Rhys is Here!

Here's his birth story. It's probably a little incoherent since I have not slept in almost 24 hours!

I started having contractions around 11 pm on Saturday night. We'd gone to the mall and I walked my tail off, I guess that may have helped. I wasn't really sure they were the real deal since I'd had that false alarm, so I decided if I went to sleep and they woke me up, I would maaaaaybe think I might possibly be in labor. And they did. Around 5 am the niggling sensation of cramps did indeed wake me up and I couldn't go back to sleep. So I took a shower and messed around a bit, and woke Dave up and he showered and got ready. We got Henry ready and took him over to our friends' house. They were just leaving for church so Henry got out of our car and into their van. They have four kids, the youngest of which is only 8 weeks younger than Henry. The mom always said she wanted twins, so she kind of got her wish for the day, lol. It also reaffirmed my belief that she is, in fact, Superwoman since I sometimes have trouble juggling JUST Henry and she watched him plus four more. (I am sure "SEP" helped too, a huge "Thank you" to both of you!)

So off we went to the hospital. It is about a 20 minute ride and my contractions started coming about every 3 minutes. I think Dave was freaking out because he kept wanting to time them and saying "Wow...they're really close...is that normal...they are really close." When we got here they checked me and I was still only 3 cm so the OB had me walk the halls for an hour. That's when the real pain started. After about a half hour, I was doubled over in pain every time I had a contraction and we'd have to stop walking. I was hoping it meant I was progressing. The OB finally checked me and I had gone from 3 cm to 6 cm in that hour! I was so proud of my little cervix, ha! They decided to keep me (well, DUH there was no way in hell I was going home in that amount of pain, unless they were going to send an epidural or a hooka or something home with me) and moved me to a room.

I labored for several hours until the pain became unbearable. I really didn't want an epi, in theory, but hoooooooly crap. It felt NOTHING like my contractions did with Henry, these were killer. It felt like someone had hooked a crowbar inside my pubic bone and rectum and was pulling down full-force. I cannot even think of a way to describe the pain that would do it justice. So I labored and cursed and gave Dave the finger at one point (heh!) and after several hours and a bit of pitocin, I was at 10 and ready to push. Oh, but before I got to 10, around 8 cm I think, the epi WORE OFF. So I went through transition without hardly any pain relief. I was shaking and nauseus and scared...I knew that meant transition and tried to stay calm, but it was difficult.

So I pushed and pushed and pushed and he never got past zero station. The OB tried forceps but said he was just too high to use them safetly. Oh and by the by, forceps shoved inside a not-numb vagina HURT. I think Dave almost got sick watching him put them in, I saw his eyes get huge. Rhys' heart rate kept dropping and it was very scary. We'd hear the monitor doing the "chug chug chug" thing and then "chug..............chug...........chug" so I did not object in the least when he suggest we just do the section. He said my pelvis was narrow and "android" shaped (like a heart) AND to top it off, Rhys was sunny side up. So he wasn't budging.

They wheeled me into the OR and I basically demanded they just redo the epidural because of my horrible spinal experience with Henry. They did, it worked and Dave got to come in (YAY! He was not allowed in for Henry's birth) and he held my hand. It took a bit to get to my uterus, apparently I had some adhesions from the last section, but after 20 minutes or so at 5:04 pm, they told Dave to stand up and look and there he was! I heard a little cry come from the other side of the curtain and got all teary-eyed. They brought him over for a second, but there was meconium in the fluid so they had to suction him quickly. I sent Dave with him and eventually he came back and told me what a whopper Rhys is and said he was doing fine. I think I dozed off at that point because I do not remember being stitched back up.

I didn't get to see him for several hours because his blood sugar was low (what's with my boys and their blood sugar issues?!) and he had mucus in his stomach since he was a c-section baby and it didn't get squooshed out during birth. We have tried breastfeeding several times since then, but he is really sleepy and not really interested yet. He is just so cute and perfect and cuddly! We're both so glad he's here safely. I cannot wait for Henry to meet him today and get a picture of our newly-enlarged family!

