Any day now...

Well, baby #2's due date has officially come and gone now. It's now May 29th and she's decided she's not ready to come yet. Our last doctor's appointment was on Wednesday and she still appears to be doing fine in there. They checked to see if I was moving along at all and said I was a good 2 cm dilated (up from 1-2 cm last week) and 70% effaced (up from 50-70% effaced). So slight progress is being made. I'm perfectly happy to make a lot of progress slowly like this to shorten the hard labor. I was never checked before I went to the hospital in labor with Lily (and was only 2 cm) so I can't really compare this to that experience yet. I'm hoping I'm already further along than I was when Lily's labor started. I'm still assured that this labor will be faster and easier.

The practice I'm in now doesn't like people to go past 41 weeks. Everything I've ever heard suggests that there can be negative effects to mom and baby after 41 weeks as well. The placenta can start to deteriorate, the baby can start losing weight, and the baby is more likely to have it's first bowel movement (meconium-which is bad if it gets ingested by baby during delivery). I'd probably prefer to wait a little longer if the baby still looks like it's doing well but it would be hard to refuse an induction at that point. Our next appointment is on Tuesday (40 weeks 4 days) so if we make it until then I imagine they'll start talking about when we'll induce. Hopefully we won't make it until then. Lily came without any help so it just seems hard to believe that this baby won't/wouldn't either. Hopefully soon. A lot of times people go late on paper because the due date was actually miscalculated, but since we had so many early ultrasounds we can be certain of the due date we were given. Development changes so rapidly in those first few weeks that they can pinpoint it down to the day with a lot of accuracy. This wasn't the case with Lily because we didn't have an ultrasound until she was 12 weeks along.

I think I've actually felt a little better physically lately. I've been doing a lot less. Lily and I have been going to fewer activities (although last Saturday was a really busy day, with three different events). I've been resting more. My sister arrived on Tuesday evening, so she's been helping out around the house a lot (I haven't done any dishes since she got here). It's still hard to get up off the couch and I get odd cramps in muscles randomly, especially when I first get up. But overall I feel pretty good. I'm sure it also helps that my cold is pretty much gone now. Breathing fully and not having constant coughing fits is nice. I should probably try to get some walking in to help this baby along.

I've had time for a few projects and nesting activities, which has been nice. My hospital bag is packed and waiting in the living room. After having several contractions in the middle of the night that were a little painful a few nights ago Scott and I finally got the last few things together so I just need to grab my toothbrush and then put it in the car. I took a big suitcase to Lily's birth and barely used anything, this time I just have a small carry-on that's half full of presents for Lily. We don't want her to feel left out and wanted to get her a couple things to occupy her time at the hospital.

Lily's messages to her baby sister

Lily likes her old baby toys.

Lily wanted to leave a message for her baby sister.

Happy Birthday is a popular song these days as we've recently celebrated all of the following birthdays:

April 25th: Great Grandpa Cy
April 29th: Great-Great Grandma Smith
May 1st: Aunt Kellie
May 4th: Papa Jerry
May 5th: LILY!
May 13th: Uncle Gary
& coming up on May 25th: Cousin Bella
& coming up any day now: Baby Sister
we've already been practicing for both

And Lily singing the alphabet.

39 weeks

I won't technically be 39 weeks until Friday, but at this point it's close enough. A week to go. It's been short and it's been long at the same time. I feel like I've always been pregnant, as I did with Lily, but I also can't believe the baby could be here any day. Or any minute really. I still feel unprepared. Our house is definitely unprepared. My sister doesn't arrive until Tuesday so I feel like my body will just hold on to the baby until she gets here and I can relax knowing Lily has someone here 24 hours/day if we needed to leave immediately. We have contingency plans but obviously having my sister here is a lot more convenient if I need to leave for the hospital at 2 in the morning. And I think it will be more reassuring for Lily to have some normalcy too. Although I'm pretty sure she would not mind hanging out with Avery one bit.

