Monday April 30th, and 38 weeks along….I went to the Dr today for another checkup, and the problem that was stopping us from induction yesterday had corrected itself (thank heavens!) and I’m also dilated to a 4. But, last night my feet began to swell really badly, and even when I laid down and elevated my feet the swelling only went down a little, and only after 3 hours (but no headaches or seeing spots).  I was still swelling pretty badly today when I went in for my checkup, and when the nurse took my blood pressure it was 144 over 86, the highest I have ever been while pregnant (they become concerned at anything 140 and over, so I am just over the mark, everything is still OK). She took it again since I have always been low (never over the 120’s), and again, it was the same. She tried again and it was still in the 140’s, so the Dr. came in and HE took my blood pressure, and it was still in the 140’s. So he said no matter what we are inducing tomorrow, that it was high enough to be worrisome, but that it’s not too high to warrant inducing tonight. I am fine with waiting until tomorrow since I still have a few things left on my to-do list.

   The Dr said that it was unusual to have low blood pressure in all of my previous 6 pregnancies, and then all of a sudden have it get fairly high at the end with baby #7, but not impossible, just highly unlikely. So while I do not have pre-elclampsia, I’m not in a good place blood pressure wise, but having the baby tomorrow will fix all of it so we report to the hospital to be induced tomorrow May 1st, at 6 am. The Dr instructed me to go home and lay down, put my feet up and take it easy, and turn on the AC. So of course, I went home and cleaned my basement, sorted laundry and did some washing, laid out a weeks worth of outfits for each of my 4 smaller children, and made sure to write down all of their school schedules for Mammy so that the next few days go as smoothly as possible for her and the kids. I even got 4 bags of toys bagged for the DI and all of my clean laundry folded, so my house is as clean and ready as it’s ever going to be, and I feel like I am good to go. Tomorrow cannot get here soon enough!

   Well, still no baby. I went in this morning to the hospital since my Dr wanted see if he could induce me today, but due to some complications, it’s been postponed. In fact, we are now not sure if I will even be induced on Tuesday, so I will have to see what’s going on. The baby is fine and doing well, and so am I, the complications are not severe, and will be able to worked out, quickly I hope. Without going into any squirm inducing details, let me just say that most of it is because of the baby’s current position (no, not breech, still head down), and so there is going to be some “wait and see” action until we know what the new plan will be. I go back in tomorrow for another assessment, and I should hopefully know more then.

I finished the new car seat cover on Friday, and it turned out better than I expected, I am very pleased. I also managed to sew some burp cloths, and two little outfits for G, four for H, and three for the baby. They are perfect for the warm weather ahead and went together with very little fuss. I think the only sewing I have to finish now is a quilt I promised to M, and an unfinished baby quilt I stumbled across from two years ago that needs to be tied and bound. I will have to see what I can do. I am hopeful that I can have the baby this week, but if not then it’s OK, then I know the baby must not be ready. I have made it this far, a few more days, while they can seem long at times, are really nothing in the larger scheme of things. Besides, I am still sewing, so I just might get even more done than I originally thought!

   I will probably be neglecting my blog/commenting on other blogs since I am currently scrambling in a blind panic trying to finish getting ready for tuesday. We are down to just a few days until baby time (4 to be exact) and I want to get as much done as I can in the little time I have left. I made the mistake of deciding to re-cover our infant car seat (mistake being that I am doing it all so close to baby time and I had to take apart the old cover with a seam ripper to make a pattern, so I am screwed if I don’t finish this seat cover soon!), so I am currently in the middle of that. It’s coming along nicely, but it’s just a little time consuming since I have never done one of these before. After seeing other car seat covers on Ebay for $80 and up, I knew I could just make it myself and I already had fabric, so I went ahead and started on it. I know, I know, I am such a fool. I also need to finish a blanket I promised to Mathes, so I will have my hands full. So I’m sorry that I will more than likely be missing some really greast posts, but just know it’s all for a great cause……sewing! I am sewing my brains out, and even though I’m a little bit crazed, I am still enjoying myself, which makes it all worth while.

   “What you allow, you encourage.” I read this quote in an article a while ago and it really struck a chord with me. I have found this to be so true, and I try and remind myself of this as I deal with children on a day to day basis. I know how tempting it can be when you’re so tired and frustrated to just say “yes” sometimes, even when you need to say “no”. Thinking of this little quote helps to remind me which direction I need to be aiming for and to keep on track. I really try to do my best as a parent, it’s all I can do since I’m not perfect.