All I Got You Was a Card...So Far

Happy Father's Day to Dave! He woke up with only one kid today, but may go to bed with two. We are going in to the hospital in a little while. I started having some very mild contractions last night, but tried to ignore them after being toyed with by my uterus last week. But around 5 am they woke me up and I've been timing them ever since. They're coming about every 5 minutes and lasting for a minute or a little more. It doesn't hurt where it did with Henry (my back and legs). The pain is centered around my crotch, like it's being split open with an axe. In between I feel fine, though.

I will update more later.

We've Resorted to Separate Bedrooms

Well, we're officially a Victorian-era couple. We have taken separate bedrooms. Dave wakes up every time I get up to go to the bathroom (which is about once an hour) so he decided it would be better if he just stayed in the guest bedroom until the baby comes. The fact that I find it most comfortable to sleep ACROSS our king-sized bed instead of parallel with it might have something to do with his moving too, but he says it's the peeing thing.

This morning is not going well. So far I've woken up to some raunch going on and then I threw up. I'm basically living on promethizine now even though it makes me sleepy. The Zofran makes me incredibly hostile and it's better for everyone if I'm a slug and not a raging maniac.

Henry woke up in a horrendous mood, so today is probably the day I'll go into labor and he'll be a total butthole for the folks that are going to watch him. He wouldn't even let me change his diaper, I had to go get "Dada" to put the smack down. I don't know if he had problems or not because it was about that time I ran out of Henry's room to barf. His eczema is really acting up the last two days, so that might be why he is a crab. You would not believe how many people have said "What's wrong with his face?!" in a horrified tone like it's covered in boils or something. I always pause, blink, and say "He has eczema." I don't mind someone asking about it but good grief, why say it like that? "OMGZ!!11!! What is WRONG with him!?!?!?!"

I think Henry's going to need a haircut soon. I really don't want to cut it, but it's looking sloppy in the back. Now the big question - where to get it done? I wish Dave had a regular barber, we'd take him there and start him off right. I don't want to take him to Great Clips or somewhere like that, and the woman who had been cutting my hair won't even call me back to schedule an appointment (what is that all about?) so she's out. Maybe I'll just do it myself, there are only a few wisps that need taming.

Well Dave wants to go to the mall which opens in about two hours and it takes me a while to shower and get ready. I better start moving my nauseus carcass now or else it will be lunchtime before we get there.

My Sandal Betrays Me

I am such a klutz. Dave and I went out to eat with some of his relatives last night who were in town from Wisconsin. Henry had a poopy diaper so Dave changed him in the back of the Explorer. I didn't want to ride back home with it in the car so I headed across the parking lot to pitch it in a dumpster. As I was returning to the car, I stepped off the curb and somehow my sandal managed to ball up in the front and I fell face first into the pavement. I tried to break my fall with my hands and knees but I kept on going and landed square on my belly.

I was so terrified, embarrassed and scared something was going to be horribly wrong. AND there was a car coming and they didn't even slow down. W. T. F?! Neither Dave nor any of his relatives saw me fall, but a group of older people did and started screaming at me, asking if I was okay. I got up and waddled back to the car, crying, with gravel and blood all in my palms and knees. We quickly said goodbye to Dave's relatives and then I got in the car and started bawling.

Luckily we were about 10 minutes from the hospital so we headed on over. They hooked me up to the monitors and did a cervical check (still 3 cm) and ended up saying they were going to keep me 24 hours for observation. The baby was fine, no problems whatsoever, a few contractions but nothing that would be considered real labor. I finally got moved out of triage and into a room but I could NOT sleep. The bed was horrible, noise, noise, noise, the monitor going off constantly and summoning the nurse because Rhys was moving all over the place. They finally gave me a xanax at 5 am and I think I got 2 hours of sleep. My OB let me leave this morning since nothing looked bad. I could not WAIT to get home and I am totally dreading going back to deliver now. I wish I'd delivered vaginally last time so I could go to a birth center this time around, but they won't take VBACs. I'm also scared that I'm going to go into labor this afternoon before I get any rest and have a miserable delivery. He can stay in for another week as far as I'm concerned now, I need the rest!

