The good, the bad, and the ugly

Things I will miss about being pregnant:
1) Having a little friend to tote around with me. I really love feeling him move inside of me!
2) My strong nails and how fast and long they grow.
3) The attention from others. I have to admit, I kind of like it.
4) Growing a life inside of me. What a wonderful gift to give (and receive)!
5) Clear skin. While it's a little dry, at least I have no acne for several months.

Things I will not miss about being pregnant:
1) The lack of sleep. I get terrible insomnia when I'm pregnant.
2) Being huge and uncomfortable. It's hard to get into a good position when sitting, standing, laying down...
3) My swollen ankles. Nothing else has swelled, just my feet and ankles. They're not pretty.
4) The attention from others. While I like it mostly, it does get annoying when people stare at you in awe and say "wow, you haven't had that baby YET? You're huge!"
5) The maternity clothes. Nothing fits anymore and I hate most of the clothes now. It's too late to buy anything new so I'm wearing the same 4 outfits that fit over and over again.

A Cranky Kind of Day

Today marks the day when I had Zach in my pregnancy -- 37 weeks, 4 days. I know that was early, but for some reason I've been expecting to have this baby early again. But my doctor tells me that the 3rd baby is the wild card and that they tend to be completely unpredictable. So despite the fact that my water broke with both Em and Zach and it took hours (and inductions) for the labors to start, she said to not expect that to happen with this one. Great. Because we need the extra time to get Zach squared away before I give birth and I was kind of banking on a similar thing. I guess we'll see what  happens.

So I had the nicest Saturday morning this past weekend. I decided to use some old spa gift cards that I've had forever and indulge myself before the baby comes and I have zero time to myself again for quite some time. I had a facial on Newbury Street followed by a pedicure on Arlington. The facial was divine -- an hour of cleansers, creams, and massages on my face, neck, shoulders and head. And somewhere in between when towels and creams were sitting on my face, the facial lady massaged my feet and put some great lotion on them. That was such a nice unexpected bonus! I felt kind of bad though because my feet were in rough shape. I had a pedicure scheduled for afterwards, but when she got to them they weren't looking so great.

My pedicure was good as well, but to be honest, I don't think that spa pedicures are really any better than my old place in Brookline (with the Asian ladies for a lot less money) was. I guess they take a little extra time on them, but it's nothing dramatically better. I did desperately need a pedicure though and got one for the price of a gift card (plus tip).

I wish I had another spa day to look forward to. I could have used one today. It was rainy and miserable outside and I was pretty cranky and miserable all day as well. The lack of sleep is really getting to me, and I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. I guess I'll just look forward to this weekend, although I need to have a quick chat with the Easter bunny so that we're ready for his visit. And maybe I'll have a new little Easter bunny myself to snuggle with. Let's see what this week brings! I had a doctor's appointment today and things are still looking fine. Baby is low and in position, but nothing else is happening so we're still on target for April 15th. Ugh, that feels like forever from now!

Mr. Cutie Pie

Zach went through a phase for a few weeks when he decided he didn't like baths any more. This made washing him rather problematic! But then he read a book with Kevin about bubble baths so I stopped at the store that night and picked up some new bubble bath. Yep, that did the trick! Now he LOVES his baths again! Bubbles really are fun!

Zach is in an incredibly cute stage of his life right now. He suddenlty is speaking creatively and in full sentences and can hold a whole conversation with you. I don't know where he comes up with some of his concepts but it's so wonderful to just see him think about things and be able to express himself. And his play is getting very creative! He plays with his stuffed animal friends a lot and has conversations with them. They aren't deep conversations, it's usually something like "want to dance?" And then the stuffed animals and he will dance and laugh. But the really cute part is that he gives them all "voices". He has his Zachary voice and they all have high pitched voices. I love it!

