check: completed

So, you've all heard me whining about my sewing projects and I can officially say they are "check: completed". Meaning, I can check them off my list because they are finally done. I love being creative and thinking of new fun things to make but for some reason, me and sewing machines just don't get along. So here is the latest of Heather's home made fashions.

The first picture is the car seat cover that I made. I'm not sure Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh would have been my number one pick but there wasn't much to choose from that was girlie and matched the blue car seat. So, I've tacked this piece of material, over the original slip cover. Thanks to my mom for helping me with this project! (If you look back in my posts you can see a picture of Wendell "swinging" in the car seat with the original blue cover).

This next picture is actually two projects. The top orangish looking thing is a new cover over my nursing pillow. (The nursing pillow is an "antique" used by my step mom and passed on to me and it actually works really well.) Although this orange color isn't my number one pick, it was material I had on hand and is super soft so it will be very nice for Harlie to lay her little head down on. The black thing with flowers is my "nursing cover". After scoping several on the internet this is the one that I chose to try to make. (see below)

So this is me, sporting the "nursing gear". I must say it wasn't really fun taking this picture as the thought of nursing a baby doesn't really excite me. On a positive note, I think once I don't have a mound on my belly and I don't get hot easily then the thought of snuggling up with a baby sounds delightful. On a side note, last time I did the whole nursing thing I wasn't very "open" about it, in fact every time I nursed I hid in a room alone where no one could find me. My goal this time, is to at least be able to nurse in front of other women (playdates, family, MMO, etc) with some type of covering. Once I am good with that then maybe I'll feel comfortable in front of men (outside of Phil). This will be a huge challenge for me since I'm a very private person about my body but I'm sure I can do it.

And this last picture is one of the cutest. It has some of the new clothes we've picked out for Harlie to come home in. There are a few p.j.'s, outfits and a cute onesie that I plan to take along. Right now, she'll be coming home in the purple outfit that says "I'll always be Daddy's Little Girl". And down below is the new diaper bag we just got. The brown and blue/turquoise is a nice mix so Phil doesn't have to carry a "girl" bag. On a side note, I can't believe how expensive diaper bags are! This one was $25 and that is the average price... I would have expected $10-15.

Well, that's all for now. Once again, I hope you've enjoyed the slide show. I need to keep up on my posts because here soon, I won't have time to do much. 2 1/2 weeks left before she's due.. I'm starting to think I can make!

The BIX

Over the weekend Phil and Wendell ran their big race of the year. Phil ran the 7 mile BIX on Saturday with his brother Tim. Wendell ran the jr. BIX (70 yard dash) on Friday with a bunch of 2 year olds. The first picture is my boys with their metals, race numbers and tshirts. (It's exciting to think that we might be starting a new tradition of having our kids run with us).

This picture is Wendell and Phil "dashing". Phil said that Wendell laughed through the race and wanted to keep running afterwards. One of these days we might actually take him out running to see how far he'd actually go.



This third picture is the two of them running through the sprinkler afterwards.

And this last one is of Phil running his race with his brother Tim.

Phil said he really enjoyed it and hopes to do it again. He made his goal time of under 9 minutes per mile, completing the 7 mile, very hilly race in 1:02:30.

My marathon this year is having this baby. And, I don't think I'll ever desire to run the Bix. I think I could do 7 miles but not on mini-mountains.

quick update

I had my appointment today and they did an ultrasound. The good news is that Harlie's face down and positioned correctly. She's also plenty big, measuring 7 lbs 6 oz, give or take a pound for actual weight. But I'm not dilating so that means we're still going down the same road as last time. At least, for now we can relax about her positioning so now we just wait and see. Next week, I think my doc. will give an official recommendation. He did comment at this appointment about the baby being big, which was another factor for pushing pitosin/c-section last time.

Isn't she cute?

Is July really almost over?

