36 Week Update!

Disclaimer:  This post is about pregnancy.  Therefore, pregnancy words will be used.  Proceed with caution.  Words that will be used include: internal, effacement, dilation, and baby. 

This is my most exciting doctor appointment update thus far!  I was super excited/anxious to see what my ultrasound was going to show (since baby was measuring big) and to see what the doctor said (since it was first internal this trimester).

This ultrasound had baby super low, head way down and facing back in perfect position!  Also, baby's growth has slowed down and is now right in the perfect normal range.  They said that baby's growth spurt just happened super early, and now it has fallen back where it should be.  Still measuring ahead - now the whole body and head is measuring evenly at around 38 weeks, at around 7 lbs. (which could be very inaccurate, just a ballpark).  But that was such great news!  Always better to be able to go naturally and not have to think about possible induction, so what a relief.

Also great news, I am already 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced!!  I made have cursed when he told me this.  I was the same way with Reilly - 2 cm dilated for about 2 weeks before delivery.  But the effacement is definitely higher than I was with Reilly at 36 weeks...so who knows!  I am very thankful that I am progressing well, and similarly to how I did the first time.  I like that at least something about this whole labor experience could be somewhat predictable!  The fact that these signs are the same, will hopefully mean that my body will labor similarly and deliver this baby nice and easily. We can only pray!

Sidenote: My labor with Reilly was an "easy labor"...some people think this means "pain free".  Not the case. It was easy in that she came fast and furiously, and her head came out without any pushing.  However, I had no epidural, not an ounce of any medication, and felt every single contraction/tear/rip/burn that occurs when a human emerges from another human.  I was vomiting and doubled over in the worst pain of my life.  It is the strangest feeling to be insanely excited for such an event to occur again in your life...and thus is the miracle of life!  I'm hoping this time it will be "easier" to handle the pain, because I know the wonderful outcome?  Wishful thinking?  Okay, that's all.  Waiting continues!

Meanwhile, this one is ready to be a big sister!  

When the Camera Comes Out...

 ...this is what our little ham does.

Daddy took the camera out to take the belly pictures that I wrote about yesterday.  And as Mommy was sitting on the couch getting situated, Reilly dives onto the floor in front of Daddy, swinging her legs, and says "Cheese, Daddy!"

 Of course she has her winter headband on her head, because she was playing dress-up in our hat and scarf basket again.  Which I never realized how often she did this until looking at how many pictures feature her indoors, wearing outdoor gear!

 I love that cutie little face!!  And her cutie little personality that lights it up. 

My 35 Week Belly!

 

I love taking belly pictures toward the end of my pregnancy, because looking back on how big and different my body becomes is so fun for me to do later on.  Even though right now it seems so natural that this has become my body, in a few short months I will look back and not be able to believe how big I was.  And even though I may not "look big" I have gained 30 pounds ALL in that little belly, which is a whole lot to more to carry around these days!  Especially when my first baby wants to be "up" all the time too, and I have to fit them both up front there somewhere.

I love my little bean!  It's been causing me intense pain lately in my ribs, which make it hard to do much of anything when the paint comes, but I just keep looks at my sono pics and melting.  Makes it a lot easier to deal with the pain while looking at that face!  I'm thinking of bringing the pics to the hospital to concentrate on while I'm in labor. 

Tomorrow I'll be 36 weeks, and I have another sonogram to see how baby is growing, as well as an appointment with my doctor.  First of my one week appointments!  So excited to see how baby is doing.

We're all packed.  We're all ready.  Everything is set for baby to arrive.  I had a lot of help last week from my family, which I am so grateful for!  Because now I have a peaceful feeling of waiting and excitement.  I threw away my "things to do before baby arrives" checklist, because everything got done!  Such a blessing.  Now, we wonder and wait.  When will baby come?  How will baby arrive?  Will baby be a boy or a girl (or a puppy, as Reilly still predicts)?  So many questions, the answers to which will come quite soon!  This is the best kind of excitement!

Paintings for Baby (and one for me!)

