Ok, It's Growing on Me

First wall is done and aside from a little fuzziness on my brown and red stripes, I think it looks pretty good. I've gotten into the groove of measuring and taping off so it's not going as slow as I thought it would. I even got lucky and didn't have to take the outlet cover off!

Before I Go Any Further

Here's the baby's new bedding. The accents are vertical stripes in blue, green, orange, red and brown. I was having a hard time figuring out what color(s) to paint the wall and then I limited myself further by buying red curtains. The window faces west, so I needed to get darker curtains and I didn't want to do brown.



Anyway, I took the plunge today and bought all five colors to do stripes on the walls. All that's missing is the brown stripe in the picture (and the chair rail which will follow). So, is it too much? I'm thinking I should've had a bigger diffence in width between the colors and the white, but oh well. Do you think it'll look alright when it's done? And I do realize I'm a glutton for punishment. This is going to take for-ever.

I've Gone Soft

This picture is from last week (before I had to cut out sugar). We were cruising down the aisle at the grocery store when someone spotted a bag of powdered donuts. She didn't even know that they were donuts, but something deep inside told her that she wanted them and that she wouldn't be sorry if she convinced Mommy to buy them for her.

Heck, they sounded good to me too, so into the basket they went.

Here's Clara from a few weeks ago. She got a tattoo from a machine and Daddy thought of the perfect place for it. She loved being able to look at it. Unfortunately, she also decided she needed to show friends at church.

Twenty-Seven Weeks

The baby is almost 2 pounds now and 14.5 inches long. I'm 117.5 pounds this week and a bit of a cranky-pants.

My skipping heartbeat has decreased these last few days, so I guess the change in diet is helping some. I'm still having skipped beats, but not nearly as many. I am totally cranky though. No sugar has not been easy. I love oatmeal.......but only with sugar and cinnamon. I love a tall glass of milk.....while eating a big stack of pancakes or waffles or some other "bad" carbohydrate or if it's loaded with chocolate syrup. Yogurt's pretty good.........with fruit and sugar in it. No juice, only one fruit a day, etc., etc., etc. It doesn't help that I'm craving sugar big time. Of course I didn't realize I was craving it until I couldn't have it.

I wasn't eating well at all because of the restrictions, so I've cut myself a little slack and add just a pinch of sugar here and there. I have cut out sweet tea, sodas, cake, cookies, ice cream....you know, all the good stuff. And I'm eating mostly whole grains, though I've slipped here and there in that department too. Most anything you buy pre-packaged in the store isn't going to be whole grain so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We went to Jason's Deli the other night and I got Clara her ice cream cone while I sat and watched her enjoy the yummy treat while I finished picking at my salad. She asked me why I didn't get one and I told her that I wasn't supposed to eat sugar and ice cream has lots of sugar in it.

I said, "I could probably have just one bite of yours though". She got a worried look and then a light went off and she said, "No, this ice cream has sugar." I said, "I know, but one bite is ok. Can I have a bite?" And she said "Ok, but I have to take the sugar off first." She then proceeded to lick all of the ice cream out of the cone before handing the empty cone to me saying "Ok, I got all the sugar off for you."

She's doing a great job keeping me on track.

I have no other updates for this week because all I can think about is food.

Puddle Jumper

Twenty-Six Weeks

This post is a little late. I'm close to 27 weeks now, but here it is anyway. I'm 116.5 pounds this week and the baby is 1 and 2/3 pounds and 14 inches long. It's hearing better this week and can recognize mom and dad's voices starting right about now.

I took the calcium/magnesium tablets for several days and my contractions have greatly diminished. I only have a couple of contractions a day now and haven't had to take them anymore.

I seem to have traded the braxton hicks for an irregular heartbeat though. I've noticed that my heart skips beats quite a lot and I can feel it flutter and jump frequently. When I'm laying down, I feel it a lot and it's really unnerving. I called the midwife today and we're going to try to see if a change in diet helps. This isn't going to be easy though. I'm to cut out caffeine, sugar and carbs for a week and see if it hasn't improved.

Caffeine and sugar isn't so bad, but carbs? That's not going to be easy. I can do whole grain, but that's not like whole grain bread you buy in the store. It's the weird stuff I don't even know how to go about obtaining or preparing.

Anyway, skipping beats is pretty common during pregnancy due to an increase in blood volume, but I have a heart murmur and this seems to be much more frequent than when I was pregnant with Clara. I'll be referred to a cardiologist if I'm unable to get them under control, so your prayers are welcome!

