Katelyn, Conner and Caleb!

Katelyn pooped on the potty! This was quite the accomplishment because she''s simply not done it before. We''ve had good success with peeing but not with the pooping. Now we''re excitedly waiting for her to do it again. This latest success was due primarily to two things... a new (and much more comfortable) potty chair and a new book from her Grandma L. Richard Scarey''s book about wheels and things that go. She adores it. It''s her new favorite reading material for just about anywhere... including bathrooms.

Conner''s dedication was today. It''s been a busy weekend.

We arrived at church just as the service was starting. It was a really good thing that we''d planned to be there early because if we hadn''t, we''d have been late.

Conner spent last night rather fussy, nursing all night and just not sleeping well. I finally nursed him sitting up instead of side-lying and he preferred that. But if I set him down, he woke up and he wanted to nurse constantly so I finally slept sitting up. Not the best for resting.

Katelyn woke up early too. She was up and just didn''t want to sleep so I fed her breakfast. It was probably good that she woke up earlier and hopefully she''ll go to sleep earlier this evening as a result but meanwhile I didn''t get much rest last night. And I really needed it.

Conner wore his new sweater and looked adorable.

When the pastor started talking, he told everybody that Conner was 2 weeks old that day. I didn''t know how to correct him nicely without interrupting so I just let it go. He talked about training up a child in the way he should go and reminded us that we can''t do this on our own... it needs a lot of reliance on God. A good reminder. Then he held Conner for the prayer and suddenly realized that this baby was rather large for two weeks old. We had a good laugh when he realized his mistake. :D

Katelyn spent her first day in the Toddler Class. She loved it. And the teacher was amazed (she gushed) at how ready Katelyn was. She apparently sat well during story time, took turns while playing, drank well out of her cup (didn''t need a sippy) and just basically did everthing well. The teacher had made an exception to allow Katelyn into the class on her birthday instead of waiting for the quarterly time to move in and so it was nice that Katelyn showed just how good of an idea this was. She even went potty in the potty twice at church!

We went out to eat to celebrate at a local chinese buffet that just opened up. It was really good. I wasn''t impressed with the Mongolian BBQ but the pre-prepared dishes were really good.

After that we all went to my parent''s house. We got some good family pictures there before WI parents left to go home.

Late this afternoon, I fell asleep. Yikes did I sleep well. Nearly 2 hours of solid, hard sleep. And I still feel like I need more. I have a low grade headaches (definitely sleep related) and a sore throat (probably from pushing too hard) and can tell that if I don''t get some better sleep in the next few days, I''m going to get sick.

On a cute note... yesterday I tandem nursed a teddy bear! Katelyn brought her teddy bear to me while I was nursing Conner. She carefully pulled up my shirt and got him "latched on" and made smacking noises as he "ate". I''ve been expecting her to nurse her doll and bears but this took my by surprise. I had to giggle!

We celebrated Katelyn''s birthday today. I think she really enjoyed it. She was the center of attention though and that helped a lot.

I made her a Edward cake in the morning and afternoon. Edward is the number two engine in the Thomas the Tank Engine series. We thought that was rather appropriate. And she seemed to like it. She''s rather fond of anything Thomas right now. Eric''s parents and Aunt and Uncle arrived just before 5 and we all went out to dinner. The restaurants were all busy around us. We''re talking 30-40 (or more) minute wait almost everywhere. But there was a good non-trendy restaurant nearby that had room. And then nice thing was that it was quiet in there too! It was mostly full but it was just an overall nice atmosphere. And good food too.

We came home and Katelyn''s Aunt and Uncles and cousin who live in two arrived for the cake and some ice cream. But first Katelyn opened her presents. We had to do that first... she didn''t exactly want to wait. She''s figured out present from Christmas and knew there would be fun things inside.

Her first one was a little purse. I think she''s going to like it a lot. What am I talking about? She already does! And there were 16 very shiny pennies inside that she likes to sort through. She also recieved some clothes, some books (one about cars and things with wheels that she thinks is great!) and a little people set that includes things with wheels.

Conner''s dedication is tomorrow morning. (I really have to go to bed so I can wake up tomorrow!) I wanted something nice for him to wear and so I went out shopping yesterday. I was amazed at how few clothes there are for boys. There will be a ton of dressy girls clothing and then just a couple dressy outfits for boys. I finally ended up at The Children''s Place and not only did they have a lot, it was at good prices too. I was quite impressed. This is the first time I''ve shopped in there but I am confident that I''ll be going back. As it is, Conner has a good selection of clothes for the 6-9 month stage. Not a ton but enough that I feel good about what he has.

On the interesting side, I''ve known that he was outgrowing his 3-6 months stuff especially in the trunk but I''d still thought the 6-9 was probably too big. When I was shopping, I was sure of it... those sweaters and shirts just looked huge! But then I tried one on and sure enough, they fit. Today I tried on the rest and they also fit. I''m amazed because before I put them on him they look so much bigger then he is. I guess he''s officiall into the 6-9 month clothes.

Katelyn stayed dry all day yesterday! But not today. Still, that was a great first step!

Today is just off. Eric was paged multiple times last night and went in once. For him to go in with his foot the way it is says it was serious. And it was. He has a lot of work ahead of him from the sounds of it. But meanwhile the whole family is a little extra tired today. Katelyn is acting like she needs a nap earlier then usual and Conner is already asleep. We''re cooking lunch right now and I think that everyone in the family will be napping as soon as we finish eating.

I''m still holding out hope that I''ll make it to the gym sometime today. I really need it.

Katelyn bought her second fat quarter today. I was surprised at how quickly she picked it out. So was Eric (he met us there after work). It''s a crayon fabric like her last one but darker. my first thought when I saw it was, "That would make a great block." Maybe I''ll have to take Mom''s suggestion and buy duplcates of the fabrics she chooses and use those to make Katelyn a reward quilt. She really does seem to enjoy picking these out.

I''ve been lax in my updates! So I went back and copied a couple of posts I''d made and put them in.

Katelyn has been doing well with her potty training. I''m not pushing it yet because she''s still young. So we''re letting her set the pace. That seems to be working really well. She does have times where she simply gets distracted and forgets but if you ask her to go sit on the potty she will. And she goes on her own frequently too.

You do have to be careful when she goes on her own though. She also empties her potty and cleans up afterwards. But that occasionally leaves a little dribble on the toilet seat when she does. It makes me wonder how many stars I''ve missed giving her simply because I didn''t know she''d gone.

Conner decided to hit a couple of milestones yesterday. I realized that I hadn''t been putting him down for tummy time so I decided to go ahead and do so. He promptly scooched himself forward about 8 inches and then rolled over onto his back. I can''t really call this crawling but he did get his knees under him when he scooched. He hasn''t figured out how to get up on his arms yet. But that''s really not a surprise since he''s only 3 months old. LOL!

Katelyn likes helping out with tummy time. We all lay down on our tummies and play. She gets Conner toys and helps entertain him which keeps him going longer.

We''re planning on celebrating Katelyn''s birthday on Saturday. Current plans are to make her an Edward cake. Edward is the number 2 engine in Thomas and Friends. She adores Thomas right now so this is appropriate. We aren''t going to do anything big. Just cake and ice cream with family. I still need to let everybody know what time to meet but we still haven''t decided that ourselves so when we do we''ll spread the word.

