Week 34: The Name Game

At this point our biggest issue is agreeing on a name.  Which is clearly a problem for us.  If we were in agreement, we would have a name by now.  This is the first time I remember this happening, but I have one idea and Tim has another.
Every time I bring up the topic, in an effort to bring us to some kind of agreement, our discussion goes something like this:

Me: "So, what are we going to name this baby?"
Tim: "I don't know.  What do you think?"

And that sums it up pretty well.  That's as far as we ever get.

But every time I turn around, someone is asking me what her name is.  I have no answer.  Still.  I'm ready to have it decided.  I feel like part of the reason to find out the gender ahead of time is so that we could name our baby and so I could start thinking of her by name.

Tim suggested at some point over the summer that he might be bribed to agree to my name.  He's mentioned a few times that I have come up with no proper bribe to put this debate to rest.  But the problem with that is that I don't want to come to an agreement because I offered to do all the dishes for the remainder of time.  I want to be in agreement because we've decided whatever we name our daughter is truly the best name for her.  We're just not there.  Yet.   I keep trying for it.

On the other hand, it is nice to have a truthful way to deflect the "What is her name?" question, as I wouldn't answer it even if we did have a name decided.  There's gotta be some kind of surprise once she's born.  And it's just a lot easier to say that we haven't decided than it is to say that I'm not telling.

This weekend was the high schoolers fall retreat.  Once again, we weren't sure until the very last minute that me and the kids would be able to go, but thankfully it worked out for all of us to be there.  In fact, because of the vehicle situations and timing, Tim was even able to ride with us both ways!  What a special treat!  Especially since that meant that he was available to help unload and then reload all of our crap gear for the weekend!  What a blessing.

All of us had a great weekend with the high school kids, but I sure was glad we only had a weekend's worth of being at camp this time.  I don't think I could have handled much more of hauling my crew all over camp this time.  All of the buildings at camp are in relatively close proximity to each other, especially in comparison to the camp we were at in California, but it still felt like a major ordeal for me to carry anyone anywhere this time.  I was so thankful once again to have brought the stroller.  And believe me, I used it whenever possible this weekend.

This week was also Tim and I's tenth anniversary.  That's a big one!!!  We had always dreamed of taking some kind of celebratory vacation.  But, with being so close to having this baby, combined with the fact that we are still desperate to find someone to watch our kids while we are in the hospital, we decided we would have to hold off on that dream.  I'm trying not to dwell on it too much, but I can't lie about the fact that I am sad that it won't work.  Instead, we spent one night in a hotel on the north side of Denver.  Which was still great to get away.  But just doesn't compare to a week in Hawaii or some other tropical destination.

Week 33: How many more weeks?

A typical conversation in my life these days (maybe every conversation in my life these days) goes something like this:

"How's it going?"
"Great!  How are you?  When are you due?"

And every time I answer, it feels like an eternity away.  November 7th.  That's seven weeks still.  It feels like a lifetime.

As I was picking up Sophia at school one day this week, one of the other moms said, "You still haven't had that baby yet?"

To which I obviously responded, "No, not for awhile yet."  With a totally fake, polite chuckle.

To which she said, "You must have what, like 3 weeks left?"

To which I inwardly groaned.  And continued the fake smile.  And said, "No, a few more than that."

Even though I FELT like I must have looked, based on the track this conversation was on.  But I am looking forward to the conversations of this nature coming to an end!

Week 32: Sept. 12

32 weeks.  That means 8 weeks left.  7 months.  November seems so. far. away.  I remember thinking back at the 6 month mark that once I got to this point, it would all seem downhill from here.  Wrong.  It doesn't seem so downhill at this point.  Two months has never felt so long in my entire life.  I don't ever remember this last part of pregnancy seeming so long...

Tim's work, our church, hosted yet another shower for us this week.  That blows my mind!  How many people are blessed enough to say that every one of their baby's has had a shower in their honor- all the way through their fourth?  And knowing that we are having another girl this time, there is not much we need.  We're pretty set on clothes, now that we've had a girl in both seasonal extremes.  After the shower, I sat down to write thank you cards for all the gifts and felt so humbled that there was just no way for me to convey how amazing I think it is that they would do that for us and for this new little one.

Can you guess what the gifts were, and what the gift cards were used for?  Diapers and more diapers!

