Okay :)

We are most likely heading to the hospital sometime this morning!!

It's babytime!  Yay!!

(And hopefully we're not leading you on again--contractions galore and strong!)

Yes

Labor is progressing! We'll write before heading to the hospital!!!

Update 10am: Things are stalling a bit... Don't get too excited yet! I have a doc's appt. this afternoon, though, so maybe we can stir up some fun then! I'll let you know! :)

As Healthy as a Horse

When the sun set this evening, it was hard to believe it was the same sun that rose this morning.  What a full day!  From a sleepy beginning to an elliptical workout to a Costco trip (which the boys loved, by the way) to a Mimi lunch to a mama doc appt. to a trip to the airport and Gramz (my mom) arrival!! to a Red Robin dinner (yum) to boys' bedtime to ahhh...  

Yes, it's been full.

Yes, I am trying to take it easy.

I really am. :)

Yes, I do promise tomorrow will be a lot more relaxed.

I promise (wink, wink!). 

Thankfully, the doc reports, "You are as healthy as a horse."  

Thanks doc. :)  Just what I love to hear in my 38th week--I am equivalent to a horse.  lol.

There are many reasons that's a great thing to hear, though--the baby is well, my blood pressure is normal, and my body shows no signs of labor.  Excellent.

It feels so funny at a time in the pregnancy when women hope to be done, I am praying for it to continue!  The doc laughed today saying, "Most women are begging me to get the baby out.  You're one of the few who's hoping he stays in!"  Too funny.

That is until next Wednesday afternoon when my beloved finishes his bar quest!  Then we will reunite as a family and the party will really start.  Baby J can come anytime after that...  ;)

Have a blessed Tuesday evening!  I will leave you with a couple shots of the boys' artistic Baby J shirts...  T-baby's wins the contest and will be worn home from the hospital!  God bless!

3-8

There you have it, 38 whopping weeks and still going strong!

It occurred to me the other day that with the sad miscarriage of our Sweet Jude last year at 11 weeks, I have reached the "year" milestone of being pregnant since last July!  Part of me wonders: will I remember how not to be pregnant?  lol.  I think I shouldn't have too much trouble transitioning back into regular life.  ;)  And while pregnancy has its fair share of hang-ups, there are also many joys, prego blessings that I do not take for granted.  We have known so many couples who have struggled with infertility and I am reminded so often of how blessed we are with our boys...  I am also acutely aware of how *fervent* my prayers need to be for all these hopeful mothers-to-be.  My heart aches for them.

So today I offer up this simple prayer to St. Gerard for all mothers, especially those hoping for a baby:

O glorious Saint Gerard, powerful intercessor before God, and wonder worker of our day, I call upon you and seek your help. You who always fulfilled God's will on earth, help me to do God's holy will. Intercede with the Giver of life, from whom all parenthood proceeds, that those who suffer infertility may conceive and raise children who will please God in this life, and be heirs to the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Prayers for a great start to your week!  God bless.

Docta Details

Here it is, your weekly pregnancy appointment update:

As of this afternoon, Baby J is head down with his heartrate in the 140's. I am 2cm(!) dialated (though the doc says this can happen more easily with subsequent pregnancies) with steady blood pressure and weight! Hallelujah, all is well!

The doc was willing to induce me early so as to ensure GG's presence at the birth, but we've decided to wait it out and let my body do the deciding. Thankfully, she seems to be such a gracious, kind physician and I'm really happy to have her! She also spoke really highly of the hospital nurses and staff, which was wonderful to hear. In other words, the path has been laid well, now J just has to determine when he will travel it. :)

God bless you today! Hope its been a great one... and if it hasn't, I hope things are looking up!

37...

and counting! God bless and Happy Monday!

Additional comments: As of this morning Baby J's prep is complete. I washed and folded all of his little clothes yesterday and put them in drawers last night! How great is it that we already have everything we need?! Love it! I guess that's where 3 of one gender really pays off! I also washed the carseat cover and attached the head stablizer to the straps... and washed the Boppy pillow and blue soft cover! This kid is set!

