Survived Our First Week!

(As long as tomorrow goes well, haha!)

After my update last Thursday, June 9, Logan and I went to the library for our final time. I'd hoped to attend one more storytime but didn't realize they don't have them during the summer here. So, Logan just played in the children's area while I followed him around.

That evening we went out to eat to Johnny Sortino's for the last time (my favorite pizza place here). The previous three nights after work Joe had gone out with his friends to say goodbye, so on Wednesday night as I had put Logan to bed he said, "I miss Daddy." I thought, oh no, that's not a good sign, Joe hasn't left yet! Thankfully, Logan seems to understand the situation and hasn't said much about Joe being gone this week (although I have a feeling next week may be a different story once Joe returns and then leaves AGAIN. . .Logan's been away from us for this amount of time before - but not longer).

On Friday, June 10, I had my final oil change (and told the owner thank you for the past 8 years; he knows our names and we always have real conversations with him. . .I hope we'll be able to find a car place with as much integrity as Olde Towne Auto when we move)!

After that I dropped the dogs off at the groomer's for their last time. I'm waiting to hear back from my college friend on where she takes her dogs to the groomer and vet in West Des Moines, as some of you might remember that the one time that I tried to take Bella to someone different, they called and said she was attacking them and they couldn't do it! My groomer still laughs about it because Bella has always been the sweetest dog for her all 6 yrs (we met her at Pampered Pet Spa, then followed her to Shelly's Pet Parlor, and finally her own business - Fairytale Dog Grooming). So hopefully our next groomer won't have any issues.

From there I went to MY last hair appt (well, as a resident, that is). I was going to wait until the week or two after I have the baby, but since that's the same time that Logan and I plan to join Joe in Iowa, I don't want to have to worry about getting my hair done, too. Especially with breastfeeding, I remember when I got my hair done two weeks after Logan was born it was painful! So this way I'll have it done until September and then can come back for my next appt. when we're moving our things from this house to our next house.

In my post, On The Homestretch, I mentioned that when we signed the papers, the closing date was Sept. 15 rather than Sept 1 (which had been the original verbal date) but I was still hoping maybe they'd be able to finish it by the first. Not anymore - they just started digging the hole this week (rather than May 31st as originally planned) so that means longer for us of living in limbo once the baby is here, when we join Joe in Iowa but wait for our house to be finished. :(

Anyway, I enjoyed chatting with my friend (hairstylist) Stacy as always, and then picked up the dogs from the groomer. At that point it was time to pick Logan up from preschool, and Joe came home from his final day of work in Omaha. I will miss hearing Logan say, "There's Daddy's work - the orange tower!" whenever we drive by. As I've written here before, he really knows his way around - what direction everything is at, etc.

That night I came down with a horrible cough. It caught me completely off guard because the prior weekend was when I had been worried I'd catch Joe's cold - and I didn't. All week long I had felt great, I had no indication that I was catching something until Friday evening I lost my voice! My throat didn't even hurt. Thankfully, my cough went away 24 hrs later and my voice sounds normal now. But in the meantime, I threw up for my 13th time of this pregnancy, making it equal to my pregnancy with Logan which I never would have thought since this pregnancy was so much easier in that regard! (Although that time it was in a two month time frame opposed to eight months.) But I was coughing and it triggered the nausea and the next thing I knew I was throwing up my breakfast! I will be so glad once this pregnancy is over and the slightest thing won't make me throw up!

On Saturday, June 11 we went to Rockbrook Camera for my new lens, as I blogged about last weekend. It was my belated anniversary & Mother's Day gift from Joe. We also got out Logan's kiddie pool for the first time this summer and he played a little in the water but not as much as he wanted to because the water was too cold. But the weather the past week (70's) has been fantastic as far as I'm concerned!

Sunday, June 12 Joe did some last minute things around the house (like mow the lawn which Logan always helps with. While they were outside, Logan pointed to the big rocks by our driveway and said, "The guys by the red fence put those there." Another memory from last summer when we landscaped! Joe's mom had bought some huge/heavy rocks and asked some workers who were putting in a pool catty corner across the street for help).

