Aren't You Excited...?

Yes, I'm excited. I'm excited to find out if the new baby will have Brian's blue eyes or my brown ones, or the Wilson forehead or maybe the curly Hill hair. And I'm certainly anxious to no longer be pregnant--no longer feel like what's left of my belly button is going to pop off any minute and a little foot with tiny toes will be poking out of my round belly (she's a strong kicker).

But I would appreciate it if you'd remember I've got to go through labor before I get to that point. I know you only have to deal with the waiting and you're so anxious to meet the new arrival. But please understand that I've got a somewhat different perspective and I'm experiencing other emotions as well: trepidation mixed with resignation, anxiety, and a little dread, too. Because it's going to be painful, and then I've got to recover from it all, and then I've got to figure out how to take care of a newborn and still make sure my boys get their homework done and my two-year old gets enough attention and we have clean clothes to wear every day...

So please stop asking me if I'm excited...because I am--there's just a lot more to it than that.

Mean Parents

So, last night I was feeling my pregnancy and crashed on the couch after dinner. With nothing but Leven Thumps to read (lame), I turned on the TV and started channel surfing. I came across this show Kidspace on HGTV-HD where they decorate rooms for kids. Nathan and Matthew became fascinated by this playroom they made on the show:

Yes, that's felt stapled to the walls and ceiling and little felt characters and scenery that you can move around.

The boys decided, of course, that they need a room like this. They just couldn't understand why I would say no. Even when I pointed out the room cost $1200 to make--with about $300 going to the felt--they still tried, in all seriousness, to talk me into stapling felt to the walls.

Nathan went the "It's too bad we have such mean parents who won't give their kids cool rooms like those parents..." route. Yeah, that didn't work too well.

So Matthew asked if we could go buy a lot of apples and sell them and make a lot of money and get that room. I was glad to see he was thinking independently, but I turned that idea down, too. Why apples...?

I didn't have the heart to tell them the real reason I said no was because I think felt-covered walls are kind of...tacky. So we won't be covering any rooms in felt anytime soon. I know, I'm the hatest mom ever.

Name That Baby!

Nathan...Matthew...Magdalene...???

The Challenge: To find the perfect name for our soon-to-be-here fourth child.

The Rules:
1. It must be a girl's name. Obviously.
2. Preferably, a Bible name or at least a name of Hebrew origin (all three other names are--we can't break the tradition now).
3. Not too common. For example, I love the name Abigail but it's listed 2nd on the list of Most Popular Baby Names in 2007 and 6th on Social Security Administration's list of Top 10 Names for 2006. So sad...

(I know, I'm not making this easy. Who said naming a baby was easy, anyway? I've always thought it was one of the most difficult parts of having a baby. Okay, so maybe there are a few other parts that are more physically painful...)

The Prize: If you can come up with the winning name you get...drum roll please...the honor and privilege of naming our child. How's that for motivation?

The suggestion box is now open...

Pregnancy Update

The baby dropped today. No, not born, dropped into my pelvis. She's just getting ready to be born. That would explain why I've been feeling so crampy and miserable yesterday and today. And now it really feels like my belly will just fall right off my body--taking my lower back with it.

The question is, will we make it to a week from today? Or will my 3 AM half-awake nightmares of scrambling around like a lunatic to get to the hospital in time--my hospital bag's not packed! what do I do with the kids?! my neighbor is going to have to deliver the baby right here in the park...! (yes, I know, I have strange pregnancy paranoias)--all come true? Last night I had to get up and walk around and tell myself very sternly that I was not in labor, that everything was fine, and to shut up and go back to sleep. Luckily, I listened to myself and managed to sleep the rest of the night.

Oh, will we make it???

In My Easter Bonnet

The crocus are blooming in the green belt in front of our house!

Maggie is so darling in her yellow daisy dress and big bows.
And the boys are handsome sporting their spring green ties.
I have to confess there's a coordinating pink daisy dress waiting for the new baby girl.
Okay, so I have a lot of fun dressing up my babies.

Happy Easter!

Easter Morning

Matthew's egg lollipop became a sword...of course.

Nathan graphed his plastic eggs.

And Maggie just enjoyed the candy--lots of candy. "My tummy hurts. So much candy..."

Going to See the Fishies

Today, I decided we should do something during this three-week break from school (besides lay on the couch and cough) and so we took advantage of our last day off-track by heading to the Living Planet Aquarium. But when we pulled into the parking lot, I suddenly realized the rest of Utah public schools had spring break today because the place was crowded. So it wasn't the best day to go...but we were already there and determined to have a day of fun before school and a new baby soon tie us down.

While it wasn't much compared to the aquarium at our old beloved Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, the kids had a great time running from fish tank to fish tank looking for "fishies" (per Maggie). Matthew and I touched the squishy sting rays--Nathan and Maggie were too nervous. And we even splurged on some lunch at the cafe: the best mac 'n' cheese ever, according to Nathan.

