Falling Asleep

I don't know if anyone is still reading this, but I want to start writing again, so here goes...

I try to sing him to sleep without curling up with him anymore since he’s two now—my medium boy—but today at naptime he wants to cuddle. He slips his silky head under my arm and wiggles his way under until my arm snakes around his neck, my hand wrapping around his head and resting atop his ear. I breathe in the smell of little boy…a tiny whiff of shampoo mixed with undertones of sweat (but not in a gross boy-sweat way, but the sweet-sweat of toddlerhood). I turn my head slightly to look up at the ceiling, but a quick hand darts out and pulls my cheek back, where a little face is looking at me. He presses his little lips to mine, then turns his head back around on his pillow and shuts his eyes.

“I love you, Carter,” I whisper.

“I love you too, Mama,” he whispers back before drifting off to sleep.

37 Weeks Pregnant = FULL TERM!!

Best Moment of the week: Making it to the 37 week mark today! I never thought I could be so proud of myself for being so lazy, but I have to keep reminding myself that I'm actually doing something very important by forcing myself to do nothing. When I started dilating and having contractions almost a month ago, I'd really prepared myself for having a preemie, and I was scared to death about it. But with each day that goes by, I'm grateful for Collin having that much more time to be prepared to face the world...whenever it is that he decides to come. Will we actually make it to September, after all?

My doctor's appointment this week was relatively uneventful since it's perfectly normal for a 37 week pregnant woman to be where I am right now. I have progressed since last week...I'm now 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced, and his head is really low (she said it's about -3 right now). I'm still measuring small (about 34 weeks instead of 37) but I'm guessing part of that has to do with how low he is right now and how early he "dropped." I haven't had trouble breathing at all with this pregnancy, while with Carter I was totally winded for the last few months because he was crowding my lungs. I had a sonogram to check my fluid levels, which were fine, and if I make it to next week, they will check his size again. She wasn't able to get any good pictures because he's face down, back out, but since that's where we want him to be she didn't encourage him to smile for the camera. :)

Contraction-wise, it was a slow week until yesterday. I had contractions all evening and thought for sure we were going to end up in the hospital, but once again, I went to sleep and they stopped. I was up to pee several times and at my 5:00 pee, they started up again and were coming every 10 minutes until after 6 when I fell back asleep. We made sure everything was packed and in the car when we came over to Pinellas for the day today (Glenn is working on the house, I'm over at my parents'), including installing Collin's carseat (!!) just in case we needed to head to the hospital today. There have been more contractions throughout the day today, but nothing regular or intense, so we're still in a holding pattern...which is FINE with us! Hang out, Collin!

We had a nice visit with some of our cousins today, Kathy and Jim Grady. Kathy wasn't able to make it over for my sprinkle next weekend so they came over for a visit this week instead. Since Carter usually has "stranger danger" I didn't have high hopes for him being terribly friendly, but he did GREAT with them! He was sweet and cheerful the whole time, no tears whatsoever, and I was so proud to show him off. He was of course terribly precocious and smart as ever. :)

Epiphany of the week: We took Carter to the "sibling class" at the hospital, and it didn't go terribly well! I came to the conclusion (after the fact, of course) that this class was meant more for the 4-6 year old siblings, and definitely not the under-2's! He was just all over the place and wasn't getting anything out of it (aside from distracting everyone else), so we stuck it out until they brought out the baby dolls since I thought he might enjoy that, but it didn't go so well. He immediately said "eye" and poked the baby in the eye!! Oh Carter, please don't do that to your little brother when you meet him! So I guess my epiphany was that Carter is probably not quite ready to be a big brother, and this very well could be a bit more difficult that I was even anticipating. But he could just as easily go the other way, so that's the outcome I'm hoping for!

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: Here are a few of Carter's brilliant quotes of the week:

- We've been watching the Leapfrog "Letter Factory" DVD lately, which teaches kids the letters and sounds they make, and it's become a new favorite! Carter now (after watching it maybe 5 or so times) knows almost all of the letter sounds in addition to the word he associates with each one, so when you ask him, for example, what F says, he'll say "F-F-F-Flower!!" with such gusto. He really loves this stuff, and I love it, too!

