Jack Attack!

I had a sudden urge today to get out Jack's stuff and see what I've got and what I still want or need.

Clothing

Newborn:

• 1 LS onesie
• 1 SS onesie
• 1 LS shirt
• 7 SS shirts
• 2 footie pajamas
• 2 pairs of pants

0-3 Months:

• 4 LS onesies
• 1 SS onesie
• 4 LS shirts
• 3 SS shirts
• 4 footie pajamas
• 1 pair pants
• 3 gowns

3-6 Months:

• 3 SS onesies
• 3 SS shirts

And 2 very sweet pairs of socks that my mother-in-law knitted.

That's it as far as clothes. Again, let me kick myself for throwing everything of Spencer's out. He had some really cute stuff.

I also inventoried by diaper stash today. I'll spare you the details about who made what and what type of diaper it is and just show you the cuteness.



The first pic is all his newborn sized stuff. I also have 6 preemie sized prefolds and 24 infant sized prefolds coming still. (And I have 4 snappis to do up the prefolds.)

The second pic is his newborn sized PUL covers.

The third pic is all his newborn and small sized wool covers. All the knitted stuff was knit by me, so it is far from perfect.

The last pic is his small diapers (the infant prefolds should still fit while he's in smalls).

You might notice a little green train in some of the pictures. That is Spencer's contribution.

Jack probably does need a few more clothing items, but I can't really think of anything else that is a need. I do want a few babylegs for him so that I can let him hang out without a cover on his diaper and his legs won't be cold. I'll probably order those within the next few weeks.

As I was talking to my grandmother today, I realized I have just over 3 weeks left until I'm cleared for my homebirth (36 weeks). I can hardly believe it! It'll be here before I know it.

The Most Pregnant I've Ever Been...

Just crossing another milestone off my list. :-)

1. 20 weeks, 5 days-Oct. 29-Gestation at which my water broke with Spencer PASSED!

2. 24 weeks-Nov. 21-Viability PASSED!

3. 30 weeks, 3 days-Jan. 5-Gestation at which Spencer was born PASSED!

4. 37 weeks-Feb. 20-Full term

5. 40 weeks, 1 day-Mar. 15-Overdue

Happy New Year....I think I'll throw up now.

Well, to ring in the new year, I decided to watch a video of a c-section.

(You can see it here: Don't watch if you don't like blood.)

I just...I mean...what can I say? I had that done to me like it was no big deal. It is presented to women as if its no big deal! An OB tried to schedule me for another one of those at my first prenatal appointment. I just...my head is spinning.

Those doctors weren't gentle or easy with the mom's open anatomy or with that poor baby who was being born. They hoisted the poor thing through the air, upside down, like it was the Thanksgiving turkey.

I'm going to go do something now that will facilitate me having a vaginal birth. Maybe I'll bounce on my birth ball or do yoga moves or something.

Midwife Appointment

I saw my midwife this afternoon. I always enjoy visiting with her; she tells the best stories!

Anyway, all is well with Jack. Fundus is measuring 32-33 weeks (I'm technically 29 weeks now) and she said Jack "feels" like he is sitting around 4 pounds at the moment. This completely jives with what my last two ultrasounds have said and has led my midwife to begin questioning my due date. I'm very hesitant to move it (after all, what if he really is just big?), but she wants to shift it from March 14 to February 28. That's a pretty big jump! I don't think it would freak me out nearly as much if it didn't mean A) I'm practically having a baby NEXT MONTH and B) I have much less time to get stuff together.

*panic, panic, panic*

I may or may not have mentioned before that we got rid of everything of Spencer's except his crib (which we aren't planning on using) and highchair. Well, I say we, but I wasn't the one hauling all of those Gymboree and Baby Gap clothes to the curb on trash day. *weeps* It was part of what I call Jake's "post Iraq crazy," so I forgive him and all, but seriously, now we have nothing!

I have been picking up clothes here and there as I'm out and see something adorable or for a good deal. I totally racked up at the Carter's outlet in Branson last week. And of course I'm working on Jack's diaper stash since we're using cloth. (His clothes and diapers are taking over our linen closet, BTW, so if you know someone giving away a dresser or if you know of somewhere to get one of good quality for cheap, let me know!) But as far as baby gadgets? We're SOL at the moment.