I'll leave you with this flashback to 2005 when I was 26 weeks with Clara. Ugh, that hair! I was growing it out and was in real need of a trim. My sideburns and back grew so fast and it took the top for-ever to catch up. Makes me cringe just thinking about how long it took for my hair to look presentable.

Forgetfulness

I've had the occasional episode of forgetfulness, like I think I'm up to 3 cartons of milk left on the counter. Or I've put something back in the refrigerator only to find the next morning that I left out something that was sitting right next to it. That kind of stuff.

Well, last night I took it up a notch. I lazed around all day. I had a slight headache and stomach ache and decided to finally take a shower a little after 5:00 so I'd feel a hint of accomplishment. Chris calls on his way home from work sometimes, so I put the phone by the shower just in case he called.

Lo and behold, he did call midway through. He said, "I'm leaving work now; will you be ready to go when I get home?" Oh, crud. I entirely forgot that we were supposed to go to a dinner for ACU alumni. I jumped out of the shower and got dressed as fast as I could. Then I dried my hair just enough for it to not be dripping and pulled in back into a ponytail. I told Chris it was sleek, not wet.

I got Clara's shoes and had her pack her backpack with toys. She was going over to Robert and Debbie's house, which is about a 20 minute drive for us. She hadn't eaten dinner and I haven't gone grocery shopping in some time now, so I had nothing that I could grab easily to take with us. We were just going to get some fast food for her on the way but with traffic we were running even more late, so we just handed her off and said feed her whatever you have (minus nuts and peanuts of course).

Miraculously, we ended up being only a few minutes late. It was a nice dinner and we got to talk to old acquaintances and meet a few other people, so although it started a little rough, it ended up being a lovely date night.

I blame my forgetting on Chris and Clara. I told Clara she should've reminded me that she was going over to Robert and Debbie's house and as for Chris, well, I never even asked him what time it started, so obviously I had forgotten. Those two need to pay more attention.

The Weekend

We had a fun weekend here. Friday night we decided to go grab a bite to eat and ended up at Saltgrass. I stuffed myself on a New York strip and it was sooo good. Clara and Daddy went to breakfast Saturday morning and my plan was to get some cleaning done while they were gone. Instead I laid in bed most of the morning.

They ended up dropping by Chris' office for a bit and then the bookstore and shoe store, so they stayed gone until about 12:30. Wish I hadn't completely wasted my morning.

That afternoon was Leah's birthday party and Clara enjoyed herself immensely, except for the horror that befell her during the pinata. I got lucky and snapped this picture just in the nick of time. Notice who's standing directly beneath the waterfall of candy?

Yep, Clara. She got pelted with it and she looked like this the whole time she was picking up candy. She was a tad distraught. I, on the other hand, was trying really hard not to laugh. Imagine that. Me laughing at my child's misfortune.

Then we went swimming and she got to perfect her jumping in skills. I can't believe how fearless she's become now. She just wanted to jump in and go under water the entire time. I'd say swim lessons have been a good thing for her.



We met Robert and family up at Market Street after the party for sandwiches and ice cream. Clara was in rare form. She was a ball of pure energy, a laughing, tickling, running ball of energy. I guess cake, ice cream, sorbet and pinata candy will do that to a girl.




After petting the horses, we went to the grassy area to let her blow off more steam. She ran for probably 20 minutes straight. I was thankful for Taylor and her friend who graciously agreed to run after her. She wore them out though, so then they taught her to do handstands and cartwheels. She loved hanging out with the big girls.

Twenty-Five Weeks

Baby is around 1.5 pounds this week and 13.5 inches long. It's taste buds are forming and it's hands are fully developed, including fingerprints. I'm 115 pounds and my uterus is the size of a soccer ball!

I'm still feeling great. I have just enough energy to get a few things done here and there and my mind isn't in a fog all day which has felt great. The baby is still way down low in my pelvis. I've not felt any movement above my belly button. I'm sleeping pretty well right now and several times I've switched sides during the night and as I turn, something in my back pelvic area pops. I don't know if it's my tailbone or what, but I've never had a pop there before. Last night Clara woke from a nightmare and came in the room and as I sat up to go take her back to her room, I had pain in that same spot, like it needed to pop. I couldn't put all of my weight down and then it popped again and I was fine. It just feels really weird.

When I do wake up to something like Clara coming in to the room or the dogs barking or something like that, I have a really hard time falling back to sleep sometimes. Last night it was 2 hours before I fell back asleep. Chris was out late one night last week and the dogs were on alert the whole time. I would fall asleep and then they'd hear a noise and bark, startling me (and consequently the baby) awake. I could feel my heart rate sky rocket and the baby would just go crazy. It took about 15-20 minutes for it to calm back down enough for me to fall asleep. I'd be asleep for only a few minutes when it would start all over again. I was really glad when Chris got home.

