Funny Things My Kid Says

It's been a long time since I posted a "funny things my kids says." This one, of course, is about Brenden and his pottying. (What else could it be?) :)

Brenden, after getting out of bed for his one trip to the potty that we allow after he's laid down for the night, checks out the contents of the toilet. He had told Tim that he needed to poop, but we know better than to believe him. He'll say anything to get out of bed.

Brenden: "Awww...it's only a little poop. Daddy, I wanna make a BIG poop."

Tim: Dies laughing.

Ever since then he's been all about the "big poops." He obsessed with everything being "big" or "little". He'll tell me all the time that he's a big boy and I'm a big girl.

We definitely love our big boy Brenden and appreciate the hilarious things that he says.

Congratulations Ryan and Abby!

Ryan was Tim's "girlfriend" at AOBC (Armor Officer Basic Course), which is the school he was at in Tennessee the summer after he graduated from college. They had a lot of fun together, too much fun at times. (Oh the pictures I will never show anyone of my husband and a certain military hat.) It was so crazy to learn that Ryan and his wife were due with their first baby only days after Lauren was due. I have been checking on facebook to see if they had finally welcomed their son. Yesterday he finally decided to show up!

Kade Cole Debonis was born on April 28th, 2010, at 2:14 pm. He weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21.5 inches long. Good job, Abby!

HUGE congrats to Ryan and Abby! I'm sure he's adorable and we can't wait to see pictures! Hope you're getting some rest! :)

Memories From the Hospital

I have a few memories from the hospital that I'm not sure I could make into a coherent post so I'm going to just bullet point them instead so I can remember them. :)

• Tim finally had a chance to take a shower the morning after Lauren was born, but when he stepped out he realized he had zero towels. He stuck his head out the door and asked me to go get some from a nurse. Right as I was trying to stand up my doctor walked in and asked how I was doing. I didn't say "fine" or "okay". I said, "Towels. We have no towels." He stopped, laughed, then turned around and went and got us some towels. When he walked back in I apologized for just blurting out a random word at him. "I don't think my husband wants to be standing in there, naked, while I chat with you," I explained. He laughed again and then handed Tim the towels through a crack in the door and said, "We don't need you streaking through the halls." It was hilarious. Seriously, I have a great doctor. So funny.
• The 2nd day we were at the hospital they came to take Lauren to the nursery to check out her vitals. They usually did this 2 or 3 times a day and would bring her back in about an hour. (Once, during the middle of the night, they asked if we wanted her back. At first we were confused. Um...of course we want our kid back! What she was offering was some time to rest. They had so many babies in the nursery that they really couldn't give them any attention so we wouldn't have done that.) After about 3o minutes we heard the fire alarm go off. "This is a fire drill," the speakers kept repeating. We didn't think anything of it. Then, the announcement changed to, "This is a code ADAM drill." Again, we didn't think much of it. It was just a drill. Suddenly, a nurse ran into our room, looked at us, and ran back out without saying a word. We turned to each other and Tim said, "I think I'll go check on Lauren." About 5 minutes later he came back and informed me she was just fine but that he had suffered a small heart attack when he couldn't immediately pick her out. We had sent her down there with a big, poofy pink blanket and he didn't see any babies with pink blankets. It turns out she got sick on it so they changed her to a hospital one. After staring at all the babies he heard someone say "Wow that baby has a lot of hair!" He turned and said, "I think that one's mine." When the nurse finally brought her back we asked what was going on. It turns out it was a drill where they set off one of the Halo leg bands (ours went off several times because Lauren's legs are so skinny and it slipped) and when they went to check on the baby the mom said she had been taking a shower and the baby was gone. (She was in on it.) They had to run around like crazy trying to find the baby and unfortunately they failed. The lady with the Halo band (they had moved the baby to the nursery so they weren't running around with a real baby) made it all the way to the parking lot. SCARY.
• When Brenden was first born he made these adorable little bird noises when he was hungry. Those changed to wails not long after that, but Tim and I still remember how cute they were at the beginning. Our little girl? Not so much. From the first moment she was placed on my chest and I noticed she was hungry she did not make cute little noises. She makes these hacking sounds, like an angry cat, every time she doesn't get what she wants. And if you wait too long...look out! She can get loud already. And she can turn so very red. When she is finally offered a bottle or a pacifier she growls and shakes her head like a dog grabbing a bone. She's...um...not so dainty. :)
• The best night we had in the hospital, other than the first night when Lauren slept 5 hours straight (Thanks, kiddo!), was the last night. Tim, Lauren and I snuggled up in bed and watched Gladiator. I'm sure Tim was relieved to be off of the pull out chair that he had been stuck on since we went in on Wednesday night. We're not going to have very many of those nights with just her so it was a great time. We did miss our Brenden, though!

