Painting the town with Daddy

The weather has been AMAZING for December here in Portland! The sun shines on the crisp air and Christmas is in the air...even though I hardly leave the house lately...even I can feel it. Today Myles and Adelaide went on an adventure downtown.

Tree at Pioneer Square

Street musicians

Adelaide's favorite thing in our city...THE WHITE REINDEER!

The white reindeer even has a red nose right now =)

Labor is on the way ~ 37 and a half weeks

The day I went into labor with Adelaide there was a little "sign" of what was to come. I had a bit of bloody show that day, meaning that my cervix was dilating and ripening, and then contractions started around midnight that night. Well on Dec 13th, right before we started the belly cast, I had some bloody show. Because of my last experience I was sure that I was going to go into labor that night. It seems so early! I'm only 37 weeks at that point so it seems so early. The belly cast was the last thing on my "to do" list so maybe it was time? That was a Tuesday.

The next morning I woke up feeling awful. I felt dizzy, nauseous, swollen, heavy, yuck! My midwife wanted me to come in that day and get my blood pressure checked, just to be sure everything was okay.
My blood pressure was great, not high at all. My weight is up to 170 now - so I'm up 24 lbs ( I gained 28 w/ Adelaide). The baby had a BIG growth spurt, my belly is now measuring 39 weeks....AND I did the thing that I never thought I'd let her do, I let her check to see if I was dilating. Because I am obsessed with pregnancy and birth, I know that dilation doesn't mean anything at all before labor, and some women walk around very dilated for a long time without going into labor. There is no point in knowing...but I wanted to know.

She found me to be about 2cm dilated (just where I was at this point w/ Adelaide!) and not even 50% effaced...so NOT very much progress, although my cervix is very soft and could thin out easily. Melissa basically said "well you could go into labor tonight, or you could go in a week" . All pregnancies are so different and there is no way to know.

So at this point today, I have been feeling very tired, loosing my mucus plug, lots of bloody show, and very grumpy...but not many contractions. I guess my body and the baby are just doing their prep work, and we will see how things go!? It's hard being this close to Christmas and not knowing if it will be before, or after. It's hard because my sister doesn't get here until Dec 27th to help with Adelaide, so we have to have back up plans and just hope everything works out if I go into labor early. It's so hard when you are waiting and wondering "will today be the day"...but thus is the miracle of childbirth. Our sweet girl knows when her birthday will be, and we can't change that.

We got our tree!

I need to get a good picture of the tree now that it's all decorated. Myles and Adelaide went out and found the perfect tree. It's so cute and smells so good! They got a Grand Fir, like we had last year, I think they are my favorite.

Adelaide gets to put the angel on top

And tried to put all of the decorations in the same spot...literally. It's very cute!

Sweet warm sweater days

speechless

More sweet photos

Bellycast

One of my regrets with Adelaide's pregnancy is that I didn't do a belly cast. I really don't know if I'm bigger this time, or smaller, and there is no way to tell. I weigh a little bit less (only 5lbs or so) then I did when I had her, but my belly seems smaller to me...although it's growing by the day. Anyway, my friend Cat came over and we got this done. It made a BIG mess, and was hard to keep Adelaide out of it, but it was fun. I wanted to cast Adelaide's little belly too, but she said no =(

My most favorite photo

37 week photo shoot

Remember when I took self portraits of a mama pregnant with Adelaide? Click here to see them.
Today Myles took some photos of us in our living room. I'm really feeling urgent about getting things done like pictures, baby clothes washed and ready etc. The only thing I have left to do now is a belly cast. I hope she waits for me! I know I should have a good 3 weeks left...but I'm starting to really wonder.



Lazy Winter Days

For the past few days I have been feeling STRANGE. It could be because Adelaide and I are sick. Almost every kid we know has had Croup over the last few weeks, and of course Adelaide woke up the other night with a barking cough. Luckily she is a strong and healthy little thing, and only coughed a few times and we haven't heard it again since. She does have a runny nose though and a scratchy voice. I also am feeling under the weather. My chest is congested and I'm having a hard time breathing. I never know if it's an illness, or from all of the fires in our wood stove leaking smoke, and the dry air from the heater....and from this baby pushing my lungs up into my throat...it could be anything really!

But I am also SO TIRED. My iron levels are fine so I know it's not that. I just feel like I want to sleep for hours and hours and hours. Even when I get to (like all weekend because Myles is so awesome and gets up with Adelaide so I can sleep in!) I still feel tired. And today I'm feeling light headed and dizzy. I need to drink more water and keep resting. Gosh it's so hard to rest with a 3 year old!....

Speaking of - Adelaide is so amazing, and really such a stinker these days. She will do everything opposite of what you ask her. She has stopped cleaning up messes like she used to, she refuses to get dressed or to cooperate at all when we need to get ready. Basically she does what SHE wants to do and that's about it. I know it's normal for her development and sometimes it's actually really funny, but it sure takes a lot of energy to do ANYTHING. Oh boy I hope I get my energy back once this baby is born. Lord knows I need it!

