Yes, I'm counting down in days. Susan is, too, so I don't feel so bad. Today we're 23 weeks. At our appt. last week, the doc said that at the next appt we'll schedule the C-section, so we should figure out what day will work out best for us. We decided on December 14th, so that will be Brynna's birthday! The 14th is on a monday, and Doc said she wanted me staying in Angelo for a couple days after I'm discharged in case there is some kind of problem. So we'll deliver on the 14th, leave the hospital on the 16th or 17th, and go to my mom and dad's for a couple days. We're going to get a couple of Christmas's in during those 2 days. Our barn Christmas with my dad's side has already been planned for the 19th, so we'll be in town for that, and we'll have my mom's side out to her house on the 18th, so we won't have to go anywhere but still get to see everyone. After that we'll go home, wherever that may be by then, and have a week to rest up before more festivities. Hopefully, we'll already be in Iraan, where all of Cameron's family is, and won't have to travel at all.
It's so strange to know the exact day that she'll be here. It's even stranger that her delivery is the only thing that's for certain in our lives right now. We don't know where we'll be living, what we'll be doing, etc. It's very stressful. I can't plan a nursery because if we're still in this house, the girls won't share a room, but if we've already moved, they probably will. Planning for Christmas is hard because after we do get to whatever home we're going to, traveling might not be very easy. I'm sure it'll be fine on the baby, but I'll be recovering from my second c-section, and I don't expect it to be easy. I'm really stressing over this, even though I know there isn't a thing I can do about it. I've really been praying for peace and to relax and let things take the course God has laid out, but it's difficult for me. Some might say I have control issues, lol. I've quit praying for a buyer for the house, because that might not be what God wants for us right now. Maybe I should just go ahead with plans to be here for a while, get the nursery ready, plan for the holidays, etc. We are going to continue trying to sell the house, I think we've decided to lower the price again, but I'm not sure what good it'll do. No houses are moving in Stanton right now, it's not just ours. If no one's calling, what does a lower price matter? But sometimes that's just what needs to happen. Who's to say that some one's been keeping an eye on the MLS listings and likes our house, but hasn't called on it because of the price (which by the way, is way below appraisal as it is!) It's so hard to know what to do! UGH!
But, enough with all the lamenting! I'm not a negative person, never have been, and I refuse to get bogged down. After all, I have another baby on the way! And an absolutely precious 2 year old. So a baby update, if anyone is even still reading this (I probably would have given up on this post a while back!)
- Brynna moves constantly! I feel her at least once an hour, but it's late at night that she really gets rolling. I hope that she moves a lot in her sleep and that she's not awake so much. And I really hope that the 10 pm gymnastics practice will stop once she's born. I felt a heel a couple nights ago make about a 3 inch swipe. It's so tiny! Cameron said that I'm crazy for thinking that I know which body part I felt, but when you've been through it before, you know what you're feeling for and how different limbs feel. She also had her first case of the hiccups yesterday, I think. She's still a little too small for me to feel those very well, but I was laying down while D'Laney was napping so I was still, and my tummy was twitching a little. D'Laney had the hiccups every day at 2 o'clock the last 2 or 3 months of that pregnancy. You could have set a watch by it!
- At our appt last monday, I was 21 wks 5 days, and my belly measured just over 23 inches. You're supposed to measure the same: 21 wks, 21 inches. Not my babies, I grow them big! But since we'll deliver almost 2 weeks early, neither the Doc nor I expect her to get to 9 lbs like D'Laney. I also gained the most at this appt. to bring my grand total to 7 lbs. Maybe I'll actually fall within the normal weight gain range this time, as opposed to the 60 lbs. I gained with D'Laney. I guess technically, I only netted about 30, because I was heavier and lost 30 when I was so sick before we got it under control, and then gained that 30 back plus 30 more. But I didn't lose much this time, maybe 5 lbs, and then just didn't gain any for a while. I don't step on a scale, ever, I don't believe in it, so I'm not sure what the gain vs loss was in between appt, but the baby is growing really well, obviously, and I feel pretty good, and the only thing on me that is growing is my tummy (ok, and a little back fat) so if Doc says everything is fine, I believe her.
- The average baby is a foot long and weighs just over a pound right now, so I expect that Brynna is around 14 inches and weighs 1 lb 2 oz. Of course, I'm just guessing. I really have no idea. I do know that if she were born today, she has over a 60% chance of surviving. Cameron got down right mad at me for bringing that up when we hit that point with D'Laney, so I think I'll let him know that as soon as he gets home, hehe. He said that it was morbid and why would I even think about the baby coming this early, but it was comforting to me then and is now too. It means that she's closer to being an actual baby and not just this alien in my tummy.
- I'm still feeling pretty good. I stay exhausted, but my allergies have been really bad lately, and that really wears me out. And of course D'Laney wears me out, but I don't mind that too much. I'm beginning to have some Braxton-Hicks contractions, but they haven't been painful, just annoying. It's actually kind of comforting knowing that those lovely things come towards the end. My feet and legs have been swelling a little, too. That's a new preggo symptom that I didn't have the first go-round. I think it has to do with my lack of water intake. I'm trying, I really am, but I simply forget to drink as much water as I should. And it's not like I'm drinking a lot of coke or anything (I've cut way back, if you can believe it) I'm just not really drinking anything. I've never been one to drink a lot throughout the day, and it's been very difficult to keep up with the water. Which reminds me...
- Ugh, I hate water.
- I've decided not to do cloth diapers. The deciding factor was all the laundry I did the last two days. I'm bad about letting it pile up and then spending all day one day (or two days) catching up, and I couldn't let diapers pile up like that. You would think that would make me keep up a little bit better with the laundry that I have, but I don't work that way. So disposables it is. I'll just hope that Brynna doesn't have the high maintenance hiney that her sister had and that we won't have to buy the most expensive diapers they make. D'Laney would break out if we put anything but pampers on her, she still does.
- We go back mid Sept and we'll schedule the delivery, and then our next appt in mid October will be the BIG one! I'll take the nasty glucose test, yuck!, and we'll do the 3D sonogram. I'm so excited about it, because it is a very accurate picture of the baby. D'Laney looked just exactly like the sono. I'm more curious what Brynna looks like that I was with D'Laney because we already know what a baby of ours looks like, I want to know if she'll look exactly the same or way different or just slightly resemble her sister. With my sister and I, you can tell we're siblings, but we don't favor each other all that much, Cadye actually looks a lot more like one of our cousins than she does me. It's the same with Cameron and his brother, they don't look exactly alike, but you can tell that they're related. For some reason, I think that Brynna and D'Laney will look like twins separated by 2 1/2 years. Cameron thinks that Brynna will have much darker hair and maybe get his blue eyes. I sure hope so. He has beautiful eyes, I hope they're passed to at least one of our girls.
Well, I think that's it. I know I said I was working on a 2 year old post for D'Laney, but it's coming along pretty slowly. She doesn't really hit any milestones these days, so it's more her likes and dislikes, and I have a hard time remembering when I sit down to blog. So as I remember something during the day, I pull up that post and add a little each day. It might take a while.