The Sweetest Thing

I had been dreaming of the moment that Brenden would meet Lauren for months. Part of me was just plain excited, while the rest of me was crazy nervous that he would instantly dislike her. The entire time I was pregnant we did everything we could to prepare him and he seemed to be ready to meet her. Every time we saw a baby he begged to hold him or her. He would tell random people that there was a baby in my belly and always knew to tell them her name. He started telling her to "Come out!" during the final few weeks. Of course, there is a huge difference between hearing about a baby you can't see and having it invade your personal space.

Susan brought him up to meet her when she was only a few hours old. He had to sit around in the waiting room with his grandparents while I was moved to my regular room. (A room that was ridiculously smaller than everyone else's rooms...but that's enough complaining about that from me, right?) I actually saw him laying on the ground watching tv when they wheeled me past. I was so ready to see my little boy!

When he finally walked in I got really nervous. I was so tired from being awake most of the night and going through a traumatic 20 minutes while getting Lauren here. At first he seemed very ready to walk right up and see her, but then he stopped. All I could think of was, "Oh no! he doesn't like her already and he hasn't even really met her!" He walked back to his grandma, grabbed a stuffed toy he had picked out in the gift shop, and handed it to her. He wanted to make sure she got his gift! I started crying. It was so sweet!

He wanted to crawl up into the bed with me and see her after that. He was a little hesitant with everyone watching, but he was still very sweet and very gentle. Eventually he asked to hold her so we both held her together. He had to check out her fingers and her toes, her belly and her hair. For awhile he watched everything we did with her, telling us who could hold her and hovering while Susan re-swaddled her.

Checking her out. The Lamb Chop is his gift to her. :)

Toes!

Keeping a watch over "his" baby.

Since we've been home he's still been sweet but we can tell that he's not really all that into her anymore. He had a few days where he was a completely, whiny mess but I'm not sure if that had anything to do with Lauren beshowing up or with being with his grandparents for a few days and then coming home and having to abide by our rules again. (We all know the grandparents spoil him...it's a given.) :) Thankfully that seems to be past us now, at least for awhile. Tim and I were getting really tired of it, although we were glad that if he was going to act out it was only screaming and crying and not being violent towards his sister. He's still very gentle around her, always trying to give her a pacifier or a bottle if he sees one, he just doesn't go up to her on his own to say hello. I'm curious to see how he'll be when we don't have any grandparents around to dote on him, too. (He's been staying with Karen and Rick at their hotel. Talk about spoiled!) :)

Our babies snuggling before bed. :)

Sharing his new toy. We were so proud!

I think he'll be much happier when she actually does something. The first 6 weeks or so infants are such lumps. Adorable lumps, but still, they don't do much. When she starts laughing and cooing and rolling over and crawling I think he'll be thrilled. We're going to have a hard time keeping him off of her and being gentle. Plus then she'll be into his toys and things. Not sure how that will go.

Right now I'm just enjoying my cuddly little girl and my happy big boy. If this is our honeymoon time I'm going to relish it for as long as I can. Soon enough we'll have new teeth and preschool and all sorts of things to throw us off our game.

And Now We're Four!

To say Lauren's birth was a completely different experience from Brenden's would be the biggest understatement of my life. Tim and I have laughed about just how crazy it is to look back and to know that each of our children have their own, very unique stories of how they came into this world.

Last pregnant picture!

Wednesday night I made sure the house was as clean as possible, watched Brenden and Tim eat pink banana pancakes for dinner (I had one bite...thank you, Brenden!) and left Brenden to drive Susan and Craig crazy while we went to Southcrest to have our little girl. It was so relaxed, so laid back, that Tim and I kept randomly saying, "This is so...strange. And calm." We made it to Labor and Delivery about 7:05 pm. They told us not to be early! They led me to our room and I thought for sure they were giving us a room that was already in use. Nope! They just had everything set up for me, even water. Great service!

