He'll be a big boy!

OK, so I'm a bad blogger. I had a dr's appointment a week and a half ago, and never blogged about it. Boy, so much as happened since then :)

(Almost) A month ago I measured 3 cm. bigger than what I should have, right? So last week, I measured 2.5 cm bigger. The doctor said she wasn't too concerned about a big baby because Ben was only 7 lbs 1 oz. She ordered the ultrasound anyway. J.R. and I were actually excited because we knew that meant seeing the baby again. So, today was our ultrasound. I'm having a big baby. Sigh. I guess he's not huge, but big enough. Not big enough to worry about though. He's 6 lbs 7 oz right now, which means when born, he'll probably be about 8.5 lbs.

The technician said he only checked for weight, nothing developmentally, so it still looks like we are on target for an April 21 birth. What's funny is, I'm in the 75th percentile, so just going by the baby's measurements and weight today and no previous knowledge of me, the guess would be that I was 36 weeks and 2 days (in the 50th percentile) instead of 34 weeks and 2 days. Again, everything looks normal so there is absoultely nothing to worry about. Here are a couple of pictures that were taken.

I'm still feeling really good. I'm just a little more uncomfortable because I'm so big. It's getting really difficult to get a good night's sleep. Although I'll be nursing and up every 2 hours, I'm definitely looking forward to a somewhat better night's sleep. It'll be great to turn from side to side without having to pull myself up into sitting position by using the blankets as leverage, before I flip! It'll be nice to sleep on my back again, too. I didn't realize how much I did sleep on my back until I became pregnant and had to stop.

As for Ben, he's sleeping SO much better (boy I hope I didn't jinx that!). He's sleeping through the night much more than he was before. He's still going down late though, however, last night and tonight we was asleep by 10:30. Not at all great, but it's better than 11:30. Last night I tried to put him down starting around 9:15 and it turned out miserably. He screamed and cried for a while, but finally got him to read some books with me, then, once the lights went out, he cried for about 15-20 minutes more. That's a little longer than usual. I don't know. I'll keep plugging away.

Ben's been whiny at daycare this week. I'm sure lack of sleep has something to do with it. Today, he was a little aggressive - pushing and hitting. The teacher didn't seem to mind so much. She said it's his age. Several other of the kids his age were acting the same way. It may be the age he's at, but it doesn't mean I have to stand for it. I definitely don't want to support that habit. Ben's also been waking up in the middle of his naps crying. The teacher thinks Tuesday, anyway, he had a nightmare. I think he gets nightmares all the time. I don't know what the poor little guy dreams of, but I wish I could make it better.

Next doctor's appointment for me is next Tuesday, the 17th.

Are we in trouble???

We are just glad he was trying to climb in and not climb out! He's been wanting to get in his crib lately and play. He's discovering his stuffed animals too. It's really cute when he wants to lie down and go "night, night" with one of them.

Ben's been sleeping miserably lately. He's never been the greatest sleeper, but last week was just awful. There was one night were I think I got an hour's worth of sleep because he was just up all night. Any kind of routine we had has been broken. He still (after 20 months) won't fall asleep by himself. I can't just put him in his crib and let him fall asleep. Never could - I can let him cry, but after an hour and a half or so, I'd say the mission has failed. He has never been a self soother either. Right now, he and I, and lately J.R., will get into bed, turn off the light, and wait til he falls asleep. It used to be that his bedtime was 9:15 PM. However, now I'm falling asleep with Ben because by the time he's asleep, it's anywhere between 10PM and midnight, although it's usually between 10PM to 11PM. J.R. will put Ben in his crib once we know he's good and asleep. But, he's still waking up in the middle of the night. It used to be just once, now, it's several times. Unfortunately, a bad habit that's been started is taking Ben back to bed with us in the middle of the night. With us, he'll sleep; to sooth him in his room, he just cries and cries.

Two things to add to this. First, we found out why he was COMPLETELY miserable last week. All four of Ben's eye teeth have come in. He has two daggers coming in from the top - and they really look painful. One of his bottom eye teeth has pretty much fully come in, and the other is just barely poking through - though it's been looking like that for about two weeks now. His sleep this week has been much better, although he's still going to bed after 10PM and waking up in the middle of the night. 99% of the time, it's J.R. that gets him, and he's doing a great job trying to sooth him in his crib, or in his room, rather than bringing him into our room. The cute little brat though, calms down and wants to play in his crib instead of going back to sleep (It's 4:12AM right now, and I can hear Ben playing and daddy reading to him). Now, J.R. is bringing him back to bed with us because instead of Ben screaming, he's happy and wide awake, but, he'll fall asleep with us. I don't know how he falls asleep for a nap in Daycare everyday. I think it's because he sees all the other kids going to sleep, so he does what they do (instead of falling asleep with us, he's falling asleep with them - maybe that's where his dependency lies??)

