So it turns out I was wrong (and I'm even admitting it)

I apologize for the delay in getting this post up. I'm just barely over the shock of being wrong. I still can't believe we have a little girl. A daughter. I couldn't be more happy. We couldn't be more happy. Everything continues to go well - or as well as you would expect with a new baby around. There isn't a lot of sleep happening and we're just going hour by hour. John and I have spent an enormous amount of time over the last 2 days deciding between our two girl name choices. It has been a tough decision to make, but I think we finally have it figured out (well, all the official paperwork is filed anyway).

We are so excited to introduce you all to Amelia Ann! I'm posting a few pictures here now and there will be more to come when we get home to a faster, more reliable internet connection.

Amelia Ann Heidt - this picture does not do justice to her wild hair. She has long, wavy, dark brown hair.

Mama and Amelia
William meeting his little sister (and holding her with help). So far, he has been very gentle and very excited about spending time with her.

Our new family! John, Kelly, Amelia, and William

Not

Pregnant anymore! Baby girl arrived this morning at 5:45. She weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing well. Pictures and name update will come later.

Status Update

Still pregnant, still waiting. Grandpa and aunt Megan left, but Grandma is still here waiting for the big event. How long will she have to wait? I don't have any idea...

Still Pregnant

Enough said :)

Celebrating 10 months of Pregnancy

Whoever said that pregnancy is 9 months long lied. Lied or couldn't do math. Every month has 4 weeks in it. Currently, I have been pregnant 40 weeks which equals 10 months. And it currently doesn't look like the situation is going to be changing anytime soon. I'm feeling great and sleeping well. The pesky items like not having shirts long enough to cover the belly, not being able to reach my toes, or not being able to easily pick William up anymore are just inconvenient. See? Still hanging onto my zen. As a special treat, I thought I would share this:

This is the most pregnant I've ever been: 40 Weeks.
From the front. The shirt says: babyonboard. I'm trying to get some good use out of it before it isn't true anymore.

Warning: Bare Belly Ahead

Last night I noticed I had a really crooked belly. The picture didn't turn out great because I didn't want to wake John, but let me assure you my belly button is usually in the center of my belly. Also note, I cannot see my toes.

In other news, my parents and sister will be arriving this afternoon. My dad and sister will depart Sunday-ish and grandma is here for the long haul. We're glad to have them, although sorry we won't have a new baby to show off just yet.

Turn the Prayers Off

First of all, there isn't a baby and it isn't looking like today is the day right now. I know things can change in the blink of an eye, but I'm not feeling it right now. Which is okay. Zen, remember?
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It occurred to me yesterday that after our car accident at the end of last year, a lot of people called and e mailed to tell me they were praying for our family and more specifically that NewBaby would stay put. If you all could do me a favor and quit praying for that, I would appreciate it very much!


However, there are some family of ours that need our prayers. The Red River on the border of MN and ND floods every year, some years more than others. This year is a "more" year and we have aunts/uncles in John's family living very close to the river in Fargo. For more on this, go here. We have heard recently from both sets of relatives, but the situation isn't good based on the weather, flood predictions, and locations of the family homes. We also have my family north of Fargo in Grand Forks and although they appear to be in better shape right now, a little happy thoughts wouldn't hurt.

Baby Watch 2009

First of all, there is nothing to watch. Not really anything to talk about either. Just more of the same. And seeing how I still have my zen on, is fine by me. I secretly (not anymore) am holding out until the 26th. That would make William's birthday 1/26, mine 2/26 and Newbaby's 3/26. John's would still have to be 6/10, but still. It would be cool. The other thing greatly assisting my zen-ness is the doctor telling me that by the end of next week I would want an induction. Now, this may have been true otherwise. However, now I can guarentee I am going to be working my hardest to sunshine and flowers at my next appointment. Plus, not wanting an induction. Because who is HE to tell ME what I want (for the record, this is a long standing issue I have with anyone about any topic. I have problems with other people telling me what I should/need/want to do. One of the top reasons I am a teacher: I like being the boss).

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In other news, I had a dream earlier this week. I went into the bathroom to use it and came out with a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L baby boy. In the dream, I was trying to wake John or get his attention away from whatever he was doing. His response? Oh good! Now we can name him Pepipito Taco after the Taco John's mascot. Ummmm.....WHAT? Even in dreamland, I had no response for him regarding this name suggestion.

The best part about this dream? When I woke up, I remembered this dream and was still mad at John. Seriously. He wanted to name our kid Pepipito. After a fast food restaurant.

By the way...

