The Day Before

September 23, 2010

I took Emma to preschool. I went to HEB and got a huge blueberry muffin and a coffee.

I had an OB appointment at 9:50. Tony met me there. I got a flu shot, and weighed 178 pounds. I was 4 cm dilated and 90% effaced. We scheduled an induction for Oct 1.

I had lunch with an old friend. I had tater tots and a grilled chicken sandwich. It was really good.

I picked Emma up from school. We went to the mall and bought a baby book and calendar for baby brother.

We came home and I dozed on the couch while Emma watched some TV. Tony had a big meeting and dinner with his boss and and a client. I put Emma to bed myself. I read her several stories and sang to her. She fell asleep quickly and I watched her, enjoying some cuddles. I thought it might be the last time in a while I put her to bed.

Tony came home with a steak, courtesy of his boss, for me. We split it and enjoyed talking together. We went to bed about 11pm.

Flowers!

From my mother and father-in-law! They are beautiful, thank you!

Nursery pic #3

Chest of drawers, closet on the left and door and the right.

Nursery pic #2

Glider, cross-stitch by Grandma Smith from 1979, changing table with another quilt to hang up, also made by my Granny Peterson.

Nursery pic #1

Daddy's awesome paint job, and a quilt made by my Granny Peterson.

A closer view

Panda bear is done!

Last night I finished Emma's panda bear. His proportions are not exact, and in this picture he appears to have a giant arm and smaller than normal head. But he's done! It took me about 4 hours to complete the stuffing of the head, attaching the nose and eyes, and then the head and limbs to the body.

I hope that Emma likes him. I plan to give him to her tonight when Tony is home. Maybe we can record it. I sure hope she likes it!

Sneak Peak

The bear is almost done! The last few nights I've worked on the head, muzzle, eyes, nose and ears. All that's left is assembling the head and limbs to the body.

37.5 weeks!

The view from here

Yes, my belly is a great table for my bedtime sandwich. And yogurt for dessert.

Baby Boy Week 37 Update

Today I went to the doctor for my weekly checkup. Technically I'm 36 weeks and 5 days, but we are rounding up! He is still head down, at station -3, which just means his head is down but he has not dropped into my pelvis yet. His heart rate is still in the 140's, so that's good. I'm already 75% effaced and dilated 2-3 cm. But this doesn't mean I'm about to go into labor. I remember with Emma I was dilated to 5cm for almost 3 weeks and she was 3 days past due. So we are still looking at about 3 weeks. I gained another almost 7 pounds in the last 2 weeks! So that puts me at 45 pounds gained and I can tell! My belly is so heavy, it just aches.

We are just about ready for him to arrive around here. We have the car seat in the car, Tony is packed and I'm about 95% packed. We still need to figure out what will happen with Emma when I go into labor. Of course that will depend on when that happens, but we need to write up some plans so we are prepared. We still need to hang things in his room, but we have the bassinet set up in our room so he'll be in with us for a while.

3 weeks

Just about 3 weeks to go until baby boy is due! I'm feeling very uncomfortable! It's like I'm wearing extremely tight pants, and if I could just take them off my belly would feel so much better. Of course it's just because my skin is tight and so stretched that it hurts most of the time. Also I'm having a lot more back pain this time around, which is probably normal, I'm doing a lot more keeping up with Emma and getting ready for the baby.

Tomorrow I will go for my week 37 appointment. I'm sure I will have gained another 5-10 pounds but we shall see. I am certainly ready to no longer be pregnant, but the labor, birth and newborn stage are going to be a challenge so I'm not really ready for that. We have just a few things left around here to do to be ready. We do have the car seat installed, lots of clothes and diapers ready, and the bassinet is set up in our room. We are almost all packed for the hospital, I have a few last minute things to get packed.

Lastly I am trying to finish the panda bear I started for Emma a few months ago. I'm so close, if I would just sit down and do it I could probably finish in an hour or so. But my concentration skills are lacking right now so I haven't done it.

Dueling bellies!

