I got Seth and Norah out the door about 15 minutes ago and sat down on the couch with a piece of banana bread and my coffee to watch the morning news. Here is my list for the day:
- pick up vaccuum from getting fixed
- make banana bread (it's a regular at our house)
- take inventory of our hurricane kit
- catch up on recorded episodes of So You Think You Can Dance (I admit it, I'm a pretty big fan)
- laundry
Ummm...that's about it!
I think it is going to be a good day.
Showing posts with label 2nd pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2nd pregnancy. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Progress Report: 37 Weeks
I am so happy to be at 37 weeks. I have been saying that I really want a more full term baby this time, but today for the first time I am really ready to get the show on the road. I told Seth tonight that I'd be ready to go into labor tonight. We didn't seem to be on the same page about that.
I have reached a new point of discomfort this week. It's still pretty doable, but let's just say that the couch is my best friend. When in the office, I really miss it. When on the way home, I can't wait to be on it.
After a series of tests and examinations, my doctor believes I have mild pre-eclampsia. At my appointment yesterday she said if I haven't had the baby by next week she will want to discuss induction. She then discovered that I am 3cm dialiated and offered to go ahead and schedule an induction for next Monday.
As tempting as it is from a planning perspective, Seth and I feel pretty strongly about letting the baby come when she is ready. We only want to induce if there is a medical reason to do so. I think inducing might feel a bit anticlimactic to me after 9 months of anticipating her arrival. Like there would be no story. Some people obviously don't mind, and prefer to be able to plan. I'm not knocking that - we all have to do what is comfortable for us. But as scary as it can be, and as much anxiety as it can cause (particularly with a toddler in the picture), I really want to let the story take shape naturally instead of choosing how it unfolds.
I started weekly ultrasounds and fetal heart rate monitoring last week related to the pre-eclampsia, and had my second round today. The baby has passed both tests both weeks. In the ultrasound they are looking for blood and oxygen flow (among other things), and with the fetal heart rate monitoring they are looking to see how the baby reacts to contractions (which often are taking place whether or not I feel them).
I am going into the office less and less. The person who is managing my clients while I am out is very up to speed and I feel really good about that situation. She is taking the lead on everything already and I am more behind the scenes. I can do everything I need to from home, so I am taking advantage of that as much as possible. I worked from home yesterday and will again tomorrow.
Next Wednesday I have my weekly check-in with my doctor, another ultrasound, and more fetal heart rate monitoring. Unless, of course, baby #2 decides to make her appearance before then...
I have reached a new point of discomfort this week. It's still pretty doable, but let's just say that the couch is my best friend. When in the office, I really miss it. When on the way home, I can't wait to be on it.
After a series of tests and examinations, my doctor believes I have mild pre-eclampsia. At my appointment yesterday she said if I haven't had the baby by next week she will want to discuss induction. She then discovered that I am 3cm dialiated and offered to go ahead and schedule an induction for next Monday.
As tempting as it is from a planning perspective, Seth and I feel pretty strongly about letting the baby come when she is ready. We only want to induce if there is a medical reason to do so. I think inducing might feel a bit anticlimactic to me after 9 months of anticipating her arrival. Like there would be no story. Some people obviously don't mind, and prefer to be able to plan. I'm not knocking that - we all have to do what is comfortable for us. But as scary as it can be, and as much anxiety as it can cause (particularly with a toddler in the picture), I really want to let the story take shape naturally instead of choosing how it unfolds.
I started weekly ultrasounds and fetal heart rate monitoring last week related to the pre-eclampsia, and had my second round today. The baby has passed both tests both weeks. In the ultrasound they are looking for blood and oxygen flow (among other things), and with the fetal heart rate monitoring they are looking to see how the baby reacts to contractions (which often are taking place whether or not I feel them).
I am going into the office less and less. The person who is managing my clients while I am out is very up to speed and I feel really good about that situation. She is taking the lead on everything already and I am more behind the scenes. I can do everything I need to from home, so I am taking advantage of that as much as possible. I worked from home yesterday and will again tomorrow.
Next Wednesday I have my weekly check-in with my doctor, another ultrasound, and more fetal heart rate monitoring. Unless, of course, baby #2 decides to make her appearance before then...
Friday, June 10, 2011
Day by Day
That is my mantra right now, for multiple reasons.