- When Kathy and Kim were visiting today, the girls were sitting in the living room and the guys were sitting in the dining room (as usually happens) and Carter played in with us for a little while then ventured out to the dining room where he "sat with the guys." Too cute!

- After they left, my dad said he was surprised how well Carter did with Kathy and Jim. I said "Me too!" and Carter chimed in with "Me three!"

Obsessions: What day will Collin's birthday be??

What I am most looking forward to this week: We've actually made plans to see some friends this week, which should be nice, assuming I make it that far! We'll hopefully get to have lunch with my friend Kara, a visit with my friend Meg and her son Hunter, and a visit from my friend Kim, her son Nathan and her new baby girl Caitlin...Collin's future girlfriend! But who knows!

What I miss the most: Still hurting, hurting, hurting. But I know that as crappy as my sleep is right now, it's about to get worse, so I'll take it while I can! :)

Symptoms: 2 cm, 75% effaced, head is very low.

Milestones:

Your baby is now considered full term, even though your due date is still three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.

Weight: 158

36 Weeks Pregnant

Best Moment of the week: Amazing how even when I'm keeping the couch warm, I didn't have time to blog last weekend. Or maybe it's just because I've been too busy holding my breath! It's amazing how quickly the weeks are flying by, even with nothing going on. I thought they would start to drag toward the end, but thankfully that's not the case.

Highlights over the past two weeks include my first baby sprinkle with my wonderful moms' group, Modern Moms of Tampa. I was an hour late for it because my doctor's appointment took forever (see below) but the ladies held out in the HOT park until I got there and it was so nice. We got all kinds of goodies including lots of diapers, wipes, bibs, and even a few handmade goodies...a cross-stitched bib and a crocheted hat. So sweet! I'm so lucky to have such a great group of moms as a support system. Now the question is, will I make it to my other sprinkle on August 28th?? Or will Collin be joining us?

Hmm, what else? Our house permit finally was approved and there has been plenty of work (both before and after permit, actually) going on. The new house is still a complete disaster, but at least it's moving in the right direction. Glenn had already done a lot of gutting (everything out of the kitchen and ripped apart the back room, which was a sunroom that had not been converted properly from a porch and needed a lot of work). The walls that needed framing should be finished today, and the plumber and electrician will hopefully start working tomorrow along with the new windows and doors going in. My dad fixed some of the plumbing in our shower, and Glenn put in our pretty new bathroom vanity. Glenn and our friend Dan wired the house for phone/cable/internet yesterday and Dan was pressure washing the outside of the house today so it can be repainted. There's still a lot to be done, and realistically, it will still be a couple more months until we can move in to a finished house, but we're getting there. Still to come: electrician, plumber, insulation, drywall, new cabinets (purchased from IKEA this week!) going into the kitchen (then it takes 3 weeks to get a countertop fabricated, sheesh!), painting inside and out, new carpet in the bedrooms and our pretty new faux-wood vinyl plank floor in the rest of the house, tile in the back room, then baseboards and trim work in the whole house. And then moving out of our house and into the new one. Phew! And guess who can't do anything to help?? Oh yeah, that would be me!!

I had two doctor's appointments since my last post. One was the day of my sprinkle, and I had dilated to 1-2 cm, still 50% effaced, and he was measuring small, so I had a sonogram. It was nice to see the little guy...he looks totally smooshed in there, though! He's measuring at the 19th percentile (10th percentile is when they would worry) and they guessed his weight was about 4 lbs 11 oz as of 8/5. At the appointment this week, I hadn't changed too much, which is good, and his heart rate was up high in the 170's (I think it was because his big brother was SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER when the doctor came in to see his mama) but it went back down to his baseline in the 150's after my exam. Dr. Reiss said it's good that his heart rate was active because it shows that he is doing well and my placenta is still working.

