36 weeks.

How far along?: 36 weeks, 0 days.
Total weight gain/loss: I mean, at this point, does it really matter?
Maternity clothes?: Pulled out some of my "pregnancy fat clothes" this week, i.e. my maternity clothes from last time when I was much bigger. Some of the stuff I wore early on in that pregnancy fits now.
Sleep: Been up with Brooke every night this week (first she had a stomach bug, now a miserable cold/possible ear infection), so my sleep was majorly compromised. I usually feel worse on days I don't get much sleep.
Movement: The "books" say that movement should really decrease around now because the kiddo has less room. Not true. Even though this kid is huge, he is still jumping around like he's in a bouncy house.
Labor Signs: I'm very curious to find out if the baby is still head-down. His movements felt like maybe he was shifting all week, so I'm a little worried he may be sideways. The pelvic pressure is in full force so I'm hopeful that he's starting to drop. Might find out on Wednesday when the OB does my 1st internal check.
Food/Cravings: Nothing new here. This baby may come out looking like a baked good.
Gender: Feeling boy this week.
New w/pregnancy #2: I can't get enough orange juice. Last time, OJ was one of my major aversions. But this time I want it every morning; other juices just don't cut it anymore (I gave up apple several months ago, and now my beloved grape juice just doesn't sound good either.)
What I miss: Breathing, walking with ease, sleeping/sitting/existing comfortably. To sum up, being not pregnant. (I know, I know, Debbie Downer reporting for duty.)
What I am looking forward to: Weekly OB visits from here on out (though not so much looking forward to the internal checks that come with them...)
Best moment this week: Brooke is officially sleeping in her Big Girl room full-time, so I've started cleaning out the nursery. It's the little things that are getting me excited now, like the thought of lifting the crib mattress high enough that I can put the bed skirt on or getting all the burp cloths organized in the dresser. And I also have new Coming Home from the Hospital outfits ready and waiting (size 3 months, none of that NB nonsense this time. In fact, we only have one little pack of NB diapers; it says "up to 10 lbs" on the package, and I have a feeling this one might tip the scales above that from the start.)
Weekly Wisdom: A pregnant woman pees a lot. True story. Especially when her fetus is camped out on her bladder. I've gone so many times today that the husband was concerned something was wrong with me.
Milestones: Friends, tomorrow is August. AUGUST. The month in which this baby should be born (strong emphasis on the should). Kids are going to be going back to school soon - the benchmark for when baby is due. Hot dog!

Baby Reeder at 36w0d

(I spy some high school gym shorts from 13 years ago. And, also, holy belly explosion!)

Things Brooke says.

* My most favorite thing Brooke says right now is "Mommy, where are you? Arrrre you?" If I go upstairs to put something away or grab something (and she actually notices that I'm gone,) she'll start running around the house looking for me, yelling this as she goes. It's beyond adorable. A related question we hear all the time is "Where ___ go?", whether it's a person or a toy or even something she just dropped off her high chair. Most frequently, it's "Where my Daddy go?" which is just heavenly for me to hear. The best part is that she's starting to answer herself. "Oh, he upstairs, shower."
* She now says "Arrgh, I a pirate!" with an appropriately scrunched up pirate face. It kills me every single time. (She picked this up from one of her shows. They said it once & about 2 mins later she repeated it. Then again a few hours later, and it's been non-stop since.)
* Instead of "I don't think so" she says "No me think so". No idea where she picked this up.
* Her manners are getting so much better. She sometimes says "Bless you, Daddy" when he sneezes (and he sneezes a lot, so she has lots of practice with this one.) She has started saying "no, thanks" in place of just "no". And about half the time she says "thank you" without being prompted. She says "sowwy" all the time, both appropriately and unnecessarily to herself. Oh! And I almost forgot the "scuse me" when she is, um, gassy.
* When she thinks something is funny or silly, she has a number of phrases she uses: "Oh, silly!", "Me kidding me?", "Oh my goodsis".
* Brooke is involved in a lot of decision-making these days. If I can get her opinion on something, I do. I figure the more involved in the process she is, the more cooperative she'll be. Examples: what color popsicle she wants, which diaper she wants to wear, where we should go for lunch (she always chooses "noodles, cheese, cwackers!" = Skyline.) Anyway, as she contemplates something, she'll tap her finger on her chin and say "Hmmm, let's see..." Hysterical.