I got dressed in one of those oh-so-attractive hospital gowns, settled into the bed, and waited for something to happen. It's very strange to just wait to be in labor, to know the pain is coming and not be able to speed anything along. I went through my history with the nurse, who was super sweet, and by 9 pm I had my i.v. going. She finally checked to see if I had progressed at all while I held my breath and waited for good news. I was still 2 cm but I was 70% effaced and -2, which means Lauren had started dropping into my pelvis. That was significant because it meant I was able to start pitocin right away to start contractions. If I hadn't progressed I would have spent the night on different medication to ripen my cervix. (No, I have no idea what medicine that is or exactly what it does. That's just what the nurse said.) I was happy that we were getting the show on the road! "Give me the epidural and I'll get her here ASAP! (Oh how that statement would come back to haunt me.)

By 1:15 am I realized that I was never going to get any sleep. I was having contractions clumped 4 together every 2 1/2 minutes that would stop for a bit. The nurse explained that the anesthesiologist was coming up to give another patient her epidural before he went home and that if I would like one, now would be the time to get one. Put to me that way I was completely in agreement! By 1:45 am I had survived the placement of the epidural. That was a scary experience. Last time I was in a ton of pain when they were placing it so I didn't have time to think about what he was doing. This time it felt like he was trying to thread a water hose down my spine. Tim got lucky...they don't let dads stay in there while they are putting it in. They've had too many people faint and found it was easier to just have them leave.

After that I had planned on sleeping. Unfortunately, getting the epidural really freaked me out so I could not calm myself enough to relax. I spent some time updating facebook and reading. I'm so glad that I put some things online so I can remember how all of this went! Plus I was bored out of my mind and couldn't feel anything. By 3 am I dozed off but not an hour later I woke up itching like crazy, which is a common side effect of that type of pain medication. Tim went out and got the nurse for me and she brought some Benedryl. Ahhh...finally some rest. (Although drug induced rest is not really my favorite type of rest.) I dozed on and off until 5:30 am which is when my doctor happened to wander in and tell me he was going to break my water. I was so happy! I wanted to get this show on the road!

I slept on and off again until 8:30 am which is when the nurse came in to check me. She announced I was "easily 4 to 5 cm" (I'm not sure why "easily" was necessary but...it was.) and 90% effaced. I think I asked her what station she was in my pelvis but she didn't really say. She did have me turn on my right side to see if we could convince Lauren to start moving down. (I'm still not sure if I should thank her for this or go back and throttle her.)

Tim wandered out to tell the parents how everything was going and I, of course, updated facebook and checked in with Susan and Brenden. At 8:41 am (yes, I double checked the time stamp on the text.) I told Susan that my contractions were starting to really hurt and that I was going to send Tim out to get the nurse to get something better going in my i.v. if I could. He walked in right after that and I told him to get the nurse RIGHT NOW. By the time he walked back in, not 30 seconds later, I was yelling "SHE'S COMING OUT!" The nurse checked me, told someone else to page my doctor, and told me that if he didn't show up she would deliver me, but that she didn't want to. I begged for more medicine and she told me there was nothing they could give me. If I could have grabbed her and shook her I would have. (Not my finest moment.) Instead I grabbed the bed rail and yelled my head off while Tim rubbed my head and kept repeating, "Breathe!" I think I only listened half the time. That hurt!

All I really remember about those next few minutes was continuing to say, "SHE'S COMING OUT. SHE'S COMING OUT RIGHT NOW." Tim still laughs about that because he had no idea why I kept repeating it. What he didn't understand was that while I was gripping the side of the bed with my eyes closed and I couldn't see that there were at least 8 people running around getting things ready. They got the room completely ready to have a baby in less than 2 minutes. I do remember hearing that my doctor was 2 miles away but I really didn't care who caught the baby. She was coming no matter what anyone did, especially me. Suddenly they pulled the stirrups out, I watched my doctor throw on some scrubs, and they were telling me to push.