Recently, a friend of mine had asked about some nursery art that she wanted for her baby boy's room.  She had been looking for something specific, but couldn't find what she wanted, so she contacted me and we came up with a design together!  These are two songs that she always sings to him, on 11x14 canvases.

 This one was special for me to make because I have sang this to Reilly since she was in the womb, and now she sings it along with me at night.

 

 This one I love, because she had me change the lyrics to "Root Root Root for the Yankees"!  I made it kind of classic-looking, so it could grow with him.  This is something that I don't think he would think twice about keeping in his room as he becomes a teenager, and it will have such special memories for his mommy.

 

I was on such a canvas kick, that I whipped one up for our house.  With our baby coming right around St. Patty's Day (we think?) and with it's name being so Irish, I needed something else green to decorate our house.  So I made a whimsical painting that reflects our family a little bit - Guiness for Daddy, of course.  The phrase "Life of Riley" means "living the good life", so I changed the spelling of Riley for our girl.  "Lucky Charm" is actually there for the cereal, because it's my guilty pleasure that I have about once a year. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I've been working on!

If you ever want to order something, feel free to email me kaitlin.buselli@gmail.com.  Paintings ship easily!

Reilly Reading!

 Well, kind of reading.  She climbs up in my chair, whether I'm in the room with her or not.  She LOVES the book "I Love You Stinky Face", (she calls it "But Mama" because of a repeated phrase by the little boy in the book) and she will flip through the pages and talk about the pictures.  She say "But Mama, but Mama, big scary monkey!!" or "But Mama, but Mama, I love you stinky face!"

It's pretty much my favorite thing.  I have had a reading obsession since I was about her age, that has never let up.  I have always loved reading, and made time for it no matter how old I was.  I love seeing her starting so early, and being so proud of herself.

 She has moved on to other books too, always favorites that we have read multiple times.  I showed her how to look at the picture to see what was happening as a clue, so now she will flip to a page, look at the picture, and make up a sentence about it.

This is my favorite, because this is the face she makes after she "reads" a page.  She will look down at the pages like she really reading, then look up at me with this giant smile like it was the greatest accomplishment in the world.

Which, let's be honest, to Mama, it pretty much is. :)

Mama's Chair (& Belly Picture Attempts)

 Reilly loves Mama's chair.  It was given to us before we had her, and it's where we would spend most of our nights together when she was a wee one.  I had a candy stash right next to it, and I would drink iced lemonade and eat candy to stay awake while I fed her.  I would gaze out the window at the stars, and occasionally at my beyond exhausted looking reflection, at all hours of the night for weeks and weeks while we learned how to breastfeed together.

Now, we read in this chair.  I read to her before nap, and sometimes before bedtime.  And during the day, she will mosey in my room and climb up on the chair, and start reading to herself.  She looks at the pictures and talks about them.  It's precious.

I'm a little curious as to what will happen when new baby is here...I'm thinking it will be Mama and Reilly's chair in the day, and Mama and new baby's chair at night.  Or let's be honest, we'll all just pile on.

On a side note, this is what Reilly does when I say "Give Mama a big smile."

I set up the camera to try and get some belly pictures on the chair, and Reilly wanted in on the picture fun.

I love the last one even though it's blurry, because she was on the other side of the room and came running over and said "Up! Up!" It's so indicative of our every day and how she loves to be near her Mama. :)

Nursery Decor

Since finding out about new baby, I decided to change the nursery decor a little bit.  The colors were green, brown, and cream.  I was getting bored, and wanted something a little more for both kiddies, and not so infant-y.

So I repainted some frames that were in Reilly's room to start.  I painted the whole frame white, and then used an old sponge as a "stamp" by cutting it into a circle and using different paint colors.

 I wanted lots of different colors, but obviously that could be for both boy and girl.  So I used navy blue, a bumble gum pink, teal, apple green, yellow, and purple.

I love how they came out!  They have been a good starting point for the rest of the projects I'm planning. 