One to go...

One month. 31 days.

(Well, give or take a few days, but you know what I mean.)

It's hard to even believe how close we're getting to the due date. I'm beyond excited to meet this little thing that has taken up residency in my belly for the last 8 months. I'm excited to find out if we're giving Brooke a brother or a sister. I'm so excited to introduce her to the baby and watch their relationship blossom. And I'm excited to bring him or her home and figure out how to integrate a newborn into the craziness we already have going on in here (because, trust me, we have not figured this out yet.)

I'd be lying if I said I was as mentally prepared for this baby as I was the first time. With Brooke, her impending arrival was all I ever thought about. Now? Well, let's just say I have a few million things to distract me these days. With Brooke, I only had happy (possibly naive) notions about what life with a newborn would be like. Well, I'm not naive anymore. Despite the sleepless fog I was in those first few weeks (coughmonthscough) that she was here, I remember exactly what it was like. So the thought of having a newborn & a toddler at the same time is slightly overwhelming. (Not to mention that the toddler has waaay more personality than should fit into a body that small.) And I'm also filled with a bit of anxiety over how I'll give each child the right amount of attention, the amount each deserves.

Despite all of this, I'm ready. I'm sooo ready for this baby. (And it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm stick-a-fork-in-me-I'm-DONE being pregnant. Promise.)

One month. 31 days. Let's do this.

Sooo hot.

How far along?: 35 weeks, 0 days.
Total weight gain/loss: +1.5 lbs this week, so +24.5 lbs total.
Maternity clothes?: So, very little of my clothing fits now. And I'm talking maternity clothes. I'm down to about 4 dresses and half a dozen tank tops (but those are slowly creeping up the belly) that fit. In an attempt to not look like white trash with my belly hanging out below my shirt, I may have to invest in 2 or 3 more tank tops to get me through this last month. (Yes, more tank tops. Just the thought of wearing sleeves, even short ones, makes me sweat.) 
Sleep:  :(
Movement: Rolling, rolling, & more rolling. In a semi-painful way for me.
Labor Signs: Lots of pelvic pressure. Lots. Does this mean the baby's dropping? Eh, I'm not convinced. Also a fair amount of BH contractions.
Food/Cravings: If that whole "you crave sweet if you're having a girl, salty if it's a boy" thing is legit, there will be another little lady in the family soon :)
Gender: I think we have names locked in. Yay! And I love them both so much that I don't even care what pops out!
New w/pregnancy #2: ...
What I miss: Being cool. (In a damn-it's-hot-outside kind of way. I've never been cool in a people-wish-they-were-me kind of way.)
What I am looking forward to: September. There will definitely be 2 Reeder kids in this house in September. Maybe not by the 1st, but surely by the 30th. (Oh my god, can you imagine if I stayed pregnant until the 30th? ::shuddering at the thought of an extra 4 weeks::)
Best moment this week: Naming this baby! So, so excited...can you tell? It really has given me a second wind for the pregnancy. Being able to put a name (well, technically 2 names) to this little thing that's bouncing around in there makes him/her so much more real.
Weekly Wisdom: Pregnant women really do melt. On a similar note, it's ridiculously hot out.
Milestones: 35/35, kids! 35 weeks down, 35 days to go. For some reason, "5 weeks" seems like a lot less time to me than "35 days". But really, no matter how you say it, it's really not too long now :)

Baby Reeder at 35w0d 

(Nope, this isn't deja vu. Pretty much looks identical to the 33 week pic.)

18-month pics.

