39+3 is the Way to Be

These are all just going to be pregnancy updates from now on until she's here, probably. Complete with grainy mirror selfies because the #cantdeal is strong. Here I am at 39 weeks and some change over the weekend.

As the title of this hither post may or may not indicate, I am currently 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant.  (I'm due on Friday.) I've been having on and off contractions (usually on) for almost two weeks now. However, as of my last check on Thursday, they aren't doing anything to move things along. When checked, I was still 3.5cm dilated, 70% effaced, and at -1 station. 

That's the moment I knew I'd be pregnant forever. 

Not to over-dramatize.

The past few days have been pretty rough. The weekend moved at a snail's pace and I got very little sleep. Crampy contractions would wake me up in the middle of the night and I'd have to get up and walk them off in order to fall back asleep. Sort of unrelated, but I also ate lots of cereal. 

These guys kept me pretty good company though. 

Can we talk about Little Will's cowboy boots? He loves his boots and usually insists on putting them on himself. It's such a quirky little personality trait of his and I LOVE it. I have so many photos of him in a diaper and those cowboy boots. I know they will eventually come in handy for display in his senior yearbook and/or that very sad day when he tries to bring a nice girl home to meet his parents. 

Anyway, my doctor basically told me we can induce whenever we want, which is OH SO TEMPTING when you feel like you'll a) be pregnant forever, and b) that when your body suddenly decides not to be pregnant forever, it's going to expel the baby in record speed and you'll surely have a roadside birth. Much rational is the way of the greatly pregnant. BUT! We are remaining patient.

Sort of. 

Don't know how that got there.

38 Weeks with Zelie in My Belly

Still pregnant. 

Or nah?

Feeling like one of those people who takes mirror selfies at the gym.

Black is really slimming, ya'll.

I guess I still have a sense of humor re: my enormity, so perhaps that's a good sign. I'm 38 weeks and, as of 12:11pm today, officially the most pregnant I have ever been in my whole lifeeee. Little Will was induced two weeks early for high blood pressure, and somehow that fact makes the wait much worse now. 

I've been dealing with contractions the past few days that I don't want to admit are prodromal labor, but I'm pretty sure are prodromal labor. I'll have a few painful ones in a row where I get my hopes up a smidge, and then… three more painless Braxton Hicks contractions. Yesterday morning I woke up to painful contractions at 4 in the morning. They were about 7 minutes apart and I couldn't sleep through them, so I went downstairs to consume Cheerios and watch the news. I dozed off again on the couch only to be awakened yet again by two painful contractions in a row. Then they continued irregularly all day, but never picked up. So annoying. But I guess I'm not desperate enough to do the ole nipple stimulation (sorry, Dad, if you're reading) or walk for hours on end, etc., so maybe that's on me. 

Yesterday I had a checkup. My BP was nice and low (111/62, I think? Lowest it's been in a loooong time), however, I found out I am GBS positive (womp womp). I was 3.5cm dilated, 70% effaced, and homegirl is at -1 station. My doctor proclaimed, "Yes, she is even lower, -1 station, no wonder you are having uncomfortable contractions!" Yes, doctor. I am aware. Fortunately, the stupid, no fun, fakey not-labor contractions I'd been having did stop, and I was able to sleep much better last night. But really she is so low that I can feel her slightest movements against my bladder. Lightning crotch is more like thundershower crotch. They aren't quick zaps of pain, but last for seconds (which feels like an eternity). Those will keep you from sleeping too, FYI. 

I took Little Will back to Flip n Play today in an effort to see if I could get some contractions going again. I bounced around on some equipment and challenged Little Will to some races. (He beat me every time.) It didn't quite have the same effect on me, besides feeling like I realllyyy needed to pee the whole time. Though if he ends up taking a 3+ hour nap again (we're almost at 2 now!), it's all worth it! 

Today would just be too convenient a day to go into labor. Will could leave work a little early, childcare would be easy to arrange over the weekend, and the clock on Will's 10-day paternity leave wouldn't start until Monday.  

