Seven Months Pregnant!

Everything really does happen at once, doesn't it? My grandma (dad's mom) has gone to hospice. She may not make it through the month. :( I didn't see it coming since she was doing well at Christmas/her 97th birthday. But obviously things change fast at that age; my dad texted me on Joe and my anniversary to say that her kidneys are shutting down. :( It is very sad.

On a brighter note. . .Logan has been sharing more cute things from school. In my last update post (Three), I said that he was singing a "clean up" song here at home that he'd learned there. Well after picking him up from preschool on Wednesday, April 20, he started singing, "Please and thank you sound so nice. Manners are important, be polite." I was like, "That is adorable!" He sings that song all of the time now so I told Michelle when I picked him up last Friday that I just love hearing these songs! Now his latest thing is to put his hands together with mine or Joe's and yell, "Teamwork!" Haha.

Another day (unrelated to school) he asked me to help fix his necklace that broke. I looked at it and assumed it was broken for good, so I told him that I couldn't fix it. He said, "Yes you can, Mama, try harder." I figured with that I better try, haha, so I did. . .and I fixed it!

Later that same day he asked to watch some TV on the television that has Joe's Wii hooked up. I don't know all of the buttons to press to get it to where Logan wanted it, so I told him I didn't know how and we'd have to wait until Daddy got home. He said, "You can do it, Mama, try harder." So, I gave it a shot. . .and what do you know, I got his show going! I told him he's my inspiration :-)

I forgot to mention a funny thing he said when Joe's mom visited the first weekend of April. She asked if she could get him a doll (because it's common, and I agree a nice idea, for an older sibling to be given a "baby" of their own to get used to when a new baby comes into the family). Logan's face lit up and said, "A dog? Yes, I'd like a dog!" We all said, "Not a dog, a DOLL." Logan's face scrunched up and he shook his head emphatically and said, "No, I don't want a doll! No, no." I was surprised he had an opinion since we've never given him a message one way or the other, but we had to laugh. . .apparently only cars and trucks for this boy!

Last Thursday, April 21 we met Brooke & Kaelyn at Bounce-U. I had originally blogged that we were going to go to the zoo, but it ended up raining and being cold again. But, that way I hadn't had cramps or pelvic pressure since April 12. I also haven't had swelling since April 17 or anything else to report. (Baby girl has done that shaking/vibrating thing a total of about 5 times -- not very frequent.)

Bounce-U was super crowded that day, we weren't really sure why, but a lot of kids were out of school. We still had a blast, though, we just didn't go back after lunch like Logan & I usually do. We ate at Don & Millie's, my favorite fast food place, and gave Kaelyn her 2nd birthday gift. (Her birthday was on Easter so they didn't do a party.) We gave her a Sit N Spin, which was the present we gave Logan this year (we just got him one thing for his birthday) -- one of my favorite childhood toys!

On Friday, April 22 when I picked Logan up from La Petite he had his head down on the table and was hiding his eyes, it was so cute. At first I didn't know what he was doing, then I realized that Michelle had hid Easter eggs around the room, so when she said it was okay, he and the other kids scurried to find them. :-) (She says that his two best friends are a little blond boy named Braden and the only black little girl, Ayna.) Logan was wearing a bunny hat that he made and was so proud of -- he hopped his way to the car! He also had three candy-filled eggs from the teachers and one hard boiled egg that he'd colored but unfortunately broke the minute we got home.

Saturday, April 23 we went to this year's Easter Egg Hunt! We learned from last year (our first year) to go to the opposite side of the field so Logan got a lot more eggs this year! He said he remembered going last year (as far as I know that's his first memory), so he knew just what to do, it was fun :-) But cold, though!

After his nap we went to his friend Jaxson's 3rd birthday party, Spiderman-theme! We gave Jaxson a My Toon TV (kids can make themselves into a cartoon) and a Cars puzzle book. The funny thing about the puzzle book is that Jaxson received three!!! Luckily ours was the first he opened so ours won't get taken back, lol, but what a popular gift. Logan enjoyed playing with Jaxson's toys and partying for his second week in a row!