Conner''s dedication is scheduled for Sunday morning. This is easier on the family who is traveling in... they only need to make one trip for the combined birthday and dedication instead of making two only a short time apart. For Katelyn I made dinner for everybody who came but this time we''re going to go out to eat. It''s easier on me. There''s already a bunch going on that weekend without adding in more.

Katelyn is really getting into being a big sis. I sat Conner down in his car seat for a moment last night and Katelyn promptly went over and started to put his arms into the straps to buckle him in. She knows how to work the chest buckle. It took her a little longer then it would have taken me but she had it. Unfortunately we weren''t headed out right then so I had to undo what she had just done.

Ok... Katelyn has been doing great! Yesterday she had two "Oops" moments. She even went potty at church. I sent and got her right after the service and we went to the bathroom. So she stayed dry while there. I was so impressed. We told everybody and they all congratulated her which made her feel very proud.

Today was funny again though. We came downstairs and I was unloading the dishwasher when she decided to go over to her potty. She wanted me in there but I told her I was working and then I stayed in the kitchen and chatted with her since the bathroom is right off the kitchen. I turned around to put some stuff away and turned back to see her emptying her potty. She''d gone and was properly destroying the evidence. Goofy girl!

We bought her some sparkly stars and she has a piece of scrapbooking paper that she''s putting them on. With the last star she got she was holding her paper and prancing around the house just as proud as she could be. The paper is on our fridge and she can reach it any time she wants. She enjoys showing it off to us. :D We haven''t decided how many yet but when she gets enough stars then we''re going to take the paper and trade it in for a fat quarter at the quilt store. She''s very pleased with the fat quarter that she got for being really good in the parking lot and I think that getting another will really clinch the potty training for her.

She peed in the potty twice this morning!

That''s not the funny part though. She was playing downstairs by herself this morning. When Eric and I came down stairs, he noticed that her chest and face were all dirty. So we started looking for the reason. She helped us by finding the fudge she''d gotten into. But she''d only eated a small bite.

Right after that, she went over to her potty and pulled down her panties to go but insisted that I sit down first. (Properly of course... just sitting on the toilet isn''t enough.) While I was getting there I noticed that the potty had liquid in it. She promptly sat down and went some more. Then she went over to the fudge and asked for some.

Apparently, while we were upstairs, she went potty all by herself and then got herself a reward for it. LOL!

Eric is on the phone telling the grandparents about it right now.

We celebrated Christmas at my parent''s house today. This was the huge family Christmas for my Dad''s side of the family. By huge, I mean that my Aunt''s and Uncles, Cousin''s and their spouses and their kids were all there. Wow!

Katelyn really enjoyed playing with her second cousin Ryan. He''s about a year and a half older then her and has been an only child until the past October. He doesn''t quite understand why Katelyn occasionally tries to hit him though. It''s her latest stage and we''re working on curbing it but unfortunately, we have to be around kids more for us to be able to stop the behavior. That or never visit with other kids her age until she outgrows it. For the most part she behaved though and they both had fun.

At one part in the evening, both of them were sitting on the little rocking chair and stool that were in the living room. Ryan would rock on the rocking chair and Katelyn would sit on the stool and pretend to rock. Or both would sit on the stool. It was really cute.

Us cousins did a $5 gift exchange. We drew names at Thankgiving. It was nice that we were celebrating after Christmas because we were able to hit some great sales.

Ryan passed out gifts (Eric would tell him who to give them too) and Katelyn helped him. She followed him everywhere and if one of us had our hands full (usually with a baby) then the two of them would open our gifts for us. They had a bunch of fun with it. I think next year we''ll do a gift exchange with them too. They''ll both be old enough to enjoy it as will Katelyn''s cousin Joshua.

One fun part was seeing how Conner and Brendan compared. Brendan (Ryan''s little brother) was born Oct. 19. He was heavier then Conner at birth but Conner has since surpassed him... by a lot. We''d talked with Brendan''s mother on the phone earlier this week and Eric mentioned that on the 17th I''d weighed him (with clothes on though) and he was 15 pound. She was shocked because Brenday was quite a bit smaller at his two month appointment.

I weighed Conner again today (again with clothes on) and got 15.5 pounds. Now it''s a rough estimate because both times were done with the "weigh myself with him then weigh myself without him" method. But it''s still nice to see growth. I told that to his mom and she was shocked. Then she held him... yep! Quite a bit heavier the Brendan.

The funny thing about this is that Conner doesn''t look fat or even super chubby. He''s just a solid chunk. Very dense. So he''s not outgrowing his clothes yet but he''s a real brick.

I was glad to see the gain because we''ve been sick here this last week. Colds all around. Then Katelyn caught this stomach/GI virus that is going around. So I was concerned that Conner wasn''t getting enough food. Or that I was relying on the pacifier too much. I''ve decided to go back to not using the pacifier during the day except for in the car and that helps ease my mind but I still get concerned that he''s not eating often enough. But 1/2 a pound in a little less then a week is good. Even if it is just a rough estimate.

Neither Eric nor I are large so it''s fun to wonder where this size came from. And if Conner will continue to be a chunk past his first year. But... Eric''s cousins are all larger then Eric. He''s the small one of the bunch. And my Dad''s cousins are similiar. Large, not fat. I guess those genes might have skipped Eric and I and showed up in Conner.

What a day full of Katelyn cuteness.

Today I put Katelyn''s hair back in one ponytail and used a hair scruchie that we bought at Disneyland. It looks like Pooh. It''s was adorable because it made her look like she had her hair in a bun. I forgot to get pictures of it from the front though so I''ll have to do it that way again to get better pictures. She did well at leaving it in most of the day. Usually she pulls her hair stuff out. And she thinks her Pooh scrunchie is a bracelet and doesn''t like it when I put it in her hair.

She''s becoming quite the monkey. We have a hang on the table style booster seat that she knows is hers (she gets quite bothered if she sees me put Conner in it). She used to at my parent''s house yesterday and really enjoyed it. So today she saw it in our living room where it was waiting to be put away. She unfolded it properly and then carefully carried it over to the table and convinced her dad to put it on. Then she pushed her stool over to it and climbed up and almost in. Eric saw her climbing in and helped her out. She ate her lunch there and then climbed back out when she was done. I had run upstairs to change Conner''s diaper. Those are not seats that kids are supposed to be climbing in and out of themselves! But at supper, she decided she was hungry and that I wasn''t taking her hint that she was hungry. (She was sitting in her regular booster.) So she climbed down from her regular booster and up and into her new seat. By then the spagetti had finished cooking so she was able to eat her supper.

After lunch, I was looking at some fabric for a future quilt. Katelyn came over and started playing with the fat quarters. The fun part was when she lined them up in a line in a very good rainbow order. I was quite impressed! We''ve talked about rainbows in one of her pooh books but that''s it.

Conner made the big grab today! He grabbed and caught some toys on his Kick ''n Play. I took pictures. :D

This has been a very fun Christmas!

Yesterday we wrapped Christmas presents. Katelyn enjoyed that. She was in charge of picking out tags, putting them on and picking out and attaching bows. And putting presents under the tree. The boxes formed a little trail from the tree to where we were wrapping as each one was placed a little further from the tree. A couple of bows ended up on top of the tag but that''s OK... we can still figure out who they go to.