Here is Reilly looking pensive while playing dress-up in our winter hats.  The best part about this picture is that it's not really candid...I knelt right in front of her and she was looking at me, then took a sip of her juice, and then stared to the side like she was posing.  Little ham. :)

More nursery to come!

Painting for my Valentine

 I love this song, ("Arms" by Christine Perri), and it reminded me of Hubby and how happy it makes me to be in his arms.  So I painted this for our bedroom and surprised him for Valentine's Day. I used different shades of blue and browns and taupes, to match our room.  The photograph does not portray the colors well...the lighter blue words are not actually hard to read even though they look like they are.  And the word "around" doesn't stand out as much as it looks like it does...it would bug me to stare at that every day if that were the case.

I added a white stripes down the side, and some stripes on the bottom to go with our bedroom decor.  It's a touch nautical, so I wanted to reflect that in the painting.

Just thought I'd share what I've been painting lately!

Now I must run and do things such as: 
- paint some more
- bring some clothes that Reilly has grown out of downstairs and find their respective bins according to size to make room in the closet for new baby (doesn't that sound really exciting?)
- throw in more laundry
- pray that Reilly decides to nap, because right now she's in her crib asking me what I'm doing
- clean various parts of my home that are on a psychotic list I made of things to clean before the baby comes. Like my freezer. And ceiling fans.

34 weeks!

I am updating on this week of pregnancy, so that I can look back and remember what I was thinking and feeling at this time.  After baby, pregnancy and specific symptoms that were felt at certain times becomes fuzzy and cloudy...that's why people have more babies. :)

When  I was just about 34 weeks pregnant with Reilly, I wrote about the joys of waiting and how precious this time of pregnancy is, because you never get it back.  The feelings and the kicks.  The peace of knowing that you are keeping you baby growing healthy.  I cringe when I hear people complain about the kicks.  Now, I have been getting very intense pain in my ribs from baby's feeties, and I am almost brought to tears at times.  But the kicking and movement, I will never complain about.  It is a miracle, and years from now, I will long to feel this rare feeling again.

At 34 weeks this time around, I am still very comfortable and feeling very good for the most part.  I am carrying wonderfully, I feel it.  I feel healthy and only ginormous at certain times of the day.  Like when I have to get off the couch (and can't) or go to the bathroom in the middle of the night (when I have to roll) or when I pick Reilly up and hike her over the big belly (when I grunt). 

But mainly I am curious.  Will I really wait 6 more weeks to go into labor?  Reilly was born at 38 weeks, which has always led me to believe that I will be early this time too.  And then I found out that baby is measuring ahead.  As of yesterday, baby is measuring at 36 weeks (the body) and 38 weeks (the head).  According to their sonogram, the baby already weighs 6 lbs. 11 oz.  Now, I know this is very approximate.  But REALLY!  I have a baby who's head thinks it is an entire month older than it actually is.  Does this mean the head will start going into labor in 2 weeks?  Because if the head starts going, the rest of it will surely follow. 

I told my mom I wish I knew when I would be going...so I can prepare.  She responded that I was prepared.  I said I know, I mean prepare MENTALLY.  To which she said, "Well, honey..you're pregnant. Assume you'll be going into labor soon."  Seems like sound advice to me!   So 2-6 weeks it is.

One way that I have prepared is by freezing food.  Besides freezing meals, I cleaned and cut into cutlets 20 pounds of chicken.  I have bags and bags of chicken cutlets ready to be cooked.  I don't know why my nesting expresses itself in these bizarre ways.  But I have 3 freezers in my house, and they are all quickly getting filled.  I love freezers.

So 34 weeks, the countdown is on!  Another sonogram in 2 weeks to check on growth again!  Eek.  Baby, have mercy on your mama!  Go easy.  Take advice from your sister, she did great.  Tiny head, no pushing.  Good times.

My Loves

You still make me feel like I am the most important girl in the world.

I still need you next to me at the end of every day.

I still get a smile on my face when I get a text or email from you in the middle of the day.