At 6 pm it was time to say goodbye. It helped knowing we don't HAVE to do this -- like, at any time Logan & I can decide to join him. So that's what I tell myself during the hard moments so as to stay sane :p

The first 24 hrs went easily. I put Logan to bed at 8:30 that night (rather than 9:30) and he slept til 7:30 am on Monday, June 13. I took him to preschool at 8, went grocery shopping, picked up our comforter that I had dropped off at the dry cleaner's, and picked Logan up at 5. After supper, some playing, and cartoons, it was time for bed at 8:30 again.

Tuesday, June 14 we met Lisa and her daughters Lexi & Riley as well as Andrea and her kids Drew and Ashton at the Dinosaur Exhibit for our final playdate with them. The exhibit was really impressive and a lot of fun - Logan did not want to leave just an hour later when it was time for lunch, but was hungry so we all went to Spaghetti Works and had a really nice meal.

When we arrived home, Logan only took an hour-and-a-half nap (opposed to his usual 3-4 hrs) which surprised me because he'd gotten up at 6:30 am that morning. So, to pass the extra time, we went for a short walk around the neighborhood and then to the park. He played on the playground while I read a book.

I've blogged several times about how bathtime has usually been "Joe's job" and the thought of bending over the tub with my big belly did not appeal to me, so Logan and I took a shower and he thought it was fun so we did it again last night as well as this evening! (He went to bed at 8:30 again that night.)

On Wednesday, June 15 he woke up at 7 am as Mr. Crabby, so I was relieved that it was a preschool day. Especially since that was the first day that I felt my lack of energy catch up with me. I am just so tired all of the time now, it makes things harder when you don't have enough energy for yourself, let alone a three year old. The good news is that I've been sleeping through the night since Joe's been gone, rather than waking up several times to have to move to the couch, futon, guest beds, floor, and recliner (which has been the case for the past month). Instead, it's been taking me a couple of hours to actually fall asleep (which had never been a problem before). So, aside from driving to my 34-week check up, I didn't do anything yesterday but veg on the couch.

Unfortunately, two minutes after I arrived to my appointment, they told me that Dr. Sullivan had been called to two deliveries. Oh how I wished they had known before I left my house since I live 23 min away and am almost in tears every time I'm in the car for longer than 5 min due to both the back pain still and stomach pain (now that everything is so scrunched together). I had to reschedule for next Wednesday which is actually 35.5 weeks for me, so I don't know whether I'm getting checked for dilation like a 36 week check up or whether it will be in place of my 34 week. We are, however, doing the ultrasound. I admit I'm nervous for it. I feel so GINORMOUS lately that I find it hard to believe that she's going to be smaller than Logan was. I keep having memories of my 4 hr pushing phase and really don't want that situation to happen again!!! My belly feels absolutely awful. (I've gained 33 lbs and will be 35 weeks pregnant this Sunday.) I had to put away my first shirt of this pregnancy and first pair of pants. Now I have a total of 5 + the new shirt I bought a couple of weeks ago, 4 pair of pants, and the dress I bought a couple of weeks ago but haven't worn yet.

The good part about having such an uncomfortable belly now is that I can't eat much anymore. And, with Joe being gone and Logan not asking much for his meals, I don't have to fix anything big or special (the other night a sack of peas were sufficient). But I don't think it's really going to affect the size of this baby. I think you'd either have to super overeat or super undereat to have it change the size a baby is programmed to be. Last time I hoped I'd go into labor at 36-37 weeks without even realizing that I was going to have a problem with a 7 lb baby, so this time I feel it HAS to happen then! Suffice to say, I was actually happy to see that I leaked a couple of drops of amniotic fluid on Tuesday night! (I read that at this stage I don't need to be concerned because I am constantly making more/enough for the baby and, as I mentioned in a previous post, my doctor said that they will not stop labor once I reach 35 weeks - this Sunday - because the baby will be healthier than if given the drugs to sustain the rest of the pregnancy.)