I went from 4-5 cm to Lauren being born in less than 20 minutes. Two pushes was all it took. I still remember one of the nurses saying "That's the one!" and then she was here at 8:50 am. Let me tell you, I have never felt that kind of pain in my life. I have never wanted to be done with anything that badly. My doctor told me that I should have 5 more kids because I give birth so well. I'm not sure what look I gave him but he laughed and said, "I'm sure if you could lift your leg right now you would kick me right in the head." I had a great doctor. :)

The moment that I finally got to hold her was one of the best moments of my life. With Brenden I was confused. So many random thoughts popped into my head. It was memorable but clouded. With Lauren I was just so HAPPY! I think this was due, in part, to the fact that she showed up so fast and painfully. It was such a relief for her to be out!

Hi baby girl!

Proud daddy!

After about 30 minutes Tim ran out to tell the grandparents that she was here. They were shocked! Not an hour before they were talking about how she would probably get here that afternoon. Mike had actually left the hospital to go get a new pair of reading glasses. When Connie called him to tell him that she had been born his response was, "Are you sure it's the right Kelly?" :)

Amazing. Painful. Exhilarating. Exhausting. Shocking. All words that come to mind when I think about that day. Part of me wishes that I had requested some stronger pain medication. The other part of me wouldn't change a thing. It's her special story...and I'll always be able to bug her about how she was impatient from the moment she was born. :)

Happy Birthday Tom!

Happy happy birthday, Tom!!! Hope you had a fabulous 50th birthday!

Introducing...

Two little Hands, Two little Feet
Now our family is delightfully complete

Proudly announcing
Lauren Suzanna Leigh

Born Thursday, April 15th, 2010
at 8:50 A.M.

7 pounds, 1 ounce

20 inches

Proud Parents

Tim and Amanda

and

Proud Big Brother

Brenden

Susan's Baby Shower!

(Yes...right now I am actually in the hospital, hopefully holding a baby and not completely overwhelmed. I typed this post yesterday and scheduled it to post today. I wanted to make sure I finished it before my mind was sufficiently muddled with sleep deprivation and all things Lauren.)

Last Saturday we were able to celebrate the upcoming birth of my friend Susan's little one. I met Susan during my last summer session of college. We ended up being on the same team during a mass game of Monopoly that our sociology professor was using as a tool to teach us about social classes and wealth. She was the type of person who took charge, someone you just couldn't ignore. The game was hilarious! Somehow she decided I was cool enough to sit by (not sure how I convinced her of that!) and eventually we started hanging out when we weren't in class. Since then she's been there for some pretty significant moments in my life. She was at my apartment the morning I texted Tim for the first time, and we all know how that ended up. :) She sat next to me when we graduated from OSU. She flew me out to Chicago for a super fun bachelorette weekend and was the bridesmaid that went out to get us all breakfast from Sonic the morning of my wedding.

I was 5 weeks pregnant at her wedding last August. I found out 3 days before and I had to call and tell her so she wouldn't think it was too strange when I wasn't partaking in the champagne toast. We had a very interesting conversation when I helped her with her train in the bathroom about babies and her plans. I still remember warning her that babies can happen whenever they feel like it and that they don't stick to what you expect very well. (I had told Tim that I didn't want to get pregnant the month I actually got pregnant. Can you say "jinx"?) Apparently I wasn't the only person that mentioned this to her, which should have been a warning sign. Tequila + endless amounts of leisure time = Craig and Susan's first baby!

Since they had such a great time in Mexico it was suggested that the baby shower be Mexican themed. I was asked to be a co-host but I'm not sure I really should have been listed. Susan's cousin, Melissa, did all the invites (my least favorite part) and her sister, Anne, and cousin, Shannon, took care of everything else. I guess I was mostly moral support. :) I did make a platter of Mexican roll-ups that turned out super yummy. I'm saving that recipe for later! Anne saw a great idea for making punch in the baby bath tub that turned out adorable and Shannon made sure we had note cards to predict the sex, birthday, length, and weight. (I picked BOY, May 27th, 7 lbs 12 oz, and 21 inches. I'm totally going to lose.)

What a spread!

So yummy!

The guests ranged from girls still in high school that Susan had babysat to her grandma who, bless her heart, thought 18 inches was long for a baby. (Susan is 5' 7 " and Craig is at least 6' 3" so we were all guessing that the baby would be on the longer side.) She definitely had a wonderful group of people surrounding her and she got a ton of things that she will absolutely use. One of my favorite was a pair of "tickle gloves" that went with a book. My first thought was that Brenden would love them, so I'm sure her little guy or gal will, too.

