Family Chaos – Part 3

I am getting curious about this sister and who she will be (personality wise). She goes still in the womb when anyone touches my belly! I am still swelling and tired and on all the meds for my digestion. A babysitter and/or Nana comes to the house once a week so the girls have someone with ENERGY to talk and play with, and also so that I can take a nap or (more often) go my Dr’s appointments and run errands in town. Exercise has fallen to the wayside, but I do pull it together for stretching 1-2 times/week.. I’m hoping it’s enough for L&D.

Month 7 (27-30wk):

We meet up with the Kings for a Broken Bow camping trip. It turns into a cabin stay because of some bad thunderstorms in the forecast (my pregnant self wasn’t complaining about having a mattress). We had such a fun time and got a lot of outdoors play in between rains. I passed my 1hr glucose test; and the bloodwork came back anemic. The iron pills are unreasonably large.. but they do begin helping with the migraine-like headaches & fatigue I had been fighting. Mother’s Day Out ends for the girls, Tball & dance end for Cora, Blair ends a semester of gymnastics with the city in a cute little recital, and we head into summer – playdates, swim lessons, and gymnastics for both sisters start up. Lolli & PopPop take all the family to an Astros game (Star Wars night), complete with snacks, ice cream, and fireworks! I’m definitely, visibly growing so there is lots of stretching and lots of napping. If I have a bad swelling day, it slows down everything. I start up some low-dose antidepressants, which definitely help my mood and emotional state. I’m finally starting to “nest” with some urges to decorate, organize, and buy new furniture. Kris has been crazy busy with board exam prep, so we will have a lot to do in the next few weeks. We FINALLY make the decision for me to NOT travel to Cabo for the family wedding; my mother graciously takes my spot so that the sisters can still go be flower girls while Kris stands up as the best man.

Month 8 (31-35wk):

The girls enjoy a morning VBS at Nana’s church while I start getting some things organized. A cold from last month settled into a bronchitis that was slowly resolving, until I relapsed.. pulled a belly muscle & bruised my ribs from coughing; got a Zpack of antibiotics and some cough medicine to pull me out of it. Baby sister really snuggles low into my pelvis, so I never know if I actually have to pee or if she’s just punching my bladder. The family takes their trip to Los Cabos and I get some pampering in with a pedicure, a massage, shopping & hotel in the Woodlands, and a lot of sleep and quiet. My bronchitis does not resolve (and the cause is hard to find in spite of the blood panels and chest xray) & it gives me an umbilical hernia; an inhaler helps me breath everyday.. until we head to the bayhouse.. 5 days on the gulf coast for the 4th of July clears everything up and I feel great!! As we head back home to the Pineywoods, the car is not even in the driveway before my headache and cough start up again. And so it turns out that I am allergic to something in the air at home.. some additional meds keep these symptoms in check. The girls and I take a road trip with PopPop to visit Mommae & Poppae in their new apartment, while Kris goes back to OU for some board prep. This month, little sister is starting to noticeably move and my appetite skyrockets. I really want to wash the walls and baseboards and trim, but the energy just isn’t there after the swelling, housework (minimal that I can manage), and girls.

Month 9 (36-40wk):

Cora went to two weeks straight of day camps – one art & one general play. The end of summer timing was perfect to keep her busy and be a little bit of prep for the upcoming school year schedule; and Blair and I enjoyed some really good one-on-one together time. I am looking forward to how she blossoms as the big sister at home since Cora will be gone all week to kinder. This has been “her” baby sister because “Cora already had one”. Kris finally got all the baby stuff down from the attic before he went to Chicago for his oral board exam; and, my friend has been getting us ready by dropping off all of her baby stuff as they outgrow it (maternity clothes, baby gear, baby clothes). My mom came to help get stuff cleaned up and organized in the nursery room and we got an infant carseat, so life is feeling not so desperate and unorganized. My sweet Lufkin friends convinced me to let them throw a diaper shower, and it was such a nice way to celebrate our upcoming family member!

You know you are at the end when even the maternity clothes are bit too snug! Little girl was breech but cooperative with my stretching and yoga moves, so no scheduled C-section needed! The iron pills have been helping my anemia, so I may avoid needing an infusion also. For posterity and so that I will never forget to remind her of all that she put me through this pregnancy, here is the rundown of my issues this pregnancy (bad enough to need medical intervention): severe digestion & stomach pain requiring several meds and altering my diet, bloating, heartburn, nausea, extreme exhaustion & insomnia, anxiety/prepartum depression, varicose veins & hemorrhoids, swelling, anemia, bronchitis, allergies, hernia…

The closer we get, the more I cannot believe we decided to add to this chaos. My body does not deal well with pregnancy and hormonal fluctuations, but the baby has had no complications and so we are thankful! I’m not feeling ready for L&D and we. need. a. name!!! Wish us luck.. The last weeks’ agenda includes packing some hospital bags, organizing all the things we put off while Kris was getting ready for boards (yard? bedrooms? garage?), getting the big girls ready to start school, and tying up the other loose ends that pop up!!

Family Chaos – Part 2

I am able to exercise some this trimester, which I think is really important for carrying & labor/delivery. I’ve got an occasional yoga class in town, along with my pregnant lady workout dvd. My goal is once a week, but sometimes that doesn’t happen depending on how sick I feel/busy the family is.

