Monday Monday...

Happy 37 +2 weeks to me.  I am officially the most pregnant I have ever been, because I gave birth to Little Man at 36+6.  Of course, the minute I hit 37 weeks I got my first ever belly stretch mark.  Woof.  I also realized that I have been off for at least a few weeks while taking my weekly belly picture.  I should have been doing them on Saturdays but have been doing them on Sundays instead.  Whoops!  Too late now ;)

Thumbs up for full-term!

Anyways, there must be something labor-inducing about Mondays for me, because I am dealing with a few contractions today.  Awesome.  Although this week is a terrible week to give birth - I have way too much to get done!   Little Man has his IEP testings on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, plus a double therapy session on Wednesday.  And we're thinking we might end up in the city for a therapy on Friday which is two hours from my doctor and hospital.  So ideally, I need to wait til at least Saturday to start anything labor-related.  I sent a memo to the baby, we'll see if he gets it.

Ex didn't end up taking Little Man this weekend (and my head exploded), so we spent most of our time inside watching Netflix and getting our relax on.  At least, that was my weekend.  Hubs had to mow the lawn and change the oil in the cars and a bunch of chores... although he did manage to get me out and do a little shopping on Sunday afternoon.  I think he regretted me being there as we walked past the aisles of baby clothes and I had to stop and coo at every single adorable little outfit.  Luckily I resisted the urge to buy anything - between hand me downs and gifts this baby is going to be ridiculously well-dressed.

I'm off to do some chores of my own - Little Man slept til noon today so we have gotten nothing done around the house.  Not that I'm complaining... I'm going to miss the occasional lazy day one the littlest little guy gets here.

I am going to lose my schmidt.

I am at a boiling point again with Ex and its just... not working.  I am repeating my favorite Ex-related commandment to myself on loop - "Thou shalt not complain too hard, lest thou get even less help than usual." 

It's not working.  Plus, I'm about to give birth to a baby whale*.  STRESS.

*He's in the 60th percentile now, but at some points he has measured in the 80th.  I know, you're clenching your thighs together right now worrying about this too aren't you?  No?  Maybe that's just me.

Ex was supposed to take Little Man two weekends ago, but my mother came into town last minute and wanted to spend time with all of us for Little Man's birthday.  So I text Ex and let him know that we'd keep Little Man for that weekend, and he could have the weekend after.  Easy peasy switch?  No, he said he'd just skip his visit altogether so we could "stay on schedule".  Erm... schedule?  Whatever dude.  So obviously since he hasn't seen him this month we were eagerly anticipating our (ideally) last kid free weekend before the baby gets here.

High hopes that were dashed, when I got a text last night that "something came up" with his new place and he is homeless again so he doesn't know about this weekend.  -____-  I guess the only bonus points he gets are for texting me on a Tuesday night instead of the day before pickup.  But really, now he is a full month behind again with support (not that he ever caught up from before) PLUS he hasn't seen the kidlet in a month.  RAWRRRR.

Did I mention that while I am writing this I am contracting like a mo-fo?  And Little Man is currently going through a stage that I am fondly calling the "F-You Fives", which consists of screaming bloody murder for hours until he is hoarse and I finally give in and plop him in front of Super Why until he calms down?

Yeah.  Things are a little stressful at my place today.  Ex is supposed to be our sitter during the whole "giving birth" thing I'm about to go through, and if he doesn't get his life together and doesn't watch Little Man, I will seriously consider ripping his face off.   It has come to that point, in my very stressed out, pregnant brain.  

Anyway, my contractions are starting to come on a little more strongly, so I think I should start timing them or something.  Send me good thoughts, and hopefully Ex will pull through for us if things start happening!

False Labor and Other News

The house is done.  Did you hear that??  IT'S DONE!!!  All the projects, all the goals - we've finished them all!  Our 40 point bullet list of random requirements I'd come up with before I would allow this baby to arrive is finished (And you can bet Hubs is thrilled).  I am so happy I could kick my heels together.  Or I would, if I could move my massive belly off this couch.

The nursery is finished and looks fabulous.  I am so pleased with how it turned out... the decal on the wall looks fabulous, the furniture all works together, all the baby clothes (up to size 6 months!) are neatly washed and put away, and I bought a copy of "The Giving Tree" to display on his little baby bookcase.  I will say that I have a few decorative touches I want to add, and we will eventually need a little end table in there for my magazines and breast pump supplies - but these are so minor I'm not considering them "unfinished".

We also just finished our last exciting weekend before the baby arrives - two of my friends threw an amazing baby shower for us on Saturday - Vegas themed, of course!  It was a such a fun shower, and so thoughtful the girls to throw me with all the hectic summer craziness going on! It sometimes amazes me that my friends down here are people I've only met in the last 2 years, because I couldn't ask for better ones.  From the shower, to handmade baby gifts, to offers to help watch Little Man if our pregnancy plans go haywire... my friends are all awesome.

