35 Weeks
Up until now I really haven't addressed my pregnancy much on the blog. I suppose it's odd to not mention it more, but, quite frankly, between chasing after Anna and taking care of our little household, I've just spent far less time thinking about it than I did with my first pregnancy. Boy, that sentence makes me sound like a true stay at home mom. Oh well. I suppose when something is new you tend to bask in every single new feeling and emotion. But because I've now been through all this pregnancy stuff before, I am far more laid back this go around. That's probably a good thing since I tend to be rather tense about major life changes.
However, the baby will be joining us soon and I'm now getting more and more excited to meet our new addition. We are in the midst of preparing for the baby and, unlike with Anna, we don't know the gender. I know we're the only couple on the face of the earth that found out with the first baby and are not finding out this time. But we just don't feel as anxious about things this time and since I've always loved the idea of having a surprise in the delivery room, well, we decided to just wait and see on delivery day. Cast your vote above :-)
For the record, we both feel like this is a boy baby because it's been a completely different pregnancy than Anna's. And we could actually find out the gender if we wanted because we had the doctor put the answer in an envelope and it's at her office. At first I was afraid I would not be able to make it to the end, but, we've come too far to cave in. It will be a surprise.
I feel compelled to state upfront that I'm absolutely huge. I don't know if it's that I'm so much bigger right now than I was last time or if I just got bigger earlier and so now I feel like I'm just getting exponentially bigger, but the bottom line is that I'm really freaking big. It's amazing how often people say things like, "Are you sure you're not having twins?" or they assume that I'm having a boy. Why is that? Do you really get that much bigger when you're having a boy? Guess we'll find out in a few weeks.
As for preparations for the new baby, well, I'm embarrased to say that we're not really doing that much at all. Since we're in a two bedroom condo, we don't have a dedicated room for the new baby so we're just poppin' open the pack n play in our room and calling it a day. We transitioned Anna to a big girl bed (more on that in a future post) and it's going very, very well. We did that so that we could use the crib for the baby later, but then our crib got recalled so now we'll purchase a new crib (just about the only thing this kid is getting that's new) in a couple of months(?) when we're ready. I'm going to cram this kid's clothes into the same dresser that I've got Anna's clothes in and pull out her old bottles, but that's about it. If we didn't have our condo on the market and didn't need to keep it ready for house showings, etc., I might be a bit more creative with the storage solutions and maybe even combine Anna's room so it looks like two kids live in there from the start. However, I'm not living in that reality so this will have to work for us for awhile.
In the meantime, I'm starting to feel the aches and pains that come with the last month of pregnancy. This baby is a kicker, I mean a major kicker, Mike can see the baby kicking from across the room sometimes. I haven't had much rib pain this time, which is great. I remember my ribs hurting so bad during my first pregnancy that I honestly thought I'd dislodged them. Instead I'm just dealing with the lower back pain, feeling very tired all the time, and then the annoyance of having to pee constantly. It doesn't seem right to have to pee three times a night, but that's actually happened a couple of times. I'm like a zombie lately so if I seem out of it, I probably AM out of it.
At the risk of providing too much information, I will also share that I'm trying for a VBAC (i.e. the old fashioned kind of birth where you push the baby out) rather than just scheduling a c-section. I've thought about this a lot and still have my doubts about whether I'm making the right decision, but I'm a good candidate for a VBAC (because Anna was breach rather than being too big) and I feel like I should try to do it. Unlike most women, I did not push or even have contractions with Anna because they discovered she was breach as soon as I arrived at the hospital and there was really no point in laboring. So although this is my second child, it will be my first labor. I won't lie. I'm pretty scared about it. Now that I know lots of women and have heard lots of labor horror stories, I'm far more nervous about this than I was the first time. Ignorance was bliss I suppose.
Up until now I really haven't addressed my pregnancy much on the blog. I suppose it's odd to not mention it more, but, quite frankly, between chasing after Anna and taking care of our little household, I've just spent far less time thinking about it than I did with my first pregnancy. Boy, that sentence makes me sound like a true stay at home mom. Oh well. I suppose when something is new you tend to bask in every single new feeling and emotion. But because I've now been through all this pregnancy stuff before, I am far more laid back this go around. That's probably a good thing since I tend to be rather tense about major life changes.
However, the baby will be joining us soon and I'm now getting more and more excited to meet our new addition. We are in the midst of preparing for the baby and, unlike with Anna, we don't know the gender. I know we're the only couple on the face of the earth that found out with the first baby and are not finding out this time. But we just don't feel as anxious about things this time and since I've always loved the idea of having a surprise in the delivery room, well, we decided to just wait and see on delivery day. Cast your vote above :-)
For the record, we both feel like this is a boy baby because it's been a completely different pregnancy than Anna's. And we could actually find out the gender if we wanted because we had the doctor put the answer in an envelope and it's at her office. At first I was afraid I would not be able to make it to the end, but, we've come too far to cave in. It will be a surprise.