I've gotten a lot of comments about my bathroom post :) I do have to confess that this isn't the first time William has figured out the stall lock. I thought I was safe in this restroom because the locks were different than the last bathroom he had figured out.

Although, I was smarter this time. Last time I was in the handicapped stall figuring we needed the extra space. Turns out the extra space isn't helpful because you can't reach the door to shut it. In this case, the door stays 100% of the way open as your toddler cackles and waves to the other women in the restroom.

Well,

it isn't looking good for today. Today (39w 3 days) is when William was born. This one appears like it might make us wait a little longer. Which, is okay with me. This pregnancy has been easier for me to keep the zen. This baby will come when it is ready. This baby will be born when it is supposed to be born. And so on. From the beginning, I've felt like my due date was maybe a little on the earlyish side and this one might come late. From the pregnancy tests that refused to turn positive until later than they should have to our first dating ultrasound, I felt like this one might be a little late. Which is okay....ommmmmmm.

This was further confirmed by my OB appointment today which revealed nothing had changed in the four days since my last appointment. This OB (not my regular dr) felt pretty strongly that I should start working on scheduling my induction for next week. This Induction Talk interferred with my Pregnancy Zen and left me crabby for part of the day. I'll get over it eventually...or not.

As much as I'm looking forward to meeting this new little one, I'm also enjoying the last few moments of peace with our quiet family of three. Well, as quiet as it gets when you are living with a very pregnant, very hormonal, and very determined (read: stubborn) woman. I am running out of rooms to organize, purge, and clean which leaves me with a very good feeling. Our house is still not approaching Magazine Camera Ready, but it is way cleaner, more organized with a lot less stuff in it than before. Not to worry though, there are still items I need to check off my list.

Last night, I participated in the pregnancy Olympics. It was a triathlon and very challenging. I completed the following tasks without assistance in under 2 hours: cutting my toenails, painting my toenails and shaving my legs. Why? I don't know, but I will tell you it was hard work. I also decided that I absolutely could not have a baby without getting my hair cut first. So, I called around today and found both an appointment and someone to watch the Big Kid while I got my hairs cut. Who knows what I will decide tomorrow.

Picture with my Big Kid on Saturday (39 weeks, 1 day)
And no, carrying him around (all 31ish pounds of him) on top of my belly isn't doing anything to put me into labor.

And finally I tried to catch a little nap today in the chair while John played with William on the floor nearby. William didn't want me to feel left out, so he drove his cars on my head and gave me kisses to wake me up. Wonderful...

For Nicole

I've been writing this post for my friend Nicole for a long time in my head now. See, Nicole is doing something both incredible and difficult at the same time. Nicole has decided to start running - and I am so excited for her. Although I've not had the pleasure of meeting Nicole in person, our stories are so similar that it is amazing our paths haven't ever crossed.

Her story has gotten me thinking back to when I first started running and how much hard work it was. So, as a little encouragement, I thought I would share the short version of my own running story here. So here it is!

I started running the summer after I graduated from high school. Previously, I was not not anywhere near athletic. I did not participate in sports and my motto was (I know someone else famously said this, I'm shamelessly stealing it) "Why run when you can walk, why walk when you can stand, why stand when you can sit, why sit when you can lay down, in fact why get up if you don't have to." To sum up, totally uninterested in athletics and not a participant in any way if I could help it at all.

I'm not sure why I started running the day after graduation. And really, using the word "running" is a stretch. In the beginning I struggled to run for any stretch over 1/4 of a mile. And honestly, that might be a stretch. But, I started and I kept it up even though I felt stupid chugging away on the streets in my neighborhood. In the fall, I started my freshman year of college.

Here I am with my fabulous roommate and best friend Jessica on the first day of school. (posted without permission from her). As a note, I am currently about 10 pounds heavier 9 months pregnant than I am in this picture*.

Throughout that year, I worked really hard and I achieved one of my first goals just before Halloween: I ran my first mile without stopping. It took me four months to accomplish, but I was so SO proud of myself when I finally did it. By May, Jessica and I registered and ran in a 5K run. In a little over a year, I went from being totally nonathletic to being able to run 3.2ish miles in a row without stopping. (Please note: still completely uninterested in sports)

Jessica and I post 5K run

It goes without saying that running increased my confidence in myself and pushed me to take on new challenges. It changed how I viewed my body and took care of it. It also really made me see how taking time for myself and only me made me a more giving and happy person. Taking up running was a monumental, life changing decision.


After my first year of college, I kept up the running, although my dedication came and went as my class schedule and other life commitments changed. I do want to point out that I've never been anywhere never the competitive level of running. I am neither graceful nor swift as I jog around the track. However, I've never run for anyone but me. And I'm proud of that. Running is hard. It requires work. I'm not naturally good at it and I do it anyways. While writing this post, I've also realized that I've now been a "runner" for over 10 years. That is a major accomplishment.

