Here's a bad idea for you:

I keep getting magazines in the mail (Athleta, Lands End, etc.) and I make the mistake of looking through them.

For the longest time I didn't do this while pregnant, because...why bother?  Nothing in there fits me anyway.

But now??  Now I'm 35 weeks pregnant, and I long for the day when I am NOT pregnant...and not wearing maternity clothes anymore.  So I've started looking at the magazines.

Bad idea.

You should never, ever buy clothes for your post-baby body when you are 35 weeks pregnant.  I think the hormones mess with your reasoning there.  :)  Your body is going to look pretty awful for a long time after having a baby, and having new clothes that don't fit that body doesn't do anyone any favors.  Especially you...well, me, in this case.

Don't worry, I've resisted so far.  But I've been tempted!  Especially by those long, summer maxi dresses.  Ummmmm, love those.  Sigh.

Now everything gets filtered through my "will this work to nurse in??" question.  (Speaking of nursing, if you've had a nursing bra that you loved, please send the make/model my way.  I've been hunting lately, and I'm pretty sure there are probably only 3 good nursing bras in the entire world.  Lame. )


** Random side note:  Braxton Hicks contractions??  Wowza.  I think I pretty much never had them with either of my other two kids, but this time around they are working me over pretty good!  Sheesh!  

Yuck.

Well, I'm there.

That "stage" of pregnancy where just about nothing works right anymore.  :(  I have been in constant pain for the last four days because little girl wants to kick my ribs and upper abdomen with her knees and feet--CONSTANTLY.  That area of my body feels like it's continually on fire, and then every now and then it's like someone is trying to drill through my ribs right there.  Awful.  Frankly, it also makes me pretty tense and stressed out, so little things in life just PUT ME OVER THE EDGE OF SANITY, where as normally they'd be no big deal. The only time I get any relief from this pain is when I'm lying down on my right side, almost more like being on my stomach (no easy thing to do when pregnant), so there is a lot of pressure on that area.  Then I don't feel the pain.  OR I can use both hands and push down really hard on the area.  Neither of these scenarios are helpful for living a normal, productive life.  On Tuesday the pain was so bad that I didn't want to sit up or drive at all--so I didn't bring Layla to preschool, and I didn't go to the Moms group at church.  No fair ruling our lives, baby girl!! :(

Sigh.  This feels early to me.  I hate the thought of 4+ more weeks of this pain, give or take.

Today at my 34/35 week appointment I was actually down 2 lbs from my last visit, I guess...so that makes for 12 lbs total weight gain this pregnancy.  I wish I had the energy to delight in this information a little bit more, but it's all relative.  I'm sitting on my bed cross-legged right now, and if I look up I can see myself in our standing mirror.  Um...     yeah.  12 lbs or no, that just looks HUGE to me!

Things were fine at the Dr., but they checked my blood and my heparin levels were low, so I'm now on the higher dose of lovenox, at least for the next 3 or 4 weeks.  After that I'll most likely move to actual heparin shots, but we'll see--my nurse told me today that protocols have changed since I had Finn, so maybe I won't have to do that.

My fluid levels were higher this visit than last visit.  This seemed like a small concern to the Drs, but not a big deal.  I asked about it, and I guess it usually means one of two things:  1) a mother who has gestational diabetes, who they need to watch for preeclampsia (this is NOT me), or 2) a large baby who has a higher than normal output of urine.  All signs are pointing to large baby right now, which is fine by me.

So, that's that.  It hurts too much to sit up right now, so I'm going back down on my right side.  :)

*Update:  my belly button is BARELY HANGING ON.

A comparison:

23+ Weeks:

34+ Weeks:

I suppose facing the same direction would have been helpful...and standing in the same location.  Eh.  :)

Silly, I know...but...

The one thing I am really hoping does not happen to my body this pregnancy? The awful "outie" belly button. I know it is NORMAL, but I think they are so gross...and they look awful under clothes. :)  I never had one with my other two full term pregnancies, so fingers crossed for this time around!

That is all. I am posting this from my Kindle for the first time because baby girl is keeping me up with so much kicking.

"Spring."

Well, we made it to spring...not that you would really know that by being here in MN.  