The other thing is this...letting him sleep with us WORKS FOR US. Now obviously, last week was heck, but the teeth explain a lot. Like I said, he doesn't go to sleep by himself, so we are OK with him falling asleep in bed with us. I love curling up with him. He's so cute to look at when he's asleep. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he doesn't self sooth, but when he sleeps with us, but he stays asleep. We are OK with this. Really! I know there are lots of opinions out there, and a lot of down turned noses. Sure, we'd rather him go to sleep by himself at 8:00PM and sleep through the night. Until then, it works for us, we are OK with it, so we are going to do what we can to make sure we can all get the most sleep, and remain happy and healthy.

Hospital Visit

Tonight J.R. and I went to visit the labor and delivery unit of the hospital. We both like what we saw and heard. The labor/delivery area was new, and there is a new wing of postpartum rooms, so now there are wings on two floors. Everything seems pretty similar to where we had Ben. We'll deliver in one room, the baby will be cleaned up right in that room, then we'll move to a private room for two days. He'll have his hearing test and circumcision, and we'll start his vaccinations. At this hospital, there will be a nurse just for me. Security sounds great too. If my postpartum floor is different than the one I deliver on, J.R., my nurse and a security guard go with the baby in a secure and locked elevator, so the baby is never away from me/J.R. Not that we really want him too, but Ben would be allowed in the delivery room with us. Hopefully grandma will be here before I deliver so she can watch Ben either in the waiting room or at home, but it's nice to know we have that option available if we need it. He's also allowed to visit anytime, and so are other children. Two more big pluses...cable and wireless internet! J.R. and I are happy with our visit. It'll be a good fit for us.

Seven months...

I said I'd update with my doctor's appointment information, so here I am! Overall, everything is OK. The baby's heartbeat is strong. I had to have some blood taken because a test was missed last time. However, I measured 3 weeks (I guess it's weeks, maybe inches?) further along than I should be. At past appointments, I've been right on. From here, I visit the doctor every two weeks, so in two weeks, I'll be measured again and if I'm still measuring ahead of where I should be, I'll go in for an ultrasound. He's kicking up a storm, and most of the kicking I feel is low, which probably means he hasn't flipped upside down yet, although he was head down at 20 weeks. He should be flipped before 36 weeks so I'm still OK, although the doctor seemed a little worried. I guess only because the bigger he gets, the harder its going to be for him to turn. She (the doctor) said I'd feel an earthquake if he waits that long. She also felt something round at the top of my belly; could have been a head, could have been a bum. I'm still feeling good, so I guess we'll see what happens in two weeks.

Although I'm generally feeling good (besides the normal 31 week-pregnant aches and uncomfortableness) last night I thought I might have some early contractions. I was feeling some pain in my sides, which I had actually just read about. It just means my uterus is expanding so I may get a few pains. Anyway, I had the pains, and I was feeling what I thought might be indigestion. I was in bed and about to lie down with Ben to put him to sleep, but it was uncomfortable to lie down. I had to stay sitting up. Everything went away and I was feeling fine about 15-20 minutes later. It just reminded me of when I started labor with Ben. That night, I thought I had indigestion because I had been out to dinner. I was uncomfortable lying down so I slept in a chair. That started three days of contractions. Fortunately, that's not where I am right now. The little guy is comfy right where he is.

Cute pictures of the kids

I just downloaded some pictures from my camera to my computer, and came across these that I thought you would enjoy.

Just a quick note

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I'll have more of an update Tuesday, as I have my 7 month Doctor's appt.

Not too, too, much going on. About two weeks ago, we were all sick. We recovered fine, but today, Ben woke up at 1AM with a fever. It lasted most of the day, but he's his normal cute happy self now. Not sure the cause of it, but we are relived he's better.

J.R.'s been doing work on his friend's website so he's been keeping busy. Work is good with me, my theater club students had their winter show this weekend and it was great. The littlest one is kicking like crazy.

Everything is going well.

Pondering the Deep Questions

If you are ever wondering, "How long does it take to completely fry a TV remote control in the microwave?", the answer is, 15 seconds.

Enough said.