It Has To Be Said

**Special Note: Obviously, I'm going to have to do some re-naming of my children's "code names" because, alas, Baby Girl is no longer the baby girl. I'll let you know when I come up with something clever...which could be awhile given my sleep-deprived state!

The baby was discharged on Sunday, the 17th with the advice of the hospital's pediatrician that she be seen by our ped on Monday or Tuesday. She was jaundiced and had lost enough weight that he wanted her monitored (from 7# 8 oz to 7# 1 oz). We scheduled the standard check-up and Mr. MOTH and I both took her while my mom watched the others (Oldest Boy was in school). She weighed even less (6# 13 oz) and was definitely still yellow, so we began supplementing with formula every third feeding and we're going back this Tuesday for another follow-up to check her weight and color. In the meantime, she's been eating normally, she's active and I've been taking her out in the sunshine as much as possible - so all in all I'm not concerned.

But. Let me just say, I really, really like our pediatrician. She's very competent. She doesn't hesitate to have the slightest thing thoroughly checked with lab work or a trip to the ER if she thinks it's warranted. She's the only doctor there and she doesn't even have a nurse - which means when I call her emergency number it's really her cell phone and I ALWAYS get to talk directly to her. Sweet.

Sometimes, though, she gives us advice that I pretty much toss right out the window. She says Mylicon gas drops don't work. BWAHAHAHAHA! We think every baby should be born with a bottle of them in their hand because for us? Magic! Same with baby orajel. When we were there on Tuesday, I could have kicked Mr. MOTH for mentioning this because I KNEW what she was going to say, but the baby would only sleep while I was holding her. This means for the first four days I was sleeping roughly 8 minutes at a stretch. Our ped said, "Well, then, that's clearly a behavioral issue and you need to just put her down and let her cry." WTF?!?! And again, WTF?!?! I knew there was no way in hell I was going to do this. I mean, seriously, behavioral? She's four.freakin'.days.old people!! There was NO WAY that I was going to let her cry for more than a few minutes (like maybe while I finished washing my hands or something). NO WAY! Again, it didn't really bother me at the time because I knew I was going to ignore her. I'd rather be sleepless than teach our sweet baby that she was just going to have to toughen up at FOUR.FREAKIN'.DAYS.OLD!! But? New moms aren't always willing to trust their instincts over the doctor's advice. I have a very close friend who bought into this. Her husband once said to me, "Well, you can't rock them forever!" Their son was two months old at the time :( I know that right now it might be driving me to (want to) drink, but you only get this time - this time when YOU are their favorite comfort and the only one who can always make it better - for a fleeting moment. It goes by in an absolute BLINK. This is my baby. My last baby. I'll hold her tightly for just a little bit longer, thankyouverymuch. My advice to other moms? Do the same. Make sure you have absolutely no regrets.

She's Here!

So, I ask you, Did you hear God laughing? Because the joke was on me. I explained to my OB all of my concerns. She consented that we should wait to induce if my dates were "off". Then she did my exam. I was mysteriously measuring "small" when I had been "on" every other time. Her concern was low fluid and we scheduled an u/s for the following day - 7:30AM - and I was told to come with my bags packed.

Mr. MOTH and I were both convinced everything would be A-OK and we would have the baby next week. Not so much. Fluid was low at the u/s and they sent us straight over to L&D. At 7:20 PM, we met our newest daughter:

7# 8oz; 20 1/2 inches. Perfect. Absolutely 100% Perfect.

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. I'm still unsure of the "right" decision, but here's our plan for now (Do you hear God laughing?):

We will not induce on Friday unless it becomes medically necessary. This, of course, would be my worst nightmare because it would mean something was wrong. Because I'm trying to have faith, I'm going to go with Friday NOT being birthday for this baby.

We may or may not induce on the 19th. I suck at making decisions. Mr. MOTH and I would both like to see this little one make the decision on its own but I'm starting to have my doubts that it's going to happen that way. I still hate choosing the birthday, but I'm thinking of it more like an ultimatum. As in, s/he can come any time before then, but if not then we're going in after him/her. Maybe on the 19th. Maybe not until the 26th.

For those of you who asked: Oldest Boy was born two and a half weeks early of his own volition after 31 hours of labor and weighed 8# 4oz (yes, you read that right, 31 hours). Youngest Boy was induced at 39 weeks exactly and was born after 12 hours of labor weighing 8# 7oz. Baby Girl was also induced two days early and was born after 5 hours of labor weighing 8# 7oz. Yes, we have big babies. Yes, my labors seem to get shorter each time (but who can tell? They just crank up the Pitocin until you're ready. Also, with Baby Girl my water broke on its own which means she was R-E-A-D-Y. Plus, she had the cord around her neck so they really forced the issue.).