It happened after I'd put on my nursing nightgown ('cuz it's the most comfortable thing for me to wear these days) and sat down on the couch (with underwear underneath). I suddenly felt liquid draining from me and I knew I was not peeing! I jumped up and there were two wet circles on the couch. I'm still having the pinching in my cervix (dilation pain) but nothing other than that (if it had been more than I would have had to go to the hospital so as to avoid infection). I tried to find out what is the time-frame for when you start leaking amniotic fluid to actual labor and the website I found said, "Delivery within one week is common, although there is no way to tell how long the pregnancy will continue after your membranes break." The same website said that if your water broke first during your first labor, then you are more likely to have it happen again. If only I could have a dream speak to me like I did with Logan -- at this stage with him I had a dream that was just a voice telling me that I was going to go into labor a few weeks early. I wrote on my old blog, "The voice said I'd wake up abruptly in the middle of the night and have no doubt that I was in labor." That was the truth!

Okay, back to my update - so Wednesday when I picked Logan up from preschool he was just as crabby as he'd been that morning. The week before Joe left, Logan started yelling at us for the first time in his life as well as peeing on the bathroom floor, and both of those picked back up Wednesday night. I was glad when he settled down with milk and Dora or Diego. . .but he peed on the floor again tonight. (As I've blogged in the past, he's been potty trained at home since 2 1/2 yrs and potty trained in public since his third birthday to which he'd only had one accident in these two months until this past week it's been 4 times that he's gone to the bathroom but instead of pulling down his pants and sitting on the toilet, he just goes!)

Thursday, June 16 he woke up at 6:45 am (I'm beginning to think I should go back to his 9:30 pm bedtime so that he'll sleep 'til 8 again), and then I took him to his final hair appt. (as a resident) with Stacy. He did great again (it was his 4th in his life) and looks very handsome. Stacy surprised me with a gift bag for the baby. . .all kinds of wonderful girlie things! :-)

Logan and I came home for lunch and his nap (2 hrs), and then we went shopping for Joe's Father's Day gift!

Speaking of Joe, so far things at his new job are going well. At first he was bummed to learn that from now until December he will be working at their downtown location rather than their main location (where our house is being built). They didn't give him any warning of this before because apparently it's a new thing - they ran out of room at their main location (which is crazy because there are two HUGE buildings) and so Joe's group are in a temp place until December. The good part is that it's closer to where he's commuting from now (45 min from his mom's house opposed to an hour, and 20 min opposed to 30 min when we live at my dad's until Sept), but after we move into our house it will be 20 min opposed to 7 min -- so hopefully it'll just be for a couple of months at that point and they won't keep them there longer than December. His boss said that it's definitely temporary, they all hate it because they all live in Waukee (where we will be living, too), so they are in the process of making more room for them back at the main location.

Joe said the main building is super fancy -- they gave him a tour and there's a nice gym and a cafeteria with a food court of restaurants like at the mall. They also gave him his own laptop and he can have his cell phone (which he has never been able to have in his 8 yrs of employment because until now he's worked for the government). The downtown location is also not bad because he feels like he's working "in the city," lol, as he walks through the sky walk with everyone wearing business suits. He just has a table, no desk right now, and has basically been training and getting all of the paperwork filled out this week, so he hasn't done much actual work but says the people seem fine and his manager told him that he thinks Joe will do well. He's been leaving at 4:30 pm every day to which I said "no fair!" haha, since he hasn't left work at that hour in 6 years (but I've wished he could)! Probably by the time I'm there he'll be more into his work and not be able to leave that early. :p But tomorrow when he leaves work he's coming straight here! :-)

In conclusion, Grandma was given less than 24 hrs to live on Tuesday - but has held on! What a strong woman! First they said on April 26 that she probably wouldn't make it to May 26 - but she did. Then they said she had a couple of days to a couple of weeks - but it's been 3 since then! She's only barely conscious now, though, so I know it won't be long, but it's been better to have these updates to prepare rather than it happening with no warning.

Here are the two posts I wrote during this point of my pregnancy with Logan:

Preparing To Breastfeed

Five Weeks To Go!