Almost An Auntie...Again

Well, we are expecting some rather imminent news about the arrival of our newest niece. Amy had her appointment with her midwife today, and without giving too much detail that you may not want to know...they performed a small "procedure" in hopes that it would move things along today. Her midwife indicated that she would be very surprised if Amy did not go into the hospital tonight. So, Operation: Baby Lillis #3 is in full swing, and Gigi is currently on her way to CT. We are all very excited to see the new baby, and just as excited to hear the final decision on the name, which has gone back and forth *many* times in the last few weeks. I'll be sure to update with pictures when I have some.
In other news, I had an appointment with my own midwife yesterday, and we spoke briefly about what date we should consider for the c-section...yes, this is a very advanced discussion, but I am a planner, and I need to know these things. It looks like the best idea will be to do the c-section before Thanksgiving, and my mom and I thought that the Monday of Thanksgiving week might be the best day. This way, I'll probably be out of the hospital by Thanksgiving (not that I'll be going anywhere, but it's nice to not be in the hospital) and it also avoids the possibility of having the baby on a holiday weekend when there is not much staff on. This is certainly not set in stone yet, but it would make the date November 24th.
Lexi is perfect and continues to be concerned about my tummy aches. She asks me many times a day if my tummy still hurts, or if I'm feeling better. Last night she was feeding Ahren and me some rocks for dinner. When she handed mine to me she said, "Here, Mama, the dirt rock is for you. It will make you feel better." Later in the evening she wanted to play catch with me and found it hysterical when the ball bounced off my belly. I told her she was playing catch with her little brother or sister, and she thought that was pretty cool. Ahren came in and said, "So, you're playing catch with your little brother, huh?" Lexi said, "Yea...or sister." :)
Well, that's all for now. I'm hoping to back back soon with an updated on the impending arrival!

A Nice Weekend

Even though I felt really lousy for most of it, we had a very pleasant and relaxing weekend at home. Ahren spent a lot of time in the yard cleaning up all of the leaves that fell on top of the snow in the fall. Lexi spent a lot of time out there with him, and had a blast helping him put the leaves and sticks in the bags, and just bopping around the yard.

I just can't say often enough how much of a joy Lexi is. She's polite and kind, caring and just plain lovely. Ahren and I know how lucky we are, and often worry about what #2 will bring...we are so spoiled with such a perfect little girl and we know we're really in for it when her little brother or sister comes along.

Last night Gigi gave Lexi a little pair of shorts and a top for the summer. The shorts were green and the top was pink with flowers (some green) on it. Lexi immediately pointed out to Gigi that they did not match. Gigi tried to explain that the green flowers matched the green shorts but Lexi was just not having it. She gave Gigi her little, "Hmmm...okaaaay..." but it was clear she was not pleased with the combo. Poor Gigi... I know Lexi gets this from me because we spend a lot of time every morning trying to find barrettes and elastics that match her outfit. When she was a little younger she used to insist on some crazy color that clashed terribly with her outfit, so I would take those from her and when she wasn't looking I would hide them under her changing table and then put the matching ones in. Luckily she never caught on to that, and now she's totally with me on the matching. Apparently she got upset with Ahren for using purple barrettes when she was wearing a white shirt. He pointed out that everything matches with white, and that she also had purple flowers on her pants, so they were good. I guess she was okay with that explanation because she wore the purple barrettes all day. Oh my goodness...I think I've created a monster. :)

Here's a cute picture of Lexi in the yard taken with Ahren's new camera...

Crazy...

Nothing overly interesting has been happening in the last week or so. We've been busy with my dad's marathon, and our office is moving on Friday, so in general everything has been very busy, but nothing too much to talk about.
Yesterday, Lexi fell down the stairs. She scared the daylights out of me, and her whole little life flashed before my eyes. Luckily it was a very slow fall on carpeted stairs, but she went head first and although I was standing right next to her when she started falling I could just not get to her. She stopped on her own about halfway down due, I think, to the friction of her clothes and the carpet. She was not hurt at all, but we were both very scared, and had a long snuggle on the stairs to recover. This morning she gave me a hard time about going down the stairs at first, but by our second trip down she did the whole set on her own and without incident. She was proud of herself, and I think we have gotten past the trauma.
In other Lexi news, she jumped up with both feet on Friday, which is very good news. She's gotten so much stronger over the last few weeks that it's simply amazing. It's so fun to see her running fearlessly through the yard that she toddled around last summer.
I'm still feeling pretty cruddy which is why I haven't posted much. I'm anxiously awaiting that 12 week mark where the yucky goes away and I get to begin enjoying this pregnancy. Four more weeks to go...golden trimester, here I come!

Baby's First Photo

Today was my first visit with my nurse midwife, Ruth, who I ADORE. This whole practice is so completely different from mt last practice that I now cannot believe I stuck with the old place so long. In just one visit she agreed that three issues they (the old place) insisted on during my previous pregnancy were ridiculous, and not how she does it. I feel like I can breathe an enormous sigh of relief because I'm just 100% sure that everything she and Dr. Edwards do is for the good of the patient - what a novel idea!