I still miss you, even when you are just at work.

You still make me laugh every day by being your silly self.

Having your arms around me is still where I feel the safest in the world.

Making you happy still makes me the happiest girl in the world.

But one thing is different...

My heart bursts in a whole new way every time this little one calls you Daddy.  I am so proud to be the Mama to your babies. 

Happy Valentine's Day to all the loves of my life!  My little Valentines.

I don't know what I would do without any of these pieces of my heart. <3

Birth.

I will be posting an actual birthday update post, seeing as there have been many celebrations! Namely, a surprise party that had me stupefied in utter shock, dinner tonight with my besties, and my parents visiting this weekend. But for now, (via iPad, sorry no pictures!) I want to talk about my new birthday view. It started when Reilly was born, and is stronger now as I sit here with a massive belly and just weeks away from delivery. A normal twenty-something's view on their birthday: WOO! It's my birthday! Buy me a drink! Let's go out and party! My current view of my birthday: WOO! It's my birthday! Wow, birth. Twenty five years ago today, was the day that my mom and dad had been waiting, preparing, worrying and hoping for. The day that they were wondering about, and dreaming of what their baby Melissa would be like as a sister. That was today. I am that baby. I think it's normal to have an 'oh my goodness I am twenty-five' moment. But probably not so normal to have an 'oh my goodness I am about to birth my second baby, and I was my parents second baby' moment. I hope our second baby is as awesome as theirs was...ha! Kidding. Okay I need to stop typing because I need to try and get baby out of my ribs. I love my birthday!! :)

7 weeks to go?!

I am apparently carrying a baby who was 5 pounds a week ago.  And people are still telling me that you can "hardly tell" that I'm pregnant.  Do you know what that means?  There is a five pound baby squeezed into the tiniest space ever, leaving me constantly peeing, not wanting to eat literally at all, and with such aches that I feel barely mobile.

I have "7 weeks" to go, which could means 5 weeks since the baby is measuring ahead.  I really don't care when I go, as long as it's not too soon.  Baby's lungs need to get nice and healthy in there.  But I feel like I'm in my ninth month, in every way.

And I just can't seem to say no to my little babygirl when she asks me to sit on the floor with her all day, no matter how sore I am.  She's just too sweet, and she says please, and then I melt.

In other news, I think I say "Umm.." a lot, because Reilly says it all the time.  I'll ask her what she wants for lunch, and she'll say "Umm...apples?"  It's pretty hilarious.  If it's a big decision, she'll tap her chin and say "Hmm..." before she answers my question.  I have learned that if I notice a little quirk that she picks up, it must mean I do it since she is pretty much mini me.

Also, the new crib is up!  Did I mention that we got a totally free brand new one, since Reilly's broke?  They totally replaced it when I sent pictures of the damage.  And, we were able to get Reilly's repaired better than new.  Talk about blessings - new cribs dropping from the sky, taking that expense off our minds!

That's all for right now, I'm heading to bed to try and get comfortable with the baby making itself comfy in there!  I get to see my little love muffin again on Valentine's Day!  Can't wait to see it's growth!

What I've Been Doin'

 Some might be wondering what I've been doin' lately.  Well I'll tell you..I've been very busy!

I've been cooking, cleaning, and organizing the house.  I've been helpin' Mama to get ready for baby.  Here I am making us some coffee to help us get going in the morning.

 I've been talking to the baby and going with Mama to her doctor appointments.  Gosh, what would she do without me there to keep her company?  I think I make it much more fun.  The other day, we went to see the baby on a TV screen.  Except when Mama said, "Reilly, do you see what that is on the screen?", it wasn't our baby - it was a dinosaur!  So I told her.  I said, "Mommy, a dinosaur!"  That made her laugh.

 I've also been going to Daddy's games!  He's the coach of the basketball team.  I love going to the games, we have so much fun!  We watch the cheerleaders, and I cheer with them! I say, "Go, go, Daddy!"

 But mostly, I've jut been waiting for the BIG game this weekend!  GO GIANTS!