38 Weeks Pregnant: Spoiling My Firstborn

This week has been nothing but spoiling for Mr. Owen. We're getting so close to Baby Brother and I want nothing more than to embrace the fact that I'm on my feet and spending some warm summer days with my favorite guy.

This week:

Monday: Library, Post Office (Owen's FAVORITE) and Target (for popcorn and a cold)
Tuesday: Met up with playgroup at the park!
Wednesday: Pool time with Mama
Thursday: Woke up early to go to the OB and then off for chocolate chip bagels with my main squeeze. Our friends called to ask us to the zoo and since the doctor declared me closed and commented, "I don't think you're having a baby in the next few days..."

We were off to the zoo!!

 Ice cream for lunch? WHY NOT!

 Pennies in the fountain? WHY NOT!

 Ducky Whistle at the Park? WHY NOT!

 Fun in the pool? WHY NOT!

chocolate chip bagels for breakfast? WHY NOT!

38.5 Weeks pregnant Mama at the ZOO?

WHY NOT!!

A Sunday Afternoon Off

Jeremy is on call all next weekend so today he took Owen for the afternoon so that I could run some errands. I've been finalizing plans for Baby Brother's Bris/naming and still had some stuff to pick up. I grabbed a frozen lemonade from McDonalds which has been an constant craving for me this pregnancy. A pregnancy massage just wasn't in our budget this time around but I did treat myself to a pedicure which was awesome. I even sat there an extra long time to let my toes dry so I could take advantage of the vibrating chair :)

 How far along? One day shy of 38 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: +16 lbs

Maternity clothes? Most of my maternity shirts don't fit over my belly anymore!

Stretch marks? No but as of yesterday I have lots of swelling in my feet/hands. It's so nice to just wear flip flops!

Sleep: Nope. Over the last two days Baby Brother had descended upon my bladder and I'm up every 1.5 hrs to pee. That coupled with the insomnia I've had all third trimester (I can't get myself to sleep until after 2am) makes for a rough night. I'm really thankful that Owen sleeps in until 9am!

Best moment this week: Owen constantly talks about his "baby budder" and I cannot wait until these two meet each other. Seeing Jeremy become a Daddy again is amazing enough, but watching Owen as a Big Brother might just make my heart explode all over the universe.

Food cravings: My food cravings have been much more limited this pregnancy but in my first trimester it was fried chicken. Second/Third has been cherry dipped cones from Dairy Queen, frozen strawberry lemonade from McDonalds, Qdoba chips and salsa, Superman ice cream, marshmellows and most recently... WAFFLES.

Belly Button in or out? I'm afraid my belly button cannot be considered "in" any longer... yikes!

What I miss: Owen has definitely picked up on the fact that I'm physically limited. He wants to be carried, and snuggled and rocked. He wants me to rough-house with him and play trains on the floor. Thankfully Jeremy is being extra hands-on with Owen when he's home and we've taken to lots of couch snuggles while reading library books which O loves. We used to dance around his room together before bed time, me swaying with him and singing a song I made up called "dancin' with your Mama" -- I still sing the song, but can no longer dance while holding him.

I'm by no means wishing this baby out, but I cannot wait to dance with Mr. Owen again. We both miss it terribly.

What I am looking forward to: Being surrounded by THREE BOYS that I absolutely adore and that adore me. Indulgent? Yep. I love me some boys!

Weekly Wisdom: SO MANY PEOPLE, strangers, come up to me and ask when I'm due, if I'm due soon, what I'm having, if I'm hot. Lots of other mothers smile lovingly at me like, "I remember those days of waddling through the parking lot." Random strangers wish me luck and so many of my friends have called to let me know they are thinking of us.

It all makes me so happy, thankful and in awe of my body for doing this amazing thing. I look at Owen and I cannot believe he was once a tiny baby. He is a brilliant, happy wonderful boy and I am so proud to be his Mama. I cannot imagine repeating this joy with another unique soul that will show us his individuality and look up to his big brother unconditionally.

My heart is full.

37.5 weeks pregnant (Note: Still PREGNANT!)

Went to the doctor today and she said I am not dilated but completely thinned and she could feel his head pushing down. Baby Brother had been a little less active the last few days and when they listened to his heartbeat on the doppler it was 120 (down from the 145-165 it normally is) and while it was still in the normal range they wanted me to sit on the monitors for a Non-stress test for 30 minutes following my appointment. Of course my trusty side kick was there too waiting oh so patiently for the two of us to get bagels after my appointment ;)

Everything came back normal and we ended the appointment with this unfamiliar phrase...

 "All we're waiting for now is for you to go into labor!"

It's been amazingly different this time around. I'm more active, I have a beautiful toddler to take care of and I'm even still taking my prenatal yoga classes. At the beginning of my third trimester I had a few rough weeks with some anxiety that came flooding back. I felt like such a failure in my third trimester with Owen - even though I succeeded in carrying him to term. Lots of things surrounding bed rest/birth/postpartum were hard on me and in retrospect could have been handled very differently.