Katelyn didn''t quite understand though why these things that she wanted to play with kept being hidden by paper but she apparently decided to just go with the flow.

This morning Eric and both woke up a little after 5 because of our sinuses. Both of us are completely stuffed up. Actually, the whole family is but we seem to be the worst off. Katelyn and Conner both have had things pretty easy health wise. But both of us wanted showers to help clear things up. Right after Eric finished his, Katelyn woke up. And she wasn''t interested in going back to sleep. I was downstairs already getting a bite to eat. So down came Katelyn and Conner so that Eric could make us waffles (that''s going to probably be a new family tradition... waffles for breakfast on Christmas morning).

We opened presents right after breakfast. I do wonder if Katelyn remembered what was in the boxes but she seemed to have a lot of fun opening. The only problem we ran into was a minor meltdown because we didn''t let Katelyn open *all* the presents under the tree. We''d wrapped ones that were for other Christmas get togethers and she thought she should be opening them today. So we didn''t open quite everthing because we took a break for a nap. Katelyn wasn''t too into that idea either but she didn''t have any other meltdowns until the afternoon when she did nap.

This evening we went to my parent''s house where they were having a Christmas Open House for family and friends. That was really fun. A lot of family from California was in town. It was so nice to catch up with them!

As the day came to an end, Katelyn was playing at the piano. Katelyn has a really good ear. Her Aunt Laura played a note and then Katelyn reached up and found it. It took a couple of tries but once she heard it she knew that was the one that her Aunt had played and made sure that her Aunt knew it too. The her Grandpa was asking which key was C. As her Aunt and Grandma were describing it, Katelyn reached down and showed her Grandpa which one it was. And she was right! We were all impressed and had a good laugh.

Now for bed. I''m so tired. Maybe tomorrow I''ll type more about the day.

On Saturday we put the tree up. Not the lights or decorations yet, just the tree. It''s really cute. Katelyn decided where each branch was supposed to go. We''d sorted the branches into piles by lenght so the overall appearance is that of a cone but it''s a very bumpy cone. She really enjoyed herself though.

Conner was given a small gift as part of the tree trimming... new batteries for his Kick ''n Play bouncer. He just went to town kicking to make the lights and music go off. He kept it going the entire time as we were working. He was right next to all the activity so he could see and hear us working. (Eric was in elbow length of him most of the time) But his focus was on those lights going off in front of him.

Conner really like Christmas trees. Friday night was our Cantata at church and as I was ready to leave, I got the idea of setting his seat down right by the tree. He loved it... he just kept looking left and right to look at it all. It had colored lights and white & silver decorations. He just loved it. I''ll have to get a picture of him doing that at the Christmas Eve service or at Prayer Meeting on Wednesday.

For now though... I''m going to take a picture of our tree and get it posted.

Conner had his well baby check this afternoon. Apparently, he''s growning just fine... 3 pounds in 6 weeks. An average of a pound every 2 weeks! At this age, a child is supposed to gain 1-2 pounds a month. So he''s growing just fine. That''s a relief because at this point, Katelyn was around 8 ounces above her birth weight and I was being assured that everything was just fine even though I didn''t think it was.

I really like our new ped though. Eric and I both do. Today as she was waiting for Eric to sign some paperwork, she went through a pooh book with Katelyn playing "I Spy". And she remembered us from other visits, even bringing up small details from those visits. Then there''s the washing hands things... we''ve never seen her wash hands less then twice during a visit. Our former doctor got upset when we asked her to. And I really like that she doesn''t treat us as know nothings. She acknowledges that we are intellegent people to. I just really like her.

Katelyn is still working on the potty training. She went on the potty on Tuesday though! The rest of the time, we''ve missed things by about 5 minutes. We''ll sit in the bathroom reading, playing with toys, singing songs and stuff and she''ll get tired of it so we''ll get up. Then 5 minutes later, she''s wet. But she hates being wet like that! She''ll scream and cry until I finish changing her. So that in itself is a really good thing and is a sign of progress.

Katelyn is starting to make her opinion known about underwear and diapers. Diapers apparently are preferrable. You can pee and nothing drips down your leg. You can pee and don''t feel wet. You can pee and not have to run immediately to tell mom (you can finish what you were doing).

LOL! She''s starting to try to get diapers for me and even stuffs them herself. The problem is that I''m not giving her a choice right now. And she''s not happy!

For those of you who do not know her irl, she a very particular little girl. And very strong willed about having thing be how she thinks they should be. She knows what she wants and doesn''t like it when things are otherwise. Underwear is not "right" in her mind. I''m just lucky that most of the time, her will lines up with mine. We''re working through the rest of the time.

Katelyn''s growing up. She''s out of diapers for the most part (or so says her mom). We''ve officially started potty training. So far... no big improvements and lots of wet pants that are being washed and dried as I type. But that in itself is a good thing. Katelyn is not wanting to sit on the potty and asks to be changed right away when she does go. I think she''s just a couple of minutes too late most of the time. But that''s a part of learning.

We decided to go ahead and start because Katelyn has gotten very good at letting us know when she has a wet or dirty diaper. That''s a big step in itself. And she''ll be going to the toddler sunday school class in just a couple of months (or less) and it''d be nice if she was out of diapers by then.

I went to the Y today and didn''t even put her in diapers for that. But I did have a full change of clothes in the diaper bag!

Speaking of the Y... I''m officialy starting excercising again. Big day for "officially starting" things, huh? But it''s time. Conner is 8 weeks old now and I wanted to wait a minimum of 6 weeks to make sure things were healed up. So it''s time. And I want to fit back into my old clothes instead of the ones I bought so I wouldn''t have to be still wearing maternity.

Right now there are two kids sitting in the bedroom reading books and trying to fall asleep. Which means I''m using my crib for it''s intended purpose for the first time in well over a year! We don''t use the crib much. But it sure is nice to have it when we needed it. Joshua is over for the evening which has made Katelyn very happy. Since he was tired and it was her bedtime, they both got put to bed. Katelyn''s bedtime routine is to get into her pj''s, climb into bed, pray with Mom and/or Dad and then read herself to sleep. We have a lamp that Eric had in his bedroom when he was a kid and we turn that on for her to read by. It''s a nice soft light that is great for the purpose... not quite bright enough to keep her awake but still plenty for reading. She knows that she can get out of her bed when she wants a new book but she''s really good about getting back into it to read. So far this routine is working out great. I started it after Eric went to Florida for a week when Conner was 3 weeks old.

This has been a very busy week for us. Wednesday was a work Christmas party that Eric, Conner and I went to. Katelyn spent that evening with her Aunt Sandi. Friday was Beauty and the Beast (a wonderful show!!) and Katelyn spent the evening with her Aunt Laura. Tonight we have Josh (trading babysitting). The next two weeks are free until Christmas though.

I''m not feeling so well right now. Aches, fever, upset tummy, and I''m exhausted. Eric heated up some TV dinner for me this evening so I wouldn''t have to do anything.

Thanksgiving went well. We ended up turning a 4 hour drive into 12 hours though. We combined traffic with a big snowstorm and a nursing baby and it just went slow. Both kids handled it amazingly well. But when we left, we decided to travel during the night so that we didn''t need to stop as often. We made it home in record time but both of us were exhausted.