My friend Gina on the left, 36.5 weeks and myself, at 35.5 weeks.

Random Thoughts

I'd really like a new kitchen faucet. The current one is 10 years old and wasn't top quality when it was new.

I don't think the baby's room is going to be done before he is here. I just can't get organized and I'm running out of time.

Emma went to bed tonight at 8pm. I didn't know what to do with myself. She's been staying up so late at night I hardly have any free time.

I still haven't finished Emma's panda bear. Hmm, maybe I should be working on that but I stashed it somewhere and I don't feel like looking for it.

The baby has hiccups right now!

I went to a casting call today for pregnant women for a breastfeeding campaign the Department of State Health Services is doing. I just filled out a short questionnaire and they took a few pictures of me. If I am selected I will participate in a photo shoot next week. I'll receive a CD of all the photos and $300! That would be so awesome but I'm not very confident I'll be selected, they had a huge response to the casting call.

I'm hungry, like all the time. I bought 5 pounds of grapes on Wednesday and I've already eaten half.

My sister is going to Germany in 10 days. So jealous! Wonder if I'll ever make it over the pond.

I don't have any bras that fit currently. And I'm too cheap to go buy any. Well more broke than cheap, but whatever.

I have curbed my candy eating recently but still have a few Dove chocolates everyday.

I miss going out with my friends. I feel like I have hardly seen or talked to some friends in months. And it's not going to change any time soon with another baby on the way.

I'm still hungry, gotta find a snack!

30 weeks!

Hmm cake!

Chocolate cake and icing from scratch!

Where did June go?

Wow I can't believe I missed a whole month of posting! (not really, I'm bad about consistency)

June was a busy month. But it's over so I can't remember what we did. Well, we did take our family vacation to Galveston. That was a great trip. Emma had fun at the beach and the pool and we all enjoying eating out. We also had visits from all the grandparents and Emma enjoyed those immensely!

July is going to be every busier than June. Emma is taking dance lessons starting next week. Today I bought ballet and tap shoes for her. If I had planned ahead I might have been able to get some used, but planning ahead is not always easy for me. We also have more family visiting for a week later this month, then Emma is going to have a weekend with my parents while Tony and I have a stay-cation here at home. It will be my first time away from Emma for more than just a few hours ever. I hope she and I both do ok. I've been talking about it and preparing her so I think it will be ok.

In other news, the kitties are now outside cats. We transitioned them in early May, for a few reasons. Mostly I could not keep up with cleaning up the cat vomit and then Anya started peeing on the couch, and that was really the last straw. Anya is SO happy outside, she rarely wants to come in and I know she's an explorer. Chloe is not so happy and has clawed a good bit of insulation from around the door as she tries to get in throughout the day. One day I'd love to have a cat door installed, but that's way down on the list of many other things that I need or want to be done before the baby arrives.

I will try to be better about posting this month, even if it's a short update. Please check our family website for pictures and more news about Emma and baby boy!

My Pecan Tree

It's grown since last year! It's now just a bit taller than my waist.

Lantana closeup

Backyard.

My "Dallas Red" Lantana

Backyard.

22 1/2 weeks!

Weaned!

It is done. Emma is weaned. Over all the experience went very well and we only had a few rough days. I wanted to remember this and also have a record for Emma so in addition to blogging I have kept a written journal.

On April 21, 2010, a Wednesday, I decided as I nursed Emma at naptime that this would be the last time. The next few days I wrote about here.

Then on April 28, I did nurse Emma again. She had a couple of rough days and each day at naptime she was becoming more and more upset. On this day she was crying, begging, pleading to nurse. I wasn't feeling great myself, I was upset and I think we both needed that connection one more time. So I told Emma we could try to nurse to show her that the milk was all gone. She latched on and started to nurse. Immediately I felt the tension in her body melt away, she was calm, relaxed and peaceful. She only nursed a few minutes before she was fast asleep. I rocked her for a long time and enjoyed the moment. It also made me feel better to have that physical connection again.

