The Checklist

Since I am sitting here, literally just waiting for real labor to begin, I've been going over in my head the mental "are we ready?" checklist:

• Ryan's room (or space or mini-nursery!) - check
  
• Diapers/wipes/creams/lotions....gas drops! - check (well, until we need to buy more!)
  
• All clothes washed and put away - check
  
• My bag packed - check (though the contents of which seem to change daily - it would help if I knew for sure it was going to be mild or cold!)
  
• Ryan's clothes packed (in with Momma's stuff) - check
  
• Car seat installed - check
  
• All baby gear ready - carrier, swing, bouncy, stroller - check
  
• Post-delivery feminine unmentionables on hand - check (thanks, baby shower mommas, for reminding me of this fun stuff!)
  
• Full freezer of food - check (and yet, I feel I need to buy more...)
  
• Baby bottles washed and put away - check
  
• Directions to hospital sent out to grandparents - check
  
• List of go-to's for Sean - check
  

Am I missing anything?  

I guess I can go clean the breast pump supplies - they have been in storage awhile.  Hmmm, maybe I need to go buy some storage bags?  

I wish I knew just how big he was - I have this feeling I need to buy more Newborn size diapers, I have lots of size 1s.  

Anyway, I have my 38 week appointment at 1pm today.  We'll see if those contractions I've been having this week have amounted to anything!  Of course, I love every opportunity to hear Ryan's heart beating, and he always moves around like a Mexican jumping bean when they strap the monitors on me.  And Sean is such an amazing kid, sitting there, playing or reading or talking to me through monitoring.  I realize this is something not every toddler would do for his Momma!  Please pray for me, however, that the Crabass that was my son yesterday got good sleep last night!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

A belated birthday wish to my Mom - who's birthday we celebrated yesterday!  We had a wonderful dinner and an overall good time hanging out at the house.  And keeping with how the year has gone, apparently, did not take one photo of my mom.  I have NONE from the past year.  Will have to remedy that soon!

So Happy Birthday, Mom!  We Love You!

Even Second Babies Need Showers!

I love my Playgroup for many reasons, least of which are the awesome, amazing, always-there-when-you-need-them friends that I have made!  One thing my group does is throw baby showers for the preggo moms - we do 2-3 per year, depending on how the babies fall.  This week, we had one for us winter moms - and I had such a great time, and loved getting a few things special just for my Second Little Man!

  

I really hate this pic of me, but it's the only one so far with my new haircut.  

Believe it or not, I'm not an albino and I am wearing makeup.

Two of my absolute favorites - Kari and Susie - both of whom had little girls the week of 4th of July!  

Cyndi & Belinda - two of the funniest women...Ever!

I don't have photos of the rest of the ladies, even our hostess, Michelle!

Ryan's new clothes!

(Poor kid has almost all hand-me-downs!)

All the awesome hand me downs from Jennifer and Susie.  I LOVE the brown wiener dog outfit with matching socks!  :-)

All the important necessities!  Yay, we finally have a new tube 'o Butt Paste!  (Best diaper rash stuff around!)

Better Get Those Guesses In!

I had my 37 week appointment this afternoon - along with my third NST (non stress test).  I knew that I've been having some pretty darn good contractions this past week, I was just hoping that they were fruitful!  And they were!

The NST went really well, again, and even I could see that I was having really good, regular contractions.  So then I went across the hall for the fluid measure, and since I had Julie, the Nurse Practitioner, I did get to see my little guy.  Ultrasounds at 37 weeks aren't actually that cool - he looks like a big blob, smushed up against the glass!  Ha!  So the photos she printed out aren't even worth scanning, as I can barely make out the features and I was there!  I do have some exercising to do - Ryan has flipped back to being face up, which means back labor like I had with Sean.  Since I still have some time, I'm going to concentrate on getting him to roll over for me!  

But the good news came from the exam.  I am now between 2-3 cm dilated, and 80% effaced.  Woo-Hoo!  Not that he couldn't decide to chill a bit longer and hang out until the due date, but just another sign that I'm moving toward an earlier, rather than later, delivery.  Let's hope I don't have to eat those words, right?

Online Baby Pool

The post from the other day got me thinking that we should actually log the guesses for Ryan's arrival - so I searched out an online baby pool, and found a free, basic one - 

ExpectNet online baby pool!

