Finley's Baby and New Room

Finley has had yet another exciting week of changes!  This past weekend we gave him his very own baby doll to help him get ready for his new baby sister.  He was actually pretty excited about the baby doll and wanted to do everything with her that first night.  He plays with her a bit more intermittently now, but always insists on brushing her teeth every night before bed (no, she doesn't actually have teeth).  We're hoping Finley can help take care of his baby when we're taking care of the real baby, so we can change diapers together, feed the babies together, etc. 

Click here for a video of Finley with his baby doll.  So sweet!  I especially love the end of the video, when he wanted to play a song for the baby and rock her to sleep.

Finley also moved into his new room and real bed this week.  Let's just say we're all really tired at this point.  It isn't going over quite as well as the new baby doll did.  It's not that Finley hates his room or bed, it's just that he now feels the need to get up and come into our room every single time he wakes up at night and at nap time.  Then he has to be put back in the bed (which he refuses at first) and one of us has to sit with him until he goes back to sleep.  Last night he was up 4 or 5 times!  If this doesn't improve soon, we're going to have to try buying a baby gate to put in the doorway so he can't escape.  Problem is that I feel confident that would cause a ton of middle-of-the-night tantrums and even less sleep for us all, at least at first.  And let me just point out that all this fun isn't limited to nighttime.  No, we're enjoying even more tantrums during the day than normal, thanks to Finley's lack of good sleep.  Just hoping this difficult time will pass soon, so we're not dealing with constant waking of two children all night!  And so we're not all completely sleep deprived before the baby even gets here!

In all fairness to Finley, I will also share the good news that he is doing much better with his transition to "school".  This morning when I took him, he didn't cry for the first time!  He gave me a hug and didn't want to let go, but I was able to hand him off into the arms of his teacher without a melt down!  Big improvement!  After I closed the door and left, I heard him asking his teacher, "Mommy come get you?" but no crying, at least not while I was within earshot.  Yay!

34 weeks pregnant today!  Will eventually get around to taking a belly photo since I haven't in 6 weeks! 

Baby Sneak Peek!

This past weekend, we went in for a growth and wellness ultrasound at 33 weeks 1 day.  They checked to make sure everything was functioning well for the baby, including the placenta and umbilical cord, how much amniotic fluid there was, and of course how she was growing.  We were happy to hear that everything looked great!  To estimate the size of the baby, they measure the head, stomach, and leg bone.  It was difficult to get a good picture of her head because she's so low already, but based on her best estimates, the ultrasound technician estimated our baby girl at about 4 lbs 12 oz.  This is great news just in case she were to make an early entrance, as size does matter with preemies!

We also got a little 4D sneak peek at the baby's face!  Once again, it was difficult to get a clear picture because she kept burying her head against the bottom of my uterus, so we didn't get a clear shot of her eyes and forehead.  Still, she's looking pretty cute if I do say so myself!  :)

    
As for me, I'm feeling all that 3rd trimester uncomfortableness.  It's definitely different this go around, probably because the baby has already dropped so early.  My body had to kind of readjust when that happened, causing even more aches and pains than usual.  Fortunately it's gotten slightly better in the past few days, so now I'm back to the normal lower back pain and very achy feet.  I definitely don't remember my feet being this sore with Finley!  I am also constantly trying not to sweat.  It is so, so hot and humid here, and I feel like I'm just walking around in the heat with a rubber suit on or something.  People warned me about being pregnant in the summer, and everything they said is true!

This baby is seriously active.  It's crazy.  And she must be super strong, the way she pushes so hard on me!  Good thing we have velcro swaddle blankets left over from Finley, because I'm guessing she's going to be one of those babies that busts right out of even the best swaddle job!  

Summer Video

So I finally got around to making a movie of our summer adventures in the States...only a month late!  Click here to watch it.
Just to explain about the "What happened to the bacon?" part in the video, there was a cooking show on tv when we were at the beach.  They had roasted a chicken with bacon on it, then took it out of the oven and the bacon was gone, so we were asking, "What happened to the bacon?"  Finley got hung up on saying this, and replying, "I don't know."  It was pretty funny, and he still talks about the bacon sometimes to this day!  (FYI, we later determined they used the bacon on the salad.)

Baby & Finley Updates

Let's start with an update on Finley.  Finley had a very exciting morning yesterday.  He got to start going to "school"!  We're sending him to a little preschool/structured playgroup three mornings a week from 8:30-11am, which I think will be great for Finley, the baby (soon), and me!  