On the not-so-good front, I had another labor scare on Monday of this week. I started having contractions in the morning, and while they never developed a consistent pattern, they lasted ALL DAY LONG, anywhere from 4 minutes to 30 minutes apart, over and over again. I was very uncomfortable. :( Thankfully my mom was there, and while I didn't tell her this was going on until later in the day because I didn't want her to worry, if I had I actually gone into labor, she was there to help, and she stayed late to help with Carter until Glenn got home. I called my doctor's office right before they closed at 5, and they thought I may likely have to go into the hospital, and since I was past the 35 week mark, they probably wouldn't have done too much to stop the labor. (EEEEK!) They told me to drink a lot of water over the next hour, and if I had 4 or more contractions over the course of that hour, to call back and talk to the on-call doctor (Dr. Dill) and see what she thought. Of course I did, so I talked to her (after making sure everything was packed and ready to go and that Glenn was on his way home to drive me) and she said to just wait it out. If they developed more of a pattern (closer to 5 minutes apart for an hour, and more painful) then I should call back/come in, but otherwise just wait it out. So that was a relief. I still thought for sure I would go into labor that night and I was totally emotional when I was getting Carter to bed that night. (Yes, crazy pregnant woman, party of one) The contractions kept going until I fell asleep, but in the morning, they had stopped. Phew!

Other than that, it's been pretty quiet around here. My mom has been over at our house a lot, and we've been over at my parents' house, too, on days that Glenn is working on the house, since I have to be "babysat." So we haven't had much of a social life lately or seen much daylight. Carter and I have been taking daily naps together, which is heavenly. I usually work through his naps, but it's been nice to just conk out with him and get some rest. It's been miserably hot and there has been a ton of rain, so if we're going to be stuck inside, now is the time for it!

Epiphany of the week: I might just make it to my due date...maybe.

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: Here are a few of Carter's brilliant quotes of the week:

- He climbed into his high chair while we were making lunch in the kitchen and called out, "Mama, Cee Cee, where are you guys?"

- He now knows a word for each letter of the alphabet...A is for apple, B is for baby, C is for Carter and Collin and Cee Cee, etc. Today we saw a Circle K sign and he said "K is for kite!" He loves it when he recognizes letters, numbers and shapes out in the world.

- He brought out some letters to me and Glenn last night and said "Let's build a word!" (We've been watching a lot of a show called Word World and that's from a song they sing.) We built L-I-P and then he ran around saying "Carter built a lip!" And then we proceeded to build a lot more words with a lot more letters. So much fun!

Obsessions: Making it to 36 weeks, hooray! Now every day when I wake up I wonder, "Will this be Collin's birthday?"

What I am most looking forward to this week: I signed Carter up for a big brother class on Thursday. Assuming I make it that far, it should be fun! (And will give us an idea of how he'll do at the hospital, yikes!) Then I have another doctor's appointment on Friday. At this point, I think I'm most looking forward to meeting my little guy! Though he can wait at least one more week until he's full-term.

What I miss the most: Not hurting...the aches and pains are really getting to me, especially at night.

Symptoms: 1-2 cm dilated and a bit more than 50% effaced with his head "very low." It was difficult for her to check my cervix this week because she had to go around his head to get to it. If that sounds uncomfortable, it's because it was!

Milestones:

Your baby is gaining about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (Collin is probably a bit smaller than this) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy hair that covered his body, as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protected his skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Next week, your baby will be considered full-term. (WOO HOO!)

Weight: 156.5

34 Weeks Pregnant

Best Moment of the week: Hmmm...I won't say this week has sucked completely because I am grateful for every day that I keep my little Collin in my belly, but it has certainly been a trying week. After being told I needed to take it easy at my last doctor's appointment, I cleared my calendar quite a bit. We still did manage to get in a fun playdate with my moms' group, where we got all of the current preggos together for a picture and dished on being pregnant while the kiddos played nicely. (I LOVE Carter's new-found independence!)

Thursday I had another doctor's appointment and while again, she wasn't planning on checking me, I made her check me, and then I watched her face grow concerned when she realized that my cervix had effaced 50% over the course of one week, and his head (previously breech) was already very low. While the word bedrest was never spoken, she told me I needed to take it very, very easy. Sit/lie down as much as possible, get as much help as I can. If I go into labor over the next two weeks (which she implied was quite possible), I will go to the hospital and they will attempt to stop the contractions until I get to 36 weeks at which point I'm fair game. Yikes. So while I was planning on having a September baby, it's now very likely that I will have an August baby.