The next day at naptime I was prepared and brought a cup of milk to Emma's room. When she asked to nurse I reminded her that Mommy's milk was all gone but she could have some milk from the cup. She accepted this and took a few sips of milk. There were no tears, she was calm, and naptime was very peaceful.

Over the next few days and weeks Emma would ask to nurse but always accepted my explanation that Mommy's milk was gone. We continued to talk about Mommy's nummies, milk, and nursing but she was not upset when I refused to nurse her. One day I forgot the cup of milk and she didn't ask for it, so we've dropped that at naptime. She never drank much of it anyway and she doesn't seem to want it.

On May 11th I took Emma with me to an Attached Parenting meeting. At this meeting there are lots of nursing babies and toddlers so I was interested in how Emma would react. She saw a baby nursing and asked me to nurse several times. Finally she would not be distracted so I let her attempt to nurse. She latched on but it was as if she had already forgotten how to nurse. She did try and latched on several times before I asked if there was any milk. She said no and stopped nursing. She was just fine, and I think by letting her see for herself there was no milk made it much easier for her. It was very painful so I'm glad she didn't nurse for long!

So that's it, Emma is weaned. She still talks about milk, and my nummies. She likes to hug them and pat them. I never thought I would nurse for so long. It's been the best mothering experience I've had so far. I know it's helped Emma to be as healthy as she is, and helped us establish a wonderful bond. I love her so much, I just hope I can continue to mother her in other ways so that our bond continues to deepen.

I'm still here!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm working on a few new posts and I hope to get them up this week! Emma is keeping me very busy but this is her last week of Mother's Day Out so I've been using all that time to get other things done. Check back soon!

Hmm, apple pie!

Almost

We are almost weaned. We haven't nursed since Wednesday. Thursday at nap time Emma asked to nurse but I refused her for the first time. I tried to explain that there was no more mommy milk and instead I would cuddle her and read her stories. She was ok, she didn't cry or protest. She just made a pouting face and said "aw". But she hasn't been sleeping well since then at all. She has woken up the last 3 nights about 3am, crying and very upset. She doesn't ask to nurse but I think she is upset, but just doesn't know how to explain herself. And Friday night and Saturday night she has been asking to nurse at bedtime. She doesn't get upset but she does pout her lip and slightly whine a bit. I am trying to give her lots of extra cuddles but I have no idea what she is thinking and I'm afraid that I'm doing some silent psychological damage to her. Maybe I am surprised that she's not crying or protesting when I refuse her. But the not sleeping and crying at night just has me worried.

I don't know if I am doing the right thing. I miss it and I know she does too. But I really don't think I have any milk left and it hurts a lot to nurse. My breasts don't seem to be engorged so that's good. I just feel so sad about it, but I feel like it's been 4 days so we should keep going. I think I'm mostly sad because it means she really is growing up and she's not my baby anymore. If she had protested even the slightest bit more or asked repeatedly, I would have probably given in. Who knows, tomorrow I may cave. If she cries or asks repeatedly at nap time I might. I know this process can be a bit back and forth, so it wouldn't mean we were going back to everyday. I am trying to remember everything about Wednesday, April 21, in case that really was the last time we nursed.

Albino bluebonnet

There were about six in a small area along the service road in West,
Tx. This one was the prettiest and fullest of the six.

Nursing while Pregnant

I'm almost 16 weeks now! Emma is still nursing at nap time, but has begun to skip some days here and there. I think we are getting closer to weaning. Honestly I could probably just tell her no and she'd be mostly fine, I think. I may have to do this soon, as it is starting to hurt to nurse. The first 12 weeks were not a problem, but now I'm really sore. The right side is worse than the left, but I'm still alternating sides each time we nurse.

I'm also feeling the baby move quite a bit now. It's mostly flutters, but I know it's the baby. I feel like I have just gotten off a roller coaster, and my stomach is doing flips. It's really unsettling and still makes me nauseous. I hope as the baby gets bigger the flutters will go away and I'll just feel regular baby movements. I don't remember being so affected by the movements with Emma once I was past 16 weeks.

