Moira told us her ear hurt, but besides the occasional cough or sniffling she’s had no symptoms.  We scheduled a sick visit with her pediatrican anyways and she woke up from her nap screaming and yelling "Owie" so it was good her appointment was 30 minutes later.  She had to use the bathroom while we waited so I left to take her and when I came back, the doctor was looking in Bennett’s ears.  Kit had been up 2 hours during the night with Bennett fussing but he also had no fever, no real symptoms beyond congestion.  (And this isn’t his doctor, he still goes to the preemie clinic so the doctor was just being super nice to look.)  But the conclusion was yep, they BOTH have double ear infections, again.  They had them in April, too, when Bennett’s temp was 105 degrees and he had to go back on oxygen?  I talked with his nurse and they’re seeing him Monday morning and later this month for his well check, OT check and ear follow up.  Plus Mo has to have a follow up in two weeks, same day as my midwife appointment.  So our empty July just filled with at least 2 doctor visits a week between me, Mo & Bennett.  Lovely. 

Plus since this is Moira’s 4th ear infection since December 28th, she has to go see the ENT because they think she needs ear tubes put in - but he’s booked through August 31st which is fine with me if she doesn’t get another infection but since I’ll probably be in labor then, it kinda stinks.  We’re also trying to coordinate that visit with the one to see the pediatric surgeon (at the same children’s hospital) and I’m hoping if she needs surgery we can persuade them to do it at the same time.  I don’t know if they’ll put her under general for the bellybutton thing but if so, I want them to do it ONCE and fix both issues.  I’m not having her put under twice if at all avoidable. 

In happier news, Bennett is walking so much today - I heard him get up from his nap and he opened his door and was standing there, then walked out to me!  He’s also turning while walking and even did a 180 degree turn to come back to me.  Hooray!  If he has something he’s not suppose to (the phone and pen both today) then he walks quite quickly to get away, too!  I was chasing him in circles trying to grab the pen from him and he was laughing and pressing buttons on the phone as Kit tried to snag him and he walked away.

I’ve been trying to think of how to describe being pregnant with this child.  Here’s what I came up with while cuddling the big kids down to bed…

Take a kitten, about 3 pounds.  Wrap scotch tape around its paws to get it annoyed.  Then stick it in a paper bag.  Then shove the paper bag under your shirt, and make sure it’s a fitted shirt to really get the feel.  Okay, now try to go to sleep.  Are you getting the general sense of activity level of this little girl?  It’s unreal.  She’s surpassed Christopher and I didn’t think that was possible.  I think she has more than four limbs, because I’m getting punched and kicked in so many places at once - and something big and bony keeps sticking up out of my belly.  Kit can see it across the room.  Crazy.  :)  To think I have another 11 weeks, if we’re lucky, makes me wonder if at some point she’ll run out of room and be constrained in her expressions, or if she’ll get upset at the tight quarters and just kick harder.  I asked Kit if it’s possible for her to actually burst my stomach but he doesn’t think that’s ever happened before. 

I feel very blessed to be feeling this, really.  I just had to share. 

Christopher’s prayer…

"Help us make good choices.  Help us not hit people we like.  Help us not kick people we like.  Help us not bite people we like.  Help us not punch people we like."

I’m wondering if there is a distinction between the people we like and the ones we don’t like?

I can’t remember if I wrote about this on the blog or just the kids’ journals.  We have them line up in the foyer and they race down the hall at bed time and we say, "On your mark, get set…" and Bennett says, "GUH!"  Lately when we start to say it, he’ll stop whatever he’s doing and start frantically crawling to the foyer.  One night he pulled to a standing position on the wall next to Moira and wanted to race her!  It was so sweet, and I held his hand and he walked down the hall behind her.  Now he’s getting good at walking down the hall by himself but he still looks like he’s walking on a ship so he doesn’t get too far.  You can see how excited he is when he’s walking.

Yesterday Emy reached another exciting milestone - she kicked me in the ribs!  Bennett never got this high, but if I’m bent over it all she can get me and I could feel her foot get a little stuck and she yanked and it was almost like it popped out from under my rib.  Weird.  She’s got a new move that’s this little shimmy-shake thing and my whole belly jiggles when she does it - I feel like Santa.  Kit felt her do it last night,  it’s very odd.  Like her entire body is quivering with excitement.  Kit’s predicting we’ve got another "spirited kid" on our hands - specifically, he’s guessing she’ll have an energy level like Christopher. 

