Bubsis Update

It kind of depresses me to even write anything here because unfortunately, there's not much to say...but a lot of you are probably wondering so I thought I'd post anyway.

No changes since last week for me, even though I had a rough night last Thursday with contractions and have been having at least a couple a day since then. You would have thought my body would have done something, but NO. Oh well...I have come to the conclusion that this baby is going to come when he/she wants to, not when I or anyone else wants him/her to.

I did some major cleaning yesterday (nesting?) and was really excited about it the moment I woke up. I cleaned places that I have never cleaned in the 3 years we have lived here (like the ice/water dispenser in the fridge and the oven drawer). Chris did the tub cleaning and mopping for me, but I basically went to town on everything else. I had some contractions while I was working hard, but other than being extremely exhausted and sore from the whole experience, it must not have done much in the way of getting things moving. At least I have a super-d-duper clean house now!

I moved the bassinet into our room so now we're good and ready (have been for a while now!) and Addie has been very curious about it. We showed her some video last night of when she used to sleep and play in it and it was fun to watch her reaction to "Addie the baby." She has been very clingy lately, even saying "my mommy" and "my daddy" so we think she is beginning to get the gist that something is about to happen! Here she is trying out the bassinet, obviously too big for it, but loving every minute.

Boo at the Zoo

Tonight we ventured over to the zoo for an annual event called, "Boo at the Zoo." I haven't been to this since 8th grade and Chris wasn't sure he had ever been so we really didn't know what to expect. All we knew was that Addie was supposed to dress up and there would be treat stations giving out candy and different goodies. We were really excited to get her out in her Very Hungry Caterpillar costume I finished just in time for this early "trick or treating" event.

We walked through almost the whole zoo and received lots of goodies and saw a few animals (those who weren't already in bed anyway). Addie didn't really know what to think of everything, but she was really excited about getting suckers and animal crackers and even a glow in the dark lizard. One of her favorite things was a person dressed up in a chicken costume handing out candy. She just stood there and stared like it was the most amazing site!

When we headed through the Amazonia part of the trail, she was brave enough to pet a snake and a lizard that the zookeepers had out. I was very proud of her for not being shy or afraid of them and I even got lucky enough to catch pictures. She didn't say much while we were there, but she was wound up when we got home so I think she had a really good time. We will definitely go back next year, with another little caterpillar in tow!

Ready for the zoo!

Posing with her Animal Crackers

Petting the snake

Petting the rough feeling lizard

And yes, you might say I wanted to accomplish something else by walking so much at the zoo tonight...and so far, the contractions are here and there. I'm sure by bedtime, they will pick up and I'll stay up all night wondering if this is "it" like I did last night! The strombolis we ate for dinner were a bit on the spicy side and I even treated myself to a Coke so we'll see what happens. No pressure, but my aunt and uncle are in town until Sunday from Minnesota and Mikey, Chris' brother is also in town for the weekend. We all just can't wait to meet Bubsis, but I'm trying to be patient and let things happen as they happen.

Gender Prediction Fun

Ok, so we're waiting in great anticipation to find out the gender of little bubsis and I have been reading tons of silly ways to "test" and find out before the big day. One test I discovered the other day is the pencil test. Anyone can do it, even if you're not pregnant (guys too) and it should tell you the gender of all of your kids or future kids. Here's how: thread a needle and stick it into the eraser end of a pencil. Dangle the pencil over your wrist and watch what happens. If the pencil swings back and forth (in the direction your watch band would go) it means girl, if it swings from fingers to elbow it means boy. It should either just stop and wiggle or spin in a circle between kids. You have to be really patient and still for it to work! It supposedly counts miscarriages too, but I didn't find this to hold true 100% of the time. So far, it worked accurately on both of my parents and my brother's caregiver. Give it a try and leave me a comment if it was accurate for you! Ours said 3 girls, 1 boy, and then 2 more girls...hmmmmmmmm.

Another test is dangling a wedding ring on a strand of hair over a pregnant belly. If it spins in a circle, it means girl and if it sways back and forth it's a boy. Again, mine said girl. I think we tried this one when I was pregnant with Addie, but I can't really remember what it said!

Here's one more I had never heard of: the hairline test. If you look at the hairline on the neck of your previous child and it comes to a point, the next child will be a girl. If the hairline goes straight across, the next child will be a boy. This one doesn't hold true for Chris as his hairline comes to a point and he has a younger brother. Addie's hairline is hard to tell, but I think it comes to a point.

I know, I know, none of these are 100% accurate and we'll know what bubsis is very soon (hopefully REALLY SOON)...but they are all fun to try!

Waiting on Bubsis

Well....still no baby, but we did get to see bubsis on the ultrasound this morning. This little one is definitely a stinker and likes to hide from the "camera" so we really didn't get a good look. The tech even tried to do some 4D pictures of the face, but it just didn't work out for us this time. We did get to see some cute little feet as they were kicking around in my rib cage and saw a hand just as it was throwing a punch to my lower abdomen. This one's definitely a mover, just like his/her big sister was.

Baby's estimated weight is 6 pounds, 10 oz, which is the perfect size for delivery for me :) I haven't really made any more progress since last week, but my doctor seems to think things will happen soon, maybe this week. She's pushing for Thursday, since she works that day anyway and my best friend Melissa, who is a labor/delivery nurse, works then too. I'm just trying not to get my hopes up incase we have another week to go. We're all definitely ready, so let the waiting begin!

Punkin Day!