As the countdown begins to the birth of Baby Brother, Zach is getting more and more interested in having a little brother around the house. He'll rub my tummy and the other day he asked my tummy (little brother) if he wanted to come out and play. And then he said "Mommy, take him out!" He likes to go in the baby's bedroom also and see what new stuff is in there. For a kid who couldn't wait to get out of his crib and into a bed, he's suddenly super interested in that crib and wants to get into it every time we walk into the room. There's only one stuffed animal and the crib mobile in it, but it's apparently extremely interesting and he has to get in and play with it each time we're in there. I did finally get him to stop bouncing when he was in the crib. Since the mattress is up as high as it can go I was afraid he was going to bounce himself right out of it!

Baby Nursery

Baby Bun's Room!

Baby Bun has the smallest room in the house, although it's still probably 2-3 times bigger than Zach's first bedroom in our apartment in Brookline. We are decorating his room in a monkey theme and it is clearly also still a work in progress. In these photos the room looks like it's kind of lavender, but it's really just a light blue! It's a lighter shade than what Zach has, mainly because the room is so small that we wanted to keep it brighter and use a lighter paint color.

I finally got all of Zach's old baby clothes and Bun's new baby clothes washed, dried, folded and put into the dresser and closet. Everything that is 3-6 months is also washed and in a big bin in the closet so that I can pull them out quickly should Baby Bun come out 3-6 month sized. It is unbelievable how many onesies we have! I'm a little worried about seasons, but we should be okay for the summer. If Bun comes soon and it doesn't warm up quickly though we might need to do a little clothing shopping for him for cold weather stuff. Or we can keep him in his jammies a lot!

We are going to buy a glider/rocker that will either go in the corner there by Bun's closet and window, or maybe in the corner of our bedroom initially so I can do late night feedings comfortably. I'm super excited about the glider rocker because the rocking chair we have now is old and very creaky, and just getting in and out of it makes a tremendous amount of noise. I remember Zach waking up when I had just rocked him to sleep because of the noise from the chair. While I love that chair (it was my grandmother's), I'd rather use something else for sleepy times.

Also, we do finally have a name (first and middle!) for Baby Bun. We're well ahead of the game than we were with Zach, whose first name we agreed on a week before he was born and middle name we decided on while I was in labor. In fact, I'm starting to feel like we're getting everything pretty well organized and ready now at home as well. Does this mean that Bun is going to come late now?

Our Little Pirate's Room

Zachary's Room!

Before the baby arrives I thought I would post some photos from the kids rooms. They're still a work in progress -- you'll see there isn't much decoration on the walls yet, but we're getting there. These are photos of Zach's room. His room is going to be pirate themed, although it's not over the top with the theme-i-ness. We have yet to get Z a new bookcase for all of his books that were on his old hutch on his dresser. So for now they're stacked up on his dresser until we do something about that. I also think I want to move his dresser so it's under the windows and that way we don't have that one wall kind of covered with furniture.

Sandy made Zach's pirate ship quilt. Isn't it AMAZING?!? We based the design off of one from Pottery Barn, and she and Bob found a photo of a pirate ship and drew it and then Sandy made the entire quilt. It is seriously beautiful and the artwork is amazing. She is so talented and we all love this quilt. It just makes the room!

The other side of Zach's room is really just his closet and rocking chair (which may be relocated to Baby Bun's room). We have some ideas on how to decorate the walls, but with time and money and maybe some additional ideas, we'll get to it. We got a little sidetracked trying to get the baby's room ready at the same time we were doing Zach's room.

More surprises

My co-workers had a little surprise shower for me in the office yesterday! Seriously, people are too nice to me. Or maybe they just love babies! Anyway, I had a meeting scheduled for 1:00 which was turned into (by the person I was meeting with) a surprise party for me and another woman at work who is pregnant. She is having a girl; I'm having a boy, and we are due within 2 weeks of each other. So we were jointly feted and surprised with a strawberry shortcake party and presents! What a nice surprise and how incredibly sweet and generous of them. I have been so blessed with good friends and good feelings this pregnancy! I think Baby Bun will come out feeling the love.