I'm finally starting to show a bit. My maternity pants are still too big, but regular pants are too tight. So I've been wearing yoga pants for weeks now. Also, I'm back from an A cup to a C cup, in just about 4 weeks. That was fast!

Blooms!

My ajuga is blooming!

Sunshine kitty

Weaning Update

I think Emma is almost weaned. She has not nursed for a significant amount of time since last Wednesday, March 3rd. Last week we did our normal naptime routine, with her nursing to sleep. Then on Thursday we went to West to visit my parents. I tried to get her to take her usual nap in the afternoon by laying down with her and offering her the breast. She latched on and nursed for maybe a minute, but then stopped. She was too excited to be at Grandmom's and Granddad's house to nurse. After a few hours my mom was able to get her to take a nap, but she just wasn't interested in nursing.

On Friday I tried again several times to nurse her at nap time. She latched on a few times, nursed for 5-10 seconds, then would stop. On Saturday it was the same story, she would latch on and nurse for a few seconds but that's all.

On Sunday I didn't even offer her the breast because we were driving back to Austin and she napped in the car. So today I was very interested to see how things would go. After I picked her up from Mother's Day Out, we played for awhile. I asked if she wanted to nap or to nurse and she said no. I thought about just taking her into her room, to the rocking chair but I didn't. After an hour of playing she was really tired and pretending to nap on the floor. I again offered her to nurse or take a nap and she said no. I then asked if she wanted to watch TV in our bed, and she did. I turned the TV on and within about 10 minutes she was asleep. Without nursing. She had a nice 1.5 hour nap on our bed.

So maybe she is weaned? Maybe tomorrow she'll want to nurse? Now I have to decide if I offer it to her or not. Maybe she's really ready to wean and if so that is ok. I'm a little sad about it. I just love her so much and love the close relationship we've had nursing for over two years. If she is truly done then I'm glad it's her final choice. I did make the decision to cut back a few times over the last 8 months, but if she's really done then I'm happy it's her choice.

Abby's Wand

Here is the wand I made for Emma. It did not turn at all how I wanted, but I just lost my creativity when it came time to sit down and make it. I covered the dowel rod and the stars with a soft light pink fabric and glued it on. Then I glued a ribbon to the top. Emma didn't seem very impressed with it and has hardly played with it. Maybe she'll like it better when she's older. I also realized that this looks nothing like Abby Cadabby's wand on Sesame Street. Maybe I'll try to make another wand that looks like Abby's, but not right now.

Something crafty is a foot!

Yes, an actual CRAFT at Crafty Knitty Kitty. Amazing, I know!

Emma loves Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street, especially her wand! She got an Abby doll for Christmas and Abby has a little wand in her hand. It does not come off, but Emma has tried many times to get it out of her hand. So I decided that I'd make Emma her own wand. I went to Michaels and bought some purple and pink beads, some dowel sticks, and some wooden stars. I plan to wrap the dowel stick in a pink or purple fabric and glue it down, then paint or color the stars for the top of the wand. Then I'll throw some beads on it and she'll love it, right? Ok, now I need to get started on this, so stay tuned!

Random thoughts

My house is a mess. I just can't keep up with cleaning. I can barely grocery shop and cook meals 75% of the time. Our carpet is so gross I am thinking of buying a extremely large rug to cover it.

I'm very close to buying a jogging stroller. In fact I think I'm going to order one tomorrow, I just want to sleep on it tonight. I really want to start running and walking again. The weather will be getting nice again soon and in 2008 and part of 2009 I really enjoying getting out with Emma. I had bought a used jogging stroller but finally got rid of it because one tire kept going flat. Anyway, I hope to have my new one by next week sometime!