Well, we were a few weeks late, but we finally got Brooke's 18-month pictures taken! We haven't had photos taken since her first birthday, so it was exciting to see how much she has changed. One thing sure hasn't changed - her stranger anxiety. In fact, I think it's gotten worse in recent months, making a stranger photographer the last person she wanted to smile & cooperate for. Between my mom & I, we struggled to get this girl to do what we needed her to. Which is exactly what I expected would happen, so I was prepared with snacks and drinks and an Elmo DVD. They usually take 100+ pictures for you to choose from; the photographer took 62, only 19 of which were actual smiles. At least it made it easy to pick the best ones!

And now for the outtakes, because 2/3 of our pics this time around would qualify as outtakes.

 "I'm outta here, friends."

 "Oh, is Grandma's phone not supposed to be in the shot? My bad."

A mouthful of Cheerios makes it hard to smile.

 "Your attempts to make me smile or laugh are so not funny."

Battle-picking.

My new parenting slogan is "Pick your battles." After a very tantrum-heavy week last week (no joke, somebody switched my usually-agreeable child with this tiny terror), I've adopted a whole new philosophy when it comes to my toddler this week. I don't know where this clarity came from, but I decided that the only way to get through this phase (please God, tell me it's just a phase) is to figure out what really matters (health, safety, etc.) and only fight her on those things. Sure, we're trying to establish rules for her and teach her about consequences. But sometimes? Sometimes its much easier to just go with the flow.

What's this? This is a compromise. This is an inventive solution to appease all parties. This is a family room picnic. Somebody thought a popsicle would be a great lunch. And somebody else thought a real lunch needed to be eaten before a popsicle. (Can you guess who is who in this scenario? Really making you think on this one, huh?) We spent close to an hour with tears and refusal to each her lunch and a million "I have popsicle please? Owange one." Then, I somehow managed to convince her that it would be fun to each lunch on her stool. So instead of a hungry, angry child, I had a happy girl who forgot all about her orange popsicle request because, hello, eating in the family room is awesome. (Thankfully, today's lunch was a clean turkey/cheese/grapes combo & not a messy mac-n-cheese or something...)

The best part? She seriously had forgotten all about the popsicle. So when I told her she got to have one because she ate all her lunch like a good girl...well, the elation was immeasurable. Victory for both of us! 

The popsicle lunch was a battle I chose to pick. I didn't give in, deciding that trying to teach her about proper nutrition was more important this time. Trust me, I don't always hold so strong, and it has an awful lot to do with this mammoth belly I'm carrying around. Fighting with her when I have to (see list below) is physical. Hence the battle-picking.

Battles I pick these days: buckling into her car seat, getting into her high chair (mainly a problem in public, which is fantastic & fun), diaper changes (exhausting to even think about - total wiggle worm), coming inside from the garage or car ("no home" is often what we hear as we pull into the garage, but it's too hot to let her sit out there having a fit.)

Battles I don't pick: making her get dressed if we have nowhere to go, requests for snacks/drinks at appropriate times, letting her "help" me with something, etc.

Sometimes we "help Mommy sweep" as a Nudie Judy, my definition of "going with the flow".

A week ago, I was freaking out because I just didn't know how I'd handle this new Jekyll & Hyde child and a newborn in a few weeks. But something clicked this week and I feel like I've figured her out (at least a little bit.) I've learned that patience and compromise have to be my BFF's if I want to survive this phase. And that inventiveness & distraction are good tools to keep in my belt (even if that means she gets to pull all the sugar packets out of the little container at a restaurant in order to coax her into her high chair.)

Big Girl room.

With just a mere 6 weeks to go before we have another little one movin' on in to our humble abode, it's time we get Miss Brooke Mary into her Big Girl room full-time. Can't have a giant toddler in the crib with a newborn, now can we?

Her room has been ready for a few weeks now. I think it turned out adorable, but I'm a little biased since I did it :) I got her pink & yellow quilt on a killer sale at Pottery Barn Kids and I just love it. Her pale yellow walls match her quilt and are much tamer than the super-bright Big Bird yellow walls we have in our family room. My mom made her cute pink striped valances (thanks again!) I still need to come up with something to put on the wall abover her bed, but otherwise the room is finished as far as I'm concerned. And I certainly enjoyed doing some gender-specific decorating! (Sorry, the lighting in these pictures isn't great. The yellow walls are closest to the 1st & 3rd pictures.)

