Chats with Jack ⎮ February-March, 2015

One of Jack's favorite games is riding his tricycle around to deliver mail to us. He says, "Special delivery! Here are your letters." And then hands us magnets in the shape of alphabet letters. Pretty sure he doesn't get that he is making a pun, but we think it is funny.

Me: Eat fast, we have to get ready for church.

Jack: But that will make my tummy hurt.

Take my picture, Mommy!

What do you want [to order]? I'm the order guy [server].

Do tents have bathrooms?

Please may I have this sword? I'm going to cut you!

I love sharing chips!

Can we watch the monster [truck] video?

I can drive monster trucks myself.

When I grow up a little, I can be a monster truck driver guy.

Why did you call me honey? I'm Jack!

Hand me the remote please! I'm the remote control guy.

I love you much more.

Is always sure to tell me when he is doing something "pretend."

Had an interesting discussion about boy and girl body parts. #imnotready

Drop the "angry" down. [anchor when pretending to be a pirate]

Let's change the babberies. [batteries]

J: We're having two babies.

Me: No honey, we're only having one.

J: But we're having two - one is a doll baby and one is a real baby. One is a girl and one is a boy.

Me: That is true. You can't argue with this type of logic!

The red octagon means stop and look both ways for cars, and then it is safe to cross.

I can help, because I am really strong. [shows me his arm muscles]

Look Mommy, the spoon sticks to the train!

Baby Update: 36 Weeks, Stil Cooking

In a strange coincidence, when I was pregnant with Jack my OB had foot surgery that required her to take 2 weeks of leave right at the end of my pregnancy. This time around (3.5 years later), she is on a 3 week leave for hip surgery. I am praying that Baby#2 stays put until she is back at the end of the month.

Baby #2, 36 Weeks

 
So far it seems likely that Baby#2 is going to sit tight for awhile longer as he/she still has not dropped and my cervix is closed tight. As of today, this baby is measuring 6 pounds 11 oz (same as what Jack was when he was born) and has a large head. With 4 weeks to go, I am a little anxious about how big this baby might get (measurements are give or take half a pound).

Comparison: 36 Weeks Pregnant with Jack

Some good news is that my amniotic fluid levels have dropped back to 23.5cm. That makes me happy. Last week was 27cm and I felt terrible.

While I was at the OB, they decided to monitor the baby's heart since I have had an uptick in Braxton Hicks again. Basically they are staying pretty steady throughout the day, but as I mentioned before, they aren't causing things to happen. I get them a lot when I am driving, especially if there is any elevation change. This is problematic since I live on a mountain and Chattanooga is hilly. Needless to say, I have lots of these contractions driving around town.

I have been counting on the fact that we already had baby boy clothes (50% chance that this baby is a boy), but this week I realized that we are missing everything in the 0-6 month size range. I'm not sure if we lost a box in our move or if I gave this stuff away. To be somewhat prepared, I ran by a local consignment sale this week and picked up a handful of gender-neutral onesies and sleepers. This baby has enough clothes for at least a couple of days, then we will need to do some shopping... regardless of gender!

I must be finally nesting. I am almost done crocheting a baby blanket for little one (it's gray and light blue) and I also took advantage of Daniel being home last week and had him help me clean all of the floors. Also, the crib is almost put together. 

I am not one to love being pregnant. I feel best when I am active – whether doing something outside like hiking or getting my hour workout in at the Y. Thankfully no one (doctors or workout instructors) have banned me from the Y.

One of the things I have learned since becoming a parent and being pregnant is that it really does take a village. I am so grateful for the friends and family that have offered to watch Jack. 

It is a relief to know I have people that can help me out in a pinch and many more that will come when Baby#2 gets here.

Another week down. The days feel long but the weeks are flying by.

Jack and Daniel's First Project Car

On Saturday night we headed over to Daniel's dad's house for supper. When we got there, Jack's Grandpa and Grandma had a surprise for him – a new-to-him Powerwheels car that the other grandkids had outgrown. Unfortunately the battery was dead.

This did not deter Jack from insisting that it could get charged, and when that didn't work, that his daddy could fix the "babbery."

 

So after dinner, we took the Powerwheels home. We had recently put the second carseat base in the Subaru, so the Powerwheels had to go in the roof basket – it was just the right size.

Sunday morning Jack woke up and had not forgotten about the car. He insisted they fix it as soon as we were all up.

To start, Jack and Daniel used a voltage meter to assess whether the battery was really dead before removing it from the vehicle. Daniel also spent time dreaming up ways he could make the car more powerful and faster. I believe he even mentioned the idea of adding better tires and even a winch to it.

Jack would be happy just to have a car that goes. Maybe in a year or two he will be more interested in improving the car.

Once the car was working again, Jack (and probably Daniel) were excited to find out that the car had two gears – fast and slow – as well as reverse. 

Jack has enjoyed driving it up and down our steep driveway and to the park across the street. The car has seats for two, so this is something that baby 2 will be able to enjoy as well.

Hiking While Pregnant: Green Gorge Trail

When I was pregnant with Jack, we hiked quite a bit: Walls of Jericho, Mount Tom,  Mount Washington, DeSoto State Park and Cloudland Canyon. 

Hiking during this pregnancy has been a bit more of a challenge due to winter weather, all of us being sick at various times and Daniel's crazy work schedule (he's been working 12-15 hour shifts with no days off).