One last remaining item I plan to fetch tomorrow is a SwaddleMe blanket. Many moms have lauded this miracle blanket as it wraps the baby so tightly (better than the receiving blankets from the hospital) and mimics the closeness of the womb. They also say it encourages more hours of sleep for the infant (and the mom!). Sign me up!! I'll buy 10 of these if they work... :) We'll have to let you know.

That's the latest from our little corner of the world on Monday afternoon! Hugs!

Pleasantly Prego

I am happy to report (finally) my visit today to my new OB!
It had been almost 2 months since my last appt. and baby J was getting restless for some good pre-natal care! Nothing like moving and changing health coverage to throw off one's regularly scheduled visits...

Thankfully, I have great reports. Baby J is doing wonderfully and appears to be healthy and hanging out happily for the time being. My body is showing no signs of labor... yet. ;) The doc predicts I will go into labor right when GG takes the bar just because things seem to work out that way! lol. Let's hope she's wrong. If she's right, though, I am confident all will go smoothly and be blessed. Such a situation would be ripe for His Mighty Hand.

I am measuring on target and J's heartbeat is in the 130's. My blood pressure is holding steady and all seems to be well. Let's just pray that continues! I now have appointments every week from here on out... Lucky for you to get more regular updates. ;) (whether you like 'em or not!)

God bless you on this Tuesday. It's Taco Tuesday in Gasperini-Ville.
Why don't you bring the fam on over for supper? We'd be over the moon to have you.

Ready or not

Thanks for all the wonderful encouragement you sent in response to my prego pic from Friday--you all are the best and I wish I could carry your voices around with me throughout the day for pick-me-ups!! It's one thing to be pregnant and another to feel like one's body is contorting into a shape beyond its resiliency... All mothers out there understand.

Side note: I remember learning the word "resilient" in school. The teacher described a rubber band as having ultimate resiliency in that after being stretched, it would return to its original shape. A rubber band pushed beyond resilience would hang limply, without shape. What an image for a pregnant gal! lol. :)

In addition to bolstering my prego self-esteem, you all have definitely gotten the wheels turning on the baby front--in other words, this baby is going to be here before I know it! Some days it is very easy to slip into the mindset that this little guy will arrive "in the future" and that "we'll get there eventually". Amazingly, though, that day is quickly approaching and I need to be ready! :)

A friend recently asked if I had read any labor and delivery books before the birth of our first, M. I felt sheepish admitting, "No" but then paused to realize part of the reasoning was his month-early arrival! I had to be induced last-minute to accommodate a rapidly elevating bp! If the same scenario happens again (no indicators yet, thank goodness), baby J will be here in 2 weeks!! CRAZY thoughts. More reasons to GET READY!

And then thoughts shift to the reality of having a *new* baby in the house and all the changes his arrival will bring. I will head back into being an on-call nursing mama again for the next year (hopefully). How quickly I've grown accustomed to my and T-baby's independence! Makes me wonder how mothers do it when children are spaced even further apart. Baby-dom already feels so foreign and its been less than 2 years! :)

Despite all the worries and "what-if's", I know it will be very blessed. I know the boys will *love* being big brothers. T-baby already heads into J's nursery and points to all the pieces of furniture, saying "baby". Too cute. In his excitment, M has also been assured and reassured that he will be able to hold Baby J and sit next to him in the van. Also very adorable. I presume part of the pleasure of having child #3 will be watching his brothers (who we already love so much) dote on him and shower him with affection. Blessed thoughts, indeed.

Ready or not, Baby J is on his way and we couldn't be more excited.

Hope you have enjoyed an uplifting weekend.
Tomorrow I will include pics of some new arrangements I'm putting together for our hallway cut-out coves. I saved a bundle today at a big sale at Pier One. I have to say, few things make this mama happier than saving... :) (Saving and cherries--the dark red ones, extremely tasty and in season! lol.)

Hugs and prayers tonight. God bless.