Katelyn got a ride back to her "Sunday School" (aka the nursery) yesterday on her Great Grandma''s lap. As soon as she got there, she went right in and then motioned for Grandma Shields to come in too. :D Made her grandma''s and great grandma''s day to see that.

My Aunt and Uncle finally got to meet Conner. I really enjoyed letting them hold him. They just became Grandparents 6 months ago so they''re really enjoying babies right now. And my Uncle has always enjoyed babies. It was really nice chatting with them after Church. I really get along with them both.

Conner has suddenly become a lot more alert these last couple of days. He still sleeps a lot but when he''s awake, he''s looking all around. He''s taking after his big sis that way.

We decided to go ahead and introduce a pacifier to Conner. I hate doing that because of the way that Katelyn became addicted to hers and started to prefer it to eating. But I also really hate hearing Conner cry in the car when we go places. He does eventually fall asleep most times but I''d rather he was able to fall asleep right away without crying. I finally decided to use the pacifier when I realized that with Katelyn, I was still riding in the back seat with her at this point. So I could give her a pacifier or let her suck on my finger. I can''t fit back there with two car seats. So my options are to let him cry (Ugg!) or to let him have a pacifier. The pacifier is definitely the best of those two options. We also started to use it at bedtime. He gets himself so worked up because he is so tired. He won''t nurse, and he likes to be rocked, shushed, held tight and patted all at once along with sucking on a finger or pacifier to fall asleep. After nights of trying to figure out how to calm him, I finally realized that I simply do not have enough hands to do it all. So we tried a pacifier. He fell asleep instantly. I don''t let him keep it in bed and I''m not using it during the day (depsite Katelyn''s best efforts to give it to him whenever she can) so I think this will work out.

Ok... an update as to why I haven''t be updating here this week and why I haven''t even responded to all posts "to me" on the forums or lists this last week...

Eric has been out of town. Yep... I was managing the home with a toddler and a 3 week old without him here. It was... interesting. But it went better then I expected. Katelyn learned to go to bed by herself. I''d help her into her pj''s, get her water, pray with her and stuff like that but then I''d give her a kiss and say good night and let her read in bed until she fell asleep. If she hadn''t taken to this as well as she did, my week would have been miserable. As it was, it wasn''t the easiest because I got to stay up nursing Conner and trying to get him to sleep while I waited for Katelyn to fall asleep so I could turn out her light but at least I wasn''t trying to hold and nurse Conner while I also was trying to keep Katelyn in bed and lying down so that she''d fall asleep.

The great thing about this is that it''s bled over to nap time also. I can put her down for her nap and she (for the most part) will stay there while she falls asleep. Naps, I don''t mind if she doesn''t sleep if she stays on her bed. She really needs the sleep though so she does eventually fall asleep and wakes up in a much better mood.

It was a little funny to watch Eric this morning though. I''m exhausted (what do you expect after last week?) so I stayed home. I might go to church for Sunday School but for now I''m home with Conner (who is asleep). Somehow last week, I managed to get Katelyn, Conner and myself to church in time for the 1st service, just about on time, dressed well, hair done and everything all by myself. I even got a shower in for both Katelyn and myself.

Today, Eric got himself around, got Katelyn showered and fed. I dressed her, prepared the diaper bag and did her hair. Interesting that he couldn''t do it alone. I might have been able to sleep in longer.

Conner just woke up...

I can share my secret now... my sister is expecting her second child and is due next spring! She''s just starting to show. Congratulate her if you are reading this and live in town!

Conner went to church for the first time yesterday. It was a lot of fun. There were actually people who hadn''t heard how he was born... can you belive it? (Said tongue in cheek since Eric tells everybody he possibly can...) But one of the more fun things was when people would ask me how big he was and I''d calmly reply, "Oh, only 9 pounds." I got the strangest looks when thay realized that I considered him small compared to Katelyn.

My Mom and sisters say that he looks a lot chubbier then he was last week when they saw him last. Since those pictures I just put up are a week old, imagine him with some chubbier cheeks. He sure is growing. No fears there. It explains why he wants to eat all the time though.

Katelyn has been very nice to me these last couple of days. I have bedtime duties this week and so I decided to work on getting Katelyn to go to bed on her own. Prior to this, we would snuggle her to sleep... she''d get a story, we''d pray and then we''d lay down with her, hold her there and both Katelyn and whichever parent was there would eventually fall asleep. This worked but it was frustrating. Eric was becoming convinced that she''d never learn to fall asleep on her own and didn''t like giving up part of his evening like that even though he really enjoyed the snuggle time. So last night I decided to just put her in bed with a book and a sippy. We prayed and then I kissed her and told her that I needed to go feed Conner. I left a little light on for her and stepped out of the room. I came back in a little later and she was curled up in bed, the book on the floor. I told her how good she was being, kissed her again and then walked back out. She cried a little later and I when I went in, she was trying to get out of her pj''s so that her diaper could be changed. She did get up once to see what I was doing but found me in bed feeding Conner. I scooped her up, put her back in bed, tucked her in and she stayed there after that. Two hours later she finally fell asleep. Not too bad for a first time.

Tonight, I did pretty much the same thing... pj''s, prayer, book and sippy in bed, light on and she was on her own. It only took half an hour this time for her to fall asleep. When I peeked in on her before she fell asleep, she was on her back carefully reading about Harold and the Purple Crayon.

I''m going to try keeping this same routine this week and see if it''ll become habit for her.

Katelyn is such an actor... she was sitting on her bed while we played with Conner and suddenly fell backwards off it. I set Conner down and went to get her right away to make sure she was OK. She cried a bit and then wanted down. I went out to switch laundry and when I came back, she was sitting on her bed in the same place... she scooched off the bed and laid down where she''d fallen and started pretending to cry. I giggled but picked her up and comforted her. She wanted down again and ran over to the spot where she''d fallen, laid down and started to "cry" again. I had to laugh so hard. She did the reinactment a total of 3 times. I think we''re going to have to take her to audition at the Civic when she''s older. :D

I must be making buttermilk this time around! Conner had his 2 week appointment today. This is the appointment where they''re looking to see if the baby is back up to their birth weight or not. Conner was.... 10,6! Nearly a pound and a half above his birth weight and over 2 pounds gained from his lowest weight. I knew he was doing well but didn''t realize how well!
His birth height was 20.25 and his length this appt was 21.5.

I have to laugh about the poor nurse though. She asked how often Conner eats. I told her anywhere between 1/2 and 3 hours. She looked a little odd and then asked if I could narrow it down for daytime. I couldn''t and then gave a little laugh and said, "He just eats whenever he''s hungry." I know she wanted something like, "Every 2 hours," or something more consistent like that. But this boy doesn''t believe in consistency between feeds right now. Unless of course, it''s the consistency of always being hungry.

I''m told that I''m looking a lot better. I hope that translates in to a higher hemoglobin level on Monday!

Today was Eric''s first day back at work. My mom and a wonderful lady from church came over to make sure that I didn''t over extend myself. I don''t think I did but I need to drink more water tomorrow.

Just some musings...