In going through our things, though, I have had a new realization that's made me chuckle.  We have been through so much baby STUFF that there are a few things that could use round two.  A bouncy seat that no longer vibrates.  A front carrier that was a lesser, cheaper off brand to start with that now has a broken buckle.  A second changing pad would be good, since we'll have two in diapers once again.  But who wants to buy this stuff for a fourth baby?  So I've begun a mission to find people who would be kind enough to loan us a few of these items.

I've also been hearing all about Ergos lately.  It seems that Bjorns are a thing of the past, and Ergos are the new latest greatest things in front carriers.  So I find myself trying to justify getting my hands on yet another piece of baby gear, that we really probably don't need, but I sure would like to try out.   

Week 31: Labor Day

We had some friends over for Labor Day this week.  The plan was to have dinner and then walk to a neighborhood yogurt bar for dessert.  The place is probably just under a mile a way, a walk that we've made plenty of times.  The older kids are even getting to the point where they either walk along with us or ride their bikes.  We walked to the same place on Memorial Day with a couple of friends and have done so a handful of times over the course of the summer.

Except this time, I thought it was going to be the death of me!  It felt so far away!  And amongst our herd of 4 adults and 5 kids six and under, I am fairly certain that I was the slowest one in the bunch.  I was trying to disguise it, but I was struggling to keep up.

And I knew the adventure was going to haunt me for the remainder of the night and into the next day.  It was going to make it a difficult night's sleep for me.'

But not wanting to be one to give up or give in, I laced up the shoes and trouped out the door with the rest of the crew.  All in anticipation of frozen yogurt with any and every topping you could imagine.  Including sour apple flavored gummy army guys. 

Except the yogurt place was closed for the day in honor of Labor Day.  No joke!

Week 30: 29 August, 2011

Kids say the darndest things.

For real.

There is a high school girl in our group, a freshmen, whose mom just had a baby this summer.  Some of the other girls at church were asking me how far along I was, and I told them seven months.  This normally kind freshmen said, "You're way bigger than my mom was at seven months."  After floundering for just a moment or two, I responded somewhere along the lines of, "Wow, really...and by the way, just so you know for the future, it's never nice to tell a pregnant lady how big she is.  You might want to remember that for when you reach adulthood."  Someone's gotta teach 'em, right?

On my one day of work this week, I had a first grade girl take note of the coffee cup I was carrying.  Her observation was obvious when she said, "Are you even supposed to drink coffee when you're pregnant?"  Again, I disguising my baffled expresion just enough to answer, "It's decaf."

Geez, Louise!  Since when do I need to worry about six year olds passing judgment on my health while pregnant!

It has taken 4 pregnancies to get to this point, but here, now in the fourth, Tim has been granted a whole new meaning to nesting!  I had been suggesting for some time that I wanted to rearrange our downstairs family room area.  He had finally gotten on board with my layout for the room.  And then taken it to a whole new level.  He decided that if we were going to go to the trouble of rearranging, he wanted new furniture to replace some of the freebies we had been using since we first got married.  It started with just one piece but then turned into a couple.

So we unexpectedly spent the weekend furniture shopping.  Thankfully, we decide some things better than others, and we made our decisions relatively quickly.  Now it's just a matter of waiting for the stuff to be delivered, so we can finish the rearrangements and restore some peace and order to our basement.

I'll take what I can get; it may not have been baby preparation stuff, but any time he gets the bug to organize, I'll jump on the opportunity!

Week 29: 22 August, 2011

*Sophia in Kindergarten
*People's comments about size: OLD

Not much to report on this week.  Sophia has officially started kindergarten.  Which doesn't have much to do with being pregnant, although I have come to the conclusion that in my very humble opinion, her school does not seem to have the best pick up procedure in town.

Each day, when I pick her up promptly (ish) at 11:55, I park as close as I can and haul both my growing baby belly and my current baby of the family, all the while towing a curious preschooler along side us all the way from the street, through the school's parking lot, across the playground and up to the outside door of Sophia's classroom.  Not an easy jaunt for me in this state.  If we're running late, I'm in trouble deep because there really is no way for me to get there quickly.

And that makes me flash ahead to winter when I am no longer pregnant, but instead towing a preschooler, a toddler, and a newborn to make that trek.  (Did I mention it will be winter?)  Not sure which scenario is worse!  It's these minor details that make me think this year will be a little chaotic and complicated.

