Oops, i forgot!

i did forget to tell you all how my 36 week (and 4 days) checkup went: i'm 1.5 cm dilated, and 50% effaced. Does that sound familiar to you? Oh, it's because that's the exact same place i was at last week. So all the contractions i've been having, the dull aches in my back, the insane nesting i've been having: all for naught. No progression this week, and once again, it seems i have gotten my hopes up prematurely. i have a feeling it will be a very long next 4 1/2 weeks, guys.  The swollen ankles and the hours i can't sleep from about 4-6 AM? Icing on the cake that is the end of pregnancy. Except, of course, this pregnancy won't end.

On the other hand, my nesting at least has helped me accomplish some things!

Waiting for me in the freezer:

• Lasagna casserole, known around here as "garbage lasagna"
• Chicken, broccoli & potato casserole
• Cheesy chicken & rice casserole
• Chicken, bacon and ricotta stuffed shells
• Bacon mac 'n cheese 
• Cooked ground beef
• 4 pork chops for easy crockpot cooking
• Ground turkey (for burgers i will prepare when i get some dill)

So that's good! We'll have plenty to eat after Cadence is born. i can't believe i prepped all that food in one afternoon though. It's all labeled and sitting in my freezer. It's been there 3 days, and i've already had some difficulty resisting the temptation to eat it.

i have been making lists up the wazoo, and am making my way through them, including a big one: cleaning our living room carpet. We have hideously dirty carpet. It was once beige i think, but the people that sold us this house had 9 kids, so most of it turned a delightfully ugly gray. My brother was kind enough to come over with a carpet shampooer this morning, and he worked and worked and got the carpet almost beige again! It still has very ugly spots, and some blue paint from when we painted a while ago, but it looks much better, and satisfies my nesting need to have the carpet looking as good as it ever will.

i still have a ton of stuff to do, but it looks like i've got some time. Oh well.

Comment some love for me, friends. i need it. i feel a little down. :(

A New Hope

This post is written with an extreme amount of careful excitement.
i have been having a lot of contractions lately. Yesterday, they were regular and painful. They went away after i laid down for a bit, but they must have been doing something, because at my 35 1/2 week checkup today, i was 1 1/2 cm. dilated and 50% effaced! Little Miss' head is down, and her bottom is up, exactly where it should be. i am in good shape. The Dr. likes how my pelvic bones are widening out. This means two very good things:

1. There is a good chance i will actually go into labor this time, and not have to get induced at 41 weeks.
2. There is a good chance i will go into labor soon, and most likely we both will be fine. 

***************The squeamish should not read the following sentence*************************
i also lost my mucus plug the other day.
***************Resume reading, you squeamish ones*************************************

The Dr. wants Kris and i to refrain from marital activities for a while. He wants the baby to stay in at least another week.

In other good news, Dr. said that i should take Zantac for my heartburn, God bless him. i have been having it really badly lately. He said i should take one at 8 AM and another at 8 PM and my heartburn will get 100% better. So that's yay, because my trusty Tums hadn't been working that well lately. In fact, i drank a glass of water last night and got heartburn. So hopefully this will help, and i'll be able to resume normal activities.

Want to know some irony, though? Kris and i had been abstaining from marital activities, because my heartburn always flared up at opportune moments. Now the heartburn is gone, and we're not supposed to celebrate:) i'm ok with it though. Really. i feel bad for Kris, but i'm doing alright.

You know, my mom reads this blog. Sorry, mom. i should have made a separate "Mom don't read this" paragraph for the previous information.

i've got Cadence's little tiny clothes in the dryer right now. i wasn't going to pack anything for another couple weeks, because once i pack, then it seems like forever. But i realized that she really could come at any time now. And now this is becoming like a normal pregnancy, with actual contractions and everything! In fact, i'm having one right now. Honestly, it just feels so good to know that they're doing something that i don't mind them one bit! (Yet.)  i will pack a suitcase tomorrow for me, and one for David, for wherever he stays while i'm in the hospital and the few days after the birth.

i'm really excited. i'm trying not to get my hopes up too high. i know there is a chance she won't come at all, and i'll have to be induced in 5 1/2 long weeks. But i think since i'm so much more active this pregnancy, and with having contractions and everything, i think i won't have to worry about that 41st week.

Have a wonderful night, everyone. i am so glad to know you and that i'm able to share my life with people who care. i really appreciate you all, and i pray for you all.

Wow!!!