Here are a few fun facts for you about this MN winter we just survived:

50: total days with lows below zero

17: consecutive days of subzero lows

21: days with lows below zero in an average year

May 3: Last snow of last winter

Nov. 3: First snow of this winter

6: More weeks of snow than usual

9,361: Minneapolis cars towed for snow-related violations

23: days with wind chill warnings

-25: temperature at which wind chill warnings are issued

6: weather-related school closings in Minneapolis and Rochester

7: closings in Duluth

700: frozen home water pipes in St. Paul’s Regional Water System

159,463: heating failure service calls to CenterPoint Energy

225: frostbite cases at HCMC (Jan. and Feb. 2014)

95.7: percent of Lake Superior iced over

61: inches of total snowfall as of March 19

24: inches of snow at its greatest depth, Feb. 21

The funny thing is, spring could be two more months of these above facts...



Health-wise, we actually had a great winter!  The only illness we dealt with was one bout of croup for each kid, and one run-through with that nasty 24-hour stomach virus around Christmas.  I was especially thankful to not deal with any coughs/head colds while pregnant (which, granted, certainly can still happen...5+ weeks to go here...), because man those are miserable when pregnant.

Sadly, Jonas, Finn and I felt not-so-hot this first day of spring.  Jonas and I felt lethargic, with sore throats--the lethargy for me is hard to distinguish from regular pregnancy exhausting, but the sore throat was certainly clear.  Finn also felt sick--he was pretty cranky and emotional, and took at 2.5 hour nap in the middle of the day, which he NEVER does unless he is sick.  He seems much better today, though, so that's nice.  I don't think any of us are near death's bed for sure, but we certainly don't feel like our normal selves either.  Layla seems totally fine so far, so fingers crossed for her.  (This "illness" we're all dealing with actually isn't very surprising to me, coming back from staying in a hotel and swimming in chemical-and-pee-infested waters so much...gross, huh?  The things we do for fun in the frozen tundra!!)

So, maybe by May it will actually FEEL like spring, but I guess for now we just have to trust that it is!

The mini family vacation to Duluth.

Well, we have returned triumphant and exhausted from our 2nd annual trip to the Edge Waterpark in Duluth.  :)  Like last year, the kids had a BLAST, except this year there wasn't any "getting used to the water" time for Finn.  They just dove in, literally, and stayed in the water as much as we would let them.

I didn't take any pictures at the water park the first day so I could just be in the water with them...and rest my aching pregnant back.  On the second day I brought down my camera for the first trip of the day, and then had to return it to the room because I'm that person--I can't rest easy if I think valuables are in a dumb place, easy to be stolen.  So, fewer pictures all around, but Mama got to have fun this way too!

Here is Layla on the 1st night, modeling the princess glow stick from the dollar store.  You can see Jonas in the background, looking up the menu or a restaurant on his iPad.  ;)

Finn got in on the glow stick action too, but with a spider man one.  

The morning of day 2, all dressed and ready to head down for swimming session #1!

Cheese!

This is totally CLASSIC:  what happens when I ask my children to pose. 

A few tries in...

And we're off to the water!

True love.

This is a whirlpool that pushes you around and around in a circle--very fun.  The kids loved it, especially Finn.  He liked to be with me in there, riding on my back.  

In front of the "activity area," and small water slides.  Layla was NOT feeling the "smile" instructions, but she did end up having a great time with Jonas on those small water slides.  

The first time Layla went across this water obstacle course she had a lot of help from Jonas.  The second time?  She did it almost entirely on her own power.  Jonas was very impressed.  She figured out that the hands were the key to the whole thing...

She was SO determined.

Poor Finn reeeeeeeeeally wanted his turn...

Delighting in her accomplishments.  :)

Having "a turn."

Normally if you spend the night at the hotel, then you have to be out of the water park by 11:00 a.m. and check out by 12:00.  I paid extra for us to be able to check out at 2:00 p.m.  SO smart on my part, if I do say so myself.  At 11:00 the water park cleared out, and we had the place almost to ourselves (it felt like) for 2 more hours.  That was great.  :)  After we went back and cleaned up we walked across the street to Perkins for lunch.  

Stacking milk containers:  the traditional entertainment of a 2.5-year-old.

Reading up on the baked goods.  

Rocking some wet braids...

Notice our St. Patrick's Day green?  Mama planned ahead!
Also, this is how Finn ate almost every one of his fries.  

Last but not least, enjoying a blue ring sucker on the way home.  

It really was an all-around fantastic time, and I'm very thankful for that.  I know lots of people do "Babymoons" before another child comes into their lives, but frankly, I kind of make fun of that stuff.  ;)  This was a perfect little family vacation for all of us, including me--that water felt great on my back for sure.  We had great weather on the drive up and back--something I don't take for granted in March, in MN.  Our room was perfect, we had easy access to any kind of food we wanted, I remembered to bring everything we needed...and on it goes.  

