Sorry for the lack of pictures lately, but it's all I can do to function in my daily schedule...watching Natalie or going to work then watching Natalie.
I had a doctor appointment on Friday...everything is looking good and measuring on time. Baby's heart rate was 150.
This week, the exhaustion of this 3rd trimester has really taken over. I feel like I could sleep all day, every day and still be tired! Chasing around a walking toddler doesn't help either. Of course Natalie does not want to stay in the living room area or hallway (with all doors shut) where all her toys are...nope, she wants to wander in the kitchen and open drawers (that pinch fingers occasionally) and wander to the front entry area to look out the window (which is fine) and then to the plant located next to the window to pull out all the decorative grass in the pot. Today, I told Bobby that we have to get some sort of baby gate to block off the kitchen and front entry for when baby #2 arrives. He agreed and said he didn't know why we haven't already done that since he gets tired from constantly chasing her around as well. She finds the chasing a game fun, which entices her even more.
Lately, I am taking every opportunity to take a nap while she takes her nap. On Tuesday or Wednesday this week, I even resorted to putting her in her crib to play for 30 minutes after I got home from work and picking her up from daycare just because I was that exhausted and needed to lay down. I don't remember being this tired when I was pregnant with Natalie, but I also could just work and come home and take naps without any reservation (I miss that this time around)! Bobby recalls me being tired towards the end he says because he would come home from work and find me napping. I told him today that I didn't know how I was going to do it once the baby was born because I do remember that exhaustion (plus I was sick at least once a week for a few weeks with fever, etc) and with Natalie and the baby highly unlikely schedule of napping at the same time...I just don't know where I am going to find the energy, especially since caffeine doesn't seem to do the trick. Luckily, Bobby is taking 2 weeks off and said he would take more if needed. I guess we will just see how it goes.
Although I have all this exhaustion, I really don't want to be pregnant until my due date, especially after my due date! I'm hoping that baby #2 arrives sometime after being 37 weeks pregnant, which means potentially in only 4-7 weeks...the 4 week mark is a little scary only because I feel totally unprepared with this one. Bobby says he doesn't know why because we have everything from Natalie, but with Natalie her room was all ready for her, clothes were in the closet, etc. Not that baby #2 will sleep in her room for the first 6 weeks anyway since she will probably be in our room just like Natalie was at that young age, but it was still nice to have her room all ready. Plus, since we only have 1 changing table (per Bobby's request) it will be an adjustment having it somewhere other than Natalie's room and changing both girls there. Bobby's office will not be down in the basement until that room is finished, which definitely won't be done in 4 weeks I am sure of and possibly not done even when the baby arrives, so baby #2 will not have her own room for a little bit...it better be done before she is 6 weeks old, that is for certain! I hate being unorganized...at the same time, do I have the energy to complete her room even if I had the opportunity?!
Along with the exhaustion, I am now getting up in the middle of the night and unable to sleep or have to pee constantly. Just have to love your internal clock. When I was pregnant with Natalie, I always said it was just my body's way of dealing with sleep deprivation once she arrived, but with this one, my body can stop that at any time...I haven't forgotten about the sleep deprivation and could use the extra sleep with soon having 2 under 2! I am also getting a lot of leg cramps at night that do not go away and also only happen at night, so if I'm not waking up at 2am or 4am just because it's also due to peeing, cramps, or the baby moving around so much! I have only had the heartburn here and there, which I believe I have mentioned in a previous post, which I am thankful, but hope that doesn't mean baby #2 will be bald :). Luckily, this time around, at least up to this point my belly does not feel overstretched and I feel like I'm carrying her lower (I'm sure because all my muscles never had time to completely heal and get back into their original place) so I don't have the itchy belly (yet) or the constant soreness I had on the top part of my belly under my boobs like with Natalie. Also, I haven't had to wear my super large bras either, which I am also grateful since I have worn them (even though they were too big) when I needed a clean bra and they hurt me like crazy.
Natalie has been sick this last week with a congested cough and runny nose. We started her on an antibiotic that the doctor wrote at her 1 year check-up when she had a little bit of a cough then that I never got filled since her cough never got too bad. She is on day 2 of the stuff and instead of fighting her with basically shoving it down her throat, then to just have a volcano of pink stuff erupt from her not swallowing it, I have put it in a little bit of milk and ta-da! it does the trick! Only 3 more days of it, she seemed better today.
Lately she has been very whiny and throwing more tantrums when she doesn't get her way...yipee! just in time for the baby! I keep telling Natalie she was so much easier when she was a baby, but she doesn't seem to listen:). I'm not sure if my patience is just more thin due to being tired, or she just can't communicate (other than 'no', 'uh oh', and 'doggie') what it is she wants, or it's just that she doesn't feel quite up to par.
We had swim lessons again this morning and she enjoyed them like usual, but definitely didn't enjoy being on her back today...more than usual. She also swallowed a lot more water today, thanks to Bobby's more "unconventional" approach (for lack of a better term) of teaching her to swim. I'm sure that much pool water will be great for her cough! We skip next week since it's Easter weekend, then she has 3 more times. Bobby doesn't understand why I don't want to get in the pool with her. It's not so much that I don't want to do the swim lessons with her because I was pretty excited when I signed her up, but I also wasn't thinking about how pregnant I would be at the time classes started and I really, really don't want to get in a swimsuit! However, he likes doing the swimming with her!
Well, it's only 3:18am...hopefully I will be able to go back to sleep again soon...until next time (hopefully with pictures).
