Prodromal Labor

I've learned a new concept over the last 48 hours. Prodromal labor. Haven't heard of it? I hadn't either. Honestly, it's a fancy way of saying false labor. Maybe it helps those of us experiencing it feel a little better than just being told what we're experiencing is false. Instead, I can intelligently state, "It's prodromal labor." It sounds so much more sophisticated, doesn’t it? Bottom line, it's the same thing…contractions which lead nowhere despite making a mama think the time is near. For all of my pregnancies, I've been ok with going full term. I didn't make it with Miss S, and then with Mr. C, I went 3 days past. (I still plan to post his birth story at some point). I shouldn’t complain because my pregnancies have only been speckled with mildly annoying but tolerable symptoms (heart burn, occasional back pain, inner thigh pain this pregnancy, painful joints intermittently) which is nothing compared to a lot of pregnant mamas.

37 Weeks (and a belly photo)

The weather has been incredible this fall. I went for a walk today on my lunch break and didn’t need to wear a jacket. It was amazing! I was hoping to get a nice preggo belly shadow shot, but the sunlight wasn’t at the right angle. I’ll check in with my OB tomorrow, but as of last week, I was 1 cm dilated…which is the same as with my other pregnancies at 36 weeks. I’m so glad that I kept relatively good notes on each of my pregnancies (even though my plan with each was to journal more than I did). It’s been helpful to look back and compare notes. Of course, with Miss S, my note keeping (for my pregnancy) ended with her arrival at 36 weeks exactly. We’ve passed that date (and my final progesterone shot!) and are aiming for the baby’s arrival during my primary OBs next rotation, which is conveniently the 6 days leading up to and including my due date.

Positive

I just gave myself a progesterone shot for the 5^th time…with only 15 more to go.

Miss S for the 2^nd time around and Mr. C for the first time will be “bigs.”

20 weeks and 5 days today.

7 Years

The first anniversary we stayed at the Valley Ho after a dinner at Lon’s at The Hermosa.

For our 3^rd anniversary (and 1^st as parents), we went to the Havana Café while Tom and Debb watched our almost 1 month old (and we never have lived down the stories of her crying the entire time we were out).

On our 5th anniversary, we had a less than 2 week-old baby and a 2 year old. I’m pretty sure we celebrated at home.

The seventh year we celebrated a day early with your extended family at an Italian family restaurant that was kid friendly. It was a lovely evening.

To My Second Born, Happy Birthday Bubs

Late in the evening on Wednesday, I downloaded the Time Hop app with the intention of posting a photo from your actual birth day, but I was exhausted, flopped onto our bed in my clothes, and fell asleep that way. Daddy and I worked that day and then started barbequing drumsticks (one of your favorite foods) later than ideal. Your party (celebrated with Grandma J, Grandpa A, mama, daddy, and Sisi…your name for your sister) ran later into the evening, and we were all exhausted. So much so that you and Sisi slept in the next morning until after 9. (And mama might have overslept her alarm and gotten ready in record time).

Your Actual Birthday, with Ice Cream and Candles. You Guard your Ice Cream Fiercely.

365 days, From 3 to 4

Even though it doesn't seem possible, Miss S will be 4 on Monday. Tomorrow we will be celebrating her birthday with family and friends at our home.

The contrast of Arizona to Minnesota is striking with events like tomorrow.

Last year, we had her party outside at a park with her first friend, first sitter, my sister's family, my sister's in-laws, and my parents.

It was 84 degrees. I was wearing a tank top and skirt.

Tomorrow the high is supposed to 36 degrees with a 100% chance of snow.

Which is perfect for a Frozen themed party.

84 degrees/sunshine vs 36 degrees/snow

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I might have a tiny bit of Irish in my blood, which means my kiddos have just a teeny tiny bit (if any). But, that didn't stop us from celebrating today and greening it up. 

While Karl made corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes, I took pictures of Miss S and Mr. C in the holiday adornments made by my mom. 

We hope you had a fun day, Irish or not. 

In Search of the Missing...(Fill in the Blank)

Since I'm off from work today, I had planned to take the kiddos to preschool, come home, and hop back into bed. While getting to bed early has never been my strong point, I've been up a little later than normal lately. The idea of snuggling up under the covers when it's freezing cold outside sounded so luxurious and heavenly. Especially on a weekday. I came home, made a few work calls, and then knew that I couldn't avoid it any longer.

(Late Night Shenanigans) ... What Happens While Filling out Early Childhood Screening Forms

I still can’t believe that our daughter is 3 years and 11 months old. How did that happen?! And, later today (because yes, I’m burning way past the midnight oil), we have her early childhood screening.

Like any good mom, I’m filling the forms out, er…an hour ago.

I think that early childhood screenings are great and understand their importance for helping children to receive early interventions that will help them to succeed. I know something existed like these when I was little, but I think it was closer to kindergarten (or at least I know I remember it). I doubt that they went into as much depth, and some of that depth is necessary.

But,

I have a few issues. 

Well, yes, my own issues. But, here I'm referring to issues with questions on these forms.

Managing Anxiety. Or Attempting. Part 1.

I've missed my blog, but even more, I've missed having the time to blog. Learning a new job, new city, navigating that new city and surrounding cities, settling kiddos into a new preschool, moving 2 times in 3 months...these are all good problems to have, but they definitely take time for adjustment. I've thought of so many things that I'd like to blog, but I went from working 3 12 hour shifts/week (usually more like 5 12 hour shifts every 2 weeks because I often had the luxury of asking for low work load, aka a bonus day off when our unit was overstaffed) to working 5 days a week for a month which then shifted to 4 days a week. The biggest change is that I went from being able to "leave" work at the hospital (except for when I would mentally process my day on the way home or in the shower and remember something I forgot to do, which I then could call a coworker and know that whatever I forgot to do was on another person's to do list) to bringing work home. Eventually I will ideally get most of my work finished between 8 am and 5 pm. That's the plan. For now, not so much. But, I'm working on staying afloat.