Non-Committal Uterus

I'm recording this for posterity, in the event I am insane enough to go through it again.

Monday, 11pm - 3 am: I have contractions that are 5 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute a piece. They are perfect, textbook. AND THEN THEY STOPPED. I was really disappointed.

Tuesday: I felt crappy all day, lethargic, upset stomach, heavy limbs, just generally out of it. I also felt very anxious, clammy and had hot and cold spells.

Wednesday 2 am - 6 am: I struggled to stay asleep because I kept feeling my abdomen tighten and I had some crazy dreams/nightmares. I threw in the towel and got out of bed around 6:30 am. So far I've timed two, one-minute contractions that are 15 minutes apart. These are a little different because I can feel them peak and then dissipate better than I could the other night. I thought I felt peaks then, but this is much more clear. They're also concentrated mostly at the top of my stomach, whereas the ones Monday night started in my back and radiated around to the front where my c-section scar is located. When the contraction peaks, it feels like something (his head, I am assuming) is pushing down and I have to take a major crap. Side note: I have not taken a major crap. They also feel like they're pulling down and I'm having trouble breathing when they occur.

Well who knows. It might be today, it might be next week, I might end up with a c-section at 41 weeks, though I seriously doubt I'll go that long. I've briefly considered all old-wives tricks, including giving Dave the wanton eye, but he dismissed my suggestion as "trying to force things to happen unnaturally." No...taking a mirror and a crochet hook and giving yourself an amniotomy is forcing things to happen unnaturally, and thanks for making me feel so good about myself! I didn't really want to touch you either, dude.

So tired, so, so tired. Oh and let me add:

Nesting urge: GONE. It was a struggle just to put together a burrito for dinner and pop it in the microwave. I am officially DONE with prebaby preparations.

38? 39? Week Appointment

Who knows how far along I am. The nurse managed to read the stupid wheel wrong today and wrote down that I am 38w2d which makes me due on June 21st. Ridiculous.

Anyway, the appointment started out with yet another growth ultrasound and the tech said he weighs 7lbs 10 oz plus or minus a pound and a quarter. So basically between 6 and 9 pounds. Such an exact science, that ultrasounding. Then I saw the doctor, who donned gloves and to my delight, said I was 3 cm and 80% effaced! That's more than I was when I went to the hospital with Henry. So...why is nothing happening?? That's a lot of centimeters. He said they'll plan to strip my membranes next week. I asked jokingly if I could have an epidural for that, considering the exam today was excruciating.

So I'm off to bounce on my ball - which I give full credit for all this progress - and hope that something happens within the next week.

My Sweet Pumpkin

Is he cute or what? Unlike Mama, he is able to wear last year's swimsuit. It is a little snug in the waist so I'm going to get him a few new ones, but that one will do for a bit longer. I booked a trip to Myrtle Beach in August at a kid-friendly resort. We're all looking forward to it and going for an ENTIRE WEEK. I am so excited, I don't think we've ever done a week-long vacation, especially not just us and not one - but two - boys in tow. Dave said "I get to build sandcastles with Henry!" I told him he had to trade off and take Rhys a bit, so I could play with Henry too. He said no. We shall see!

Henry did the cutest thing today. I went upstairs to check on him because he'd been napping for three and a half hours. When I got to the top of the stairs, I heard a little voice say "Mama!" and I knew he was awake. I went into his room and he was still sitting in bed, being all bashful and shoving his face into his pillow, grinning. I sat down on his bed and he patted the pillow beside his head and said "Mama! Pillow!" So I laid down beside him and put my head on his pillow like he'd asked. He just laid there and grinned at me and started saying "Mama! Dada! Chlo-Chlo! Ree Ree! Ree Ree take a nap! Dada...nap! Mama!" and on and on. So cute!

