39 weeks

I'm taking full advantage of having Kyalo in school these mornings. . .getting things done, enjoying a kid-free breakfast with a friend this morning, and hammering out the final few blogs before this baby comes.

I'm happy to report that Kyalo loves school, but sadly, it doesn't tire him out as much as I'd been hoping - no guarantee of a nap in the afternoon.  Maybe we'll up his time at school in the future, but for now I like this schedule.

Sunday was 39 weeks.  As I did with Kyalo, I wanted to get a bare belly bump.

9.9.2014

39 weeks, two days

I have had no signs of labor yet - the Harvest Moon made me a little nervous last night, but Baby stayed put.  Baby continues to reside up in my ribs, it seems, so I'll be glad when that stage of life is behind us.  In general I really have no complaints in this pregnancy...very little sickness, or pain or problems. Baby has been head down for a while now, which is as it should be.  When I had the ultrasound last week, the estimate was about 7.5 pounds, so I guess he/she will be a little over 8, as Kyalo was. 

Alright, have to go pick up Kyalo soon so I better take advantage of the quiet house for the next little bit!

I'll be back later (I hope) with those family photos I mentioned the other day.

36 and 38 weeks

I'm running out of time to get these pregnancy posts up, and they're kind of stockpiling on me.

I'm actually 39 weeks today, but I'm so behind I'm going to play a little catch up here.  It is truly amazing to me that we're down to the final days of this pregnancy.  I remember when I was pregnant with Kyalo feeling kind of sad that the days were winding down and I'd no longer be pregnant.  I don't feel that way so much with this pregnancy.  I'm huge and uncomfortable and can't sleep or do much these days, so having the baby here in the flesh seems wonderful - even if it brings its own challenges and sleeplessness, etc. At least I'll be able to bend over and see my feet and all that!!

A few weeks ago we went to a local garden with friends Aaron and Gayle and Lucas to get some family photos.  The days of being a family of three are numbered!  Gayle took a few pics on our camera, and Aaron took the 'professional' ones on his.  I'll save his for another post, but wanted to get a couple up from that time.

36 weeks:

Kyalo & Lucas (4) playing 'train' 

there's not a lot of exuberance in these two boys. not at all.

If you like these photos, wait til I get the ones from Aaron up!  Gorgeous!!

And then 38 weeks:

 obligatory heart photo

I don't even look pregnant here.  

there's the belly

and only getting bigger! ah

Last week, because I'm in the lucky category of 'AMA' (Advanced Maternal Age) I went in for a final ultrasound.  It had been a while since I'd had an ultrasound (I got them at every visit in NJ - a little gift they give us!) I was excited for another little peek at baby.  I was NOT prepared for a 3D picture of our little person!

Our sleeping beauty, all curled up with a hand next to his/her face.  I sent this photo to my sister in law and mom and they said, 'Boy!' and 'Looks like Kyalo!' which is funny because I was thinking when I was having the ultrasound that maybe it is a girl.  But perhaps I'm just wishing. . . 

We'll find out soon enough who's right!!

34 weeks

Sunday marked 34 weeks in this pregnancy, which means we've got six to go.  I calculated the other night, we've really got about 5 baby-free weekends left! Yikes.  In that time we need to do small things like figure out a bed situation for us/Kyalo so that the baby can have a crib, get the baby's room set up, wash all of Kyalo's old clothes (which are far more stained than I remembered) so baby can leave the hospital not naked, and, I don't know. . . perhaps pick out a name?  Details.

Got a few more pics of this growing belly on Sunday.  A few posts ago I was complaining about feeling 'large and in charge' now I look back at those pictures and yearn for those days.  Because now I am seriously huge - and I know I am only going to get bigger.  I'm in that stage now where I'm barely sleeping (which is one of the mean things about pregnancy. We should be getting as much as possible prior to the sleepless nights of babyhood. . . ) and have zero energy to get things done, also not fun when I have a house to set up and a toddler to keep up with!  Sigh.

As I've mentioned previously, this baby moves a LOT.  It makes me wonder what life with this little person's going to be like - Kyalo was a much calmer pregnancy, so far as I can remember, and he's hard to keep up with.  :)  I feel like this baby is really high - up in my ribs all the time.  I won't miss that feeling for sure.  Otherwise, this has been another smooth pregnancy and for that I'm really grateful.

 August 3, 2014

There's the belly, in all its glory!

I posted the top picture on Facebook, and had a few people say, 'It's a boy!' and one person said, 'It's a girl!' So, I guess it is still a toss up as to what's hanging out right now.  Dr Kim is convinced, based on some Chinese conception calendar, that this is a boy. And I and a dream a few nights ago that we had a boy!  I go back and forth with what I 'sense' this baby could be.  I think I'm back in the boy camp, but couldn't say for sure.

But no matter - we'll know soon enough!  And we'll live in hope that baby will have a name when the time comes!

30 weeks

Today marks 30 weeks of this pregnancy, which means there's just about 10 to go.  This pregnancy is zooming by, that's for sure.  Given all that we've been doing the last few months, it has been hard to keep track.

I mentioned before that this pregnancy has felt so different from my pregnancy with Kyalo.  I'm so aware of the baby all the time.  He or she is really, really active, moving and kicking and making his/her presence known.  I feel big and uncomfortable, and have to do the dreaded 3-point turn at night in order to change positions.

Another way this pregnancy has been different is that I've been sick a lot.  Just random things - fever one time, an awful stomach bug for about 48 hours another, and then, most recently, Hand-Foot-Mouth disease which I think I picked up at a church picnic.  If you've ever had it, you know the pain and suffering I went through with that!  I hope all these illnesses don't have an adverse affect on baby.