Tickle gloves!

Very happy to get the essentials. :)

It was a great day and I think, after her freak out moment on the way over where she realized that it wasn't even a year ago that she was celebrating her bachelorette party, she had a fabulous time. Congratulations, Susan!!! If anyone has the energy and stamina to keep up with an infant it's you. I can't wait to see the mothering instinct kick in and watch you become the awesome mommy I know you'll be. Love you!

Today's the day!

In less than 12 hours we will be headed to the hospital to do this induction thing...which scares me to death. We'll all be fine, but someone needs to tell that to my nerves!

Last night we finished everything that I could think of that just needed to be done. (Read: the psycho pregnant lady made her husband help her finish a bunch of meaningless chores.) Our laundry is completely caught up. The batteries for the camera are charged. Tim cleaned out the litter boxes. His bag is packed. The kitchen is clean. We moved the bassinet to the appropriate place in our room. (Which happens to be on Tim's side of the bed...not sure how I won that argument.) My plan today is to take it easy, keep everything picked up, and try to make sure that Brenden doesn't have a completely terrible day.

Speaking of Brenden, he's still excited about the baby. We've tried to explain that we're going to to the hospital to have the baby and he gets to stay at home and have a "party" with Susan. (She's promising ice cream for breakfast. He's never going to want us to come home.) I've tried to plant the idea that the baby will cry because she can't talk yet and that's how she will tell us when she needs something. We told Brenden that if the baby cries he has to smile really big so that he can help her be happy again. We even had him practice his happy smile.

When I couldn't fall asleep immediately last night I tip-toed into Brenden's room and snuggled up to him. It was slightly scary to think about that being the last night he would be spending as an only child. I thought I would just lay there for a little while and then wander back to my mountain of pillows in my own bed. Then, he started talking and laughing in his sleep. I've heard him do it over the monitor, but it was much funnier in person. I waited around to see what else he would say and before I knew it it was 4:30 am and I was waking up to go to the bathroom, as usual. I guess toddler snores were the best lullaby for me last night.

One thing I did forget to do was thank my mom for helping me out so much this past weekend. With both Tim and my doctor out of town I was completely freaked out to be on my own. She cooked, she cleaned, she ran Brenden to the bathroom, she let me sleep in. It was fabulous. She made sure Tim had a hot meal on the table when he came home from his long weekend. She took Brenden to the park and out for ice cream. She taste tested for me when I was too scared to try a new recipe that I had made for Susan's baby shower. I was so spoiled and it was wonderful and exactly what I needed. So, thank you mom! I don't know what I would have done without you.

I had an "oh my gosh is this really happening" moment last night when I finally made it back to our room. It wasn't about labor, which I would have expected. It wasn't about things that I felt I still needed to finish. I took one look at my belly and realized, for the 100th time, that there is a real person in there. Someone with their own wants and needs and personality and that somehow I am this person's MOM. Yes, I realize that I'm already someone's mom. There are days when that still surprises me. The fact that I've been entrusted to help these little people learn and grow and that, ultimately, I'm responsible for whether or not they make it through the day in one piece really knocks me up side my head occasionally. And now I'm going to have TWO little people in the world relying on me?!? I just got worried that I'm not really worthy of that kind of responsibility.

Okay...freak out moment over. I'm going to try to spend the rest of my day thinking calming thoughts and not obsessing over the fact that our floor hasn't been scrubbed and the furniture hasn't been dusted. We'll see if I succeed!

Stay tuned for Lauren updates! :)

If not today...

...then definitely tomorrow. I just keep repeating that to myself. At 7 pm tomorrow, no matter what Lauren really wants to do, she is going to start her journey into this world. However, if I have another night like last night I just may lose my mind before we get there.

I'm not sure when they started. I guess you could say I've been in "early labor" for weeks, but obviously the contractions I've had are not really doing much. (2 cm and 50% effaced seems to be what I stay at from 36 weeks until I go into "real" labor, whenever that may be.) Last night they just didn't stop. Of course, they didn't get closer together or stronger. They were just painful enough to annoy the crap out of me and keep me awake, but not strong enough to expect anything from. I even got up and took a shower at 1:45 am to see if it could help me relax.