   I made this for our dessert a few nights ago, and it was a huge success! The kids loved it, and so did I even though I don’t much care for bananas. I loved the way it tasted, and it was so good and creamy. You can even use fat free or light sour cream, milk, and Cool Whip for a much less guilt inducing dessert! I layered it in an 11×8 glass dish instead of a trifle bowl for easier serving, and it turned out great. I layered it cookies, pudding, bananas, cookies, pudding, bananas, pudding, and crushed remaining cookies and sprinkled them on top. I used an entire 12 oz. box of Wal-Mart brand Nilla Wafer cookies, and it was enough. Also, I made it the day before, covered and chilled it for 24 hours before serving to soften up the cookies, and it was great, and still yummy the day after that!

Banana Pudding

   In large bowl combine sour cream, whipped topping, pudding mix and milk. Stir well. In the bottom of a trifle bowl or other glass serving dish, put a layer of cookies, then a layer of pudding mixture, then a layer of bananas. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Refrigerate until serving.

   Well, I am happy to say that I am closer to being done than I thought. My due date is in 20 days (May 14th), but happily, I am going to be induced in 7. My favorite part about all of this is that my Dr. is the one who doesn’t want to wait. I didn’t even have to beg, convince, or whine for an early induction date. But he and I both agree that it’s best to get to week 38 before we do anything, we don’t want to take any chances of having complications, and being that far along is the best possible scenario for me. I am just at the point that my hips are killing me, I can’t sleep, the acid reflux is a nightmare, and I keep having tons of contractions, most recently, back labor (can you say OUCH!!!). I’m sorry to complain, I am just so done, and feeling so huge and tired. The good news is that I cleaned and readied the car seat, my hospital bag is packed, I have everything at the ready and the baby has been fairly consistent about being active (it’s so reassuring to feel those little kicks and stuff). At my appointment today I am a good 3, almost a 4, and the Dr. and I agree that Tuesday sounds like the perfect day to have the baby. There is no way I am going to last until my actual due date, and for that I am so grateful. So until then I am busily finishing up all of my nesting, and maybe I’ll even cram in a little bit of sewing if I can. I just can’t believe that in one weeks time we will have a new little baby! I can hardly wait. So here’s to never going over my due date. I’m so happy, excited and relieved, I think I’ll cry.

I spent my birthday in town with family for some part of it. I still needed to buy a new Boppy for this baby, and here it would have cost me $35 to buy a naked one, and then another $15 for the slipcover. No thankyou, I am NOT spending $50 on a Boppy right now. So I called around and found a local store that had the best prices as well as several styles and variations in stock, so I headed in to town get one. Heidi happened to be free and met me at the store shortly after I got there. I had the three girls with me, and Heidi had Liv and Holden with her, so the cousins even got to play together in the play area at the store. We had a great time browsing, looking at and touching just about everything in the store. I ordered the leg extensions for the Co-Sleeper, and found a gorgeous Luxe Boppy that came with a beautiful buttery yellow velvet slipcover. Their price for this Luxe Boppy? $28.99. The price in my local store for the same one? $44.99. Oh yeah, I was happy with my awesome Boppy deal as well as getting the leg extensions, they also had the best price around on those.

Afterwards we ventured over to Six Star for some fun, and then of course we made a stop at the DI. How could we resist! I found some really great stuff, and had a great time looking all over for treasures, but then I got a phone call from my husband asking me to please come home so he could celebrate some of my birthday with me too. I know, how selfish can he be! So I wasn’t able to stop off and see anyone else, but the short amount of time I was in town was spent shopping, and for me, it doesn’t get much better than that! And for my birthday dinner? I finally got to eat an Arby’s sourdough roast beef and cheddar melt sandwich, and let me tell you, IT WAS HEAVEN!!! It was everything I had hoped for in a sandwich and more! And for my birthday present, Craig got me the ultimate laundry sorter w/ a heavy duty metal frame, and some delcious dark chocolate to go with it. For those of you that don’t know, I am a laundry nazi (a previous post explains this), and I have wanted this sorter for a long time now. So for me, it was a happy day. And thankyou everyone again for all of your happy wishes!

Alternate titles: “Happy Birthday Honey, It’s the Credit Card Bill!” or “Who is this Craig guy that keeps calling me?” or “Naked Boppy Nets Utah Woman Harsh Jail Time For Lewd And Lascivious Conduct”.