Check out the page, and on the top left corner, there's a box for Invited Guests.  

Type in RyanConley (no spaces!) for the Game Name.

That will take you to Amy & Trey's Baby Game Page.

Up towards the right is a button to Enter A Guess.

You can guess the date, time, size and weight of Baby Ryan.

The site will automatically score everyone's answer and determine the winner.  I guess I should take my guess off, as his Momma?

Of course, what do you win?  

Ryan's eternal love and admiration. 

This is all in fun!  Enjoy!

Week 36 & 37 - Signs this kid is coming

I am due in 20 days.  TWENTY.  Craziness... 

And as much as I wish I knew exactly when this cute little bugger was going to make his Earth debut, I know that I have to be prepared that he may very well take his time, and come mid-December!  Because I won't be induced unless one of us is in danger, and I trust that Baby Ryan knows exactly when to arrive.  But I have to admit...all the signs are pointing to an earlier arrival!

I've Dropped

Right after I took the last belly shot - my mom noticed it early in week 35, someone at MOPS, my stepdad and even I noticed it later in the week.  The Doc said that text book babies arrive 2-3 weeks after dropping - which would put us sometime next week.  Of course, we also agreed that babies don't read text books!

Week 37 - when did I get huge?

Week 37 Naked Belly

Not sure if this shot shows the drop as well as the naked eye.

But I'm not getting naked for the camera in order to fully illustrate!

And, yes, that is my new 'do, but it is fresh out of the shower, not styled in these two photos.  I have a baby shower this evening - a group event that my playgroup does a few times a year - so I'll try to get some photos from there, with it non-air-dried!

I'm having Contractions and am Dilating

I've been having noticeable contractions for about two weeks - nothing regular, though.  And then last Thursday, I endured another non-stress test (hey, Ryan's perfect for another week!), and one of the most horrible exams I've ever had!  If you're squeamish, you may want to skip this, but I started out telling the Doc that I felt like Ryan was going to fall out, he was so low.  So she goes..up there..and says "Wow, that head is right there!"  And then she proceeds to go digging, up high, and then I felt a sensation that literally made me "OW!!" out loud!  She said "Sorry!"  What in God's name are you doing up there lady!  When she's done, she says, "Well, I could get one but not quite two fingers in, so I'm going to call it 1 cm dilated.  And it's nice and soft, but pretty high.  And sorry, but I had to go up, around the head, to find your cervix, and then pull it down to measure."  

WTF?  

All I know is it hurt like hell, and I'm hoping that things shift a bit this week, so I don't have to endure another pulling of my cervix!

Oh, and I'm up to 28 pounds gained as of this morning.  Where did this weight come from?  Oh wait, it's probably those bags of chocolate I ate that are now hanging off my ass and thighs!

My Psychic Dog

In the two weeks before Sean was born, Sophie suddenly started having accidents in the house.  She effectively ruined our carpet in those few days - and of course, it wasn't until Sean arrived that we figured out that she's apparently psychic and was peeing in protest of the impending baby.

So last Monday, I woke up to the first accident in the house in quite awhile.  And she's had two more since, including a little piddle just this morning.  If Ryan arrives next week, she'll be two for two in the prediction of baby arrivals.  We could make a fortune renting her out - when Sophie starts pissing on your carpet, you've got about two weeks!

We Are Ready!

I will never forget that my mom and I put the last book on the bookshelf in Sean's room at 10pm on Tuesday, and I was in labor Wednesday morning.  There's some crazy connection between being ready for baby and baby arriving!  So, while we are not ready in the way I had originally planned (this would be one the Big Issues!), I have set up this mini-nursery in our bedroom.

Ryan's bassinet, with blankets, bibs & cloth diapers underneath.

Small trash can for dirty dipes.

Small end table stocked with basic supplies, including dipes and wipes on top.

And our chaise lounge with boppy - where I assume I'll be spending quite a bit of time!

And THANK YOU so much, Grandma, for the trash can and table - thanks to you, our set up is complete!

Here are all of Ryan's clothes, shoes, hats, etc, packed nicely in the bottom drawer of our ginormous dresser.  Everything that was stored in here....currently residing under our bed!

