The Waiting Game....Again!!

By far the hardest part of pregnancy, for me, is waiting around for labor to begin. Lena was born EXACTLY on her due date. Well, actually she just barely made it, by arriving at about 11:52. I didn't have any sort of "warning" that labor was coming. I had been dilated 2 cm and 50 % effaced for weeks. I hadn't experienced any real contractions (well, not including the couple I got while watching a crazy Cats game) I vividly remember sitting in bed....on the computer...at midnight...when I felt my first true contraction. There was no doubt in my mind that this was "it". And sure enough they steadily came every 15-20 minutes all night. They grew more painful, and closer together, and when I saw red, I made my way to the hospital.

Parker's story, not so much. When I went for my 37 week checkup, I was already miserable. I had cleaned the entire morning, and my back was aching like no other. I didn't get my hopes up for much of anything. However, when I heard the words 3-4cm and 50-70 % effaced I thought "WHAT"!!! Dr. Croce seemed certain I would go into labor by the weekend. And while I knew that the doctor's can only make a "prediction", I was hopeful. My checkup sent my body completely out of wack. The usual spotting, cramping, contracting, followed my the loss of my plug had me extremely hopeful. Again, not so much. This misery went on for DAYS followed by days of NOTHING!!! I think I have had about 4 or 5 different instances where I thought, this is it. I kid you not, there were a couple of times my contractions hurt so bad, I couldn't get out of bed. But, alas, they eased up and still no baby!

So the waiting has been much harder this time around. Actually it's not so much the waiting part, as it is the fake out. Let me be clear....these so called "false contractions" can HURT! And I'm having them so often now, that I don't even get excited anymore. I just chalk it up to my little prankster and go about my business. Hopefully I don't sit around ignoring them and end up having a baby in the back seat of Bertha! LoL

Needless to say, I am ready. I hope Parker is too. Maybe all this pain and agony won't be a waste of time and labor will go fast. (I won't hold my breath) Did I mention that my hormones have me feeling extremely negative these days...Ugh!! :0)

37 weeks!!

Sorry, I don't know what happened to week 36...it just came and went!! hmmmm....



Total weight gain/loss: holding steady!

Maternity clothes? Yes!!!

Stretch marks? Just the few!!

Sleep: I have learned to live without it

Best moment this week: Too many to list!!

Movement: Yes, but he's calmed down the last day or two!


Food cravings: Nope, just hungry!!

Gender: Baby Boy! Parker Scott..

Labor Signs: Oh yes! We are in our home stretch! I found out today that I am 3/4 centimeters dialated, head is at -1 ( i thin kthat's right), and between 50/70 percent effaced!! I was in utter shock to hear this news! I knew I had been feeling "different" the last few days, bursts of energy, sickness, and a LOT of heavy pressure, but I had no clue my body was doing so much work! Since my checkup I have paid more attention to my contractions! They are fairly regular, and strong, but don't exactly hurt!! Hopefully the little guy gives us some "warning" time to get down to the hospital!! Could be any day now....or next week! You just never know!!

Belly Button in or out? Out, period!!

Wedding rings on or off? Still off...I miss them! :0(

What I miss: sleep, and sleep, and sleep, and sleep....did I mention sleep!!??

What I am looking forward to: Meeting Mr. Parker!! Won't be long!!

Weekly Wisdom: You can prepare as much as you want, but you will still have a sense of "panic" when you know it's really going down!! So just relax and enjoy it all as best you can!

Milestones: Parker could be here at any moment now!! WHAAAAT!!??

This is it....!!!

Don't worry! No I am not currently sitting in labor and delivery awaiting the arrival of our precious Parker! But I have reached that pinnacle part of pregnancy where every ache and pain makes you want to haul hiney to triage!! My poor family! I have more aches and pains to whine about than any human being should be allowed...

I'll be honest! I really did believe that labor was starting the night before last. I had ran to the grocery to get a few things, after taking a bit of a nap. Before I left I told Josh I was a bit crampy, and thought maybe if I got up and out I'd feel a bit better. Thus an impromtu grocery run...(ps I LOVE LOVE LOVE grocery shopping, so does Joshua) Anywho, back to the real story!! While walking around I noticed my back and stomach really starting to ache. It was seriously becoming so bad that walking like a normal human being was a challenge.