The frenzied nesting continued today. I rearranged the kitchen cabinets and removed the spices from the lazy Susan. Henry likes to play with them and one of these days he's going to get into the cayenne pepper, so I decided there was no time like the present to avoid disaster. I moved the coffee mugs and apparatuses over to the cabinet above the coffee maker and moved the spices up where they used to be housed. I soaked all of Henry's old bottles in a diluted bleach mixture, and matched up the baby sippy cups with their tops and lids. I organized Henry's medicine and called in a Nystatin refill just in case Rhys gets thrush (I am fully anticipating this). I also made a list of things to buy tomorrow, boxed up baby and maternity clothes I'm donating to the First Baptist Mission center, and stocked the diaper bag I keep in my car with necessities for Rhys. And all of that, I did in about an hour. Oh and I had several pieces of mail to address and sign and I gathered up my library books to be returned on Tuesday. I need some new fluff to read. I just finished "Everyone Worth Knowing" and "Sequence." They were both just okay; I think I liked "Everyone Worth Knowing" better, and yes, I know books should be underlined, but I am too lazy to correctly format the titles.

Actually, it seems like the author of "The Devil Wears Prada" (who also wrote "Everyone Worth Knowing") has the recurring theme of "cut and run" when things get hairy. It happened in both books. And in both books, the misfit, nerdy-turned-fashionable main character goes from a life in the public eye, to one of obscurity, overnight after patching up a falling out with her best friend. Now that I think about it, it's like I read the same book twice.

Maybe "Sequence" was better after all, though I did guess the ending about two-thirds into the book. It had this "scientific" element to the story, but tried too hard in my opinion, to drop names of famous scientists, companies and equipment (like ABI means anything to anyone outside of the molecular biology world) and lend credibility to the author's scientific knowledge. It was just sort of...elementary to me. It was like watching CSI and knowing that there is no such machine that takes a hair sample from a crime scene, "processes it" in five seconds, matches it up with some database and provides a picture of the criminal on the computer screen, along with their global position. I wish Michael Crichton would write a new book.

I am resisting the urge to dismantle the lightbulb globes on Rhys' ceiling fan and wash them off. They look a little dusty. This nesting urge is ridiculous, and wholly unfair because I am physically incapable of doing half the things I want to do. Like dig up the entire flowerbed in the front yard and fix it. Stain the deck and stairs. Plant a dogwood tree in the front yard and rake gravel below the deck and screened in porch. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will do it next spring.

Maybe I should just go to bed.

I Am Ready to Deliver

It's official. I am ready. He is free to come at any time.



I got my toes done today. This is a luxury I could get used to quickly. Look how fat and roly-poly they are! I had her do a French pedicure because I couldn't decide what color to have them painted. I really like it, despite the fact that my feet are as fat as hot cross buns and my toes look like happy little sausages. I also got my eyebrows waxed, but I didn't bother to take a picture of that, since they're usually waxed.

I also bought a Diaper Genie II at Target. What a cool thing! Why haven't we had one of these for the last two years? It actually keeps the stink of piss contained, I am totally amazed. We'll see how it does for poops. I did some finishing touches as far as stocking the house goes today too. I added some newborn diapers and diaper rash cream to Henry's diaper basket downstairs, I stocked the diaper bag with an outfit change, socks, mitts in case he's a scratcher and a blanket, and I made him a little diaper basket to go in our room for middle-of-the-night changes. I think the diaper genie will come in here once he's home too. I feel a little more prepared. I just need a few more tubes of diaper rash cream and I'd like to label the wipe boxes with their suggested locations ("DOWNSTAIRS," "HENRY," "RHYS," "CAR," "MASTER BEDROOM," etc. Can't ever be too anal, you know?). I need to stock the diaper bag that stays in my car permanently too. I guess I will do that tomorrow.

