Baby Update: 37 Weeks

So, I am officially full-term today. Yay! Everything continues to look good with baby girl. At my doctor's appointment today, she was measuring at approximately 7 pounds and only a few days ahead of schedule. I got to see her practice breathing, opening & closing her mouth & fists, and wiggle around a bunch. No pictures from today -- like the doctor said "At this stage in the game, it's hard to be photogenic in that small of a space!"

I am still feeling really good and find it a little hard to believe we could be having a baby any day now! Still plugging away at the diabetic food plan (and still harboring somewhat nasty thoughts towards carbohydrate restriction & very limited treats -- Easter candy, I hardly knew you!). However, it certainly has its benefits -- I have not had any swelling in my feet/hands like I did the other two pregnancies, and I've only gained 3 pounds since February! I even painted my own toenails this weekend and wasn't ashamed to wear sandals! So, there's that. Although on some days I'd gladly suffer the consequences just for a bag of Cadbury Mini-Eggs....

At this point, the plan is still to deliver between 38-39 weeks. The doctor won't pinpoint a date for me until my appointment next week, but he said he's leaning towards May 9th or 10th. So that means only 12-13 days until baby (unless she decides to come on her own before then, which would be great)!!!

We are as ready as we'll ever be -- Grammie was here for Easter and we redecorated the girls' bedroom (post coming soon on that), the crib is set up, baby clothes are washed and in the dresser. All that's left on my list is pack a hospital bag, get a haircut/color, and decide how we are going to arrange four carseats in the minivan! Anytime you're ready, baby girl!

Baby Update: 34 Weeks

I cheated -- this is from last week @ 33 weeks

 



Last time @ 33 weeks -- I think my belly literally was 2x as big! 


 

Am I the only one impressed with myself for only waiting 4 weeks between updates? Yes? Well, thankfully there hasn't been too much to update on. The weeks continue to fly by as we get closer to meeting this little girl. I am starting to slow down a little, but am still feeling quite good. But as the nurse pointed out yesterday, compared to carrying twins last time, this should be a walk in the park! Last time I couldn't sit, stand, walk, sleep, breathe without discomfort at this point...so really, any complaints this time around are pretty minor.

Blood sugars are still under control and one more benefit of all the healthy eating is the fact that I haven't gained any weight since February. Weird, huh? I asked if I should be concerned about that, and they said as long as the baby is growing then my weight is really not relevant. Kind of strange, but I will oh-so-gladly sacrifice my body's fat reserves for the well-being of this child. :)

I am being monitored weekly with growth ultrasounds and non-stress tests to make sure the baby is continuing to grow (but not too fast!) and is getting adequate blood flow & moving around like she should. I found out this week that one concern with gestational diabetes is that sometimes the placenta can start to deteriorate earlier than it should, so they like to keep a close eye on things to make sure it's still functioning well. Everything is A-OK in that department, if you're staying up at night worrying about my placenta. ha!

At this point, it's hard to get many good ultrasound pictures since she's pretty much folded up like a pretzel in there, but it's always fun to see her moving around in there. At my 34 week appointment yesterday, she and my belly were both measuring about 1 week ahead of schedule, and they gave her estimated weight as 5 lbs 6 oz. They always add the disclaimer that this late in pregnancy the estimate is accurate +/- 1 lb, so that's a pretty wide margin...funny to think that she is about the same size Maguire was at birth!

But in any case, she is growing fine with still technically 6 weeks to go until my due date. My doctor says we'll continue to monitor weekly and make tentative plans to deliver around 38-39 weeks if she keeps growing like she is. So, we could be less than 4 weeks away from baby!

Adventures in Potty-Training

Alternate Title: The Hardest Thing About Raising Twins Thus Far (including twin pregnancy, pushing out two babies, nursing two babies for 18 months, any of it. This wins the prize, hands down.) 

{Note: This all happened in early March...I must have needed a little time & distance away from the experience to be able to blog about it.}

Okay, so it wasn't the worst thing to ever hit our house. I'm sure being 7 months pregnant while undertaking potty-training twins had a teeny bit to do with it. But I knew there was no way I was going to do three kids in diapers, so away we went...