33.5 weeks

There you have it, folks.  The latest and greatest at 33.5 weeks! :)  I'll try to add some more shots later... maybe one or two with a black shirt to give you real belly perspective! :)  Hope you're having a fantastic day!  Also FYI, as of 2pm I have even more of a scary voice.  Yahoo!  

God bless!!

Trying to Overachieve

But failing miserably.

Today, my 31-week pregnant self thought it would be a grand idea to mow the lawn in 100F heat.  

"You can do it, " I told myself, "Just take it in spurts and drink plenty of water."

"No problem, " I encouraged myself as I filled the tank with gas and checked the oil.

But then came time to pull the cord.

Once...  Twice...  Three times... and beyond.

And... nothing.

Sometimes it is in our limitations that we SAVE ourselves from making STUPID decisions.

Thank goodness!!!  

What was I thinking???

Prego shorts

As I wrap up week 24 of this blessed pregnancy, I just had to share a quick prego funny and a few profile shots with you. First, the funny:

The other night I was making a chicken and rice casserole and appropriately dragged out my rice cooker. It has been a new addition to my kitchen after our first one broke years ago. I finally bought one on sale at Target and have used it a few times, but am still very dependent on the manual for operation. Well, the manual was nowhere to be found and I knew I needed equal parts rice and water, so away I went. I flipped on the cooker and busied myself with the prep for the other ingredients... Minutes later, I smelled burning and the machine turned off by itself, much too soon for the rice to be done. I was so angry (pregnancy hormone-induced!), swearing off rice cookers for the rest of my life. I let the machine cool down a bit and then flipped it on again to cook. It "worked" for a few minutes again and then shut off. "Oh well," I thought, "I'm just going to let it sit there and maybe the rice will eventually be ready." The smell of burning was really prevalent now and my rice-cooker-cursing was even more outstanding! Finally, the rice was done and I proceeded with my casserole, only to later lift the rice cooker pot and find this:

I cooked my rice cooker manual! Boy, am I definitely pregnant!

The shots below confirm this... my bump is growing! Hope you all are enjoying a wonderful weekend! God bless!

Forgetting Something

It is a beautiful day here in Gasperini-Ville as we rejoice in the new life of our "sweet baby J"! You'll have to ask me in person about his precious new name!

The sun is shining and the temperatures promise to boast near 60F. Pinch me, are we still in the midwest? The Lord is definitely showing us His mercy!

To celebrate the beauty of the day, I promised the boys a trip to feed the ducks, which soon turned into a trip down the street to our neighborhood park. It was all I could muster while also toting our large yellow lab.
We busied ourselves getting ready...
*2 boys dressed
*2 pairs of socks/2 pairs of shoes, tied
*2 pb & j sandwiches
*2 drink cups with juice and water
*1 apple cut up and placed in a tupperware
*1 diaper changed/1 toddler to the potty
*2 coats and 2 zippers
*2 boys in the wagon with two strap snaps
*1 dog with 2 collars
*1 set of car keys
*1 jacket for mom, laden with cell phone for emergency
*1 lock on the door...
And we were off.

Only for us to get about 200 yards down the street when this prego mama realized she had forgotten something.
A big something.
What about mom's trip to the bathroom? Oops!
Don't worry, I just have a baby sitting on my bladder.

I am happy to report, though, I made it... to the playground and back; just in time.

PARENTING: one of the most selfless ventures a person can take in life-- even sometimes requiring the denial of bladder. :) lol.

God bless you today!

Back to the Drawing Board

Here's what I read today after taking an online "boy or girl?" test:

Congratulations!
You have a 43% chance of having a boy. And you have a 56% chance of having a girl.

Oh Really!?! Talk about inconclusive!!! :)

Here were a few of the predictions according to funny wives' tales:

* Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the south indicates that you will be having a girl.

* Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl.

* You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.

* Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.

* You are looking particularly good during pregnancy (oh yeah!). Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks.

* Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy (!!), which indicates a girl.

* You pick up your coffee cup by the handle, so it's a boy.

Hysterical! I spared you a few due to their more graphic detail!

