What Keeps Me Up at Night

The subject line does not refer to the baby kicking, or Isabel's occasional night terrors, or even the ^%$#& annoying neighbors' dogs that bark all night long. No, the subject refers to the worries and fears about the new baby. I was emailing a pregnant friend about this; every expectant parent has these worries. Here's a few that kept me awake from 3:30 AM on this morning: What if he has colic? Will his crying keep Isabel awake? Will Isabel's crying keep him awake? How will Isabel feel about the new baby? How can we involve her in caring for him? Will he have jaundice like Isabel did? Will he be a good eater like she was? How will he adjust to daycare when it's time for me to return to work? Is he blonde like Kyle was as a child or brunette like me? Is he healthy? Is he healthy? Is he healthy???

I'm hoping writing these thoughts down will flush them from my brain and let me get in a few more nights of sleep before the baby is born!

One More Little Guy Update

Had another doctor appointment and I'm now 4 - 5 cm dilated, 95% effaced, and the baby is at station -1 (I just like to add that because it sounds so high tech). So we're going ahead with the plan to induce and I'll be checking into the hospital at 7AM Monday morning. The doctor thinks I'll have the baby by lunchtime! I really can't believe it... on the one hand it feels like I've been pregnant *forever*; on the other, I feel like we haven't had time to prepare for Little Guy. We have one last weekend to do that, but this last week I've felt like I can barely move. The baby is so low my doctor said today, "I don't know how you walk around like that!".

Update on the Little Guy #2

I had my doctor appointment yesterday and I am now at 4cm dilated and 90% effaced. Because of this my doctor has decided to induce me on (trumpets and fanfare please...) March 2nd! So on that day (or earlier if the baby decides to arrive sooner) we will have a new member in our family. We are excited but unprepared. We have lots of cleaning, unpacking of baby things, sterilizing of bottles, and many, many more things to do! But at least our bags are mostly packed.

Last night, L.G. kept me up between 4 and 5 AM with a round of continuous and spirited kicking. I think he's letting me know he's a night owl. Goodbye, full night's sleep, I hope you come back soon!

Update on the Little Guy

So you might be wondering, how's baby Keeper doing these days? The answer is that he is literally kicking the crap out of me. He's a very active baby and enjoys punching my kidneys, poking a nerve in my thigh which makes my leg feel like it's going to buckle, and cooling his heels on my lower left rib. Three weeks ago I was already dilated 2 cm, but the doctor is not concerned at this point about me delivering early.

I almost wish I would, because I've entered the last, most uncomfortable phase of pregnancy. This includes:

• Hands and feet: swollen
• Back: achey
• Acid indigestion: every time I eat spicy food (but I just can't give it up!)
• Waddle: pronounced

I must be getting that nesting instinct because today I went through Isabel's baby clothes looking for stuff that could be reused for the new baby. After discarding everything that was pink or had spit up stains visible from more than 3 feet away, we weren't left with much. Time to go shopping!