Of course, it isn't as if we NEED those. We bought a car seat at Babies 'R Us a few weeks ago and my boobs will be ready to go when the time comes, so really the bare bones necessities are taken care of. If all else fails, we'll wrap him in some of Jake's t-shirts until we get to the store to buy the poor kid some clothes that fit. ;-) At least he'll be fed and able to travel by car.

Sharing

I've been meaning to share these since the weekend.

Ultrasound highlights:

*He's measuring about 3 weeks ahead, still. This has led me to believe my dates may be off a bit, but I'm not "officially" changing my due date. Shea's last two ultrasounds have put my due date at 2/28 and 2/21, respectively.

*He's got a head that is measuring 32 weeks, which is a full month ahead. Shea said boys have big noggins. :-)

*He really likes his feet. The perfect first toy!

*He has lots of good fluid.

*He was head down at the ultrasound, but that can still change. Although Shea said that if he moved from that position to another one, I'd definately know it as it would take a pretty big effort on his part.

Neglect

I do really good for a few months at blogging and then I just hit the ceiling.

I can't decide if we've been really busy or if I've been really lazy, so I'm going to go with busy. We've been traveling back and forth between Mountain Home and Little Rock (or Fayetteville, but mainly Little Rock) almost every weekend for the past 4-6 weeks. Last weekend was the first weekend we were able to stay home in what felt like forever. Between taking Spencer to the dentist, Thanksgiving, and Christmas shopping, we've been tearing up the road in a big way. If gas was still $3.50 a gallon we wouldn't have been able to afford to do it.

We are headed to Little Rock yet again tomorrow. My little sister (well, she's 22, so not really so little) is graduating from nursing school tomorrow night. I'm so super proud of her. For quite a while it seemed like her head might have been screwed on a little crooked, but lately she's been making some stellar decisions and I couldn't be happier for her. She's getting her LPN tomorrow night and then will go to UALR for the spring semester to finish out some classes she needs to go on and get her RN. I have a feeling I'll be hitting her up for money in a few years. ;-) She definitely picked a more lucrative career field than I did!

On Friday we are scheduled for a 4D ultrasound with my aunt. In the beginning of this pregnancy, I only wanted to have one ultrasound done: the 20 week. That way we'd know if there was some underlying condition (heart, lung, intestinal, etc.) that would necessitate us being in the hospital instead of having a homebirth. I had some slight complications in the beginning that led me to having two early ultrasounds, the ones I REALLY wanted to avoid, within about a week and a half of each other. Then I went ahead and had the standard 20 week. I was planning on being done with them at that point, but I mentioned a 4D to Jake and he expressed that he'd really like to go in and have one done. I have a lot of guilt b/c he missed almost all of my pregnancy with Spencer (including the 14 billion ultrasounds I had done during that pregnancy), so I wanted to oblige and indulge him. He is really amazed when Shea does them and always asks tons of questions.

Speaking of Jake, can I just take a minute to brag on him big time? He's been so great about coming to my appointments with me and asking questions or even taking notes! I don't really need him when my midwife comes to the house b/c she doesn't do anything pushy or invasive, but my OB certainly does. I really need him there for moral support so I can tell the doctor exactly what I think about things, and Jake has totally been there for me. He's expressed some nervousness over the entire birthing process since he is so queasy around blood and other bodily fluids, but I know he's going to be amazing.

I'll leave you with a picture of me at 27 weeks. I've been taking pics every 3 weeks, and this is just the latest in the line. :-) And please pardon the blurriness; Jake took the pic and he's usually not our family photographer. LOL

Three cheers for viability!

1. 20 weeks, 5 days-Oct. 29-Gestation at which my water broke with Spencer PASSED!

2. 24 weeks-Nov. 21-Viability PASSED!

3. 30 weeks, 3 days-Jan. 5-Gestation at which Spencer was born

4. 37 weeks-Feb. 20-Full term

5. 40 weeks, 1 day-Mar. 15-Overdue


Another milestone met! You are not going to meet a happier pregnant lady than I am today. With Spencer, this was a big, big goal that no one thought I'd end up hitting. My water had already been broken for close to 3 weeks and I was able to get my first round of steroids once I got to this point. Not to mention the hospital staff was very frank with me in saying that they would make no effort to save Spencer before 24 weeks. Not even at 23 weeks, 6 days.

I really feel like I can take a deep breath. But not too deep, because I still have 2 more mandatory milestones to meet!