After William was born, I renewed my dedication and hit the track at our local Y hard. It was hard to start over. I had to work again to run that one mile without stopping. But I did it and grew stronger. I made it my goal to train and run another 5K. Again, so proud to have accomplished that goal. After NewBaby makes his/her appearance, I'm sure you'll find me back at the track again.

Ready to run 5K, March 2008

*Although I'm sure running helped, I also am an incredibly picky eater. So picky that I went on the all cereal diet part way through my freshman year. I gave up on the cafeteria food because I didn't like it and ate only cereal.

The Awww....didn't last

I have to tell you the rest of the story from our music class last week. Just because it shows you exactly what I've been dealing with over the last few weeks. We left music class without major incident and I was feeling all warm and fuzzy about how cute our kid is. Before leaving any building lately, I require a pit stop. So, William and I went into the ladies locker room. I picked a stall and pulled William inside with me, quickly locking the door. William was instantly fascinated. I tried to distract him, but I was also reaching emergency stage of bathroom needs*. So, I proceeded...and I'm sure you can see where this is all going.

Yes, he figured out the lock within 1.212 seconds and yes there was both a swim class, cycle class and aerobics class filling the locker room at that very moment to view my very pregnant self. And, yes I had to go to the bathroom so badly that I just did my best to keep the door more than 50% shut while I took care of business.

*If you talk to my mother about this, she will laugh and tell you that I have more than earned this moment based on my own childhood behavior.

Our Boy

While I won't say he is perfect, William has been very very sweet and very very cute lately. Here is a serving of the sweet and cute for you:


1. Yesterday we went to our music class. Another boy in the class has a 4 month old baby sister who usually naps in her stroller during most of the class. However, yesterday she wasn't having it and her mom finally pulled her out of the stroller and brought her to sit in the circle with us. The teacher was got out some sandblocks for the kids to play with and all the kids (from 18-36 months) were pulling the sandblocks out of the bucket and returning to their adult to sit. William was walking back towards me when he noticed the little baby didn't have any blocks. So, he veered off and tried to give them to the baby. "Share!" is what he said and collectively an "Awwwww..." came up from the crowd.

2. What could be sweeter than the first ice cream cone compliments of Grandma and Grandpa (photos courtesy of them as well)

3. He has been full of hugs and kisses lately. We are totally loving this as he was so stingy with handing them out before.

4. Yesterday we had a small thunderstorm blow through. I saw the lightening and while I waited for the thunder, I wondered about what his reaction would be. The thunder was loud and long when it came causing William to stand up and drop the cars he was playing with and come running to me. He burried his face into my neck and said "Wind? Scared? All done?" He then proceeded to sit in my lap for the rest of the 20 minute storm and snuggle in close every time it thundered.

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I also had my OB appointment this morning. We had a good appointment with the best news being that I've progressed from a 1cm to a 3cm. That is good news! However, the doctor (not my regular dr) was fairly confident that I will be back next week for my appointment because I am still posterior (don't google this unless you REALLY want to see something graphic).

I also had a contraction while the doctor was listening to the baby's heart beat. It was good to confirm that what I've been feeling were indeed contractions. However, they are not uncomfortable and they are exactly the same as what I've been feeling since about week 24. So, still probably Brackston Hicks. Fine by me at this point as they don't hurt!

T-Minus

Ten Days and counting....more or less.

Pictures, pictures, pictures

Well, it has been a long time and I'm just not in the mood to tell you exactly how I'm feeling. Not that you would want to hear it. I'm feeling very well for someone who is as pregnant as I am with a very active toddler. So, here are some pictures from Grandpa and Grandma's visit last weekend along with some house pictures. Sadly, I have not taken pictures of the clean baseboards in our closet to share with you. I know you are disappointed.

Window cornices John built and hung in New baby's room

It was a little too quiet the other night when we were making dinner and caught William doing this: trying to move cans from the pantry to the dining room area using the oven mitts. So proud of himself!
The finished effort
Playing at the park with Grandma and Grandpa

Helping Grandma put sprinkles on Mama's birthday cake

The laptop just barely fits on my lap anymore...also, we got new furniture!

And grandpa helped us hang some shelves! Here he is attempting to help us decorate as well. Grandpa is very talented.