Sunday, April 24 was Easter! We went to church in the morning where Logan danced and sang and sat still and quiet through the sermon. I was actually kind of worried for a bit, though, because the baby was completely still through all of the band's songs. When I was pregnant with Logan he used to practically jump out of my tummy during church, as well as at the movie theater -- and this baby did the last time we went to the theater the end of March. Since she's usually so active, it was weird to not feel anything for so long. However, at the end (after the music was over) she did start moving. . .so it must have put her to sleep! Note to self after she's born. :-)

Lunch was at Valentino's Buffet (we hadn't been there since I was pregnant with Logan!), and then after Logan's nap we did a "present hunt" around our house because Joe's mom had hid a gift when she was last here (she also mailed one which he opened the day before as well as from my mom & stepdad). He also found three gifts from Joe & me -- Lightning McQueen sheets for his bed, Milky Way Bunnies, and a My Toon TV (like what we got Jaxson). We finished the evening by coloring Easter eggs with Logan for the first time! It was so much fun, he just loves crafts of all kinds.

Monday, April 25 Joe woke up with a bad cold. He'd said that a lot of people at work were sick. . .and I thought maybe I had caught something too because by mid-day I was having hot flashes and feeling dizzy and then I threw up! (I was right when I mentioned in a past post that I'm going to come out the same at the end of this pregnancy as last time which was 13, as this makes #11.) But now I think it was just pregnancy because then it went away and although I had a headache in the evening, and felt tired on Tuesday, April 26, I've been okay since. Logan, however, ended up with a runny nose by mid-Tuesday and took a 4 hr-15 min nap that day (and nothing less than a 3 hr nap all week).

As I posted here, Tuesday was Joe & my 8th anniversary! We didn't end up celebrating that evening, though. Joe's golf league was supposed to start the week before but had been canceled due to the weather so even though April 26 was cold, too, they went ahead and golfed. His mom got us tickets to see Wicked Memorial Day weekend so that's going to be our real date night! (She's going to watch Logan) But we did go out to eat on Wednesday, April 27 to Biaggi's because my mom & stepdad got us a gift card as our gift! :-) Logan still had his cold so I decided to keep him home for the first time from school that day (although we went to the grocery store and he jumped in a bounce house that they had outside, so that was fun). He was pretty much recovered by Thursday, April 28 (it took Joe until Friday) so we were finally able to go to the zoo for the first time in over a month!

We were there for three-and-a-half hours and I just walked slow and took a lot of breaks (when Logan got out of the stroller to play) so that must have helped with my walking issue because the only time I felt anything was right at the end, I walked up a hill and had some minor period-like cramps, but after I sat down in my car they went away immediately.

That day was supposed to be Joe's face-to-face interview in West Des Moines but he had to reschedule due to a work conflict (he ended up not getting home from work until midnight that night! He's been working so much overtime lately, even going to work at 4 am -- ick!), so his interview will be on Monday now.

He's changed his mind about starting in August if they offer him a job. For one, he wants to make sure we have insurance when we have the baby (which I agree with) so it doesn't make sense for him to quit his job whenever the baby is born and start his new job a couple of weeks later because then we'd be without insurance during the baby's first two weeks. However, he doesn't feel comfortable having his last day at his current job after the baby, because then he'd feel he's just using them for insurance (i.e. taking a week off only to come back for his last week). Mostly, he doesn't think it'd go over well to work at his old job for three entire months after accepting his new job because he'd feel he was loitering around and it wouldn't be the best of work environment then. :( This week his boss said to everyone "Joe Rodgers is our key to success." Eeek. . .that made me feel bad and I'm not even him, lol!

