Welcome Stella Claire!

Stella Claire

April 15th, 2010

7:00am

7 pounds 13 ounces

20 1/4" long

She is beautiful (and has a ton of nearly black hair under that hat!) and happy and everything that we had hoped for and more. We are drinking up every new moment with her and looking forward to the future with such joy. She does have a small heart murmur that we are praying will resolve itself and I'm not going to worry unless I'm told that there's something to worry about. I will write up her birth story in the next few days (mainly so I don't forget!) but right now we are relaxing, getting ready to eat a little cheesecake and then turn in for the night.

This is bliss!

It's Been a Week?

Hum, looks like it's been a week since I last posted.
What a slacker.
You would think that I'd have time to blog since I'm basically just sitting around here waiting for Stella to quit teasing me and make her entrance into this world. Because really? That's. All. I've. Been. Doing. But also doing it in a very hermit crab sort of way. Hard to explain.

We survived Spring Break. Which really was a blessing because the weather was quite cold, and wet, and just yucky. We spent nearly the entire time inside watching movies, playing games, etc. etc. Jim had to work the whole week so we really couldn't go anywhere and I wouldn't have gone far anyway since I've been having prodromal labor for over a week now. That's just a nice way of saying, "lots of contractions with zero action". However, when it gets going it still wears me out and keeps me wondering, "is THIS it this time?" So far? No.

My mom had her Spring Break this week so she came down for a couple of days and got to enjoy our snow. I know. Snow. April. Blah. For the last several days it has snowed all morning long and then the sun has come out in the afternoon.

Of course this leaves me thinking about little Stella's come home outfit... which isn't exactly snow friendly. Of course it really doesn't matter but I decided that I wanted to get a little knit/crochet beanie, ideally with a little flower on it to match her outfit. While walking the mall yesterday, before my appointment, I did find a cute one at particular larger retailer but A) wasn't ready to fork over $26 for B) a hat that didn't match and C) was going to be too big for a newborn. It was cute though. So we just continued to walk the mall and I beat myself up about how I should have just ordered one from Etsy several days ago blah, blah, blah. Anyway, the mall walking was getting uncomfortable and we were getting close to my appointment time so we just headed over to the docs office which is connected to the hospital.
And got there way too early.
So we decided to make sure that we know where we need to go when since I was in a total fog the last time I was there. When we got to the correct floor there was a little baby only gift shop, separate from the regular hospital gift shop. Aha! Surely they have a cute little hat. So we went in and looked around but still didn't really see what I had been looking for. But then, there on the counter was a box of hats, the perfect size. And one the perfect color.
"Excellent! How much is this one?"
"It's free"
"Really?"
"Yup, go ahead and take it now!"
"Serious?"
"Yup, the church ladies bring them in by the bag full"

Love this little hat. I added the flower to it after we got home.

So cool! So we got our hat and headed off to my appointment. No weight gain this week. BP is still good and although I was hoping for 'more' after days of contractions and walking the mall, I was at 3cm and about 50% effaced or so. More waiting. Of course he thinks that once things start they're going to go very fast which is the part that has me kind of anxious because after all this on again, off again stuff, I'm really worried about waiting too long to see if it's for real! I'm sure it will all work out in the end and if not, well, then at least I'll have an interesting story to tell!

Friday Fotos!

I don't have a whole lot to say. Clearly, "baby" is just about all that's on my mind now that I'm technically full term and more pregnant at this point that I ever was with Rylan. Now begins the guessing game of "was that a real contraction or not?" and wondering when it's going to happen.

I'm so glad to have Spring Break just about over. It's been nice not having to worry about getting the kids ready for school and on and off their buses but the weather has just not been cooperative so they've been inside far too much and everyone is getting on everyone elses nerves. They actually start out pretty good for a while but it can quickly decline. Honestly, I'm sure they're picking up on my nerves as well so I'm having to try really, really hard to be more willing to put up with their antics but... I'm tired and I'm sure there's been too much yelling from me too. And honestly, at this point, it's actually more like they're teaming up against me. I guess that's better than them being at each others throats all day long. They are ready to get back to school though as they both check the calender every morning and remind me of the count-down throughout the day.

There is still lots of this:

which quickly turns into this:

so I really can't complain! (and in fairness, these are from yesterday, not today)

A little bit from the baby/pregnancy department... I had an appointment on Wednesday where we talked about the itching, since it's not just normal belly itching, Dr. C was on-top of things and sent me down for blood work to check my liver functions and had the results the next day. Good news is, everything came back normal so it's just some weird hormonal itching I suppose.

Impatient!

I'm an impatient person. There. Now that that's out of the way!

I'm really looking forward to the end of this long, long journey. I've said it before and I will say it again... I'm not trying to wish time away but considering I've been pregnant for almost 2 1/2 years straight, I'm so ready for the sleep deprivation that a new little one brings as opposed to the stress and worry and anxiety. We're ready for her when she is. Diapers are prepped, tiny clothes are washed, cradle is set up in our room, infant seat is installed in the van... yup, I think we've pretty much got it all under control.

My body is getting pretty tired too, as is to be expected at this point. Stella's feeling pretty big to me and my tummy feels stretched to the point where it's just as solid as can be. The last two nights have also given me the gift of extreme itchiness - hands, feet, arms, belly, back, scalp. Weird stuff. I have to wonder if it isn't cholestasis and I'll ask at my appointment on Wednesday. Benadryl doesn't help the itching but it does knock me out enough that I'm able to get a couple hours of sleep in there until I have to get up and use the bathroom. And then there's the rolling over in bed. I often feel like a semi-truck trying to make a 12 point turn in the middle of a one lane road. Other than that though, I really have felt pretty good... not good enough to go on like this forever though :)

The kids are on Spring Break this week and it's been pouring down rain. The last nice day was the day that I was stuck inside with the flu. We've had lots of tea parties, played games, rotated out toys - they played with Little People today! puzzles, movies, stories. I've also been making sure that they take some quiet time in their own rooms. They're used to having a break from each other (and me) and it really does help keep the attitudes in line. During rest time today, I decided to take my 36 week picture... a bit late but better than nothing. Holy cow I feel like I look huge compared to just 2 weeks ago!