After Katelyn''s birth, I remember sitting in the hospital bed after they took her to SCU (which Eric and I both agree we shouldn''t have allowed in the way it happened... for various reasons). I really felt like this child that I''d given birth to wasn''t my child. And then I felt those weird gas movements that occur so often after birth and found myself wondering if my baby was actually still inside and kicking me to let me know that he/she was still there. It felt so much like kicking and I felt so beaten down by the hospital that I honestly thought that.

I have to cry for that person in my past. Because I also remember driving her away from the hospital (Ok... Eric drove, I sat in the back seat) and commenting to Eric that I had no way of truly knowing that this was my daughter. And I remember going into the SCU that morning that we took her home, scanning the babies that were there and being struck with terror because I didn''t see my daughter. Not because I thought something horrible had happened, but because I couldn''t tell if my daughter was actually there or not... I was terrified that she was and I''d not recognized her. Wow. It turned out that she wasn''t there but that terror that I felt was terrible.

I realized this evening that I haven''t had any thoughts like that with Conner. The difference is so amazing. When he was 4 days old, I mentioned to Eric that I kept expecting him at birth to act like Katelyn did when she came home. It wasn''t fair to him but it was wonderful to know that I essentially had been gifted with these extra days with him that had been taken away from me with Katelyn.

She is such a wonderful, sweet girl and I no longer question that she is mine. I have bonded with her. But it took me a lot longer to do so then it should have. I still stand amazed at this gift that God gave to me allowing me to give birth to Conner at home. There have been so many side blessing that have come along with this gift that I truly never expected.

Thank you, God!

I haven''t checked in for a few days. I''m trying to be good and rest and that''s hard. It''s boring. I get worn out so easily yet otherwise I feel great. So I keep wanting to do more then I should. I do limit myself to once downstairs per day and that helps.

Conner is nursing like a champ. Lansinoh is my friend though. He had a killer latch for the first few days... the kind that made me cringe and even breathe as though I was in labor. It just hurt! There were a few times that I almost felt like asking Eric to go mix up some of the formula that had been sent to us unrequested. But then I''d remind myself that most nursing problems work themselves out by week 6 and if I quit now, I''d be furious with myself later. So I kept on going. I was shocked though to find out that using Lansinoh actually helped. I really don''t know why it did but I''m happy with the results. As long as I use it a couple of times a day, Conner''s latch just doesn''t hurt nearly as much.

Eric and I were talking last night about Conner vs. Connor. It seems like everyone seems to initially spell the name Connor. We were wondering if we''d made a mistake and should change it before we submitted the birth certificate stuff. So I did a quick web search and here''s what I found...

Conner is of celtic origin and means "desire, wise aid, wolf-lover" And it appears to be the more original spelling of those two variations. So we''re happy with the spelling. The reason we chose it was that we pronounced it Con-er rather then Con-or.

Katelyn got to go out with her dad today and watch some construction trucks. She really enjoyed it. Not surprising with her love of trucks, cars and trains. There is a bike path being put in near our house and so Eric decided to take her and Arthur out to watch the work going on. Katelyn came back making motor noises and very excited.

When Conner sleeps, we take some time to read and snuggle. Eric and I have been noticing that even though Katelyn is getting more attention since Conner''s birth, it''s not mom attention. She is really missing that. Little bits here and there make a difference though. One night it was me snuggling her to sleep. Today, she snuggled in and we read for almost half an hour.

She has decided that it is her job to make sure I use Lansinoh each day. She brings me my tube and then gets a bottle of lotion that is "hers" (it''s purple so she is willing to use that instead of lansinoh). She gives me both bottles and then climbs up on the bed with me. Then she points to me to show me where to put on my stuff and then wants some lotion on her hands so that she can put it on her legs. She is really enjoying this. And if Conner is asleep when she decided it''s time for this, then I use the lotion to give her belly and back a massage too. She likes that.

Eric is working on de-virusing our other computer which should make it easier to get pictures downloaded from our camera since that is the only computer that our card reader works with. So I promise, I''ll get pictures up sometime! I''m taking pictures... they''re still on the camera though.

I had my midwife appointment this afternoon. Things are good except my hemoglobin. Even my pulse was down to about 90. Which is still high but right after the birth and for about a day it was 130. So 90 is very good news. I think it''ll continue to go down.

My hemoglobin though is about an 8. I''m not sure what that means other then that it''s low and it explains a lot of things. Like why I''m so tired and why little things exhaust me and why I have this headache that won''t go away. Eric is at the healthfood store right now picking up some Floradix, Liquid Chlorphyll, B Vitamins, Vit. C and stuff. And I need to go back to drinking nettle tea again.

It was good that Eric was there at this appointment because he got to hear what the midwives were telling me. It always has more impact when it comes from someone else then when it comes from me. Somehow it sticks in his brain longer. Now he''s feeling bad though that we went shopping after Conner''s weight check. I told him that he didn''t need to feel bad about going shopping, just about wanting to go through the toys (at the opposite side of the store) after I told him that I was "done" and needed to check out so I could go home. He felt a little better about that. Then I told him that I should have stood more firmly about being done and simply told him "no".

Well that was a useless waste of my time...

We took Conner to his first ped appointment on Tuesday and found out that because Eric had (in his excitement which I can''t blame him for at all) told the receptionist the birth story, they wanted him in right away and didn''t tell us that the ped we''d thought we were making the appointment with was out of the office that day. So instead we saw the one that was the least pro-homebirth when I talked to each of them. All around, it turned out Ok though. But Conner''s weight was down to 8,2 from 9,0 (and that was on two very different scales... only one was digital). Not a big deal since my milk had *just* started to come in that night and he''d been proving himself super hungry before that. And he''d pooped so many meconium diapers that I knew his weight would be low. But the ped wanted us to come in for another weight check on Thursday (today).

It was a totally useless appointment... Conner had 3 poops since that appointment (super poops too!) and was peeing more then 10 diapers per 24 hours. But we went anyways. No big surprise but he''s up to 8,11.75 according to their scale. Such a big change for two days! The nurse said that she didn''t think we needed to come back until his 2 week check. I laughed and said, "I have to agree... not with a gain like that!"

Midwife appointment is this afternoon. They''ve had a lot of new babies these last couple of weeks so they''re trying to get to see all of them and are running a little late. No biggie... I get a nap this way.

Walking is an amazing ability. Whenever Eric and I woke up to feed Conner last night we''d look at each other and just say, "Wow... that was amazing..." and we''d start talking about his birth. When we''d finish that I''d look at him and say, "I can walk!" And we''d go right back into the awed wows.

This just seems so amazing! I can walk! I can walk to the bathroom, I can walk with out leaning on anybody for support, I can walk with out hip pain. Even the hip pain that I had during pregnancy is gone. Wow.... this is so different then Katelyn''s birth.

And I can''t tell you how wonderful it was to be in my own bed in my own clothes with my own child and my husband sleeping next to me. All wthin less then 12 hours after giving birth. And waking up with all of that before he is even 24 hours old. This is such an amazing feeling. Again... wow... I keep using thatword a lot right now. LOL!

I am on restricted activity. I had a long 1st degree tear and was given th option of stitches or just taking thing easy. I decided to take things easy. From what I''ve read, the small tears actually heal better without stitches anyways. And I had a little more bleeding then usual since I was standing up for so long after the birth so I''m supposed to be resting anyways. When the midwife comes for my 24 hour checkup, then I''ll get to take a shower and that will be great. I''ll feel so much better. Not that I feel bad now but feeling clean will be great.

