Cause with some humor

Saw this bumper sticker on my way to work this morning. Made me smile. :)

Now, if I had seen this guy walking down the street I would have been laughing like a hyena. (got the image from the savethetatas.com website product catalog).

Outdoor Non-Life

We are making SLOW progress on the deck. It pains me to think that we worked to get it installed and finished by mid-July and other than Nicole’s roller-skating and sandbox have not gotten any utility out of it at all. This weekend I picked up our landscape design from the local nursery. It’ll amount to thousands of dollars of plants for the entire house but we expected that as there are hundreds of plants in the spec. There are a few changes we know we want to make including the addition of a vegetable garden and some landscape borders. He made some great suggestions on trees and plant placement though. We’ll be going in babysteps.

Yesterday at lunch Jim went to Lowes and found us a grill on clearance that we both like. We ended up getting it for more than half off making it very reasonable cost-wise. It has a fridge built in! We’ll pick it up on Wednesday I think.

Still no luck on the furniture. I’ve looked at
Watson’s (3X)
Furniture Fair (3X)
Costco
Home Depot
Sam’s
Lowes
Wal-Mart
Menards
Target
Overstock.com
Patio & Hearth
Sunspot Pool and Patio
Kroger
Meijer
Pottery Barn
Crate & Barrel
Garden Ridge

I think I define “thorough” and “picky”. I'm going to try to make my way to Frontgate sometime soon but not sure if there’ll be anything I like or that is price reasonable. Jim saw a set he really liked but I wasn’t willing to spend $10,000 on furniture and an umbrella. No way, no how.

While Overstock.com and HomeDepot.com both had sets I liked they’re only available online and I'm very leery about buying furniture I’ve never seen in person or actually sat in…..

SUGGESTIONS APPRECIATED.

Totally Random note – Jim makes me a PB&J sandwich to eat on my way to work nearly every morning. It just feels weird to eat it from the flat side down versus starting at the arched end.

Recent Pictures & kidd-isms

Nicole's recent phrase of choice has been "no way, jose" which she uses appropriately in funny situations. Tonight at the neighbors their large golden retriever was trying to kiss her and she told him "no way, jo-doggy".

Nicole dressed herself. This is what Jim gets for going shirtless so often.

Chris had his 2-month well-baby check-up on Thursday. He weighed 13lbs. 6 oz which puts him in the 85%ile for weight. He's in the 75% for height and 25%ile for head size. All of these measurements are almost exactly what Nicole's were (and continued to be). Developmentally he's doing great and is right where he should be for his age (cooing, smiling, eye contact, following moving objects, startling at sudden sounds, etc.).

He's taken to sucking his thumb in the last week - unlike Nicole when she started around 4 months and quit after a week, I suspect this might stick with him... he's doing it more often and not just when he's upset.

Just getting the hang of this thumb thing and where it goes

Nicole has always been incredibly loving, curious, and hands-on with Chris much to my GREAT surprise. Our friend Ryan C. lent Chris his baby toys (as he did so generously for Nicole too) so now we have more means of stimulating our newbie. I suspect the toys look familiar to Nicole... that or she's just interested in the "new" toys that have arrived. She crawled under this light/music bridge with him this afternoon and tries to remind him that everything is hers ("those are MY keys, baby Chris", "this is MY doggy, baby Chris", etc.) but she doesn't take the item away from him... most of the time anyway.

A list kind of week...

Nicole (25 months)

• Apparently last week's $180/week daycare tuition went to Nicole learning “Ring Around the Rosy”. I haven’t heard her recite any states from Geography class yet…. She learned about Alaska yesterday.
• She actually goes on the potty about 1/day now. Yesterday she went 2X (once at school and once at home) which earned her 8 chocolate chips and 10 pennies to put in her bank. Ryann is almost potty-trained and I feel jealous and all the more eager to get Nicole there.
• She knows all of her colors except grey which I never thought to teach her.
• My project with her is shapes (she knows triangle and that’s it for right now). Jim’s project is counting (actually understanding the concept of quantity). Our projects are very reflective of our personalities/interests. Jim’s got a 2 week jump on me but he’s doing better than I am.
• Every morning after the kids get dropped off Jim calls to tell me how it went. I really look forward to these calls.