So we decided that I need to be supervised at all times in case I go into labor and need someone to take me to the hospital. When Glenn went to work on the house this weekend, Carter and I went to my parents' house. We stayed pretty low key on Saturday, but decided to venture out a bit. We went to our favorite baby consignment shop, Stellie Bellies, then went to Lowes to pick up some paint samples and quote out carpet for the new house and took them down to Glenn. Later, my dad and I went back to Lowes to pick something up for Glenn, then went down to the house again, where I painted the samples on the wall. NOT a crazy, strenuous day by any means. But my body was yelling at me by the time we got back to my parents' house, and as we were driving home that night, I started having contractions. They weren't crazy intense by any means, but soon they formed a pattern and were coming every 10 minutes and lasting about 3:30 each. (Yes, I found an app for my iPhone to time contractions!) We got home and I laid down on the couch to try and get them under control, but they didn't stop. So I called my doctor's office and left a message for the on-call doctor, then went to take a warm bath since that was recommended by the midwife I saw this week, and thankfully that helped. By the time my doctor called back (and was not terribly friendly after being disturbed at 8:00 on a Saturday night), the last contraction had taken 12 minutes to come instead of 10 and she told me that as long as they didn't get any more intense or closer together, to just keep relaxing, but if anything changed, I would need to come in. Thankfully that was the last contraction I had that night. But it was a huge wake-up call for me. If I don't take it EASY-easy (not even just kind of easy), Collin very well may come weeks before he's supposed to.

Epiphany of the week: I am not in control. All I can do is behave myself as best I can and hope that's enough.

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: Here are a few of Carter's brilliant quotes of the week:

"Mama has glasses. Cee Cee has glasses, too!"

He actually sang the whole ABC Song, and at the end he sings "Next time won't you sing with me, yaaaaaaaay!!!" (Since I cheer for him every time he sings it...now he cheers for himself, too!)

Obsessions: Keeping Collin in my belly!

What I am most looking forward to this week: Hopefully I will make it to my baby sprinkle on Friday. I have a doctor's appointment first, so hopefully I will make it that long!

What I miss the most: My chance of a September delivery.

Symptoms: Still 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced with his head "very low." I am now conscious of my cervix and just feel progress going on down there. Which would normally be exciting, but I would really like it to just chill out!

Milestones:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers – which he'll need to regulate his body temperature once he's born – are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. (GOOD TO KNOW!!)

Weight: 154

P.S. This actually happened this week, not during week 34, but I don't think we'll be moving until after Collin gets here. Our renters are getting antsy and since it's not looking like we'll be able to move in the 2 weeks we promised them, I think they're going to find another place. This is one part sad news, because I would rather have friends living here than strangers, but it does take a lot of pressure off of us, so I'm going to think of it as a good thing. There is too much going on with my crazy body to deal with trying to move into a construction zone right now! :)

33 Weeks Pregnant

Best Moment of the week: Well, the week started out ok! My friend Amanda came over on Sunday with her sweet 7 month old, Ethan. Carter loved "baby Efan" and not only doted on him, but also didn't freak out when Mama held him. This is the third baby we've successfully avoided a meltdown with, phew! Let's just hope he does this well with his brother! We had a fun day on Tuesday, going to the aquarium with the Wesley Chapel Moms' Group, then having the Hansard family over to our/their house for a trip to the pool and pizza dinner. But then....

Epiphany of the week: I am officially not Superwoman. I think it was a combination of a lot of variables, but Wednesday my body rebelled against me, and as much as I've tried not to let my pregnancy slow me down, it turns out that I really need to slow down. From lifting Carter up and down a million times at the aquarium and carrying him halfway to the parking lot when he refused to walk, to catching him 50 times when he kept jumping in the pool, to just plain 'ole third trimester aches, pains and expanding joints, my body has never hurt so badly (with the exception of the week after Carter was born). My arms pretty much stopped working to the point that I couldn't even pick Carter up to put him on the potty/changing table/etc. and my lower back was just aching so badly I was miserable. There were lots of tears involved, but thankfully my mom was able to come over and help with Carter for a few days in a row so I wasn't alone with him in my poor, pitiful state.