Layla was just fearless in the water!!  She begged to be out of her water wings most of the time, and she goes under water like a pro.  She kicks and uses her arms to make distance, and she can hold her breath for a good amount of time.  Jonas and I are always amazed at her, and the things she picks up on with little to no instruction, but maybe that's just because we are her parents.  I really should get her into some swim lesson this summer, just to see how it goes/where she really stands with natural ability for kids her age.  Swimming is a sport I'd love my kids to get into:  not only is it a great life-saving, necessary skill to have (hey, bonus!), but it also has great opportunities for both team and individual aspects, AND it has little to no negative impact on growing child bodies.  And it's pretty inexpensive too.  ;)  So, we'll see.  I'm not going to push it at all, but I certainly will make it available soon!

Babywearing.

http://babywearingtwincities.org/

...but I still think bringing meals to new moms is extremely important!!

I am part of a group on Facebook called "Babywearing International"--the local Twin Cities chapter.  Someone posted this today, and it reminded me of how excited I am to get even better at babywearing with #3 here.  

With Layla, I wore her in the Moby some for sure, but she was a "difficult" child, and I found myself just holding her in my arms a lot as I could do that...with only one child.  However, my productivity was not exactly...amazing.  

With Finn, he pretty much LIVED in the Moby through age 5 months, and then the Moby and the Ergo after that, up to 18 months or so.  I could easily still wear him in the Ergo if I were not pregnant...

With #3, my goal is to learn about/become an expert at wearing kids on my BACK, not just in the Ergo (which I still like, for sure), but in woven wraps.  

Turns out there is a crazy culture of wrapping out there, which I knew nothing about!  It's been fun to follow these Babywearing International women on Facebook and get to know some of the lingo and ideas before #3 is born.  I just signed up this month for a membership--it's $30 for a year.  Anyone can go to their meetings for free, because they really want to spread the importance of babywearing/keeping your young children close to you (which I am totally, 100% behind, for sure.  The things our modern, Western culture tries to teach new/young mothers about how to care for a baby drive me absolutely nuts.  And, I'm delighted to say, modern Science--along with ancient wisdom from almost every culture on earth--really does not back up this modern idea of "leave your baby alone," "let them learn to be alone"  "you spoil a baby by holding them too much," "babies try to manipulate you with their cries," etc.  I've done a lot of brain research and developmental research over the past 5 years--boy is that informative.  Research, research, research. ), BUT that fee allows you access to their lending library.  They have loads of wraps and carriers, and at every meeting they'll let you borrow anything you want, for unlimited time, and teach you how to wear it right then and there.  

JACKPOT!  :) 

 I'm so excited to give this a shot, although chances are I won't have my feet under me as a mom of 3 until this fall, so maybe it'll be more of a winter learning experience.  

We haven't purchased a single baby item this time around...mostly because we have everything we need, and anything else we'd want right now would be a luxury (like a video monitor, which I know I don't need--and NO ONE should buy me one.  Seriously.  I don't have a smart phone anyway, so the kind I liked most doesn't even work for me...although Jonas could maybe watch the baby nap at work if he wanted...hah!).  Mostly, I just need to buy a few diapers, wash a few clothes, and I think we'll be set then.  ;)  That's nice--it means I can put off getting ready for another 4 weeks or so...hooray!  

http://fiercemamas.blogspot.com/2009/10/saving-my-baby.html

Just a few updates:

1.  My induction has officially been set for Saturday morning, 8:00 a.m., on April 26th.  This does not mean we'll have an actual baby on the 26th, of course.  Based on my last two labors (36 and 30 hours long...), I might not even bet on the 27th, but that is my goal (lame, because I really can't do anything about it...):  a labor 24 hours or UNDER.  Only ONE full day of laboring.  So, even if I'm "successful," that still means a baby no sooner than the 27th.  ;)

2.  Finn is feeling MUCH better these last two days.  He's still a little emotional, but heck, that could just be the "I'm-two-almost-three" stage of life he's in.  He got 13.5 hours of sleep two nights ago, and 12 last night, so I think we are on track for normal life again.

3.  Last but certainly not least, we are going up to Duluth this Sunday afternoon for an overnight at the Edgewater hotel and water park.  The kids are going to DIE--Layla can hardly contain herself, she is so excited.  :)  More updates on that next week!

Well, we figured THAT out...