HOW did I survive 12 weeks of bed rest?  Seriously.  Does anyone remember?  I remember I wasn’t suppose to sit at more than a recline, specifically a 60 degree angle.  And then only for meals.  I was allowed up to walk from the couch to the bed, use the bathroom, shower, and go out for doctor’s visits.  I’ve learned that bed rest has been shown to make no difference in prolonging delivery, except in certain cases.  High blood pressure, incompetent cervix (sometimes) or placental abruption.  Which  makes sense - you want all the possible nutrients and blood getting to that baby and you don’t want the stress of gravity making things worse.  The whole placenta falling off thing is a pretty compelling reason to stay in bed.  Bed rest has not shown to help with irritable uterus or unexplained preterm labor, if I remember correctly.  But that’s based on studies and since every individual is different, you do what you and your doctor/midwife say is best.  I know I contract a lot less when I’m down, but I have irritable uterus so who knows whether this would eventually put me into labor or if I’ll just keep on contracting for fun until I’m term - we hope.  I had this with Christopher and Moira and I had hospital visits at 19 weeks with Critter, 35 weeeks with Mo and had to get a shot to stop the contractions.  Haven’t done that this time.  Hope we won’t have to!

But anyway, I’m suppose to be on couch potato status and when the specialist sent us on our merry little way I started to do more.  I didn’t ask permission, I just let myself be more active.  And now those contractions that were just a few a day are now a few an hour.  Whoops.  Three times I’ve taken something to slow them down when they got to about 5 minutes apart but that was back at 15 weeks and I forgot the other time… and then this weekend.  So we’re doing way better with this pregnancy, but I think we’re all a lot more on edge this time around.  And hoping to avoid bed rest.

So I’m trying to be down and really what that has meant is grab the laundry, fold it, put it away, then sit on the couch.  Get back up when the kids ask for lunch, try to make something fast, set it on the table and sit back down.  Remember I wanted to start a loaf of bread, go throw the ingredients in the bread maker and sit back down.  Get Bennett up from his nap (but I did hold his hand and have him walk out of the room instead of carrying him.)  Pick up all the toys off the floor that he’s likely to stick in his mouth so I can set him loose.  Then sit back down.  At least I’m sitting down in between stuff, right? 

I know I’m making Kit nuts because when he’s at work I’m suppose to be doing as little as possible.  He mixes bottles, preps lunch, pulls out stuff for dinner, cleans the kitchen, has everything set so I can just veg.   What do I do?  Make bread.  Get the laundry out that I was suppose to leave in there until he came home and pulled it out.  Work on projects that can wait, really.  I’m a terrible couch potato.  BUT in my defense, if I notice contractions or anything suspicious I do lay down with the kids and read books and take it easy.  I’m trying very hard to listen to my body.  This just makes me wonder how I handled 12 weeks on bed rest because with Bennett, I knew I couldn’t cheat.  I’ve only been on the couch 3 days and I’m going crazy!  Seven more weeks and if I go into labor, they won’t try to stop it.  I need to hang on for seven more weeks.  Which I hope will mean I end up pregnant for another 11 weeks, just because that would be so ironic but wonderful to have a big chubby baby.

       Favorite drinks not supplied by birth center.
       Baby wipes
       Disposable absorbent panties such as “Depends”
       Good walking shoes and extra comfy socks
       Clothes to wear during and after labor and for your trip home.
       Pre-washed clothes and receiving blankets for your baby
       Small unopened bottle of olive oil
       Food or snacks for your partner
       Orange juice and food for you after your birth
       Small aquarium fish net if you are planning a waterbirth       
       Cameras with black & white and color film
       Back-up batteries for cameras and/or camcorder
       CAR SEAT!
       Two rice socks
       C/D or tape player with your favorite music
       Phone number list to call and announce your joyful birth!
       Cell phone charger
       Favorite candles or essential oils
       Tennis balls
       Rolling pin
       Toothpaste, tooth brush & mouth wash
       Sports bra to wear during labor.  Nursing bra to wear after birth.
       Herbal perineal wash
       Glasses, contact solution and contact cases
       Favorite childbirth books
       Pain coping technique flashcards for your partner
       Regular medications you are required to take
       Anything else from home that may make you comfortable such as a
favorite quilt, blanket, TV or body pillow
       If small children plan to attend your birth, please bring a responsible adult to watch them.  Bring toys, snacks and DVDs for them to watch to help entertain them while you labor.  For safety and privacy of other patients, it is the birth center’s policy that young children must be supervised at all times.

