The Mom I Want To Be

Baby 1 had an absolutely wonderful Christmas visiting with both my husband's family on Christmas Eve and my family on Christmas Day. His favorite gifts included an alphabet set of little acorns that pop open with animals matching the letters inside, and a Google Nest mini speaker (which he fell asleep with on Christmas night). Afterward, I told my husband we need a new advent calendar to count down the days to Baby 2! We haven't even made it to Monday's doctor appointment because my OB-GYN called me on Thursday, December 23 (on his personal cell phone!) to say that he got the information from the high risk ultrasound doctor and that he would be calling the hospital to try to schedule a C-section before the hospitals got too busy for the holidays. After a brief waiting period he called back and said he was able to get early morning on Thursday, December 30. 7:30am C-section. Arrival time of 5:30am. Earlier was better because I wouldn't have to fast before the surgery for...

It's not what we were expecting. Hubby and I have been saying this all afternoon and evening after a busy and emotional morning of unexpected baby news. I had an appointment with my OB-GYN on Monday, December 21. Heart rate was good and we talked about the possibility of an induction on my due date if my cervix was "favorable." If my cervix wasn't at least starting to dilate and efface by January 19, then they recommended a C-section since VBAC success goes down the longer baby "cooks" and I'm already a little higher risk due to AMA (at the ripe old age of 35). I made plans to start eating dates , bouncing on an exercise ball, and trying techniques like curb stepping once I hit full term at 37 weeks in order to help increase my chances of avoiding surgery and giving birth the old fashioned way. I didn't mind a C-section if needed (I know what to expect from last time and I would have some control of the timing), but I wanted the quicker recovery t...

Ah, it's the holiday season again. We're officially in December and I'm feeling (slightly) less apprehensive about the holidays than I did last year due to the fact that most of my family is vaccinated and not too many visitors are coming from out of town. So that hopefully means I can enjoy our last holiday season as a family of three, rest up (or baby prep) on holiday vacation days, and enjoy delicious food in my final weeks of eating for two. It's about a month and two weeks until my due date, and also my son's half birthday as he officially turns 2.5 on December 5. This age has already been exciting as we've noticed growth and change in a variety of areas. First, he's talking a lot more! From a kid who could only say two words on his second birthday (Mama and Dada) he now has at least 50 words or word approximations and is starting to form simple two-word sentences like "two balls" when he counts basketballs or "Mama help," which is e...

This is one of the things I packed in my hospital bag last time: Starbucks gift cards to thank my nurses. Also, I always dream of coffee.... I've had many vivid dreams throughout my life and throughout my past pregnancy , as that seems to be one very consistent (and off) side effect of having a baby. This pregnancy is no different. There have again been dreams about family vacations, dreams about being in crowds during Covid, and, of course, baby dreams. So far I haven't had any dreams about what my future child will look like, but I did have a dream where I was in labor, sitting in a hospital room with a TV and family around me. The most I remember about the situation was that there were way too many people and I wanted to be alone. Also, I think the doctor was trying to push an epidural on me and I didn't want it. I also dreamed months ago (early July) that we got a piece of paper with my lab results for genetic testing and also the sex of the baby. In the dream I peeked ...