Pregnancy Update

I had my 32 week appointment on Tuesday and, for the most part, all continues look good. My belly was measuring about a week behind, which I am NOT going to complain about...maybe this baby will be smaller than Aidan's 8 lbs 13 oz. The nurse practitioner could not find the baby's head, so she wasn't sure if she's breech right now or not. Nothing to be concerned about until 36 weeks, but then the baby needs to be head down. I'm crossing my fingers that she's not breech because I've heard nothing but horror stories about how painful it is when they try to turn the baby.
In other pregnancy news, I've decided to switch back to the clinic where I went for Aidan's pregnancy. I initially thought they weren't technologically advanced enough (ie-no 3D ultrasound, didn't test my urine for protein, etc) but the clinic I switched to has made me wait up to an hour(!) each time I visit. Out of my 8 visits I have only seen a doctor twice because they always end up "behind schedule" or "unavailable" when I have an appointment scheduled. I got so frustrated after my hour and twenty minute visit on Tuesday (where they only measured my stomach and listened to the heartbeat) that I decided I was done. So, at this late stage in the game, I am switching clinics. At least I know all the doctors at the clinic I'm going back to, and maybe I'll even get the doctor who delivered Aidan. She was fantastic and stayed with me the entire two hours I spent pushing. I was so impressed that she didn't just pop in for the last five minutes of delivery, then disappear, never to be seen again. Any way it happens, I know I'm going to be more comfortable delivering with a doctor that I've had the chance to meet versus a strange person who couldn't find the time to see me while I was pregnant.

Bring on the Bottle

I've got three bottles of wine staring at me from the wine rack and I've decided to name them. The first is going to be "I made it through labor" and the second two are going to be named after children from school who have been making work very difficult. I will enjoy every last drop of them as soon as this baby is born. (don't worry, I won't drink all three bottles at once)

I think I came home every night this week and told Kyle that I didn't know if I could make it another 8 weeks at my job, let alone an indefinite number of years. After restraining a 90 lb. child for 35 minutes (with the help of four other adults) I could barely walk on Friday night, couldn't pick Aidan up, and was having irregular contractions for over three hours. Is this really what I want to do with my life? (my answer right now is "definitely not") What shall I do in my next life? I love working in the schools, I love teaching, most days I like kids. I've tossed around the idea of being a paraprofessional while the kids are young. The hours are shorter, but the pay is also much less. What to do? I'm going to mull this question over in my head while Kyle tells me I make too much money and the benefits are too good to quit my teaching job.

Not much is new in Aidan's life. He's feeling much better and just has a drippy nose every once in a while. He pooped in the bathtub for the first time last night. That was enough to make me want to vomit. I whisked Aidan out of the tub and grabbed "the floater". I thought about giving him another bath since his had been infected by feces, but I was really tired and didn't want to be there for another half an hour. Instead I just dried him off and put on his pj's. It's not like he touched the poop with his hands, right? I think that was the most dramatic thing that happened in Aidan's life this week.

We're looking forward to watching the Vikings and the Saints play tonight. Crossing our fingers for a Vikings win so we have someone to root for in the Superbowl!

A Day Off

Although I've only been back at work for 2 weeks, a day off was much needed. During those 2 weeks I worked four 12-hour days on top of coming home to deal with a sick child. It was exhausting. Aidan and I both took naps every day this weekend that were hours long. He slept for 4 hours on Sunday if that tells you anything about how he's feeling. After a low fever on Wednesday, it's just a runny nose, but it sure has knocked the wind (and happiness) right out of him.

In order to get ourselves out of the house we went to Target to do some grocery shopping and then hit up the MN Zoo on MLK Day. It was a zoo. Ha ha, get it? The place was packed with moms and strollers and oodles of kids. Aidan loved the people watching. He is still more fascinated with watching other kids run around than the actual animals. I haven't been to the zoo since November when Kali and Kyle were visiting. We spent this visit on the inside and did the Tropics Trail and Discovery Bay. I periodically let Aidan out of the stroller, but just about hyperventilated one time when he walked into a kid's play tunnel and then a million bigger kids ran in after him. I'm reading a book about a baby being kidnapped right now. All I could think about was that your child can be snatched in a second, and I couldn't see Aidan. After all the big kids came out he was standing there smiling. I smiled back and immediately put him back in the stroller until we could make it to a slightly less crowded area. As always, he loved watching the fish and monkeys. I'm looking forward to warmer weather when I can take Aidan and the new baby to the zoo.