It's so weird being all WHEN WILL LABOR BEGIN!? I never really got to experience that in my last pregnancy. Will was about to go TDY for nine weeks, I was so anxious to start labor that I was doing everything suggested by the Internet to get labor going. I was so stressed out. It probably led to my blood pressure problems. Either way, I had the date of our elective induction in my mind (at 39 weeks), so there was a definite end in sight. This time, I'm a lot less proactive about starting labor. I mean I just do not have the energy or willpower to be walking curbs or pacing up and down the stairs, no matter how fervently little Zelie wants to prod my bladder. To be honest, I'm more stressed about leaving Little Will to go to the hospital and getting there in time to not have a driveway birth than I am about when the shebang will go down. It's more of a joyful anticipation (if not still penitential, because, ahem, thundershower crotch), but still hopeful anticipation nonetheless. Remind you of another certain season we are in? Life is interesting like that. 

Lately

We've been happily settling into a new routine since Will got home from TDY! Look at this happy reunited family. 

Spoiler: Will probz appear on our Christmas cards.

That is, temporarily at least, until Zelie comes on the scene and we find ourselves in a new routine. Yep, fret not, I'm still pregnant. 

Here I'm 33 weeks and some change during our trip to NC a few weeks ago to visit family. I'm actually currently 36 weeks on the dot today. My girl has dropped. I was growing increasingly forlorn from the state of my Tums consumption situation, when one day Zelie dropped and almost all my heartburn disappeared. Magical. And I also have the feeling every time I bend over that I am actually crushing a baby. So lots of bending in the knees these days. 

How I feel during the day has everything to do with how well I slept the night before. I've been having lots of practice contractions and cramping already. I'm skeptical that I'll make it to my due date based on the contracting, my progress so far (see below!), and my history of gestational hypertension. I've been keeping tabs on my blood pressure and it's been slowly creeping up again. The highest reading recently was 110/85, with my diastolic reading consistently in the 80s, and so we'll see what happens there. I have a LOT less stress about having the baby this time around, so fingers crossed I can just go into labor naturally . . . a little early. ;) 

At my appointment yesterday, I was already 2.5cm dilated and 60% effaced. Pretty similar to my progress at my 36 week checkup with Will actually. I hadn't gained any weight since my last appointment despite lots of ice cream and second helpings at dinner (sitting at 30 lbs gained, woot woot!), but was measuring right on track for 36 weeks. She's been moving a lot less, likely attributable to dropping, but for peace of mind, we had an ultrasound to check her fluids. We saw her puckering up and practicing her breathing. I can't wait to squish her squishy squish face.

What can I say about these two? 

It's been really great having Will back home! As far as TDYs and pregnancies go (ugh), I think the timing of this TDY was really great. I was able to get into a routine of caring for Little Will and then Husband Will returned sort of just as I was getting to the exhausting end of pregnancy. But, due to inertia, I've been able to keep up the energy to take care of Little Will all day without losing my mind or utilizing Nanny Netflix for hours upon hours on end (though he probably gets at least an hour of screen time per day… just. keeping. it. real.) I even encourage Will to go to the gym after work. This does make me feel like a hero. ;) It's the little sacrifices. 

Little Will is 21.5 months. When people ask me his age, I officially tell them "he'll be two in February" rather than "he's just over one and a half." It is an emotionally-charged and significant change.

I can see you rolling your eyes, you know.

What a joy this kid is! He's always surprising us with new words we didn't know he knew. For example, Will showed him the parts of an airplane in a photograph a week or two ago, e.g., the nose, the wings, the tail, and the propeller, and he was able to point them out to us on one of his airplane toys. The mind of a toddler is a sponge. Take another example, however: Little Will really likes to angry-shout at the dogs to sit or be quiet. Don't know where he learned that . . . . Must be from a book. 