We've made a big effort to spend a lot of time in there with her. We very excitedly talk about her Big Girl room all the time; she loves to talk about it and go in there! We've also been referring to the nursery as the baby's room, not her room, as much as possible.

My plan all along was to get started the first week of July with naps, then try to move to overnights in there by the first week of August. Well, my sickness postponed this schedule a little bit, so we just started yesterday. I'm happy to report that the chickadee had a very successful first nap in her Big Girl bed! We talked all about it before I took her in there. We went into the nursery and got all the essentials out of the crib: her bunny, pacifier, seahorse, & pillow. I made a big deal of putting her in the bed, but she wasn't super happy about it. She cried for about the first thirty seconds and then proceeded to take a 2.5 hour nap :) And as I type this, she's about 1.5 hours into Day #2's nap! There were a few tears again today (about 20 seconds), but she never tried to climb out (I don't think she realizes that she can...which is not a terrible thing.)

(Yes, I risked waking her to take this picture. But it's just so sweet.)

I'm very hopeful that this is all going to go well. Even though the transition has been a bit delayed, I still think we can get her to sleep overnight in there in just a few weeks. Let's hope so, because this baby isn't going to hang out in my belly a few extra weeks just because Big Sister is still in the crib!

6 weeks to go!

How far along?: 34 weeks, 0 days.
Total weight gain/loss: +1.5 lbs over 2 weeks, so we're at +23 lbs total. And I say "we" because about 5 of that is the baby at this point :)
Sleep: Not horrible this week. I still wake up every 2 hours or so, meaning I'm at about 3-4 bathroom breaks a night. Oh yeah, and I'm still napping almost daily while Brooke does.
Movement: We've entered the "Mom, there's no more room in here, let me out!" stage. Lots of rolling & knees/elbows jutting out.
Labor Signs: Nada, thankfully.
Food/Cravings: Did you know today is National Ice Cream Day? Shocking that the heavily pregnant woman knows this little tidbit, isn't it? You better believe we'll be taking advantage of such a fantastic holiday :)
Gender: Baby's heartbeat was in the 130's when I went to the doctor last week. Could this munchkin really be a boy?
New w/pregnancy #2: Baby Reeder is head-butting me in the pelvic bone routinely (I assume it's his head; hiccups are still pretty low so I think he's head-down.) I definitely didn't deal with so much abuse this low the first time around.
What I miss: Sleeping in whatever position I feel like.
What I am looking forward to: Finally nailing down the baby names... coughheyHusbandthismeansyoucough.
Best moment this week: I finally got to enjoy a pedicure and maternity massage yesterday (a Mother's Day gift that I've been trying to use for weeks.) It was very relaxing and nice to have some "me time". (And bonus: Daddy & Brooke went grocery shopping - my nemesis - while I was gone!) However, I must admit, I woke up pretty sore from that massage this morning...perhaps it was a little too much pressure after all!
Weekly Wisdom: You can't "suck it in" when you're almost 8 months pregnant, no matter how much you want to squeeze in between 2 things.
Milestones: We have reached the point in this pregnancy (34 weeks) when 99% of babies born prematurely typically survive. And since we all know I make big babies, ours is likely even bigger and more developed than your average fetus. So while we're not hoping for delivery anytime soon, it's very comforting to know our kiddo would very likely be just fine if it did happen.

Doubts.

There are moments sprinkled throughout every day, especially lately as the months have turned into just weeks left to go, where I think to myself, "Geez, maybe we should have figured out how to parent this kid before we committed to another one."

And then there are nights like tonight, when we have a drama-free family dinner followed by playtime and a bath and kisses and books and giggles, that I think, "Okay, maybe we have a few things figured out after all..."

Thirty-three.

