This post might be TMI for some of you...if so, just skip down to "TMI ends here."
As we blogged earlier, they (ultrasound lady) moved 2.0's due date up to this past weekend based on his size. My doctor thought he'd be early, too. I REALLY didn't want to have him this weekend since I was so incredibly sick and my doctor wasn't on-call. Luckily she delivers all her own babies during the week whether she's on-call or not. So, I had a strange feeling all day that today might be the day, but I kept dismissing it because WE'RE NOT READY! We have no name, no pack-n-play set-up and a house that's not as clean as I would have liked!
Since last night I've had this awful cough. I kept thinking it was so bad my water was going to break from it. But, I was more than half joking. Well, this afternoon, I had a huge coughing fit and thought, holy cow I really just peed my pants. Or wait. Did my water break? But, I dismissed it and took care of "stuff."
I started getting paranoid because I was feeling more pressure and started to google. I read a few things to make me think - it was my water breaking. It was 4:47 and the doctor's office closes at 5pm, so I worked on getting through to the nurse's line. Finally I called to "schedule an appointment" and got a live person. She automatically transfered me to the same nurse line where nobody was answering. Geez. I called right back and got another person. She checked with a nurse and told me to go to L&D. I really thought I would be sent home. They did a test to see if it was amniotic fluid and it came back negative. It was during a transition time, so I ended up bored out of my mind for quite a while. Finally, I got my new nurse. She did a test that she said was more accurate, but sounded more painful to me. As she was about to start the test, she laughed and said it wasn't necessary because as soon as she got the strip near me, it turned blue. My water definitely broke.
TMI ENDS HERE
Grandma came and got Jackson a while ago to take him home for bed. Hopefully he's fast asleep now. The pitocin has been kicking for about 2 hours now and the contractions are definitely regular.
We have no clue on a name. We have a good nurse. Last time, my first nurse was awful and actually asked to be removed from our room in the middle of the shift. We ended on a good note with my nurse when Jackson was actually born. She was great! We actually just got to talk to her for a while. But, we also really like Jen, our current nurse. Hopefully, this baby will be born before she leaves.
For now, that's it. Rob is going to look up what has happened on March 1 in history. We still need a name. Oh yeah, and I still have an awful cough and horrible congestion. Should make for a lovely delivery. They let me have a shot of Robitussin.
I would like to make it as close to my due date as possible (so I don't have to return to work full-time this semester). The original due date was March 11.
At our ultrasound last week, we learned that this baby was almost 8 lbs. The baby measured 2 oz off of what Jackson measured at the same point. By this point, Jackson had been born- crazy! And he was 8 lbs 9 oz.
Since Jackson was a big (and early due to pre-eclampsia) baby, the worry is that this baby will be big, but hang on in there. Luckily, I have not had any issues with pre-eclampsia this pregnancy. Because of all of these factors, we have scheduled an inducement for March 9, so I can get as close to my due date as possible, but keep the baby under 10 lbs (the point they recommend a C-section).
The hope is, I will go into labor naturally before that point. Based on the baby's measurements, they changed my due date to this weekend. But, what does that really mean? The baby will come when he comes! The good news is, my body has already progressed more on it's own this time than it did after being in the hospital for over 24 hours with Jackson. My doctor keeps telling me that this time should be easier! I hope she's right.
On Friday Noelle will be 37 weeks. Annyong's due date is March 11. Wait. Make that - was March 11. Today we had an ultrasound (our first once since 20 weeks) and got to see our little buddy again. Everything looked great, but he's a big baby.
Flashback: Jackson was born a little over 2 weeks early and was 8 lbs 9 oz. Noelle was induced early because of preeclampsia. Despite being early, he was a big baby! This time preeclampsia isn't an issue. But, if this baby goes 40 weeks, we are scared at how big he may be!
The ultrasound today estimated that this baby is almost 8 pounds already with Noelle's due date over 3 weeks away. Yikes! Although estimating the weight based on the ultrasound isn't the most accurate estimate, it was pretty accurate with Jackson and this baby's weight is pretty similar to Jackson's at this stage. Looks like this baby might be coming sooner rather than later. Looks like they are now thinking he will be born next week. Noelle also had an exam and it looks like her body progressing as well and getting ready to have this baby.
Although we're excited to see him - we are NOT ready!!!! We don't even have a name.
Below are some of the pictures from the ultrasound. Typically I think ultrasound pics are pretty creepy. The second one is especially creepy, but kind of neat at the same time. The two black circles are his eyes and under his chin you can see his hands on his chest.
Jackson's school had a Valentine's Day exchange today. At the store he picked out cards for his friends with trucks on them. His teacher said he loved the exchange. He also loves the Marvel characters that he got for his little Valentine's Day gift. Here are some pictures of him playing with the cards and the characters.
He also got a sweet Valentine's Day card from his nephews, William and Neil. As soon as he got the card he promptly ripped everything off of it and then tried to reattach the stuff to the back of the card.
Jackson is very interested in pants. For the past week or two he's been very interested in taking his off and attempting to put them back on. Last weekend there was a stretch of probably an hour when he attempted to do this over and over again. Only, he couldn't - so we had a grumpy frustrated boy.
Today, out of the blue, he took his pants off. Uh oh. Not again. I did convince him to sit on his bean bag chair so he wouldn't fall and get hurt while trying. A minute later we looked up and there he was - pants on and smile on face.
Once you can put your pants on, you just aren't a baby anymore. I guess we should acknowledge that he's a toddler now.
Here's a series of bad photos. They are pretty boring, too. But, they entertained us.
