Baby Update

A friend mentioned to me some advice her sister gave to her about writing things down for each baby you have. Something about the experiences of each child rolling into one and forgetting about the specifics of each baby. I realized that I haven't recorded much about this pregnancy (other than the fact that I had morning sickness) so I should probably make a note of  a few things for our personal family record.

First of all, I really don't like that we haven't settled on a name. I've settled on one and James has settled on one, but it's not the same one. I know I'm being stubborn, but I really don't want to budge. I think he is much more likely to let me have my way if I let him have the middle name he chose. It's not that I don't like the middle name itself, I'm just not head over heels for it in combination with my first name choice. But I'm willing to make that compromise. There is a third name in the mix that we've discussed. We joked about having Janen name her baby sister. Basically, whatever she says when she sees her (she will say one of the three-she does every time I ask her what her sissy's name is going to be) will be her name, but she started bringing that third name into the mix a few weeks ago and I've decided I don't want that name. LOL! I guess we'll see in  couple of weeks.

I also wanted to record the difference of this baby and Janen in utero. Janen moved a ton when I was pregnant with her. My belly made the biggest waves and shapes. I seriously thought she was trying to find her way out through my stomach! And she was a big mover in the middle of the night. Often times she would wake me up from dead sleep and I couldn't go back to sleep until she settled down. However, with this baby girl, her moves are not as intense. She moves just as much, but it's not nearly as uncomfortable as it was with Janen. She also practically sleeps a full 8 hours through the night, waking up maybe once, rarely twice, but her movements are small and she settles back down within minutes. With Janen it would take anywhere between 30-60 minutes for her to calm down. Someone mentioned to me that it could be a foreshadowing of sleep habits. I sure hope so! Janen has always been a difficult sleeper. I've been praying earnestly that this one would sleep better. Otherwise, that third child that keeps appearing to me in a dream will just have to wait awhile longer. My sciatica pain has also been less severe with this pregnancy. Which I am soo grateful for!

Today I am at 36 weeks and 4 days. Last week, at my 36 week appointment I was dilated to a 1 and 50% effaced. My body is preparing for labor which I am happy about. For the past two weeks my braxton hicks contractions have increased. They mostly tend to come in the evening and although they can get uncomfortable, they are still not anywhere close to painful. The baby is already head down and has dropped. The doctor mentioned she was pretty low and is right on top of my bladder. I don't remember Janen compressing my bladder this much, I have to pee ALL the time. With Janen I maybe got up 3 times a night to pee, with this one it's about 6 times, sometimes more.

 I imagine that this labor and delivery will either be about the same in terms of timing or a little faster. If it's a lot faster, I won't be opposed to that. I also have a hope to only have to stay in the hospital for a day after the baby is born rather than 2.

Just 15 more days until my mother-in-law gets here. (YAY!) And 17 more until this little baby girl gets here. I am so grateful to have a mother-in-law who is so hands on and willing to help us out. I have been terrified at times at the thought of having another child. A big part having to do with how needy Janen is at bed and nap time and the lack of breaks that I get. When Janen protests naps and falls asleep late (even though we put her down early) I literally get NO break from her from the time we are both awake in the morning to right when we go to sleep. A normal kid her age should get 12-14 hours of sleep a day. I'm lucky if we get 10 out of her. It is both physically and emotionally exhausting. To know that we will have another pair of hands around for a few weeks as we transition from a family of three to a family of four is a huge strength for me.

May these next 2 weeks go by quickly!