How far along?: 33 weeks, 0 days.
Total weight gain/loss: Forgot to check this morning. Oops!
Sleep: Awful.
Movement: I've had more than a few "ouch!" moments this week as this kiddo karate chopped me on my pelvic bone. Yowza. I'm afraid to type this for fear of jinxing myself, but I haven't really had too many kicks to the ribs yet, which is delightfully refreshing yet equally perplexing considering Baby Reeder's high enough to be constricting the crap out of my lungs.
Labor Signs: Hey, let's add this one into the mix as we near the finish line, shall we? (Even though it was pretty much worthless last time, with my lovely 2-day induction at the end.) Braxton Hicks contractions have been popping up here and there for a few weeks now, but nothing leading me to believe this kiddo will actually come out early.
Food/Cravings: My appetite still hasn't fully recovered. Maybe it'll return this week...?
Gender: Can't wait to find out!
New w/pregnancy #2: I hate that I'm about to say this, but I don't seem to be enjoying pregnancy as much this time around...
What I miss: Sitting on the couch comfortably.
What I am looking forward to: August 28th, give or take a few days.
Best moment this week: Hands down it was hearing my little one's heartbeat at the OB. It was very relieving to hear that everything's okay in there & he/she survived my week of hell!
Weekly Wisdom: There really is no such thing as too many pillows when you're pregnant. I'm only at 5 right now, but each one is super vital (like, major critical if I want to get any sleep.) I could definitely think of uses for 1 or 2 more, too.
Milestones: We're under 50 days :) 

If you recall, at my 28 week appt the OB told me I was measuring right on track and that the baby felt average-sized. This time? "Wow, there's baby over here and more baby way over here. I think we have another big baby on our hands." Awesome.

Baby Reeder at 33w0d

p.s. It feels waaaay bigger than this.

While I was sleeping...

Quite a few things happened while I was out of commission last week that were blog-worthy, but obviously none of those things got up here. Although each is probably worth its own post, I'm going to cram them all together and give you the brief update since I'm still not 100% (and also because it's 9:15 as I start this and, well, that's roughly my bedtime these days - Saturday or not.) So here's the quick rundown of what was missed:

1. Hives.

Oh yeah, we're talking legit toddler-sized hives. The munchkin was helping her Grandma make a birthday treat for me. (Here's where you'd probably think I'd feel really bad that this all happened while they were making something for me...but that's not gonna happen. The treat is still being enjoyed and it's sooo good.) Anyway, so Brooke was handling peanut butter, something we had a sneaking suspicion she might be allergic to but we hadn't made a big deal of it. Well, the peanut butter fought back and the little one broke out in hives. Here she is an hour after it started.

(This picture really makes it look super dramatic, fyi.) They were gone within another hour or so, just in time to be seen at the pediatrician, of course. But I remembered my camera, so at least they could see what I was talking about & that I wasn't just a crazy 1st-time mom making up hives. She checked out perfectly fine at the doctor that morning. Because she's had a reaction that we are fairly certain was food-allergy related (duh), we'll be setting up an appt with an allergist in the coming weeks. (Man, we're really going to get our money's worth in insurance this year, no?)

2. Brooke's 18 Month Check-up

So, 2 days after the hives incident, we were back at the pediatrician for her 18-month check-up. And thank goodness I took my mom with me because between my illness (this was Day 2 of the Severe Exhaustion leg of my sickness) and Brooke's reluctance to be there, it was tough. (Did I forget to mention that the hives day was also the day she spiked a 103 degree fever for no reason? When it rains, it pours.) The trip to the doctor a couple days before did NOT go so well - we were seeing a different doctor than normal, she had the fever, and, quite frankly, the doctor just isn't good with kids (...anymore. She was my pediatrician when I was a kid and I had no problems with her. As a parent, though? We won't be seeing her ever again.) So long story not-short-enough, Brooke was apprehensive just getting weighed/measured at the check-up, way before we even saw the doctor. There were lots of tears throughout the appt.