Me (29 years, 329 days)

• Contrary to Pandora’s assumption, I do not like any Audioslave music.
• I called one place about my 30th birthday party plans (5 weeks!!) and have a few other options to check into today. I hope to have a firm plan by the end of the weekend. It’s looking like October 3rd’ll be the date. Plan ahead now!
• Work is in full-swing and going well. I like the projects I'm working on and my lunch visits with Chris help with any guilt I'm feeling about leaving him.
• I'm reading the 7th book in the series Jenny lent me – I’d say it’s a fair statement that I'm “engrossed”. Fortunately there are at least 4 more books after the one I'm reading to keep me involved.
• I'm bored of hearing how Kate Gosselin is “totally for her kids”.

Chris (2 months)

• He loves to be talked to and will smile and coo back to you when you give him your full attention.
• He’s very patient with a sometimes overly-loving sister.
• Bath-time (sponge baths on the kitchen counter) is never met with resistance.
• He’s eating 4oz every 2.5-3 hours during the day and every 2 hours at night.
• The little bugger still manipulates his way into his too-tired-to-argue parents’ bed in the middle of the night.
• Chris is totally grown out of newborn clothes and is firmly in the 3 month size.

Jim (32 years, 8.5 mo)

• Jim plays a potential triple header tonight (every game he wins means he plays immediately following). We won’t be staying for the whole thing but I hope he does.
• He started another MBA class last night. This means that one of the two of us have been on XU’s campus at least once/week for the last 10 straight years. Sheesh.
• Jim redid our 2009 taxes on Turbo Tax in an effort to match our accountant’s results. If he is close we’ll do our own taxes next year and save the $500+ in preparation fees. I'm glad he’s willing to do this because I don’t have any desire to do it but want the results.
• Jim mows about 1/week and when he’s done we both sit and admire the lawn. He does such a good job. It makes me feel kinda old to be one of “those people” who sits around admiring grass.
• He’s been tucking Nicole in lately and they seem to have a good routine – they read books (Bamboozled is the new favorite) and sing songs. We had to look up the words to Frere Jacques as neither of us could remember what came after “Dormez-vous?”

Various things to comment on

This weekend was quick but not stressful. I got to hang out with the girls on Friday, we had dinner with my folks, went to the park, did chores around the house, etc.

This was a CNN article last week that I liked about Facebookers. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/20/annoying.facebook.updaters/index.html It made me LOL because I know someone in every category unfortunately. I don’t think I'm one of the annoying people… am i?

Mom and Dad introduced us to a new show, Shark Tank, which was on last night. Reminds me of something Dale/Tom/Dave would like. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I want to go on and sell my passport idea.

Jim starts school tomorrow (XU). Makes me kinda sad I'm not teaching this semester….

I'm VERY proud of Jenna’s smoking staus.

I had several moments of “oh she’s growing so big” (physically I mean) with Nicole this weekend. She did look little though when she put Jim’s t-shirt on and it drug on the ground and the sleeves rested at her wrists.

I REALLY like the daily reports our daycare gives us. I also like going to visit Nic and Chris at lunch. Wish it was geographically closer to my office though….

I'm wearing “normal” pants to work today and they aren’t digging into my gut!

I added Dale's Sabbatical to my blogroll - check out his adventures!

Random Thoughts

• I like the show Wipeout but think the Japanese (?) version is better (as seek on Spike TV)


• I know my friends have sex, or at least I hope they do. I can not picture it at all. Not that I sit around trying to picture it. …but even making out- I can’t reconcile the image in my head. My friends are probably happy to know this.


