I wanted to post something Christmas-ey, but I probably won't have any Christmas-ey pictures of Aerost until Christmas, so I will have to post those afterward. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this wonderful expression the kiddo gave me while I was taking pictures of him. He's babbling almost constantly now. Sometimes it sounds like he's trying to say words and sentences, and sometimes he even manages to coincidentally time his comments just right so that he seems to say "hi" when someone greets him or seems to say "good" (really more like "geu") when I say, "How's my baby?" I love it when he does that.
Anyway, Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope you all have the best holiday possible. :)
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So Beowulf is gone, back to work in A-stan for roughly another 6-7 months. It's been bitterly cold here - below freezing even at the high point in the day, very unusual here (where's that global warming they keep talking about? I could use some regional warming just now...). Since Beowulf left, the pup has been very clingy. And I've been sick since before he left. Got the flu - just the regular one, I think - and had a temp of 101.5 on my worst night. Getting better now, thank goodness. And so far Aerost (again, not his real name) hasn't had any signs of fever, just a little bit of cough & sniffles, so I haven't had to call the doc yet.
In cool news, my brother will be home tomorrow. He's been studying in Mexico for a semester - exchange program for his junior year of college. He's had a great time, but now he gets to come home for Xmas and meet his new nephew before he goes back to school in January.
In other cool news, Aerost is getting better and better at using his hands; sucking on his fingers, grasping my hair, and even starting to grasp toys, though he's then not sure what to do with them and lets go without really "getting" that he could manipulate the object if he wanted. The only objects he's really manipulated so far are my fingers into his mouth, lol. He's also discovered the mirror over his swing just this week, and has started smiling at himself and babbling to himself in it.
My next mom goal is to try and get him to fall asleep for the night without needing to nurse until he's sound asleep. He can do it for a nap, but he can't seem to do it at bedtime. And I haven't been stoic enough to get past a few minutes of fussing to let him figure it out yet. So that's my next plan. Then once we get that done, maybe I can teach him how to sleep in the crib instead of in my bed. But that one's not near as annoying as the nursing to sleep thing. Love the kid, but I'd also love to be able to fall asleep without having a boob hanging out of my pj's.
I'm doing ok. Missing my husband, hanging out with my friends and my family (when I'm not sick), and loving mommy-hood. Haven't been posting too often, not so much because I'm constantly doing things, but mostly because I rarely have my hands free for typing. Aerost loves to be held, and aside from naps (which I mostly use for getting things like laundry and dishes done), he doesn't tolerate being set down for very long, even if I'm right there next to him. Makes things like showers difficult, lol. :)
Hope everyone is doing well this holiday season, and sorry I've been so out of the loop, though I'm sure you understand. Happy holidays to all of you!
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Still quite busy, but here's a couple of pics. Beowulf's been home on leave, and we've had a great break in the deployment getting to be a family. Aerost (the little guy - not his real name, obviously) is doing well; big and strong and healthy. Happier when he gets his naps than not. Loves his daddy, and is starting to become fascinated with the Daisy-dog as well. Starting to recognize that his hands belong to him and chewing on them. Beowulf is great with him, and they are so cute. :) Love it.
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One of his first "real" smiles, as of today. He is 6 weeks old today, and has already grown an inch and a half and gained at least 3-4 lbs. He fit comfortably in 3 month sizes for all of 2 weeks, lol. He's my big, healthy baby boy.
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Sorry it's been so long. I have been very busy taking care of my little man. He is a great kid, but quite a handful since it is just me in the house. With Beowulf deployed, I don't have anyone to pass him off to on a day-to-day basis. The little one has not been too difficult, really; he's not really colicky or anything, but he does like to be held all the time. Between holding him and keeping myself and the house relatively clean, I haven't made any time to post, as you can tell. I've even lost all the baby weight without even trying, just due to breastfeeding and not having time to overeat. But yesterday, I finally went out and bought a baby swing after trying one out at a friend's house. It is truly a sanity saver.
Busy, busy, though...
Hope you all are doing well.
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Our little man was born at 3:05 am on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 after 26 hours of labor and a rather difficult delivery. He is strong and healthy, though, at 9 lbs 11 oz and 21.5 inches long. Mommy is sore and tired, but very happy. I'll post more when I am more alive and settled in at home.
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is a virtue, or so they say. I'm trying to remind myself of that daily. And of the fact that the longer he stays in before his "official" due date, the healthier he'll be. Even if he's a giant.
Went in to L&D last night 'cause he hadn't been moving much yesterday. Really he's probably just running out of room. Everything's fine; good strong heartbeat, a few decent contractions while I was there, and I finally got checked. Unfortunately I'm only 1cm dilated and still only 50% effaced. Which doesn't mean a whole lot (some women start labor at 0), but it was still a little disappointing when I was hoping for a little more progress than that. So now I'm telling myself that it's gonna be another week. He's gonna stay in there through my scheduled appointment on Thursday, and he might even make it to his "official" due date of the 16th. Not what I was hoping for, but oh, well.
