stomach bothered him during the first few months but even that was not that bad compared to stories I have heard.  

Around this time Colin discovered Bunny (aka Buddy).  He was a Easter gift from Grandma Liz but Colin became inseparable with him between 6 and 7 months.  He LOVED Bunny's tag. When he was falling asleep or zoning out he would  start to rub the tag.  He has always done this and now the tag is pretty much gone, but if he is really tired he will still start to rub in that area. 

Colin loved Jack Johnson at this age and classical music, but he would kick his legs like crazy when mommy would need a break and put in Metallica or Godsmack.  He also loved pianos.  Both grandparents here in Virginia have one he has always had a blast pushing on the keys.

 P-pa and Mi-ma came to visit during July and Colin got to venture out to Arlington's National Cemetery.  Colin has always had an interest in really tall people.  He just kind of stares up at them.  They do not scare him, he is just mesmerized.  He has embarrassed me a few times with this.  He is so obvious about it.  Well, he did the same with my dad.   

 ~~ 8 Months ~~

July/August  - Still 20 lbs

He started waking up every once in a while from teething during his 8th month. It did seem to cause him some discomfort and he wanted to be held.  He liked the cold rags to chew on...well he liked anything he could chew on.

He had a pretty good routine for his meals. Colin loves routines. That has always been the one thing that can throw him off and will be the closest he gets to having a tantrum. He would have some kind of fruit, some oatmeal and then a bottle for breakfast.  Mid-morning he would have a bottle.  Then for lunch he would have a vegetable, some rice cereal and yogurt mixed in with it.  Mid-afternoon he would have a bottle and then for dinner he would have a vegetable, a fruit and some yogurt.  Then a bottle before bed.  He also loved the puffs but not as much as bananas! 

He became obsessed with eyelashes and was always trying to grab them.  He was also getting good at pulling himself up on a table  and was still scooting around on his bottom or stomach.  He had two teeth at 8 months.  At this time he started saying "da da".  He loved to dance to music.  He would shake his hands all over the place. 

I will include the bulk of the 9 month details for the next blog.  At the beginning of 9 months we started introducing baby meats and he had a visit from his Uncle Greggie.  Who he enjoyed a trip to Gettysburg with, which may have been his first trip out of the state. I am pretty sure it was.

He are some pictures from that time.



Will with Colin and Uncle Ed





Uncle Greggie and Colin







Starting music early





Gettysburg