Even just over the summer, Finley has really grown up seemed ready for this next step...but that doesn't mean that I thought it would be a seamless transition; I figured he would have a difficult time separating from me at first.  I stayed the first 15 minutes of class, and Finley was good with that, but when I tried to leave he became very upset.  I gave him a couple of hugs, explained that I would be back in a little while to get him, and left silently praying it wouldn't be too traumatic for him, especially given my recent hospital stay that he's still trying to get over.  I kept my phone closely by me, but the teacher didn't call and Finley made it through his first morning of school!  She did say he had some good crying going on for a bit, but she was able to distract him after a while with water play and things went well after that.  Yay!  He was perfectly happy when I got there to pick him up!

To celebrate Finley's new stage, we took a brief outing to buy him a little backpack to carry his diapers and change of clothes in when he goes to school.  Finley picked out a Thomas the Train backpack, despite not knowing who Thomas is, and it is terribly cute.  He loved it so much he wanted to wear it the rest of the evening!  We hope this will help him be excited to go to school.  We go back again on Friday morning, and I'm sure there will probably be more tears then, but I hope they'll be even fewer than yesterday.

To backtrack a little and give a me+baby update, I was released from the hospital midday on Monday, armed with antibiotics and more of that really not fun medicine to calm contractions in case I start having lots again.  While very happy to leave, I was also very disappointed to hear the doctor say those dreaded words: "bed rest".  Ugh.  I mean, I understand that is standard protocol for situations like this, but I was still very disappointed.  I have wanted so much to have a "normal" pregnancy and enjoy the rest of this time with Finley before #2 comes along and rocks his world.

Though I'm supposed to be on bed rest, I think it's going to be more of a modified than strict bed rest, unlike earlier in the pregnancy (when I was literally not allowed to do anything but lay flat the entire day and night and get up only to go to the bathroom).  This time is more staying off my feet and not physically exerting myself.  I think I'll still be able to do a little bit, as long as I keep the contractions under check.

I have to say, though, Finley isn't making it easy on me.  Since I've been in the hospital, his sleeping has gotten quite messed up and the tantrums are in overdrive.  It's all been a bit too much for him to handle on top of adjusting to all the other changes going on.  I'm pretty sure that the doctor didn't want me to be wrestling a hysterical 31 pound toddler when she said "bed rest", but it's kind of something I have to do right now.  The good news is that the doctor said once I get to 36 weeks, anything goes.  So I'm already planning a trip to gym for myself and lots of fun super active things with Finley that day!  36 weeks is Sept. 14, for those of you who are counting down the days like me!

So what's in store for the future?  The frustrating part is that we have no idea, because we have no idea what caused this whole ordeal.  It could have been some sort of uterine irritation/infection that once settled won't cause any more problems.  In that case, I could carry this baby full term or even overdue!  Alternatively, it could be some other sort of issue that may resurface, causing me to have the baby early.  Guess we'll all just be waiting around to see...     

Matilda, in iPhone photos

Here's what I've been doing the last 24 hours, via iPhone photos.

Stay in, Baby!

Looks like I unexpectedly have time on my hands to blog!  Last night, Nate and went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Hong Kong, called Linguini Fini.  I had the totally addicting fragrant grass pasta with goat cheese fonduta and tiramisu for dessert.  Unfortunately I started having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions over the course of the evening.  We're talking one every 3 minutes, and they kept on all night.  (Normally, BH are supposed to be irregular and 4 or fewer per hour.)  Instead of going away when I got home, rested, and drank water, they got a little worse and I started having mild cramping, as well, all of which was pointing to early labor instead of BH.  So first thing this morning I was on the phone with the hospital, who said I needed to come in and get checked by the doctor since I'm only 32 weeks 2 days pregnant.

Nate and I left Finley with our new helper (despite it being her day off- thanks Cathrina!) and came to the hospital, where baby and I were monitored for a long time and checked by the doctor.  Apparently the contractions were actually doing something (I won't go into the details of all that on here), so the doctor said we really needed to get them stopped to buy the baby at least a couple more weeks.  She put me on antibiotics and a really fun medicine to relax my muscles that makes me jittery, shaky, and my heart race.  I've spent almost the whole time here so far hooked up to monitoring devices to keep an eye on the baby's and my heart rates, my blood pressure, contractions, and the baby's movements (the midwife commented on what an active little one she is- to the point that it's been difficult to keep the monitors on her!).  I'm confined to the bed and bored out of my mind already, particularly since Nate was only able to stay for a few hours this morning before leaving to take over Finley duty from Cathrina.  Nate and Finley were able to come visit for a very short time this afternoon, but had to rush back home in order to receive an IKEA delivery.  Finley quite enjoyed playing with the buttons on my hospital bed while he was here.    