The house is not as prepared as it was for Lily's arrival. The freezer is full, but I'm not exactly sure with what. I know there are some meals in there and some partially-prepared meals--but I don't have a list with cooking instructions like I did last time. The baby clothes are in a giant pile next to the washing machine ready to go but not washed yet. As are all the covers and pads for things like bouncy seats and swings. The car seat is installed in the car so we will be allowed to take the baby home. But we don't have a single diaper in the house yet. These things are all on my list. Unfortunately the cold I've had for the past week has had poor timing and it's made preparations a little slower. I'm not sleeping well at all and I'm often up into the wee hours of the morning coughing uncontrollably. Unfortunately since the baby is so big, I can't really get a good cough and coughing itself makes all my stomach muscles contract which kind of hurts at this point. Once I can actually get to sleep, I don't sleep too terribly, until I have to pee, which also happens at least twice per night. But it's a small price to pay.

We visited one of the midwives in our group today for our weekly appointment. The baby's heartbeat was 132 bpm which is right on target for this age. The midwife said that the baby didn't feel like it was too big. She thought it was more like 8 lbs and only thought she was that big because she knew how big Lily was. As I look back at our visits at the end of Lily's pregnancy, the midwives also thought she was around 8 lbs but the last ultrasound we had predicted 8 lbs 12 oz (only 1 oz less than Lily was). So we'll see. I feel like she'll be at least as big as Lily. But I only have experience with 2 pregnancies not hundreds. My blood pressure was good today, so no worries there. In this practice they regularly check if I'm dilating from 37 weeks onward (I never got checked with Lily until I was in active labor). The previous two times they've checked me I was only a fingertip dilated, which is basically nothing. Today I was 1-2 cm, 60% effaced and very soft. So this is a pretty big change from last week and almost where I was the first time I went to the hospital about 5 or 6 hours before Lily was born (and contractions were 6 or so minutes apart). So clearly things are going to go quicker this time around. The midwife today thought everything would go about twice as fast as with Lily and would be twice as easy. Music to my ears.

The plan, like last time, is to avoid as many interventions as possible. They advised me today to stay at home as long as possible. This is a little tricky since we know Lily came pretty quickly last time (especially at the end) and this time should be faster. There's also the added dilemma that Lily will probably be at home with my sister and niece and probably won't really like seeing me in pain (she gets upset when the baby kicks me and I say "ow"). So we'll just see how things go. But from what I recall of my previous experience with labor there won't really be a way to hide the pain from her. But the later I arrive the few interventions I can expect. The simplest reason is there just won't be time to do a lot. Ideally I would love to arrive and start pushing almost right away but obviously that's hard to plan since I can't check myself and I don't want to birth a baby on the side of the road (which recently happened on a New Haven freeway). Yale-NH Hospital routinely gives everyone a shot of pitocin post-delivery. This is the same drug that's used to induce labor, but basically all it does is cause your uterus to contract (i.e. to simulate labor). This is also the same process that happens after delivery to get the uterus to release the placenta and to continue contracting to shrink the size of the uterus. It's something I'd rather not have just because it seems unnecessary to me (since I just delivered a baby my body is already making the natural hormones to do this and breastfeeding stimulates them even more).

Above all, I'm really excited to meet our baby. I'm excited to not be pregnant any more. I'm excited for my family to visit. I'm excited for Lily to be a big sister (and she's REALLY excited too). For now, I'm excited for those newborn days and the smells of a newborn baby (I hope my cold is gone so I can smell them). I'm excited for the tiny feet and hands and a constant cuddling companion. I'm really, really excited for our family to expand--and possibly be completed (?).

Large.

But Lily still likes to be held.