I’ll add the packing list for our additions later.  I think Emy will be amused some day to read what we were supposed to bring for her.

Our budding chef has created his first "Healthy Treat Recipe" and I am quoting him directly.

1 piece of "dead bird"

3 measuring cups of fruity pebbles (also known by Christopher as "cereal so sweet it make your teeth hurt)

honey

sugar

peanut butter

Put it in the oven and cook it all up.

It a little unhealthy and healthy cuz most of it is food, healthy food.  Oh, also, it has lots of carrots inside a healthy snack.  THEN put it in the oven and cook it all up.  I keep mistaking.  I just mistaked.

Mom, you want to make that recipe?  It kinda delicious.

Christopher got his first library card!  We posted a picture in the gallery.  His first book of choice was "Stone Soup" (one of our favorites.)  It was "Lake Dallas Appreciation Day" at the library so they had a book sale, refreshments, and forgive any late fees you’ve built up.  We go to this library a lot but I was still surprised to be greeted by the library director by name and to have one of the librarians know Christopher’s name!  :)  The kids had a blast picking books to buy and check out and I loved that they had those big heart raspberry shortbread cookies!  They were delicious.  The director was saying how adorable our family is (always nice to hear) and commented that they should videotape his enthusiasm about his first card and post it on their website.  I told her we would take a picture of him at home and they asked if we would give them a copy for the site.  We really love that library. 

It’s fun to be in a small town where people recognize you and get to know your kids.  We’ve only been here a year but I love the community feel.  Though I cannot imagine being in a town this size (I think we’re under 6,000) and not be close to the city.  We’ve been spoiled by having Dallas & Fort Worth right here, for frivolous reasons (like cool museums) but good reasons like the temple and the HOSPITALS for which we will always be greatful.

I’ve noticed when we are all out together now that I’m showing more that we’re getting a lot of double takes.  It’s rare that we go out with the kids, even just the older two, and not get comments (positive stuff, "cute kids" or "You’ve got your hands full!" with a smile) but when we’ve got all THREE then we get more comments and now that I’m clearly pregnant and Kit’s carrying a baby (even if the "baby" is almost 17 months old, he still looks like a one year old) then people start counting - you can see them looking at each kid, adding them up in their head.  Then they do a double take of my belly.  Generally they smile, sometimes they look scared.  :)  It always makes me laugh.  I’m sure we’ll get more comments and looks as time goes by and Emiline shows up and I’ve heard people get negative comments about their large family size, but we’ve never had that.  We’ve always gotten really positive compliments or at worst, expressions of surprise or "Wow, you’re braver than me!" But even the "You’ve got your hands full!" we answer with a smile and "Yes, we feel so blessed."  Or Kit grins and says, "Isn’t it great?!"  It is great.  A madhouse, sure, and a non-stop three ring circus but we can’t imagine anything better.  Okay, a good night’s sleep would be cool.  But that will come someday…

So starting with the oldest…  Christopher began gymnastics classes last Saturday and loves it.  Kit takes him and I’m sad to miss it, but he said Christopher was very much in his element, racing through obstacle courses and doing somersaults down the foam ramp.  He’s the youngest and shortest in the class but is doing well - and one of two boys.  :)  We love it because after class he was so worn out he NAPPED.  Gymnastics should be every day! 

Last night I was working on my labor soundtrack playlist and sang part of a lullabye to Christopher - the line is "How long do you want to be loved?" and before I could finish, he said, "Forever, I love being loved, I wanna be loved forever."  The next line of the song was, "Is forever enough?"  It was cute.  :)  But then he got teary eyed and said he can’t remember what heaven is like or what Heavenly Father looks like so he’s going to be scared when he goes back. 