This time, if I wanted to feel strong and confident, I needed to change my own mind.

I credit much of this to the doctor's managing me. They never once made me feel like I couldn't do this. Sure, I contracted A LOT but they let me stay on my feet and kept me calm. I think the p17 shots worked wonders for me in terms of cervical length. And we did it.

We are so incredibly excited to meet this little guy. We continue to pray that he is born strong and healthy. We hope that Owen adjusts well to having to share my attention and that we can all eventually get some sleep :)

Sometimes it's just hard to be two.

After a car nap which lasted over an hour thanks to me driving around and then sitting in the car for a while, Owen woke up and was ready to come inside.

But once we walked in the door, he melted into hysterics and refused to climb the stairs up to the apartment. I'm not physically capable of picking a limp screaming toddler off the ground and carrying him up sixteen stairs, so I told him I would let him collect himself and I'd be back to check on him in a minute.

I waited upstairs for five minutes and then peaked down to find this.

Owen asleep on the step.

I know he has big huge feelings right now and he's sensing that I'm tired and can't physically do what he needs me to do for him right now. My heart aches for him on these days. But when I looked down those steps at my sleeping boy, I remembered

He will always be my first baby.

He still needs so much of me

and there will always be enough love to go around.

Happy 34th Birthday, Daddy!

All weekend we woke up to Owen singing over the monitor....

"Happy BIR-DAY dear DAAAAA-YEEEE, Happy BIIIIIIIIIIR-DAY to YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

It was totally adorable.

We started our day with some Challah French Toast  that Mama made special for Daddy's birthday!

and then we headed out to the farm for the peach festival! 

 It was a really special visit because it included LOTS of firsts for our boy

The highlight being his FIRST pony ride. We asked him if he wanted to ride the Pony and he said, "Yes!" but once it was his turn he changed his mind. We decided to push him a little, hoping he'd like it and two steps into the ride he was giggling away (and our boy is NOT a giggler). 

Thank you "Spanky" for a very memorable first ($2) pony ride!

Next we rode the tractor all around the farm, up through the apple orchard, depleted strawberry patches and past where the pumpkins will grow. 

and it dropped us off right by the blue berry bushes where our little family picked blue berries for the very first time!

and then while Daddy stood in line for lunch, Mr. Owen got his first tattoo (face paint, on his arm)

He orginally requested a snake and just as she started to draw it he changed his mind and asked for

"A beautiful butterfly!" (just like in The Very Hungry Caterpillar)

He looked butch, this kid :)

After lunch we enjoyed ice cream cones and I was so happy they had Superman ice cream (something I've been craving this pregnancy. Weird, right?) I may or may not have gone back for a second cone after having to share some of mine with Owen ;)

and after we headed home with our exhausted boy and got him all tucked into bed, 

Mama and Daddy enjoyed some ice cream cake. 

With the "32" from my cake plus two additional candles ;)

As with most days with a toddler there are high moments and low moments. But this day, even though there were some whiny patches and tantrums, the firsts won our hearts over.

 His first pony ride, filled with giggles.

Our first time picking blue berries

His first "tattoo"

Celebrating birthdays is very different once you are a parent, but I told Jeremy that what he got was pretty close to the most perfect day I could ever imagine. 

And he agreed. 

Happy Birthday, Dr. Daddy! 

I cannot wait to share our love and life with yet another little boy this year.

A Saturday just for Owen (and an AWESOME date night!)

Daddy had the weekend off so instead of working on our to-do list, we decided to have FUN! Just like last week, once Owen found out Daddy was home for the entire!day! he requested to take off the shirt I dressed him in and put on his "DUTE shirt!"

So away we went for the day with my boys in matching Duke shirts....

While Mama showered (alone! uninterrupted!)Daddy and Owen played trains.

... and "Doctor Daddy"

And then we headed to the Children's Museum

Where the boys played with clay

and we let some letters fall on Mama's belly

and then Owen worked his fine motor skill putting spokes on a wheel

and last but not least we checked out the Wizard of Oz exhibit.

"Owen, what does the COW say?"

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

That night we got a babysitter so that Jeremy and I could go to a STXY concert that followed a Pirates game. There was no way I could sit through both the game and the concert so we put O to bed and than headed over. We were seated in the 9th inning just in time for the game to be done and the concert to start. This was the 5th time I've seen STYX in concert. Our seats were awesome, it was 70 degrees outside with a light breeze and there was an awesome fireworks show throughout the concert. SO glad I made it to 36 weeks so we could enjoy these tickets!!

On our way home we stopped at IHOP for a midnight snack :)
We rolled in to relieve the babysitter at 1:30am and felt like TOTAL party animals!

36 Weeks Pregnant with a "sizable guy"

This is the comparison of my boys at 36 weeks

36 wk was the week I was released from bed rest with Owen, I'm more swollen and carrying more closely to my body. At 36 wk with Baby Brother I'm feeling strong and confident. My belly is bigger but because I've been on my feet I have more room in my rib cage this time around.

