2 1/2 months

2 months old

Two and a half weeks old!

Birth Day!

After hitting the labor snooze button a few times the morning of September 6th, 2013 I finally woke up enough to realize I was having contractions. It was 5:30am. I started timing the painful, 30-55 second contractions at 5:44am. Thirty painful contractions later, they were 5 minutes apart. I labored at home for four hours. Since we didn't know how long I would be in early labor Billy had walked Dru down to his bus stop at 7am. We packed the car with my already ready hospital bag, the boppy pillow and some fun items to keep the boy occupied during our stay. We got me some Sonic ice & tater tots, picked the kid up at school and headed to the hospital. Checked in at 11am and the nurse quickly checked me for dilation. I was at 5cm! She immediately asked me if I was ready for an epidural! I was so proud of myself for progressing well at home and getting drugs the moment I walked in the hospital doors! 

  The nurse was so nice and was noticeably unhappy to break the news to me that my doctor was out of town. What she didn't know was that I HATED my doctor. I said without thinking, "Hell YES!" And then I requested an air high five from my husband. Nurse had the funniest look on her face and said, "That's a first!" The on call doc was wonderful! The only thing was, I could see EVERYTHING in the reflection of his glasses... I did NOT want to see all that! Ha ha! Billy looked though, and when he started to linger I was like, "Ok! That's enough! Get back over here!" 

   So, arrived at 11, drugs at noon and I was at 9 1/2cm by 2:30pm. Soon after, the doc came in and asked me if I was ready! I was so nervous and excited! I pushed for a mere fifteen minutes and she was born at 3:46pm. She was 8lbs 6oz, 21in long. Here she is, Penelope Mack. Healthy as can be! I couldn't be happier! It's been five days now and she is a great baby. I feel so lucky. Big brother couldn't be a better helper. My husband has been amazing, too! Together, we are making such a great team! So blessed. 

I'm SO done!

 I'm done being pregnant! Yet, my body isn't done at all! 38 weeks and 2 days along... Not dilated, she hasn't dropped and I feel like I'm going nowhere! I'm getting an exercise ball tomorrow and rocking my hips for hours. 

  I need some progress or else I fear I'll be pregnant forever. 

    I just want to meet her already! 

Tooth Fairy

The boy lost his first tooth last night at 10pm. I'm glad it happened before school started. When he was messing with it last night I told him not to let kids at school mess with it. Then, he pulled it out. He was scared of it in his hand. He also didn't like the initial feeling of the gap of the missing tooth. He told me to put the tooth back in! He came around eventually and was excited to get a visit from the tooth fairy. She left him $5 in gold and a tiny letter thanking him for the healthy tooth. He woke up nice and early for his surprise! Which, is great because we start kindergarten tomorrow and have to wake up at 6 am! This morning we woke at 6:40. Yesterday was 8 am and the days before were 9am! Slowly but surely! 

My big boy! Oh, and my little girl should be here in just a couple more weeks! I'm nervous but hoping for a smooth delivery similar to my son's. 

Last Sunday

This pic was from the last week of July. I had just got to "work"! 

35 weeks

Impatience.

With 10 weeks 2 days to go I am more impatient than ever. About this time when I was pregnant with Dru I got scared. Scared of how the birth would go. Therefore I was fine with being pregnant forever. 

  However, this time I know that I'm not just having a baby. I'm having OUR baby. I wasn't aware of that last time. I know that may be hard to understand ... Dru is one of a kind and I just can't wait to meet another tiny human of my very own! 

   My husband hasn't picked a middle name yet for her. I need that middle name- it's good for bonding to know her full name. Ugh! She doesn't have a full name! I have suggested to him:

Penelope Quin

Penelope Mack (his middle name)

Penelope Isadora

    I've joked that he'll probably decide in the hospital, but I think that's no longer a joke. 

192 days down and 87 to go! Then Penelope will be in my arms! 

   It's really hard for me to picture myself with a newborn again. I wake up 3-5 times a night to go pee and in 2 months and 27 days I'll be waking to nurse my baby girl for 30-45 minutes each time. We will also be cloth diapering after about two months of age and that will be a learning experience. 