Nazi Toddler

Have you ever been force-fed pretend food? Maggie has decided that Brian and I need to be fed "chocolate soup" with a play spatula (she says her spoon has a "hole in it") from a toy cup...all day long.

Yesterday, she followed me around the house exclaiming, "You're hungry!"

"No, Maggie, I'm not hungry."

"You're hungry!"

"I just ate lots and lots of your soup and I'm all full."

"You're hungry!"

She wouldn't give up! So, I managed to swallow three bites of air and sent her to feed her Dad. We feel sorry for her future children.

You learn something new every day...

Maggie (very concerned): "Mom, this go beep," pointing to her mouth.

Me: "Those are called hiccups, honey."

Of Babies and Births

So, I went to the doctor today... It looks like this baby is not as anxious to come as Maggie was. She's still pretty small--my uterus only measured 34 (centimeters?) and you're supposed to be about the same number of weeks pregnant you are (38). And my body is just not ripening up like it always has before. So we're thinking the due date is probably a little off.

As for inducing, I'm not a big fan of it--I was induced with Nathan and things just did not go very well (of course, he was my first child...). But when I went into labor naturally with Matthew and Maggie they just seemed so much more ready to come and I recovered more quickly, too.

However, Maggie was born 45 minutes after we got to the hospital (no anesthetic because the darn anesthesiologist had gone home for the day and it took him too long to get back). While I'd been in early labor for a couple of hours at home, I was only dilated to a 4 when I walked into the hospital so things really just kind of escalated super fast.

What if I have another fast labor? or an even faster one? And now we live about half an hour from the hospital (in good traffic) and I have to admit that I've been pretty nervous about making it in time. I do not want to deliver a baby in a car. No thank you. Can't imagine. The mess alone... Ugh.

So, my whole pregnancy I've been debating: induce early to prevent such a nightmare (and get the "Princess Treatment" with a pre-pain epidural because natural labor on pitocin?...no thank you) or just let things happen as I've always proclaimed is the best way to go (but I would totally still get an epidural--if I have enough time). Every time I thought about going into labor naturally, I got really stressed out thinking of all the "what ifs". Really stressed out.

And so I decided to go the lower-stress route and schedule an induction.

But not so early. I'm scheduled to deliver on April 2nd (my official due date) right now. But things just don't seem as, I don't know, scary? urgent? as they used to. And honestly this hospital, while brand new and very nice, is so huge that they don't take very well to elective inductions--simply because of the high volume of births (natural and emergency) that they deal with. They'll schedule it...but they tell you it may not happen until later on in the day or maybe the next day. (You actually have to call the night before to find out when you're on the schedule.)

And Brian is a huge fan of all-natural labor. "Isn't going naturally more...natural?" Granola. Actually, I think he likes it because he's not just an awkward bystander. When Maggie was born, I needed him to help me through it. Although he did get walloped pretty good in the delivery room because it was partly his fault I didn't have time for drugs. "Oh, you're in labor? That's nice. I'm just going to work for an hour even though it'll take another hour to drive home..."

So I've got an induction scheduled but I'm not set on it. Although knowing how pregnancies go, I'll probably be very ready by the time April 2nd arrives. Right now, I'm actually relieved that this baby won't be arriving for a few more weeks. I was starting to feel a little panicky about how much I still have left to do to get ready for her. I've never seen a third trimester fly by so fast.

P.S. I gained 3 pounds in the last two weeks. That brings my total to 49 pounds so far. Thank you ice cream. Thank you Easter candy. Thank you Harmon's brownies. So I celebrated by buying a box of hostess chocolate cupcakes and eating half of them. 5 grams of fiber, Mom, per 100 calories! And they even have protein and calcium, too! I'm considering quiting whole grain bread for the next couple of weeks and just go for the hostess cupcakes. Mmmm, chocolate...

This once proud vessel has become a floating psycho ward...

Still too germy to get out of the house but not sick enough to happily spend the day watching episode after episode of Sponge Bob, this is the current state of affairs around here:


Okay, maybe not the sombreros and towering fruit headdresses...but you get the picture.

Case in point: Today, Matthew was arguing with Nathan that he'd been sick for two months. Nathan didn't buy it because he can count days and knows Matthew has been sick for four (days, not months). Whatever the actual time, it feels like two months.

P.S. I should mention that Brian took me out to dinner tonight--making arrangements for Grandma to watch the kids--because he came home from work and realized I was nearly at head-bashing stage (child vs. child, me vs. wall, whatever).

And no school in sight for another two weeks! Help!

Makeup Tips from a Two-year Old

First, apply chapstick liberally and far outside the lip line to ensure your subsequent applications of makeup stick really well.

Next, dig into your eyeshadow--and I mean really dig that applicator in there, creating a good-size crater and a flaky mess for your mom to deal with next time she opens her eyeshadow. Apply to the tip of the nose (the darker brown, the better).

Blush is your best friend. Apply liberally to the mouth and chin area to give you a "pink face" (make sure you got enough chapstick on there, first, so it's nice and shiny). After all, a "pink face" is the ultimate goal of putting on makeup.