Call me hormonal, but i'm all of a sudden having this burst of can't-wait-holy-crap-i'm-excited-wow-yay for having a baby soon! i will get no sleep and will soon be remembering all those things you forget about how much childbirth sucks, but in around 11 weeks, i'll be holding my sweet little angel girl in my arms.

This outburst could be due to my pal Rachel having her little girl Madeleine last week, (Congrats mama!) or the 3 other friends i have who gave birth last week, but i'm reallyreallyreallyreally glad that soon i will have a teeny baby again. i've been having serious baby jealousy at church lately. Lots of new babies. i whisper to Kris: "i want that little baby girl!" and he goes "You have one!" and i go "But i want one that i can hold!"

Pretty soon, i won't have to be asking to hold other babies: i'll have my own sweet teeny-tiny.

OK. Resume normal activity. i just needed to get it off my chest!

Baby worries

Amidst all the summer goings-on, i appear to have somehow slipped into my third trimester. When did that happen?

i already feel a little guilty that i'm not as interested in Cadence as i was with David. She moves and is very active, but i don't notice it as much. All of my conversations don't revolve around her, the way they did when i was pregnant with David. Haven't scanned in her U/S pics yet, and missed a Dr's appointment last week because i forgot to schedule it in my phone. i rescheduled it, but didn't even feel that bad about it. (It's the super-fun glucose test, where you drink the sugary syrup liquid and wait at the Dr. for an hour. Looking forward to it tomorrow!)


The thing i worry about the most is i worry that i won't take as many pictures of her as i did of David. We took about 80 pics of him per minute when he was newer. We still take a lot of them. Will i take so many of Cadence? Will i even have the time to just stare at her, camera in hand, or will i be so exhausted that i'll miss that newborn wonderment?

i'm also worried to go through the whole newborn thing again. That time when they cry a lot and don't have a personality and need to be fed every three hours...i'm not sure that sounds like so much fun. Can i skip that? Can we jump ahead to 5 or 6 months, where she'll be smiling and sleeping through the night? But i don't want to skip all the way to crawling. i do look forward to having a stationary baby for a while.


OK, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. i know things will work out, but sometimes...it's just a little worrisome.

Oh, P.S., i'm extremely grateful that my baby worries are this trivial. There are a lot worse concerns, baby-wise, that i am spared, and i promise you i don't forget about it.

It's a....

GIRL!!!!

Cadence Rae Gensmer should be here on or around October 12.

She is a stubborn girl, who had us prodding at her for 10 minutes or so until she'd finally show us her lady parts: now that i think about it, i'm glad for that!

i couldn't believe it when my ultrasound tech told us it was a girl. By the time i was in the ultrasound chair, it seemed like an inevitability that it was a boy. i had lost all hope of a girl, and was actually getting kind of grim. Seems silly now, but i just kept losing hope while Tanya (who it turns out isn't even due for 7 weeks yet, so she's definitely not on maternity leave) was measuring heart beats, head size, arm sizes, and other assorted sizes. And then we almost had to give up trying to find out what kind of baby it was because someone from urgent care needed an ultrasound, but then Cadence shifted ever so slightly, and we got our answer.

A girl. Happy sigh. She is healthy, measures out to about the right timing according to due date, and is very active already. And now i get to dress someone in pink!!!!

i will scan in her U/S pictures tomorrow. i just wanted to let you all know. Have a wonderful night! i know i will!

Big day tomorrow!!!!

Tomorrow is The Ultrasound. i'm crazy excited!

Because i'm a planner, and also very impatient, we will be finding out the sex of our child. And yes, i will be announcing it ASAP on here.

Hopefully my beautiful ultrasound technician, Tanya, will be back from maternity leave so she can do ours. We've loved her since David's first ultrasound, and she did the two i had back in February. She's very sweet and i love her.

No matter what gender child it is, i love him/her already. But i have hopes, like most mommas secretly do. Let's just really hope that it is not shy. At all.

i keep having nightmares that the baby is shy and doesn't flip over, and i a. either end up having a girl and have to buy all her clothes retail because i will have skipped garage saling or b. have a boy and have bought all girl stuff. i also have the dream where the U/S is wrong, and it ends up being a boy, after months of expecting a girl. This actually happens in real life. It will not happen to me. If i say it enough, maybe i'll believe it.

i do plan on asking for a late ultrasound, like 36 weeks, so they can see how big the baby is. David ended up being way bigger than even the Dr. expected and that was a very slow healing process. So if i get a later ultrasound, the gender will be even more unmistakable.