After walking around the store to get the few items I came for (plus a cart full of stuff we didn't need, but looked good haha) I headed home. Josh had made some AMAZING sausage and krauts! I know to most of you that sounds gross, but it was delicious and I must say it put Schmidts to shame! Unfortunately thought it took a while for my too eat. My stomach continued this cramping nonsense...all through that night.

Nothing ever came of it (obviously) and I remember a couple of times thinking to myself "I should really get up, shower, and shave"!! hahaha I even called my mom and talked to her about it.

Ever since that night I have had a crazy persistent back ache, and some intense contractions. Again, no pattern, nothing getting worse, and no other sign of impending labor, but every time I feel my tummy tighten...I think "this is it!! Here we go...HOLY CRAP!"

I am sure it will happen the one day my house isn't picked up, Lena and I are pajama lounging, and Josh is stuck in meetings unable to get to his phone!! Don't worry, I'll let you know when it does happen!! :0)

There's this thing...

Called nesting!! And boy oh boy is mama bear nesting!! I absolutely do not remember this phase at all when I was pregnant with Lena! All I ever wanted to do was lay around and nap!! I feel like I slept through that entire pregnancy!! I can seriously remember just being miserable in my last month, feeling soo ridiculously huge and disgusting, and just wanting to curl up with a box of donuts and cry!! LoL

This time around, all I can think about is cleaning!! I seriously clean...ALL THE FLIPPING TIME!!! It drives me nutso' when I vacuum, and can't see the lines in the carpet...which has resulted in vacuuming more than once a day! I'm pretty sure I've cleaned the fridge 3 times now, though I'm sure you can't tell it, organized both the kiddo's closets, scrub the bathrooms....DAILY, sweep, mop...you name it, Ima doing it!! It's ridiculous, but I can't stop! Even when I hit a wall and just need to lay down for a nap, all I can think about are the dog gone lines that have vanished from my carpet! I've even made a "cleaning to do" list for my MIL who will be staying here while I am in the hospital to help Josh out!! I'm terrified that all this nesting will go to waste when I'm not here!! Yes folks...I have officially checked in to looney town!!

On the upside, my house is clean...including all of our laundry! Did I mention I have done laundry constantly as well!! I think a lot of this has been due in part to the knowing that I have Lena now, so I know that when I come home I will have a small amount of "free time" if any!!

I might be driving my husband insane as well!! He actually looked at me the other night while I was trying to relax in a bubble bath, and asked me why I had been so hormonal lately!! LoL I laughed, looked down at the ginormous island of a belly sticking out of the water, and replied "really....you can't figure it out for yourself"!!!

Yeah, so I've just been nesting away! And when I'm not nesting, or attending to the daily things one needs to do to stay alive (ie eat and sleep) I'm consumed with lists! The to do list, grocery list, to buy list, Christmas list (no, I'm not joking)

So maybe all this craziness means that Parker will be here soon, and I can start to get a small bit of my normal mind back!! Or as close to normal as one can be with two kids under the age of two!! We shall see!!

35 Weeks!!

Total weight gain/loss: I've gained about 25 pounds...eek!

Maternity clothes? Yes!!!

Stretch marks? Just the few!!

Sleep: Not so much!! Still uncomfortable....Lena is cutting one more tooth...my acid is sickening (literally makes me sick)...I pee-A LOT...just the usual, you know!

Best moment this week: Every moment is a blessing!

Movement: Yes, this baby is sooo strong, and I'm afraid he's going to be a biggen!! Dr. Croce said that I am measuring small, but he is certaintly not a small baby!! I tend to just carry low!


Food cravings: Not really...a burger sounds good, but I wouldn't say I am "craving" it!!

Gender: Baby Boy! Parker Scott..

Labor Signs: Some much stronger contracting going on! I had one at my appointment while Dr. Croce was measuring me- I think it caught her by surprise! haha Still a ton of pressure...it seriously feels like he could just fall out!! Still some nesting!! My house is pretty clean these days!!

Belly Button in or out? Both...in when I lay down, out when I stand up! And both when I laugh...it pops in and out! Josh finds this hillarious!!

Wedding rings on or off? Still off...I miss them! :0(

What I miss: Touching my toes!! LoL

What I am looking forward to: Meeting Mr. Parker!! Won't be long!!