Month 4 (13-16wk):
Continue nausea, exhaustion, and digestion issues. The meds definitely are helping with the pain and I am at least functional during most of the day. An ultrasound reveals very healthy looking insides & no answers for the pain. I do have to unisom for sleep at night, though, either with lots of pillows propping me up or in the recliner. This is the month that we paint Blair’s room & start combining the sister’s things, making room for a new kid… I also decided all of the trim in the house needed painting, so things get crazy for a few weeks. Cora has a big blow-out for her 5th birthday & we have to start looking into Kindergartens! I figure out that red meat, onion, & tomato trigger my belly pain, so that is cut out of the diet and it’s only chicken from here on out. We start buying liters of drinking water (Sam’s Club has the best) because my taste buds just can’t handle ultra-filtered tap water. I’m still having emotional/anxiety issues from not feeling well; Kris, the grandmas, and Mother’s Day Out help a lot with the girls & I take naps. We buy a slick, new minivan to keep all the carseats in!

Month 5 (17-21wk):
It’s my birthday; Kris takes me for a Rodeo Houston date night AND my mom takes me & Kara for a resort spa weekend… it was so fun & relaxing! Digestion pain is under control, but I see a GI specialist since there are still issues (who can’t help right now because I’m pregnant). I slowly eliminate any/all cooked vegetables from my diet because they trigger my stomach pain… I eat a lot of salads (no joke; maybe one a day)! I also start having some swelling, which didn’t happened with the other two until the 8th-9th month. We had our second trimester ultrasound and were happy to see healthy, normal growth. Aunt Kara picked up some confetti poppers & met us in Livingston with both sides of the family to do a reveal with the girls. Kris just knew it was a girl, but I thought it was a boy because of some very vivid dreams.. so I was shocked with the pink reveal and it took at least a week to sink in. Kris says prophecy is not my spiritual gift! I am carrying similarly to the others – all crammed inside jabbing into my organs.

Month 6 (22-26wk):
This month is an upswing in terms of emotions & energy – which is great because we fly to Orlando and do Disney World. The flying, walking, heat, etc keep me tired and swollen; but, we have a fantastic trip! Some varicose veins pop out with the swelling, so I start needing compression hose every day to keep them under control. Blair turned 3 with an ice cream party for all the family and a few friends. We also get to celebrate Mother’s Day with Gran, a new transplant into Lufkin.

We’ve been slowly getting the sisters combined into one room – new closet organization, new bunk beds, painted Kris’s childhood chests of drawers, figuring out decorations, organizing toys/books, learning how to sleep in the same room, etc. Some days they have fun & some days are far from ideal. Blair is loving the idea of a baby and being a big sister.. she also has a baby in her tummy that makes her too tired to clean up her things or that tells her what she likes to eat that day!

Family Chaos – Part 1

Here we go again.. pregnant and due in August! I don’t want to short change #3, even though I’m already behind on documenting these trimesters.. I’m trying!!

Month 1 (1-4wk):
After months of going back and forth on another baby, we get on the same page and say yes! The positive home pregnancy test was still a total surprise, as it came the VERY NEXT month. Very good conception timing, I guess.

Month 2 (5-8wk):
We keep it to ourselves for a bit, but had to tell the family by the time we gathered for holidays. The grandparents got to open little pacifier presents – it was very fun and everyone was excited. The sisters are super excited for a new baby sister (no we do not know the sex)! I began having pain in my belly, with bloating and pain when I ate anything. Also, my old comrades nausea and exhaustion show up.  Nothing tastes good to eat, hard to keep stuff down, I can’t find anything to drink, some days I can barely move off the couch, and I definitely can’t keep up with the girls. I unisom every night to take the edge off the nausea/pain, so that I can sleep.

Month 3 (9-12wk):
I choose a new OB in my new town, and get in for an appointment the day that I am 10 weeks. I’m already on Zantac for my stomach, so she adds Protonix and a bunch of other pills trying to get my stomach pain and nausea under control. We get through this month without serious injury thanks to a babysitter some afternoons, my mother-in-law some afternoons, and Kris shortening his work days/weeks. Kris or the restaurant du jour takes care of all meals (sometimes Kris even gets me things from the refrigerator so that I don’t have to smell anything… true love!), and the girls quickly learn how to serve their own snacks. At this point, I seemingly have two stomachs – one (baby) that wants meat and to eat all the things, and one (pain) that only allows freezing cold water and crackers without severe bloating and pain. My doc has me on an every 2 week appointment schedule, trying to figure this out.  None of the nausea meds are working (except unisom which just knocks me out so that I can’t feel it).  I don’t know if it’s because I am not eating much or because the hormone cascade is a little different this time, but I’m not vomiting on routine like I did with #2… so silver linings and all that.

By the end of the 1st trimester, everything feels volatile.. my emotions are dead (likely due to the inability to eat, pain, stress, etc.). Kris is very anxious about my health, the baby’s health, and keeping our girls safe and sound.  They know I am sick, so Cora is spreading her independent wings (some ways are lovely and some ways will need to be reeled in) and Blair is in constant cuddle mode and saying “I luh you, momma” all the time. Both are excited to hold the new baby – Cora wants to feed it, and Blair want to bop it on the nose!  As each pregnancy has gotten harder physically for me, I make the executive decision that this will be the finale. Kris comes around in a few weeks after all the stress of the chaos in the house takes its toll.