Just waiting over here. Waiting and waiting and waiting. Turns out that going into labor at 37 weeks and 2 days with your first makes you v.e.r.y. impatient.
Parenting Right Now
4 years ago
Showing posts with label Monkey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monkey. Show all posts
Friday, May 4, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
All Quiet on the Monkey Front
Our afternoon appointment with the OB was totally uneventful, just the way I like it. Her cervix is closed and showing no signs of thinning. Unlike last time (Yogi's pregnancy) when I believed this actually meant something significant, something more than this is the state of affairs at this precise moment and means nothing about what may develop five minutes from now, I am well aware that everything might look entirely different in the morning. But, I'm feeling optimistic.
Optimistic at this point means that I'm no longer convinced that Monkey will get here before her grandparents do. I'm thinking that we'll get this one to 37 weeks. As long as I can hold out this cup half full feeling for a few more days I'll be in the clear. Muzzie and Grandpa will be in town next week and I will be free to labor with my wife when the time comes.
On the laboring with my wife front I wanted to thank you guys for sharing your thoughts about doulas when I was wavering awhile back. After lots of discussion we've made the doula decision and we're excited about it. When we realized how unlike our ideal labor a VBAC was going to be (continuous monitoring and readiness to move to the OR if the ute shows signs of rupture - a minuscule risk, but one our OB isn't comfortable dismissing) I wasn't sure how a doula could really help us. So..... we asked the doula. A brilliant idea, no?
Our conversation with her was a good one and we now have a clearer picture of what our options are. The first goal is to labor at home as long as we can. Everyone on the Monkey team is pretty risk-averse so I can't imagine we'll go overboard with this. Once we get to the hospital the word is limit the intervention. Everyone (OB, doula, us) is on board so hopefully all will be well.
Entirely unrelated to anything I've just talked about, I have to let you know that our Baker (AKA Bake, The Hungarian Supermodel, or just The Viszla) passed away on Monday. Baker was my wife's first baby and although he drove.us.crazy during much of what turned out to be the last weeks of his life, we loved him dearly. Yogi says his name about twenty times a day and it's sad to realize that Monkey will never know him.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Monkey Jitters
First, you've got to check out the belly. I took this one this morning at 36 weeks. How cute is she?! Love, love, love it.
I spoke too soon about our sleep success. Saturday night was a B.A.D. night at my house. Lots and lots and lots of crying. The kind that breaks your heart and makes it hard to think straight. The kind that initiates an are we doing the right thing? conversation. An early hours conversation between someone who is practically incoherent in the middle of the night AND clinging to the hope that this sleep approach will save us all (me) and someone who is in the throes of late pregnancy hormones and sure that Yogi is going to feel abandoned when Monkey arrives (my wife) is something any sane person would do well to avoid.
I couldn't avoid it, but we all did make it through the night. And the next day. And last night was way better, so there is that. But the jitters persist.
Yogi was born at 37 weeks, so Monkey feels days away. Unfortunately, Muzzie and Grandpa will not be in town until next week so this baby must.wait. until the grandparents are in town. We have arrangements for Yogi should they not get to town in time, but we would both feel so much more comfortable knowing he was with them.
At some point over the weekend the my cervix is falling chanting has begun. Long time readers may remember that around this time last round, my wife began talking about how she was feeling different so much ("things are changing babe", "I just feel different today", "I don't know what's happening, but something is happening") that I started calling her Chicken Little.
It is also true that Yogi was born two days after I wrote that post.
Ok universe, if you're listening we REALLY need another good week. Be patient little Monkey. We'll meet you soon enough.
I spoke too soon about our sleep success. Saturday night was a B.A.D. night at my house. Lots and lots and lots of crying. The kind that breaks your heart and makes it hard to think straight. The kind that initiates an are we doing the right thing? conversation. An early hours conversation between someone who is practically incoherent in the middle of the night AND clinging to the hope that this sleep approach will save us all (me) and someone who is in the throes of late pregnancy hormones and sure that Yogi is going to feel abandoned when Monkey arrives (my wife) is something any sane person would do well to avoid.
I couldn't avoid it, but we all did make it through the night. And the next day. And last night was way better, so there is that. But the jitters persist.
Yogi was born at 37 weeks, so Monkey feels days away. Unfortunately, Muzzie and Grandpa will not be in town until next week so this baby must.wait. until the grandparents are in town. We have arrangements for Yogi should they not get to town in time, but we would both feel so much more comfortable knowing he was with them.
At some point over the weekend the my cervix is falling chanting has begun. Long time readers may remember that around this time last round, my wife began talking about how she was feeling different so much ("things are changing babe", "I just feel different today", "I don't know what's happening, but something is happening") that I started calling her Chicken Little.
It is also true that Yogi was born two days after I wrote that post.
Ok universe, if you're listening we REALLY need another good week. Be patient little Monkey. We'll meet you soon enough.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Heads or Tails?
Yesterday brought fabulously surprising news from the OB. What we had thought was a head (in the very same position that Yogi's head spent his entire gestation) turned out to be a tail! Finally we have a baby who knows the deal.
After the recent kerfuffle around VBAC vs. c-section we were totally frustrated to feel a big (what we thought) head up in her ribcage. After all of this research and reading and conversation I was just sure we would somehow be the outlier people who had two breech babies.
But.... the OB felt around on her belly yesterday and said she wasn't so sure. After rolling in the ultrasound machine, she took a look and that brilliant baby was head down!
Go Monkey Go!
Or actually.... stay right where you are. No moving allowed.
After the recent kerfuffle around VBAC vs. c-section we were totally frustrated to feel a big (what we thought) head up in her ribcage. After all of this research and reading and conversation I was just sure we would somehow be the outlier people who had two breech babies.
But.... the OB felt around on her belly yesterday and said she wasn't so sure. After rolling in the ultrasound machine, she took a look and that brilliant baby was head down!
Go Monkey Go!
Or actually.... stay right where you are. No moving allowed.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Two Things You Should Know Before the Third Trimester
The process of getting pregnant with Monkey had all sorts of things in common with getting pregnant with Yogi. Excitement, fear, total consuming preoccupation. Then we were pregnant and the all sorts of things in common came to a halt. Being pregnant while parenting a toddler is not at all like just being pregnant. At least not at my house.
Monday, January 30, 2012
We Can Do This. Right?!
It happened this weekend. After months of relative calm, it hit. Right between the eyes.
In only four months there will be two children under the age of two living in our house. Not only will they be living here, they will be under our care.
I think it has something to do with all the new babies in blogland, but I've been doing a lot of thinking about life with a newborn lately and I can't tell you that that thinking has left me feeling anything but overwhelmed.
I know, I know, this is hardly a surprise. We painstakingly planned this and we're thrilled for all that is to come, but we had a moment this weekend. More than one moment actually. The kind of moment in which the dog is whining and the Yogi is pointing aggressively into the kitchen while chanting "bapple, bapple" on an endless loop and with escalating volume and you just cleaned up from lunch (which you didn't get to eat) and you haven't slept for more than four consecutive hours a night during the last week (WHAT is going on?!!) and all you want is for everyone to just.leave.you.alone and it hits you that for some reason you decided to do this again.
There were tears.
Happily the sun is shining today and for an unknown reason that has nothing whatsoever to do with getting lots of sleep last night, the world feels a bit brighter.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Monkey on the Move
My wife felt Monkey moving for the first time yesterday! I can't wait until I can feel her too.