Baby Bonanza

Baby # 2 has an ETA of 9 1/2 weeks and all of the sudden I've shifted into baby gear mode...new crib, double stroller, any and everything related to babies that is monstrously expensive. Baby Jogger has a new stroller that just came out called the City Select. It can convert from a single stroller, to a single + car seat, to a double stroller. All in a single stroller size. I checked it out in the store today while crib shopping and was absolutely smitten. The price tag makes you gasp, but I'm thinking I can give up future presents in order to talk myself into getting it. Since it literally just started shipping out this week, I'm going to wait a while to read some reviews. If it's as cool as I think it is though, I may be the proud owner of a City Select in a few months. Kyle's first comment was "It looks like a witch's stroller". Maybe because this one is in all black? They also come in white and red. (why anyone would buy white is beyond me) Not sure if I would get red or black, but our Graco car seat is black and red, so it would work either way.



In crib shopping news, I picked out the Baby's Dream Infinity Drop-Gate crib. It will convert to toddler bed, then a full-size bed when Aidan is ready. Baby #2 will get Aidan's current crib set, which is also convertible for the future. The craziest thing about shopping for a new bedroom set is that dressers are more expensive than cribs. What is up with that??? I really like Aidan's current dresser, which is a changing table and then will flip over to a flat-top dresser when he is potty-trained. I may just order that one again in a lighter color to match his new crib.
Whew! So much to think about, and so much money to spend!
This picture doesn't show the drop-gate feature, but it is the same style and color.

3 Little Words

Aidan is stringing together 3 word sentences, his first being "Nana, cheese, stuck" when he was telling me that Nana told him he had cheese stuck in his teeth. :) Since then we've heard Nana, Papa, Home?...meaning are Nana and Papa at home? and Daddy, brrr, hockey...meaning Daddy is at hockey and it's cold at the rink. These are all stated very clearly. There is still much coming out of Aidan's mouth that we have no clue what he is talking about. After two visits to the vet's office over Christmas break (one for a check-up, the other for grooming) Aidan now points out "Roxie's Doctor" every time we drive by the place, which is basically any time we go grocery shopping. Took me a few minutes to put that one together the first time he was saying it.

Here's a cute little naked picture that Aunt Kali took while they were visiting. Aidan loves his bubbles and playing on his tummy in the bathtub.

It was back to school yesterday. *sad face* Not a quiet day either. There were behavior problems, I had to teach CPI after school, then we had a union mtg to discuss contract negotiations. Whew! Busy first day back! Even though I was constantly busy during "vacation" it was so much less stressful than working. If only money would magically appear in our bank account and health insurance was free... It does make me feel better that I only have approximately 50 days of school left before my maternity leave. That's something to look forward to. I took my first "belly shot" last week. I'm well aware that 28 weeks is extremely late to get the first belly shot, but like I said, I've been busy!

I had my 28 week appointment last week and took my glucose test for gestational diabetes. They didn't call the next day saying it was high, so I'm assuming I do not have diabetes. (thank goodness! I don't know what I'd do if I had to stop eating sweets!) I've only gained 11 pounds and the doctor told me that's lower than she'd like, so if I want to eat a bowl of ice cream every night after dinner, I should feel free to. Who doesn't like to hear that kind of news?!?! I will abstain though, because I remember how tough it was to lose those last 10 lbs from Aidan.

7 months pregnant with Baby #2

7 months pregnant with Aidan...not much difference

New Year, New Toys

Out with the old and in with the new, right? Aidan had his second Christmas this past week with my side of the family. I had to go out and buy another container to store his old toys in to make room for the new ones! Thank goodness Nana and Papa are willing to store our stuff until the next baby needs it, otherwise I think we'd have to rent storage. Favorites from this round of present opening include a new John Deere "Buck" and a hammer and pegs. Let me tell you, Aidan is dangerous with that hammer. I think everyone got their fingers smashed at least once while trying to help him hit the pegs.

We had a great time while Nana, Papa, Kali and Kyle were here. We rung in the new year by going out to eat at a Japanese steakhouse. The guys all took Saki shots (plural) and everyone enjoyed the food. I did not stay awake until midnight, but did wake up at midnight to the sound of cheers in Times Square. That counts, right?