   I just got a call from one of my friends, and I feel terrible. A while back, about a month or so ago, I got a very strong feeling I needed to stop by and see her. Even if just for a minute or two, or to drop off a plate of cookies and let her know I knew she was there and I was thinking of her, I just knew I had to stop by and see her. Well, I had all of these good intentions but never followed through, I let other things get in the way, and now I really wish I had gone over there. I won’t go into the details, but after we began to talk this morning, she let me know how she had really been since I last saw her and talked to her, and it wasn’t good. She has 7 kids herself, and we both don’t even attempt to try and go out places together, but we always try and see each other at church and call when we get a minute. She is someone I have known since we moved here, and I love her frank, open, and honest way of being, she’s a lot of fun to talk to and to just be around. She and I have a lot in common and also a lot of differences in our lives, which makes for great learning experiences between the two of us as well as shared common ground. I feel terrible knowing I should have followed through, she needed someone. Even if she had or had not confided in me then, maybe it would have been a help in some way to just let her know I was around to listen if she needed it. I don’t know. I am disapointed in myself for letting myself get all wrapped up in my own life so much that I didn’t follow through when I got that feeling. I need to be a better friend, and I am thankful she called me today. I just hope I can remember this for the next time.

alternate titles: “Pregnancy No Excuse For Self Absorbed Utah Woman” “Cookies don’t fix anything, but who the heck cares, they’re cookies!” and “Thankyou for being a friend, and a sucky one at that”

My due date is May 14th, but I was pretty sure I wouldn’t make it that far, and I was right (sorry Melly, I won’t be making it to your birthday on the 13th). At my last appointment we set a date to have the baby (I am 36 1/2 weeks along), but I am still hoping to go before that day arrives. I am feeling so off balance these days and have fallen quite a few times, and look forward to not feeling like the next step I take that I’m going down. I even fell out of my car the other day (my suburban is kind of high up, thus making it easier to fall out of I guess), and I am still not sure how it happened, all of a sudden I was just not in my seat in the car anymore, and I ended up smashing my knee in the process. I have also fallen out of bed more times than I care to recount, but I think I am just not used to the weight of my belly, especially since it’s all in front. Hey, there’s a lot of momentum behind this belly once I get it moving, let me tell you!

This baby is quite strong and will punch and move very hard to one side or the other, and my whole stomach moves too, looking a little bit freaky. It’s just weird to see my whole belly shift suddently to one side, and an elbow or foot pushing outward at the same time. My kids love it, and M asks me all of the time to “kick the baby” meaning he wants me to make the baby kick and move. I ordered the co-sleeper today (I know, nothing like leaving it to the last minute), my hospital bag is ready to be packed, and Craig has already arranged for some time off at work. I just hope I am ready, if there really is a point at which you feel really ready. I need to get a few more things organized and haven’t found a Boppy I like yet, but overall I am good to go. I finally washed and sorted all of the baby clothes (lots of ooohing and ahhhing over all of the tiny outfits), bedding and such and I even washed all of my clothing that will come into contact with the baby in Dreft as well, just for good measure. Now if I can just get H and G’s room organized and sorted through, I think I would feel a lot better, but if I don’t, I can always get to it later I guess.

alternate titles: ”Weebles Wobble, but they DO fall down!” “Stick a harpoon in me, I’m done” and “Thar She Blows! Oh wait, I mean this is my wife Heather…”

   Allright, I really want to know. For you women and moms or out there (I want to hear your opinion, even if you don’t have kids, what do you think about this, I am curious to hear from everyone!), did you know before you had your baby if you wanted to breastfeed or bottle feed? Did you try one and hated it? Did you love it? If you did decide to breastfeed, did you feel like you were successful with the first baby? Was it better with subsequent babies? Did you feel like you were armed with enough info about breastfeeding to make a successful go at it? Did you feel underinformed and that it made it harder or cause you to quit? Did you just always know you wanted to bottlefeed? Did you feel it was easier to bottlefeed? Did you feel it was easier to breastfeed? What made it easier for you either way? Did you ever feel like you were singled out for whichever choice you made in how you fed your baby? Did your husband have any opinions either way? Anyone ever confront you in public about breastfeeding? Any interesting stories? I prefer to nurse because for me, it’s easier. I have weaned some of my babies to formula, and some I nursed past a year so formula wasn’t an issue, but it was different with each baby, and particular time in my life (and each of my children are healthy and wonderful, and living a happy life regardless). Personally, I think this is something that is up to you (and your husby), and no one else. Period. They don’t get to have a say, it’s not their baby! So tell me…..

 alternate titles…”Not A Nursing Nazi, Just A Nazi…” “Blogger Gets Zero Comments For Squirm Inducing Post”  “I’m Not Selling Any Cars, But It Might Help Sell Our House” (sorry Banna, I’m a copier but I couldn’t resist it this once)