Moira went to the pool for the first time since she can remember (we never went last year) and was a bit too brave for my taste and went under a couple times.  It’s a beach entrance, so she can walk and walk for quite awhile but then it dips suddenly at 2 1/2 feet.  I was asking her to stop and she’s grinning at me and walking and walking and I’m trying to get to her, knowing what’s about to happen, and she went under.  We’re taking them to the pool each Friday and Kit’s working to overcome her new fear of going under.  He’s teaching both kids to swim.  Next year we’ll start with Bennett - he likes to crawl around in the water and doesn’t seem to notice when he crawls under the water, which is cute but scary.

Bennett’s only word still is "GO!" pronounced, "Guh!" and he keeps surprising us by using it in context.  Now when the big kids line up to race to bed he crawls over to join them and pulls to a standing position in the wall but can’t chase after them.  It’s so sad!  He wants to be a big kid, and I love seeing him try.  He’s much more stable standing and is taking more steps but I haven’t seen him take more than five.  He’ll walk around holding our hand or the kids’ hands (that always makes me nervous) but I think it will be a couple months before walking is his main way of getting around.  The glasses are still a struggle.  He likes having them on, but he also wants to pull them off and try putting them back on himself and I don’t trust him to have them on unless he’s near enough for us to grab them before he snaps the them. 

Emiline is still head down and I don’t think she has enough room to move back up so we’re ready for take off in that sense.  Big, huge, exciting news - we’re started our THIRD TRIMESTER.  I’m 28 weeks along and that means less than 10 weeks and we’ll be full term!  Though after 36 weeks (August 13th) they will not try to stop labor if I start.  (Until then, we will be doing our best to stop labor if the contractions start getting crazy.)  Emy should be right around 2 1/2 pounds right now and 15 inches long.  I can tell she’s getting squished because she’s not kicking me as violently, though her stretches are something to behold - my stomach contorts like some bizarree octupus is trying to escape with limbs every which way.  She can hear now and is reacting to music and the kids’ & Kit’s voices. 

I’ve been packing the huge list of stuff for delivery and I should post it sometime.  It’s somewhat unusual, shall we say?  :) 

Emily’s in Orlando right now for her food science convention but before she left she made us deep fried snickers.  Yum.  When she gets back Kit’s making us deep fried ice cream.  I’m having no problems putting on weight this pregnancy.  :) 

So this is what we’re working on to get done before Emiline shows up:

Sort all the food storage and aim to have it inventoried.

Month of meals (frozen dinners for postpartum.)

Stocked up on perishables and basics for postpartum.

Labor Music - Emily’s helping compile my "Workout" iTunes list and a more mellow "Lullabye" cd that will double as Emiline’s bedtime cd.  It’s really fun - I love the workout list.

Packing for delivery.  Soon I’ll share the somewhat unusual list we’re using.

Compiling e-mail announcement list and addressing envelopes for those without e-mail.

Burning family video w/soundtrack so I have something to watch (distract me) during labor.

Figuring out how we’re going to decorate Emy’s "birthday/welcome home" cake.  It’s chocolate but not sure about decorations yet.

Making thank you notes.  I’m stamping them and they’re cute.

Catching up on all the kids scrapbooks (I’m done with May but need to journal them) but mine is WAY behind.  Like Christmas.

Making Emy’s Christmas stocking.  I’ll have to show you the others so you can understand why this is such a project.

Trying to track down all the baby girl stuff that we’ve moved and sorted and packed and such since Moira. 

Scheduling Moira & Bennett’s therapy (speech, OT, horse, motor lab, etc) for August on…

Scheduling Moira’s surgery consult and surgery for her belly button.  Down in Fort Worth.  Ugh.

Getting to Bennett’s 18 month well check and occupational assessment down at Baylor, hopefully our last visit!!!

Interviewing the new pediatrician for Emy and possibly Bennett, up here in Denton.  Midwife referred us to her and we’ll see how she feels about caring for a preemie, but she’s the supervising pediatrician for the birth center so I’m thinking we’ll love her. 

Finishing the baby blankets I’m crocheting and sewing as baby gifts for friends due after me.  Because it won’t happen after Emy’s here!

But we’ve gotten a lot done!  We have mostly packed and we have her homecoming outfit and diapers and carseat so really, that’s all we "need" before she shows up. 

But the only thing we’ve updated is the desserts (and that’s not even all of them!) and pictures in the gallery.  Hope you enjoy.

