Trying To Get Rid of Germies

Here's our poor sicky baby today with her two babies:

Just another reason for this baby to stay put a while longer. Mike was sick for about a week and a half and we thought that we had escaped the spread of it but Logan came down with it a few days ago and has been absolutely miserable (though, she still smiles through it). We've been keeping her fever at bay with Tylenol. We also have been using a homeopathic remedy for her cough/congestion that seems to help during the day but we've had to stop giving it to her at night because it breaks up the congestion and ends up causing her to spit up at night if she gets into coughing fits. Not a fun clean up.

I don't have a lot to update with the breech situation. He's been doing a lot of rotating and it's been really uncomfortable, so we're hoping that means he's turned head down. I've been reading up on signs to tell if the baby is down and I definitely don't have the skill to feel it out the way some people do. But, I do know that the hiccups have moved from the middle/upper portion of my stomach down a lot lower and my ribs are a lot more sore (which could be from all of the movement) and feel like they may have a knee or something in them when I'm laying down. We also felt the very distinct feel of kicking in my upper stomach versus the slow, rhythmic movement I had been feeling when it was his head. Of course, this leaves me hopeful but I'm still cautious in getting too excited because I know I could be very wrong and don't want to be crushed if I am. We're still praying fervently and know God's plan is best. I have another adjustment scheduled for tomorrow and the chiropractor should be able to tell me more as she is trained to feel exactly where the baby sits. Keep us in your prayers today!

Full Term

Today I'm 37 weeks pregnant! Last week I thought that as soon as I hit this week I'd be more than happy to birth this little guy but now I'm hoping he'll stay put long enough to flip into position. This morning I went to the chiropractor to have the Webster Adjustment performed. The chiropractor was able to locate where the baby was sitting (which is slightly turned from where he sat yesterday...closer to being transverse than breech) and began to look me over. After realizing how tight my lower back/round ligaments were she said I was an excellent candidate to have the adjustment done and have it work. My round ligaments were so tight they seemed to just be holding him in place and he didn't have much wiggle room to get anywhere.

She adjusted me and assured me that if the adjustment didn't work in turning him, then there is probably a good reason why he's breech (possibly has the cord wrapped around him and is unable to move). She advised me not to do the version, though, we're still praying and researching to see what our best options are if he doesn't turn. I'll go back for one or two more adjustments (it usually takes at least two to get the baby moving) and then we'll check back in with my OB on Weds. to see where we stand. As soon as she loosened me up the baby went crazy and moved in ways I haven't felt him move before, something she said is a very good sign. Here's hoping I go back in Monday for my second adjustment and find that he's manuvered himself into position! Please keep praying, we know God can do anything and we know that if His desire is for me to birth this little boy naturally that this baby will turn.

Logan and I went to see Gnomeo and Juliette today. She had so much fun and actually watched the entire thing. She had shown some signs of a slight cold this morning and I was hoping it would just work itself out but when we got home she went downhill fast. She spiked a fever and her cough got worse, there's a lot of drainage. Poor thing is absolutely miserable. I got her to eat some chicken soup and then she asked if she could go to bed at 5:30. She's fast asleep now and I'm hoping she'll just sleep all night.

Here she is with her chick-fil-a lemonade which was the only thing I could get her to take into her body for most of the day until she got her soup:

Sad, isn't it?

Breech.

Really, this is the one word I had hoped to avoid this pregnancy because I had heard it so much with Logan's pregnancy. Logan was breech until I was almost 36 weeks pregnant, she actually flipped the morning that we were due to schedule a c-section. This baby has looked fantastic so far, he was head down at 19 weeks and had stayed that way until a few weeks ago. I thought he may have turned but was sure I was wrong until I went in for my appointment today and while the Dr. was checking for dilation (a little more than a centimeter so far) she made the comment, "huh...that doesn't feel like a head, it feels more like an ankle." uh-oh. Really? So in rolls the ultrasound machine and sure enough, little stinker has his head comfortably rested right up against the middle of my rib cage.

Logan has been trying her best to get the baby to flip by saying, "flip, baby, flip, flip flip, gooooo!"

At this point all I can think is, "what is it about my children that makes them insist on being late in pregnancy breech babies?" I think they just want to be stubborn and see me squirm. Regardless, I'm going to be proactive about this and this baby will turn. I hope. The first thing the Dr. suggested was to lay upside down on an ironing board that is leaned up against the couch for 10-15 minute incriments twice a day. Easier said than done. Logan's been trying really hard to keep me focused and entertained but that 10 minutes feels like an eternity!

Tomorrow I go in for a chiropractic visit so they can do a Webster's Adjustment on me. This seems to be my best bet, it's got an 85% success rate for getting stubborn babies to flip so we're crossing our fingers (read: fervently praying) that this works and when we go in next week he'll have turned. Otherwise we'll schedule a version, which is where they'll admit me as an outpatient in labor and delivery and then will try to manually turn the baby. It's not the best option, it's painful and it only has about a 58% success rate, but I like those odds better than having a c-section. And if that doesn't work they'll go ahead and schedule a c-section for sometime around 39 weeks (that's two weeks away). Please, please, please pray that this little boy flip and that we can go ahead with a natural delivery. I really want a natural birth and really, really don't want to have to recover from a section with a two year old running around (though, I do know it's possible and that I'll have help). I'll post more after my adjustment tomorrow!