We also finally put together William's wagon that he got for birthday/Christmas this year! He really liked being the helper.
Big boy helper
More helping...
Also exciting is this weekend William showed his first interest ever in stuffed animals. It was amazing - he played and played with them (no interest since then as luck would have it). My favorite part is he decided the large Elmo on his right was the Mama Elmo and the small Elmo on his left was the baby Elmo. Very cute!
Reading with Mama and and demonstrating one of the belly's great uses: a pillow.
We've been reading this book a lot (Arthur's New Baby Book). I don't know if it is doing us any good. He still looks at people like they are crazy when they ask him about a new baby at his house.
More fun with cans and oven mitts.
And last, a pregnant picture. I went to a baby shower for a girlfriend this weekend. I went with the black shirt because I have heard that it is slimming. I'm not sure it is working here...

Nothing to see Here

Same as always. Cleaning, purging and hanging out with the sweetness that is William.

Nothing New or Yes it REALLY is all about me

We had another doctor appointment today. Nothing has changed. The doctor is happy with where things are at. She again said that with the condition my body is in, labor could easily begin tonight or 3 weeks from now. Wonderful.

My parents were here this last weekend to celebrate a belated birthday weekend. I'll try to be back with pictures because we had a really good time. However, I am going to have to stop cleaning under couching and vacuuming baseboards in closets in order to do that. So, it might be awhile.

The other big thing on the list? I'm trying to squeeze in as much time with our sweet boy William before he isn't an only child anymore. Although it is tough with all the dusting of vents, light fixtures and blinds I have to do still.

Welcome to Mariella!

Our friend Jacob (okay, really Tom & Robyn) welcomed a baby girl on Tuesday! Hooray for baby girls!

Next I Will be Growing a Hump

I don't really have anything new to report, but since some of you knew I had an OB appointment, I thought I should update.

This was by far the shortest appointment I have ever been to in my life: my OB was actually on time (and I was late! Shock!).

The biggest news is I have gained an astronomical amount of weight since last week on Thursday. I am not happy about this, but after looking at my fingers and ankles, the doctor pronounced this as water retention and normal for pregnancy*. I would like to know exactly what my body think it is going to need this water for. I am sure someone else at the hospital will be boiling the water for me during the delivery and we've had plenty of rain lately. If I am inspired later I will take some pictures of my puffy toes, feet and ankles. I am sure you can't wait.

I find it very funny that my doctor suggests drinking more water to flush out my system and assure my body that more fluid will be available in the future. She also recommends resting with my feet up and getting some mild cardio exercise. Contradictory? Yes.


Please stop reading if you do not want to hear information about my cervix.

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I warned you - so no being mad. It would seem things are progressing, although slowly. My cervix is now about 60% thinned out and I am dialated to about 1 cm. All of this is good news because it indicates I may be able to breathe deeply or roll over on my own in bed someday sooner rather than later. However, it does not give any indication about when this might happen. So, we continue to wait. Patiently.



*Please note that a large weight gain can be a sign of trouble during pregnancy. However my blood pressure was very normal at 110/60ish and there wasn't anything else to cause concern.

Fluffy mail

We have been working working working. A few people have been admiring my insane nesting urges but I would like to clarify their precise origins as I feel that not all of my insane-ness is hormonal:

1) Our house has been "under construction" for close to two and a half years. Now hat the project is finally DONE, it is time to put things away and do a good job cleaning up the dust.

2) The flowers (crocuses?) are blooming in my backyard and it feels like it might be time to participate for the first time ever in the traditional "spring cleaning".

3) I am hormonal. Don't ask for more explanations than that. Just do it.

Two minor projects have been underway this last week. We are putting finishing touches on the nursery:

Stars & letters we painted for the nursery walls. I was dreaming about doing this before William was born, but I didn't have time because I was working full time.

John then drilled holes in each of the 56786168 stars and nailed them up on the walls to create a border. For the record, he did not complain once, try to talk me out of this or even roll his eyes at me during this whole process. He is a wonderful husband. We also hung curtains, curtain boxy things and the letters on the wall. I just didn't take pictures of those things.

The second project we've been working on is finding/acquiring baby gear to help us out with having two. Which, has resulted in a lot of shopping on my part. My life is so hard.

Fluffy mail! We got a whole new set of cloth diapers! After wearing his set for almost two years, William's are worn out! I'm excited we've ordered some new kinds of diapers as well as more diapers overall. These stacks of diapers should last us until potty training!

Our new double stroller! Notice Ernie is going for a ride. At first, William was very interested in climbing through the sun shades to get to the front seat and then climbing back again. This would not fly with a new baby. So, we put Ernie into the seat to help discourage him. It worked a little...

William and Ernie riding around. William is not happy here because Daddy had to stop pushing the stroller for me to take the picture!