1 week to go...

I am officially 39 weeks today...one week away from my due date. Did you know that only about 5% of births actually occur on the due date? That's why they give you a 2 week window around your due date and call that "full term." For first time moms, they say about 40% of births happen after the due date. I can't seen to find statistics for second-time moms...

My body is making some progress toward going into labor...it's comforting to know this process already so that each symptom isn't freaking me out, however that's a double-sided coin. I also get very frustrated that the contractions I feel aren't leading anywhere. I also don't have an "end point." (beyond the fact that I won't be pregnant forever and she is likely to come within the next two week). You see, with Bryce, I was induced, so once it was decided that I need to be induced, there was an immediate light at the end of the tunnel...within 24 hours, I was holding him in my arms. Not so this time around. I over analyze EVERYTHING, so it probably has to come as no shock to any of you who know me that every agonizing day I'm pretty much hyper focused on the goings-on within my body.

Abbie is still quite the mover, even though she's officially run out of room. She has dropped, her head is engaged, and my pre-labor (false labor, I was told) has progressed me enough that, it LITERALLY could happen at anytime. I'm 1 cm away from being in "active" labor.

And even though I thought I was against it, all of these "natural" inducers are starting to look VERY appealing. :)

The Insanity Must Stop!

So, for fun this time around, I joined up with the August 2009 Birth Club chat boards through babycenter.com. It was a great way to meet up with other moms who were due around my due date, trade stories, share concerns and help each other through these 9, arduous, long months.

However, as we all creep toward our due dates, the postings have gotten OUT.OF.CONTROL. I've noticed 2 distinct types of posts lately:

1) My baby is here! Here is the story!
- for the record, I have yet to read one story to date where a c section or induction was not involved. I was induced the first time around with Bryce. I'm starting to wonder if our bodies have forgotten how to birth babies and we now need medical interventions to get these children out of us!

2) I'm DONE being pregnant, please tell me every symptom I have means I'm in labor, or what old wives tale/witch doctor potion will induce labor on its own.
- though I've tried my best, I became victim to the "it's a full moon tonight and the gravitational pull will make your water break" post. I was so hoping. Alas, here I am still pregnant. If I see one more post about someone taking castor oil 3 WEEKS before they're due and then wondering why all they did was sit on and/or hug the toilet all night long, I might just throw up myself.

Do not get me wrong, I have seriously pondered trying some of these "natural" induction methods, and did go for a walk with my mom around the store yesterday, hoping gravity would just help me out a bit. It's very tempting to help move things along if you can, especially when you're this uncomfortable and the weather has been crazy hot. HOWEVER, there's something magical, dare I say romantic, about letting nature take its course. Waking up in the middle of the night to twinges of pain, waking up your husband and making him time them...heading to the hospital to waddle around the halls in an oh-so-flattering gown (that doesn't close all the way in the back)....ripping his fingernails out one by one once the pain gets so intense that you want to marry the anesthesiologist...and then the grande finale...enter stage left, baby Abbie.

So, as much as I'd like to walk 10 miles, have uber-alone time with my hubby, eat spicy food with fresh pineapple on the side, bounce on a trampoline, etc, I know she will come when she is ready.

And if she's late, I can always ask the OB for an induction. :) Here's hoping my body remembers how to push a baby out of it!

A Sense of Urgency

At work, it's constantly stressed. Things must be done, they must be done right, and they should have been done yesterday. But since you couldn't finish it yesterday, you must do it within the next 10 minutes. There is always an atmosphere of rushing and getting things done as quickly (and as accurately) as possible.

No wonder I have a difficult time slowing down in my personal life. And maybe, my sense of urgency that has been ingrained in me since my college days is a blessing. Without it, I doubt I'd have a kitchen yet. We definitely wouldn't be as far along as far as "progress" with the house is concerned.

But, I guess I drive my family nuts with my demanding need to have things done yesterday. I try SO HARD to be patient and to not completely lose it on people when they don't share the same time constraints I do. But, after discussing, pleading, begging and threatening, all out screaming and fit-throwing is bound to ensue.

