36w3d and locked up tight

I had been starting to think that F.ranz was going to arrive early. I've felt a great deal of pressure on my pelvic floor, something I never experienced with So.ren. It comes on particularly when I'm out walking the dog. Another thing that occurs when I walk the dog is that I fall down, suggesting to me that I must be very imbalanced (physically, people!), perhaps because F.ranz had dropped.

Well, I went to the OB yesterday, and she said the baby hasn't dropped and that my cervix is as high and tight as a military haircut. That's good news: I need these last three weeks before F.ranz's scheduled debut (1/21) to get some shit done, such as thinking for a real name for F.ranz. And I haven't been able to get anything at all done this week or last week because our babysitter needed a vacation. I appear not to be one of those super-moms who can do childcare and still keep up on emails, Fac.ebook, various craft projects, bill-paying, organic-meal-making, and world-dominating. No, when I'm on childcare duty, that's all I can get done. That and crack a rib, which I did by coughing. It's better now, though apparently it won't be healed for another month or two. Still, I don't recommend it, particularly when neither ibu.profen nor margaritas are available for your use. If they were, I would be exceeding the recommended daily dosage of each.

Seriously, we don't have a name for Fr.anz. I think I am just going to give him one in the delivery room because the mother always wins that battle, right? I keep asking my husband if he's given it any more thought, and he replies, "No," and then goes back to reading or looking at Fa.cebook, which he sometimes calls "working."

What else? Well, I'm up 23 lbs. That seems good to me. No swelling, lots of peeing, lots of heartburn/reflux, lots of weird-ass dreams. I'm finally mostly over my eight-week cough and am eager to get my immune system back. I've been sleeping better and more deeply, meaning I'm no longer willing to trade all of my pregnancy ailments for sleep deprivation, but I don't have a choice, do I?

I saw a lactation consultant in preparation for baby #2, and she was full of interesting information, including a new book for low-supply mothers. I hope to synopsize this for you soon. Some upshots: (1) the number of women who cannot exclusively breastfeed is rising, perhaps because of environmental factors, perhaps because more infertile and/or older women are getting pregnant, both of which are considered low-supply risk factors by IBCLCs, (2) I should feel good about my chances at improved supply this time around, and (3) the hospital-grade pump really may make a difference. She did not think I should aggressively start the galactogogues or drugs until I see what I've got for 10 days or so, nor did she think goat's rue (the one thing I didn't try) would help my particular situation, though I may still give it a whirl. She concurred with me that Regl.an should be banned and domp.eridone should be legal. Really, who could argue with that? Not anyone who's tried 'em both; that's for sure. I went ahead and ordered a supply of dom.peridone from the sketchy internet pharmacy. While I was at it, I ordered Front.line and Heart.gard for my dog because I hate having to get those from the vet. Suck it, vets!

Well, So.ren, the light of my life, will be waking up from his nap soon and demanding waffles. I will tell him that waffles are only for breakfast, after which he will suggest cake as an appropriate substitute. Tonight, we're going down to visit some friends in the 'burbs, eat dinner, play board games, and be asleep by 10. At least I will be. May 2009 be a great year for all of us!

Sad news

I have been meaning to give an update, but I think we'll just pause for a moment: Emilie from Lemmondrops, whose blog I've been reading for about six months, died from sarcoma. She had sons close in age, which might have been part of the reason I latched onto her blog, but she was also a lovely writer and person. If you haven't read it before, it's worth going through the archives.

She had just gone into home hospice care, and the end seemed to come very quickly, but her last few posts seemed as if she were ready. If anyone ever is. Please send your best to her husband and sons.

Monkey!

That's what S. thinks the Ge.ico ge.cko is. He kept exclaiming "monkey" at random times; eventually, we noticed that it was whenever we were passing billboards with this creature on them. At first, I tried to correct him, but now I just roll with it.

I'm 33w4d today -- wow! And I'm still coughing -- boo! I think I'm on the mend this time, though -- really. S.oren got another cold, which I then caught, which seemed to extend my cough, but at least I didn't get the all-over body rash that he's sporting right now. Luckily for him, he's small and cute, and rashes don't look quite as threatening on big cheeks and a burly little physique.

F.ranz continues to rock and roll in my abdomen, which is, by comparison to last time, enormous. I'm realizing that time is growing short and I need to do some rather major things like wash all of Fran.z's hand-me-down clothes, install blackout shades in his room, and get my entire life in order.

To honor your requests, here's a recent photo of my little boy. He's getting a bit surly, just in time for his brother's debut, but he sure is funny most of the time.

32w1d

I don't know why, but 32 weeks feels like a good milestone to me. I think maybe Dr. Google told me that it was a big one to make -- or maybe it was 34 weeks, but let's just go with 32 so that I can feel good about it.

I'm just coming off about three weeks of a cold that really ended up kicking my ass. Being a hypochondriac, I began to think that perhaps I had lymphoma or something, or that maybe I had abruptly become geriatric and would always feel this way. Like, walking up one flight of stairs made me seriously winded. Or even just holding So.ren for five minutes would make me feel faint. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner felt like hiking Mount Whitney in a day (not that I've done that, but I know people who have). And then, yesterday, I started feeling better, just like that. We went on walks; we ran errands; I stood up for long stretches without feeling woozy. Outstanding!

I've finished up my various consulting projects, so I now have a couple of months before F.ranz arrives to do whatever, as long as it doesn't involve spending money, since the end of my projects means the end of my own income stream until I look for a real job in the spring, when there are not likely to be any, it appears. Wasn't that a wonderfully constructed sentence?

F.ranz's debut, incidentally, is scheduled for 1/21/09. I was hoping for 1/22, the start of Aquarius, but my OB is busy that day, and I guess 1/21 is nice in that it'll be O.bama's first full day in office, and all of our problems will be solved. Also, that date turns out to have been my grandmother's birthday. Of the three grandparents I knew (one died long before my birth), I was probably the least close to her, but, oddly, after she got Alzhe.imer's, she became much warmer, so now I think of her fondly. Strangely, I have many more fears this time about a c-section than I did the first time, though I still think I'd rather go that route than a VBAC. I also asked to have my problematic, endometriosis-afflicted right ovary removed at the same time, but I may decide not to have that done -- it seems like asking for trouble somehow.

Very boldly, I've begun assembling the contents of Fr.anz's room. I still feel as if I am tempting fate by doing so. But we've got all the big items, including a hand-me-down crib, a cheery IKE.A changing table, and even diapers. So.ren unwittingly gave his glider to Fr.anz in exchange for the ubiquitous I.KEA Po.ang chair. I think Fran.z will have to have a Scandinavian name, not just to match his brother's, but also to coordinate with the IK.EA palace we've assembled around here.

OB appointment tomorrow; will report in with any exciting or shocking developments. Now that I'm back to being a housewife, I hope to blog more regularly, perhaps even with thematic, well-thought-out posts. I know.