• I was told by a co-worker that I’m a “real woman” for putting in the time/energy to pump at work. TMI Portion of this bullet point: Fortunately this time around that’s going MUCH better than with Nicole. I’m attributing it to the water I drink following nursing (I attempt to drink 2X as much as I think he drank).


• Bowling starts 9-20-09 but I’ve been too sick with a cold to pass out flyers to my neighbors’ mailboxes. Tonight when I’m physically up for it it rains.


• The McDonald’s by Nic/Chris’s daycare has the best chicken nuggets of any McD’s I’ve ever had. What makes it even better is that they are consistently better.


• I got mail over the last two weeks that made me smile – a postcard from Alaska, a hand-drawn plant, and today a “I’m glad we’re friends” card. I love mail. I love my friends. Thanks.


• For Viki – I’m in that stupid phase where maternity clothes are too big and my normal clothes are too tight. I have about a half inch to go before I can button the fly on any of my jeans. So, I wear a lot of skirts. My shirts all show my still-existing pooch though. People at the grocery store probably think I’m pregnant. I wouldn’t blame them for thinking so. (I know, the standard response to this is that I was just pregnant. I know, I don’t feel bad about my figure (yet) and am not complaining (yet), just commenting).

DWTS Annoyance

I don't watch Dancing with the Stars but I am interested every year who the "B-list" stars they put in the competition are. I was VERY dismayed however at this year's line up. At least three of the people on the list are not the types of people that I'd call "role models". Two have been arrested and spent time in rehab for drug use and one politician had to resign for campaign violations.

It's frustrating to see that "better" people aren't rewarded with 15+ minutes of fame. I'm all for the Olympic athletes, TV stars, even the swimsuit model. But really, aren't there any other people who haven't spent time in front of a judge that could be on TV?

Life returning to "normal"

Nicole has been at her new daycare for a week now. I was shocked to hear on Friday “oh, she talks!” when I had her with me in the nursery. Apparently my very outgoing daughter is shy at school. I’m chalking it up to still being new and her not knowing anyone there yet. Everyone has said how well-behaved she is so at least there’s that…





Chris is in the nursery there as his babysitter is indefinitely decommissioned. I like the caregivers there, many have been employed at TLC for 5+ years which I think says a lot. It’s a state law apparently that if a child falls asleep in a swing for more than 10 minutes s/he need to be moved to a crib. Well, our dear son doesn’t like cribs so I’m curious how they’re doing that. I’m trying to mimic this at home too so that things are consistent and to prep him for sleeping on his own ASAP. Right now he’s upstairs crying because he’s alone. :( He seems to have a radar on me that if I’m further than 6 feet when he’s sleeping he wakes up all frantic. This is frustrating at 4:00am when I need to go pump downstairs and everyone should be sleeping, including him.



Tonight we’re headed to a festival which should be fun for Nicole.

I have found 2 possibilities for conversation furniture for the deck but none for the table… making a stop to check out anther place this afternoon.



Video sample of daily life around here:

I go full-time back to work on Monday. This week was a good ease into it and I’m looking forward to starting as I’m already behind due to the short work-week and I have the confidence that the kids are in good hands so it doesn’t make me anxious to leave them.

Life Update

A few notes on our vacation to Ocean City, MD:

1) It was a LONG drive made longer by Chris needing to eat every 3 hours. We left the day before and all in all it took us about 19 hours (including stops and meals and searching for hotels in 4 cities). Coming home was better - the 11.5 hour trip only about 16 hours. Fortunately this won't be an issue here forward (we hope...). It continues to amaze us the totally uncomfortable [looking] positions children are able to sleep in....

2) Not much is going on in OC, MD. We went to the ocean every day and Nicole liked it as long as she was with an adult (obviously we wouldn't leave her at this age anyway). Without direct contact she was a bit overwhelmed. The pool, however was a hit! We had 2 buffets which constituted 2 more buffets than I've eaten in a year. Meals were expensive in general but Nicole mostly ate free which was nice.