Jumping Jacks

"This is how I do jumping jacks"

Day with the midwives



Today our midwives came over for our home visit. That is one of my favorite things about a home birth...when they come over and do a prenatal visit at your house. Adelaide was so happy and excited to have them here. She even got out her Dr. mask from her dress up clothes (I don't know why because the midwives don't wear those masks?!) and her ribbon to measure my belly. She was such a show off and big part of the whole appointment. This little sister is going to have to be tough!



Maybe we have a future midwife on our hands??

This is Adelaide with our midwive Melissa.

And here is her strong heartbeat!



Here is a link to our home visit when I was pregnant with Adelaide. http://eliskasblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/another-home-visit-and-refinance.html
Is it me, or do things seem a little bit more relaxing?

36 weeks

Myles took these after my blessingway....I was one tired mama!!

Mama baby blessing

I have grown and changed so much through this pregnancy. I am feeling strong and feminine and so lucky to know such amazing women. My sweet friend Megan put together a blessingway ceremony for me and I was so honored. I was feeling bad for ourselves for not having a babyshower. Sometimes I'm so good at feeling sorry for myself, when in all honesty we really don't need very much for this baby anyway. I just really wanted to know that someone else was excited and anticipating this baby as much as our little family does.

Megan is the perfect person to put on a blessingway, and I'm so lucky to have her in my life. I have been very much into ceremony anyway lately as you might be able to tell by my blog. On the morning of this blessing I was very nervous, not only to accept the love that I might recieve, but also because this means that our sweet girl will be here so soon. I'm feeling anxious and tired, am I really ready for what lays ahead? I can not wait to see her bright eyes and sweet face, but part of me really is nervous about such a big change and what it will mean to our family as a threesome. Either way, there is a very strong spirit inside of me and I'm enjoying every moment these days of sharing my body with hers. I know these special times go much too fast so I'm trying to really soak it in. It's hard to spend the time I did when I was pregnant with Adelaide. We already have the room set up how it will continue to be, already have the tiny clothes, swings, and diapers all ready. Things are so different the second time around.

I am crushed because (just like at Adelaide's party) I had planned to get a photo of all of us girls together, but totally forgot and then everyone was gone and it was too late.

For those that don't know, a blessingway is a very intimate circle of friends who gather to give love and courage to an upcoming birth. I felt that the ceremony was perfect and so beautiful. I felt so loved and lucky to be surrounded by friends.

There were 8 other women besides myself at my blessing. We sat in a circle. In the middle I had laid out our "birthday cloth" and friend brought flowers and plants from nature to put down. I also put out the little hat and booties that I knitted for our sweet baby, as well as some baby pictures of Myles and I, and a photo of my great grandmother Alice, because our baby is due on her birthday, and I feel like she might carry her spirit.

In a typical blessingway ceremony the women go around and introduce themselves by saying "I am -----, daughter of -------- granddaughter of ------ and on though the mother line for as far as they know. Because I don't have a mother I wanted to do things different. So for my blessing I started by lighting 3 candles, for past, present and future, and then I read the ancestor blessing from Tami Kent's book. It was a tearful but powerful and special moment. I felt the power of my ancestors behind me.
Next the women went around in a circle and said how they knew me. There were a few girls I've known from my San Diego days, one from Chico, and several from Portland. It was fun to go back and remember what brought us all together. As the blessing went on each woman light a candle for the next, gave me a special bead that they brought for me and explained what it meant and why it was important, and we all looped a red ribbon around our left wrist along the circle, until the end when we were all connected as one. Next we cut the ribbon and everyone tied it to their wrist. The purpose is for them to keep the ribbon on until my baby is born, each time noticing it they can send me love or strength. It was beautiful. There were several moments of tears in mine and others eyes. It was special. It was love. Oh - and each girl wrote a blessing to me and the baby on a pretty card and then went around and read them to me. They were beautiful and empowering messages.

Right on time Adelaide and Jai ran through the door with big sunflowers for me. It was so sweet of Myles and the perfect way to end the blessing. Then we all got to feast on the potluck that was brought, and then everyone went home. It was just what I needed and I feel so lucky to have been blessed by so much love.

Adelaide and Jai

Jai is Adelaide's favorite friend of all. We don't get to see them much because they moved a few hours away, but they came up for my blessingway and Myles took Adelaide and Jai out for a few hours. You should see her face when she talks to him on the phone! It's the sweetest most innocent love ever and I just love to watch them grow together.

Blocks

Look at this amazing Tower that Adelaide made all by herself out of blocks! Maybe she will be an architect someday?

Paul Bunyan

Here is Adelaide posing with the GIANT Paul Bunyan statue in Portland. It's BIG!!!