We started out Day #1 with 20 pairs of assorted super hero, Cars, & Toy Story underwear, two potty chairs, a huge bag of M & M's and Dum-Dum suckers, and plenty of Lysol. After about 2 hours of our potty experiment, I came to the conclusion that 2 boys + 2 potty chairs + pregnant me did not equal a lot of space to move comfortably in the bathroom....so out to the living room came the potty chairs...

The first few days were pretty rough. I think the first day, we had 7 accidents and only one success. We quickly discovered that the boys had two very different responses to the concept of potty-training.

Alex had little to no patience for sitting on the potty chair, and would pee on the floor almost immediately after getting up. Nice.

Maguire. Oh, Maguire. For some reason, he loved sitting on the potty. Loved isn't even a strong enough term. He would plant his little butt on that potty and refuse to move. For hours. He would pile up a little selection of toys & books around the seat and be all set for lengthy periods of time. Needless to say, he had the majority of our first several successes. But the kid can't walk around with a potty chair glued to his butt, so we had to frequently remind him to "get up and take a break." No sooner would he get up, we'd hear "Ooh, ooh! I need to go pee!" And back on the chair he'd sit...

Somewhere at around day #5-6, things started to make sense. Thank the Lord.

Here they are, both proudly proclaiming "I pooped in the potty!" Such a proud moment. For all of us.

We spent the next week weaning Maguire from his constant potty-sitting, but as you can see we all grew pretty used to the idea....Alex even liked to "read" him books while he sat.

This picture really has no story to go along with it...it just cracks me up. Potty training as contact sport.

I'm happy to report we've weaned off all the rewards (M & M's, suckers, chocolate chips, stickers) and both boys are fully trained! Yay! I'd say the process took about 2 weeks from start to finish. We cured them of the "potty chair in the living room" problem when we visited Grammie's house

in mid-March.

One last funny potty-related story: We've obviously been reinforcing how grown-up the boys are for wearing underwear, peeing in the potty, telling us when they need to use the bathroom, etc. The other day we were at Walmart & talking about it as we shopped.

In the middle of the (very crowded) produce section, Maguire was kind enough to provide me with some positive reinforcement when he loudly proclaimed "And Mommy, I'm very proud of you. You are a big girl who wears underwear every day!"

Baby Face

One of the fun things about having gestational diabetes (hey, I just have to find the silver lining, people) is more ultrasounds! They want to keep a close eye on baby girl during these last few weeks of pregnancy to ensure she doesn't grow at too fast a rate. On Tuesday, I went in for my 32 week appointment and also got to have a 3-D growth ultrasound. We never had the opportunity to have 3-D with Ellie or the boys, so this was a fun treat! The doctor said later in pregnancy it can be harder to get good pictures, since there is less amniotic fluid, but he still got a few good shots! It was fun to see a more 'real-life' view of her, I got to see her yawning, practice breathing, and rub her face. So cool!

A few people have said they think she resembles Maguire, but you'll have to decide for yourself. Or, wait a few weeks until we see the real thing! Hard to believe she could realistically be here in about 6 weeks! Yikes -- we'd better get the newborn clothes & a crib out of storage!

Sweet baby legs & feet, crossed at the ankles.

So, after the ultrasound, we found out that she is growing pretty much on schedule, measuring at about 33.5 weeks, which is still within normal range (I am 32 weeks). My belly also measured right at 33 weeks. The doctor was very happy with how under-control I have been able to keep my blood sugar, and said both of us looked great! We go back again in about 1.5 weeks for my 34 week appointment and another ultrasound (yay!)

Call Noah, There's a Flood in the Bathroom!

Our children have a favorite new trick: push the lights on and off in the back of our minivan. It sounds harmless enough, but no less than half-a-dozen times in the past few months one of our children (who shall remain nameless, although his name rhymes with Smalex) has left the light on overnight. We then wake up to a dead battery. That's where this story begins.

When you have a dead battery and your vehicle is in the garage, you (and by you, I mean me) have to push said vehicle out of the garage, then get your other vehicle maneuvered in such a way that you can jump-start the dead vehicle. That process takes two parents to complete: one to drive the dead car (Carrie) and one to push (me). While this process is taking place, all three of our children are left alone in the house. You can just about guess the trouble that can bring.