I got a couple of pictures yesterday, back in my parents' beautiful back yard.

I had my first appointment with the local OB's office last week.  Turns out that they don't do VBACs, so if I want to deliver at the hospital that's a mile from my house, I'll have a C-Section scheduled the week before my due date (September 14).  I'm sad about this - I like the idea of at least laboring a bit - but not sure I really want to travel 30 or more minutes for appointments at other hospitals and to deliver.  So, we'll see what happens.  Other than that, I do hear good things about the practice.

As you can tell, we still don't know what we're having.  Kyalo is still mostly adamant about having a sister, though recently he said, "I want a brudder AND a sister!"  and someone asked me if he was seeing into the future.  I don't think he is.  One more seems like enough for me!!  What do you think I'm having?  I really have no motherly instinct on this.

Lastly, I got this great picture of Dexter and Kyalo yesterday afternoon as well.

July 5, 2014  Kyalo, 3 years, 3 months

25 weeks

As seems to be the case for us these days, we have been non stop action.  Point in case:  in the last week, we have flown from California to Massachusetts, driven to NJ, packed everything up, driven to MA, and then yesterday we took everything to Maine to the house we'll be living in. We can't move in just yet as the folks living there don't move out til later in the month, but they were kind enough to allow us to store our things there. Whew.

So, I have a lot to recap here, but before too much time gets away from me, I wanted to get another pregnancy photo up.  We have been so busy, and things have been so chaotic that I haven't gotten nearly as many of these pictures as I had planned.   I finally made it happen yesterday, and I'm so glad I did!

25 weeks

June 9, 2014

I'm not sure what is more striking - my growing belly, or my parents' beautiful yard!

I feel. . .huge. Large and in charge, for sure!  I'm thankful, though, that this pregnancy has been relatively easy. I really have no complaints!  This baby is VERY active.  I was reading the other night and had the book propped on my belly, and the baby kicked so hard that the book jumped!  I really don't remember being aware of Kyalo moving around nearly as much.  This makes me a little nervous - Kyalo is active enough for me, I'm beginning to wonder if this baby is going to keep us very, very busy!

It is hard to believe that I am already six months.  Just a few more months and we'll be meeting this new little person who will steal our hearts and change our lives.  

Kyalo loves to kiss and pat my belly.  He calls the baby 'my baby' and recently asked, 'please I hold my baby?'  I had to explain to him that he has to wait a little while for that still.  I think he's going to be a great big brother - though I think he might have a hard time waiting for the baby to be a playmate/friend for him!  

Things are really coming together for us -- a job for Dexter, a house that we love that we move into next month, etc etc -- and so continue to trust and hope that the rest of the pregnancy will go smoothly and all will be well on delivery day.

baby update

April 12, 2014

17 weeks, 6 days

This picture already seems outdated now, since I'm 19 weeks.  Life is kind of busy around here right now, so getting regular bump photos doesn't seem likely.  I was hoping for another one on Easter, but that was a crazy day, and no pictures were taken at all!

I figure it is about time (almost half way through this pregnancy? whoa) to jot down some thoughts about being pregnant the second time around.

One thing is for sure, it is much harder to be pregnant when chasing a three year old around, and not just sitting calming at a desk!  Thankfully, though, I had no morning sickness or other pregnancy related issues.  (I've been sick a couple of other times, just regular flus and things - not fun).  The only weird food thing I have is that I can't seem to eat plain avocado (the horror!), but can eat it fine in things, or as guacamole. Go figure. Like with Kyalo, things seem to be going smoothly enough.  No complaints!  One big difference is that I'm fairly sure I started feeling this baby kick around 10 1/2 weeks, while with Kyalo is was probably not until about 18 weeks.  Maybe I just knew what to expect this time around?  

And let me tell you, going to an OB in America vs Kenya?  A whole different ball game!  For one thing, so far I have had ONE doctor, and not the latest visiting OB like in Kenya.  I had my first ultrasound at 8 weeks, and the seat was heated, and she apologized that she didn't have the gel warmer!!  The heated seat still seems like luxury to me.  My first real ultrasound in Kenya I almost left in tears because it was so different from my (TV-induced) expectations.  I've been trying to keep expectations low this time around so that I'm not disappointed.  Another big difference is the medical stuff that we do -- lots of lab work, fancier ultrasounds to determine the anatomy of the baby is OK.  My insurance doesn't cover it, but by now I could know the sex of my baby, and if he/she had any abnormalities to be concerned about.

In some ways, I'm missing the simpler experience I had in Kenya.  I miss being able to dash down to the hospital for my appointments, and feeling like this was all a normal, regular thing, and not something to be hyper worried about!

I must admit to a heightened sense of anxiety about this pregnancy, though.  I had a miscarriage in November, and while I was able to get pregnant again so easily, I still get worried with every twinge or moment of pain.  Being sick twice in the past month hasn't helped my anxiety level either - I'm afraid this baby, even if fine now, will suffer the effects of these sickness somewhere in the future.

There are just a few more appointments for me here in NJ, and then I have to find myself a new doctor in Maine.  We move in June, the baby is due in September, so there should be enough time.  I'm telling you, things are moving at lightening speed around here.  Between Kyalo's birthday, Easter, being sick, graduation in a month, the big move, etc, I've hardly had time to think about this baby much!  I'm getting excited - and I know Kyalo is, too.  He still says to me at random times, 'No! I want a sister, not a brudder.'  Let's hope I don't disappoint!