Zachary, Master of His Bladder

I keep forgetting to say how good Zachary has been doing with his potty training! Dare I say it -- that he's pottytrained? I think so! He never wears diapers anymore, only big boy undies or pull-ups. And he often wakes up dry from naps and in the morning. It's crazy, it happened so fast! We of course have a half a box of diapers left over that maybe we'll use in a couple of years for Baby Bun (or maybe I'll just give to daycare), but that's okay. I'm so proud of my little boy! He is very good about saying "Mommy, I have to go pee pee" and pulling me to the bathroom. He does it in the store too and we run to find a potty. Hopefully we don't have any regression once Baby Bun is born, but I think it's naive to think that. I'll hold on to that pack of Pampers for a little while longer, but I think we've turned a corner on toddler to little boy. I'm proud and happy and a little sad all at the same time.

Baby Bun at 37 weeks (almost)

Baby Bun at 36 weeks, 5 days!

We're closing in on the end of my pregnancy. Less than a month to go! I had one of my last (if not the last) ultrasounds this morning, and as I've come to expect, was rewarded with a few images taken in 3D of my newest little honey bunny. Ignore all the extra "stuff" in this picture as it's things like umblical cord, distorted hand, placenta, and just the effects of being smushed inside Mommy. But focus on that angelic little face and those pinchable cheeks! And that cute little nose! Oh, he's going to be a handsome one, I can see it already!

I really love these ultrasounds and feel so lucky to get a sneak peek at Baby Bun. Of course the whole point is not for me to look at him, but for the doctors to measure his growth and see if he's getting too large and try to predict birth weight and if we need to do anything early. And he is still big. He's now, unborn, bigger than either Emily or Zachary were at birth. By measuring his head and femur they're estimating that he's now 7 pounds, 14 ounces. So if he goes to term, we're talking a 9 pounder -- not a supersized baby, but for me and my history, a pretty big little guy! But as the doctor says, it doesn't matter if they're 9 pounds or 5 pounds, they still hurt the same amount coming out.

The ultrasound lady also commented again (when she was measuring the top of his head) that he has hair -- and a lot of it! So I'm excited to see if that's actually the case. I keep imagining a twin little Zach, but I guess when I was pregnant with Zach I kept imagining a twin little Emily. And both kids, while looking like siblings, look very much like their own selves. So Baby Bun is likely to have resemblances to them as well as to me and to Kevin.

I have my next doctor's appointment tomorrow and will see what my doctor says about the latest with the baby's growth. I have another ultrasound scheduled in two weeks and I think that's the point where we'll make a decision on when or if to induce me. If I go that long -- I do keep thinking he's coming early, but it's funny, now that I'm at 37 weeks and feeling like we're out of the "danger zone", I think less and less that he's going to be early. I'm ready and yet not ready, ya know? I still have a ton of things at home I want to do before he's born but in terms of ready to meet him -- oh yeah, I'm ready!

First Day of Spring

Saturday was the first day of Spring as well as the first truly beautiful day of great weather here in Framingham! I spent the morning in bed, trying to recover from the stomach bug that has been moving slowly through my house (Kevin had it 2 weeks ago, Zach had it last weekend/early last week, and I came down with it on Thursday afternoon/evening). While I rested, the boys went outside to do some much needed yard work. After a snowy and windy winter, the pine trees that surround our house let down yet another tremendous load of pine needles and pinecones all over our yard and driveway, so Kevin and Zach went out to rake them up.

While Kevin worked on his raking, Zach was very busy digging in the dirt and playing with the branches that were on the ground. I woke up at one point and looked out the window to see them working/playing near each other. It was so cute to see and I loved how good Zach was being while Kevin was getting things done. Even though I wasn't feeling 100% yet, I was feeling somewhat better, and knew that if I didn't get outside to experience a little of that great weather that I would regret it. So in the early afternoon I got dressed in my weekend/sick attire of stretchy sweat pants and longsleeve warm shirt, put on sneakers, and went out to join them. Wow! The temperature was in the low 70's and the sun was shining. I think just the sunlight on my head alone worked to make me feel better! Zach and I took a walk around the yard to see how my bulbs were looking, and were rewarded to see some green poking through the ground where I had planted some of my daffodil bulbs last fall. It will truly be a surprise when they come up because I can't remember where I planted a lot of them. Some I planted in beds and others in random spots where I saw a patch of sunlight in our shady backyard. I saw some other signs of green in the beds as well and am excited to see what other spring flowers and plants will be joining us soon.