After Carrie and I got the van running on Saturday, we came inside to hear a screaming little girl say, "Mommy, Daddy, come quick!" Those are the four words a parent never likes to hear. Ellie was shouting from the bathroom and then says, "Maguire flooded the bathroom!"  

We rush over to find them both in their rain boots standing in water on the bathroom floor. I say, "What happened?" Then Maguire says, "THERE WAS A FLOOD!" Apparently he had been washing his hands and somehow covered the drain with a cup and then the water started gushing over the side of the sink. But they had time to get their rain boots on?? I don't get it. But it was hard not to laugh hysterically at the scene. And what did I do then? Get my video camera of course...enjoy!

Baby Update: 30 Weeks



30 Weeks with Baby #4

So, here were are with less than 10 weeks to go until we meet baby girl Studer. I seem to be doing a pregnancy update about every 10 weeks (I know, call me an overachiever)...but things just aren't as eventful this time around and not much changes from week to week (except the size of my pants). I found this picture from the same point in my pregnancy with the boys, and it helps me feel better when I have an "I'm huge" day...looks like I've got a giant bowling ball in there. And I still had 5 weeks to go!

31 Weeks with Babies #2 & 3

Anyhoo, back to baby #4....here are belly shots from weeks 26 & 28. And yes, I promise I do own more than two shirts...I just happen to find the orange & green ones subconsciously more photogenic, I guess.

 

   

28 Weeks with Baby #4

 

26 Weeks with Baby #4

I am still feeling pretty good, but starting to feel that end of pregnancy tiredness & aforementioned "I'm huge" attitude. We decided to make the switch to a doctor in Huron (I had been seeing my OB/GYN in Sioux Falls up until 28 weeks). I love my SF doctor and so appreciated her laid-back manner & personal approach, but it's hard to justify driving 2 hours one-way for doctor's appointments once you have to start going every 2 weeks. Also, there's the small matter of where do the kids go if we deliver the baby in SF...do they all come to SF with Grammie or stay in Huron? And also, do I really want a 2 hour drive while I'm in labor? So, practicality won (dang it) and we switched our care to a doctor here...I had my first appointment yesterday & really liked him. Unfortunately, I'm going to be seeing quite a bit of him as I also found out I have gestational diabetes. Boo for pregnant carb-counting and finger poking. In all seriousness, it seems like I am able to keep my blood sugar under control with diet management and no insulin, so cross your fingers it stays that way! They will keep a close eye on the baby with extra ultrasounds and non-stress tests for the remainder of my pregnancy, since babies of moms with gestational diabetes tend to grow extra-large due to all the extra nutrition that out-of-control blood sugar provides. If necessary, I will deliver before my due date so baby girl doesn't get too big....I want to do everything I can to avoid a c-section...

In other baby-related news, we still haven't decided on a name for this little girl. We don't ever decide 100% until we see any of our babies, but all suggestions are still welcome. The kids each have their own opinion, of course. Ellie is campaigning hard for Emily. Alex insists that the baby needs to be named George (must have something to do with his fervent wishes for a baby brother), and Maguire thinks we should go with Jackie. If you have spent any length of time with Maguire, you will understand why this is funny. He has taken possession of two of Ellie's Barbie's and christened them Big Jackie & Little Jackie. The kid doesn't know anyone named Jackie, so I have no idea where that one came from. So, what other logical choice is there in his little mind than to name our baby sister Jackie? My question is would he call her Giant Jackie?

Maguire & his beloved Jackies



To Big Boy Beds....and Beyond!

That blog post title will probably only make sense to you if you have someone (or more than one someone) in your house who loves Buzz Lightyear. We've been dragging our feet for awhile on getting the boys into regular beds, but a few weeks ago we bit the bullet and bought some twin bunk beds. Before the beds were delivered, we took down the cribs and had the boys sleep on their crib mattresses on the floor, just to get used to the feeling of not being contained. You can see below how well that went...





Grammie took the boys shopping for their choice of sheets and not surprisingly, they both chose Toy Story. Here they are on the 1st night of sleeping in beds:

We can't put rails on the beds until they're bunk beds because the ladder is needed to anchor the rails, so for the time being, we keep them from rolling out with a rolled-up towel under the mattress. So far, success! We've had the beds for almost a month, and no one has fallen out!

And below, a video of the boys talking about their beds: