38 Weeks

Tomorrow I will be 38 weeks. I went to the doctor today and it looks like I have made a little bit of progress and I am borderline ready to go. Last week I was dilated to a 1 and 20% effaced. Today I am at a 3 and 60% effaced. He stripped my membranes because he thinks I am just about ready to go. Last night I was having contractions from 11-2 am (why are they always in the middle of the night?!) about 15 minutes apart but they stopped and didn't stay consistent at all today. Since I have been to the Dr. I have had a TON more contractions ranging anywhere from 7-30 minutes apart, but they aren't really consistent yet. I guess we will see what happens tonight. Maybe tomorrow we will be holding our precious little girl! 

On a side note: Kind of ready to be done being pregnant after the flu episode last Saturday. Not a fun thing to go through as a full term mommy. Shad has been feeling a little off today, but luckily has not really caught what I had as of yet. Here is hoping that he never does so that he can be there for me when she decides she is ready to come! The boys haven't caught it yet either, and I hope it stays that way!

Boy's Stats

With all of my appointments I kind of forgot that the boys were both probably due for appointments as well. 

JACK

Jack turned 18 months on Haken's birthday. He had to have 2 shots (which were quickly forgotten after a yummy sucker). He hasn't seemed too grouchy today due to the shots, just a little loopy from the lack of sleep lately.

He is such a funny little kid now. He communicates very well through signing. He knows about 15 signs and uses them all day. Sometimes he combines the signs with words. Some of his favorite words are "Daddy," "MA!!!" (yes he really says it like that), and "mo" (more). He has already shown us he is quite good at tantrums. He just collapses on the floor and puts his head between his knees. If we ignore it long enough he gets over it and it's like it never happened. Usually it is about coming inside the house. He loves to be outside.

He still takes 2 naps most days. Although we are starting to transition to one on the days when we are busy in the morning. He still sleeps with his binki and his blanket. He sure loves them. All I have to say is "binki, blankie" and he is on his way up the stairs to his crib (the only place they are allowed). We thought about discontinuing the binki this week because he thought it was a fun game to throw it out of his crib, but then thought otherwise when we realized how close we were to having a newborn making us loose sleep as well. 

He has 5 1/2 teeth. Sometimes I wonder if that 6th one will ever come in. It has been sitting there for a month. He can eat just about anything even without teeth, although he doesn't always care for what I put on his tray. His favorite foods lately have been peas, cinnamon toast, and grapes but he is always going through phases.

Favorite toys are any big trucks, trailers, or big cars. He loves to wear the fireman hat and is still obsessed with shoes (putting them on other people as well as himself).

He is a little guy sitting at 21 lbs (2%) and 30.5 in (7%). He head circumference was 19.5 in (95%) although he was shaking his head so bad I'm not sure how accurate the measurement was. I think his stats fit his feisty, fun, little personality. We love our Jack-Jack!

HAKEN

Haken actually had his wellness check 2 or 3 months ago when we went to get his shots for Kindergarten (which was a traumatic experience to say the least, he cried all the way to the Dr. office). It turned out not to be as bad as he thought and he is all ready for kindergarten now.

Haken is my little helper. He does so much to help me around the house, even without me asking. His new thing lately has been surprising me by making my bed (which is not easy with it being a king, especially for a 5 yr old). He loves to please people and tries hard to make sure everyday is a "good boy day" as he calls it. Sometimes he has "mistake days," but we try not to think about those. He loves to help with Jack and especially likes to hold his hand when we go places.

He loves to learn and is constantly asking me questions about everything. I wish I knew the answers to all of the questions he asks, I think I would be a genius! Lately he has been really into electricity, ocean animals, roofs and construction, and plants. I love his desire to learn.

His favorite things to do are coloring, doing crafts, making books about the things he learns, playing legos, and playing house with his friend Chloe. He has a great imagination and will come up with games for us to play as a family that can be quite creative. He always wants to be the one planning our activity for Family Home Evening so that we can play the game he created. 

He is such a good, sweet, little boy. One of my favorite things is cuddling up on the couch reading a book with him or watching a movie with him in my bed. He is such a cuddle bug and loves showing how much he loves us. I'm so glad we have such a good boy to be an example to his younger siblings.

Haken is just an average kid as far as stats go (always has been). He is 41.8 lbs (58%) and 43 in (50%). I look at him and still can't believe how much he has grown just in the past year. Couldn't live without our big boy Haken-Bacon!

37 Weeks. Full term...and waiting

Tomorrow I will officially be considered "full term" at 37 weeks. At least they won't try to slow down the labor if she decides to come. I am seeing the Dr. weekly now. Last week we got to see an ultrasound to make sure she was head down and ready to go. Everything looked great and the Dr. said I was probably measuring small because I don't have a lot of fluid in there with her. That will be the last time we see her on that little black and white screen! 

I went to the Dr. again today and I'm sitting at 1 centimeter, 20% effaced, and -3 station. So...I guess I still have a little while yet to sit (or run like crazy) and wait. My Dr. is going out of town this weekend so he told me to hold off until next week so he can be there. He doesn't think I will progress that fast anyway. That gives me another week (at least) to finish up all the loose ends I have everywhere. Although, I'm pretty sure she will be here by the end of next week with how early my boys came. I guess we will see. Even on the third baby it is still nerve racking to wait during these last few weeks. I'm such a scheduled person so the waiting game gets a little difficult for me. I feel like I always have to be on top of things...just in case. Here is the bio for the week:

How far along?  37 Weeks

Total weight gain: 29 lbs

Maternity clothes?  Oh yes! 

Stretch marks? Nope, just more varicose veins

Sleep: Still waking up early, mostly due to Jack's bad sleeping patterns lately. A pregnant mommy should not have a teething toddler.