Hot Mama

I've been saying all along that I'm the coldest pregnant person ever -- I really have a hard time staying warm! This is unusual in that most pregnant women get hot flashes, or their temperature is elevated anyway. Well, I think I'm finally catching up! I've realized lately that at bedtime I'm wearing less clothes than Kevin -- a very rare thing because he radiates heat at night and is always warm. I'm usually the one dressed for the arctic! But lately I've taken to wearing summer maternity pajamas or just a top and panties because pajama bottoms keep me too warm. I do still wear socks around the house (although not also with slippers anymore, mainly because the slippers wore out and I had to toss them), and wear sweaters to work most days as well, but I'm occasionally now taking those sweaters off in my office because I get too warm.

Not sure what the reason for my newfound heat is. It's not that the weather is getting warmer, although it's spring and of course it's warming up. This is New England, after all, and it's not warm for another couple of months still. I haven't gained any significantly extra weight lately either (still at 18 pounds up from pre-pregnancy). But I am very, very large in the belly area so maybe just the extra workout of carrying around this big baby is keeping me warmer. Either way, it's a nice change from being cold all the time.

What is not nice with this big belly is trying to cover it. My pants won't stay up (they just slide right down) and my shirts won't cover it. I aim for something in the middle and keep hiking my pants up all day long and pulling down my shirt at the same time. I'm sure everyone in my office has seen my bare belly skin now at least once in the past month. It is embarassing!  I'm sharing this photo so you get a sense of how incredibly large this belly of mine has gotten. I feel like I'm the biggest pregnant woman ever to walk Planet Earth.

I'm 36.5 weeks pregnant now and feel like Baby Bun is going to bust out any day now. He is super duper kicky and I keep forgetting to ask my doctor if he (Baby Bun) could possibly help break my water with the strength of his kicks. Is that a stupid question?

Sprinkles, Take Two

I think my friends have all been talking to each other because just a few weeks after my fabulous "sprinkle" in New Jersey, I was surprised by another "sprinkle" in Massachusetts! My dear friend Liz organized a very nice tea party at her house with a bunch of my friends on the Sunday that Emily was home for Spring Break. I thought we were having a playdate at the zoo (hence my jeans and sneakers), but it turned into a wonderful party in my (or rather, Baby Bun's) honor!

Although I had my camera ready, I never thought to pull it out during the actual party, and Liz said she forgot to as well! So I have just a couple of pictures from after everyone else left. This first is of me and Liz because I have a great one from my first shower with Zachary (that she also organized) and I wanted another photo of us from this time around. And of course Zach insisted on being in the photo too, which is fitting considering he was actually at that first shower as well, just inside my belly. :)

Baby Bun received a bunch of really great gifts! We have some new monkey themed items from Aunt Liz, baby blankies, a photo album and journal, very cute baby clothes, and a few new things for Zach as well! Both Bree and Marieke thought to give him a gift which was wonderful and helped him to not feel left out. One of the things he got was some new Playdough which he has now played with every single day since then (it's a big set with a lot of different colors). He's a big fan.

I feel very blessed to have such wonderful and thoughtful friends and family who are helping me to celebrate this incredible event in our lives. It is amazing to me that I am having another little baby at this stage of my life and that I am surrounded by people who share and care in this with me. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion and feel beyond lucky to be experiencing this and to have such wonderful friends.

Emily on Spring Break

My baby girl was home for Spring Break recently. This has felt like an extra long time since I saw her, and I think it might have been the longest we've ever gone without seeing each other. We were all really excited and happy to see her, and I think she was actually looking forward to being home. And although it was just a week, she spent a good chunk of that time actually home and with us although she did still manage to see some of her high school friends. I think she had a good week and we managed to squeeze in an extra day when she got "rained in" here on the day her flight was supposed to leave. It worked out well and Z especially was glad to have some extra Em time.

I miss my Emily every day and really looking forward to this summer when we have some extra overlap time with my maternity leave and her summer break!