I started having lots of contractions one evening. They started to worry me because they were coming pretty close together, although they were shorter and much less intense than normal. I had made dinner that night, ate, cleaned up and then headed outside to pull grass from the beds. After consulting the internet, I decided I probably just overdid it and hadn't drank enough, so I drank some water, moved around and they subsided some. My appointment was the next morning, so I made sure and asked about it.

Clara is getting more excited about the baby. She really hasn't been very interested in feeling it kick or watching the movement, but she's shown more interest this week. When I'm feeling lots of movement, I have her knock on the belly and wait for the baby to answer. She keeps saying the baby is laughing. She's had lots of fun trying out all the baby gear on her dolls this week as well. She's going to be a great helper.

Prenatal Appointment- 24 Weeks

My 24 week appointment was last Tuesday. I was anxious going in because of a couple of things and I left feeling very much at ease, so it was a great appointment. I weighed in at 115.5 pounds this week.

At my last appointment, the midwife said my uterus felt small and we'd see if that was still the case at this appointment. I didn't think much of it at the time, but in the weeks that followed, I thought about it more and more, and I got more and more worried. I kept thinking that maybe that's why I hadn't felt any movement higher up. And then I thought maybe my uterus was just plain in there wrong because I couldn't feel anything on the left side. Yeah, I never worried at all during Clara's pregnancy.

Anyway, Melanie measured me and I was exactly on track, so that was a huge relief for me. It turns out, the other midwife had used my LMP date to figure my due date, so it was off. I have to remember to remind them of my dates being off each time so we don't have this problem again.

The night before I had had lots of bh contractions, so I asked her about them. She wasn't worried at all because I had overdone it that evening and hadn't drank enough. Also, she said lots of women get them more often during their 2nd pregnancy. She did tell me I could take calcium/magnesium tablets to ease them if they become bothersome. I guess I'm a little more concerned about them this time because I was 4 cm dilated with Clara and had only had my normal bh (that I knew of) until that point. I'm just worried I won't know if I'm having preterm labor. She went over the differences between bh and real contractions, so again I left feeling better.

I really do love the atmosphere at the birthing center. I always get right in and they don't have too many patients to handle, so I always have plenty of time to ask questions. The midwives listen to Clara ramble on about random things and take the time to show and explain to her what the baby looks like and I've never felt rushed at all. During my pregnancy with Clara, I would wait for an hour most times and then see the doctor for all of 3-4 minutes. When I did have questions, I felt rushed because I knew there were 10 other women out there that had also been waiting.

I then told Melanie that I hadn't had a tour of the birthing rooms yet. I should've had a tour in the beginning but somehow it got overlooked I guess. So she took me back to check it out. It's a house that's attached to the office by a hallway. There are two rooms that look just like a typical master bedroom, complete with a large tub for laboring in (and giving birth in if you choose).

There's also a full kitchen with a breakfast table. She said some people bring a frozen casserole with them to have afterwards, which is kind of cool, if you're all organized and stuff. I'm sure Chris will be bringing carryout back for us. And there's a living room with a tv and lots of kids movies, so you can have your children there if you'd like (with someone else to watch them of course). I'm getting really excited about this birth and can't wait to have this completely different experience.

Look Ma, No Hands

Clara finally jumped in to the pool at swim practice today without holding the teacher's hands. This was a big accomplishment for her. She would try so hard but just couldn't bring herself to trust the teacher to catch her.

Yesterday she was a bad girl at her lesson. All four kept getting into trouble, but especially Clara. She kept leaning over and putting her hands in the water and kicking while another kid was swimming. Both no-no's. I really got onto her after the lesson and withheld her cookie and told her she wouldn't get a treat today unless she followed directions and jumped in without holding on to the teacher. I guess that's all it took. Here she is in midair.



At lunch today I gave the girl a half a carrot and turned around five minutes later to find this face.



I couldn't get a real good picture, but if I'm not mistaken, that is an allergic reaction to a carrot. She wasn't bothered by it at all this time and said she didn't itch. I'd wondered if raw carrots were bothering her because she goes back and forth on them too like she does strawberries and bananas.

