9/30/06 My hero

This morning started at 5:30am when Gabriel appeared in our room, crying hard about his "cheek" hurting. Yesterday morning, he'd complained about his ear, then again in the early afternoon, and again in the evening, crying hard for about half an hour. I think I've seen Gabriel cry that long, other than in anger, maybe three times in his life.

So Dave called the pediatrician during Gabriel's gymnastics class this morning, and by then, Gabriel wasn't complaining about it. We thought maybe the pain was due to a permanent molar is coming in (according to the dentist 2 weeks ago). The advice nurse said to watch it, give him Motrin (we had been), and bring him in Monday if need be.

Meanwhile, I went for a swim, came home and took a nap. I heard everyone getting back home, heard a little crying, then it was quiet again. A few minutes after I got up, Dave returned with the boys and a bag from Rite-Aid. Turned out, while I was napping, Gabriel complained again about his ear, Dave called the pediatrician again and zoomed him there for the last appointment of the morning, at noon. Diagnosis: ear infection. Prescription: antibiotics.

(Recently Dave read that the newest approach to ear infections is to see if they clear on their own in 24-48 hours, rather than instantly prescribing antibiotics. But when your very non-complainer kid cries miserably for half an hour one night, then shows up at your bedside at 5:30am crying in pain, it's pretty hard to follow that.)

When Dave got home with the boys, he took care of giving Gabriel his medicine, extracting a tiny pebble from Julian's palm, assorted butt-wiping, doling out milk...all allowing me to come out of a groggy state and sit and have some lunch in peace. Finally, at 2pm, sufficiently rested and fed, I took over, giving the boys a late lunch and getting Julian down for a nap without incident (Gabriel had already curled up on the couch under a blanket voluntarily).

I was so, so grateful to Dave for whisking Gabriel off to the pediatrician and then to the pharmacy, and without consulting me. Not that I'd have minded being consulted of course, but there really was no need, and I really, really needed the rest -- he saw what needed to be done and did it. That's exactly what I need in my compromised state! I was so happy to wake up and find that Gabriel had really been taken care of. Modern times notwithstanding, as the Mom, I'm always the one directing domestic traffic, and perhaps all moms think in the back of their heads that no one can do a better job than they can. But days like today greatly increase our confidence in dads, even though on the surface it might not seem like that big a deal. It really was. Especially now, it's so wonderful to have a day that really shows that I count on Dave.

In the afternoon, everyone napped (I rested again, with reluctance, but my lower back demanded it), then we got ready to go to a housewarming party at Kevin and Angela's. This was a lot of fun: there were so many kids there that the boys were endlessly entertained. Gabriel spent a lot of time staring at an oven that had both an electronic and mechanical digital clock, making sure they were synchronized. Julian at one point had no fewer than six little girls surrounding him playing soccer with him (the youngest girl being about 6). Julian was quite the charmer this evening, being very social and very cute, and at one point planting himself in a small family room where grownups had set up music equipment and were playing and singing. He really, really likes music.

I had a great time catching up with our longtime moto-friends at this party; it may be my last social event pregnant. I hope!

The Braxton-Hicks contractions are getting more frequent and more intense, often pushing down on me in such a way that gives me a crampy, and actually borderline painful, feeling. But crampy feelings that are accompanied by the irritating pressure of a B-H contraction are meaningless. It's the other occasional crampy sensations that get my hopes up. But, so far, nothing. At least we know one thing: the baby will be born in October 2006, since as I type, September has only two hours left.

9/30/06

9/29/06 Baby3 holds out

I had a lot of weird cramping and pressure last night. Each pang brought on a fresh wave of hope that this would be IT! But, it all went away. From experience with Julian's birth, odd feelings like that will gradually escalate if it's really leading to labor. I get more odd feelings now, but they're not close to converging into actual contractions.

It all seems so far away, yet I know that it's a very, very real and huge thing that's going to happen in the next few (well, 12 or so) days.