Busy weekend. Kit’s brother, sister-in-law and their four kids came in Friday and stayed the weekend with us. We’ve not seen Susan since our wedding (six years ago next month) or the kids and we’ve had three since then, of course, and they’ve had their fourth so it was wonderful to let the kids meet their cousins from Kit’s side. They had a blast and I’m sorting through pictures and I’ll post them.

It was my father’s birthday this weekend and Emily and I found a card for him that just made us laugh - something about hoping it was a day when everything went right. Considering where he is and what he’s doing, we thought a day when everything went right was a) highly unrealistic b) something we all should be hoping for in a global sense! We have an equally funny one for Father’s Day and I’ll tell you what that one said after he gets it, just in case he gets a chance to read this before then.

I’m 26 weeks pregnant - hooray! Just a couple more weeks to my third trimester. I figured out why I was contracting, or we at least suspect - I missed a couple days taking my magnesium and that seems to make a pretty dramatic difference in whether I contract or not. I learned Denton Presby has a huge tub for laboring… hmm… Baylor does not. I labored in the tub and LOVED it with Moira, right up until I suddenly hit transition and then things got a little nutty. But now that we know my body can go from 0 to 60 mph in 2 seconds, I feel more prepared to handle transition. And I’m really excited by the idea of having time in the tub. I need to ask the OB if delivering in the tub is an option (the nurse I talked with in L&D said no doctor they have allows it but really - how many people have asked for a water birth?) And if I’m in tub and hit transition, who is going to attempt to drag me out of the tub and get me back into bed, right? No one wants to get bitten by the lady in labor.

Bennett got LOUD today. Kit and I discussed it and we really think it happened today. It’s like he discovered he has volume and he’s having a bit too much fun with it. There are some new pictures up in gallery and more to come.

Lovely weekend.

See what that count down is at? Less than 90 days. Shorter than 3 months. Eeks! I am term (38 weeks) in 86 days. How amazing is that?

So if I make it to 39 weeks, my longest pregnancy yet, I would be having a baby Labor Day weekend. Around September 4th/5th. My goal is to get to term but August 27th isn’t a magical date at which Emiline pops out - I COULD, in theory, go even longer! (Though I don’t think Emily would be very amused to return to BYU August 29th having missed Emiline’s arrival. That would be tragically ironic, eh?)

The longer we go in this pregnancy, the more hope we have that it will continue and today, that means we talked with my midwife about alternative delivery options. Not that I can deliver at the birth center, but if we’re past 34 weeks then our specialist and midwife both feel good about us delivering closer to home (Denton Presbyterian instead of Baylor University) and we’ve gone back and forth on that. Their NICU isn’t open, last I heard, and they are by no means prepared to handle a micro-preemie. BUT, for a term baby… The other issue was VBAC, but that’s what I talked about with my midwife. She said they’ll take care of the paperwork, I’ll sign a VBAC consent thing, the doctor signs off on it, they have my last operative report (incision verification) and so long as the doctor is supportive (and she said he is) then I just walk in like any normal woman in labor and the hospital has to make the calls and get in whomever they need to cover their liability.

We’ll meet with the OB (I see my midwife & peri both next week and discuss this with them but they both were very encouraging - it was my hesitation) and see what we think. The perks are that:

I get to stay with my midwife literally until I am in labor, seeing her at the birth center (that I love) close to home for all prenatal care except ultrasounds.

No weekly drives to Baylor for ultrasounds/check ups from 34 weeks on - and that idea of weekly commutes is NOT appealing.

No fear of driving downtown in labor and delivering in the car.

Easier back and forth for Kit and the kids while I’m in the hospital, though we sure hope and pray I’m there for 24 hours tops! No working visits around rush hour/bedtime/etc.

We’re touring the hospital next week and we’ll see how we feel. If I have preterm labor then it’s straight to Baylor, no question. But if I get to August and I’m not showing any signs of things happening then Denton is feeling good. I think I’ve been scared to explore that option and get excited because I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

Of course, I type this as I’m laying on the couch having contractions but what else is new, right? I don’t know if these are stronger because I’m bigger, as is Emiline, but I’m not too worried. Just trying to be aware… I’m just over 25 weeks, hooray! If Emiline were to show up they would automatically offer her initial support, and we don’t even have to ask! How cool is that? We’ve crossed that ugly line of the parents having to decide to try and save the baby or not.