I feel compelled to state upfront that I'm absolutely huge. I don't know if it's that I'm so much bigger right now than I was last time or if I just got bigger earlier and so now I feel like I'm just getting exponentially bigger, but the bottom line is that I'm really freaking big. It's amazing how often people say things like, "Are you sure you're not having twins?" or they assume that I'm having a boy. Why is that? Do you really get that much bigger when you're having a boy? Guess we'll find out in a few weeks.
As for preparations for the new baby, well, I'm embarrased to say that we're not really doing that much at all. Since we're in a two bedroom condo, we don't have a dedicated room for the new baby so we're just poppin' open the pack n play in our room and calling it a day. We transitioned Anna to a big girl bed (more on that in a future post) and it's going very, very well. We did that so that we could use the crib for the baby later, but then our crib got recalled so now we'll purchase a new crib (just about the only thing this kid is getting that's new) in a couple of months(?) when we're ready. I'm going to cram this kid's clothes into the same dresser that I've got Anna's clothes in and pull out her old bottles, but that's about it. If we didn't have our condo on the market and didn't need to keep it ready for house showings, etc., I might be a bit more creative with the storage solutions and maybe even combine Anna's room so it looks like two kids live in there from the start. However, I'm not living in that reality so this will have to work for us for awhile.
In the meantime, I'm starting to feel the aches and pains that come with the last month of pregnancy. This baby is a kicker, I mean a major kicker, Mike can see the baby kicking from across the room sometimes. I haven't had much rib pain this time, which is great. I remember my ribs hurting so bad during my first pregnancy that I honestly thought I'd dislodged them. Instead I'm just dealing with the lower back pain, feeling very tired all the time, and then the annoyance of having to pee constantly. It doesn't seem right to have to pee three times a night, but that's actually happened a couple of times. I'm like a zombie lately so if I seem out of it, I probably AM out of it.
At the risk of providing too much information, I will also share that I'm trying for a VBAC (i.e. the old fashioned kind of birth where you push the baby out) rather than just scheduling a c-section. I've thought about this a lot and still have my doubts about whether I'm making the right decision, but I'm a good candidate for a VBAC (because Anna was breach rather than being too big) and I feel like I should try to do it. Unlike most women, I did not push or even have contractions with Anna because they discovered she was breach as soon as I arrived at the hospital and there was really no point in laboring. So although this is my second child, it will be my first labor. I won't lie. I'm pretty scared about it. Now that I know lots of women and have heard lots of labor horror stories, I'm far more nervous about this than I was the first time. Ignorance was bliss I suppose.
My due date is June 16, but Anna was a little early and I feel like this one will be a little early, too. Who knows. I've essentially got about a month left and I'm trying to just relax and not get too overwhelmed by the thought of sleepless nights, breastfeeding and having to deal with a two-year-old at the same time. Mostly, I'm looking forward to meeting the next member of our family and trying to enjoy the last few weeks I have with just Anna. It's sort of eye-opening... as a first child myself, I never realized how different the experience must be for the second baby who will never know the undivided attention that the first child has received. I guess I will see soon how Anna's love for the "baby" in my belly will transform and change when the actual real live baby comes home and stays put for the rest of her life.
Here's a picture of me about six weeks ago so you can just imagine what I look like now... I'm debating whether to publish a photo of me right now. It might scar you forever!
hmm... this prop toddler doesn't seem to cover my belly the way they do on sitcoms
6 comments:
I think you look awesome! Can't wait for the arrival of new Baby Roth!
1. You are all belly. Amazing.
2. I'm in awe that you've gone this long without ripping that envelope open.
3. Having my VBAC was the most amazing experience of my life. Yes, it hurts but not in a stubbing your toe way. (Plus, there are drugs if you want them!) The best advice I can give you is to trust your body and know that you can do it.
4. Why am I writing this in numbers?
Reading this post just got me way excited for you. I'm glad to hear that you're more excited than nervous, too.
Don't believe any of those old wives tales about differing pregnancies, or the way you're carrying as forecasts of whether you're having a boy or a girl. It's a 50/50 chance, my friend!
I guessed girl, but I see that I'm the only one right now. : )
Birth is gonna go just great, I know it -- you have nothing to fear. The second they hand you that baby it seems not to matter whether it took you 2 or 12 or 70 hours to get there, ya know? (Okay, hopefully not 70.) : )
It's a boy. I'm calling it right now. And if you need any tips on VBACs, my sister and sister-in-law both had them just fine--Stace didn't even have time for an epidural. So hang in there and keep us all posted on your arrival!
P.S. Crystal (mom of Harry) had a successful VBAC last week. We can chat in person rather than in the comments of your blog, but I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you about it if you want.
Hi Maggie - just wanted to pop by and say good luck with the upcoming L&D. Both my boys were born the "old fashioned way" without meds even...so know that for each "horror" labor story, there are "easy" labor stories too! :) You will do great!
Best of luck for a successful VBAC and kudos to you for trying! The Hong Kong Deaton crew is cheering you on..
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