That night we came home and made a big list of things we wanted to go to Babies R Us and pick up before the baby arrives, and then the next day was a 3 hour long shopping spree.  Jumbo boxes of diapers, breastfeeding supplies, waterproof mattress pad covers - all the boring things you don't get at showers.  We also spent a ridiculous amount of time comparing double strollers to make sure we'd picked the perfect one for a growing 5 year old who will still need a stroller + a baby seat.  We went with the Graco Ready2Grow despite looking at a few more pricey options, so I'll let you know how that works out.

We came home after a seafood birthday dinner for the Hubs (Happy Birthday love!) and unpacked everything, put together the rest of the nursery, and I settled down for what I'd hoped would be a solid ten hours of sleep.  Instead, I had intense contractions all night long.  It was like my body knew that everything was "done".  Eventually Hubs woke up and was so scared nervous that he couldn't get back to sleep either.  Then at 3 AM, Little Man woke up in a crummy mood.  It was a long, long night.  Since around 6 AM Monday morning I haven't had any further contractions, so we're hoping he's snuggled down in there til at least 37 weeks when everyone will be more comfortable.  But like I said - everything is done, so he's welcome anytime now!!

I have a great plan for announcing when I actually go into labor that will hopefully make a few of you laugh, and I am bouncing off the walls with excitement to finally meet our littlest dude.  25 more days til due date, so send me all your good vibes!!

Little Man turns 5 today! Happy Birthday!!

Little Man, you are five years old today!  I can't believe my little bitty baby has grown into a big boy, who will be starting school in the fall.  Mommy cried a little bit last night when she thought about how fast the time is flying by.

Not a bearskin rug, but still pretty darn cute...

Little Man, you came popping into this world a full three weeks before I was expecting you... you were in a rush to come out and meet us!  You gave Mommy a rough time during your birth, but she forgave you pretty quick because you were the cutest baby she'd ever seen.

Meeting Mommy

After just a day with Mommy you left us in a fancy ambulance pod to go to the NICU.  Turns out some of the cute poses you were doing were actually seizures, and you needed to get your brain fixed right away.  Mommy hated that you had to leave without her, she had already fallen so in love with your little chubby cheeks and gorgeous lips.

A photo of you before you left on your trip to the NICU

You spent six weeks in the NICU, and you had two brain surgeries, a blood transfusion, and several other "smaller" procedures.  Mommy counted the minutes til she could take you home and everything would be "normal".  Little did she know that we would make our own normal, and that you would be the biggest challenge and adventure of her life.

First Birthday at the park near Grandma's house!

You surprised everyone with every milestone, pushing past the limits your NICU doctors had said you might achieve.  You refused to be a vegetable, you were a fighter!  You learned to adapt to your right-side weakness and you kept Mommy on her toes.  You also discovered you loved sugar.  After Mommy took away your smash cake you bawled your eyes out.  I bet you would've eaten the whole cake!

2nd birthday at Mommy's townhouse!

You became Mommy's climbing daredevil at 2 years old, causing all kinds of trouble!  We spent a long part of your 2nd year dealing with nighttime sickness, and nobody knew what was causing you to puke so much.  We also spent a lot of this year running around from one babysitter to another, because Mommy was working full time and we had moved to a townhouse far away from Mommy's family.  It was a pretty stressful year for Mommy, but you took it in stride!

3rd Birthday at Mommy and Daddy's house!

By your third birthday we had moved into Daddy's house!  Now you had two daddies who loved you very much, and you had a Mommy who could stay home and take you to a million doctors and therapists and find out what was bugging your insides.  Turned out that you'd been having a shunt malfunction and you needed Brain Surgery #3!  Your Mommy and both of your Daddies were there for that long week in the hospital!  You also learned to walk this year, which Mommy had been waiting for for so long!!  She was so very proud of you (and still is!)  This is also the year you slept through most of your birthday party.  Whoops!

Not your 4th birthday, but close to that time

I can't find a picture of your birthday last year, because we didn't have a party and I didn't take too many pictures.  You ate a cupcake and "blew out a candle" at our kitchen counter.  Pretty low key as far as birthdays go, but you didn't seem to mind - you still got tons of presents and love from family and friends anyway!  You spent most of your 4th year relaxing in between therapies and doctors visits - we decided to keep you home from school this year and I think it was a very smart idea.  You've gotten so much more social and fun to be around in a crowd because you feel safe and loved. 

For your fifth year Little Man, I hope you learn to talk.  I can't wait to hear your little voice someday - I hear your squeals and sounds now and know that you WILL talk, and I am being so patient!  I hope you love school the way Mommy loved school, even though it will be different for you.  I hope you learn to love your baby brother who is on the way, he is due on the very same day 5 years ago that you came home to Mommy from the NICU.   But even if none of these milestones happen this year, we will keep being patient and see what other fun things happen for you.  You are your own person, there is no one like you in the whole wide world - that is why Mommy is so lucky!!

Mommy can't wait to celebrate your birthday with you tonight and this weekend Little Man!  I am going to post this blog and then we are gonna watch some Thomas movies on the big screen and have a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch - perfect birthday times!