A funny story about being ready!  I vaguely remember nesting with Sean, and remember at the time thinking that it wasn't much of anything.  This time, with Ryan - I've been crazy.  For weeks!  Last Thursday morning, I was up at 4:30 am, emailing directions to the hospital to the grandparents and aunts, and then ordering newborn diapers from Diapers.com!  On Friday, my stepdad was outside when the diapers were delivered.  I clapped when he brought them in and said out loud "Yay, Ryan can come home now!"  And Sean clapped, too.  Very sweet.  While I was opening up the box, though, Sean shouted "Ryan's home!"  Apparently, the stork now looks a lot like the UPS guy, and babies are delivered in a box!

And a last note ... now that we have newborn diapers back in the house, I'm struck with how huge my 2 1/2 year old is going to look when I bring Ryan home.  And I took this photo to compare - Sean's Size 4 Huggies and Ryan's Newborn Pampers.  OMG!

So, do we need to set up a poll?  Ryan's actual due date is Monday, December 8th.

My mom has chosen this Saturday, November 22nd (her birthday!).

I decided when I found out that November 29th was a good date.

My dad put in an order yesterday for December 1st.

Guesses, anyone?

Magic House....has lost some Magic

This past weekend, there was SO much to do, but Trey and I opted for a big family weekend.  We're kinda paying for it now, as we have tons of Pampered Chef, Photocard, Basement Remodeling, Organizing stuff to do that got no attention whatsoever!  But...it was worth it.

Well, let's think about that for a bit.  Saturday's big thing was The Magic House.  Some survey somewhere actually ranked The Magic House the number one children's attraction...over Walt Disney World!...in the country.  I still find that hard to believe, but hey, there's a survey for everyone, I guess.  And we've all been there a few times - and there's a little of everything to do.  There's math games, a play town, a baby area, tunnels/slides, a water works area, lots of science stuff - like magnets, colors, flashing light rooms, how sound travels, air - and of course, the big magnetic ball that makes your hair stand on end.  Really, everyone should take their kid there once.  

I guess the big question is whether, as a parent, you ever really want to go back again.  Isabella has been asking to go to The Magic House for months, and we promised her that one crappy Saturday, we'd do that.  Well, Saturday was definitely crappy outside, and Isabella can seem to remember those fine details (but not brush her teeth, make her bed, take a shower, put away her toys...).

So while Trey was online trying to convince her that she really wanted to go to the City Museum, I got Sean and I ready for our trip to The Magic House.  We realized quickly that we were not the only ones who had promised to take their kids out when it was cold and crappy outside, as the place was packed.  They also raised their prices ($7.50 for everyone over the age of ONE!  Really?!)  Luckily, we had two buy one/get one coupons, so we went in separate.  I was yet another unmarried, pregnant single mom (the wedding ring came off Friday, I got paranoid I would swell eventually!)

I would say it was....45 minutes....maybe an hour.  Trey and I were looking for the guns.  To shoot ourselves with.  And possibly some children, too.  I kept telling him..."But we're here for the kids!"  And then it was my mantra...."we're here for the kids, Amy, we're here for the kids!"  Oye.  Just packed, kids everywhere, parents hiding in corners.  Sean wanting to do this over here, Isabella this over there.  We were there about two hours and a half hours, and that was about two hours too long.  Well, for Trey and I.  

Trey & Sean "reading" a story on the computer in the library...

....while Isabella was manning the pizza counter across the way.

Sean writing his first of many checks...notice the lefty...

Isabella's other career option, after pizza manager - bank manager!

Isabella during a driving simulation - she'll be lucky if she's ready by 16 after witnessing this!

The first picture of my new haircut - isn't it cute?

Isabella Magnetized!

Sunday, we left early for Hannibal, and spent a few hours visiting with Poppa Latta & Nana Roxy, whom I haven't seen since Labor Day.  We then stopped by Grammy's house and visited with her for a bit.  Unfortunately - no photos.  Anyway, I made it 45 minutes in the van before I had to get out and stretch - not bad!  And I figured the chances of us (well, me and Baby Boy) making it up to Hannibal before the end of year are slim to none.  I'm now full term (!!), so no more traveling past an hour for me!  Sean came early and fast, so I see no need to be far from the hospital now.  And only a crystal ball will tell me when Ryan actually is coming and what kind of sleeper he'll be - so I'm making no travel plans for December, either.  Guess I better get used to the inside of my house....I won't be seeing much else in the next few months!