This morning we headed to Mayse Farm Market to visit the pumpkin patch. We tried to get an early start so it might still be "cool" on this October day, but our luck was shot down...it was much hotter than we would have liked, but it was still a good time.

Addie got to walk through a straw maze, 2 corn mazes, go down a very slippery, fast, and dangerous slide that Mommy and Daddy did not like, and go on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. She was pretty cute walking through the corn maze, humming a little tune to herself and picking up every corn cob and kernel she spotted. Needless to say, it took us a while to get through it!

After we picked 2 pumpkins from the patch, we went inside the building and let Addie pick a few "baby" pumpkins (as she calls them) to be her very own. She was very interested in looking around at all the different sizes, colors, and textures of pumpkins, but got a little antsy to go home by the time we were checking out (I think Chris and I were feeling the same way by this point). ......and NO, the hayride didn't cause me to go into labor, unfortunately, but I was VERY swollen, HOT and even more uncomfortable after this experience ;)






After all the excitement of the pumpkin patch, we all ate some lunch and rested for a bit. Then after naps, we took our biggest pumpkin outside to carve a face in him. My dear husband has been wanting to carve a pumpkin every year since we've been married, but we have never done it before this year (kiddos are the best excuse to have fun and get messy, aren't they?). Addie got to help draw the design of the face on the pumpkin with a *permanent marker* (scary!), and she did a good job of only writing on the pumpkin and the newspaper. "Yucky," and "Thank you, Daddy" were the most said expressions. I think she had a lot of fun!

Drawing the "design"

Scooping out the "gunk" and seeds

Taste testing

The final product- Mr. Pumpkin

Fall Festival Time & "I don't think so, Mommy"

This week was the 87th Annual Fall Festival on the west side of Evansville (otherwise known as, every pregnant woman's dream!). Let's just say that 126 food booths, all offering something unique and tasty, was definitely the highlight of this pregnancy for me :) We didn't make it down there quite as much as we used to, just because it is no fun fighting the crowd with a stroller and a sweet little girl in tow. Monday, Chris and I had a "romantic" lunch of chicken and dumplings together sitting on a bench amongst the Kiddy rides (they weren't open for riding yet so there wasn't anyone back there!). It was great!

Addie had her first experience riding a ride on Monday evening when we went down there for dinner. We decided to try out the Merry Go Round first since she likes horses so much. Chris held her on the horse until the ride was almost over and she started saying, "Daddy, sick." She didn't get sick or anything, but I suppose the Merry Go Round just wasn't all it was hyped up to be for her this year. Needless to say, we didn't ride any more rides...thankfully, she may be our kiddo who doesn't mind skipping over that part of the festival.

Now onto the important part: FOOD...I had yummy burgoo and a piece of German chocolate cake for dessert, Chris had a stromboli and burgoo, and Addie scarfed down a tasty grilled cheese sandwich and shared my cake. I hadn't had enough of the deliciousness just from Monday night's trip, so I convinced Chris to go down for supper again last night and I got to have my corn fritters and fried green tomatoes I love so much.

Addie and I went again for lunch today with our friend Josi, who is also 9 months pregnant and due to have her baby any time now. We enjoyed last minute munchies like white chicken chili, chicken tenders, beignets (pronounced ben-yays, they are like a french donut covered with powdered sugar, mmmm), and a fruit haystack. I did not get some of my "staple" items this year, but I didn't want to overdo it either...it can get expensive when you are a hungry mama! We did buy a gallon of burgoo to freeze for those evenings after baby comes when we don't feel like cooking! Can't wait to get into that! So long Fall Festival for another year!



If you haven't already guessed, I made it through this week without having the baby...now I am for sure ready since we are considered full term. I would like to see the ultrasound on Monday, so hopefully bubsis will at least hold off until then. As I get more and more uncomfortable (and grouchy, and patience-limited), Addie is enjoying testing her limits. Starting on Monday, she began saying the phrase, "I don't think so" when asked to do something. It was a bit funny at first, but after having her say it to me several times when I'm trying to get her to cooperate with me, it becomes rather frustrating. "No, Mommy" has also been a big hit for her this week. Or just plain "No," and sometimes "No thank you," even when there is not really an option of yes or no.

Yes, this may be cute to all of you who aren't hearing it repeatedly throughout the day and are about to give birth to another human being. It is definitely wearing on me, but I suppose it is also keeping me from getting too overly emotional that these next couple weeks (or days) could be the last ones spent with just Addie. I must admit that I did have tears in my eyes watching her ride the Merry Go Round for the first time and I have been known to sneak a few tears out when she snuggles up with me after she gets up from her nap! I am trying to overlook her challenging moments and enjoy my little girl who is not going to seem so little in a very short time. *Drip, drip,* go my tears...

Baby News

Just a quick update...I had a doctor's appointment this morning and learned that I am 1-2 cm dilated and 50% effaced already. My doc could even feel the head, which I suppose means he/she is hanging out pretty low. At this point, I need to make it to at least this Thursday to be considered full term and hopefully I'll make it well into next week. The first time the Dr. checked me with Addie, I was 1 cm and 50% and then I had her exactly 1 week later, so we'll see what happens this time!
It's exciting and SCARY at the same time, I think we are ready...just thinking about the fact that it could happen anytime is a little nerve wracking. I am supposed to have a final ultrasound to check the baby's size next Monday and hopefully we'll get to see "bubsis" one more time on the inside before he/she makes an entrance into the world.
I will keep everyone posted!