3) Chris's favorite activity was to have Grandma hold him in the rocking chair. S-P-O-I-L-E-D We would have put him in the ocean once the sun went down but it rained our last night there so he never did get in the water. :(

Jenny got Nicole a book called "Bamboozled" chosen so Nicole could have fun pronouncing the title. Here she is practicing some hard words on our way to dinner one night:

On another front, Nicole started a new daycare yesterday. This place does 5 classroom rotations (math, language arts, art/dramatic play, science and geography) as well as include a 2-hour nap, gym/outdoor time, lunch and free-play. She's gotten good progress reports each day and already has a friend who's hand she holds "all day" according to her science teacher Ms. Jami.

Chris was scheduled to go to Nicole's old sitter for the first portion of his life but when I went to drop him off on Monday morning I was surprised to find out that the main sitter had a stroke and is hospitalized indefinitely. They did call and leave a message, I just didn't get it in time.... As a result, Chris came to work with me on Monday for a half day (I'm all half days this week). Chris is now enrolled in Nicole's school and started this morning. His daily report was good too. :)

first smile caught on "film"

He's been smiling and coo'ing for about a week and a half now but we never seem to have a camera around/quick enough. He was very happy and chatty this afternoon while leaning against my legs! :)

Mike's Baseball Game

Last night we went to the Reds Game to watch my brother, Mike, throw out the first pitch. He won a contest that Lindsay entered him in and got tickets, the opportunity to watch batting practice and throw the first pitch as previously mentioned.

A bunch of us all went down to watch the festivities and we scored big time in my opinion with $5 seats that allowed us entry into the ballpark and access to sitting anywhere (we were about half way up the lower section on the third base line). To top it all off, the Reds actually WON!

Here’s Mike and his big honor!

The best news however was announced during the game. Can you tell from the pictures below?

Respecting Greatness

I'm going to be an aunt again!

Enjoying the game with my two kids

Our goal was to convert her to be a Reds fan... at least we got a shirt out of her...

Firsts

Yesterday was a day of firsts for Chris:

1) he gave me my first moment of Chris panic – In the bathroom of Chik-fil-a I was using the restroom and Nicole pulled on the plastic bag of the sanitary napkin trash bin. It fell off the shelf and landed on Chris. All three of us went into alarm mode and both kids started crying. I pulled it off him, unbuckled him out of the car seat and picked him up right away. Fortunately his crying subsided almost immediately upon being held. Nicole on the other hand was scared and kept saying “sorry, baby Chris”- she took more effort to stop the tears. I called the doctor and asked what types of signs to look for should he have any head trauma (I think it just landed in his lap versus hitting his head) and in the last 24 hours I haven’t seen any of said symptoms so I’m assuming he’s okay.

2) We got recognized by a stranger- another mom at the Chick-fil-a playground started talking to me and asked “weren’t you at Parky’s Farm the other day?” Wow… I’m getting in with the stay-at-home mom crowd.

3) First blow-out- Chris’s poops are textbook new baby – mustard yellow, thin and seedy. I can always tell when he’s about to poop though – he gets wiggly, crunches his legs up and contorts his face as if he’s pushing a boulder through his bowels. His poops are always very audible and incredibly forceful. I have no idea why pooping the equivalent texture of pea soup takes so much effort, but apparently it does. Yesterday’s poop was no different in the signs leading up to it but the squirt seemed louder and longer… when I picked him up my fingertips were wet and the really cute outfit I had on him was all slimy with baby poop at the leg and up the back. Fortunately I’ve developed an amazing tolerance for poop of all textures and quantities, a skill I’m not proud of but routinely grateful for (poor Jim still sometimes gags…).

1 month and 1 day – kid’s still alive and I’m still sane! Wa-hoo!