Pretty Piggies

A few days ago Mike needed some quiet time to study (is this a running theme in my posts?) so Logan and I locked ourselves in the bathroom and did some pedicures! I love having a little girl at this age--she's so into doing all things girly and fun. When I asked her if she wanted me to paint her piggies her response was, "woooooooow, color my piggies? yes!" It's hard to tell because the color is a very, very muted pink, but it's on there! As for mine, I probably would have had better luck getting a nice, even pedi if I had asked my two year old to do it. Oh, pregnancy.

We got L an easel for her birthday to keep all of her coloring supplies organized and so she'd have her own space to color/etc. once the baby arrives and it has been such a hit. It's the one activity I can tell her to do that she'll drop everything and go to.

"No pipures, mommy, I color." She said as I whipped out the camera.

It also has a magnetic whiteboard which has been fun to use with her letter magnets. However, she did find one of my whiteboard makers from our food calendar and quickly realized how wonderfully it works on the board...this has made for some interesting clean ups and I'm having to come up with some seriously good hiding places for the rest of the markers.

Nona

It is SUCH a blessing to live in a community that is going through the same thing at the same time. I have such a strong support group of other seminary wives here who know exactly what it's like and can relate so well. When Mike works nights, Logan and I usually go and hang out with Lindsay and Noah to help make the time pass. Noah wears Logan out and she sleeps well and I get to have some interaction with another mommy/wife.

Logan and Noah play really well together. When you ask her where we're going at night she says, "To Nooooo's house." However, today, when we were there and she was trying to get his attention she kept screaming "Nona" or "Nina!" I think when she's saying it quickly she has a harder time with that "uh" sound.

Monkey see, Monkey do:

Smile, guys! ...or stare at each other, you know, whatever works.

Noah teaching Logan the ways of the boy. He's preparing her for a little brother.

P.S. I was a bad blogger tonight and forgot my camera so these pictures are all courtesy of Lindsay!

36 Weeks!

Only FOUR weeks left! Typically they tell you that at 37 weeks they won't stop labor, but our Dr.'s seem pretty confident that this little man is big enough and strong enough that if he wanted to come today they'd be ok with it. Me? I could bake him a little longer. :) I love the idea of having him in March...though, if he decides to come in February, we're definitely ready.

Logan was running around pantless all afternoon so that's why she's cropped out of this picture (minus the crazy action shot of her leg). She's SO ready for this baby to be here. She constantly tugs at my stomach and tells me her brother is stuck and he needs to "get out and pay" with her.

I'm still pretty productive. I sleep well at night but am thankfully able to get a lot done during the day. I deep cleaned the kitchen this week and will be working on getting the living room (particularly the nasty rug) in good condition this week...anyone recommend a really good, high powered spot cleaner I can use? I'd love to just rent a steam cleaner but it's out of the budget right now.

This week I crafted this guy:

We moved the changing table from L's closet into the bathroom. The kids' bathroom has a jungle/animal theme so I wanted to have a pad to match and couldn't find one on target.com so I went ahead and made one myself. It'll be nice (and should make life a little easier for all parties involved) to have it in the bathroom so I can change him at night without waking Mike or Logan up and it makes for some nice, extra storage in there, too!

Speaking of making life easier...I wish I could make one of these: (here's the link to the ergo)

Can I tell you that I can carry my 2 year old on my back with this thing at 36 weeks pregnant? And I don't feel the weight? It's insane! I'm definitely a baby wearing mom and this is one carrier I think I'll use this go around. And I can use it with both of my babies. I borrowed it at the beginning of my pregnancy from a neighbor for a few weeks to use to help me carry Logan around and it was quite the life saver. I have a moby that I love for that newborn stage, but to be able to carry my toddler around and not have any stress on my back is fantastic.

We finished the nursery today, too! Unfortunately, baby boy's name is plastered over quite a bit of it so I'm going to have to refrain from posting pictures this week...though, I'm dying to show it off! I may have to try and get creative with my photography skills (or lack thereof) and see if I can take some without the names or blur them out...

The Dimp

There are a few places Logan and I frequent every week and so when we go to walk out the door, if you ask her where we're going, she'll go through the list....

"Tar?" (target)

"Tols?" (Kohls--where we go when we need to get out of the house)

"Chur?" (Church)

and "Ribry?" (Library)

Today was library day.

We make this trip whenever the books I've been reading during her naps or after she goes to bed (when Mike works) are running low....or when I get tired of reading the same 4 books over and over and over again to Logan. Today Mike was at home studying and needed a quiet house and I have less than half a book left (and I think I've read the Curious George books we got last week at least 1,000 times) so Logan and I packed up and headed over to the library. I love that she loves to read and that she asks to go to the library to get new books. Her favorite part about going, though? The "dimp." That would be what Logan calls the hand stamp they give her every time we go. She talks about it for the rest of the day and shows it to anyone who will look. Then she will ask when we can go back to the library for another dimp all week long. I've thought about getting a small set of stamps for the house but I really love that it's something thats special to the library so I think I'll leave it as a treat she gets when we go there.

After the library we headed off to sonic so that we could get Logan a cup of crushed ice. She loves to chew on it and it's a great way for me to get some water into her body without having to force her to drink it.

I'm trying to really enjoy all of these precious moments that Logan and I get together because I know it's going to get a lot harder to do some of them when we have #2. We're really looking forward to having him here, but I want to love every second I have with my firstborn before we add another.