When she's ready, we'll get to meet her and I'm really, really looking forward to it!

This & That...

What a week.

I was on a roll for accomplishing so much and feeling really good about it. I finally got our bags packed for the hospital, most of the house projects are done now, Karleigh got the flu and had to stay home from school on Monday but she just vegged on the sofa and I got a ton of cleaning done. Tuesday afternoon I managed to paint Rylan's floor, a table for the girls' room, wash Rylan's walls, clean the bathrooms and got a bunch of laundry done. Then Rylan got sick on Tuesday night just as we were crawling into bed. Luckily his Spring Break started Tuesday afternoon. Jim felt nasty on Tuesday as well and by Wednesday, I was wiped out with it. Thankfully, everyone had Wednesday off. I had to cancel my OB appointment, lost almost 5# and spent several hours with painful contractions, 5 minutes apart. Of course, that was just due to the dehydration. I've been feeling a bit better today but believe it or not, even the dog threw up today. Awesome.

The kids are both officially on Spring Break now so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with everything that I've done. I'm feeling pretty good about what's done. All of the "have to's" are done and most of the "want to's" are done as well so now it's hurry up and wait and try to come up with little things to keep me busy.

And in a brag, Karleigh got her second report card today. I'm so proud of her, her marks were pretty incredible. Now I see why her teacher said that she might be a bit bored in class. The end of year benchmark for reading is level B. They do have books labeled level C that she has been bringing home to practice on but she generally just chooses her own books in her room to read. When I looked at her reading level on her report card... F! No wonder she's bored and squirly during reading time.

Sorry for the boring post, not much to write about when you're sick and just waiting for something a "bit" more exciting to happen! Oh and it looks like you can vote once per 24 hours in that belly pic contest but I'm not holding my breath nor even thinking about it much at all. I'm just thankful to have a baby belly right now!

A Contest!!!

So, I entered a photo contest about 6 hours before the deadline the other day. Turns out, my picture was chosen to be a finalist. Eh, it has nothing do to with my photography but my belly instead! How fun, right?!

Anyway I'm begging, pleading, er, kindly asking that you go to this site: http://www.babygizmo.com/vote to vote. You can only vote once per IP address per 24 hour period and it is a fairly short voting period, ending at 10:00pm (CST) Friday, April 2, 2010.

The prize is not fame nor fortune ;) but instead a fun piece of baby gear, and a great story for Baby Stella.

So, here I am, shamelessly begging... Please go VOTE!!! for me and baby Stella at 30 weeks! Feel free to re-share on your Facebook or Blog too. Hey, it gives you something to write about ;)

Muah!

I'm Tired!

No surprise really though is it? It's a lot of work growing another little person and taking care of the two little people who can voice their demands (quite loudly at that). I'm certainly not complaining though. I'm thrilled to be "tired".

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Some "highlights" of the last few days... (I'm sure this will be quite boring)
We had some sunshine! I was able to chase the kids and the dog outside and I was able to clean carpets. They played "doggy daycare" for hours and had a picnic outside. The crate isn't normally outside which is why it was so great! I had moved it out so I could clean the area rug and mop the floor in the guest room/office :)

Poor kids though. Rylan had to stay home from school just the day before because his eyes were blood shot and producing that ooky goo at an alarming rate. So we got him in to make sure that it was viral and not bacterial. Thank goodness it was just viral and has run its course really quickly. He did get a nice long day with just mom and dad though which was fun for him. Jim took most of the day off and Karleigh was busy with school, a birthday party and Daisy Scouts until 8 that night. One on one time is great, it's just so hard to create those opportunities. Looking at Karleigh... well, she was sick as a dog less than 18 hours later. She'll be staying home from school tomorrow which she is NOT happy about but she has some sort of tummy virus that she needs to get over.

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I've basically just been working on getting everything situated for "go time", whenever that is. I finally went ahead and finished packing the bags tonight. It's interesting, with Karleigh I didn't really get all that anxious. Her due date was January 1st, that's when I expected her and that's when she came. Then came Rylan, 3 weeks early, I don't even remember if my bags were packed. I know his was and I know that we had installed his infant seat about 12 hours earlier. So now I want to make sure that I'm ready to go and at the same time, don't want to get too anxious because each baby has his or her own schedule.

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Earlier in the week, Karleigh had a "job parade" through the school as an ending to their jobs unit. She decided that she wanted to be a mail carrier for purposes of the unit. I'm pretty happy with how her costume turned out. I also love that Jim helped to sew her mail bag!

Of course, now the hat and the bag are used for her "doggy daycare" :)

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Monday was a nice start to the week and I got a chance - correction - finally made the time, to meet up with one of my friends from high school for coffee and to pick up a tummy time mat for Stella since her girls are past that stage. Ahhh, I miss adult (girl) conversation!

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Spring break basically starts for the kids this coming week. Rylan is off starting Wednesday through Easter Sunday and Karleigh goes Monday (except she doesn't since she's sick!), Tuesday and then Thursday morning and then it's break time for her. We have nothing planned which is kind of a bummer. I was hoping to make it up to my parents and to Seattle but I've been given the "stay close" instructions from my doc. Speaking of which, I have another appointment on Wednesday. It's getting close which really feels good most of the time but there are still times where the anxieties kick in and I can't actually picture coming home with a baby. But most of the time... most of the time I can!