Long Life Updates

Deck Photos

Chris lets me work on the computer (aka he sits with me while I type). This is great and something his sister would never do. In general things with him are going well. He eats at 10:30ish and we both get up at 3:00 (without an alarm!) to feed again. Sleep is at about 6.5 hours for me/night now which is enough that I function all day and only nap on weekends. He's SUCH a better eater than Nicole in general at this point which has made feeding him much more efficient/relaxing. He's got a set schedule now that we stick to and since it's 3 hour time increments it's even better.

Jenny J. lent me some books – a vampire series she’s a big fan of. I finished the first one in a few days and gave it a D which was very disappointing as I was looking forward to the books. It was the writing style that I didn’t like and the plot was only “eh”. However, I trust Jenny’s opinion so I started the second book. I’m only 100 pages in in 2 days and already it’s SO MUCH better. At this rate I will keep plowing through the series. I have to admit that I like Twilight's twist on vampirism better in general though...

In the 3.5 weeks I’ve been home with the kids only once have we not gone somewhere. Today I told Nicole we were going to pretend we were Kipps and go hiking in the nature preserve near our house. Chris slept most of the walk and Nicole wanted to be carried for about 40% of it but the hike was a success overall. :) Pictures for Ella:

Christopher enjoying the ride.

Girl after my own heart - a tree-hugger!

Stopping to smell the ... flowers.

While I was pregnant Martha asked me about any food cravings I was having. While I wouldn’t classify them as cravings, I found myself buying and eating sautéed mushrooms and orange bell peppers for the first time in my life (that I made at home, I’d eaten both before). These two have become somewhat staples in my diet now and I purchase at least one package of sliced mushrooms and one pepper a week. I’m the only one in the family who’ll eat either though, which is fine by me.

For Lisa: Here’s Nicole eating her first (technically second, this bowl is her second helping!) Skyline 3-way.

Truly a Cincinnati native

I’ve lost 26lbs. of the 50 (I know, I know…) that I gained with my pregnancy. This makes me very happy to have done in just four weeks but I’m very aware that 1) half of this was shed immediately between Chris himself and the water and 2) my sweet-tooth and pension for snacking on cupcakes and ice cream will limit me from maintaining this weight loss speed. Is it worth giving up/limiting sweets though… haven’t decided… I'm about half and half maternity clothes and non at this point.

2 more weeks and we go on vacation! 3 more weeks and I'm back to work!

Mother of a 2-year old

Nicole's second birthday is now past. All the rush to get the deck done for the party and then... it rains. :P

The morning was low-key as we were out at a grill-out the night before and all went to bed late. Her nap was 3.5 hours long and ended in my waking her which meant she was not in the best mood. True to her age she threw a fit because she wanted to wear PJ's and not her dress to the party - wouldn't have been a big deal but she was hollering with guests downstairs which is not the impression I like to make, even with family. Fortunately the tantrum was short-lived.

We had about 25 family members over for the celebration. Lots of wonderful, generous presents, many of which were Dora or Sesame Street themed so they went over real big. Her new pool will be blown up for swimming tomorrow as she keeps asking for it and the sand/water table is already assembled and in use. I have a cute video of all the kids jumping on Mike (below) which illustrates their enthusiasm pretty much the entire time.

Our last guests left around 10:15pm and Jim did some cleaning before bed.

Her 2-year well-baby check-up was this morning and she's doing great. 75%ile for height (2'11"), weight (28lbs) and 65th %ile for head - very proportionate. Overall she

• knows her ABC's, can count 1-13, knows nearly all body parts by name including the "odd" ones like ankle, jaw, etc.
• I've heard her say 6-word sentences before but 3-5 words strung together is most common.
• Her most favorite phrase is "this is mine" or "I want ____" which I hear over and over all day long.
• I try to give her options for things like which cup to drink from but she can be frequently indecisive which makes me regret giving her a choice at all some times.
• Her ability and desire to pick clothing is very clear but the child has no fashion sense what-so-ever so I don't often let her go out in public with the outfit she's put together. We're learning to "work together" (a new favorite phrase of mine!) where she picks one item like a skirt or a shirt and I get to pick the coordinating piece.
• She's OCD about her sippy cups and won't touch them if her hands are dirty. I get lots of "mommy, hold" at meal times.
• Her favorite song, which is on repeat in the car for as long as we can tolerate it, is Ice Ice Baby. Working on getting a video of her singing and dancing...