  I love to think of the future, always have. I drove Billy to a couple neighborhoods to talk about homeownership and what I have in mind. I drove by a fancy $200k house and told him that according to a pharmacists' income that's what we would be able to afford. Then I drove us to a home two neighborhoods down and $80k cheaper! I explained to him that the lesser expensive home is the one I will want to live in. I hope he agrees when the time comes to start house hunting. I just think that our children should be raised modestly and we don't need a big house and a big payment.... Even if we can afford it. 

   That's all in the future though. Today on the other hand, today we are going to have Italian for dinner and then going as a family to watch the animated movie, Epic. Looks cute. 

First and last day of school!

I'm a couple days shy of 23 weeks pregnant. I have to say, I love her so much. She's started stretching. I can feel her on both sides of my tummy. Her kicks are strong. You can actually see them from the outside. I am huge. I have no idea how, but I haven't gained any weight. My belly is ginormous, but I guess I'm losing in other places. Fine by me! Point is though, she is getting so big and I love her so much!

Noteworthy Moment

Andru asked me to open a Gatorade for him. After I did so I handed it back to him. He continued to hold it between us and asked, "Do you want a sip?" This was before he even took a sip for himself.

He is so giving. I hate to stifle it when we're out and about shopping, but I can't buy everything for every one when he suggests it. Seriously, every trip to any store he spots something he wants me to buy somebody. I need to get him on an allowance so he can begin to understand how money works.

I have taught him a few things, but most of his giving nature- I have no idea how that happened. I did teach him that ladies go thru doors before men recently. It is absolutely adorable to hear him say, "After you" while gesturing ahead of him. He's not perfect, by any means. He is five years old and can be a brat sometimes. He struggles to share and still pitches fits. But, for the most part, he thinks of others first. And, when he does so- I feel like I'm doing something right!

Half way done with this baby making! Here's 20 weeks! Also, I bought a fancy car. First non-clunker ever. I deleted all the pics except one- I'll share it. It's an SUV. Third row seating for all four kids (2 mine and 2 of the girls I nanny). Everybody fits in the back! So happy!

Forgot to update here!

It's a girl! I hope I get a mini-me :) ha ha

I know who's in my belly!

I went to my gender ultrasound yesterday sans husband. He had to go to school. Not a big deal. The ultrasound took an hour! They measured everything and in the last ten minutes the women finally started to look at the goods. And, guess what- baby covered the goods with its hands. The two techs both thought they knew and exchanged code words to find that they agreed. Funny stuff. Baby soon cooperated and I got to see what I had been looking for. I will tell everyone after our reveal dinner tonight. Facebook, Instagram and my trusty ole blogger. I'm excited!

Thoughts lately!

I think the common thought for second time moms is 'how can I love another as much as I love this one?' But I don't see that as a problem. I have wanted another baby since we got married. That was three years ago. Plus, I already love this baby so much! And, I don't even know who it is yet! We find out if its Penelope or Elton in a mere 5 days! My thoughts gravitate towards- 'how are we going to do this all again?' And 'how will this one be different?' Will they look alike? Act alike? Will this one be such a cutie too? How could we be so lucky? Will Dru be the funny one and Elton be the smart one? Will Dru be the smart one and Penelope be the funny one? Ah, I can't wait to know. Between my sisters and I , I think Christy is the smart one, Beth's the realist and I got the funnies. The other night at my friend Monica's birthday party I had everyone laughing quite a few times. And, a couple weeks ago I cracked two corny jokes in two separate locations and I got THE BEST belly laughs from total strangers. I love to make people laugh, but I know I have to watch my negative humor. I can take a complaining statement and throw a little wit in there, but the fact is: I'm complaining. I get the best giggles when it's about positivity! As this pregnancy progresses and it feels more and more real my thought go on and on. It's fun and exciting. Even though I have had a child before, this is a completely different experience. Having a baby at 20 and again at 26- you got two completely different pregnancies! Down to almost every detail. There are a lot more people in my life this time too, and I'm so thankful for that!

Need these images on my comp!

When Andru still wanted a baby sister he told me innocently, "When my sister gets here I want her to be brown." (By that, he meant biracial. Half black/ half white.) He has since changed his mind and wants a brother. Today he tells me, "I hope my baby brother speaks Spanish after he's born." I explained, "Remember when we said if a mommy is peach and a daddy is peach then the baby will be peach? Well, since I speak English and so does daddy the baby will, too." He looked sad, but recovered and said they'll just watch Dora together.