Best case scenario is that all signs of labor stop between now and tomorrow and the doctor lets me go home then, so that's what we're praying for.  I've still had a few contractions since taking the medicine, but they've been irregular and infrequent, so that's good.  Of course I'm concerned for the baby, but I'm also worried about Finley who is spending his first day and night ever without me since he was born.  I wasn't planning on this happening for several more weeks yet, and therefore in no way had prepared him.  Nor have I finished teaching things to our new helper in preparation for this.  For example, she doesn't yet know how to put him down for nap, so I'm really hoping I can be home tomorrow before then!

So what's the good news in all this?  Good news #1: The baby's head is already down and engaged so it's extremely unlikely that she would move out of position and flip around.  (That explains why I keep feeling like I'm getting pounded in the bladder!)  Good news #2: I was the first patient put into my shared room, so I get the awesome view out the window.  Maybe tomorrow I'll take a picture with my phone, but it's getting a bit too dark now, and I'm stuck still being monitored again anyway.  Good news #3: My roommate also has not yet had her baby, so I have no baby in here with me and may actually get to sleep tonight.  Good news #4: It made me quite pleased this morning when my midwife, Ashley, commented on how little tummy fat I have and therefore how well she could feel the baby moving and hiccuping!  That is exactly the kind of compliment a pregnant woman who feels huge needs to hear!  Ashley also said the baby feels "solid" and "strong".  I think she's going to come out kicking and punching, just like Finley!              

Our New Home

This past weekend we made the 5-minute-away move to Stanley, to our new apartment with 3 bedrooms!  I'll admit, the move probably was and is the most difficult for me.  Not that I was so attached to our old apartment, but rather I have found it quite stressful trying to figure out where to put everything in the new place and wanting to hurry up and get settled.  We have less storage here than in Red Hill, and the helper's room is very small, a weird shape, and doubles as a laundry room.  I'm trying to let go a little (a lot?) and be okay (for now) with piles of art that needs to be hung, boxes of clothes, shoes, disassembled toddler furniture, and other miscellaneous items cluttering the apartment.    We've also had a few problems that are making the transition slightly more annoying, particularly that the dryer still isn't working and won't be for a while longer yet, and also that the car basically fell apart the weekend of our move-- nice timing!

The great news is that there are some wonderful things we're loving about the apartment.  The apartment is bright with big windows, has a nice little pool and gym, is walking distance to all kinds of things, has awesome water pressure and showers, and much better air conditioning (praise God for A/C)!  Here are a few photos of our new place to get you started.  

The kitchen: Very modern and much better appliances and decor than Red Hill, but a bit smaller.

The baby room: Currently Finley's room, but he'll be moving out soon and decorations will be changing from blue to pink!

Our private roof: Very spacious!  We look forward to getting a grill and some furniture for up here.  You can faintly see the nice ocean/mountain views in the background.  (Sorry, yucky weather for these photos, as a typhoon is approaching at the moment.)

A different view from the roof.

View of the complex out the window in the stairwell going up to the roof.  You can get a glimpse of the landscaping and pool.

That's all the photos for now, because most rooms aren't yet ready for photos!

As for Finley, he's doing pretty well with the changes so far.  A little trouble getting to sleep, but otherwise not too bad.  Of course, he is a toddler in his "terrible two's", so there's plenty of trying to push buttons on the oven and microwave (after being told not to a million times), throwing his ball and other toys at the freshly painted white walls, and I even caught him trying to put his mouth on the electrical outlet in our bedroom the other day!  We definitely had to have a "never, ever, ever" talk about that one, and it may have taken a year off my life.

But Finley's also really fun right now because of all the awesome new things he can do.  (Warning: I'm about to talk about bodily functions.)  He shocked us last week by going poo-poo on the potty, and then did it again this week!  We still don't think he's ready for full on potty training, because he can be quite resistant to the potty at times and won't even read our book Diapers Aren't Forever.  He seems to be in this in-between phase where he's becoming more aware of the potty and his bodily functions and sometimes refuses diapers, but most other times really wants the familiarity of his diapers and won't tell us until after he goes.  We're just going to let him lead the way for now, and if he goes on the potty, great.  If not, diapers for a while longer.

Baby Girl Dennison is active as ever, with only 8 weeks left until she receives her eviction notice.  Around now is typically another growth spurt, which I can tell due to my increased appetite yesterday and today!