When spring arrives I want to start letting the kitties outdoors for a few hours everyday. Any poop and puke that can go outside is less for me to clean up. I'll have to get them vaccinated and that will cost some money but I think it'll be worth it. We have a friend that mounted some kind of glossy sheet metal all around the top of their fence to keep their cats in, and Tony says he'll do it for our yard. Even if he doesn't, I think they need to be outside some, for my own sanity. By about 3pm everyday they are camped out in the kitchen waiting for dinner and trying to trip me by walking around my legs. I can hardly go into the kitchen without getting attacked by the cats. It's probably because they are starving. I have stopped feeding them as much as they want. Less food in should equal less poop out, right? Right. But don't worry, I'm not starving them, they are still getting plenty. I'm just not letting them snack all day.

Finally, I will try to post more often as I've apparently got at least 7 readers out there! Thanks for posting your comments!

Getting closer?

We may be getting a bit closer to weaning Emma. The last two weeks I've been trying to change her naptime routine to more closely resemble her bedtime routine (when she doesn't nurse). We've been reading stories and I offer her water from her night time sippy cup. Most days she still asks to nurse. I try to get her to take the water instead but mostly she still nurses. But the first time she didn't nurse at naptime was Friday, January 8. It was strange really, she didn't even ask to nurse that day! I read stories, she drank her water and then she slowly drifted off to sleep as I rocked and sang songs to her.

On Monday January 11 it worked again. She asked to nurse but when I offered the water she accepted it without any tears so I went with it. Day two of napping without nursing! Then on Wednesday January 13 we didn't nurse again, but it wasn't a smooth naptime. She asked repeatedly, about 10 times. If she had started to cry I would have nursed her but she didn't. So that was day 3 of not nursing at naptime.

Then on Sunday, the 17th, we didn't nurse because we were traveling back from Waco. I timed it so that we left when Emma was tired and she just feel asleep in the car. But this week she has demanded to nurse everyday and when I try to distract her with water and books she's not buying it. So I will keep trying and hoping that she can adjust to not nursing.

De-lurker Day!

Apparently today is De-lurker day. You're supposed to leave a comment so I know you're out there! Just say hi, or bye, or something. You don't have to sign up to blogger to comment. You can select the Anonymous option but then leave your name inside your comment!

I'll guess that I get 1-2 comments. But that's ok, I'm certainly not writing to create a big following!

I promise to update again soon, we have been making progress on weaning Emma so I have to chronicle that for the blog.

2010

Well I've gotten some inquires about why I haven't been blogging so I'm back! I was just a little swamped with Christmas, Emma's second birthday, the New Year, the New Decade and occasionally sleeping that blogging was put on hold. Don't worry dear readers, I'm back! I'm so flattered that you both missed me! ;)

I know we are already 11 days into 2010 but I wanted to take a little look back on the last decade and highlight some events.

April 8, 2000 Met a cute boy with blue eyes out the country at a failed tubing trip turned cookout. I sang an annoying song and he later ask a mutual friend for my phone number.

April 28, 2000 Had a first date cute boy. It took him a few weeks to fit me into his busy schedule but I think he's glad he did!

May 5, 2000 My sweet childhood cat Tiggy passed away after a brave but fast battle with cancer. It was a Thursday and I was in the mist of my last finals at UT before graduating. I knew that he was dying and planned to go home on the weekend to be with him. But my Mom called and said that I need to come home asap. So on Thursday morning I took a final at 9am and then drove to West. My mom went with me to the vet and we had to put my sweet Tiggy to sleep. Very sad day. Had second date with cute boy.

May 27, 2000 Graduated from University of Texas!

November 3, 2000 Cute boy (know as Tony or husband from here on out) asked me to marry him! I said "HUH?" then "YES!"

November 3, 2001 Got married!

June 2004 Purchased our first (and current) home.

November 2004 Welcomed Chloe Cat into our home.

April 2006 Welcomed Anya the Lillipoots kitty into our home.

August 16, 2006 Lost my Pawpaw to cancer.

May 5, 2007 Discovered we were pregnant with Emma!

May 15, 2007 Lost Granny Peterson.

December 25, 2007 Emma's due date.

December 28, 2007 Emma's birthday date!

July 20, 2008 Lost Granny Mangrum.

The rest of the decade was filled with lots of days of fun, love and little sleep!