Update on yesterday: David is fine. He's just cranky. Maybe he's in a growth spurt, even though he hasn't been very hungry. Apparently in the warmer weather, appetite drops off some. i'm glad he doesn't have an ear infection, but it was frustrating going to the Dr. and hearing "Not sure why he's changed so much-let us know if he has any other symptoms." Whatev.

Also, thank you all SO much for being so encouraging in my depressing post yesterday! It was really great hearing from all of you. It gave me some wonderful ideas, one of which i've already instated: i bought a dry-erase calendar, and Kris wrote down as much schedule as he's got available. i've already consulted the calendar 4 times since yesterday, so it's definitely very useful. Anyway, it's great knowing all of you and knowing you all care enough to help me out. It means a LOT to me.

It's crazy to think i'm halfway through this pregnancy. It seemed really slow until about 7 weeks, and then WHOA it got faster and faster. i think i'm not quite as focused on the pregnancy this time around and have a lot more going on, so it's going faster. We'll see how i feel in 16 weeks, though, right?

Have a happy night!

A picturesque post

This is going to be very random. Here goes.

Kris says i am going to be HUGE this pregnancy. And i sort of have to agree with him.


Me at 38 weeks last pregnancy.


Me at 18 weeks this pregnancy. (Forgive how awful i look: it was taken at 11:30 Pm after the Twins game.)
Isn't that insane?
i'm gigantic compared to last time already. i understand that's the way it goes with second pregnancies, but holy crap man.

Yesterday was a weird day. It was awful, and then awesome, and my head is still spinning from it. But here's a picture of our new little maid.

i had swept, and left out the broom, and David didn't think i had done a good enough job:) If he keeps doing that, will we have to start giving him allowance already?

David also had a fever kind of from his shots, and didn't nap well yesterday, and woke up at 10 PM, freaking out. So we got him and gave him a bottle, and here he is, all cute and sad.


Then today he and i went to Walmart, and we were given a sample of this ice cream that is supposed to be like dippin' dots. i gave the ice cream to him, and man, he loved it!

He doesn't like to waste a bit, even the paper!

At least it matches his shirt?

Mommy never gives me sugar!


Some guy gave me a really weird look for taking pictures of my kid in Walmart, but that guy should have just thought 'mommy blogger'. Because then it makes sense.

Baby things to buy second hand

So, my beautiful friend Kacie is preggo with #1. i'm freaking out with excitement for her! This just adds to my ever-growing list of ever-growing pals:)

In her honour, i've decided to write a post about baby stuff. There are millions of lists of what to buy and what to skip of baby stuff, and they all contradict each other, because some babies couldn't live without their swing and others hated it, right? It all depends on the child, i think. David hated his Jonny jump-up, but i'm keeping it, because maybe Baby Turnip will love it.

Anyway, we don't need more posts about what babies need or don't need, but i'm going to make a list of stuff you can buy second hand or what is good to maybe buy new. i wish i had had a similar list when i was pregnant with David. It would have saved me a lot of money!

i'll start with what you should buy new:

• A car seat. You don't want to get a car seat from a garage sale simply because you don't know if it's been in an accident. Most likely, it might be a bit older, too, and unless you can read PDF on your cell phone and look at this extensive car seat recall list, it's not worth buying and getting home and finding out it's been recalled. *Spare tip: buy the stroller that goes with the infant carrier. Usually if you buy the set, it's cheaper than buying them individually, and being able to plop the infant carrier right into the stroller without disturbing baby is very handy and a sanity-saver on horrible days.
  
• Crib mattress. The springs may be worn on a used one, and not as good for your baby's growing back. Or it may be old and not flame-retardant.
  
• Nipples for bottles. The rubber in them breaks down kind of quickly, i guess. i actually threw out David's bottle nipples and will replace them for new baby.
  
• Breast pump. Even for those very frugal ladies that say "all parts of breast pumps are sterilizable and new ones are really expensive", just buy a new one. Find the one you like the best, and make the investment. You need one you'll be really comfortable with (i.e. the one you pick out after reading thousands of reviews) and the warranty on those puppies aren't good for the second owner.
  

Stuff to buy used or borrow:

• Clothes. Trust me, the baby needs a LOT of clothes over its first year. Within the first year, they change sizes 4 times! The clothes are still practically brand new by the time they're outgrown, and very expensive to buy new.
  