Conner Douglas...

born today at 12:01 (noon) into his father''s hands. Present were his mom, his father, and his Aunt Laura. His sister was playing in the living room. 9 pounds even after at least two meconium poops. I don''t remember the rest of the stats... I''ll have to post them later.

Wow! I''d spent the morning with regular contractions 8-10 minutes apart. I''d had them all night and most of yesterday also. So I was a bit discouraged last night when it appeared that nothing was progressing. Laura came over this morning to take care of Katelyn because Katelyn wanted to be with mom... not the most comfortable during contractions! She brought homework and everything.

At about 11? 11:30? I had Eric call one midwife to tell her that I really felt the need to poop but that nothing was coming (a classic sign of being ready to push) but that I had not had any contractions closer then 8 minutes apart. This was very confusing to me. Linda reccomended sending Eric to the store for a small Fleet''s enema and told me that it wasn''t uncommon for mom''s to get constipated during labor. Ok... no big deal... but in the meantime, I decided to spend time on the toilet reading a book to see if that would help things along. It wasn''t until after the phone call that I realized that it didn''t make sense to have diareaha in the morning and be constipated a couple hours later.

All of a sudden this huge contraction came along with a big need to push. No big deal because it felt exactly like constipation. But at the same time, I felt like there was more. As Eric was getting changed to go out, I had another. Again it felt like more then run of the mill constipation. I instructed Eric to not go to the store and to call someone else... Suddenly I realized that there was a head starting to come out. In force! I called for him, he couldn''t remember the midwife''s number so he yelled for Laura to get our phone sheet. She couldn''t find it so I told Eric to quickly call Mom istead. The call went something like, "The baby is crowning, come now." click. And then he remembered the midwife''s number. How? It must have been God.

I asked Laura to feel a bathtub with water for me and then Eric and I (between pushes) made our way down the hall to that bathroom. This was definitely involuntary pushing. I literally had no choice. We made it about a step into the bathroom where the tub was filling and baby''s head came out. Eric got his hands down there right away, yelled to Laura for more towels and then caught as the rest of Baby litterally fell out. He told me that I had a son. Wow! Laura grabbed more towels and ran to us with them and then ran to get the birth kit. I looked down and saw mess and a sack. Conner had been born in the caul! Eric had to break the sack so that baby could breathe. He did this so automatically, I am very proud of him.

At this point, as Laura was giving us abosorbent pads and towels, the midwife called and we told her what was happening. She was on her way already and talked Eric through what to do next.

The other midwife arrived about 25-30 minutes after the birth and helped deliver the placenta. I was nervous about how much blood there was (Eric says the bathroom looked like there''d just been a mafia hit in there) but when mom got here (before the midwives) she could see that there was not continuing bleeding once I laid down.

What a difference between this birth and Katelyn''s birth!

Conner latched on right away as Eric and Laura were getting towels and such. He''s continued to nurse well. Things are so amazing here and it''s been quite the ride. Wow is simply the best way to describe this. And thankfulness for God''s providence. This was exactly the type of birth Eric and I both needed to help us out as we healed from the trauma following Katelyn''s birth. This one didn''t quite go as planned but it couldn''t have gone better.

I literally am amazed still. And thankful that we planned to birth at home. We had everything we needed right here. If we''d planned a hospital birth, we''d never have made it. What woman goes to the hospital with contractions 10 minutes apart? I''ve usually heard 5 minutes or when your water breaks. Neither happened. This was all just truly amazing. I''m still on a bit of a high from all of this. I need sleep and it''s hard because my brain is going on adrenaline still. Eric is starting to crash.

Let me just say that husbands are great to have around during contractions. Simply having his hand on me will take it down a notch or two in intensity. So if I get a stronger one, the first thing out of my mouth is, "Eric!" And he comes running. Don''t I have an amazing husband? Complement him.... I''ve been doing it already but I think he likes to hear it from other people.

Things did die down this morning and afternoon. They were strong while we went shopping but that was pretty much it. We got home and I took a nap. Not a long one unfortunately but it was still nice. I got up to go to the chiropractor only to discover that I was there an hour early. But it worked out and they fit me in.

As for the chiro... he adjusted my neck for me which has done a nice job of reducing some of the congestion I was feeling up inside my head. Steam just wasn''t touching it and it was higher then my nose so trying to blow my nose was doing nothing. I didn''t even have a runny nose or stuffed nose... just congestion in my forehead. He was very pleased with how the adjustments we''d been doing were sticking and he said both sides of my pelvis were flexible and were moving evenly and that this should bode well for an easier birth. I like news like that.

Eric took the opportunity to set up our pool. When I tried it out for size, Katelyn climed in with me. She''s such a little monkey! She really had to climb to get there but she''s determined to be a part of the action. I had a contraction while in there and when I was done, Katelyn had to have one too. And get the snuggling that goes with it. What do you think... jealousy there? I''m thinking it''s just another example of her wanting to be like her Mom and Dad. But how cute!

Definite contractions all night. I wasn''t really timing them because I was trying to sleep though. I got up around 4 and tried a shower (very nice) and bath (ended in a contraction) and that did help but I didn''t really get back to sleep. Since getting up, I''ve been having them also. So I think they''re real since they don''t go away when I''m not lying down.

Eric is tired. I''m tired. Katelyn is wired. Eric held my hand during one contraction before we''d gotten up out of bed and Katelyn was fascinated. I was breathing, her Dad was whispering encouragment to relax and Katelyn just sat and watched. When it was over, she wanted her Dad''s hand and then she leaned back against him and blew out a couple of times. We had a good giggle about that.

I''m feeling like some Farmer''s Hash from Uncle Ernie''s so Eric is getting Katelyn around and we''re going to head out. Eric is taking a half day and going to do some work from home today to help me out. It''s so much easier with just his hand on me. If things peter out or slow down, that''s just fine with me because then I''ll get some rest and sleep. And if they don''t, well, we''ll have a baby in our arms soon.

But as the midwife said, any contractions that are causing dialation or moving labor along are real contractions... and these are showing all signs of causing dialation... I was getting the bloody show all night. Just little bits at a time, nothing huge. But still encouraging that this is the real thing even if it''s not fast and hard active labor.

Just finished my appointment. More bloody show which lead to my urine dip showing blood in my urine. Not surprising though and completely explainable. So no worry there. I also showed a trace of sugar but she wasn''t surprised expecially when we went over what I''d eaten at Coffee Break today (some amazingly wonderful cookies and some chocolate...) Only showing a trace was great after that. And she said a trace is normal at this stage of pregnancy anyways.

Baby was just moving too much for a good heartbeat count. But we caught enough (but had to use doppler) to tell that there was very good variability and that it was very strong. We just couldn''t get baby to stay still long enough to count it for a reasonable length of time. Apparently baby is enjoying having extra room with his/her head stuck so low in my pelvis.

Apparently, it''s highly unusual for mother''s who''ve given birth before to drop so much before labor. Yet I''ve been dropping and dropping and dropping for weeks now. I''m hoping this bodes well for a quick labor! With all the bloody show and the BH that I''ve been having, that''s a possiblity. Maybe I''m dialating with this and will just enter transition right away? Hey, I can dream!

