37w2d

I had my dr app today with Dr Drews, he's one of my favorite drs in this group practice. Besides having the longest wait time it was a great visit. (It was a long wait but I think it felt longer than it really was...Nathan says he can tell I've become very antsy and fidgety recently. I can hardly sit through sacrament meeting or Sunday school without feeling like I need to get up and walk. So there I was in the drs room with my large napkin cover pacing cause my body was done just sitting.) Dr Drews said I'm looking great. No itching, Braxton Hicks are a frequent friend, and baby's heart sounds strong. We talked about inductions; don't want pitocin but I'll most likely opt to have my membranes striped at 38 or 39w if needed.  I'm dialated to a 2...only 8 more to go. haha 

Baby Names

Why are baby names so hard to pick, especially boys names?!  With Nathan and Elizabeth and Andersen...we are wanting some originality here (don't get us wrong, we love our names), but at the same time you don't want the name to scar or haunt the child for the rest of his life.  Plus if the child is cool then his unique name totally adds to his coolness but on the contrary...

The top two names that we are thinking of this time around are:

Soren McKay Andersen or Kelton McKay Andersen

...still with possibilities of others

Soren is a family history name, on both sides of our family actually, so that's fun.  

Kelton is just one we heard and liked.

With Harlow, Nathan had always wanted to name his son Harlow.  It is his grandpa's name and Nathan's middle name; I guess there was even a time in Junior High that he tried to go by Harlow, it just never stuck.  When Nathan brought up Harlow to me I wasn't terribly excited at first.  'Harlow' - it made me think of an old man, maybe that's because the only Harlow I'd known/heard of was Nathan's grandpa.  But I could tell Nathan REALLY liked it so I set to work trying to find a middle name that I liked that would flow with it.  I had a student named Whitley where I taught who was just so cute and my little doll of a sister named Whitney (but the kid can't be completely named after his aunt!) I liked how the names fit together and I had had enough time to moll over 'Harlow' and I actually became pretty excited about it.  And now I LOVE his name.  It fits him so well.  Nathan has said how tricky it is to name this next baby, it was easy with Harlow cause he just loved that name so much and had always wanted it...He wants to love the other names just as much...We'll see what ends up happening with this new little one when he arrives in a few weeks.

Cousins

Harlow and Brielle - March 23, 2014

Ice cream cones and cousins, can it get any better?! 

Messy and cute little buddies.  They sure enjoy playing together.

36 Weeks Folks/Preparations

I am feeling pretty prepared for this little one to come join our family here in the next few weeks.  We have the bassinet up and blankets out, his clothes are washed and his dressers are fully stocked, diapers are bought, I am going through the house doing more "deep cleaning" things, and the bouncer and such will be brought out here in the next little bit.  I have finished up piano lessons, which ended with a recital this last Saturday and am finished teaching (with a few exceptions) until baby comes, plus a few months after that.

My thoughts are now turning to the emotional and physical preparations that are still needing to happen/prepare for.  Those of you with more than one child, who have already been through this, any advice that you have would be greatly appreciated.  I am thrilled to be having another baby!   But recently I have been curious/nervous about having a brand new baby, being extremely sore those first few weeks, not getting good sleep, waking up for night feedings and waking up with a toddler (which he is still doing every night), not being able to just sleep when baby sleeps because I have a toddler to entertain, love, and play with, them waking each other up throughout the night...yea, these are just some of my thoughts, concerns...After the first few weeks, when you start feeling better physically, I am much less worried about.  It's that first little bit.  What are ways you handled these, what are tricks you used?  Last time I was so sore...I am hoping to not tear or have an episiotomy this time (I had both with Harlow)