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: Here are a few of Carter's brilliant quotes:

"The shape of a stop sign is an octagon."

"I just sang the ABC song." (Well, not totally, but we're getting there!)

"Back to the Carter house to see Dada."

Watching Myna Mo, they were making pottery into shapes, and we were supposed to find the cylinder. Mickey: "Is that a cylinder?" Carter: "No, that's a square, that's a cube!" (And he can no correctly identify cylinders by name, too!)

Obsessions: Feeling better!

What I am most looking forward to this week: Hopefully I will be feeling like a human being again this week! If so, we're supposed to head over to a playdate at Maria's house to meet her new baby girl Soraya and play with Carter's friends. We'll see! We had to cancel a lot of plans this week because I was in too much pain to leave the house. I'm thinking that for the next few weeks, we will try to have friends come to our house more often so Carter is still getting to see his friends but I won't have to chase him around public places.

What I miss the most: I would really just like to be able to be myself again. It was really hard on me this week not being able to be a good mom to Carter, but I think I need to find a happy medium between where we've been and where we were this week. (My doctor told me I'm not allowed to carry him around anymore, so that will be adjustment #1!)

Symptoms: I think the only official pregnancy symptoms out of all of this week's aches and pains were the ones in my lower back. And at my doctor's visit this week, I made her check me and sure enough, I'm already dilated to 1 cm, which is EARLY! They hooked me up to the monitor to make sure I wasn't contracting (I'm not) so I got to hear Collin's perfect little heartbeat for about 30 minutes. Every time he would move (often these days!) you would hear a bit SWOOSH sound on the monitor. The moral of this week is SLOW DOWN.

Milestones:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. Baby may grow up to a full inch this week alone, and his brain is developing like crazy. Pretty soon, he'll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Also, his bones are hardening, and he's started to keep his eyes open when he's awake.

Weight: 152

31/32 Weeks Pregnant

Best Moment of the week:

31: We had a fun trip up to Brooksville to "Clare's house" (which Carter repeated all the way up there!) where my friend (and soon-to-be-tenant) Jen's family is currently staying. Her daughter Clare and Carter have already gotten to be good buddies, and we also played with her son Jackson and the other Jen and her kiddos Noah and Jack. We also had a fun trip down to Bradenton to see my friends Lisa and Kori and the gaggle of kids between them, Celine, Donovan, Brendan, Charlotte and Holden. Carter, Brendan and Holden are within a few weeks of each other, and they're finally at the point that they can all play "together," kind of, at least!

Best of all was Thursday, when we had our sonogram! When we first got there, Collin was flipped around backwards and we couldn't get a good look at his face (though the reason for having the sonogram...my low-lying placenta...was looking fine!) but the sonogram tech told us to come back after we saw the doctor and she would take another quick look for us! Next I went to see the nurse for all of my usual checks, and my blood pressure was a bit high for the first time. She let me sit for a minute since I was excited about the sonogram and had just walked from the waiting room, and it went down to normal, phew! (That was the first time it has ever been high!) Then I went to see Dr. Fallieras. I asked him about the Braxton Hicks I've been having lately, and it earned me my first internal check to make sure nothing was happening yet. Thankfully my cervix is still sealed up tight, but he told me to really keep an eye on the contractions to make sure nothing regular starts happening with them yet. Then we got to go back for another sonogram, woo hoo! Collin had flipped around so we got to see his cute little face, and he even stuck his tongue out at us! He also already has some hair, which is adorable! He's measuring at around 3.5 pounds and was about the 60th growth percentile...which of course you have to take with a grain of salt because ultrasound measurements aren't the most accurate, but good to know he's doing well in there. There's nothing like a sonogram...it really is like crack for a pregnant lady! :)

32: This week was pretty low-key after our big week last week. Carter and I mostly just chilled out, and I was busy with work, which has been pretty bonkers lately!

Epiphany of the week:

31: Carter started showing signs that potty training might be on the horizon. Previously, if you asked him if he went poo poo in his diaper, he would say no, even if he had. Starting last weekend, he came to me and said, "Poo poo diaper, let's change it!" then walked over to his changing table so I could change him. Now he tells me every time he goes, and he also kind of waddles, which is really funny!