Had an OB appointment today and when Owen and I arrived the receptionist told me my appointment had been moved from 915am to 1050am. I told her my appointment has NEVER been moved without someone calling first but she shrugged, handed me my label stickers (for any urine or blood work they run) and said they'd try their best to fit me in sooner. I was pissed so I just folded the labels and shoved them in my purse. Owen was an angel in the waiting room. He ate an oatmeal bar and blueberries I packed for breakfast and played toys. The waiting room filled and emtpied several times over while we still sat there. There was a check out girl who watched Owen playing nicely and asked if he could have some fruit snacks she had hidden in her office. She asked me why we were sitting out there so long... by this time it was 11:45!

She went back and told the doctors a woman and her 2 yr old had been waiting since 9am and they said, "Mrs. Reese no showed her appointment" --- she explained that she had seen me waiting since 9am and then came out to ask if I was given labels. I said yes, dug them out of my purse and they had the WRONG person's name on them with a 1050 appointment time. The check-in girl messed everything up! The doctors and staff were horrified but even more suprized that 1) Owen was AN ANGEL the entire time and 2) My blood pressure wasn't through the roof!

After the doctor apologized like one million times, we went over my birth plan (I wrote about it this week on Kveller) which he said looked great.

Baby Brother's heartbeat was strong, I'm measuring a little over 38 weeks (at 36.5 weeks) and I'm not dilated AT ALL! He checked to see if he was head down and sure enough, he is! Jeremy helped me do some inversions (from this site, thanks E!) one night this week while he tried to move the baby into place and it worked! When the doctor was feeling for baby's position he said, "Wow you've got a sizable guy in there!"  He reminded me to pay careful attention to kick counts/activity and if I feel him getting at all sluggish to call as he's quite big in there and the risks of being born are now lower than the risks of staying in without a enough room. He's an active guy, much moreso than his brother, so I'll be sure to keep an eye on him.

I'll be 37 weeks on MONDAY!! Another prenatal Yoga class and looking forward to FULL TERM status.

I now have weekly appointments on Thursdays :)

****************************** BIRTH VISION *************************************

Hospital birth attended by MFM attending/Fellow

Support person(s): Husband and Doula

I am requesting to NOT be delivered by an OB/GYN resident – would like MFM Fellow or Attending.

After a high-risk pregnancy/induction with my first, followed by a miscarriage we have chosen extra support to help us feel like we’ve done everything we can to have a positive birth experience. Our goal is a healthy baby so we are open-minded and flexible but appreciate your support with these requests assuming all is medically sound. 

Labor: I would like go into labor naturally and progress w/o pitocin for as long as medically possible. I would like to be as mobile as possible - free to walk, use birthing ball or change positions. I want to make every effort to birth unmedicated (I am open to an epidural, but I will ask)

No pharmaceutical opiods (Morphine, Nubain, Demerol).  Would like to be Heplocked (I know I will be treated for Group B Strep) and fetal monitoring via telemetry.

Postpartum:  Assuming this baby is healthy and able I would like to have baby skin-to-skin immediately, Apgars on my chest, and delay non-emergent treatments until after first hour (bonding/nursing) eye ointment, vit K, bath etc.

Breastfeeding only – do NOT offer formula.

We would like to request that the hearing test is done in the room.

No circumcision (We are Jewish & will do it at a later time)

ZumSens Visit and my heart EXPLODES from the cuteness

I was so bummed to have to miss my cousin's wedding. At 36 weeks pregnant there was no way my doctor was going to let me on a plane to the-middle-of-nowhere Wisconsin. But I sent Emma a special "heirloom" to wear while getting ready and they sent me a picture to let me know I was there in spirit...it made me SO HAPPY <3

(psssst! Marissa! You're next in line to wear this shirt, lady!)

Mr Owen let them know we were thinking of them...

and then of course, they got married and looked fabulous and fun and stunning and all that stuff.

And these special newlyweds chose to drive from the-middle-of-nowhere Wisconsin back to NY City. A bazillion hours in the car together? AWESOME choice of honeymoon (really, way to test out those vows guys!) and they stopped for FOUR wonderful hours in Pittsburgh to spend the afternoon with Owen and me.

We went out to lunch at a *famous* Pittsburgh sandwich shop. Owen and Ry shared pickles and declared it a "PICKLE PARTY!" and I almost died from the cuteness of these two together. And then we stopped for some gelato.

and before they headed back we took some pictures... one with a VERY pregnant Mama.

 and some with Mr. Owen cheesin' with the newlyweds 

WARNING: EXTREME CUTENESS AHEAD

 (have you ever seen a more perfect toddler smile? A REAL SMILE!)

I love you guys so much and even though I had to see the wedding via iphone pictures, we were so happy you stopped to see us and can't wait to have you back again soon!

xoxoxox