Henry is screaming bloody murder. He'd woken up about an hour ago, totally incoherent, blabbering on about milk and Dada and Clo-clo and I think he'd had a nightmare that somehow incorporated all of them. I brought him into bed with me and he dozed on and off until Dave came up to bed and shuffled him back to his room. He is not pleased. He wants to come back in here. Our sentiment is "Oh well." He's calmed down now, so I guess he's either decided the pain of having to sleep in his own bed is too great and he's offed himself with a toy hammer, or he's decided to give up and climb in his own bed. I hope it's the latter.

A Henry Funny

Today something stunk. I said to Henry "Do you have poops in your pants?" and he said "No. Just toots." And he was right!

Some Random Thoughts

Why on earth would anyone want nationalized health care? I hate going to the post office. I certainly wouldn't want to get a pap smear done there. Yuck.

Why hasn't the USPS been abolished? It's a blatant monopoly and their service isn't anything close to stellar.

If we're given stimulus checks to use towards TVs and crap like that, isn't it stimulating China's economy, not ours? I should have gone out and bought $1500 worth of American flags. Instead, I did the responsible thing and paid off a credit card.

Why does my dog think it's okay to put her freaking front paws on the side of Henry's chair and try to grab food off his plate? Is he an easy mark? She doesn't even circle my feet, she knows getting anything from me is out of the question. Poor Henry.

Did I just hear correctly, that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is ENDORSING Barak Obama?? Um, people, that right there should tell you which box to check this fall!

Does anyone else think Puff Daddy and Jerry Seinfeld look alike?

Can we please build some refineries and drill in Alaska in tandem with finding new energy sources? If gas goes to $10 a gallon, we're all screwed, "global warming" or no. (NO NO NO!!)

I am getting a pedicure tomorrow, yay!

I Bet He'll Come This Week

I only bet this because we're in the middle of a heatwave. It's supposed to be close to 100 degrees this week, so it would figure that he would decide to arrive. Henry was born in similar heat. We didn't have a usable garage then (key word being "usable") so taking him anywhere was a nightmare. One of us would have to go cool the car down, which never really seemed to get cool, and then when we were leaving wherever, we'd have to go cool it down again. I spent a LOT of time at the Target with a parking deck to avoid a 200 degree car.

Henry and I have been really lazy today. Dave forgot to set his alarm last night, so he woke me this morning by hollering "It's 9 am, go get Henry!" I think Henry was still asleep, but I'm not sure, I don't really remember. I wasn't totally awake when I went down and changed his diaper. We ate breakfast and colored in coloring books and watched Sesame Street. I complained to one of my message boards that I felt like a crappy mom because I didn't feel up to taking him places in the heat, like the park. It just gets SO HOT here, and the humidity is awful. The heat index tomorrow is supposed to be 107, neither of us need to be out in that. It makes me wish the basement was finished. I guess he's got the run of the first floor but it just doesn't seem fair to him. I am not sure why though, he's got a ton of hardwood to ride his little airplane toy and a designated play room and Noggin and PBS at his disposal. Maybe I should just stop worrying. I'm going to get Dave to clean out his kiddie pool tonight so I can set it up in the driveway tomorrow. It's on the screened in porch right now and getting zero sun, so the water is way too cold. I think we may get him a water table this weekend to put back there, which hopefully will also have room for some sand. I think they make combo tables.

Today when Henry woke up from his nap, I sat in bed with him for a few minutes. I pulled his sheet up and said "This is a sheet. The sheet will keep you warm." He said "Oh no!" I looked at him with a puzzled look and he repeated "Oh no! Oh no! *grabs the sheet* It's oh no!" I realized he thought I was saying "shit" and he was correcting me the way we correct him! So now he thinks you sleep under an "Oh no!" We also had this conversation today:

Henry (holds up a blue crayon): "Yellow!"
Mama: "No, that's blue."
Henry (holds up a red crayon): "Yellow!"
Mama: "No, that's a red crayon."
Henry (holds up a yellow crayon): "Black!"
Mama: "No...that's a yellow crayon."
Henry (holds up a black crayon): "Yellow!"
Mama: *sigh*

He tried! I didn't know he knew black, so that's a step in the right direction.