I am relieved and so excited that my Mommy will be able to come up here this time to help me!  A huge thanks to my Aunt Susan (and even maybe Meridee) for being willing to come watch my Grandma Ras down in Henderson so that my mom will be totally free to come help me and spend time with me!  I very much missed that last time.  There is something about having your Mom close at times like these that is calming.  I am glad that she'll be here to help me out physically, to play with Harlow for me, to hold the baby so I can spend some alone, one-on-one time with Harlow, to help with meals and keeping the house at least somewhat clean.  (*Last time, Nathan's Mom just happened to be up here with us for the week before I had Harlow and was able to stay for his delivery but by the time we came home she was needing to get back to Jenna and Ellie, who were still in high school.  And my Mom was only able to come up for a weekend visit because no one was free to watch grandma Ras for her.  I wish it had been different and that I would have been able to have either of their help afterwards but that's just how it was and we made it and were happy and you heal regardless.  But I am so glad she can be up here with me this time.  So Baby, Come when my Mommy can be here to help me...without an induction) 

We do not know when I will have the baby, obviously, but she will be up here from the 12th-20th of April (due date: April 19th) or so...we're just hoping the baby will come within that time, or earlier.  If later, Mom will just have to help me with preparation stuff.

Tubing

Back in January we went snow tubing at Soldier Hallow with Aunt Sara and Spencer and Kyle and Heidi Jones, courtesy of US Synthetic.  Such a fun triple date, plus Harlow :)

It was fun to go down in groups, connected by straps. Harlow kept getting doused in powder, no joke, a huge cloud of snow powder would come up every time we went down the hill and poor little Harlow was there right in the middle of it, getting pelted. He fussed a bit but overall did really well.

Contractions

I woke up at 2 this morning feeling contractions.  Not too painful (but yes, uncomfortable) but they were fairly consistent. They felt like strong menstral cramps and wrapped around to my back and down in my hips.  I was able to sleep intermittently and tried to change my position often. I ended up sitting up on the edge if the bed slightly rocking back-and-forth until about 4:30 when they started to fade away.  There was a lot of low pressure, which was still there in my hips this morning but as the morning is going on I have felt much better. I wonder what this means for me or if it means nothing at all... I was very busy yesterday trying to clean up the house and get things ready for the baby; though I did feel very accomplished I think I overdid it...35 weeks is not that bad but I would at least like to make it a few more weeks...

Oh and on a side note, I don't think I've mentioned but you know how I mentioned that I was starting to itch, well it has totally gone away :) They tested my blood to make sure and all the numbers of my liver panel/bile acids came back looking totally normal!  What a Miracle  - "We like Miracles around here" - my dr said and I must agree.  So, no cholestasis for me this time around, Wahoo!

Library

Snoozing in the Car seat

Falling asleep in the car. 

Wouldn't it be so grand to be like a kid and when you fell asleep on the couch or in the car someone came and lovingly and comfortably scooped you up and took you up to your bed, tucking you in and all that wonderfulness...yes, I often wish this could happen to me still

Last Night

Harlow has been sleeping in his big boy bed now for a few weeks & loves it.  He does wake up in the middle of the night and come get into bed with us.  At first he'd cry when we was coming in but now he just comes right in and snuggles up and falls back asleep.  I wish he's stay in his own bed but it really doesn't bother me.  What did bother me was when he'd come into our room at 3am and just start talking to us "Mom, Dad, Motorcycle, car, bla bla bla bla..." Seriously, he;d just go on and on!  "Harlow, we don't talk at 3 in the morning, not at all!" If only you could really say that and have them understand ;)  But he hasn't done that for a while now.  I'll take sleeping in bed with us any night over trying to talk our ears off at that hour, or any hour before 7-8am

Well last night was interesting and bizarre.  I woke up to Harlow screaming...'what on earth is going on', I thought.  So I got up and went into his room.  Listening to him cry I could tell it wasn't coming from his big boy bed, so I thought Nathan had put him down in his crib.  I got closer but couldn't see him in the crib and that's not where the sound was coming from.  I crouched down lower and started calling for him and trying to calm him down.  I realized that he was underneath his crib.  How and why did he get there?!  I had him hand me his sippy cup and then give me his hand.  He was way far back there.  And then trying to get out he got stuck behind the side rail bar you step on to lower the side down.  He was hysterical!  My poor little guy.  I finally got him calmed down and went and put him next to Nathan in our bed and went back into his room this time turning on the light.  His bed was pushed out into the room at a weird angle, the mattress was half off the bed, and the longer bumper was toppled over onto the floor...What was this kid doing last night in his bed?!  All that, then to go climb under the crib and get stuck and freak out...