The first is obviously the situation with baby #2. I feel like we are in such an interim state - anticipating that labor could start anytime, while realizing it may be days, or even weeks. I was a little off in how far along I was in the past. I thought my weeks changed on Friday, but evidently it is Monday so I am a few days behind where I thought I was. Not a huge deal, yet every day counts at this point.
What that means is that I'll be 37 weeks on Monday. I really feel pretty good, and think that I may prove my doctor wrong and make it past 37 weeks.
I'm obviously okay with that in terms of my desire to have a baby that is closer to full term. They say that the more developed they are, the easier they are. Or at least there is higher potential for them to be easier. That just makes sense to me.
So a more full term baby is desirable on one hand, but on the other hand I am ready to get the show on the road. Especially since the signs of pre-term labor began at 32 weeks, I have been anticipating this happening more and more. I'm just plain ready to have the baby and start our lives as a family of four.
And I'm definitely getting less and less comfortable. I know I have it much easier than many other women who have a variety of issues or are just much bigger than I am. But it's still not awesome.
Day by day.
Norah's sleep habits are another reason for my current mantra. We are amazed at how persistent she is. For 3-4 weeks we have been super hard core about not going back into her room at night when she cries for "just one more kiss." But she's just not getting it. She continues to cry at her door, asking for that last smooch until she eventually falls asleep on the floor. It is typically not that long (10-15 minutes), but occasionally it goes on for much longer. Most nights we expect it and I am fine with it. Other nights it really, really gets to me and is so hard to listen to.
I have started having very frank conversations with her about the fact that we will not be coming back into her room for one more kiss. I tell her when I am giving her the very last kiss for the night, and that I will give her lots more hugs and kisses when she wakes up in the morning. She seems to be listening, but then I give her the kiss, shut the door, and not 5 seconds later she is crying for one more.
We keep thinking she'll catch on, but she just doesn't. As Seth's mom frequently reminds me...this, too, shall pass. (But WHEN?)
For now I'll just take it day by day.
The first is obviously the situation with baby #2. I feel like we are in such an interim state - anticipating that labor could start anytime, while realizing it may be days, or even weeks. I was a little off in how far along I was in the past. I thought my weeks changed on Friday, but evidently it is Monday so I am a few days behind where I thought I was. Not a huge deal, yet every day counts at this point.
What that means is that I'll be 37 weeks on Monday. I really feel pretty good, and think that I may prove my doctor wrong and make it past 37 weeks.
I'm obviously okay with that in terms of my desire to have a baby that is closer to full term. They say that the more developed they are, the easier they are. Or at least there is higher potential for them to be easier. That just makes sense to me.
So a more full term baby is desirable on one hand, but on the other hand I am ready to get the show on the road. Especially since the signs of pre-term labor began at 32 weeks, I have been anticipating this happening more and more. I'm just plain ready to have the baby and start our lives as a family of four.
And I'm definitely getting less and less comfortable. I know I have it much easier than many other women who have a variety of issues or are just much bigger than I am. But it's still not awesome.
Day by day.
Norah's sleep habits are another reason for my current mantra. We are amazed at how persistent she is. For 3-4 weeks we have been super hard core about not going back into her room at night when she cries for "just one more kiss." But she's just not getting it. She continues to cry at her door, asking for that last smooch until she eventually falls asleep on the floor. It is typically not that long (10-15 minutes), but occasionally it goes on for much longer. Most nights we expect it and I am fine with it. Other nights it really, really gets to me and is so hard to listen to.
I have started having very frank conversations with her about the fact that we will not be coming back into her room for one more kiss. I tell her when I am giving her the very last kiss for the night, and that I will give her lots more hugs and kisses when she wakes up in the morning. She seems to be listening, but then I give her the kiss, shut the door, and not 5 seconds later she is crying for one more.
We keep thinking she'll catch on, but she just doesn't. As Seth's mom frequently reminds me...this, too, shall pass. (But WHEN?)
For now I'll just take it day by day.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Pregnancy Update: 34 weeks, 5 days
I saw my doctor again on Monday and luckily nothing has progressed. She is still amazed at how low the baby is, and her comment this time was, "I will be really surprised if you make it to 37 weeks."
Eh? I thought 40 weeks was generally the goal.