One of my midwives is going to South Haven for the weekend. I was a little concerned until I realized that she''s really about the same distance away from my house now as she was before except in the opposite direction. And all the other October mom''s have given birth this month so the midwives are both available to come when I do go into full labor.

Coffee Break was wonderful today. I got to chat with a few ladies who have now known me for the last 2 years and are in my group again this year. That was really good for me. We talked mostly about life stuff relating to Katelyn''s birth and some axieties for this birth. I have come so far as a person. I don''t want to go into specifics here but just say that I am a lot stronger and will be able to stand my ground much better this time around. At the end of the Bible Study part, the ladies in my group gathered around and prayed for this birth. That was so special.

Yep, you see that time right. There are conractions/Braxton Hicks going on. It must be something to do with swimming because Katelyn and I went again this afternoon. So what am I planning? More swimming, of course!

Nothing is super real close or regular, I''m talking through them fine (or would be if it weren''t so early in the morning and if I wanted to wake Eric up) and I wouldn''t classify this as labor. Or even prodromal labor. Yet.

Funny though... my sister did tell me that Thursday worked into her schedule really well. Would Friday? Saturday wouldn''t be too bad.

Oops... another one... and I''m typing through it just fine. Does that count as talking?

Plans for today: Coffee Break in the morning. Then before lunch, my midwife is coming over for an appointment (it had to be rescheduled from yesterday due to a schedule issue on their part). Then lunch and swimming either before or after Katelyn''s nap. After would be eaiser because she''ll be in a better mood. But if I go before, she sleeps really well when she does take her nap.

Yesterday, Squishy Pooh was Katelyn''s "friend" of choice. Squishy Pooh had to go everywhere with her and had to wear a diaper all day. I tried to take the diaper off at one point to pack it so that Katelyn could use it while swimming and she had a small meltdown. How dare I take Squishy Pooh''s diaper off? So Tim and Kara, if you''re reading this, Katelyn is thrilled with the Pooh Bear you bought her!

We read a Pooh book before bed and if I asked her where various animals were (tigger, rabbit, owl, piglet) then she pointed to them in the book. But if I asked her where Pooh was, she pointed to her Pooh that was reading with us.

She''s a little cutie!

I had some "bloody show" last night. Ewww!! That stuff is gross. But it''s encouraging that something is progressing. Because you only really get bloody show if you''ve started to dialate. Though dialation doesn''t mean that you''ll get bloody show. So I could be just a little along or further along. There were some contraction like things last night to go along with it. But nothing major.

Eric and I both woke up at about 4 am and just couldn''t sleep. That was when all this happened. We got up, I ate a meal, and then Eric got ready for work while I went back to bed. It was nice to be able to chat with each other without Katelyn interrupting though. She slept through everything.

Katelyn and I went to the Y yesterday for open swim and had a lot of fun. She "swam" next to me with a foam block while I walked laps for 45 minutes. For the most part she hung on to my arm as I went along but for part of it, she discovered that she could ride on my back horsey style (even holding onto the straps of my swimsuit as reins). She did slide off my back at one point and was face down in the water but I grabbed her quickly and lifted her mostly out of the water. She giggled and wasn''t scared at all. We blew bubbles in the water while I walked and I tried to convince her to kick her feet to splash. She wasn''t into the kicking though. It''s really nice to see her as comfortable in the water as she is.

We didn''t get to the Y today. I went to get my tires checked and to schedule an appointment to replace them. They had an appointment right then so we got everything done right away. But that made all the errands I was running take longer and by the time we got back to the house, both of us were exhausted and fell asleep until Eric got home. Tomorrow I''m definitely going after Coffe Break! It was really nice to be in the water like that and I want to get in more swim time before Baby comes.

The news for today is there is no news. Not anything big anyways.

Last night I was feeling some prolonged cervical pressure and asked Eric to feel my belly lightly. He said it was super tight. That gave us the chance to practice labor support. I couldn''t really feel the tightness on my belly but he sure could. It hung around for a while and then went away. It came back once more last night. If that is what labor is for me this time around, I can handle that!

Had a chiropractor appointment today. His comment was that I was really getting close to labor. Apparently there''s this point on the spine down near the pelvis that gets looser and looser the closer a woman gets to labor. Mine are super loose. Or as he said, "Swimmy." Ok. So I''m close to labor. I knew that already... sometime within the next 0-3 weeks, I should have a new baby in my arms.

I also had my first dreams this entire pregnancy that had me pregnant or giving birth. Two nights ago I dreamt that I started teaching again at WCCS. It was a lot of fun and on the first day, everybody got to meet Katelyn and also commented on my very round belly and how I was going to be giving birth soon. My latest dream was last night. My midwife was over and was checking my belly. All of a sudden she wanted my pants pulled down which was odd because she doesn''t do internals like many OB''s do. But when I got my pants down a little, there was Baby''s head already out. Now that is truly a dream labor! I didn''t get to check boy or girl before I woke up though... I was too interested in calling Eric because he hadn''t been able to make that appointment.

Katelyn has been fussier then usual. She dislikes naps and is having a hard time falling asleep at night too. But with this lack of sleep comes some general grumpiness during the day. Makes me wonder what is going on inside of her.

Katelyn finally had her 18 months appointment today. I guess two months late isn''t too bad. :D
Eric started off the appointment by telling the doc that things were only 6 minutes apart so we had plenty of time and she should just take her time. Her eyes got big and she asked, "really?" Apparently, she''s had women show up during labor to have well child exams for older children. But when she saw Eric was joking, she had a good laugh. That''s Eric for you...

Katelyn weighed in at 23.5 pounds or so (she wouldn''t sit still on the scale and kept trying to schooch off). She''s 34 inches tall and has a 19.5 inch head. The weight was up in percentile from her 12 month appointment but I remembered that she''d had a fever and not eaten well right before her last appointment so that wasn''t much of a suprise.

She''s doing great on her milestones. Everything they asked about her being able to do was things that she was doing months ago. That made Eric feel good. He''s always wondering if she''s doing OK or not. And worrying if she''s heavy enough and stuff like that. It doesn''t help that Katelyn''s cousin could go trick or treating as the pillsbury doughboy! (He''s 9 months younger and is the same size as Katelyn weight wise... and almost totally breastfed...)

Then we got to the question I''d been worrying about... homebirth. Some peds get really nervous about this. We explained that our midwife was lisenced and did a head to toe exam and blood work. And that our midwife reccomended a ped visit within two weeks of the birth and then asked what the ped would prefer. I was nervous that she''d say asap/same day because her partner told me that during a meet the dr night that I went to. But I also knew that this ped seemed more open at the meet the dr night that my sister went to. This ped seemed fine with it and said 2-3 days is her preference. This is the same request she makes for babies who leave within 24 hours of birth so I felt that it was very reasonable. Whew! That is such a relief! This ped will probably be getting referrals from my midwife now. :D

One the down note though... I''ve been having sciatica issues all day now on my right leg. I am so looking forward to my next chiro appointment on Friday!

Katelyn is no longer allowed in the front seat of the car by herself. When we got back from shopping today, I handed her my keys because her new thing is to put them away for me (in the right spot even!). But instead of climbing out of the car like I expected, she crawled up to the driver''s seat. Then she leaned over, put the correct key into the ignition and started trying to "drive" with the steering wheel. After a little of that, she sat down and tried to buckle herself in. She couldn''t get the buckle together so she stood up a little while later to "drive" some more.