Best moment this week: Jack pointing to the craddle and my tummy and saying "baby." Sometimes I think he understands, but then I realize he has no idea what is going to hit him.
Funny moment this week:  Going to the pool twice with a big huge belly. It's amazing the looks you get with a big belly and an 18 month old climbing all over you. Makes you feel a little crazy. 

Miss Anything?  Bending over. Not being out of breath. Being able to stand for longer periods of time.

Movement: Gets hiccups almost every night right before bed. Sitting really low in my pelvis. Some big kicks really make me have to pee.

Food cravings:  Marshmallows- the big kind

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Gender: GIRL!

Labor Signs: Bigger contractions, but not consistent. Lots of pressure with her being so low.

Belly Button in or out?  Flush

Wedding rings on or off?   Still on most days

Happy or Moody:  Happy it's almost over! Not as moody as before.

Looking forward to: Sleeping on my tummy. Not having every shirt have a stain right on the tummy.

Here's my token picture. Although I don't think I have changed very much in the last 3 or 4 weeks. I think she has kind of maxed out on her size. Last week at the ultrasound the estimate was around 6 1/2 lbs. So she may be sitting just below 7 lbs now?

5 years! Where did the time go?

On June 13th Haken turned 5 years old! I can't believe that it has been 5 years since I held that first precious baby in my arms. I still remember the nurses commenting on his little dimpled chin and thinking about how cone-headed and alien he looked. It was one of the best moments of my life. He has been such a perfect little kid and I am so looking forward to seeing him grow up. He amazes me everyday with his knowledge and curiosity for everything around him. 

This is actually the 3rd time that we celebrated his birthday in the last month. He was a pretty lucky boy to have presents all throughout the month. I decided we would hit the Brigham pool with our friends for his actual birthday, mainly just for something to do. It was our first time this summer and he could go down the big slide all by himself this year. He went down it all day long which is probably why I didn't get any pictures of him. Jack LOVED the water too. Last year he wasn't much of a fan at 6 months, but this year I had to keep him from getting out too far. 

After the pool we had his favorite meal: Hawaiian Haystacks

Then he got his presents from mom and dad: A few books, new pajamas, and a lego table made just for him. He was super excited about the lego table, which I was glad about. He plays with legos everyday and has become quite the little architect. Hopefully this will keep his legos contained a bit better.

After a tired Jack went to bed we had some birthday cake with Haken. I kind of threw it together last minute after being at the pool all day. I don't think he was too disappointed because it tasted yummy.

I had to light the candles twice because he blew them out as we were singing "Happy Birthday." I guess I should have told him that you wait until after we are done singing to blow them out...

He was one happy, but tired kid on his birthday. I can't believe he is already 5 and will be going to kindergarten! I love spending my days with him and listening to his philosophy on everything. I'm so glad that he came into our family. Love you Haken Bacon!

Brothers and best buds

I thought that having two boys 3 1/2 years apart they would not really play well together...I admit now that I was wrong. Haken and Jack are finally getting to the age where they actually enjoy being together...most of the time. 

Haken is such a good big brother and makes sure that Jack is taken care of for me and not getting into any trouble. Jack wants to do everything that Haken does and I think secretly Haken really likes to see Jack try to do everything he does. Although, Haken does get frustrated when his friends (mostly girls) want to play with "baby Jack" instead of him. If he wasn't so cute I don't think it would be a problem!

I'm sure they will play even better as time goes on. It melts my heart to see the love that they have for one another. 

Haken was sitting under the counter eating chips.
Of course Jack had to do the same.

Haken pushed Jack around in the laundry basket this way for
quite a while. Jack was very patient, since it went about
a snail's pace.

A real smile?!!

Daddy decided to pitch in and help them go a little faster.
That is a face of pure joy.

What daddy do you know that will wear a too small
fireman hat and push his boys down the stairs in a
laundry basket? That is love...

Power lines

Most almost 5-yr-olds are interested in cars, trucks, or superheros. Haken isn't like most 5-yr-olds. Lately he has been interested in powerlines. I'm not sure where his fascination for all things electrical came from but he can not stop asking questions about them. As we are driving in the car he observes things that I didn't even notice. He tells me about all of the different types of power and phone lines and how they all look different.

One day he told me he wanted to make a book on power lines so that he could identify them for everyone. He wanted to go take pictures of power lines with my camera but I got him to settle on finding pictures on the internet and printing them out (thank you google images). He spent the whole morning cutting them out and gluing them on paper to make his book...

This is just the cover, but the rest of the pages are much the same.

If you didn't notice...everything was done "by Haken."

Here are a few pictures he drew of power lines at church:

"Power lines and phone lines plus the earth, moon, and sun" By Haken

"Powerlines leading to a power plant" By Haken

While he was at Barnes and Noble with Shad they asked for a book on power lines and the lady said they didn't have any so he had to settle for a book on anatomy and read that instead. This kid loves to learn about anything really.

 This past week he has been fascinated with planets (probably because of the solar eclipse and venus passing by the sun). We checked out some books from the library so I am sure we will be seeing some planet pictures emerging soon.

Nursery

I can't believe this little guy is old enough for nursery already! I look at him and constantly think that he is too small to be running around and doing the things that he does. 

Today was his first day at nursery and he did great! Shad dropped him off and he did exactly what we were expecting and cried. However, the nursery leaders said he calmed down pretty quickly. When I peeked in there 10 minutes later he was completely fine and playing with all of the other kids. He looks so tiny next to everyone else. I keep wondering when he is going to hit a growth spurt. As for now I will just have to keep hemming up his church pants so I don't have to roll them four times. I'm sure he will look huge to me when the baby gets here, but until then I will just need to keep cuddling him like the little baby that he still is to me.