Trick-or-treat!

This Halloween was so exciting and I was looking forward to taking Hannah trick-or-treating for quite some time.  The weather forecast had called for 100% chance of rain, for the entire day/night.  And it was looking a little concerning as the day rolled on and the rain continued to come down.  But once 6pm hit, the skies decided to give us a little break.  We were able to walk about for about an hour before Hannah called it quits.  She was such a trooper!  She walked up to the doors, knocked, and said "Trick-or-treat!" to most of the people.  She just loved carrying her candy basket around.  

 

                          (at our house before we left for the night) 

We made a stop at Aunt Ginny's house before we went house-to-house.  Hannah had fun playing with Aunt Sharon's dog Callie and sitting in this little person rocking/recliner chair.  

I was surprised that she wasn't a little more skeptical about other people dressing in their costumes.  We have been reading books about Halloween for a couple weeks to prepare her.  In some of the books, she would get scared of some costumes, and tell us "scary".  I was hoping she wouldn't cry or be afraid when we actually got outside, and she didn't, she did a great job!

  

                                              (the start of our evening walking around) 

Once Hannah was finished walking around, we headed back to my in-laws for some cookies and Hannah watched the final bit of trick-or-treaters come to their door.  She kept entertained by playing their piano, jumping around like a crazy-kid, and helping her Grandpa hand out some candy.
   

Before we called it quits for the night, we headed over to John's uncle Tom & Aunt Bridget's house for their Halloween party and homemade chili.  As usual, the food was delicious, the company was entertaining, the decorations were haunting... and Hannah and I both did not like the scary decor set-up outside.  The party was wonderful, I'm thankful for a fun tradition we can continue to do with their family.

John's cousin Nicky dressed up as Santa Clause for Halloween and I was able to convince Hannah to "sit" on Santa's lap for a picture.  This was some practice exposure for Hannah, I sure hope she will not freak out when we go see the big guy this year!!

All in all, it was a truly wonderful Halloween, as strange as that may sound.  Hannah is getting so big so quickly and these little moments, the smiles and excitement of the night are ones I want to remember and cherish always!

32 Weeks

We are down to less than 10 weeks left.... what a scary thought!!  I think the anticipation and excitement is truly starting to set in.  With the holidays approaching, time will certainly fly by just as quick as it already has.  Dec 26th will be here before we know it!

  

As I continue to become more and more uncomfortable, this "Gremlin" inside me doesn't seem to give me any breaks AT ALL.  It is constantly moving around, pressing against my belly, stretching around in there. When I say constantly, I  really do mean Non-stop movement, morning-noon-and-night.  I don't know when this thing ever sleeps.  I'm wondering if I should be worried?!  Hopefully once the baby comes out, it will behave and not be as active as it is now.  

As we head on down the home stretch, I am trying my best to prepare as best as I can.  We started to stock up on diapers.  Whenever we see sales, we try to grab what we can.  Those teeny-tiny Newborns diapers are so stinkin cute!  I can't wait until they hold our little baby's butt :)  We have the nursery set-up from Hannah's "stay" in there.  We just need to move the crib mattress back up and add the baby's clothes to the dresser.  I'm holding off on that until after Thanksgiving when I'll do laundry and start to organize.

My body is still holding up!  Working nights has definitely been a challenge this time around.  As I said, this kiddo moves all the time.  When I'm at work, the moving can prove to be too much sometimes.  It feels like I am stretched to the limit, then my back starts to hurt, then it becomes hard to sit and find a comfortable position, then standing is painful.... I just can't win.  My job is rather straining on the body (believe it or not) and includes sitting, cuddling, feeding infants, standing along side an incubator to feed, complete assessments, to take care of those preemie babies.  And when it's hard to hold them because I am squirming all over to get comfy, it creates quite the challenge.  Thankfully I work with some pretty amazing co-workers who are always ready to help and give me a break when I need it.

Hannah has been doing really well throughout this.  She is really taking notice to my belly getting bigger and bigger.  When she sits with me, she tells me "be very gentle" or "be very quiet, the baby is sleeping".  Oh I wish!  She has put her baby dolls in the crib a few times before she takes her nap, and tells me "baby goes nappy with Hannah too".  I really can't wait to see how she will handle it all.

Besides baby prep for Hannah, we are still doing great with potty training.  We change her into diapers for nap and bedtime and I'm not as worried about being dry for those times.  During the day she does great.  Occasionally we'll have a wet pull-up here or there, but we will go a few days of dry stretches which we are happy about!  I think next week I'm going to try "big girl pants" and see how that goes.  I feel like she is ready and can handle it.  We shall see!

Hannah continues to do great sleeping in her big girl room.  She does great for naps and bed time.  I'm so impressed with how well she handled the transition.  It's nice that we haven't had any big bumps in the road, just one time falling out, one time throwing up (so far), and one morning of taking off her diaper and pj's and peeing all over the bed!  But for all the positives that have happened, we can handle a few of the negatives.

