31 weeks

Week 31 is in full swing, and I had another ultrasound today to make sure he is doing well. He is measuring about 4 lbs. 4 oz, and is in the 68th percentile for growth. So, he is a little above average. No concerns at all, and he is a healthy little baby. It is always neat to see him, but this time, I got to see all of his hair growing!! The sonogram tech pointed out all the "fussy hairs" on his head, and said he has quite the head full already. Looks like he is going to take after his big sister, and come out with lots of it! For work and scheduling reasons, I asked the doctor last week at my 30 week appointment that is this ultrasound came back ok, if I could skip the last one (or maybe 2, depending on delivery date). But she said no. So it looks like I will for sure have one more at week 35, and possibly one at 39 (if needed).
I have also started having the ever-so-common Braxton Hicks contractions. Just a little tightening in my abdomen letting me know labor is soon approaching. I have been noticing some discomfort as he seems to be getting lower and lower into my pelvis, and the ultrasound confirmed that today. He is head down and lying right down on my bladder. Makes for some uncomfortable nights of sleeping, but nothing too bad.

Speaking of sleeping, Reese is still in the trend of waking up every 3 nights or so. It is almost like clockwork. Last night, she pulled every trick in the bag. First she wanted to go to mommy's bed-not happening! Then, she wanted the night light on- ok. Then, she wanted medicine- um, no. I didn't think at this point she was in pain. And her final attempt 1 1/2 hours into it, was wanting to go downstairs- no way jose! After 4 trips into her room, her crying on and off for 1 1/2 hours, she finally let go and went back to sleep. Mind you, this is happening every 3 or 4 nights. Some nights, I have let her go crying on and off for an hour before even going into her room. Moms out there, any advice??? I have no clue what is going on. I keep thinking that she knows things are changing (a baby is on the way) and she is literally attached to my body throughout the day. I don't know if she wakes up and just wants to make sure I am still there, or what. But it sure stinks! After a month of this already, I am ready for this phase to pass!! I have ruled out teething, growing pains, nightmares, hunger, thirst, etc. I don't think any of these happen every 3 or 4 nights, right?

1st Sting

Reese got her first bee sting last night. We were picking toys up outside when all of a sudden Reese runs over screaming to me saying "Ouchie Bee!, Ouchie Bee!" So I asked her if s bee stung her, and she said yes. She kept pointing to her rib cage, and I looked and nothing was there. She kept crying pretty hard, so I brought her inside and took off her dress, only to find a huge welted sting on her rib cage on her back. She had the spot correct, just on the wrong side of her body :) So we iced it as good as she would let us, and I monitored her pretty closely for 30-40 minutes to make sure she wasn't going to have an allergic reaction, and all turned out well.

She has also been saying some pretty funny things lately. Here are some of my favorites:

-After smelling Kyle's feet, he asked "What do they smell like?" Reese replied "peanut butter!"
-While driving to school the other day she saw a blue car and said "I wanna blue car, mom" I told her she can buy one when she gets older :)
-On the way to daycare, a song came on the radio and Reese said "Louder, mom. I like this song!"

No way, jose!

This past Saturday we headed up to the Dells to go to Noah's Ark for the day with Kyle's brother, wife, and 2 girls. It was a little cloudy/rainy in the morning, but turned out to be a wonderful day in the afternoon! Reese LOVES water, and she went to Noah's Ark once last summer too, so we thought she would be in heaven this year. No way, jose! Her day started out rough and didn't improve. First, Kyle took her down a slide right after we got there, and that scared her off the bat. So I decided to take her to the kiddie pool so she could just swim in there. Well, she went running in the water, tripped, and went under the water head first for a few seconds before I could get over to scoop her up. The look of terror on her face was priceless when I picked her up. She choked up a bit of water, and the tears started flowing. After that, there was NO WAY that girl was stepping foot back into the water (granted, we had only been there maybe 20 minutes at this point!!!) So, she was a crab all day. She whined, cried, and fought a stroller nap. But, everyone else had fun so it was still a winning situation.

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day down in Illinois. Kyle worked away all afternoon on his car (at his parents house), Reese played with her cousins there, and I went down to my parents for a few hours in their pool. A great day had by all!

I had my 30 week dr. appt today and everything is great. Blood pressure and weight are good, baby's heartbeat was around 140 (good), and I am measuring at 30 weeks. Right on track. I have another ultrasound next week, and if that one is all clear, I may be able to cancel the rest of them up until my due date. He seems to be growing fine and everything else is great, so my doctor isn't too concerned about the cord placement anymore.