I really can't believe that July is almost over. Because that means, August is next and that means I will have an infant in my home again. That's means I will be mom again (sometimes I'm still surprised that I have one child, that I'm married, and that we own a house). It's just weird feeling all these things.... sometimes I ask myself, how old do I feel? And right now, I can't say I feel any certain age... well maybe I feel about 85 right now with my aches, pains, fatigue and my brain not functioning at it's normal level.

Anyways, things are still going pretty well with the pregnancy. Many people ask me how I'm feeling and I'm am starting to say... ehh, I think I'm ready. The simple things have become a chore; like doing dishes, cooking, picking up things off the floor, just sitting, and even reading can be difficult sometimes. On a good note, we have bought most of the things that we need to buy and have done most of the major tasks that need to be done. However, there are many small things that I'd really like to do but just can't get the energy to do it.. like clean out freezer/fridge, mop/vacuum floors, play outside with Wendell, and well.. pretty much anything that requires any movement other than sit on my comfy couch. Luckily, I still sleep pretty well and can take naps in the afternoon so that has been a good thing. I'm still out walking for exercise but at a very slow pace.

One of the big questions we have been discussing is whether to have a C-section or attempt to try and have a normal birth. At this point in time we are walking the same road we did with Wendell which ended in a c-section so it's tempting to just schedule it and be done with "thinking about it". Here is what happened with Wendell... first off, he was breech so then we scheduled to do a version (turning him) with the plan to do pitosin immediately after so he couldn't turn back and have complications later. So Phil and Heather (and family) are all geared up that this would be the day.. we go to the hospital and it turns out he had flipped himself (but could flip back anytime) so the doctor suggested we do the pitosin anyways since Wendell was plenty big. So I sat at the hospital all day, hooked to tubes and basically nothing happened so the doc. gave us the option of c-section that day or go home. I felt that if Wendell wasn't ready then maybe we should go home. So sad, and disappointed to be empty handed, Phil and I returned home.

A week later, I'm overdue and the doctor is concerned that Wendell is getting big and highly recommends we take another shot at pitosin. Once again, tubes and all day of labor, that night I decide to get the epidural because I am not dilating/progressing which means we are looking at the next day before there would even be an attempt at pushing Wendell out. I felt I would be better prepared if I could get some rest before the next day. And it turns out to be a good decision because that morning at 6am, Wendell started showing slight signs of stress so we did a c-section (and I would have had an epidural anyways). My c-section went quite well, and all turned out good. No infection, I felt great for the most part, and recovered quite well. I think a lot of that is because my doc. wasn't rushed to do the c-section and my body heals well so the combo made for a good outcome.

So here we are with baby #2... so far I'm not dilating (we'll know more at the next few appointments as the doc. continues to check me) which so far has been the same as what happened with Wendell. As of two weeks ago she was breech - this next appt. might result in an ultrasound to confirm her positioning.. and a minor factor is that my group be strep test came back positive. My doc. says I can try pitosin again but I don't really think it'll work, just because it didn't last time (the doc. says it might work but probably not). I asked about other options of inducing and he said that we couldn't really try anything else because I've already had a c-section - other ways of inducing can be too intense for my scar. So if I don't dilate on my own, she's breech and big then my doctor will recommend another c-section to be safe. The longest he will let me go over my due date is two weeks.. which means I still have plenty of time to decide. There are a few perks to doing a c-section. 1. We can plan it, set a date, get child care lined up, and have our bags packed. 2. Mentally, I would be prepared, well rested, and feel ready. 3. (best perk so far) is that my doc. said I can schedule it a 6 days before I'm actually due... which is sounding pretty darn good right now.

My next appointment is Friday and it appears that we'll be doing an ultrasound which will determine the size and breech issues which could be major factors in our decision making. So for now, I need to decide how important is a regular delivery to me and why. At least, I'm on the fence on the issue and would be okay with a c-section. So, I'll keep you updated.. and if you have any strong opinions on my situation then feel free to share.