She never ceases to amaze us with the things she does and says.  Lately she has been singing songs, Twinkle Little Star, You are my Sunshine, ABC's, Wheels on the Bus, Patty Cake, and that's all I can think of right now (and I'm sure I've missed some).  I am amazed at how she can remember them and most of the words too.  She also recites the dinner prayer and her bedtime prayer all by herself, with a small amount of prompting.  What a smart cookie!  She makes me laugh because she will say something then ask me "remember Mommy?"  Its cute.  We certainly can't wait to see what she will have to say in 7 short weeks!  


32 Week Details:
-Baby is the size of a squash (16.7 inches)
-Baby weighs 3.75 lbs
-Over the past month, baby is starting to run out of space as it grows bigger and bigger.  Although, this critter seems to move around ALL the time.  Baby continues to practice breathing, and hiccups can be noticed, which I also feel ALL the time.  Baby fat is filling in underneath the skin and will help keep baby warm in the outside world.  The layer of soft lanugo hair is also starting to shed. Baby's color is becoming less red and more pink. Over the next few weeks, baby's real hair and skin will become soft and smooth.  Baby's irises can dilate and respond to changes in light.

  

Little Artist

Just having a little fun, painting in the driveway while Daddy paints and works in the garage.

Not often do we get "dirty" enough.   I'm not as willing, nor is my neat-freak-hubby very willing to create messes that we know are a pain in the butt to clean up.  BUT, Hannah had so much fun, it was a fairly easy mess to clean up, and she got to explore something new.

It's the little things in life that we must appreciate and not let "the messes" interfere with enjoying all there is to offer :)

 
 
 

28 Weeks

Welcome to the third trimester!  Crazy to think that we are 2/3 of the way there, this pregnancy is just flying right on by.

  

I have not been feeling the best lately.  My back and under my rib cage is constantly feeling cramped as this baby gets bigger and continues to move around.  My heartburn and reflux continues to be a nuisance as well. I try so hard to eat smaller meals, eat slowly, and drink less while I eat, but nothing seems to help much.  While pregnant with Hannah, our insurance under John's previous job covered my prescription for Nexium, which was the only medication that helped with the heartburn/reflux.  It took switching doctors around our 36 weeks for them to suggest the medication change.  This pregnancy, at my 24 week appointment, I asked for the Nexium again.  But our current insurance does NOT cover this crucial med.  Sadly enough, I have been taking the Nexium I had left over from the last pregnancy on the really bad days.  Now those really bad days are starting to outnumber the good days and I'm down to only a few pills left.  I'm going to give Zantac a try first, and if that doesn't work, then we will be footing the bill for Nexium, out of pocket, just to give me relief.  I can't go these final 12 weeks constantly feeling nauseous, not wanting to eat or drink, and feeling the burning up and down my throat whether I'm sitting, standing, or laying down trying to go to sleep.

I had my glucose screening done with my 28 week appointment.  This time around, the Dr. office allowed me to drink the lovely sugar drink at home and come into the office for my lab draw when the hour was up and when my appointment was.  It was so much nicer doing it this way then sitting in the lab and waiting.  That lovely sugary drink certainly tasted "blah" and I definitely do not like it anymore than the last time!  (and good news, I passed!)

The past few weeks have begun an organization phase. We purchased some totes to store all of the baby clothes, and sorted all of it by sizes in our basement.  John and I sorted through the madness in one evening, it was fun tiring to get that done. But I must say, when you get something accomplished, it certainly makes you feel a little more prepared, well I do anyway.  During this we also did a massive clean out of the basement in our storage area, re-arranging, throwing out old crap we aren't using, and donating where we could.  We both felt pretty good once we were finished.

John has been wanting to re-do our garage for quite some time now.  He finally had a chance to do it over 2 weekends while I had off work and the weather was pleasantly warm.  He tore down cabinets, shelves, and cleaned out everything.  He painted the walls and ceilings, built an entirely new shelving system, with his own planning and construction, to give us more area for storage.  I think it's safe to say he is enduring his own little phase of nesting.  (work in progress-- new shelves and storage along the back wall of the garage, new shoe rack and bench next to the door entry to our house)
  

Hannah continues to be a good big sister.  She loves carrying her "Big Sister" book around and reading it, complete with her own wording, which does follow what the actual book says.  With her completely moved over to her new room, she will walk past the nursery and tell us "baby sleeps here now",  "baby's new room", and "baby coming soon".  I have to say that I think she is getting this new baby business.  She will also tickle my belly and say "tickle tickle baby, I got you".  She is so funny!  I have to smile when she asks me to hold her and I can't hold her for very long.  I'll put her down and she'll say to me "baby hurting you Mommy, I'm sorry."  She can be such a little sweetheart :)

28 Week Details:
-Baby is the size of a large eggplant (14.8 inches)
-Baby weighs 2.25 lbs
-Over the past 4 weeks, body parts are continuing to become proportional to each other.  Baby fat is filling in the wrinkled skin and hair is growing, developing texture and color. Baby can likely detect light and dark and can hear outside noises now. Baby has also developed a  more regular sleep schedule in 20 to 30 minute intervals. Baby's immune system is continuing to mature as are the lungs which are still practicing breathing amniotic fluid.

*When I told Hannah to hold the eggplant, I told her this is how big the baby is in mommy's belly.  She took the eggplant and started to rock it and hold it like her baby dolls.