So there you have it... Not one step closer to an answer after all! :)

Hope you enjoyed a brilliant Friday. God bless.

Hormonal

I just finished reading T-baby his nighttime stories before putting him to bed. As per usual, he chose two favorites, The Cuddly Chick: A Snuggle Book and Goodnight Baby before picking an unusual selection, Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch, a sweet story of a mother raising a son.

Oh boy! Was this mama not prepared to emotionally handle such a story, particularly when the son rocks his aging mother and sings to her... By that time, I was a weepy mess and couldn't get out half the words! T-baby just looked at me like, "Mom, get over it." lol.

I guess crying over a sweet book, though, is much better than in my pregnancy with him, when I shed tears after a woman won the mountain climbing game on the Price Is Right by $1. Jubilation! Tears! The whole gamut.

Yes, this was a much better reason to cry.

Silly hormones!

Hope you've enjoyed a wonderful weekend. God bless.

Sunday Follies

I braved the zero degree temps this afternoon and headed to the grocery store to buy ingredients to make homemade chicken noodle soup. (Gasperini-Ville needed sniffle therapy!)

I made my way home, unloaded the goods, and then cried...

I had forgotten to buy the chicken.

Baby brain, anyone? :) lol. (FYI, I'm now able to laugh about it.)
Hope you're having a more expedient evening!
God bless.

A Precious Life

I sadly write to say that our sweet baby is no longer with us.

But I rejoice in saying he is now a beautiful soul in heaven.

I miscarried this morning, but GG and I were gratefully able to meet our little one and together praise God for his precious life.

From here we plan to grieve, bury, and pray... a lot. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by such a warm, Catholic community here, who value each life to the fullest. Also, my parents are now here to love, hug, pray, and grandparent our wonderful boys.

And while so much of me just wants to cry, the rest of me feels so blessed to have known this child; to have joyfully carried him; to have provided him a place to begin and end his time here on earth.

Thank you for joining us in praising God for him!

Thank you for your continued prayers...

Nothing Like Prayers

So I'm back, once again asking for your petitions...

Not for the Army this time, but for a small, growing baby.
I am 11 weeks today and am experiencing some uterine achiness and light spotting.

Thankfully, my midwife has allayed alot of my fears and wants me to have a nice, relaxing weekend before seeing her on Monday, where I'll have my first exam and an ultrasound to boot! She wants to assure us that all is well with the little one. Praise God for her today. Her words were like salve to my worries.

And in the meantime, we'd love your prayers.
They are so very effective.
God bless you this Friday...

Excuses, Excuses

Awful nausea = basketcased-ness = see you tomorrow.

Cravings

I am so excited for tonight.

Going out to dinner? Nope.
LOST is premiering? Nope.
My children will be in bed by 5:30? Nope. (I'm horrible. :)

We are having cheesy potato soup!!!! I have been craving it so... Last night I whipped up a batch early so it's ready to go tonight. SO EXCITED! Of course I had to sample a little (a lot) bit before going to bed just to make sure it was "good enough". YUM.

Here's the recipe in case you have cheesy potato cravings of your own. It's a snap and has wonderful, subtle cheesy goodness... Just don't inquire about the fat content (it's way too overwhelming, though you could healthy it up with some lower fat cheese varieties. I also make mine with skim milk to help the cause.) Enjoy and God bless your tummies!

Cheddar Cheese Soup
1 C. potatoes, diced.
1/2 C. celery, chopped.
1/2 C. carrots, chopped.
1/2 C. onion, chopped.
1/2 C. gr. pepper, chopped.
4 T. butter
1 (10.75 oz.) can chicken broth plus water to equal 3 cups
Dash white pepper (I use black.)
2 C. milk
1/2 C. flour
3 C. Cheddar cheese, grated.
1 T. parsley (I omit.)

Saute veggies in butter. Add broth, water, and pepper. Cover and simmer 30min. Blend milk and flour. Stir into broth. Add cheese, then cook and stir over low heat until thick. Add parsley. Serves 4.