Last, apply pressed powder all over the face but don't forget to complain loudly when your mom won't let you use her nice, new compact and hands you her old, nearly empty one instead "Mine all gone. Use yours, please? Awwww! Mine all gone!" Whine, whine, whine.

Beautiful, isn't she?

Let's hope she keeps her makeup skills through junior high at least. That'd keep the boys away!

The Flu

Victim #1

Name: Nathan
Age: 8
Date succumbed: Saturday morning, March 1st
Highest fever recorded: 102.6 degrees F (oral)

Strangest complication: After the fever finally subsided on Monday night, Nathan was left with painful cramps in his calves. He could barely walk and after two days of crawling and hobbling around, we tried a heating pad which gave him no relief but a nasty blotchy rash on his legs. So we took him to the doctor who sent him to get blood work done and the poor phlebotomists may turn in their resignations if they encounter anymore such experiences. (They couldn't connect with a vein the first time they poked him, even after jiggling the needle around a lot, and had to go for a second round on the other arm. Nathan was NOT a happy patient.)

Best quote: "Why does everything bad always have to happen to me?" Followed shortly by Matthew complaining how unfair it was that Nathan got to choose his candy treat and Matthew just got what was left. I assured Matthew that when he gets poked in the arms several times by needles looking for blood, he can choose his own candy, too.

Victim #2

Name: Matthew
Age: 6
Date succumbed: Saturday evening, March 8th
Highest fever recorded: 102.6 degrees F (oral)

Strangest complication: Cramps in his calves, too, the day after the fever subsided. Luckily, they only lasted half a day for Matthew. Weird, huh.

Best quote: "You know how I think I got sick? From being too hot from shirts," as he strips off the offending article of clothing to try to cool his fever. I started to explain germs and contagious diseases...and gave up.

Victim #3?

Name: Maggie
Age: 2 1/2
Date succumbed: not quite yet
Highest fever recorded: 99.1 degree F (oral)

Best quote: "My feber! Whoo-hoo!" raising her fists in triumph. She was happy because she could have medicine just like everyone else. Can you will yourself a fever? If you're a very determined two-year old? She was taking her own temperature by sticking her tongue out, putting the thermometer underneath, waiting for the beep, and repeating enthusiastically, "My feber!" Can you tell she's very ill and suffering badly? It's probably just a cold...so far.

Who will be the next victim...? And who dictated our three-week spring break which has been full of beautiful sunny spring days should be spent indoors with popsicles, cold washcloths, and cough, cough, coughing?

Matthew: Soccer Star (Indoors)

Since Nathan got to play basketball this year, we signed Matthew up for indoor soccer. Matthew lives for soccer--although he's having a hard time adjusting to playing on a court instead of a field. "I think I like playing outside soccer better, Mom, because when you fall down you land on something soft." I suppose muddy grass is somewhat softer than a school gym floor when you crash at full speed. Every game he comes home with new scrapes, bruises, and floor burns. But he's loving it all the same.

Matthew takes aim for one of his two goals of the game today.

Matthew got caught in the net with the soccer ball.

"I am a soccer monster...!"

Pica

This is what I crave...

Crunchy, munchy, cold, wet...ICE! My fridge makes the best chipped ice and it is SO good. I eat it whenever I want a little treat, but especially in the evenings. No calories! The crunching drives my husband crazy. But I have to satisfy my ice habit.

Yes, it's bad for my teeth but I rationalize that chipped ice softened up a little in cold water isn't too bad. And yes, it can be an indication of iron deficiency but my doctor didn't seem to be too concerned.

It's a pregnant thing. At least I don't crave chalk or tires or pickles with ice cream.

Siblings

This morning, a very distraught Maggie came upstairs licking a green popsicle. "Maffew say me this orange," she wailed, indicating her popsicle.

First, I quickly set her in the bathroom sink before the popsicle started dripping everywhere. Then I tried to explain that Matthew was just teasing her, and reassured her that her popsicle really was green after all.

I'll tell you, it's tough being a little sister sometimes.

When I asked Matthew later why he had to tease Maggie, he declared he got his colors mixed up and thought her popsicle really was orange. And he was having a hard time hiding that grin. Do you think I believed him? Nope.

From the Mouths of Babes

Tonight, I gave in to her sparkly eyes and pleading tone and carried Maggie for a few minutes. Then I told her my back hurt and I had to put her down. Poor thing, she's pretty used to that these days. (She asks every time we start climbing stairs, "Your tummy hurt? Your back hurt?" because she knows her cries to "carry you!" up the stairs will be turned down with one of those excuses.)

Later, Brian was dancing with Maggie in his arms, bouncing and twirling her around. She had the biggest grin on her face--you could tell she was in toddler heaven. I couldn't resist the fun and came up to dance with them. Maggie gave me that famous pursed-lips sour look and said, "No, you sit down. You back hurt."

Brian said that's what I get for whining.

Somehow, I think she was more worried that I was going to cut in on her daddy dance than concerned about my back.