Sibling class & Hospital Tour

On Monday night our family of three visited the maternity floors of the Yale-New Haven Hospital. We were there specially for a sibling class for Lily. The purpose is to show her where mommy's going to be staying for a couple of days so she can be prepared and not as scared when she comes to see me. We've started talking about mommy sleeping at the hospital and I think this sort of blows her mind and I know she won't be happy about leaving with me there (especially since we're basically together 24 hours a day when she's not sleeping). The teacher did a really good job of gearing it for the range of ages that were in the class. Lily was the youngest sibling in the group, the closest in age was a little boy a few months older than her. The two of them were the troublemakers of the group and were crawling down the halls, climbing on tables, etc. During the tour they got to see a room where I'll stay, try out the moving hospital beds, see where the snacks are and learn how to wash their hands really thoroughly.

By far the highlight of the tour was seeing the babies. There were two babies in the nursery when we visited. One was only a couple of hours old and was getting her first bath with a very proud daddy watching on. A new mom also let us take a close up look at her baby. They showed the kids her bed and all her supplies and her teeny tiny feet with her little security bracelet. Lily was quite enthralled by the baby. Up until a few months ago Lily hadn't really been interested in little babies. They don't really make a lot of noise or move around so she wasn't really that curious about them. But in the past couple of months her interest has really grown. She points out every baby she sees, even strollers she sees out the car window. She's very concerned when babies cry and wants to know why (she always thinks they are hungry or tired).

Lily learning how to swaddle a baby.

Lily learning how to hold a baby correctly.

Lily sitting with the other siblings in her class at the hospital. She had to bring her baby along and was not shy about contributing to the discussion.

Guess the birth date!

Alright, it's time to register your guesses.

Click the banner or go to: http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyGirlPope2

If you remember back that far, *I* won last time: http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyGirlPope

Can anyone beat me this time?

A few hints:

Due Date is 5/28/10

Lily was born a little after 10 PM

Lily was 8 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches long

Lily was about a week late

Today I am 1-2 cm dilated, 60% effaced, & "very soft".

Good luck!

Lily's 2!

Remember this face?

My little baby is 2! I can hardly believe it. The second year went by even faster than the first. I hope they don't continue to speed up like this. She continues to amaze us of course. She seems borderline genius to me and I'm definitely not biased about these things.

A few milestones:
--Wearing a size 3T tops and 2T bottoms.
--Wearing a size 5 or 6 diaper depending on the brand.
--Wearing a size 7.5 or 8 shoe.
--Is currently obsessed with her "baby and mommy" puppies. Two small stuffed dogs.
--Current favorite book is "How do dinosaurs say goodnight?" by Jane Yolen
--Also currently obsessed with dinosaurs, the "dinosaur museum" aka the Peabody Museum at Yale, and just driving past the Peabody to see the large triceratops statue in the front (pronounced "cera-tops").
--Likes to categorize animals by size, big ones are "daddys", little ones are "babies", etc. If there are two it's usually a daddy and baby and then she'll ask, "Where'd mommy go?"
--Can count to 10, and knows many of the numbers up to 20, but not in the correct order yet.
--Can say the whole alphabet.
--Recognizes all but a few letters, V is sometimes called W, X is sometimes K, mostly letters that look similar to other letters.
--Recognizes all numbers 1-9.
--Has had a recent increase in appetite and eats up a storm.
--Favorite foods are typical toddler favorites: mac & cheese, hot dogs, grilled cheese, quesadillas, etc. But she's also really good about eating fruits and vegetables and will ask for things like broccoli without prompting.
--Drinking 1% milk now instead of whole milk.
--Is talking more and more in complete sentences. Sometimes a word is left out but she isn't just saying single words any more.
--Is very concerned about ownership of things and often tells us who things belong too, "mommy's fork, daddy's fork, Lily's fork". She also likes to claim things as her own if she wants them, "Lily's iPhone" is the most common one we hear.
--Getting her 2-year molars in. One is already in.

