ivy and orchid

In two days, I will be 39 weeks and I am so impatient! I feel pretty good; I seem to have more energy, my body has stopped aching as it was last week. Last night, and in this moment now, I have been having crazy amounts of Braxton Hicks contractions. I seem to think about a contraction and they come. Maybe I'm only thinking of them because they are starting. I would like to document that the contractions are just pressure, my I feel them first in my heart, then in my head (like a rush of blood to the head). It's an odd phenomenon, but a nice way of preparing my body for the real deal (which I am really ready to accept and take on full force!) I thought today was going to be the day, but alas, I am yet another mother who had a false alarm. I have noticed that I am much more swollen and my bathroom duties have changed. Shelie at the Birth Center said he is in position and his head is really far down. He even switched sides which I'm hoping means that I will not have back labo...

Wow! Lots of good news since the last post. Since I've written last, we got an ultrasound of baby and saw that it is not breech anymore! We saw the profile, the lips, the four valves of its heart and his penis! Yes! We are having a boy and his name is Keenen Eugene! I'm most excited to give an identity to this baby and talk to him. I've gone through all of Abigail's old clothes and there is a good amount for him. The bassinet is set up in our room and I have been trying to tie up all the loose ends. I really feel like he is coming earlier than May 6th, so I've been trying to wrap things up at school just in case he does come early. I can't wait!

I have so much to be thankful for. Our darling Abigail is growing up so wonderfully. She is sleeping in her bed all night, she occasionally uses the toilet all on her own, she walks long distances and climbs big hills on our trail and is growing quite the vocabulary. Last night I watched her show off for the Dzierwas and she just makes me smiles. She likes a lot of attention around other kids. She also takes good care of her babies and is so gentle. I have no doubt that she is going to be a great big sister. My Shawny is simply amazing. He is always kind and gentle and makes me so happy. Yesterday, I watched him make cinnamon rolls and dance to the music he was listening to. He rides Abigail on the bike and she just loves it! Last night she just snuggled with him on the couch before we put her to bed. We still do not know what position the baby is in. Shellie had a hard time figuring out the baby. She even said the baby doesn't have a head! So we're going to get an ultrasound o...

Today I am 34 weeks which means 6 to go! That number seems both small and large. Since my last appointment, I found out that Baby is breech and if baby doesn't turn, I will have to have a c-section at a hospital which would change everything! It would mean an earlier due date which affects school for both me and Shawn. It would mean a definitive due date though! So I have been propping my butt on on some pillows twice a day for 15 minutes which is 80% effective, I've been taking Pulsatilla which is known to turn a baby, and I'll go see Bob Kintigh (the chiropractor) at least 3 more times to give the baby room to turn. This is ironic because at this moment, the birthing center is being sued for delivering a breech baby (which died at the hospital 13 days later). The GBC typically does not deliver breech babies, so I do not know what happened. On the other hand, this baby can turn and we will continue along as planned. I may have to have an ultrasound in which I will ...

This last week, I got to spend time in Leetonia while Shawn went on tour around Lake Michigan with the jazz band. Abigail and I had a splendid time! We got to see everyone including Brendan and Jackson. Abigail absolutely loves Jackson as well as Grammy and Grampy. She constantly says their names and gets excited about sweeping bugs. We went to the Children's Museum followed by a candy store in Youngstown, celebrated mom's birthday, visited my grandmother and went to Build-a-Bear. We also had breakfast with everyone minus Niki at the Dutch Haus before Abigail and I headed home on Saturday. I was supposed to meet up with Jenna Santini and Ashley Jenkins and their little ones, but Abigail got really sick early Friday morning. Now, Sunday, I have been throwing up miserably allllll day and it is not fun. Because I can't keep liquids in, I am having about 12 contractions an hour. I am drinking a bit more now, so I hope I stop puking and get some liquid to the baby. Shawny just g...

How fast this pregnancy is going and how impatient I'm becoming! This baby is lying low and I feel it in my pelvis quite often. Since my last appointment, I've noticed I have a faint linea negra. Part of me hopes it's a girl for all the people who claim it's a boy because I'm "all tummy." I still have no feelings one way or another, so maybe baby is going to be a Cabbage Patch Kid : ) So what are the latest happenings? Well, at my last appointment, my Blood Pressure was a low 92/40! I am close to anaemic and I have an extremely high blood platelet count which usually occurs it high altitudes. I've gained about 25 pounds which is actually lower than with Abigail. I've been eating a lot of red meat, bacon, spinach and dried fruits, not because I'm craving them, but to get my iron levels up. Kendra measured me and I was actually right at 29 weeks/cms, and she was feeling the position of the baby and said the head was by my pelvis. Then she said i...

I have made it to the last week of the second trimester. Reading the blog from my pregnancy with Abigail, I realize that this pregnancy is really not too different than the first. I have gained about 30 pounds instead of 25, my belly is really round and it is getting harder to reach my feet simply by bending over. Shawn can, and has been able to feel Baby B moving from the outside for some time now. This baby is most active around 9 am, 10 pm and later. I can feel this baby high in my ribs while I'm lying down or low in my pelvis. At my last appointment, this baby is still measuring 2 cm behind my weeks pregnant. It is going quickly, but now that I have started school, an entire semester seems like a long time to wait. I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions since yesterday so I'm going to try to take it a little easier. I've found this great house cleaning schedule/list and my house feels so clean and it makes me love it here even more. Abigail seems excit...