He's a total lover lately. During playdates, he tries to give all the other kids—and their moms—hugs and kisses. It's endearing and yet paradoxical considering he has extreme separation anxiety when I try leaving him with the kind ladies he has met many times at the Y childcare playroom. 

He's beginning to outgrow his 18m sized clothes. He LOVES trains, airplanes, and cars, and has no patience for things like crafts, crayons, or chalk. But he does love books! Especially those with subject matter pertaining to dump trucks, pickup trucks, or animals of any kind. Also, due to some loving/borderline obsessive encouragement from his parents, he's obsessed with babies. We're really excited to see how he likes having a little sister live in our house! 

We pushed back his bedtime to 7:30pm because he's been waking up before 6am. So far it's helped a little, but it's been nice for extra daddy time at night. We all get to eat dinner together as a family. He's still napping a solid 1.5-2 hours a day though, so the early wake ups are a tradeoff I can live with. 

I must mention he still poops 3-4 times a day. We introduced the potty ring a few days ago after he showed that he can control his peepee before baths. Every time we put him on the potty, he eeks out a little pee, whether or not he has to go. So that's cool! We have yet to see a pooper though. Suffice it to say we are not getting rid of the diapers any time soon. But hopefully he'll just pick up on communicating when he needs to go, etc., in the next several months or so. No pressure. Promise. 

These are the details you've been missing in your life! What is the diaper status of Baby Billy Brez!? 

Anyway, we are trudging along here. We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving here in IL with some neighbors due to pregnancy travel restrictions. And then Operation: Wait On Baby Zelie really commences. 

Third Trimester & a Coming of Age Story

Yesterday was officially the start of the third trimester with baby Zelie in my belly. Yep, less than three months to go.

I'm pretty sure I've gained approximately the same amount of weight as I did at this point last time, somewhere around 25 pounds gained. I feel about 100x better physically at this point, though, than I did with Little Will. Probably from chasing around a toddler and generally being too busy to stop and whine about the little aches and pains. I really do forget I'm pregnant and that I even look pregnant. (Even though during the first half of the pregnancy, I couldn't stop talking about how HUGE I felt.)

A bump-date of sorts:

Derp.

Turns out it's not easy to get the best bump angle when you have a little human clinging to your hair for dear life.

27 weeks with William. 

IN MORE IMPORTANT NEWS . . . Little man got his first haircut today. 

It's a real coming of age story.

BEFORE: BUT A BOY

Pure mullet.

AKA mad scientist hair.

He was surprisingly docile during the actual haircut. He sat on Will's lap and had this concerned look on his face that silently screamed WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING? But, alas, those two little fingers found their way to his mouth and then he settled in for a smooth finish.

AFTER: BOY II MAN

He was so satisfied with the results he did a little dance in the street for us. (As we screamed at him to get out of the middle of the street.) 

Both these guys got haircuts today actually. 

Lucky ducks.

Anyway, I wanted some snaps of what we all look like now, because by the time Will gets back from SOS (Squadron Officer School in Alabama - freakin' acronyms) in five weeks, I will [definitely] be much larger, William will [hopefully] have some curls back, and Will will [probably] be all slim, trim, and buff from working out in his free time. I guess we'll find out in time. 

Will's First Days

As you can see by the title, we settled on the nickname Will for baby William. We'd been throwing around all the various options, William, Will, Billy, Bill, Willy, Liam, Crazy-face, and settled on Will (Crazy-face was a close second) . . . because the kid looks just like his dad. I have yet to hear someone say he looks like me, other than when he was making his super-grumpy just-born face. 

Thanks, Mom. Though I do see the resemblance here.

Not to sound cliche . . . who am I kidding --- I do not care at all . . . I am LOVING this motherhood thing. It's seriously so much better than I could have ever imagined. I was certainly anticipating his arrival (if you couldn't tell from the dramatic shift in content of this blog), but I wasn't one of those people who felt bonded with the baby when he was in the womb. Websites would say things like, "Cooo, motherhood, la la la, this week, you should talk to your baby in your belly and bond with him! He must know your voice before he comes out or he won't love you, ever!" (Paraphrasing.) Yeah, talking to my belly felt RIDICULOUS. Will felt the same way. It just wasn't our thing. 