She repeated her comment a few other times throughout the visit. Since the contractions are still relatively infrequent (they would start to worry if I was having several in an hour), and I only occasionally associate them with being up and around, she did not recommend bed rest. She just really wants me to take it easy.
Over the weekend I came down with a head cold, which has really affected my sleep the past two nights, and just dragged me down in general. I am trying to shorten days at work when I can, and choose at least one day a week to work at home.
Different scenarios and "what if" situations have started to consume more of my thoughts, particularly throughout the night. It is definitely a different situation with a toddler. I think most about what we'll do with Norah if I go into labor at various times of day or night. Then my mind wonders to having a baby in the NICU and, again, care for Norah should that happen. I know my mom will hop on a plane as quickly as possible, but the struggle for me is not being able to plan it all out.
And I know I can't, and I try to tell myself that, but it doesn't seem to relieve the anxiety. I guess I'll be working on that.
Plus, maybe my doctor is wrong. Maybe I'll be able to make it longer than she thinks. She is out of town next Tuesday through Thursday, and I am not scheduled to see her again until next Friday. Hopefully I don't go into labor before then, at which point I will be 36 weeks.
Eh? I thought 40 weeks was generally the goal.
She repeated her comment a few other times throughout the visit. Since the contractions are still relatively infrequent (they would start to worry if I was having several in an hour), and I only occasionally associate them with being up and around, she did not recommend bed rest. She just really wants me to take it easy.
Over the weekend I came down with a head cold, which has really affected my sleep the past two nights, and just dragged me down in general. I am trying to shorten days at work when I can, and choose at least one day a week to work at home.
Different scenarios and "what if" situations have started to consume more of my thoughts, particularly throughout the night. It is definitely a different situation with a toddler. I think most about what we'll do with Norah if I go into labor at various times of day or night. Then my mind wonders to having a baby in the NICU and, again, care for Norah should that happen. I know my mom will hop on a plane as quickly as possible, but the struggle for me is not being able to plan it all out.
And I know I can't, and I try to tell myself that, but it doesn't seem to relieve the anxiety. I guess I'll be working on that.
Plus, maybe my doctor is wrong. Maybe I'll be able to make it longer than she thinks. She is out of town next Tuesday through Thursday, and I am not scheduled to see her again until next Friday. Hopefully I don't go into labor before then, at which point I will be 36 weeks.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Mama's Back
I had two business trips, each around a week long, within three weeks of each other, and while they were both great I am happy to be home. The destinations allowed me to combine both trips with visits to family and dear friends, which worked out well...at least in my opinion. I know Seth was happy for me to have the opportunity, but of course it left him to be a single parent for a bit longer. My parents helped give him a break both trips by taking Norah for a few days, and luckily he has the flexibility to work from an office that is down here closer to Norah's school.
But I got home last Thursday, and I'm happy to be here, ready to get focused on getting a few more things done before baby #2.
Pregnancy Update (29 weeks)
Overall I feel great and all is going well. One of my biggest issues has been sleep. For some reason, and in reality maybe it isn't even pregnancy related, I have had quite a few restless nights. I also tend to wake up quite early in the morning and am unable to go back to sleep.
Unfortunately, this has impacted my workouts because I am choosing to sleep in a bit more when I can rather than working out. It would be okay here and there, but as often as it has happened I realized lately that I have had to choose between the two enough that overtime I have missed way more workouts than I would like.
Workouts have also been affected by work since the past two months I have been working at home several evenings a week, which often means getting to bed later. Hopefully that will change now that these trips (and associated conferences) are over.
Otherwise I really feel pretty good. The baby is super active - way more active than I remember Norah being. The movement doesn't wake me up at night, but sometimes it makes it difficult to fall back asleep. Around 9PM every evening seems to be a particularly active time, but I feel her off and on throughout the day.
I can hardly believe that I am almost 30 weeks pregnant. It will be here before we know it!
Meanwhile, Norah is doing really well. Some of the behavioral challenges we were having recently seem to be much better. Unfortunately she has completely reverted back to her crib, so we'll have to figure out how to make that transition at some point. She continues to show very little interest in the potty, but I hope to start pushing that a bit more as well.
