A boy? Oh boy.

I had a dream the other night that I gave birth to a baby boy.  I woke up in a panic.  Not because I don't want a boy, but because we haven't pondered any male names.  It has been so hard to come up with a name we love for a girl, the thought of having a boy (surprise!) then only having 48 hours to come up with a name is terrifying.  Dustin has assured me that it was just a dream and I shouldn't put too much stock in it.  My O.B. has only seen the sex of the baby incorrectly diagnosed three times in her career.  That should put me at ease.

Since this dream, however, I have had countless strangers in the grocery store, at the mall, at the dry cleaners tell me that I must be having a boy because of the way I am carrying.  Oh boy.

Dustin's Baby

Over the past nine months Dustin has been carrying and nurturing a baby of his own.  Last September he took on a "side job" (read: second job that was just as taxing as his full-time employment) creating a beautiful home library for another teacher at his school.  He put in over 700 hours completing this job and has worked a lot of very late nights.  Due to one last hiccup involving the finish on the floor, the job isn't quite complete, but it will be done by week's end.  

While it was difficult for me (and him) to have him working late nights and weekends for the past few months, it was impossible not to be proud and impressed when I saw the final product.  He is extremely talented and I am so proud to say that my husband built this.

The brown panels are fabric that allow air flow for the media components inside.

Yeah, it's a lot of shelves!

Dustin's brother, Alan, did all the electrical work in the room.

Note how the bottom of the top drawer and the top of the bottom drawer 

are from the same piece of wood.   Same for the panels. 
 Dustin's attention to such details is impeccable.

That's a wine nook. Every library needs a wine fridge, no?

The drawers along this window are designed to hold file folders.

The best thing about Dustin finishing this job is that he now has time to enjoy the simple things in life.

Lunchtime!

Kenzie and Lily make noodles fun.

1 month (give or take) to go

I am now eight months pregnant.  We can't believe that soon we will be a family of four.  Kenzie is very excited about the baby and takes time each day to hug and kiss my belly.  She often brings toys and books and puts them on my belly for the baby.  She asks the baby to "come out" all the time when she is playing.  I tell her that the baby isn't ready to come out and she assures me that she will "come out soon, come out soon."

The pregnancy has been smooth and although it hasn't been confirmed with ultrasound yet, we think the baby is in the proper head-down position this time around.  I'm hoping to have a vaginal birth after cercearan (VBAC), and as long as baby cooperates I should be able to.  There are lots of factors that make VBAC a little more complicated than a regular delivery so I am preparing myself for the possibility that I could end up with another c-section.  I know that the recovery from surgery promises to be more difficult with a two-year-old to chase around, so I'm hoping that everything goes according to the plan I've created in my mind (ha!).

We are still working on picking out a name.  We're putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to pick a name that is as meaningful to us as the name McKenzie is.  It is really hard.  We might have finally had our "ah-ha" moment tonight and if we still like what we've come up with we'll share with everyone soon.

I never feel like pictures do the size of my belly any justice.  I feel huge.  My weight gain has been nearly identical to the amount I gained with Kenzie, but I think my belly is two times bigger this time around.  I haven't had a good night's sleep in months.  This baby girl has lodged her bum and feet into my ribcage and it's pretty hard to find a comfortable sleeping position.  I know that I have more sleepless nights ahead, but at least I'll have a beautiful newborn to share them with.

Four weeks to the due date...will she be an April or May baby?  As soon as we have news we'll be sure to share.

7+ months

A while ago I posted a picture of my growing belly and said I was six and a half months along.  I was actually halfway through my sixth month, making me five and a half months along at the time.  It's all very hard to keep track of, but I have figured it out and here is a picture of me after completing 32 weeks.  That makes me a week into month eight, or seven months pregnant.  Confusing, right?

More Soup!

Lately, Kenzie has been really into making tea and soup with her kitchen toys.  She doesn't just prepare this food, she serves it.  Each person in the room will get his or her own bowl and spoon and Kenzie will check in often to make sure everyone is eating the soup.  I've been encouraging her to feed her babies in hopes that she might lay off me a little, but I have yet to be successful.  Dustin and I call her the Italian grandma.  She's always trying to get us to eat.  When she's eating breakfast she won't stop saying, "Mama, eat!" until I get a bowl of cereal and sit at the table with her.  She also makes sure that everyone eats a vegetable.  Dustin might have to bite the bullet and start liking peas.  At dinner she demands, "Daddy peas!  Daddy peas! Daddy eat!"  She's pretty persuasive.

Soup for breakfast.

"Bite, Mommy! More! More!"

Unwelcome First

First words, first foods, first steps: all things to celebrate.  First trip in an ambulance? No one was cheering.  McKenzie added another notch to our parenthood belts a couple weekends ago when she woke up in the middle of the night gasping for air and unable to catch her breath.  I called 911 and within minutes an EMT was here.  It didn't take long for McKenzie to calm down a little and start to catch her breath, but we were still quite worried.  After a few more medical personnel arrived at the house we decided we would like to take her to the hospital.  We rode in the ambulance to Hartford Children's where she was, fairly quickly, diagnosed with croup.  

It seems that every parent I tell this story to says, "ah, croup.  My son/daughter had that."  Now that we know what it is and how to treat it we will be able to respond a little more effectively next time (if there is a next time).  Perhaps baby #2 won't have to ride to the hospital because we will recognize the symptoms and react calmly.  People always say that they wish kids came with a owner's manual.  The funny thing is, I've read about croup before, been aware of it's symptoms, but that manual didn't do me any good when my baby girl couldn't breathe.

Throughout it all, Kenzie was a champion.  She stayed calm, cool and collected while many different people poked and prodded her.  She didn't cry when they put an oxygen mask on her face or took her blood pressure.  And she even got a new stuffed Beanie Baby toy out of the whole ordeal.  I think she actually enjoyed herself.