By 4 am I was DONE. I finally woke Tim up and begged him to help me, although I have no idea what I thought he could do. All I knew was that I was tired, sick of the pain and the pressure, and about to cry. Eventually, I did just that...I bawled. What else could I do? It wasn't anyone's fault that I was so uncomfortable. I could blame Lauren, but that's not fair. She's here because we so very much wanted her to be and the pain of labor just comes with that. I could blame Tim for "putting me in this position" but um...I was there, too.

Eventually, with Tim rubbing my back, I fell asleep. I think I ended up getting about 1 1/2 hours of sleep, which is not exactly the best plan the day before you go in to the hospital to be induced. Thankfully, Brenden has been in a decent mood today so I haven't had any major battles to fight, like what to eat for breakfast or trying to go outside on his own.

Nap time just cannot come soon enough for me. Brenden may disagree.

Scheduling

My doctor's appointment today was...interesting. It started out with the fact that I never got a reminder call for my appointment. I've been getting them every week so I thought that was odd. I'm glad I called them! It turns out that the lady that set up my appointment somehow thought my name was Ellen Little. They just got a new computer system so I can understand that, to a point. What I didn't understand was the fact that Ellen Little's birthday is in 1965. Last I checked I wasn't anywhere near 45 years old. When I walked in the same lady who had mistaken me for someone else checked me in and apologized for messing up. I told her I didn't care since it all worked out in the end. I really should have asked her how old she thought I was.

I left the lovely, weekly urine specimen, did my weight check (ick), and had my blood pressure taken by the nurse. The doctor checked Lauren's heart rate, which was great, measured my stomach (I didn't ask), and then did the seriously uncomfortable cervical check. That was when the first blow came...I'm still only 1-2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. After all of the discomfort and nightly exhaustion I hadn't progressed AT ALL. I almost cried right then and there. I had tried to prepare myself to hear that but I guess I hadn't done a very good job. I didn't expect to hear I was 4 cm and completely effaced, I just thought I might have actually progressed. It's hard to feel like you're just stalled and that all that pain and frustration isn't doing a bit of good.

Then the doctor asked the nurse to take my blood pressure lying down, which I thought was strange. It's not something he normally does so I asked if it was elevated. I think he said I was 140 over 88, which is higher than normal. Laying down it was 138 over 82, which was better, but still higher than he wanted it to be. He asked if I had ever had blood pressure problems when I was pregnant with Brenden and I told him the only time it jumped up was during labor. He told me to get dressed and that he would be right back. I was just a little confused.

It only took a few minutes for him to return. "How about Monday?" he asked. My response..."To what? Have the baby?" Like he would be talking about anything else! It just wasn't something I expected him to say, I guess. He had me follow him to the nurses desk where my regular nurse was trying to finagle an appointment for me. Eventually my doctor had to get on the phone to try to work the system. Since he's going to be gone this weekend for vacation Sunday was out. Monday was a no go. Tuesday was also unavailable. "Wednesday?!?" I screeched. That's another week!

(I tried to talk him into putting me in right there. Unfortunately he had delivered 4 babies today and I think his head was already on vacation even though his body was still in his office. "Give me an epidural and 3 hours and we can have a kid in no time," I tried to explain. No go.) :(

Yep, Wednesday at 7 pm I am scheduled to be induced. I made it all the way to the car before I called Tim and broke down. I'm not sure what was so awful about it. Obviously I'm disappointed that my contractions just haven't done anything, although I should have been expecting it since that is exactly what happened with Brenden. I'm just so tired. Another part of me was angry that they couldn't get me scheduled earlier, especially since my doctor put Monday in my head. Silly doctors, making promises they can't keep.

I think the worst part for me is the fact that I'm actually being induced. How crazy is that? I'm absolutely not the first woman to be induced. I would say 80% of my friends have been induced. I think I'm just afraid of the unknown. I don't know how I'll react to the pitocin. I don't know how quickly I will be able to get my epidural. I don't know how long and painful the entire experience will be. Of course, thinking logically, I don't know how it it will be if I just happen to go into labor before next week, either. It's silly of me to obsess over things that I could never know.

I'm trying to relax and take comfort in the fact that, no matter what, next week at this time I will officially be having a baby. Also, if nothing happens before then (The check today has really made the contractions I'm having more painful. It's like my belly is one, big, never-ending cramp.) I'll know exactly when I'm going in. I'll be prepared, my house will be clean, I'll know both Tim and my doctor will be there, and Brenden is all set up to spend some time with one of his favorite people, Susan.