I've been warning for a week now, that another unwarranted, unnecessary meltdown is on the horizon. And I have employed every tool in the box and shred of patience and civility I have within me to keep it at bay.

But so help me GOD, if my furniture is not back in my house from the garage THIS WEEKEND, and if the bedrooms aren't rearranged to allow me the joy and freedom to putz around Abbie's room and prepare for my new little baby girl, all hell is going to break loose in Casa de Monahan.

You've been sufficiently warned.

She's a Kicker

I'm tired of blogging about the house, because we have progress and then we backslide. Then I throw a fit and we have progress. And then we backslide. And the vicious cycle continues.

As I type I'm being amused by my little daughter, who just LOVES to kick, punch, and turn somersaults in my stomach all night long. She wakes up about 9, does this stretch with her arms and legs (from what I can imagine...it feels like that anyway), and then proceeds to "work out" in my belly for a good couple of hours. Then she goes through her set of sporadic movements (which I now can see from the outside), and eventually settles back down with a good set of hiccups around midnight. Then, I don't "hear" a thing from here until 10 or so the next morning. I can already see she'll be much like her mama: a night owl that LOVES to sleep in, and a fighter. :)

Baby Abbie Monahan

As promised, here are the photos of our baby girl at our 20 week appointment. The only real difference between these and her 16 week photos are that she's gotten a teeny bit bigger, and we now know she is definitely a girl. :)

Enjoy!




This last one is cool, because you can kind of make out that she's sucking her thumb (head is in the lower right corner), and she's resting her elbow on her knee. Just chillin'. :)

Baby James Princess

Is no longer baby James Princess! We found out this morning that we are having a little GIRL! Woohoo! We got some cute pictures (if you call black-and-white skeletal pictures cute) of our little chickie, who for at the time being shall remain nameless. Alas, my scanner is down and I will have to post the pictures at a later time. However, they look much like the pictures posted a few posts ago. We did get a cool one of her putting her elbow to her knee, which makes it look like a big white cross on the picture! :)

Yay!!!

Photos Galore!

I apologize, I have been SO TERRIBLE about getting photos up. I noticed at least twice previously that I mentioned photos would follow and then they did not. So, here ya go. The first photos are the 16 week shots of Baby James Princess. By the way, please note that you may want to check back on March 30-31st, as we have our 20 week ultrasound, at which point we'll be able to find out if we have a James or a Princess. :)





And now, onto the photos of the kitchen remodel. The first couple are the floor as it was put it (but not sanded and finished). The last few are the finished floor which is beautiful Tigerwood, and our cherry cabinets, almost completely installed. Also, my brand new dishwasher, which I ran for the FIRST time tonight! Who knew you could get so excited over a dishwasher, eh?







Our countertops are due to be installed Wednesday of next week. There's more painting to do, some trim work, and we still need to get my oven and microwave in this place. Then, one more coat of finish on the floors and we're back in business! Whew!

It Moves

I'm now 16 weeks and 1 day. And after drinking an ice cold glass of milk, I felt Baby James Princess move for the first time. The miracle of life has made itself very obvious. :)

We also go another ultrasound on Wednesday to rule out some complaints I'd been having. We still don't know the sex, but he/she sure likes to such his/her thumb! Bryce was there with me and was fascinated NOT by the image of his sibling on the screen, but with the blue jelly that the technician squirted on my stomach! We will be going in for our "official 20 week" ultrasound on March 30th. Hopefully BJP will cooperate and we'll know if we have a girl or a boy. Keep your fingers crossed!

Update: Baby James Princess

Here are the most recent photos of Mr. or Miss Baby James Princess. Taken at my 12 week appointment (which was really 11 weeks, 5 days), it actually looks like a baby now, and not like a blob of goo inside my tummy. :)

<---- You can make out his/her head and body here. And if you look close, it's almost as if it's smiling!







A smaller, but just as clear picture as up above. This time you can sort of make out it's hand, as if it's waving.


I also go to hear BJP's solid, quick heart beat again, which is always a joy and a relief!

So, I'm now 12 weeks 5 days. The nausea has yet to even BEGIN to subside, which makes me nervous, because when I went through this with Bryce, my mornings were starting to go better by this point. But, alas, I knew this would happen, even before I made the decision to have another child. I just forgot how stinkin' bad this part sucks. I just keep telling myself...just a couple more weeks...there's a light at the end of the tunnel...