Stats at 18 Months - 31 lbs and 33.5 inches tall. Of course, these weren't easy measurements to get, so these are ballpark-ish. She was the picture of health, once we were able to get her still enough for the doctor to really look at her. Developmentally, she's still a rockstar. Diet, vocabulary, sleep patterns - all are right on track or way beyond where she needs to be. Physically, she really is slimming down, only gaining 1.5 lbs since her 1st birthday, but growing a few inches. Thank goodness, too, because I originally thought I might have a 40 lb toddler when Baby #2 came around. Other than the allergy thing, we're not scheduled to see the doctor again until she turns 2!

3. Her Half Birthday!

It still saddens me that I couldn't make more of a big deal of her half birthday. Her actual half bday (well, the day I go with since there is no June 31st) was Thursday, Day #1 of Severe Exhaustion & also the day I finally went to the doctor myself. It was a rough day, friends. So we ended up celebrating the next day, which was a slightly better day for me (but still not great.) There was half a cake, which I surprisingly did have a hand in baking, but I take no credit for the decorating (thanks again, Mom.) And there was a present, too. She got a pretend doctor's kit (a few hours too late, unfortunately!) and some magnetic ABC's so she can start learning words. It was a very pathetic little celebration, but she did get to munch on some cake (guess who loves cake now, more specifically the frosting?) so I guess it wasn't a total loss. Happy Half Birthday to my Big Lady!!

Mmmm frosting :)

 The "say cheese" face. A beauty, isn't it?

I still owe Brooke a proper 18-month post about how freaking awesome she is and all the fun & crazy things she's getting herself into these days. Give me a few more days, mmmkay? Thanks.

Woe is me.

I'm going to try to make this as brief as I can because, frankly, I really don't want to relive it. This has been one of the longest, hardest weeks ever. That fever I wrote about last week ended up sticking around through Wednesday. It was then replaced on Thursday with an incredibly overwhelming exhaustion that I can't even explain. I could barely keep my eyes open, and when they were open I was super dizzy and had a hard time focusing on anything.

I finally saw my general practitioner on Thursday (after my OB's office refused to see me b/c of the fever. Um, I'm pregnant - I'm growing a fetus and it's their job to check on said fetus when it could be in danger. Do they not have masks in the office?? Very frustrating...) He couldn't find anything wrong with me, so I was sent on my way with orders to eat & drink as much as possible. Finally, Saturday night he called to check on me and let me know he saw the slightest bit of an infection in my labs that he was going to try treating. Praise the Lord - drugs! I've been on antibiotics since Sat night and I'm feeling much better. Still not 100%, but pretty darn close considering what a mess I was all week.

I can't even begin to thank everyone that stepped up to help out. Brooke was very well taken care of all week while Mommy was mostly MIA. It was a very strange week for her, but I did try to put her to bed myself all week (which I think she appreciated.) Fingers crossed that I continue to get better & this is a much more normal week for everyone!

How far along?: 32 weeks, 2 days.
Total weight gain/loss: Down a lot this week, I think I'm back down to 21.5 lbs total.
Sleep: I've done a lot of it this week. But it's never longer than about 45 mins at a time. Even overnight, I'm awake every 30-45 mins rolling over to the other hip. Very painful. And there are lots of bathroom breaks mixed in.
Movement: Bless his/her little heart! It was a pretty rough week for both of us, but Baby Reeder has kindly been moving about as needed to let me know he/she is doing okay in there.
Food/Cravings: I'm just thrilled to have an appetite back. There are lots of birthday treats sitting around just waiting for me to devour :)
Gender: I had a dream last night that it was a boy, but that we didn't find out the sex until a day or 2 after delivery because we weren't ready to know (dude, I don't understand either.)
New w/pregnancy #2: Having a child to take care of while pregnant is just a completely new ball game.
What I miss: Good, strong medication (i.e. anything but Tylenol.)
What I am looking forward to: My doctor's appt tomorrow. I'm dying to make sure this kiddo is okay (and also to give my OB's office an earful!)
Best moment this week: Realizing that I have the most amazing network of family and friends surrounding me that is always willing to step up to the plate to help out my little family. Baby Reeder is incredibly blessed to be coming into this big ball of love!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't get sick. It sucks.
Milestones: Bi-weekly OB appts start this week!!