Up until the doctor handed him over to me on his birthday, I was still skeptical as to whether it was really a baby in there kicking my ribs and pushing on my bladder. I guess you could say it didn't feel real. 

But it sure does now. 

And it's the best feeling ever.

Now I leave you with this short photo spread to curb your baby Will enthusiasm for a little while,  during which time I will pen my birth story. 

It is sure to be a 50 part installment, which is to say you may just want to come back for more pictures. That's okay. Stay tuned. 

Introducing . . .

William Hugh 

Born Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at 12:10 PM measuring 7 lbs., 11 oz., 20"

We left the hospital yesterday afternoon and everyone is doing great!

We are so blessed to call this baby boy our son!

(And it doesn't hurt that he's super cute.)

36 Weeks

I'll keep this one short and sweet today. (Edited to add: Ha! I ramble on forever in this post. Get your skimmin' eyes ready.) Last night, allll night (from 8PM to 8AM), I dealt with a bout of false labor, or a false start, or whatever you want to call it. They were what I would call slightly painful, time-able Braxton Hicks contractions. When I timed them, they were about 3-5 minutes apart, but not painful enough for me to wake Will. And they were WORSE when I laid down! I finally slept from 5-7AM. I got up around 8 and showered when they slowed down considerably. 

I took the hardest nap OF MY LIFE this afternoon (after Mass and the largest Cracker Barrel brunch you ever saw!). You know, the kind where you wake up disoriented and your whole body hurts because you haven't moved in the slightest in over an hour? It was glorious. I'm still having crampy Braxton Hicks contractions but they are irregular (I think  - not really paying attention) and markedly less painful. 

Boo. Let's hope things get going for real soon because we all know baby's on a deadline.

Here we are at 36 (and a half!) weeks:

And same shirt, same pose, same 'do . . . 7 weeks apart. 

Good thing I went up a size when I bought this shirt! And I think my hair put on half an inch. That's attributable for like an extra half pound of weight gain, right? (I was at 43 pounds overall gained at my appointment on Friday.)

I won't be following the usual preg post format because, ehhh, the nap wasn't that good.

This past week was weird. In the beginning of the week, I was my normal tired self, cursing the shopping and to-do lists before me. Then things took a turn on Thursday and I felt amazing. I told the doctor at Friday's appointment that I thought the baby was quite comfortable in there and wouldn't be out for a while! Notwithstanding my efforts to get things ready for him to come out. I started a low dose of evening primrose oil, did a lot of bouncing/pelvic rocks on the exercise ball, and took some Tylenol.

The doctor did the GBS swab and offered to check me for dilation and effacement. As he put his hand on my belly, the baby kicked him as to say "don't listen to my mom, I want out of here!" Yes, I was 2-3 cm dilated and the doctor could feel William's head. (N.B. I was so excited about dilation, I didn't think to ask about effacement. Only later through Dr. Googs did I learn that it's actually a more important sign for when you will go into labor. Oh well. Only a few days until the next appointment anyway.)  The doctor assured me that it wasn't a sign I would go into labor soon, but I was just excited about being 25% of the way done dilating before even going into labor. I'll take it. He told us he thought we'd have a "healthy 7 or 8 pounder" and then told us a story about a 12 pound baby he delivered where the baby's butt got stuck in the birth canal and he had to yank it out. Ha! Noooo thank you.

I didn't have any cramping or problems after he checked me (I was kind of fearing it would be painful, but it wasn't at all) and Saturday (yesterday) was another good day, until I got in the shower and observed my belly contorting to the oddest shapes. It was like the baby was going from the left side to the right side, back and forth. Then, while watching House of Cards (so into this show right now!!), things got painful. The rest is history, as in, I already complained about it in the beginning of this post. 