Remember that Finn wasn't feeling hot yesterday, and I thought he was "fighting something off"?  Yeah, well, we figured out what it was.

Croup.  

Sigh.  My poor kids and their croup tendency.  Although, I have to admit, this has been the best winter when it comes to that--only one bout for Layla in late fall/early winter, and this will be Finn's first of the winter too.
I put some RC and Thieves oil on him before bed, because I wasn't sure what exactly he was fighting off, but when he woke up at 11:45 with "the cough," I knew.  I lathered him up in oils then, and gave him some spongia tosta pills to help with the cough itself.

Here is his "fighting croup off" homeopathy lineup:

Granted, I can really only do this with Finn's type of croup.  It comes on slowly, I can identify it, and I can help him fight it off.  With Layla?  No such luck.  She goes to bed totally fine and wakes up completely unable to breathe, so she's my ER baby.  In fact, I JUST paid off the bill for her last ER visit a few days ago. Frankly, I'm glad for at least one kid I can treat at home--ER visits, even with insurance, are just too darn expensive!  

For my dancing daughter...

Because Layla is so often seen like THIS, these days...

...I asked my cousin's wife, Andrea Miller, to create three ballet drawings for her:

Aren't they just lovely?  I love them.

I'm pretty sure Layla will too!  Now, on to find frames and have them up on her wall by her birthday...

How to kill a Saturday in snowy MN:

1.  Send Jonas to a Leadership Team meeting for church from 8:00-11:00.  :)

2.  Everyone else watches a movie in bed while eating breakfast in bed...because really, there's no point in getting up on these cold, wicked weekend mornings...

3.  When Jonas gets home, head out for some family fun: Day-O-Trains!

Our first stop was the MN Transit Museum.  I would say they charge an insane amount for you to view their stuff, BUT, it likely was a one-time event for us, and certainly something good to do when you can't do anything outside.

Poor Finn is fighting off some sort of illness.  He's not "sick," per-say, but he's really fighting it off.  :/  This was the first time in AGES that he actually fell asleep in the car on our way somewhere.  He actually asked me for medicine.  He's just not his normal, chipper self these days...lots of cuddle time requested.  

Checking out the insides of old trains.

With all the cool toy trains she COULD have played with, she wanted to sit at the baby table...

Becoming a cheese-ball little girl!

He certainly enjoyed ringing the big bell...

She couldn't quite get there on her own...

...but she about FLIPPED out when Papa did it...

...and immediately wanted to see the picture after I took this one.  :)

I'm glad I got this picture.  Want to know why??  This is Finn...pooping.  :)  If we were at home he would go into the toy room, crawl under a small space, and stay there, totally still and quiet, for about 10 minutes until his business is done.  Then he'd come out and say "Mama, I pooped!  Change my diaper please?"  The funniest part is if you go in to the toy room to EARLY and ask him if he needs a diaper change.  He only whispers: "Ssssssssssssshhhhhh!  Go away."  So, it was funny watching him try to manage everything in such a public spot.  Jonas went over to him...too early...and got the "Shhhhhhhhhh!  Go away." until he was done.  I was just giggling the whole time.  Ah, the joys of being a parent:  bodily function humor.  

Layla, enjoying the sunlight in the roundhouse.  Actually, she's enjoying her own shadow the most.  Shadows and mirrors:  her current faves.  AND her Disney princess boots, of course...

Then we headed over to "Choo Choo Bob's" store, a place devoted entirely to toy trains.  

A big Thomas!!

(p.s.  Thomas toys are STUPID expensive, at least for the metal ones.  I played the "guess how much this is???" game with Jonas while we were there, and he guessed $15 for two boring mid-train cars.  The real price? $25.  TWENTY FIVE.  I got a bunch of metal Thomas trains for Finn around Christmas time from a Facebook group, and I paid about $20 for 12-15 cars.  Now I'm feeling even better about that...heck, it could become a college savings starter eventually!  Sheesh.  

How things actually went:
Jonas:  Finn, don't touch the train.
Finn:  *touches the train, breaking things*

Jonas trying to fix Finn's error...

Playing in the back with all of the cool train tables.  

We then made a quick stop at Cub Foods on the way home, because Layla had become fixated on having a balloon, and then home for a dinner of pizza before we RUSHED the kids off to bed in anticipation of Daylight Savings time.  As I look at the clock now I see that it's 8:51 p.m., which means it's really almost 10:00 p.m. when it comes to Mommy sleeping time, so I'm ending things here and heading to bed.  :)