If he's offered a new job by the end of this week (May 6th), then we're guessing they'd expect him to start by Monday, June 20th at the latest! That means either I move with him which I really don't want to do at 35 weeks pregnant -- or I stay here until the baby is born. . .but that'd possibly be an entire month by myself with Logan! I know women do it every day (military wives, wives whose husbands travel a lot, Jenny - if you're reading this, I'm sure it seems like nothing compared to your past year with four boys!), but what if I go into labor without Joe here? If last time hadn't been so sudden and quick, I'd assume that he could get here in time. But if a second labor is really 1/2 the time of the first then it's possible I may only take 1.5 hrs to dilate. . .the drive is 2 hrs. . .so if my pushing phase goes faster than last time then he could potentially miss the birth of the baby! Okay, so that seems REALLY unlikely, but I still don't want to go two (or three) hours of labor without him. (I know for most women the first few hours aren't that big of a deal, but I can't imagine it any other way than last time when it started in the active stage where I couldn't even talk. If I want to have a relaxed childbirth experience then it needs to include my husband!)

Still, living a part seems the most logical. If Joe starts on June 20, he'd stay with his mom in Iowa while Logan and I stay here by ourselves (Joe's mom is going to be in Honduras June 22-29, otherwise she said she'd come here). Joe would come home that weekend, June 24-26. On June 26 I'd start my 36th week of pregnancy so my mom could come stay with me in case I go into labor before Joe comes home for the weekend of July 1-4. His mom always visits that weekend because, aside from it being 4th of July, it's also Joe's birthday on the 3rd, so his mom would just stay here with me that week (since that's my 37th week -- when I had Logan), until Joe comes home July 8-10 (when I start my 38th week). My mom would stay with me again until Joe comes home July 15-17. That will be the start of my 39th week and, as I stated in an earlier post, I think it is very likely that if I haven't had the baby by then, an induction would be scheduled because of my history with my pelvis since my baby would probably be getting bigger than Logan, having gone two weeks past him. So, Joe would not go back to work after that weekend, and would start his paternity leave then.

Meanwhile, I've changed my mind about staying here for a month by myself after the baby (in We May Just Be Crazy I said that I'd spend the next month packing so as not to move until the baby was 1-2 months old). I decided that would be too stressful to take care of Logan and a newborn baby without Joe, even if I had help from Joe's mom or my mom.

Plus, what if I have to have a c-section? I'm not going to be able to pack at that point. An old friend from my HS has made me scared of it all again as I've been following her story. . .she had her third baby a month ago and this was her first c-section because she had placenta previa. She's had all sorts of problems, had to go to the ER, is on pain medication and is still in pain.

Even if I have another easy recovery like last time, I'm thinking it would be best to start packing whenever Joe accepts the job and be done by the time the baby is here! (Plus, I know myself and there's no way I could just sit around and not pack for the next couple of months, knowing that I'm moving.) Then, I'd be all ready to move when she is two weeks old. Joe would take off of work those first two weeks and then after her 2 week check up (to make sure she's healthy) we would move into our new apartment -- so we'd start living our new routine before the baby and I really have one here! (Another reason we want to stay until she's two weeks old is that we hired a newborn photographer to get newborn pics done.)

At that point (the first week of August) we'd put our house up for sale, and as I said in my other post, we'd come back frequently until the house sells and could still see friends (and even after that to use our zoo membership, lol! Plus, I want to take Logan to Vala's in October, and to Coco Key for our first time this winter, and I'd come back for my 6-week-check up with Dr. Sullivan, as well as any hair appts. with Stacy) but I've decided I won't be a resident here after the first week of August if Joe takes the job.

Soooo, that is the plan -- or at least as much of one as we can make without knowing exactly what day this baby is going to make her appearance! Even if our plan doesn't end up happening like this, it's just so much less stress having a schedule to follow. As I've said about myself before, I do a lot worse when I have no idea what my next move is compared to an idea that may not even happen.

I will ask La Petite if Mondays are still available so that Logan can go three days a week during the time that Joe isn't here, so that will give me one more day of a break each week without Joe here to help me in the evenings.