She is incredibly excited for her little sister to be born. She loves going to mommy's doctor's appointments and hearing the baby's heartbeat. She talks about hearing the heartbeat all week long in anticipation of going to the appointment. She also likes to put her head on my stomach to listen to the baby, which she says she can hear. And she likes trying to feel it kick, but she usually isn't patient enough to wait to feel it. At a recent visit the doctor put the doppler (what they use to listen to the baby's heartbeat) on Lily's chest so she could hear her own heartbeat. This has only convinced her more that she has a baby in her own stomach. She frequently tells me "baby kick Lily!" I think sometimes she's telling me this when her stomach hurts or just when she wants attention. She's also already sharing with her baby sister. She gives my stomach things and tries to show it things like toys. She even gave it her blanket and pacifier, her most prized possessions. She's also very concerned that the baby is hurting me and will talk about the "owies" the baby is giving me. So I have to make sure she knows that I'm not hurt and I have to cover up my hobbling around a little bit so she's not worried.

Despite her excitement about being a big sister, she is convinced that she's a baby. When asked she'll say, "Lily baby, not big girl". And she asks Scott to hold her and rock her like a baby. Sometimes she'll also ask to be fed like a baby. She also calls all kids "babies" even kids bigger than her, so her definition may be a bit off. Actual babies are usually "tiny baby" or "really tiny baby".

Her memory is amazing. She remembers the smallest details and it often takes me a while to figure out what she's talking about because she remembers small details from days or weeks earlier. When revisiting our day at the zoo today she was talking about the monkeys and remembered that they were eating carrots. She loves learning all these little tidbits and facts about things--animals especially. She'll tell you that a daddy lion has a mane, a baby horse is a foal, a cheetah runs fast, and a tiger has stripes.

She also has a new "job chart". This is partly to remind mommy and partly to give Lily responsibilities. Her "jobs" are mainly things she should be doing every day like brushing her teeth and getting dressed and she gets stickers for doing each task in the morning and at night. We started with a big wall chart but we've moved on to a smaller chart on a clip board so we don't have to come back downstairs after teeth brushing and face washing to put the stickers on the chart. There isn't any reward for any of this, the stickers are enough of a reward for her at this point. She loves doing her jobs to get the stickers. One of her jobs is to "pick up toys" which is pretty hard for her to do (she's easily distracted and wants to play with whatever she's picking up) so that's the one we're really working on.

She found some eggs in the front yard on Easter.

Lily running around the backyard at The Breakers, a Vanderbilt mansion. It was actually large enough for her. I took advantage of the grandparents being in town and let Bauby do all the chasing--I enjoyed the audio tour and then sitting in the grass.

Wants to eat whatever Daddy has--in this case a pickle and a couple potato chips.

At the Cherry Blossom Festival where she got her face painted.

Exploring the neighborhood. She usually tells you where to stay and then explores different areas.

Drinking water with mommy on a hike at Wintergreen Lake.

A trip down memory lane:

In the hospital after her first bath.

Lily and Daddy on her birth day.

First day home from the hospital.

Happy Birthday to Lily!

She's not two until Wednesday, but we had her birthday party today since her "favorite" Avery is out of town next weekend. A birthday party without Avery would have been a disaster.

Lily in her birthday dress which used to be mommy's dress several years ago.

We had her party at a local park with a big sand box--Lily's favorite. She loves digging in the sand and it can keep her occupied for a long time. So we brought some new sand toys for all the kids and just let them do what they wanted.

Lily requested mac & cheese and hot dogs for her birthday lunch so that's what we had. And and Elmo cake. She was very specific about that request. Her favorite characters right now are Elmo and Mickey Mouse. It was a tough choice for her but Elmo won out and an Elmo party is what she wanted.

The party set up.

Lily poking the sand before her friends arrived.

Singing Happy Birthday to Lily.

Lily's big present this year from us and from her Bauby & Papa was a playhouse. This is set up in the basement for rainy days and the winter. We seem to get at least one rainy day a week so even though it's warmer out now we still spend some days inside. She loves the playhouse of course. It has a doorbell that she rings each time she goes in or out the door. And it has a phone that she carries around everywhere she goes. She loves playing the basement and it's an excellent distraction if I need to fold laundry. She'll still get a couple more presents on her actual birthday and we're planning on taking a trip to the zoo on Wednesday for her actual birthday.

Lily's house.