• Crib. People only use cribs for a short time, and then they become this huge piece of furniture taking up space and not helping anyone. If you find a crib second hand, make sure there aren't any missing or broken hardware or slats. The slats should be no more than 2 3/8" apart (about the width of a soda can). Corner posts should not be higher than 1/16". There should be no design cutouts in the headboard or footboard. (i found the previous information from here.) Make sure the mechanism that moves the side up and down works easily, and you're golden. Cribs are crazy expensive new, and you may be able to find one that is just what you want for 1/10 the price of new from someone extremely glad to get it off their hands. If you don't like the color, you can also paint it. But i also know that at almost all of the garage sales with kids stuff, there is almost always a crib, so there are lots of options out there for frugal mamas.
• Toys. There are too many toys out there in the universe. Trust me, most of them reside in my son's room. Please don't buy them new. Take them off some harried mommy's hands, clean them well, and let your kid have them. Honestly, more than half the toys David got he had absolutely NO interest in whatsoever. The thing is, when it was the teething ring i got for .10, it hurt me much less to see it ignored than the Baby Einstein rattle i bought new for $9. And those giant toys for babies they lie under and kick with their feet? You can find hundreds of them at Once Upon a Child, all on clearance, some with tags still on them. Same goes for exersaucers, Johnny jump ups, bumbo chairs, and other assorted large baby fun stations. For swings, i'd recommend buying them at a garage sale, since Once upon a Child tends to charge quite a bit more for those than would a regular yard sale.
  
• Changing tables. These are not necessary pieces of furniture. i'm putting this out there, because some moms never use them at all. i borrowed mine from my SIL, and happen to use it all the time, and am glad not to have to bend over onto my bed or on the floor to change my wriggling monkey man. Anyway, if you want a changing table, please consider borrowing from a momma between diapered children or buying used. Once again, it is a piece of furniture you will use for about 2 years of each child's life. It is not a permanent fixture in your house (though it will seem like one to those tired of changing diapers)!
• High chair or feeding station. No matter what you use, whether it be a high chair or a chair booster seat, they are made of plastic and easy to clean for your baby's use. Figure out what sort of system would work the best for your family, go to the store and look at them new, and go to a garage sale and find the exact same thing for 1/3 the price. Really. People were really nice to me and went in on this really expensive high chair for David. And i love it and use it all the time. But i've seen it at like 8 garage sales for $20 since then, and i realize those that gave it to me paid $80 for it, and i feel a little sorry, because the extra $60 is 3 months of diapers, roughly. (When you become a mom, you start thinking of money in terms of how many diapers it buys. Just letting you know.)
• Diaper genie or diaper pail. i've not seen many of these used, but they are cheap when they are. You can find the liners at every store, and as long as the pail is in tact, a little disinfectant, and voila! You're golden. *Spare tip: For those that have hard times figuring out their diaper pail system, i'd recommend letting hubs figure it out. The end of pregnancy or the beginning of motherhood are not a good time to read a bunch of directions on something that seems complicated at first. Let hubs figure it out: he'll feel like he helped, and it'll save you the hassle and tears that can come with reading the weird directions. He'll teach you how to use it, (which is incredibly simple when you're taught) and you'll kiss him and say "Thank you honey!" And it will be a good situation.
• Crib sheets and blankets. Make sure there are no stains, wash them up, and you'll be glad you did. Also, buy quite a few crib sheets. Trust me.
  
• Maternity clothes are also a nice thing to borrow if you can. It sucks to buy a whole wardrobe for about 5 months of your life, so if you've got a previously preggo friend, i'm sure she'd be glad to get that box out of her closet for a while, until/if she needs them again. Plus, used maternity clothes at stores are ugly. Don't ask me why. But most friends have similar tastes in clothes, or similar enough to merit borrowing. Buy yourself a few things you like, but mostly, save your money. You'll need it later, i promise.
  

The great thing about buying baby stuff used is that if there is something you MUST have for baby that is really expensive, you've saved from other places, so it's not so bad to pay a bit more for something special, like this or this or this that i'd have loved for David:) Or this if new baby is a girl.

There are probably things that worked for me that wouldn't for you guys. i'm not saying this is an extensive list, or would work for everyone, but it's what my personal experience has taught me. i also know i am much less squicked out about used stuff than a lot of people, so if the idea of getting a used whatever freaks you out, don't do it. But i hope some of this helps you out a bit.