Can I Play Too??

Today was Bella's first day of preschool! I hardly slept a wink last night and was a nervous wreck before dropping her off but I put on my happy face.

When we pulled into the parking lot, she popped out of her seat and exclaimed "I am so essited!" with her best excited expression. Then told me she was going to have a good day today!















We gathered up her backpack and nap mat, which she insisted on carrying, and began the walk to class. Cuz, she's a big girl, you know!





















Bella started to get a little apprehensive with all the kids running around and the few who were crying. When she saw her best friend's mom, she immediately asked where Mitchell was and I knew she'd be okay once she saw him.

We went to her class where she met Miss Valorie and I started to see Bella panic but she kept her cool. Very brave. She went to Miss Valorie, let me kiss her tiny button nose and I forced myself to let go of the grip I had on the door frame so I could leave.


















I am so proud of my little big girl! I'm also sad for me! But I know that she'll gobble up everything school has to offer and I'll get lots of stories when I pick her up.

Do you think they'd let me hang out there if I tell them I'm just exposing my unborn baby to their fabulous school early? No? *sigh*

Revelation

Bella: *gasp* "Mama, wha was that sound?!"

Me: "I dunno, baby, what is it?"

Bella: *laughing* "I tooted!"

a pause, then,

"Oops, I tooted again!"


A BIG THANK YOU TO HER DADDY.

A Letter

To Womb It May Concern,

I do hope you're enjoying your stay. You've been growing and flourishing in my belly all year. ALL YEAR! I sense restlessness though. Perhaps you are about ready to introduce yourself? Hold on a couple more weeks, okay? We are only 33 weeks along though I have no idea how you're going to keep fitting in there or how my belly is going to continue to accomodate you!

I do appreciate the reminders of your existence, but feel free to let me get at least two hours of sleep between each session. Also, I'd like to keep my bladder intact for continued use after your birth, so could you ease up on that too?

Isabella loves that you play with her. Okay, she loves that you don't kick off the Noah's ark animals who've climbed onto Belly Mountain to escape the great flood of the bathtub. She thinks you are a great little sister so far, except you make Mommy lay out like a beached whale on the couch instead of crawling on the floor to play. Ah, the good ol' days.

Daddy is very excited about your pending arrival. He'll also be very excited to no longer have an irritable pregnant-in-summer wife. I wouldn't expect him to be too thrilled about your first few diapers though.

He's trying real hard not to be overly worried about your delivery day and as long as he doesn't try to soothe me so much when rubbing my hair that he makes me bald, everything should be just fine.

I've not met you face to face, but I love you with all my heart, just as I love your big sister. We are truly blessed to have you and look forward to a lifetime of memories with you!

My biggest request? Kick With Kindness. Okay? Kick with all your might once you have more breathing room :)

I love you,
Mommy

The New Doogie Howser

Isabella has decided to choose a career already. She's a doctor. Doctor Bella. She demonstrated her skills last night on me, her daddy, Piglet and the cat. Okay, the cat ran before she could get to him. I told her that's just part of the job.

Why a doctor? Well, Sunday night she got a high fever. It went away Monday, then hiked up again that evening to 101. Tuesday morning, I decided to take her to the doc. She really likes her new doctor and of course when we arrived at the office, she was chipper and uber friendly. She chatted with all the kids, ran back and forth, then knocked on the door leading to the exam rooms saying she NEEDED to see the doctor. When the doc saw her, she had no temperature and after a strep test, she was given a clean bill of health.

Great. I'll pay that bill now. We had an extra hundred laying around anyway. I was just gonna clean the toilet with it.

So we get home and that night, a fever again of 101. I panicked a bit wondering what strange ailment my daughter had. Then I thought it might be due to her teeth which she grinded down and needs surgery on in Sept. Don't worry, I'll post ALL about that soon enough.

We go see the dentist who was wonderful to see her first thing on Wed. He took one look and immediately diagnosed her with a viral infection in her mouth. No connection to her teeth, thank Heavens. However...HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS! She was supposed to start school on Thursday! In fact, she can't go to school for at least 2 weeks! ACK! Apparently, she ate or drank after someone who had a mouth sore of some kind. Nice. I'd always heard humans have nasty mouths...but EWWWWWWWWWW.

So now she's all about taking temperatures and Tylenol. I'm very glad I take her temperature under her arm. Certainly don't need her waving a thermometer at people's butts.

Drama Princess

Today I "nested" some more, which just means I was obsessively cleaning something random, like my husband's closet. I swear, that man had so many hangers and plastic covers from the dry cleaners all over the floor, I should've bagged it up and returned it for a discount!

As I was bending precariously to pick up his pile of baseball hats, my sweet angel girl came into the room happily showing me one greasy hand as the other clutched a half-eaten stick of butter.

"Look, Mama! Look what I got!" she grinned a proud, shiny grin.

What IS it with kids and condiments? When little, my sister was a fan of the tiny packaged butters in restaurants. And mayonnaise packets. SO GROSS.

I told Bella that her hands were a mess and she needed to clean up. She looked at me with wide eyes and exclaimed, "Wha'r we goin TO DO, Mama?"