When we explained that next week he would get to hang out with Susan while mommy and daddy went to the doctor to have Lauren, Brenden actually cheered! "Yay! Baby Lauren is coming!" That kind of enthusiasm is infectious. I think I'll keep telling him about it just to hear him be excited. Do you hear that, Lauren? We are ALL ready to meet you!

A Boy and his Scooter

There are two boys in our cul-de-sac that Brenden plays with. Jake is 7 and Conner is 4, almost 5. Obviously they are a lot more advanced in the things they can do physically and Brenden is often left behind on the sidewalk to watch or just races around behind them, begging to ride on their assortment of toys. (Jake's big thing right now is his Green Machine and Conner has a Spiderman bike and a razor.) Jake isn't so bad about letting Brenden ride every once in awhile but Conner would rather eat broccoli than let Brenden touch his things.

Brenden has been obsessed with their razor scooters. He constantly wants Tim to push him around, which gets a little tiring for Tim and was difficult to do when Jake wanted to ride it as well. Brenden didn't understand that it wasn't "his" and that Jake had every right to ride it whenever he wanted. Oh, learning how to share is fun. It's one of the first things he's BEGGED for and cries about every day; the first of many things I'm sure. I've been searching for a scooter for him for awhile but I didn't think we would be getting one anytime soon.

Yesterday we headed to Walmart to get a few things that we forgot to put on the list on Sunday during our weekly trip. Brenden's great grandma Grace (aka: Lou lou) sent him some money for Easter so we headed over to the toy section to check out what was new. Along the back wall was an entire display of scooters specifically made for ages 2 to 5 years. After a quick call to Tim to let him know what I was doing I grabbed one. I thought Brenden was going to shake out of the cart from pure excitement. He knew exactly what it was.

When we got home he was ready. After explaining that he must always wear his helmet when he rides his scooter, which wasn't a difficult sell because the older boys always wear theirs, I let him at it. I should have known that he would surprise me, since he often does. In 2 seconds he was scooting around the garage like a pro. He hasn't quite figured out how to get going and pull his feet up but I'm not complaining. I don't need him going all that quickly, yet!

He's getting so big!

Patience

I'm finding it hard to have patience with this labor. Yep, labor. For the past few days I've been dealing with a lot of contractions. Completely random, totally annoying contractions. I've tried walking, drinking more water, laying down, having Tim rub my back and distracting myself with everything I can think of.

The worst part is having several really painful contractions in an hour that then taper off. I understand that this is the way that things work for most people, but I didn't experience this at all with Brenden. My water broke and I went to the hospital...short, quick, to the point. I didn't have to time anything, I didn't have to obsess over pains that came and went.

I wrote about how I'm not anxious about labor this time around just a few days ago. I still feel that same way...that she'll come when she comes. Like I told Tim today, she can hang out in there until her due date and I would be just fine, if only I could do it without these stupid contractions. I just want them to either go away and not come back until my water breaks or to just get stronger, closer and do what they are supposed to do.

Being stuck in limbo really stinks.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!!!!

Different Perspective

The last few weeks of my pregnancy with Brenden were nothing like this time around. With Brenden I wasn't in very much pain, I actually had energy to get things done, and I was a complete nervous mess. I was so READY for him to be here, to see him, to hold him. I was ready for that "Oh wow!" moment that I just knew I was going to have. (Yeah, that didn't happen.) I was so upset that I didn't go into labor at 37 weeks so I could experience all of those things. Obviously it didn't go exactly as I expected.

Since I had a ton of time just laying around doing nothing on Tuesday, I started thinking about how I would feel if they sent me home. I was so upset when we made our "trial run" with Brenden. Didn't they know that I was going to go into labor soon and they were going to feel silly for not keeping me there? (That joke was totally on me.) This time I actually expected to go home. I didn't make Tim take me, I didn't have my bag, I didn't call anyone to tell them I was going. I think that made a big difference in how I dealt with it.