____
Last weekend we had fun hanging out with friends Lisa, Dave, and Tyce in our backyard. Tyce is 9 months younger than Norah, but is getting old enough that they are really starting to interact more. They had a blast playing in the water, on the swings, and on the tricycles. Seth and I commented to each other once again about how functional our backyard is. It could use a little love in some areas, but is perfect for just hanging out.
But I got home last Thursday, and I'm happy to be here, ready to get focused on getting a few more things done before baby #2.
Pregnancy Update (29 weeks)
Overall I feel great and all is going well. One of my biggest issues has been sleep. For some reason, and in reality maybe it isn't even pregnancy related, I have had quite a few restless nights. I also tend to wake up quite early in the morning and am unable to go back to sleep.
Unfortunately, this has impacted my workouts because I am choosing to sleep in a bit more when I can rather than working out. It would be okay here and there, but as often as it has happened I realized lately that I have had to choose between the two enough that overtime I have missed way more workouts than I would like.
Workouts have also been affected by work since the past two months I have been working at home several evenings a week, which often means getting to bed later. Hopefully that will change now that these trips (and associated conferences) are over.
Otherwise I really feel pretty good. The baby is super active - way more active than I remember Norah being. The movement doesn't wake me up at night, but sometimes it makes it difficult to fall back asleep. Around 9PM every evening seems to be a particularly active time, but I feel her off and on throughout the day.
I can hardly believe that I am almost 30 weeks pregnant. It will be here before we know it!
Meanwhile, Norah is doing really well. Some of the behavioral challenges we were having recently seem to be much better. Unfortunately she has completely reverted back to her crib, so we'll have to figure out how to make that transition at some point. She continues to show very little interest in the potty, but I hope to start pushing that a bit more as well.
____
Last weekend we had fun hanging out with friends Lisa, Dave, and Tyce in our backyard. Tyce is 9 months younger than Norah, but is getting old enough that they are really starting to interact more. They had a blast playing in the water, on the swings, and on the tricycles. Seth and I commented to each other once again about how functional our backyard is. It could use a little love in some areas, but is perfect for just hanging out.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
21 Weeks
I have neglected to detail much about my pregnancy, but truthfully (and thankfully) there hasn't been all that much to report. I mentioned earlier that there was discussion about possibly moving my due date up from July 3 (or 2, I really can't remember what it is) based on some measurements that were taken at an ultrasound. The doctor I saw (since mine was out of town) didn't necessarily recommend changing it because the baby is going to come when she's going to come anyway. That made a lot of sense to me - a due date is really sort of arbitrary to begin with.
So, based on the measurements, and the fact that Norah came 3 weeks early, I think we need to be prepared by mid-June for it to happen at anytime. And that's assuming there are no signs of labor before then.
I feel the baby move all the time, but unfortunately I don't remember when I felt the first kick/punch. It has definitely been well over a month.
I don't have significant food aversions, though leftovers often don't sound good (generally we live on them for our lunches). And several times I have made something and knew immediately upon completion that I wouldn't be eating any of it. But there are no real patterns in terms of what I don't feel like eating.
As for cravings I'd say I've had a slight craving for grapefruit, oranges and orange juice. But it's definitely not a craving as in, "Seth please go to the store and get some oranges." I didn't had anything like that with either pregnancy.
Here is a picture of me pregnant with Norah at 24 weeks:
And this is me with Peanut #2 at 21 weeks (today):
Definitely more of a bulge earlier this time. I'm starting to feel more and more pregnant every day, just in terms of my belly. Otherwise I feel great!
Grandma and Grandpa Kauffman are visiting this weekend, so pictures of their time with us will be coming soon. They went with Seth to a Turkish restaurant tonight while I stay home with Norah.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Big Sister
For those of you who are not yet aware, we are very excited to share that Norah is going to become a big sister this year!
(We put this "Big Sister" shirt on Norah to break the news to Mom and Dad and family that was here for Thanksgiving.)
My due date is official July 3, but based on some recent measurements it sounds like it might be moved up to June 23 (though it is nothing to be concerned about). I am just over 14 weeks now.
All is going well so far, for which we are very thankful. I went through a few months of feeling tired and super hungry (midnight snacks and all), but I think both have improved over the past few weeks. According to my doctor everything looks great and completely normal. Here is an ultrasound picture of little Peanut #2 at 11 weeks.
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