otto gets practice

here is otto, changing the baby doll's diaper. we're trying to get some practice in, because we're gonna need a little help next march. yep, we're having another baby! due date is march 2nd, but i will have to have another c-section so most likely the baby will arrive a bit earlier....possibly february. (and no, 2011 is not a leap year).
i am 14 or 15 weeks along (i can't remember) and am feeling pretty good. the first trimester of this pregnancy was not too bad, but definitely worse than with greta or otto. i felt some nausea, lots of killer headaches, and was unbelievably tired. like, i could sleep for days i was so tired. but i think i've turned that second trimester corner. people keep asking if we are going to find out the gender of this baby like we did with the other two, and i think so. i know that we have one of each....but there are plenty of surprises (let me tell you!) the day of delivery that i think we'll take the surprise at the 20 week ultrasound, thank you very much.
we feel so blessed to be adding to our family yet again, and can't wait for greta to be a big sister again and for otto to become a big brother. and yes, we will have to go from "man to man" defense to "zone"....we'll do our best. :) so in the meantime, we'll keep letting otto practice his diapering skills.....

the waiting game

today i had my 37 week dr. appointment. when i went to my 37 week appointment with greta, i was sent straight to the hospital where she was delivered a few hours later by emergency c section. needless to say, i was a bit anxious for today's appointment.

but except for the appointment taking FOREVER because of a switch to electronic medical records (indicated by the letters EMR written in red on my chart that i pessimistically assumed meant 'emergency'), all was well.

blood pressure....normal. swelling....minimal. platelet count....good. and weight gain? according to the doc, my weight gain is "awesome". awesome? not sure weight gain can be "awesome", but i'll take the compliment. they will keep checking all of these things each week to make sure that the preeclampsia doesn't return. but i'm feeling good. really good actually. except i cry a few times each day. but if you know me, that's not really a symptom of pregnancy but more a symptom of melanie.

week 38 here i come. from here on out, these are uncharted waters.

belly shots

they always say that the second child gets sort of lost in the shuffle and doesn't get all of the attention the first child does. (i'm sure my brother would agree to this....story of his life). if my pregnant belly pictures are any indication of this, this little guy is in trouble. no worries though, we (greta included) will smother him with love and affection when he arrives. we have just been lazy....and besides, who wants to stand in a sports bra in the middle of winter to get their picture taken. anyway, here is my belly as of yesterday....week 30. lookin' good....lookin' real good.
as far as this pregnancy goes, i've been feeling great, just like i did the first time around. this little guy moves ALL THE TIME....i haven't discussed this with joe yet, but i think we should nickname this baby karate kid. it feels like he is practicing all of mr. miyagi's lessons (wax on, wax off, paint the fence, etc) at the same time. he especially likes to move around when greta sits on my lap for me to read books to her. i don't know if it's because he hears my voice, or because he's getting ready to bully his sister around already, but it's pretty neat. i haven't been allowed to exercise for a while due to having a partial placenta previa, but we'll find out in two weeks if that's remedied itself. and i failed my first glucose test, but i passed the 3 hour glucose challenge with flying colors. (no gestational diabetes). so all is good. we've got a double stroller (or two), we've got some work scheduled to start on greta's new bedroom this week or next, and we have a 4d ultrasound tomorrow where we'll get to see the little guy even more close up. stay tuned for more pictures....

fat pants

so yesterday i had an observation at Xavier. a few times each semester, i have to get dressed up in decent looking clothes, put a little makeup on, and go out to observe Montessori interns do their student teaching and give feedback. so...yesterday. i'm up early. i'm showered. i get dressed in the last remaining pair of "regular" pants that still fit. i had a button extender (awesome!), but it broke. anyway, so i'm in my nice pants (and other clothes, of course) fixing greta oatmeal for breakfast....can you see where this is going??!!
the oatmeal is a little hot so i go to stick the bowl in the freezer for a minute and whoops. i miss the freezer shelf, down falls the bowl of oatmeal. the bowl lands on the floor and the oatmeal lands all down the front of my pants. MY LAST PAIR OF DRESS PANTS THAT FIT. awesome.
now....you are probably thinking, "quit your whining. slap on some maternity pants and off you go". that would be easy to do, if i HAD any maternity dress pants. but seriously, i'm a stay at home mom. and because my last pregnancy was mainly in the spring and summer, i own 2 pair of maternity jeans, 1 pair of maternity cargo pants, and a whole bunch of sweats.
so sweatpants it was. luckily, being pregnant affords many niceties.....like people see your belly and "ooh" and "aah" and don't notice that you have your lounge pants on in public. but it was either that or smell like maple brown sugar all day.....