Oooooooh! A contraction! A contraction as I type! Okay it's gone. See, he's practicing to come out.

38 Week Appointment

Well today was the most hellish appointment I've ever had at my OB. Henry was an absolute TERROR the first half of the appointment. I had to do the "pee in a cup/get weighed" routine and that child did NOT want to come into the bathroom with me. I had to pick him up like a sack of meal and carry him into the bathroom, screaming at full volume, where he promptly threw himself down on the NASTY OB bathroom floor and rolled around. He was so loud and just completely unruly, I ended up crying myself. He finally settled down, but not before the entire waiting room stared us down. I wanted to yell "GET A FREAKING IUD!!!" to every lady in the waiting room.

My blood pressure was 135/95 but the nurse attributed it to someone's temper tantrum (more embarrassment) and my pulse was 105. I gained FIVE POUNDS since last week. Gaah. So much for not gaining a ton.

Anyway, I saw the nurse practitioner today and begged for an internal just because I wanted to know if anything was going on down there. She was really nice and agreed. I am 1-2 cm, 50% effaced and Rhys' head is at -3 station (HIGH). She ordered a growth ultrasound for my next visit because my fundus was measuring 39 weeks. That sounds dirty but it's really not. Fundus. Ick.

A picture of Rhys

He's got his hand in front of his face and it's a picture of a picture so it's not that great, but you can still see his chubby cheeks. This was taken last week at my appointment. He weighed 6lbs, 4 oz according to the ultrasound tech. Then she added "Plus our minus a pound." Wow, that's some margin of error, I could have GUESSED that without a fancy machine! But if he does indeed weigh a little over 6lbs now, then that puts him on track for being the same size Henry was when he was born. Henry's head always measured 3 - 4 weeks ahead of his gestational age, and Rhys' head was right on target with his body and gestational age, so here's to hoping it fits through my pelvis, unlike someone else's big giant noggin.

I had gained five pounds since I was there the last time, which was only a week and a half before. I got on my scale today and I weighed the same as I did last Monday, so hopefully it was a one-time weight increase and I'll hold steady for the next three weeks. We'll see tomorrow at my appointment. I still weigh about 10lbs less than I did when Henry was born and I doubt I can put on that much in the next few weeks, but who knows. I'd only gained 11lbs total over the course of the pregnancy until my last appointment, then all hell broke loose. Oh well, it's not like I was going to be able to go back to modeling swimsuits anyway.

There's another update below too.

I have way too many due dates

This stinks, I really don't know when to say I am due.

The due date I calculated originally is June 19th. That leaves 25 days until I am due.

The OB's stupid freaking wheel says June 20th. That leaves 26 days until I am due, and makes me only 36w3d.

The OB's lovely ultrasound machine calculated my due date as the 17th of June, which leaves 21 days until my due date as of midnight and puts me at 37 weeks.

I guess it doesn't really matter, because he's going to come when he's ready, but it's discouraging to see "37 weeks" on my pregnancy tracker, and then 36/35 weeks on the doctor's paperwork. I have an appointment tomorrow. What is it, I wonder? My 36 week appointment? 37? Who knows. They're supposed to do an internal at 38 weeks, so will they do that next week or the week after? I have no idea. They were supposed to go the Group B Strep test at 37 weeks, yet they did that when I was there last week (35 weeks according to them). Maybe they should read their website's schedule of appointments. Anyway, I am in gestational limbo. I don't really like taking my pants off, but I'd sort of like to know if there's any progress. I know it doesn't mean anything but if I'm already 3 cm or something it would make me feel a teeny bit better.