And now we wait and see if things start up again . . .

This is what he did all weekend. Definitely wasn't watching golf. No way.

. . . while we ponder the structure of a perfectly just society. Or watch Netflix. One or the other.

The Nursery

There's nothing like a three-day weekend to scratch those final pesky to-do's off your list, or in other words, to get your husband to do stuff for you. Without further ado, here is the completed nursery . . . 

All together now, breathe a sigh of relief. Ahhhhhh. 

We went with an Air Force aviator themed nursery as Baby Brez is named after his great-grandfather, William Hugh, who flew B-17s during WWII, and, of course, my hubs William Patrick, just joined the U.S. Air Force (though he prefers being flown to flying). (We can't forget, also, that Baby Brez is named after my own dad and brother, who are both named William as well. It's not weird or confusing, just an awesome name. Maybe we'll go all George Foreman and name all our future sons William.) 

I think perhaps they bear a slight resemblance? Eh? 

Willy Hugh on the left in the 1940s. Willy Patrick on the right at our wedding in 2010. 

Just a little.

It's the chin.

Now that we understand all the onomastics of Baby Brez (don't think I'm smart - I happened to watch a NatGeo special on King Arthur today and learned this word, ahem . . .) and the motivation behind the choice of theme, we can get down to the gritty decor details. 

At the entrance of the room, Will spray painted and hung some old shelves (formerly espresso brown). He also spray painted the letters, which were originally bright pink, blue, and green (from the baby shower), and displayed them with some toy planes that were also leftover decor from the baby shower.

This rocking chair below, given to us a few years ago by Will's parents, was also a dark brown. Will spray painted it white and we added a cushion that would match the gray crib. 

The model B-17 and the B-17 sketch above the closet were also given to us by Will's parents. 

We found the nightstand for $8 at Goodwill and spray painted it to match the rocker and shelves shown above. The B-17 sketch above the crib is a very light poster board material, also something gifted to us by Will's parents that they had lying around in storage. 

On the other side of the room is some storage and a changing table.

You are probably wondering what the heck that window pane thing is. It was a crazy thoughtful and creative Christmas gift from Chris and Rachel, Will's brother and sister in law, who made it with a screen printing contraption that they own. 

On the back of the window pane is a message from Chris and Rach and Will's grandfather's cadet identification card (I believe they just found it online somewhere) containing his actual signature used to create the screen print on the window. Pretty incredible! 

A mother can only hope and dream that her son will have such lovely penmanship.

Below is a cube organizer containing some storage (currently lots and lots of tiny baby socks and some extra sheets). On the backs of five of the cubes, I glued flight maps given to us by Will's late uncle Danny, who was an Air Force vet and air traffic controller. Each map is of an area we've lived: Washington, DC, Daytona Beach, Charlotte, and South Florida.

I stenciled and painted the military alphabet onto another flight map of Florida given to us by Uncle Danny. This was Pinterest inspired . . . so instead of paying $30+ for a couple 8x10 prints, I made this huge poster for about $3 (for stencils and paint).

The boy's potential going-home outfit occupies the changing table . . .

Starting him off on the Momma's Boy track early by making him wear the words "I LOVE MOMMY" across his days old chest and forcing him into baby Uggs. What can I say.

This pair of framed vintage plane prints were nabbed at HomeGoods on a random "let's see if they have anything cute for the nursery" outing while we were still in Florida.

And finally a shot with more detail of the crib, where our dear child will always be watched over, whether it's by Jesus, his controlling parents via video monitor, or the badass Air Force bear. Observe:

We're alwayyssss watching.

Clearly means business.

For inquiring minds, of the items we purchased:

Crib - Walmart

Rug - Overstock.com

Cube Organizer - Target

Changing Table - Amazon

Vintage Plane Framed Photos - HomeGoods

Rocker Seat Cushion - World Market

Red Humidifier - Target

Curtains - Target

Hasta luego.