That's her new phrase. Everything is "Wha'r we goin TO DO?!". Whether it is picking up her crayons that rolled off the table or watching Wonder Pets try to save a kitten floating down the river on TV.

If she gets too excited and isn't paying much attention to whom she's talking, she'll cover her bases and say "Wha'r we goin TO DO, MommyDaddy?"

She loves expressions. Making faces and exuding severe excitement or concern over something. That's why one of her first expressions was "Oh mah goonness!". She wore that one out pretty good.

Do you think they offer theater in preschool? No matter, she'll provide her own theatrics for everyone's enjoyment.

C-ing Is Believing

I have 7 weeks until baby will be delivered via c-section. I'm nervous, excited and scared.

This baby is definitely bigger than Isabella was at this point. Not sure how she does it, but she's almost transverse (sideways) though very much carrying in front. She will punch me in the hip on the left and stab me with her hands on the right hip with a good shove to the bladder for good measure. She's not head down either, which IS like Bella. Bella was pretty much sitting in my pelvis with no intention to budge even when we tried the external version to try and flip her.

I've been asked alot why I've decided to go ahead with a c-section. I'm the queen of online research especially when it comes to pregnancy, but I've been conflicted about my decision to choose a cesarean. Just like anything else, you can find pros and cons on any subject, all of which could potentially sway you one way or the other.

Many think a c-section is the "easy" way out. There is nothing easy about getting a spinal, numbing chest down, getting your belly cut and healing for weeks after. It is just completely different than delivering naturally. I'm perfectly aware that to deliver naturally would be better for baby in numerous ways. I'm also aware that statistics aren't clear on uterus eruption or other complications due to a previous c-section. After weeks of fretting and researching, the light bulb came on. Why don't I just ask my doctor why he prefers a c-section?

I have a wonderful OBGYN. He has been practicing for nearly 20 years and both his parents are physicians. He's cut-to-the-chase and more about his patients' well-being than his own pocketbook. All the nurses on his staff and at the hospital where I delivered Isabella say he's the best. I want professional, I don't need a friend when it comes to my baby or my health! That's why I chose him to deliver baby #2 as well.

I asked Dr. Read why he prefers a c-section after a previous one has been done. He said that he used to do 80% VBAC (natural birth after a c-section) but he saw far too many complications during delivery that resulted in emergency c-section to a stressed baby and mother or worse, death. He pointed out that even losing one baby in 100 in a VBAC attempt is too much. I agree! Every pregnancy is different, as is every delivery.

Then I remembered the couple we met four days before I had Bella. We went out for a final dinner before becoming a family of three. We were elated and frightened of the coming Wednesday when I'd have the surgery to deliver her. I'd never even been in the hospital and my imagination was elevated to a new level of worry for my baby. My husband was terrified he'd lose me. But that night we decided to focus on the excitement of a tiny new life.

The couple saw us taking pictures of each other and the woman asked if she could take one of both of us. Then we got to talking about our babies. It turned out that she'd given birth by c-section to her second baby just 2 months prior and this was their first night out. My husband and I immediately had diarrhea of the mouth about our concerns and fears. She was so kind and sweet in helping calm those fears. Her first child was born in emergency c-section, the second was scheduled. She highly recommended we do a c-section again if we had a second child. She was the same size as me prior to pregnancy and she healed very well both times.

Every decision we make as parents has potential to do harm. Be it physical, emotional or psychological. And those decisions start before our babies are even born! I now feel more confident about delivering this baby via c-section. I want her in the best of health and I'll deal with my own healing.

I think it boils down to what each parent feels is best for their child as well as themselves. We'll never please everyone but we're the ones who have to live with the choices we make. Now lets see if I'll hold such confidence over the rest of my parenting days :)

Could you leave a little, please?

Yesterday I had to go in for a three hour glucose blood test for gestational diabetes.

That means this:

I failed the first blood screening by ONE POINT over what is acceptable.

I had to fast for 12 hours, then show up at the doc's office at 9am. That wouldn't be a big deal except I had to get Bella up early, drive her to her Gran's house, then drive back the other way to the doc office.

The nurse took one vial of blood at 9:30. By then I was dying for some nourishment so the glucola drink was the best tasting orange syrup ever.

She suggested I either lay down in the room or I could hang out in the lobby. I chose to lay down and rest.

Rest. What a joke.

Ever try laying down on an exam room table, on your left side so you don't throw up and because laying on your back at this point causes your internal organs to be squished up to your throat due to a 3+ lb child squirming around uncomfortably?

Not only did she squirm, baby decided to take up jazzercise. I'm guessing she was really keen on the glucola since that's all she'd had in 12 hours too.

I got three more vials of blood taken from me at 10:30, 11:30 and 12:30.

By the time I left, I felt abused from the inside out and I left my frost bitten toes on the exam table.

Now I just hope that I passed the test this time. Otherwise, I'll have to go on a strict diet, eating 8 meals a day and checking my sugar levels all day long. Yippee.

The bad part? I think I messed up the very first test by having coffee and a cereal bar that morning, even if it was 5 hours before the test.

But then, I've never been good at taking tests. Remember the Follow The Directions quiz you had to take in junior high? Same test every year and each year I failed to read all the directions. Guess it finally came back to bite me. Or at least take half my blood out.