Quick Baby Update

Our baby girl's arrival has been moved up to Wednesday morning!!! My blood pressure was up today, so my doctor wants to deliver her before any complications develop. Not a bad birthday present for my sister (she is also an April Fool's baby)!!!

Spring Snow

We woke up this morning to a couple of inches of snow. It's strange because it has been getting warmer each week, so to have snow at the end of March is a little different. I was excited because I've been wanting to get Jacob out to play in the snow one more time this year. It was such a cold winter, that we didn't let him out much to play in it, and I've been itching to get one more opportunity for him to use the snow gear we bought him! Below are some snapshots of Jacob and Daddy playing while I stood and watched from the comfort of our front porch.

Helping Daddy shovel

Working on making a snowman

Posing with the snowman

Sitting on the snowman (it melted within hours anyways!)

Making a snowball

Daddy throwing a snowmall at Jacob (no worries, Jacob thought it was hilarious)

Pregnancy Update

A few things have transpired this week. I've had two dr's appts this week to check on my blood pressure and lots of lab tests. I had a check-up today to see how my blood pressure was and to get the results of my lab tests on Tuesday and Wednesday. The good news is that my lab tests came back negative for Pre-Eclampsia. The bad news is that one of my in-office tests today came back positive, so I'm now on full bed rest and am undergoing another 24-hour long lab test that I'll spare you the details on! I also went through a 30-minute non-stress test where the baby's activity and contractions were monitored. The baby put on a show for the duration of the test as did my contractions! I had about 5-6, only three of which I felt. It looks like this baby will probably not make it until April 6th. My goal is to make to my Monday appt where I'm hoping that my doctor will suggest going ahead and doing the c-section that day. This high blood pressure thing scares me after going through it once already. The first time I was unaware of the seriousness of it, but now that I'm more informed, it is such a dangerous thing to have. I'm just thankful that the baby seems to be doing great!!

We appreciate any prayers that you can throw our way!

Reading and Wagon Rides

Jacob has two favorite activities right now - reading books and riding in his wagon. Now that the weather is getting nicer, he is spending more and more time playing outside. He loves to swing, go down his slide, and cruise around the yard. However, his favorite outdoor activity is going for walks in his wagon with his daddy. I'm sad I can't take him right now, but look forward to it here in a few weeks! He loves these rides SOOOO much that when he returns to the house, he throws an outright temper tantrum because he doesn't want the fun to end!!

His other favorite thing to do right now is read books. He loves to bring us books and then fall into our laps so he can be read too. This works for me because I can't do much else with him at the moment. He has a few favorites that he brings us over and over to read, which gets old, but I hope that his love for books continues on as he gets older. He has two bedtime books that I think Dan and I have memorized - 'Goodnight Moon' and 'The Going to Bed Book.' I don't know what it is about these two books, but he is so attentive to them and goes to bed easily after reading these. Whatever works!!

Reading his favorite book of the moment, 'I'll Teach My Dog a Lot of Words'


Reading with Grandpa


Getting ready to knock over the book tower Grandpa made


Chillin' in the wagon

36 Weeks

It's hard to believe that I am already at the 36-week mark!! I look and feel VERY pregnant. Poor Dan gets to hear me complain about how uncomfortable I am, but it's true!

I feel like my body is not made for the late stage in pregnancy, with the issues I've faced in Jacob's pregnancy and this litte girl's one. I was put on bed rest last week after my blood pressure was high at the dr's office. I was getting a lot of headaches and knew it was coming. I went out and bought a blood pressure monitor so I could monitor it from home and test my limits on what I could do without sending it too high. So far, so good!! I've been able to work from home and not lie down too much and keep it under control. My blood pressure at my appointment today was good, so my doctor is hoping I make it to my 4/6 delivery date. My simple goal is just another two weeks and then I'll be happy, but ultimately I just want to make it witout the Pre-Eclampsia diagnosis. Jacob was born at 38 weeks when I fully developed it. My doctor is also on vacation all next week (as he was also during Jacob's 37th week, ironic, huh?) and I really want him to see my pregnancy to the very end.

I've experienced some major pain in my left gluteal area and all down my left side of my left leg the past couple of days. I was almost driven to tears walking into my appointment today because the pain was so severe. It turns out the the baby is on my sciatic nerve and probably won't move off of it until she is born. Ugh!! I have a whole new respect for anyone with disc injuries, especially since theirs is probably worse than what I'm going through. It just means that bending down and caring for Jacob is near impossibe at this point. I'm supposed to rest as much as possible in order to keep the pain under some control. I seriously calculate the steps I need to take because every step hurts. I feel like I no longer can be left alone with Jacob because I can't lift him or chase after him. Thank goodness we are almost at the end of this :) I'm sad because I want to spend as much as time with Jacob as possible, but I also have this other child that needs me! She's not even here yet and I already feel split!!

I think that we finally feel ready for this little girl to come. We've made arrangements for Jacob while I'm in the hospital and have things ready for her to come home. We still need to get Jacob's room in order and purchase some furniture for him, but it'll be a couple of months before that is absolutely necessary. I've cleared out a drawer in his current dresser for the baby's clothes. For awhle I guess they will be sharing some living space, although she'll be sleeping in our room in the beginning. We were just commenting last night how big Jacob looks in the crib, so maybe it is time for him to be in a big boy bed!! It is so strange to think of him as a "big brother."

I'm really getting anxious to meet this little girl!!! Only 20 days left :)

Pink!!

We have begun receiving a collection of things for our new baby girl. We have gotten clothes from some family and also from a shopping trip or two of our own. Getting girl clothes is a whole new level of excitement from boy clothes. I love that the nursery closet is turning pink!! I even went ahead and bought her a pink, frilly dress for my dad's wedding that is shortly after she is born. We've also gotten a collection of new baby items for her like bibs, blankets, socks, and shoes.

I went through Jacob's baby clothes the other weekend and surprisingly came up with several gender-neutral sleepers and onesies for her to wear in the beginning. Of course, the newer pink outfits will get priority, but it's also nice to have these as a back-up for those days when multiple outfit changes are necessary! It't funny how soon you forget about those early days of messes. About a few weeks ago when I was picking Jacob up from daycare (when he was still in the infant room), one of the girls was feeding a younger baby a bottle and in the middle of the feeding the baby made that gurgling noise (and not from the mouth!). I completely forgot about those days!

Web Cam

For my birthday this year, my sister got me (and herself) a web cam. What a great gift! We get on whenever my sister has a night off or on a weekend that she doesn't have to work. Jacob LOVES it! We can't get on our laptop now without him thinking he is going to see his Aunt Sharla. It's amazing to me how he understands that it is her and not just another image on a computer or TV screen. They interact and play which is so much fun. In ways, it's like she is actually at our house. For those who have family/friends a distance away, I highly recommend getting one. It will be great for Sharla and Jacob and his new sister to keep in touch.

Kisses

Over the weekend Jacob started giving us kisses!! Aunt Sharla visited on Saturday and I think that she taught him this because he's never given them before. In the past we've gotten the grab-your-face, open mouth ones on our face that were just a slobbery mess. However, now they are the little pecks on the cheek complete with the kissing noise. So cute!! He seems so pleased with himself when he gives them out. It's these small things that make me so happy :)