A 4th day with no round ligament attacks. Incredible! I remember from my motorcycling days that on particularly arduous stretches that I'd ask myself: "if I could remove one discomfort, which would it be?" (headache, butt hurts, freezing fingers, etc.) Somehow that helped me focus on one thing, rather than several. Well, if a wish-fairy had presented itself last week and I'd have been able to pick one thing to get rid of, no question it'd have been the nasty leg zaps. I'd have gotten my main wish -- not a hallmark of this pregnancy so far!

Yesterday I had Julian all day, and Gabriel for the afternoon. Thankfully, I got a good snooze during Julian's nap, partly thanks to Gabriel falling asleep on his vaunted Teddy Bear.

Today, I had help from Sarah, a wonderful sitter that Tonya recommended. Tonya was closed today, so we needed childcare coverage Just In Case, but I'm also never sure how every day will shape up, and handling the boys all day myself can be very risky (though I was basically OK yesterday).

Still, I'm so glad Sarah was here, I was able to swim (yay), grocery-shop (barely), and rest (essential). Best of all, the boys had a fun entertaining day, something I can't really give them right now (sniff). Sarah also got to know the boys and our household, just in case we need to call on her this weekend. Peggy is also available, and Stacey is our fallback, until Tonya is back in action on Monday.

So while we don't exactly have a coherent Plan for the weekend, we have coverage. Besides, "plans" have a way of forming themselves when it comes to the unknowns of childbirth.

Only one more day left of September -- then October won't sound so far away!

9/29/06

9/28/06 Julian goes to a birthday party

Aww, isn't this adorable. Kyan (3rd from left) turns 2 on Sep.30th, and his very-together mom brought things for a little birthday party for him at Tonya's. I knew Tonya had critical mass of kids around the same age (all born within 6 months of each other), but didn't realize they are all boys.

Left to right: Lance, Julian, Raj, Reese, Kyan, Zahaan, and Rohan.

(Zahaan is at Tonya's because of a 15-minute conversation I struck up with his very nice and friendly mother at Portal Park one day -- I recommended Tonya and Zahaan has been there for months now! He's exactly one month older than Julian, and Lance is 7 days younger. Kyan is the youngest.)

No sign of Baby#3 yet, but things are changing. One huge change for the better is the recession of the painful round ligament attacks. That makes a huge difference in my mood and in my day. Still, my walking is very impaired and I live with intense, constant, and daily-increasing downward pressure, and on my organs. Every new little feeling I have raises my hopes that this is finally IT, but Dr. Teagle said on Tuesday that if she had to guess (and she did have to since I insisted!) it'd still be another week. C'mon baby, you're baked, it's time. 12 more days until Due Date!

Thursday 9/28/06

9/27/06 The home stretch

(I've got to learn just to post little notes -- it doesn't have to be a comprehensive tome! And doesn't absolutely have to have photos, though I always like entries better that way.)

I'm now 38 weeks along, and very, very ready to have baby#3. Incredibly, the last 2 days, things have actually improved somewhat, with no major round ligament pain to speak of. I can't believe what a difference this makes to my day and to my overall outlook. I'm still very limited in what walking and maneuvering I can do, but I'm not limping now and not at risk of a brutal stab when I stand up. I am so much happier throughout the day without that!

The boys have been really good lately, especially together. In the mornings, they've been playing together before Dave and I get up, and five minutes can actually elapse before anyone cries! Sometimes, even 45 minutes! It used to be that the moment they were in the same room, (usually) Julian was crying. Both boys have made some real maturity leaps lately, both in mannerisms, use of language, and reactions to things. I haven't even had to send Gabriel to his room in at least a week!

Remodeling is still dragging along, down to little details in our bedroom, and larger ones in the other two bedrooms. A lot of work has been done on little closets in the boys' room and the babys' room, and soon they will just be awaiting doors, which I've ordered. I'm very ready to be done with having contractors here and our upstairs being living space again, instead of a construction zone.

Here's Julian showing off his little crown-hat he "made" in Tonya's preschool. I've had to make use of a lot of childcare lately, and will continue to through October. But come November, I'll scale back to just a preschool schedule, since in theory, I'll have my body back. I am so SO looking forward to that!

- mommieN.
9/27/06