Christmas 2011

This year was not as full of activities around the season, but we were not sure when our new family member was going to make her appearance, so we wanted to stay close to home. Not to mention that I HATE being cold...and I was already so uncomfortable that I didn't want to add "cold" on top of that. We had a beautiful holiday at home. We paid a lot of attention to family and to magic, and it was a beautiful day. We didn't have any family around this year because everyone is waiting to come help us with our new baby, but it was okay. We relaxed and watched Adelaide enjoy the day, knowing that this will be the last year that she gets every present under the tree all to herself. Me, personally, was waiting for the best gift of all, to hold my sweet baby in my arms.

Christmas Eve we finally got to put the "baby" in the manger. Still waiting on our own baby though...

Adelaide put out milk and cookies for Santa, and an apple for the Reindeer. Here she is showing our stockings. Time for bed now silly girl!

Opening her first present...a gift from Grandpa Karl

And then she spent the next hour and a half playing with the gift from Grandpa...we couldn't believe she wasn't in a hurry to open more!

She wanted to line up all of the nuts out of her stocking along the floor. I think she was going to count them!

39 weeks ~ as big as I'm gonna get!

I'm tired and ready...don't mind me...

Yes I know it looks like I have a bowling ball in my shirt...but I promise it's just a sweet baby girl!

Adelaide took this one...I love her perspective!

Slow days

The days have been dragging for me lately. Now I have an awful head cold and can't really breath at all out of my nose. I feel like my body is forcing me to rest because I wasn't resting enough before. Most of the signs of upcoming labor have stopped, and now it's back to the waiting game. I've been so lucky to have Myles around to help a LOT. My sweet friend Laurie also took Adelaide to her dance class last week, and is coming to take her to the library in the morning so I can rest. I don't know how to thank her enough. I'm so lucky to have her around.

We have another midwife appointment on Thursday. At this point I'm thinking baby will be staying in through Christmas (hopefully) and maybe decide to share her birthday with Grandpa Jerry on the 27th... You never know how things will go though, with Adelaide's birth I had no idea it was coming, so that very well could happen again! We are ready when she is. I just hope she gets tons of immunity to all of these recent colds through her mama!

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!!