Let''s just say that she was less then happy when I insisted that she needed to come into the house. I was too afraid that she''d figure out that she needed to turn the key too!

I had two appointments today.
The chiropractor appointment was first. I was really happy with this chiropractor. It''s the first that I''ve been to him and so I was a little concerned because I''ve been to some that were not good at all. Only out for your money, that sort of thing. But this guy seemed very good. He checked out every single vertebrae and did it in a very calm, quiet manner that was quite impressive. He even had a table that could accomodate my belly. :D But best of all, he''s a Christian!

He found two places in my spine that were twisted and both coorelated to pain I''d been having. One was with the sciatica that I''ve just started feeling and one was with this weird pain right below my left breast that feels like a muscle cramp. That muscle cramp went away as soon as he adjusted that spot and the other definitely helped me to stand straighter without so much of a sway back. The left side of my pelvis is also twisted so that will be adjusted next visit. I''m not supposed to lift Katelyn any more then I have to (let her do as much as I can) and take it easy on my back to let things settle into their new places.

He also said that he didn''t think I was quite ready to go into labor. He has 7 kids of his own and sees a lot of pregnant women in his practice so he said he''s used to this sort of thing.

His office was fun. Katelyn got to play with a Thomas the Tank Engine table and they have a special kids examination room that has toys in it. I didn''t get that one because I got the preggo lady room instead.

He''s going to get things as straight as he can before I give birth.

The midwife appointment was also today. BP 130/82 until I laid down on my left side and then it went to 105/52. So a big jump there. I''d been making lunch right before she came so I wasn''t surprised that the bp was a little higher but at the same time, it was the highest this pregnancy. Urine dip was perfect. Baby''s heart rate was 140 and very reactive. Katelyn showed that she knew how to use a fetoscope. We got a video for Katelyn to watch with me about births so she''ll be a little more prepared.

The midwife gave a different reccomendation for a pool then the one we have. I''m going to check into that tomorrow. It''s about twice as much as the one we have now but that''s not very much still. We didn''t even open the box with the pool we ordered so we can very easily send that back.

She thinks I won''t go as late with this one as I did with Katelyn. I have really dropped. She also still doesn''t think this will be a giant baby.

Our next appointment is Oct 13 which is the day of the new moon. Katelyn was born on a new moon so we''ll see if that does anything for this baby.

We are also seeing Katelyn''s ped on Wednesday and will talk about homebirth plans and bringing in baby. Our midwife reccomends a 2 week check up unless she sees some reason with that baby. So we''ll see what our ped says about our plans.

Tonight Eric and I got one step closer to being ready for baby''s birth. We moved a toy shelf into Katelyn''s room (it''s crowded in there now...) and moved my sewing table up to where the toy shelf used to be. The rooms are a bit out of sorts while we get things totally moved around but the heavy lifting is done. This frees up the living room for where we were going to put the pool. And makes our living room look a lot larger again. Tomorrow I''m vaccuuming and doing stuff in the living room to clean up all the little things from that were hidden under and behind the sewing table.

I have a secret! I can''t tell it to you though. :D It wouldn''t be a secret if I did.

There are definite advantages to nesting. Katelyn and I went through parts of the house this evening before she went to bed and picked up all her toys and the house is now almost ready for the midwives to come. Imagine that! Not needing to spend the morning straigtening up for them. It''s a good feeling. There is still more to be done of course, but most of it''s dishes and I need to run the dishwasher first. So do that tonight, put them away tomorrow morning and reload and I''m ready. That and vacuum... But this is great to have so little because I have a chiropractor appointment in the morning before the midwife appointment.

Katelyn''s cousin was dedicated this morning. So we went over and celebrated this afternoon with lunch. It was very yummy! Katelyn got to sit at the kids table and did a fairly good job. She definitely enjoyed the banana bread that I brought. That''s good... I have one loaf left that I didn''t take over. Katelyn got fussy after the meal though. She was tired and it was her nap time. But she didn''t really want to nap there. (Lots of protesting this idea!)

She fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep for a couple of hours.

I am so restless today. I want to just sit and rest but I''m not finding that very easy to do. I admit it though... I''m in nesting mode. It''s weird because I didn''t go through this with Katelyn. But I just feel this urge to go clean. Very odd for me! And I''ve been cleaning all day with Katelyn''s help. I''m going to see if drinking some water helps. I''m thirsty so that might be part of the probelm. But I''m also a little stuffed up.

Katelyn was cute today. She came up to me with a book and point to a horse and then once I identified it, she neighed at me. She can now do dog, cat, owl, truck, duck, and sheep. But don''t count on her doing it when you ask her! It''s still only if she is in the mood.

Dentist appointment today and no cavities! I''ve started going every 4 months and that is making a huge difference in how my gums are. So I''ll go back in 4 months for my next appointment. I figure that I can use this one sooner rather then later since I know it''s hard to remember routine things like teeth brushing while trying to adjust to a new baby.

Katelyn enjoyed the dentist visit. They put a little chair in the room for her so she can watch what is going on. This is the 3rd appointment where they''ve done that for her (one other with me and one with her dad). She just sits there and watches everything that goes on. I''d look over and she''d be leaning to see around the hygenist. By the time she has an appointment of her own, she''ll know just what to do!

Pregnancy wise... I''m starting to get what I think are braxton hicks contractions. But they just feel generally crampy. Not even bad crampy.. just crampy. PMS type crampy. It means things are starting to move along but gives no clue as to when they''ll happen. Many women get BHs during the first trimester even! Then there''s me... late as usual.

Pam, from Ladybug, who is due the same time I am, woke up this morning to broken water. She posted on Ladybug that she was headed to the hospital to have a cesearean. No word though yet. I''m waiting very impatiently!

I''m finally getting into nesting mode. I just keep looking around my house and realizing that this is not how I want the house during labor and birth. Katelyn''s room is great and I am not having trouble keeping up with that. And the living room is doing well. It only takes 5-10 minutes to pick up Katelyn''s toys and books there. Even with it being harder to get things from the floor... But then there is the kitchen. I get it clean and then it''s right back down hill. I''m making progress at permanent clean there too though. I need to get some food off my counter and into the pantry. That''ll make a big difference. Eric cleaning the fridge for me a week ago helped a lot too!

My bedroom is what I''m really attacking right now. There is a bunch of clutter in there. Including a pile of things to take to Goodwill. At least that pile can be taken care of easily. I made a huge dent in the clutter that has accumulated on top of my dresser today. But now I''m down to the harder to take care of stuff. But it''s progress!

I''d like to move the couch that is in my dining room up to my bedroom. Or maybe a recliner. I can see that being really helpful once baby is here. I''d be able to hide there and nurse if I wanted to. I have memories of hiding in my room with Katelyn when she was 1.5-2 weeks old. It seemed like that was the only place I could go to get away and nurse her in private. But it was so uncomfortable to nurse her while sitting on my bed without back support and such. A couch or recliner in there would really help things out.

And we have the room for it in there. More room then we have in our dining room! But... the couch in our dining room is a sleeper couch. Which translates into super heavy. So I''ll have to be thinking this out pretty well before it happens.