Below are some fun pictures.

Pic #1 is Wendell being Mr. Helpful and washing off a cucumber from the garden.

Pic #2 is Wendell showing off the giant summer squash that had been hiding in the garden.


Pic #3 shows the infant car seat that I just brought up from the basement. Wendell has discovered a new "rocking chair" for him to sit in while watching tv. It's crazy to think he used to fit in this car seat! One of my projects in the next few days is to try and make a seat cover that isn't so "blue". This car seat was given to us and we're not going to buy another one just so it can be pink/neutral colored. I think you can buy car seat covers but I haven't seen any in stores and on line they appear to be pricey.

Pic #4 is Wendell caught stealing a cookie from the cooking rack. His face had chocolate all over it so there was no hiding of this cookie snatcher.

We have our last travel weekend this coming weekend. Phil is running the BIX in Davenport. I had planned to watch but I think it starts at 7am... kind of early for me on a Saturday morning... maybe I can plan to be at the finish line which would mean a little extra sleep. We might put Wendell in the junior BIX on Friday evening which would be a lot of fun to watch. Then we're back Saturday evening so we can relax.. we've been gone the last few weekends and are worn out on travel.

Well, I'll keep you posted on any new updates!

less than 5 weeks (or one month) left

Has it really been over two weeks since I posted?

I guess I've been busy.. and oh yeh, I got kind of sick the last few days. I had everything from chills, nausea, back pain, cramps, ovary aches (that's what I'm calling them anyways), hot sweats, fatigue, and light headedness. It was a bit of a rough few days but I made it through. On Sunday night I thought I was in labor so that was interesting.. packing bags, lying in pain, and debating on what we needed to do and who to call. However, I decided to take a Tylenol and went to bed and ended up falling asleep. Anyways.. thankfully, I feel much better today so I was able to address the cleanliness of the house which had gotten really out of hand. Now I feel back on track.

We were gone over the weekend and went down to Deep River, IA for their 125 year "birthday" there's a quasentennial word for it but not really sure how to spell it. My grandparents live down there so our entire family went down for the "family vacation". (Unfortunately, my mom or sister couldn't be there because she was with my sister who had just had her baby... they welcomed a new little boy in the family.) The weather was really nice so it was nice to sit around and chat with family that I don't see often. Phil kind of got stuck with chasing Wendell everywhere because I didn't feel so good and I'm getting to where I can't really "chase" anymore.

I think the next two weeks are going to be busy for me and then I might have time to sit and actually think about waiting for this baby to come. I would rather be busy then have nothing to do... and I can't decide if this is going really fast or just too slow. Sometimes I wonder "what were we thinking" and "can I handle this" and other times I think, oh it'll be fun and wonderful with all the smiles and hugs, just like with Wendell. Deep in my heart I know all will be fine, it's just the typical worries of a mom-to-be.

Anyways, here are a few fun pictures... the first one is of Wendell. You can't tell but he's actually in the dark with the flashlight on. The electricity went out the other night so Phil gave him this flashlight for "light".. and in the morning he was enjoying playing with it.





This next one I just took tonight. This is our first meal out of the garden. Phil cooked up some fresh green beans and roasted some squash. Then some delicious BBQ chicken to go with it. It was really good and it's always fun to eat food out of the garden.



And this last picture is of me with 5 fingers indicating 5 more weeks! As of tomorrow it will be 1 month. Part of me wishes it was only 2 more weeks but then the thought of that makes me nervous as well. I don't mind being pregnant but the mound is starting to be inconvenient; like when trying to do dishes, bend over, or get behind the steering wheel. As you can see too, maternity shirts don't seem to fit me right. They fit around but aren't long enough.. not sure what the deal is with that. And almost all the shirts do that. I especially hate it when the belly panel shows but there isn't a lot I can do about it.



5 more weeks.. I can do it!!