The *only* negative is that she told me that if I stay with them then I will almost certainly have another c-section. This is definitely not my preference, but I'm also not willing to leave such a wonderful and loving practice for just one portion (albeit an important portion) of this event. I do have to remind myself that a planned c-section is much different than an emergency c-section - that I will be awake and will be able to hold my baby as soon as he/she is taken out; I won't (I don't think) have to go to recovery for hours while everyone else gets to enjoy my baby's first moments without me; The entire situation will be calm and prepared rather than rushed and scary as hell. I know this is okay...I just have to get over it. And I will...soon.

So, basically the whole visit was questions, lab tests, reminding me of everything I can and cannot do, etc. However the one exciting part (and my only benefit to having a child with tethered cord) was that I got to have an ultrasound today! It was amazing. How else can you describe seeing this teeny tiny baby's heart beating inside of you...a baby so small that she would be difficult to see if she were right in front of us...this microscopic miracle living inside your body. People get pregnant and have babies every day, and I think we sort of forget how miraculous it all is. But when you get to look up at that screen and say, "Look, there she (or he) is! My child!"...speechless. My mom and Lexi were in the room with me and I sort of had the urge to say, "Hey Mom! Look what I made!" My mom was happy as could be...Lexi on the other hand...well, she had a Tigger to play with, and who really cares about that blur on the screen.

Anyway, everything was perfect. The baby actually measures a little ahead at 7w3d, where she is only actually 6w6d. That's really not a big deal, so we keep the December 2nd due date. Her heart rate was 140 which the tech said was "Perfect." I told her that's my favorite word used to describe my children.

Perfect. Yes. And here is her perfect little picture.

Glory Days

This afternoon Gigi stopped by to offer a little moral support after my panicked phone call stating that I just could not find enough to eat. Gigi to the rescue as always - she has already delivered me some gluten free clam chowder, and has a list of other things that she' sure will help to fill me up. I was feeling particularly bummed about the fact that I couldn't eat a burger, or a bacon, egg and cheese from Dunks - pregnancy cravings are particularly tough when most of them are on the "no can do" list.
While she was here Lexi asked if Gigi would dance with her. So I put on some music so they could dance together. A little while later, Gigi was showing me some things she had bought earlier in the day and "Glory Days" came on. Lexi dropped what she had in her hand, pointed to the stereo and shouted, "Oh! Oh! I love this song! Let's dance!" I reminded me of a wedding when you're standing around having a drink and some great song comes on and everyone drops what they're doing to rush back to the dance floor. Yea...my kid's gonna be a party girl. :)

"After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die." ~Charlotte's Web

We're sad to report that Mr. Spider did not quite make it to spring. During the last couple of weeks his web started looking awful, and even though a bug somehow made it's way into the web, he never even ate it. This morning we found him at the bottom of the window, all curled up. I'll admit I cried a little (darn hormones!) but Lexi took it like a champ. There are a couple of little spiders in there now, so we're thinking that maybe "Mr. Spider" was actually "Mrs. Spider", just as Great-Gram suspected all along. He was a great friend, and it was really fun having a chance to watch him build his web up close. It reminds me of this other quote from Charlotte's Web:
"Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?"
"Oh, no," said Dr Dorian. "I don't understand it. But for that matter I don't understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle."
We'll miss you Mr. (er, Mrs.) Spider. Thank you for being our friend.

Daddy's Little Girl

There are few things that make me happier than watching Lexi with her Daddy. She just absolutely adores him, and watching the two of them together is endlessly entertaining. They have their own little rituals, little things that only they do together, that they both take very seriously. Sometimes when Ahren is putting Lexi to bed I sit by the monitor and listen while he sings her lullabies while they rock...he's such a fantastic Daddy. This little video is of the two of them dancing in the kitchen the other night. How can you watch this and not imagine them on her wedding day...just so precious...

In other news, the first trimester nausea has set in, though it seems that sea bands are helping a bit. They keep the feeling away most of the day, so that as long as I keep myself fed and hydrated I'm okay. Before I put the sea bands on I was basically nauseous all day. Oddly, wearing the sea bands to bed actually helped me sleep better too! I've also found that I have the same aversion to chicken breast that I had with Lexi! The thought of a breaded chicken tender sounds fine, but a chicken breast makes me want to hurl. I don't know the reason for this, but Lexi LOVES chicken now, so who knows. Also, as with Lexi, I seem to crave salty things. Ahren was shocked when I came home from the grocery store with bacon the other day. It just seemed so irresistible to me that I had to buy it! And my final pregnancy note of the day - I look like I'm a good four or five months pregnant already. Honestly, my clothes aren't fitting me right, and I feel like a blimp. It's so embarrassing because that baby is just not big at all...but I guess this is what pregnancy #2 is all about!

Well, Lexi and I are off to our weekly grocery shopping...she's a great helper!