We laid in bed together and he kept jerking awake and calling for me.  He'd fall back a sleep almost immediately cuddled up right against me.  I wonder if it's bad dreams....   

Harlow's Birthday - Feb 14th

I wish I had recorded Harlow this morning!  I had been awake decorating and getting last minute things ready for his birthday when I heard him wake up and start talking and singing to himself (*He's one happy kiddo in the morning).  (Gotta have crate paper on your birthday, it's just not the same without it! Thanks Mommy for always making our birthday's so special for us growing up and still doing it to this day!  I Love You, You Wonderful Woman!!) I sang him Happy Birthday as I walked into his room and his eyes got big when he saw the streamers.  He sang the song right along with me; he know's that song very well.  I got tears in my eyes as I sang, I was filled with this incredible feeling of love that I have for this little person who has completely changed my life!  And also with the realization that he's 2!  Has it really been 2 years since he was placed in my arms as the tiniest, more perfect little being I had ever held and looked at, Wow!

Right when the song was done he looked at me smiling and said "Balloons! Presents!"  This kid know's birthdays! Don't you agree?  I just had to laugh!  We spent a while running through the streamers together, just laughing away.  Being a Mom of a energetic little guy is so much fun!  Then down to the presents on the table and some yummy breakfast.

the Water Bugs were a hit

(since we just had Christmas and Harlow has pretty much everything he needs we decided to still get him just a few things but to put the money in his bank account...he'll be more grateful for that years down the road, right?)

One of Harlow's favorite breakfasts - Eggs, Toast & Jam!  Yum!

A little birthday get-together at the McDonald's playplace.

(Brielle, Bailey, Harlow & Kolby)

Harlow climbed in there all by himself and started reading himself a story.  Guess someone's really excited to get on the road.  I pulled him out and we went on a walk to get some wiggles out while Nathan checked the oil, tires and such on the car.

*****

February 14th has become an interesting day in our house, and was especially so this year.  It's Harlow's Birthday, Nathan and My Half Anniversary, and Valentine's Day.  (*I normally wouldn't celebrate a Half Anniversary but its kinda fun that it lands on Valentine's Day, which we didn't realize until we'd been married 6 months, went out for a nice Valentine's dinner and put 2 and 2 together).  Well with Harlow's Birthday being today that takes precedence over other things so Valentine's Day has kinda fallen by the way side.  But that's fine by us.  And after Harlow goes to bed Mom and Dad get to celebrate the other two occasions.  

I have a brilliant plan for the future though - We'll have birthday parties for Harlow and invite his friends, telling their parents to have a fun Valentines date night and we'll watch the kids.  Then they'll all owe us a babysitting of Harlow later, we'd get like tons of free date nights out of it! :) Aren't I a Genius!?!

This year was all the more interesting because we had to pack up and head down to Vegas that evening so that we could attend the funeral of a close family friend and second Mom to Nathan - Vonnie Call - the next day and also to visit our Families.  When Nathan got home from work we had a quick Birthday party where Harlow got to open the rest of him gifts, we had pizza, and we loaded up the car.  The drive seemed even longer with my big belly but we did fine.  Harlow was one sad boy, but the iPad entertained him.  Finally he was just so tired and the iPad lost it's fun.  He started crying again but this time for his blanket and pillow.  We gave them to him but it just wasn't the same. "Lay down..lay down".  Poor kid just wanted to go to bed...sorry buddy :(  Sleeping in a car seat is probably not the most comfortable and on your birthday too...

But Las Vegas was a lot of fun and it felt so good to see and spend time with family again.  It has been a long time since we've been down there.  Whitney's Mission farewell was the last time, I'm pretty sure.  We stayed with Mom and Dad Ras, Paul and Grandma.  The weather was beautiful, the funeral was lovely, and time with family was priceless.  Sunday the Ras's and Andersen's all got together and we did a joint birthday party for Harlow - more presents, he loved that. (*it's funny, his birthday got spread out over the entire weekend.  Now that we're back home he continues to ask for presents and balloons.  This kid thinks it's still his birthday :)  )