My mom is worried that I'll have a two hour labor and deliver at home or on the Interstate. She's also worried the baby will weigh 10 pounds + and I'll end up with a c-section (my least favorite choice right now).

I'm worried I'll make some wrong decision and something very, very bad will happen. Because what does everyone ultimately say? Well, it's up to you... Gee, thanks. And because I need a reminder of why I put myself through this - for a fourth time:

Induction: Pros and Cons

For the love of all that is holy, somebody please tell me what to do! At my doctor's appointment yesterday the nurse practitioner (the doc was at a conference. Or something) put me "on the schedule" to be induced on May 15th. I've been induced before but every time I'm slightly psychotic about it. OK. Fine. Seriously, completely and TOTALLY psychotic. So for you, my dear (3) readers and for my own sanity, I'm going to list the pros and cons of doing it this way and on this particular day and then you tell me WHAT THE HELL TO DO! Mmkay?

Pros:
1. Scheduling. This is great in terms of knowing for certain that there will be someone to drive me to the hospital, knowing that I will actually make it to the hospital (about an hour away. 45 minutes if I'm in full-out labor), and knowing that someone will be here with the kids.

2. It would be my doctor doing the delivery. This is less of a big deal than it was the first time around. She's good. Actually, she's really good, but most of the time they're all fine (except Dr. Kevorkian - may not be his real last name but it sounds like it - who I really thought had the bedside manner of, well, Dr. Kevorkian. He delivered Baby Girl).

3. The pregnancy would finally be over. This fact should not be overlooked. I am insane. I am tired. I am fat. I am tired. Oh, wait. I already said that. You get the idea...

4. Meeting the baby. I can't wait. Is it a boy or a girl? Healthy? Lots of hair? How much does it weigh (which should probably factor in somewhere because our babies were all over 8 pounds)?

Cons
1. The baby may not be done baking yet. This is the single biggest (read: scariest) factor for me. They moved my due date to May 20th (from the 27th) but I know that they're wrong. So instead of only being 5 days early s/he would be 12 days early. I think that's too soon. I know that developmentally they consider anything over 37 weeks to be full-term but if s/he's not coming out on his/her own there's most likely a reason.

2. They could screw with me again and cancel the procedure. Or change it. Thus making me more psychotic than I already am. This would not be good, most especially for those who live here.

3. The baby would not have his/her own birthday. The 15th is my dad's birthday. He's thrilled with the idea but both Mr. MOTH and I are, well, less than thrilled (nothing personal, Dad). We just want him/her to have their own day. Obviously, if the BABY decides to come that day of its own free will then that's fine, but choosing it? I just don't know...

OK. That's all I've got for now. And just to make things perfectly clear, I'm still doing everything (reasonably) in my power to have this baby come on its own without medical intervention. I bought raspberry tea. I'm going on the treadmill. I'm going to cut the grass. Mr. MOTH will do his part. I'm going to eat pineapple (huh?). I draw the line at herbs, though. *shudder*. Also, I'm out of Milk of Magnesia. Oh, and I'm praying my butt off. At least God already knows that I'm nuts!

Scrubbing Bubbles?

Maybe some of you have seen advertisements for this product:

Basically, you hang the product in your shower, push a button and it cleans your shower for you. Great concept! Last night, Youngest Boy became my very own ANTI-automatic cleaner.

He has been fully and completely potty-trained for well over a year now. No accidents - even at night (disclaimer: when he's sick it doesn't count). However, he does occasionally wake up to "go" and forget where he is, especially if it's shortly after falling asleep. Last night I heard their bathroom door open and saw the light go on. Then there were sounds of frustration as he tried to open the vanity doors. I realized pretty quickly what was going on, but there was no hope. I'm slow as molasses right now and I knew I would never make it in time. I yelled for Mr. MOTH's help and by the time I fully opened the door Youngest Boy was standing in the middle of the floor turning around and spraying his anti-cleaner everywhere.

We got him cleaned up and back in bed and then I proceeded to scrub the floor and cabinet on my hands and knees (special note: it's an Old Wives' Tale that this is supposed to "induce" labor so maybe it was meant to be). Sweet.

In other fantabulous news, Baby Girl has been diagnosed with "probable" Fifth Disease (also called Slap-cheek syndrome). No big deal, really. It's "just a virus" when you're a child and will go away on its own. Treatment simply involves comfort measures. Of course, I still Googled it and what's the very first thing I see? Except in pregnant women. The biggest "complication" is fetal death. Yeah, I freaked the hell out. Once I researched some more and talked to my OB's office it was determined that it was unlikely for me to actually get it (most people have had it by the time they're adults), if I did get it it's unlikely to pass to the baby, and if it does pass to the baby it's unlikely to cause any problems because I'm at a late stage of pregnancy. Apparently, it's only a problem if you get it during 1st or 2nd trimester. Apparently. I'm still not exactly happy about the whole thing, but I've climbed down off of the ledge...