Earlier this year we did a quick hike to Rainbow Lake and yesterday we embraced the sunshine and took Jack to Green Gorge Park behind our house. 

The last time we visited Green Gorge was a year ago and I was actually in the early stages of pregnancy before I miscarried. It's been a long year.

Anyways, it was a blessing to have Daniel home all weekend and the sunshine was calling our names, so we did a short 1-mile walk in the woods with Jack. 

I am so proud of our little guy, he walked until we were almost done.

He had a blast balancing on rocks at various cross water crossings, blazing his own trail, being the leader and stomping int he mud.

Every time we stopped, he wanted to know if we were going to have a picnic. Next time we will have to remember to bring snacks.

His favorite thing was crossing the swing bridge. Which translated to us crossing the "wobbly bridge" multiple times.

I am so thankful that he enjoys the activities that we enjoy and we look forward to more hikes after baby #2 gets here.

Baby Update: 35 Weeks

The best thing to report for this week is that there isn't a lot of news. Meaning I'm not going into labor any time soon (we hope). My amniotic fluid levels are back down to 25cm (last week it was 27cm and anything 25+ is considered high risk), my blood pressure is good and everything is basically as it should be. I'm still uncomfortable, but I'm 8 months pregnant so that is to be expected.

I made a little headway this week and purchased outfits for the baby to come home from the hospital in. Jack was ecstatic that these onesies have capes. As I posted to Instagram and Facebook, "we still don't have names picked out, but our little one will have a super outfit to go home in."

I think the two outfits have confused Jack a little... he now thinks we are getting two babies.

One of the biggest differences between this pregnancy and when I was pregnant with Jack is that Daniel is working really long hours right now (he just came off of 13 consecutive work days). It would be nice to have more time to spend together as a little family of 3 before we grow to a family of 4, but we are doing our best to savor the time we do have together. 

I am still working out 4x a week and wearing my regular jeans. I'm guessing the baby hasn't dropped yet since I can still zip my pants up.

Baby #2, 35 Weeks

Comparison: 35 Weeks Pregnant with Jack

Baby Update: 34 Weeks, Fair Game

Amniotic Fluid
Yesterday I met with my high-risk OB again and learned that my fluid levels have gone back up to 27cm (which is what it was when I was admitted to the hospital for contractions a month ago). This wasn't news to me as I have been feeling more uncomfortable this last week. The good news is that at this point I am far enough along that the baby would be ok coming – everything is fair game. Though my high-risk OB did say that ideally I need to get to 35 weeks to avoid a stay in the NICU for the baby, but she thinks I should make it no problem.

Baby Size
Also according to yesterday's measurements, the baby is currently 6#5oz and has a huge head – Jack was 6#12oz at birth with a big head, so the head size is not a surprise. Unfortunately baby would not cooperate and show us a face – I guess the weekly ultrasounds are getting old. It continues to amaze me that the lips and nose of this baby look very similar to Jack. I can't wait to compare them in real life.

Risks
The high-risk OB and I discussed my risks from her perspective. She agrees with my regular OB that cord prolapse isn't necessarily going to be a problem for me, though she wouldn't rule it out. We also talked about the risk of Placental Abruption. The high-risk OB says she is definitely more cautious and just wanted to make sure I know the risks. There is no way to prevent this from happening, we just have to wait and see. I am doing my best not to worry and praying for a good outcome.

Exercise
According to this website, exercise and a balanced diet can help prevent Placental Abruption, which is a good enough reason to me to keep exercising. My regular OB just says "not to run a marathon" and to "listen to my body." My high-risk OB asked if I was still doing Boot Camp. When I said that I was, she told me she would pretend she didn't know. 

One of the girls I work out with (who is also pregnant) asked if I thought I was more in shape this time around. It is hard to know because I am doing different things. With Jack I ran a half marathon at 12 weeks, but then stopped running. I also did yoga and kickboxing until the day Jack came. This time I lift weights and do yoga once a week and boot camp twice a week. I think I am physically stronger and more toned this time, but may have had more endurance last time. It will be interesting to see how that plays out with the delivery of Baby #2.

Baby Names
We still haven't really talked about baby names. Daniel asked Jack what he thought we should name the baby if it was a boy. Jack said, "Ponga." I later asked what we should name the baby if it is a girl and Jack said, "Pineapple Daniel."  Meanwhile Daniel recently asked me what I thought about "Jim" (I said no) and I asked what he thought about "River" (he said no)... we have our work cut out for us with this naming business.

Readiness
Are we ready for baby to show up? Not really. We moved the crib to the right room, but it is still in pieces on the floor and the nursery art from when Jack was a newborn is on the bed. We know where the carseat is, but haven't made the effort to put the bases for it in our cars. I still haven't packed a hospital bag. This is all stuff we should probably get started on.

Gender
The other day when I was checking out at Walmart, my (young) cashier asked what I was having. I told her I didn't know. She couldn't get over this idea. She kept asking if I had bought anything for the baby. I told her I had stuff from when Jack was born. And she asked what I would do if it was a girl, and I said I would just have to go shopping. She didn't think these were valid ideas. Honestly though, I'm not worried. If we have a girl, she will have clothes and milk and blankets and a warm home and a loving family. It won't matter if the clothes aren't "girl clothes" in the beginning.

Baby #2, 34 Weeks

Comparison: Pregnant with Jack, 34 Weeks