32: I told my mom yesterday that I'd forgotten how hard the last few weeks of pregnancy can be on my body, as Collin has really started beating me up this week and I'm pretty darn uncomfortable. Her response? "Don't you have 8 weeks left?" As quickly as I'm sure it's going to go, 8 weeks is still a very long time when you're huge and pregnant! :)

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week:

31: Happy memory of the last space shuttle launch...Carter sitting on my lap excitedly whispering "space shuttle, space shuttle, space shuttle," as Atlantis blasted into outer space for the last time.

32: Me: "If you want a cookie, you have to say please first." Carter: (in complete seriousness) "Please first."

Obsessions: Still focused on moving. Work is starting on the "new" house today, and while we're still waiting to get the permit so most of the work can be done, at least we're out of the holding pattern we've been stuck in! I'm still really nervous about this whole situation though!

What I am most looking forward to this week: Aquarium with my moms' group and pool and dinner with the Hansards on Tuesday, Future Flipz with Auntie LeShayne, Tori and Tristan on Wednesday, and another doctor's appointment on Thursday.

What I miss the most: Being comfortable in my own skin. It's hard to find a comfortable position these days!

Symptoms: Collin is still so active! My boobs have also started getting bigger, which didn't happen with my last pregnancy. It's almost like they know what they're doing this time and are getting ready early. Sounds funny, but it's probably pretty true!

Milestones:

By now, baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama...funny, this was one of my Millionaire answers!) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. I'm gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

Weight: 151.5

30 Weeks Pregnant

Best Moment of the week: We had a great week! We made more new friends on Monday with a "Jen and Kids" get together on Monday (there were three of us!), had a great time at the aquarium with Meg and Hunter on Wednesday, got to hang out with Auntie LeShayne and Carter's "cousins" Tori and Tristan on Friday, then met the adorable Baby Fischer afterward...what a cutie pie, great job, Auntie Erin!! I think the best moment, and quite possibly the most scary one, was deciding to rent our house out yesterday. I think I mentioned Jen from California in my last post...she and her family decided after looking at some other places to rent ours instead. We had to take a bit of a "pay cut" to make it work, but I think it will be worth it to avoid dealing with a property manager and to have nice, normal (and really, wonderful!) people living in our house taking good care of it. So we're MOVING IN 6 WEEKS. Gulp.

Epiphany of the week: Having a family is so much more wonderful than I ever imagined it could be. I had a picture in my head of how it would be, but really, nothing can prepare you for how wonderful children are and just how much you will love them. As we're about to welcome our second, I've been focusing so much on being nervous and worried about how we will all deal with it, but I need to keep in mind that it will also be more wonderful than I can even imagine, and I'm going to love Collin just as much as I love his big brother.

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: Carter totally pooped in the bathtub this week! I think this has happened to all of my friends, and I thought I was just really lucky to have avoided it, but sure enough, my turn arrived on Friday! YUCK!! But we did survive, and the bathtub has been bleached to death. :)

Carter also started singing along to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song and trying to spell along with his name. Up until recently, Mickey Mouse was "Myna Mo" and that's still what he calls him most of the time, but he now calls him Mickey Mouse, too. He's getting so big!

Obsessions: Moving, moving, moving. I'm getting quotes for movers, putting together our rental agreement, and I'm going to start "purging" this week...getting stuff ready for Goodwill and tossing a lot of junk we don't need. We're also making a lot of decisions on the new house. We went to IKEA to figure out what we're doing for the new kitchen and partially new bathroom, and we picked out the kitchen backsplash and countertops yesterday at Home Depot. We have a plan for paint, and Glenn is picking the actual colors today.

What I am most looking forward to this week: SONOGRAM on Thursday!!!!!

What I miss the most: Sleeping comfortably, still. I think I will be in this holding pattern until I can roll onto my back again!

Symptoms: I have a very active baby now! He's visibly moving several times a day and getting vicious with those little feet. It's getting HARD to hold Carter now since my belly is massive, and my lap is almost gone! Otherwise, still tired and sore, but generally just feeling great and enjoying being pregnant.

Milestones:

Baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage).

Weight: 149ish