The In The Next Year sheet the doctor's office gave us was oh-so encouraging with things like "shows Independence by saying 'no' to everything", "hits, pushes and bites other children", "can not often be reasoned with", and "begins to resist bedtime". Ohhhh, can't wait!

Updates

AHhhhhhhhhhhhh! 8:15 and no kids awake! Nicole and Chris seem to have opposite schedules – if she’s awake, he’s asleep and vice versa. The end result is me not getting hardly anything productively done but quality time, a situation that’s hard to be frustrated about but doesn’t help the to-do list get any shorter.

I’ve been leaving the house with the kids every day so far. We’ve taken trips to the library, to lunch and the pool with my aunt, shopping with my grandparents, etc. It makes the day go faster and keeps Nicole away from the TV which she frequently asks for (old habits from daycare die hard…). Places I still want to take her: the zoo, Parky’s Farm, the water park, Make-a-Mess Thursday (arts and crafts), and the bounce and play at the library which is today but we won’t make due to lunch with Martha.

Nicole’s birthday is Saturday – I’ve ordered her balloons and have a to-buy list already made for today/tomorrow’s shopping trip. We’ll be having Mexican for dinner and she’ll have about 25 guests, all family, attending.

Nicole feeding baby Allison

Chris is doing well – he’s dropped his sleeping from 20 hours a day to about 18 and is happy all but about 2 hours of the 6. Crying’s part of being a baby though and while it doesn’t bother me the sound does get on Jim’s nerves. Unfortunately for me he still wants to eat every 2 hours-ish which makes coordinating outings, etc. more challenging. Last night he extended his sleeping to 4 hours before he wanted to eat so that was a nice break except for Nicole waking up around 3 and needing to be changed/cuddled. His cord fell off over a week ago, the circumcision has totally healed and I’ve not gotten hit with “the fountain” in over a week! I’m learning how to take care of a boy!

The deck is really coming along. It will be done tomorrow but unfortunately I haven’t found any furniture that’s blown me over to buy and fill it with. Though I want it to look as “real” as possible for the party I don’t want to be hasty with spending money on thing just to have them in time. Pictures to follow tomorrow upon completion!

I’m down 23lbs but that still leaves me much to go. Damn sweet tooth…. I finished the Twilight series and a book Lisa gave me a while ago. Jenny’s going to lend me a new vampire series today when I see her for lunch. All of the above are great for keeping me awake/not bored during these late-night feedings (which Jim blissfully sleeps through for the most part- the one big downside to breast-feeding is that the husband doesn’t have much he can do to help….).

On to productive things while I still have some time!!!

Baby Duty

Mothering a newborn is just as I remember so far – looking at your new baby brings an immediate and unstoppable smile to your face and the total bliss you feel when he nestles into your shoulder is so addictive.

So far Chris is a predicable baby. He sleeps a lot during the day and then at 10:00pm he’s awake and wants to eat, eat and then eat more. The last three nights (in the hospital and then here at home) he’s been hungry but I’ve been too tired to stay awake the entire time he’s eating. When I do wake up and try to move him to the bassinet he wakes up and is looking for more to eat. It’s amazing how much energy I seem to have at 3:00 to talk/sing to him and then feed him one last time before we’re both too tired to keep up the charade any longer. Averaging a little more than 4 hours of sleep/night so far.

When I woke up for good at 8:30 today here’s what I found…

June 26, 2009

Though he’s easy during the day, because he’s sleeping so much, and Nicole’s not here (she’s at daycare) having Jim around to help is very nice. Today I’ve boiled the parts for and already used my electronic pump, finished painting his dinosaur characters for his window treatments, and made good progress in my addictive Twilight series book. Still need to work on the bumpers (I intend on finishing them this weekend) and paint the letters of his name for the wall.