Mystery Reader

Oldest Boy's kindergarten class has a program that's called the "Mystery Reader". Every Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 someone comes into the class and reads 2-3 books of their choosing. Usually it's a parent of one of the kids. He has been begging me to do this since oh, I dunno, October? I couldn't quite figure out how to make it work into our schedule. I had to find someone to stay with the kids, I said, and that was harder than you think. Then? One of his classmates (the 4th of 6 children) had her mommy come in to read...and she brought her other kids. This was the deal breaker for Oldest Boy. Now my excuse was shot to hell and I had to do it.

I decided that our Princess wasn't likely to sit through Kindergarten-age-appropriate books (since she can't do it during story time at our house), so I roped my aunt into watching her (again!) but I decided to take Youngest Boy along. He asks me at least once a week when he'll be old enough to go to school. And if you mention the word "Fall" - even out of context for the season - he'll say, "That's when I start SCHOOL!!" I figured this would be a grand time for him. Uh, not so much.

I had been asking Oldest Boy - who mentioned every Wednesday that he really wanted me to be Mystery Reader - what books he would like me to read. He wanted "something really funny". So we went with our two favorites that always have our boys rolling in the aisles - The Napping House by Audrey Wood and Don Wood and The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin (my personal favorite). I also took along a Curious George book because those two were pretty short and I wasn't exactly sure how long I was supposed to take (remember - serious communication issues at this school:).

Oldest Boy was shocked when Youngest Boy and I showed up at Mystery Reader time! I could tell he was thrilled, though! His teacher set up a chair for his little brother and we got down to business. I opened with the Curious George because I like to save the best for last. When we were ready to read The Monster at the end of this Book, Youngest Boy piped up and said, "This is a great book! It's about Grover and he doesn't know it, but..." And I shushed him and tapped his lips with my fingers so he would keep quiet and not tell them the ending. The result? Complete. Meltdown. He sobbed at the top of his lungs, "I WANNA GO HOME NOW!!!" Repeatedly. Finally, the teacher gave him a ginormous cookie left over from their Star of the Week snack and that kept him quiet for the remaining two (blessedly) short books.

When we got outside (Oldest Boy got to leave with us instead of waiting for dismissal), Youngest Boy turned to me and said, "Mommy, you embarrassed me in front of brother's friends." {SIGH} I had been hoping to not hear those words until they were at least teenagers. And every day he tells me that he does NOT want to be Mystery Reader ever again.

...And Waiting

I had an OB appointment yesterday and was told that I was a whopping 2 cm. That's "up" from last week's 1 cm, but at this rate I should deliver sometime in June...

Seriously, I mentioned to the doc (actually, the nurse practitioner is who I saw on this visit) that I was planning to mow the lawn on the John Deere to get this party started. She thinks I'm nuts but told me to make sure and let her know if it works so she can tell her other patients. What a hoot! (And my aunt was completely appalled that I even said this let alone that I'm actually going to do it. She must not fully understand my complete desperation to meet this young 'un who is currently beating the sh*t out of my bladder, ribs, crotch, and any other part it can reach. I'm thinking I won't tell her about all of the other stuff I've tried in the past to "induce" labor - none of which actually worked, BTW.).

They have mentioned more than once that they will likely induce me (medically, that is) on May 19th. I guess I'm OK with that date, especially since there aren't a lot of "open" dates on the May calendar around these parts. Let's review, shall we?

May 2nd - my Uncle Mark's birthday (happy bloggy birthday - since I'm sure I'll forget the date tomorrow)

May 5th - Cinco de Mayo - while not really a big celebration in our Swedish/Italian/Irish/Slovakian/German/American family it still wouldn't be my first choice for a birthday.

May 8th - Mr. MOTH's birthday.

May 10th - Mother's Day. While this is a rotating holiday, I'd rather not spend it this year in labor. Also, Mr. MOTH was born on Mother's Day.

May 15th - my Dad's birthday

May 17th - Aunt Jo's birthday

May 19th - my aunt's original anniversary to her second husband (who she divorced and then remarried on 6/6/06. please don't ask for more details...it will only confuse me more, although I am CERTAIN that this is a marriage that is meant to be.)

May 20th - my actual due date - based on U/S - also my Aunt Ruth's birthday

May 23rd - my cousin Ben's birthday

May 31st - my Grandfather's birthday

There you have it! I occasionally consider not going through with the induction simply because I like a good surprise. However, with three small children who will need cared for in my absence, I have to be practical about it (dagnabbit). I'm also not willing to make a prediction as to when this sweet baby will be born. I've been wrong too many times in the past and I really hate being wrong. Really. Maybe I'll try to figure out how to "poll the audience" with a widget of some kind, but remember I am completely technologically challenged, so don't hold your breath! Better yet, you could make an educated guess in the comments section and save me the headache!