I was hoping that since they are a chain daycare that Logan could start at one in the Des Moines area and feel like he's essentially going to the same place. He's been doing perfect with being in underwear everywhere every day (although there's still about 10% of public places that I haven't had the guts to take him in underwear yet -- however, the last time he asked, "Am I wearing underwear or a pull up?" to which I realized that he probably would have gone to a restroom had I answered "underwear" but instead went right then since I said "pull up", so maybe this week I'll bite the bullet :p) -- so La Petite will be moving him to the next class within the next couple of months if we don't move which means he'd have to say goodbye to his current teachers, classroom, and most of the children anyway.

But, I was surprised there are only two (one in Ankeny and one in Des Moines that is not very close to what would be Joe's office -- much less than the Omaha area), so chances are Logan will go somewhere else instead. Ironically, there's a place called A Child's World just one mile from where Joe would work -- that's the name of the daycare I went to as a child (and liked but is no longer there)! They looked good from their website. There's also a place called Kingdom Kids Academy that's 9 minutes from where Joe would be working and they have web cams. . .so those are two of the places I'd be checking out.

This way I'll feel that I'll get closure with Logan & my time together doing our weekly outings because I've already been preparing for those things to somewhat end when the baby comes (because I figured I'd want to stay at home for awhile). So Logan and I can still have our last couple of months that I was hoping for here, and then when I feel up to it, we'll find new places/activities in Iowa with the baby and without (since with family close by they could watch the baby while Logan and I spend one-on-one time together). The baby was going to start a new chapter in our life anyway. . .now we just wait and see whether that new chapter will be here or there!

Back to our update. . .Friday, April 29 was my appt with Dr. Sullivan for my blood glucose test. Last time I didn't mind drinking the glucola but this time I drank it as fast as I could because it was nasty. I'll find out the results on Monday; hopefully since I didn't have gestational diabetes last time then I won't this time, either.

Baby's heartbeat was 145 and my blood pressure was 110/76. This was my first week since December that I didn't gain any weight, yeay! So I'm still at 25 lbs total. Today starts my 28th week of pregnancy -- meaning, I am 7 months pregnant!!!! In some ways I can't believe it, and in other ways it feels like I've been pregnant FOREVER!

I asked Dr. Sullivan what if we get to 37 weeks (where I had Logan) and this baby looks to be the same size. She said that they can't induce prior to 39 weeks because it is harmful to the baby, and that hopefully we won't have to induce even at 39 weeks because the ratio of babies who go to the NICU and have problems after induction is a lot higher than those whose labor starts naturally. She said most doctors are not induction-friendly because of the info that they are contining to learn, but the ones who are give a misleading message to pregnant women because, unfortunately, a big baby is not reason for induction (inductions should only be done if there is failure to progress). It's exactly what we learned in our childbirth class back in 2008 and what I continue to read (which is why I don't want to be induced); my last doctor didn't want to induce me, either. Dr. Sullivan said if I have been dilated for awhile and nothing's happening, then we can get things going because second babies tend to do better and go faster with inductions (my friend Stacy who is her patient was induced with both of her babies). . .but now I'm wondering if I get to 39 weeks if I'll be more likely to have a scheduled c-section rather than a scheduled induction. :(

Well whatever. . .I just want what is best for the baby, but it sounds like we won't know exactly what that is until we actually get to that point. She said she will keep her fingers crossed that I go into labor naturally at 37 weeks again because that would turn out the best. . .they won't even stop labor if it's 35 weeks because the medication is actually more harmful to stop labor than allowing a baby at that stage to be born.

SIGH, someday I'll know how this story ends! :p

Friday night we went out to eat to the restaurant that used to be 370 Grill but is called Firebarn now. It was fine. (I spent the first half of the day watching The Royal Wedding -- all of a sudden I'm obsessed with wanting to read all of their biographies!!! I had zero interest in the family before last week until I saw the William and Kate movie on Lifetime. I also liked hearing that instead of wedding gifts they wanted donations to charities to stop bullying because Kate was a victim when she was young. So I decided to watch the coverage on Friday and now I want to learn everything I can about the entire family!)

Saturday, April 30 Joe had to work but it was a beautiful day outside so Logan played in his sandbox while I sat on the deck and read.

That concludes our update! I'll end with the post I wrote at this point of my pregnancy with Logan.

Pregnant And Sick