Jackson - You are entering your last month as an only child. Although we have been bad about blogging, over this past month your personality has really started to develop. We will blame our lack of posting to the fact that we have been showering you with attention and affection. Plus, you're keeping us plenty busy.
This has been a big month for you. You're now in a new classroom at school where they're giving you much more challenging work and lessons. You can count to ten in Spanish suddenly and you told us all the colors of the Sesame Street characters, which is interesting because you aren't exactly inundated with TV time at all. (When we do watch TV with you, it's 50% of the time Wheel of Fortune, 40% of the time the Wheel of Fortune Wii game, and 10% of the time Wipeout, so we should be asking you to tell us which color the $300 wedge is or which color the balls on Wipeout are. Irregardless, somehow, you've picked up on who Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Elmo are and it can't be from TV, unless our day care gets very lazy between 10 and 2.) Going to the next room up meant having to leave Ms. Lalita behind, who you still lovingly refer to as Ita. We thought it would be worse for you, being as you actually started a few mornings by calling for Ita earlier this month, but having your other teacher Ms. Tiffany in your new room makes things better. You also are getting to share class time with your old friends since the snuggler room Sophia and Blakey. Seeing you explore your new room with your new friends has been great for us but it also reminds us how quickly you're growing up.
The other night, you had a big milestone, but we missed it. Apparently watching your potty-trained friends has encouraged you to pursue bowel control, so when Grandma Stockman and Stephen were here the other night, you decided to just use your potty. You sat on your tiny potty and did what you were supposed to do, which apparently amazed you thoroughly. Grandma sweetly asked us if we would like her to preserve your product so we could see what you had done, but we decided this was nothing we needed to see. (In truth, I've seen plenty of feces from you. Plenty.) Still, this was a big step for you and we look forward to really tackling potty training in about a month or so.
Grandma Stockman and Uncle Stephen still delight you, and Stephen's name always seems to be on your mind. You repeat it constantly. They've pulled some babysitting duties so we can work some nights at school, like when we voiced our concerns about HISD's suggestions for the Magnet Program or when your mommy gave a speech to a thousand prospective students and parents at an open house she spent months planning. Your other Grandma and Granddad baby-sat tonight so we could run some errands and have a little date, and your face lit up when you saw them arrive at day care today. You love discussing your extended family and you certainly love your time with them. We love having so many so close, and we're well aware how blessed we are to have such a loving family.
You also love music. Singing it, dancing to it, creating it with loud toys on the coffee table, whatever it takes, you want to be surrounded by music. We've started adapting some songs to reinforce lessons from school and you love to sing along. We also pair music up with things you don't enjoy to keep you happy. I wonder if you'll always want to brush your teeth when you here the song about the dog named B-I-N-G-O. I also wonder if "Golden Slumbers" by the Beatles will always put you to sleep. I've sung that one to you for about a year now, and hearing you sing back "Sleep pretty darling, do not cry" to me is a high point to my life. I've also been teaching you some of the songs I've written and you really enjoy the "Penny Is a Big Pig" song. (Wait until you hear him sing it, Penny!) Your excitement about the hand motions and truck sounds in the truck driver song make me think I have a hit on my hands, but knowing it's right now just for you is a very nice feeling.
But, of course, your real love is just dancing to any music. Your indestructible MP3 player from Christmas gets you clapping your hands and stomping your feet to show how you're happy and you know it, but it's Beastie Boys or Daft Punk that really gets you going.
Grandma and Uncle Stephen seem to be doing their part to get you ready for some raves later on in life. The flash light was another awesome present for you that you love so much. Lights still fascinate you too, and your uncle has gotten you plenty of little lights to keep you happy.
You're also fascinated with Elmo. Beyond knowing his color, you know that you're supposed to worship him. You feed him your dinner, you sleep next to him, and you call out to him when you can't find him. It's cute, but a little weird because it came out of nowhere. I keep trying to get you more obsessed with my obsessions, which has resulted in you knowing Smurfs say "la la la" and one of your Marvel toys is named Dr. Strange, but nothing holds the top toy spot like Elmo. Here you are on the night you used Elmo's feet to bring food to your mouth.
You now say "I love you" to us and the puppies, which makes any tantrum easier to handle. You also like to run up and give hugs and kisses. Never stop, please.
You do love to get yourself in trouble. You still smack the dogs or get too rough with your broom or throw your food or drop to the floor and scream if something does not go your way. You sit in time out (without Elmo to ensure you understand it's a punishment) and go right back to being naughty. We'll get to the point where you understand punishments and rules, but some days it's difficult to keep our patience. How we'll be in a month or so when Annyong arrives might make us have less patience, just as a warning.
You still love books, buses, baths, and beans. Here's a nice pre-bath, post-beans pic.
You start every day with a book being read and you finish each night with a book. You can recite so much of the If You Give a Pig a Pancake book that it amazes us, and you remember stories from months ago. You love to pick up mommy and daddy books to read those, but we're going to keep you to nice happy books for right now.
That's an awesome Smurf shirt you're wearing, by the way. Annyong has a matching one.
You love vehicles, especially buses and planes, but bikes seem to be more interesting now. You and Daddy toured the neighborhood and you seemed to enjoy the bike much more now than you did six months ago. But as neat as the bike ride was, the highpoint was when you saw a plane and yelled at it.
I could go on and on tonight, but I'll leave it at this - you are very loved, little Jackson. Twenty-one months has gone by so quickly, and watching you become a little person is so amazing. We know you'll be an excellent big brother in about a month.