Bleckh...

...is how I am feeling right now, and have felt day and night for a good week now. I forgot how utterly miserable this part is. Some days are a bit better than others, and I now have some anti-nausea medication to try (which I've tried, and does help some, but make me tired, so can't really take it during the day while I'm working!), but the feeling of being on the verge of puking is ALWAYS present.

I gagged 3 times just trying to leave the house this morning. Went through the mud room to the garage, which is where we keep the cat box. HOLY HELL! I'm pretty sure Moe saves it all up for 15 minutes before I have to walk into that room. That set up the rest of the day. Any little "off" smell is making me gag today, which is abnormal for me.

On the bright side, I've found that if I suck on Jolly Rancher candy constantly, I don't feel as bad.
My favorite right now is Blue Raspberry and Green Apple. Just enough of a tart to keep me out of the bathroom.

And THANK GOD you can do your grocery shopping online now. There's no way I would have made it through the store, and even just looking at the pictures of food online made me want to yak. Just gotta wait out those free delivery cards you get in the mail!

I am very sleepy. It's only 1:27PM. I'm still on the clock. Can't sleep, must work. Well maybe a 20 minute cat nap while Bryce is napping...

Introducing...

...Peanut Monahan!!!


We got a picture of our baby bean today. It is healthy, has a strong little heartbeat, and is on schedule to enter the world at the end of August of '09 if all goes well.

It's amazing how a teeny tiny little life can zap so much spunk and energy from its mama! Thank God it craves fresh fruit and water! :)

Au Naturale

When I was pregnant with Bryce, I was scared. Being adopted, I never saw my own mother pregnant, nor in labor. In fact, up until about the age of 10, I believed in order to have a baby, you just went to the hospital, put in your order, and they gave you a baby. That being said, I decided pretty early on that I wanted an epidural for pain. I had friends and relatives both who told me that was definitely the way to go. There were of course the "crazy" women, the ones who had their babies NATURALLY, without an epidural and pain meds, and they tried in vain to convince me I should have a NATURAL child birth. At the time, my thought was, "If God wanted women to suffer infinitely in childbirth, he wouldn't have created the doctors who created epidurals." And frankly, though I've matured some, I am still of the opinion that anytime you deliver a child, whether with pain meds or none, vaginal or C-section, it is NATURAL. There is nothing more natural than a woman bringing a child into the world.

Toward the end of my pregnancy with Bryce, I developed pregnancy-induced hypertension (apparently not full-blown preeclampsia, but pretty damned close). They put me on modified bedrest, and about a month earlier than normal, I began my weekly trek into the OB's office to give blood, urine, and have my blood pressure monitored. It was always the same: I was always running about 5 minutes late, so I'd be racing to the office, so my BP was up. They'd have me lay on my left side for 5-10 minutes, test me again, and it would be normal. They'd tell me to put my feet up, drink plenty of water and come back in a week. At week 39, nothing went as planned.

I went in for my appointment, and my BP was up per usual. But after 10 minutes, it was still elevated. My OB looked at me excitedly, told me to head for the hospital and call Brett. He was going to have me induced.

Long story short, I'm at the hospital, Brett is there, I'm hooked up to an IV, and we're just waiting for a nurse to become free to monitor me. Oh yeah, my BP was normal again, but hell, I was there, so they may as well induce me, right? So, every 3 hours a NEW routine starts. A nurse comes in, tells me that they're just about to finish up with another woman and then she would be MY nurse and would get my pitocin drip started. Inevitably, someone else would go into spontaneous labor and that nurse would become HER nurse. Apparently, I was in the hospital the day every nurse decided to call in sick or take vacation, and every woman in Puget Sound decided to go into spontaneous labor. Because my BP was normal and Bryce wasn't in distress, we were bottom of the priority pole. Next morning at 6AM, my OB came in after being on call all night, told me he was heading home, and that I could either stay a few more hours to see if a nurse finally freed up, or we could just head home and he'd schedule me in for an induction within the next few days.