I may have to do what I've been doing with watermelon. I decided to try watermelon again since she really didn't seem to be bothered by her reaction back in June. I cut it into small pieces so she wouldn't get the juice all over her and had her eat it with a fork and she hasn't seemed to be bothered by it the two times I've given it to her. She scarfed it down both times. Raw carrots are a little harder to eat when they're bite sized though. It's worth a shot though, because I seem to be quickly running out of foods this child can (and will) eat.

Gymnastics

Leah had a pass for a friend to come to her freeplay time at the gym tonight and was sweet enough to invite Clara along. Clara was a little overwhelmed. There were lots of little ones running every which way and lots of equipment that she had no idea what to do with. She eventually figured everything out after following Leah around like a puppy dog and she loved every minute of it. I'm sure they'll sleep good tonight.

Thanks Leah!

Look What Clara Can Do!

I haven't pressed Clara at all on learning her letters; I figured she'd show interest when she was ready. I'm also old-fashioned in that I don't like all the fancy schmancy gadgets out now to teach kids their letters. I'd much prefer that she develop a love of learning new things and I don't necessarily think that's accomplished by teaching her that learning always involves entertainment or technology. I know I'm in the minority on that one. We're meanies and don't let her play on the computer either.

I have to admit, I was beginning to worry a bit that she'd never show an interest and quietly wondered if I needed to go stock up on Leap Frog products. I'm happy to report that just in this last week she's started asking me what letter words start with and pointing them out to me on signs and on paper when she sees them.

I've mainly just asked her questions about friends and family's names by asking "what does La-La-La-Linsey start with?". Yesterday she was sitting on the bed and said, "I want a bagel". She sat there quiet for a minute and then said, "B starts with bagel!" without any prompting. And then last night she went with Daddy to Lowe's and when they returned she told me she had something to show me and then spelled her name for me. It was very exciting and she got lots of claps and hugs. She was so excited. I wish I had gotten that first time on video.

She's been spelling it all day today and I'm still expected to clap and say yay each time. I love watching her learn!

More Clara Quotes

- As we were pulling into Sonic:

Me: "What kind of ice cream do you want?"
Clara: "Jelly"
Me: "Jelly? I don't think they have jelly ice cream."
Clara: "You just push the button and say 'Do you have jelly ice cream?' And then she will say 'Yes, we do.'"

(She actually used a voice to imitate me and a different one for the Sonic girl)


- After waking from her nap and coming into the office where I was at the computer in my bra and panties (cut me some slack; I just woke up too):

Clara: "Why are you wearing your naked?"
Me: "I'm not naked. I'm wearing underwear."
Clara: "Go put some clothes on. I don't want to see your naked."


- She was singing "Part of Your World" the other day. This is the song from The Little Mermaid where Ariel laments the fact that she's a mermaid and can't go on land and do cool things like run and dance. It's not an easy song to sing, and I was only able to pick out a few words at first. Then she decided to just make up her own words. I only remember one line. It went "I want to go up there to get my stuff." (I guess you had to be there. Doesn't seem so funny now.)


- While on the potty doing her business:

Clara: (passes a little gas, the kind that's only air and no noise. Sorry, but it's an important detail.)
Me: "Did you toot?"
Clara: "No, I snarkled."
Me: "Where did you hear that?"
Clara: "From my bottom."

Hmmm, not exactly what I meant.

Twenty Four Weeks

Baby is weighing in right at a pound now and is about a foot long. I am 114 pounds this week. I lost 2-3 pounds when I got sick and have just now gained them back. For those wondering what the white thing is around my waist, it's a belly band. It's a stretchy piece of fabric you can put over your normal pants to cover up the fact that they're unbuttoned and unzipped. Works great!

I was sick with a cold right before the 23 week mark. It took a much longer time than normal to completely recover and regain my energy, so I've just now gotten back into the swing of things in the last few days. That's a good thing because my house looked like a tornado hit it. I hadn't done a thing in over a week.

My Braxton Hicks contractions have really picked up a lot in the last couple of weeks. I started to worry just a bit because I seemed to be having so many. When I actually started keeping track of them, it turns out I was only having them 5 or 6 times a day.

I'm feeling better than I have since the morning sickness started. I don't have a ton of energy, but it's enough to get some stuff done. I brought a step stool into the kitchen so I could sit while washing dishes because I'm not able to stand still for more than a few minutes without needing a rest. It's hard to sit and vacuum though. Still trying to figure that one out.

Clara's current name suggestions for the baby are Osa or Josa for a girl. No boy names though because it's not going to be a boy.

And I guess that's it for this week. Here's a picture of Clara and I after church today. I had to take advantage of the color coordination thing we had going on and get a picture.