I'm really looking forward to meeting this kid. He is turning out to be as stubborn as his mom & dad put together. :)
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Our little one is still not here yet. I've been having contractions off and on all week, and I am so sick of it. I really just want labor to start for real so that I can stop stressing and so that I can meet our little boy. The doc said this morning that it sounds like it could happen any day now, considering all the contractions, etc. Gosh I hope so. Despite Beowulf being out of contact the next couple of weeks, I am worn out and so ready to get this show on the road. Here's hoping this is the week.
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The kiddo is still hanging in there so far. Had my baby shower yesterday, got a lot of great stuff that I needed or wanted and that will come in very handy. Had a great time with the ladies that came. Our chaplain's wife even brought something that I'd never have thought of; a little plaster cast thingy that I can put the baby's hand & foot prints in and send to Beowulf. That was such a great idea. I now have plenty of clothes to last the first 3-6 months, enough towels and wash cloths that I doubt I'll ever run out, plenty of sheets and receiving blankets, etc, etc,...and everyone was so nice and seemed to have a good time. I hope they enjoyed the shower as much as I did.
My mom has been such a big help these last few weeks. I know I mentioned that in my last post, but really, I am so incredibly grateful for her, and for the fact that we still live near enough that I can draw from her experience and share this with her. Between the two of us, we have cleaned pretty much the entire house (minus the office, which isn't really a necessity at this point anyway), have gotten through every single bit of laundry, painted the living room, and planned and put together a great shower. She really has been a lifesaver these last couple weeks, both in motivating me to get things cleaned and ready, and in helping with the things I do not have the energy or ability to do now at 9 months preggo. So I just have to thank her publicly again. She has just been awesome, and I am sooo incredibly grateful for her.
So the doc said on Friday that he's not going to officially change the due date (from Sept 16), no matter how wrong I think he is. He felt my belly and said that yes, this kid is a big baby, as we knew from the ultrasound and his measurements, but, well, his son was 10lbs 13oz and just fine, so he's not going to worry about it. Makes me a little nervous. I will continue counting down to Sept 7, my original due date, while being ready for the little guy to make his appearance any time now, as I really don't think he will make it to his due date. The doc acknowledged that the baby has already "dropped" and is in place and ready to go, but declined to check me for dilation, etc., because according to the "official" due date, I was not yet 37 weeks, and they don't check dilation before that...*sigh*.
So I have another appointment scheduled for this Friday. At least at this next one (provided baby stays put all week), I will be 37+ weeks even according to the "official" due date, so I will at least get checked for progress. We will see how things go.
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Ok, so...I'm still learning some of this stuff, and I guess I was wrong in my post the other day. The ultrasound tech had told me that my cervical length was 2 cm, and that she is supposed to tell the doc if it is anything under 2.5 cm, so I made the assumption that that meant I was 20% effaced. I was wrong. Apparently a 2 cm cervical length is actually 50% effaced. Thus the reason for passing along such info to the doc.
Granted, just because that's where I was on Thursday, doesn't mean that's where I am now, or where I'll be a few days or a week from now. I have had a few random braxton-hicks contractions over the last week or so. Nothing regular, nothing worth going in for. The babe is moving like normal, and was having a grand old time this morning tickling my right ribs with his toes. But with him so big, I am wondering just how long I really do have left. You may have noticed that I removed my ticker; I figured since my due date seems to now be up in the air (at least until my appt on Friday), it wasn't worth looking at. But you are welcome to take a guess at this baby's birth date and stats; I will even allow guesses to be changed up until I actually go into labor or schedule an induction (if that ends up being necessary, which I am kind of doubting at this point). The link for guesses is right there where my ticker was in the upper right sidebar column. At this point, I am just hoping I make it through my shower on Saturday without going into labor.
So, with all of this excitement, I am trying to get things done with two deadlines in mind; one being the shower on Saturday, which I need to clean house for (Mom is hosting, but at my house), and two being labor and the arrival of my little boy, which could come at any time. So with that in mind, I tried to get one set of errands taken care of today - while still recovering from the cold I picked up last week. I went shopping for things I knew I would need, so that if I do go into labor in the next 2 weeks, I won't have to go get shampoo or contact solution with a 2-day-old infant in tow. Two stores, maybe 3 hours, but by the time I was done, and done putting groceries away, it felt like I had run a marathon or climbed a mountain. The third trimester (and especially the last month) really sucks the energy right out of you. Once my shower is over and I've gotten the doc's input on that last ultrasound, I think I am really ready to be done. I want to meet this kid face to face instead of carrying him around in my belly 24/7. I never expected to say this, but I think I am even looking forward to labor.
I think I'm going to go take a nap now or veg out in front of the TV for a little while. Later, all.
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I wanted to post something Christmas-ey, but I probably won't have any Christmas-ey pictures of Aerost until Christmas, so I will have to post those afterward. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this wonderful expression the kiddo gave me while I was taking pictures of him. He's babbling almost constantly now. Sometimes it sounds like he's trying to say words and sentences, and sometimes he even manages to coincidentally time his comments just right so that he seems to say "hi" when someone greets him or seems to say "good" (really more like "geu") when I say, "How's my baby?" I love it when he does that.