PB & J

That's my new craving. A pb&j sandwich, yum. The other day when I got home from grocery shopping, Kyle asked why I bought more peanut butter. Well, the other one was gone, why else! He was a little surprised since I don't usually eat peanut butter very often. Pineapple is also still a HUGE hit, both with Reese and I :)
This week is almost over and has once again FLEW by. We were busy tonight after work getting the house ready for 2 showings this evening, so we ate dinner and got out the door. We took Reese downtown for some ice cream and took a nice little walk. Hopefully something comes out of these showings. We usually have 1-2 showings a week, but no offers yet. If nothing comes of this, we will be debating lowering the price (which we have already done once), or taking it off the market and refinancing to get a lower interest rate. I don't see us keeping our house on the market past August for two reasons. One, selling season is about over. Two, I will have a newborn and a toddler at the point, and no energy for house showings and/or house hunting. So, wish us luck that these next few weeks bring in some offers, or looks like we will be here another year (which we are both ok with, it would just be nice to get a bigger yard!)
I have begun the nesting phase, wanting to get everything ready for baby boy. My doctor (and neighbor) said if I was ready, and haven't gone on my own, she would induce me at 39 weeks (mainly a request of mine since I have one of my best friends weddings 2 weeks after my due date!) With Reese being almost 9 pounds, and this one growing at the same rate, she isn't too worried the baby won't be ready.  So, that leaves the countdown at NINE WEEKS left. Wow! Sounds shocking saying it out loud. The crib has arrived, the bedding is bought, and things are ready to be put together. Now to find some spare time to do it all :)
 

Running on E

That is how my energy tank feels lately. EMPTY. Reese has not been helping the cause by waking up during the middle of the night for a few hours. Starting about 2 weeks ago, she wakes up every other or every 3rd night crying out for me, and just cant get back to sleep for two or three hours, making our days very long when we are not getting enough sleep. She, luckily, gets to take a nap at daycare. I, on the other hand, get to struggle through the day and collapse into bed at 9:00, asleep by 9:01. I am not quite sure what is going on. I first attributed it to a nightmare. Well, that was soon checked off the list as it kept happening. Then, I moved on to the theory of teething (her 2 year molars). Now, I think it might be growing pains. Actually, who knows. I can only guess and have been trying Tylenol on the nights when it takes her a while to get comfortable. I just hope this phase passes soon, or I may literally lose my mind (pregnancy brain + exhaustion = no ability to function).

Reese's vocabulary has been sky rocketing these past few weeks. She is now talking in full 5 to 6 word sentences, and blowing my mind with some of the words she is saying. Even the office staff at daycare the other day commented on how much she is talking (and the funny things she says.) She is so fun to be around right now, listening to her conversations and hearing her verbalizing her thoughts.

I have started to get into "baby mode" a bit more than I have been. The crib should arrive tomorrow, and I am in search of a dresser to go along with it. I also am ready to empty out our guest bedroom (bed and desk) and start getting things ready for him. Kyle has been busy with his new hobby, working on his 1967 Firebird, getting it ready to cruise around in this summer/fall. It makes it a little harder to get done since it is stored at his parent's house, but he hopes to have it done and ready to go by the end of the summer.

27 week ultrasound

Since learning that the baby's umbilical cord is not attached to the middle of the placenta, I am now required to have an ultrasound every 4 weeks until baby is born. Last week I had one and it turns out baby boy is perfectly healthy and growing normally. Actually, he is a tad above average for this stage. He is a little over two pounds, and all of his bones are growing at the correct weight. I was 27 weeks 2 days and measured at 27 weeks 1 day (so he must have had a growth spurt since the last time I was measured!) They also measured my amniotic fluid, and that is normal as well. When the doctor came in to review the results of the ultrasound (which they do immediately after the pictures are taken), she said that in all actuality, if I was to have this "issue" in 5 or 6 years, they would probably not do any extra ultrasounds. They are finding that the cord attachment/placement to the placenta really does not have any effect on the baby's growth...hooray! So, she said we are probably doing overkill with ultrasounds every 4 weeks, but it's what my doctor ordered so it is what we will do :) I don't mind seeing the little munchkin anyways so I won't complain!
This weekend we are down at my parents house to A. RELAX and B. go to my 2nd cousin's graduation party. I'm sure Reese will have fun running around with her cousins this afternoon. My plan to lay in the pool was shot down with temps in the 50's this past week, but hopefully it will warm up today and I can lay in it tomorrow with the 80 degree temps.