I have also officially gotten over people's comments about my size.  I mean really, why does a person ever think those comments are OK?  Keep your mouth shut, people.  I'm sure it's not twins.  I probably am getting bigger by the day.  I have almost three months left.  Leave me alone!  And I mean that in the most respectful way!  :) 

Week 28: 15 August, 2011

Let's also dub this week "The Week Of Babies!"  Three new little arrivals this week.  Wow, has it been fun to meet and hold the little ones.  But let's be honest.  As excited as I am for each one of them, as I've held each one, I've really been thinking ahead to November and looking forward to holding OUR new little one.  For real.  I can't wait!

It's been kinda fun to have each of these babies born just as I've entered the third trimester.  Just as I was beginning to look in the mirror and wonder HOW was I ever going to survive 3 more months, holding these three little ones has given me hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  That's obvious to anyone who isn't pregnant, but sometimes, as your body's growing, you just feel like there is no way you can endure any more.  Especially this fourth time around.

In celebration of each of our friends' babies, I've done some shopping this week.  Ok, again, let's be honest.  I have shopped for friends.  But I have also simultaneously shopped for a new little Nielson girl. Back in debating if we were going to find out the gender of this baby, one of the things I thought was that maybe, just for once, it would be fun to do some shopping ahead of time and have a few new things ready for this baby.  And then we found out we were having a girl.  And I decided that I couldn't justify shopping, seeing as how we already have plenty of things for little girls.  And then I decided new life in itself justifies shopping.  This little girl deserves at least a few things of her very own!  So I've also picked up just a few new little girl items. 

And as I have been shopping, I've succumbed to the fact that maybe I am more girly than I like to admit. For I have discovered that it has been therapeutic.  As I've been browsing clearance racks for right size/right season rock bottom sales for a new little baby girl, I've been dreaming and imagining and wondering what this little girl will be like?  Will she have hair?  How big will she be?  Will she be a good sleeper?  What color will her eyes be?

For the first time in this pregnancy, I've started thinking beyond pregnancy to baby.  Whoa, here we are at third trimester, and I haven't even REALLY thought about having a baby in the house again.  And yes, I'm super excited.  (But yes, I am also thinking it's maybe a good thing that I haven't spent too much time thinking about it, because the thought of four kids in 6 years maybe would have scared me a bit!)  But starting to dream about this baby is really what has maybe shed light on the end of this tunnel of pregnancy.

I went straight from meeting the second baby arrival of this week to the doctor's office for my 28 week appointment.  You know, the one with the dreaded orange stuff.  Except this time, it wasn't orange.  It was clear.  And tasted mostly like really sweet Sprite.  It really wasn't too bad.  I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it was good to me and doesn't reveal any hidden surprises (ie: gestational diabetes).

Usually, while you wait the hour after you drink the stuff to have your blood drawn, they make you watch these scary videos on preterm labor and postpartum depression.  I guess since it's my fourth time around, they figure I'm an expert, and didn't make me waste the time.  Instead, I spent the hour finishing a book that I was actually very much enjoying reading without feeling guilty that I wasn't doing something else.

After I donated vials of blood for the all so noble purpose of lab testing, I headed back up to the OB department for my rhogam shot.  Lucky for me, I got the nurse who insisted on giving the shot in the butt.  I have learned that it can be done just as easily in my arm.  Even after I complained, she persisted in making me bare my booty for her.  (Before Noah was born, they poked me in the arse.  Afterwards, they did it in my arm.  Lesson learned.  When it was time with Phoebe, I graciously asked for my arm instead, and my wish was granted.  No big deal.)  Seriously, she tried to convince me it was because it was easier.  Easier for who?  When I tried to tell her my last couple had been done in my arm, she told me she could do that only if I was much bigger.  I have never been known to give up easily, and I wanted to tell her that the last time I had one in my arm, the nurse commented on the size of my biceps and how it was plenty easy to give me the shot there.  No lie.  I told her it was from carrying around little kids all the time.

The sure sign that I am exceptionally hormonal during this pregnancy was my over reaction to the whole situation.  I was irrationally angry that this nurse insisted on making me pull down my pants for her.  Ya win some and ya lose some, and I guess I it was clear that I lost that one!