Weekly Wisdom: Do what you can now....you won't have time once babe arrives!! :0)

Milestones: We are officially in our last month of pregnancy!! We now go to the Dr. every week!

34 Weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: Not sure! I am supposed to have an appointment this week, but rescheduled it for next Monday so Josh can help with Lena!! She's really impossible during those visits! LoL

Maternity clothes? Yes!!!

Stretch marks? Just the few!!

Sleep: Not enough! Sleep literally hurts! I just can not get comfortable....I'm tossing, turning, getting on our couch in the bedroom to prop up...nothing works!

Best moment this week: Getting some much needed cleaning and organizing done!! I also got mine and Parker's hospital bag packed!! The boy has more outfits than Lena did...I swear! My mother and I have a serious shopping problem when it comes to these babies!! LoL

Movement: Yes, sometimes they hurt!! Its reassuring to know he's so strong though! :0)

Food cravings: No...I'm hungry a lot, but just don't have enough room to eat like I would like to!

Gender: Baby Boy! Parker Scott..

Labor Signs: Still BH...pressure...tons of nesting...little bit of sickness!! All part of the game

Belly Button in or out? Both...in when I lay down, out when I stand up!

Wedding rings on or off? Still off, I haven't even attempted to put them on

What I miss: Letting Lena Belle sleep on my chest! She still wants, and tries to, but it's not comfy for any of us!! :0(

What I am looking forward to: Meeting my little man! I daydream constantly about what he will be like. Will he have his sister's head full of hair, and non stop independent personality, or will he be my little snuggle bunny!!!

Weekly Wisdom: Getting ready is soo overrated! LoL Lena nad I have spent the last days in our PJs...(don't worry we showered, just may have forgotten to fix our hair!!)

Milestones: Bags packed and ready to go!

33 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: I've gained about 22 pounds!!

Maternity clothes? Yuppers...and I plan on wearing them if need be until I lose weight!! I refuse to spend anymore money on clothes I can only wear for a short period of time!

Stretch marks? a few on top of the old! So whatevs!!

Sleep: Very little!! I've started needing a daily nap again! Which may or may not happen depending on Lena's sleep!

Best moment this week: Visiting my parents and brother and Katie Beth in Ohio was definitely a highlight! We had soo much fun! Lena got to go to the zoo for the first time! She absolutely loved it! I was soo proud at how she acted for it to be the hottest, most humid day ever!! I really think she enjoyed herself! So did we! I love watching her experience things for the first time! Even if I did swell up like a balloon!! (no really...it was bad, I couldn't even make a fist by the end of the day) I also have to mention that we are almost completely prepared for Mr. Parker. Well as prepared as you can be for a newborn! We went on a shopping spree with the giftcards we got from Josh's wonderful coworkers, and loaded him up on some good stuff!!

Movement: yes, but he's running out of room...and my tummy is stretched to it's limits!

Food cravings: No, not really!!

Gender: Baby Boy! Parker Scott..

Labor Signs: Still BH. I'm also having some crazy pressure and pains down south. I asked the Dr. to check his position last week and he confirmed (as best as he could) that he's head down, and by my symptoms dropping and engaging. He had me take my records with me on vacay just in case!! He did say that with me being as far along as I am if I did go into labor they wouldn't hold me off too long!! It's a bit nerve wrecking, but Parker and I have discussed it and he has agreed to give mommy atleast 4 more weeks to finish her to do list!! ;0)


Belly Button in or out? Both...in when I lay down, out when I stand up!

Wedding rings on or off? To my dismay...off!! I can't even get them over the nuckle now! I was so swollen this weekend that even my watch and pearl ring were too snug for comfort!! I'm not liking this, but everything looks fine (ie blood pressure, etc) and I drink water like it's nobody's business, so I guess it's just something I will have to toughen out till Dday. Did I mention that even my flip flops are a bit snug!

What I miss: Sleep, not being soo achy all the time, and just having energy in general! But it's all soo worth it!

What I am looking forward to: Finishing my to do list and feeling like I am truly prepared for Parker to be here!

Weekly Wisdom: Pregnant women deserve a foot rub...nightly!! :0)

Milestones: Parker settling into the heads down position!! He's getting ready!