I reminded the sitter that Nicole will be home with me from now on. She’s taking sisterhood slowly. She still calls Chris “Baby Michael” half of the time (where did that come from?!)

Nicole holding Chris for the first time!

but she’s always very gentle and doesn’t seem jealous from what I’ve seen. I think it helps that the visitors have been consistent with their attention to her and often come bearing gifts for her when they come which gets her all excited. I’m both intrigued and a little nervous about handling her strong need for attention and activity and balancing that with Chris’s needs and developing schedule. I think I’ll need all 7 weeks of my maternity leave to accomplish this successfully.

Physically I feel better today then any day yet. I did fill the Vicotin and Motrin prescriptions and have taken a pill of each for pain since I’ve been home. Intense cramping has turned to a mild painful annoyance since Tuesday and my stitches (I got many due to tearing) really only bother me when I get up and down too frequently. Other than being painfully engorged (hence the pumping already) I’m starting to feel like my normal self already.

Side note – the deck’s in progress – we have concrete supports in and the lumber for the frame was dropped off about an hour and a half ago. Still on track for a July 11 completion.

He's here!

i would have blogged again but jim wouldn't type for me and I didn't want the computer on my lap. :)

Here's what happened!
11:30 water broken
12:30 epidural
2:30 pushing
2:43 arrival!

He's got LONG fingers, toes, and fingernails. His eyes stay open a lot and he's pretty quiet, unlike his rowdy sister.

21.5 inches long, 8lbs. 3 oz.

Pictures to follow!

Baby Progress- Labor's started!

Arrived at the hospital at 8:50 and IV went in around 9:20; Caitlin got it on the first stick. Jim didn't watch. :) Pitocin started at 9:40 (Caitlin's very organized) and is upped every half hour. Currently I'm getting 3ml a minute. Contractions are about every 5 minutes but not painful- I feel them coming and going but they're not even uncomfortable. In between Chris moves around.

My water will be broken at 11:00 - that's when the pain started with Nicole. I suspect the epidural will go in not long after that.

Jim took a picture of me on the computer and just for the glory of it I'm going to send some work-related email now while I'm officially in labor. ha!

More later!

Baby Report

I'm going to be induced tomorrow at 9am! Caitlin will be my nurse so I'm sure I'll be in the most attentive care ever (more drugs, more drugs!! j/k).

As of this morning I'm 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. Though I'll be given pitocin (sp?) to kick things off, Dr. Fennimore doesn't suspect that the potential c-section risk that's carried with inducing will affect me because of how far I am already.

How I'm feeling - excited. The fact that I'll be in pain hasn't even registered yet and I doubt it fully will since I know that's an unavoidable part of the process. I'm VERY excited to see him and predict he'll be 8lbs. 7oz with lots of blonde hair. If I was in a baby pool I'd call 5:03pm.

What does lead me to sigh a bit is the nursing process starting all over. Not that it's hard but it can be very time consuming and requires some preparation in regard to timing and location (ie coordinating when to run errands). Granted I know in general what to expect but he could be different from Nicole. Further, pumping is a complete DRAG and I don't look forward to that portion of the process at all. Base goal will be at least 6 months with a 1 year stretch goal. (OH MY GOD I'M TALKING LIKE A P&Ger!)

Nicole's headed to spend the night at Grandma's - first night she'll be away from us by choice (aka we weren't out of town) but I'm happy to have the 1-on-1 time with Jim and the opportunity to rest up for a full day.

News to follow via email probably some time tomorrow afternoon!

Sunday

Still here.

Still pregnant.

Got flowers from my husband on Father's Day.

Felt guilty that he did so much housework on his special day but the results always look so good!

Beamed when Bella and Edward got engaged.

Ate soft serve with rainbow sprinkles.

So excited about my doctor's appointment tomorrow at 9!