The other difference this time is how little anxiety I actually feel about her arrival. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to be done. My stomach hurts, my back hurts, the heartburn still stinks, and I'm still having problems with my heart racing and my breathing being difficult. Obviously I'm not looking forward to labor. I'm not a fan of pain! But what I'm not doing is stressing about when she's going to show up. Those last 3 weeks with Brenden, especially the last few days, I was crazy. I was practically shaking all day with anxiety and cried every night. I obsessed over every twinge, every pain. Now I know that Lauren will show up when she's going to show up, no matter what I do or how much I think about it. We're officially in April and, one way or another, she'll be born this month. I know that pregnancy does not last forever, which is something that was hard for me to grasp the first time around.

Now, if I'm 2 weeks past my due date and she still hasn't shown up, I think I'll be singing a different tune.

We don't need April Fool's...life is crazy enough.

Tuesday was a crazy day. It was the type of day where I just didn't want to answer the phone because really...who else could end up in the hospital? (I shouldn't say that. There are SEVERAL people who could have been there that weren't.) Today is giving Tuesday a run for it's money.

I'm not a fan of April Fool's Day. I don't like being pranked and I'm not creative enough to come up with anything all that funny to pull on people. When I woke up and saw that Tim was still at home I made to sure take the time to explain to him that if I called him and said I was in labor that it would NOT be a joke and that he shouldn't laugh and hang up on me. Just what a 9 month pregnant lady would need, right?

So...the craziness. My brother called me around 9 am to let me know my mom was on the way to the hospital in an ambulance. She had been getting progressively worse since Tuesday and spiked a fever of 102 degrees last night. When I talked to her she sounded awful and I knew she was in pain. She had oral surgery done after Christmas and has been having trouble with that ever since, which is part of her problem today, too. It's not just her face, though. Her entire body hurts so badly that she wants to be admitted to the hospital. If you know my mom at all you know that she is not a fan of sitting still. She's feeling BAD. My dad just called and said she may have pneumonia. I'm sure, since she has moderate asthma, that this is not going to be an easy recovery. Hopefully she gets some kind of relief soon.

(ETA: Mom does not have pneumonia, although it took forever for anyone to tell me anything. My dad gets a bit scatter brained. From what I can tell everything looks normal but she feels like crap. They gave her some medication for pain and are sending her home. They did say her EKG came back slightly off but they didn't seem concerned, which is weird to me. What do I know, right? A family friend, Norma, was headed to the hospital to pick her up so she'll have someone at the house to help her. My dad just had foot surgery and of course his back has been a mess for years so if she needs someone to actually help her move he wouldn't be any help. Hopefully she feels better soon.)

The second surprise of the day was learning that my grandma Warehime will not be going back to live alone after she is released from the hospital. I still haven't heard what is going on with her stomach but I now know she'll be going to a nursing home. She has always been afraid of nursing homes and I don't think she'll last very long there. It's really sad but unfortunately she can't take care of herself and my mom and dad aren't able to give her the 24 hour care she needs, either.

(ETA: In the course of talking to my dad about my mom he randomly let it slip that my grandma has a bowel obstruction. Of course, he doesn't know anything more, like how they plan to help her. He really can't be trusted for details.)

I knew April would be busy but I had no idea it would be like this.

A Letter To My Daughter

Lauren,

You're going to be here so soon! Only 16 days until your due date! I cannot believe in such a short time you will make Brenden a big brother. I cannot imagine your daddy and I as the parents of two children. You are going to change our lives forever and I cannot wait.

At night, before I fall asleep, I imagine your face. I have had dreams about what you will look like, your hair color, your eye color, the way you will smile. I can already see you in your daddy's arms and know you will have him wrapped around your little finger in a matter of seconds, no matter how often he may tell me otherwise. Brenden has started singing to you to "Come oooout baby Lauuurrreeenn!" and I know he will be your biggest fan. It goes without saying that your many grandparents are crazy about you, too. Just look at your closest!

I cannot wait to watch your personality emerge. I hope that you're outgoing and friendly, although it would make me very happy if you were more like your daddy and didn't take everything so personally like I do. I hope you share your brother's love of animals, especially since you'll be surrounded by them from the moment you get home. I hope that we can raise you to be confident, happy, dependable, honest, and polite.

Most of all, I hope that you grow up knowing you were loved from the moment we knew you existed. You are the piece of the puzzle that makes our family complete. You are not even officially here and already I cannot imagine our lives without you.

We love you! And if you'd like to hurry up and make your debut, I would appreciate it very much!

Love, Mommy