I've felt terrible today, physically and emotionally. I have pretty much scowled and cried since I woke up this morning. Nothing really made me feel better until Dave brought me a piece of Mrs. Smith's cherry pie while I was laying in bed. I might have another, actually. I've had zero appetite today and only want to drink soda. At the same time it makes me feel sick. I don't remember being this miserable with Henry, but maybe I was. I don't think I feel as bad physically because I don't have all the swelling, water retention and tendonitis like I did with him, but it is still very uncomfortable to sleep and turning over is such a chore. As is having to go pee four or five times a night. I have started doing this loud, exaggerated groan every time I have to get up, sort of hoping it will wake Dave so he'll share in my misery. This is 50% his fault, anyway.

We went to church Sunday and decided to try and let Henry sit with us during the service since he seems to really hate staying in the nursery (he started whining when we pulled in the parking lot, I guess he knew). He was so good, he didn't make any noise really, except if we handed him something he'd say "Thank you, Mama!" or "Thank you, Dada!" I whispered "You're welcome" and he started whispering back to us after that. We let him scribble on the bulletin and I had a bag of goldfish and animal crackers that kept him occupied until about 11:45 am. There are pens and envelopes on the back of the pews and he started grabbing for one of the pens. He was pulling it straight back, instead of up, and Dave and I both reached for it to help him get it out because he was started to make some noise. Well, as we all grappled for it, the pen snapped in the center and the spring and ink part shot out and fell to the floor. What did Henry do? Oh he started saying - at full volume - "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" Dave and I were mortified, we both started shushing him and trying to talk over him saying "OOPS! OOPS!" so people couldn't hear what he was saying. Ohhhh it was SO embarrassing, but sort of funny too. The good news is he hasn't said it since, and I think we've gotten him to say "Oh no!" now. But we may be ruined at the First Baptist Church. Maybe the Methodists will take us in.

More Progress on the Nursery

With only four-ish (three? who knows!) weeks to go, the nursery is pretty much finished. Dave moved Henry's crib in and Henry got a brand new "big boy" bed. He seems fine with it, and doesn't miss his crib at all.

We've decided to name him Rhys (pronounced like Reese, only spelled differently).

I got these letters from a seller on eBay. I was going to post a link but it doesn't appear her store is up and running right now.

Other side of his nursery, do the dresser and chair look familiar?

His "fancy" clothes. The rest of his one-million onesies and sleepers (and I am not kidding) are in the dresser. I am not going to have to do laundry for WEEKS!

I'm having a growth ultrasound today to see how big he's gotten. My OB said I was measuring large at my last appointment and they want to know whether he's big, whether I've got a lot of fluid or some combination thereof. That could point to gestational diabetes, which I've worried about because Henry had low blood sugar at birth. My OB said at that time I might have had a "touch" of GD, but it wasn't detected since it developed after the GD test. So I guess we'll see what they recommend if he's humongous today. He surely feels like it. I do not recall being this huge and uncomfortable with Henry. I mean, I was really uncomfortable, but I could at least sleep in bed and not toss and turn in agony. I had to sleep sitting in the recliner last night because he feels like a big bag of sand pressing on my lungs if I lay down. I've been sitting on the birth ball a lot too, it's actually very comfortable, it allows him to drop down some and give me more room to breathe and digest food!

I've got stretch marks this time too :( I only got one with Henry but I can see five or six ugly red streaks forming on the underside of my belly. I guess it doesn't really matter since I never plan to wear a bikini or pose in Playboy or anything like that, but I could have done without them! I'm also afraid to get on the scale today...I made a cake last week and I pretty much ate the entire thing by myself. I bet I will cringe when that hideous number comes up.

And a funny to round off this entry: Last night Dave was taking Henry up for his bath and bedtime and he said "Henry, go give Mama a goodnight hug." Henry ran over to me, did his version of a hug and then ran back to Dave and said "Mama stinks!" HAAA! I didn't, just to clear the record.