Brett and I looked at each other, and I knew that we were thinking the same thing: We came here to have a baby, and we're not leaving here until we have one.

The pitocin drip started at 7:30AM. When I hit about 4 or 5 cm, they broke my water. I felt about 1 1/2 hours of REAL contractions and was then given my epidural (I apparently told the anesthesiologist that he was my hero in front of Brett, who was not very thrilled with my comment...if only he understood...). At 9:32PM on August 9th, we had a 7 1/2 lb little boy in our arms. We were so happy! And we got our baby!

Now, what's the big deal, you may be asking yourself. You had your baby, had your epidural, he was healthy and all was well.

Well, here's the deal. Sometime later (much later, after sleep deprivation was a thing of the past and we were thinking about possibly adding another child to the M Clan), I began to realize that, I never got to pace around the house, timing my contractions. I never got to wander around the hospital in an unflattering gown, holding hands with my husband, stopping only momentarily to breathe through a contraction. I didn't get to sit in the brand new jetted spa tubs they had just installed in all the birthing suites to help ease the pain. My labor didn't start on its own. My bag of water didn't break on its own. And the pain I WAS able to feel was NOTHING compared to what most women experience. So, really, other than the fact that I brought a child into the world (which truly is nothing to shake a stick at), there was nothing NATURAL about my birthing experience.


I haven't explained this to Brett yet, because I know he'll think I'm absolutely crazy. And, I would never jeopardize the health of our baby in order to have things MY way. I just think that, now that I've gone through it once with very few opinions as to how things went, this time I'd like to see what I'm really capable of. I'd like to have those experiences that I didn't get the first time around. Is that nuts?

Random Ramblings

It's amazing to me how fast a foot and a half of snow can go down to nothing with one good day of rain. One day we had so much snow all you could see was white. The next morning, I can see the grass in our backyard. Bizarre.

Christmas is over, and I hate to admit it, but I'm glad. This year it snuck up on me and I just wasn't in the mood for it. My brother got us gifts, even after we agreed not to, so then we felt bad, so we took them out to dinner. They only stayed one night, though I wish they could have stayed longer. I always have a blast with my brother and his wife, I wish we lived closer together so we could get together more often.

It's currently raining sideways. This means the wind is picking up. Heavy rain and melting snow is a recipe for disaster around these parts. I'm expecting to see "FLOOD WATCH 2008" on the news any day now. Last year the flooding was so bad that there were several feet of water of I-5 down south of Olympia and people were stranded for days and days. Scary stuff.

In other news, I'm having a stretchy day today. If you've ever been preggers, you may know what I'm talking about. If not, bear with me as I try to explain. See, this is the term I've invented to describe the odd sensation that I get every few days in my lower abdomen. It's sort of a cross between a warm, tingly feeling, a bit crampy, kind of tickly, and an overall odd sensation. I decided when I was pregnant with Bryce that this feeling was my lower belly/uterus/baby stretching out and getting bigger. It happens every 2 or 3 days and lasts all day. It makes me just want to lay on the couch and do nothing. It's not painful, just....I don't know, hard to describe. I am 6 weeks and 5 days today, for those of you keeping score.

Baby James Princess

So, I told you I'd tell you where my son came up with this nickname for the new baby growing in mommy's tummy. He's a creative little monkey, I'll give him that.

He and my cousin's daughter, who is a year older than Bryce, were playing together a couple of weekends ago (before I knew I was preggers). She had a doll, and they had her entire bedroom sprawled out in the living room, and we were trying to get the kids to put the toys away. Well, D hands me her doll and says that she can be "my real baby." So, playing along as I always do, I asked Bryce what we should name the baby. He is obsessed with Thomas the Train, and decided we should call it "James", after one of the trains on the show. I asked D for a middle name, and she though Princess sounded nice. So, Brett and I were joking as I was holding the baby doll that our new child was Baby James Princess.

Flash forward a week, as I'm explaining to Bryce that I didn't eat a baby, and that he doesn't have a baby growing in his tummy, only mommies can grow babies in their tummies. He then decides that the baby needs a name and the perfect name for it is "Baby James Princess". And so it begins