For the love of pete...these tantrums are going to break me!

We had a pretty laid back weekend at the Basham household (unless you're Joel - he spent about 8 hours mowing grass on Saturday, poor fella).  Lily was really well behaved most of the weekend which was a nice change from the tantrums!

But alas, today is Monday, so we were back to tantrum city.  Tantrum at dinner:  Lily couldn't decide which chair she wanted to sit in and screamed no matter which chair we tried to put her in and would want to sit in a different chair only to start screaming for the chair she just got out of.  I attempted time out....fail.  She kept running away.  Although later in the evening, she walked over to where I had put her and said "Sit there.  Cry."  Ha!  I didn't tell her to sit in time-out and cry so that's not what she meant.  I think she was just remembering that she was sitting there, crying.  In order to remedy the dinner tantrum, Joel was the patient parent and took Lily outside for a walk in the backyard.  When they came back about 5 minutes later, she was calm. 

Then we had a meltdown at bedtime. When Joel took her to bed, she screamed the whole way to her room "Mommy do it!  MOMMY DO IT!"  Then she screamed, I mean blood curdling screams, the whole time Joel was changing her diaper and clothes.  He tried to read her a story but she just kept right on screaming.  So I went back to give it a go and after a few minutes of singing every song I could think of, she finally calmed down and we read a story.  Then sang a few more songs.  Then she went to sleep.  THANK GOD.  Joel and I are taking turns being the patient parent.  We're a good team.  And we're exhausted. 

On Sunday, the neighbors had a jumpy thing blown up and all the neighbor girls came over and rang the doorbell and asked if Lily could come out and play.  How cute is that?!  They range in age from probably about 5 to 12. 

Very timid at first, but then Daddy went in with her and she took off!



Jumping!



As of Saturday, I'm 37 weeks pregnant.  Below are my comparison shots between the two pregnancies.  I think I look a little bit smaller in the belly this time around (however, my feet look HORRIBLE in that second pic!).  As a side note, my weight gain did slow down in the last 2 weeks so I'm probably back on track to gain about this same this time as last time. 


Peanut #1
37 weeks 2 days



Peanut #2

37 weeks 0 days



T-minus 10 days!

Drumroll Please!

We saw little Peanut #2 today!  Apparently, I have been busy cooking up another big 'ol baby.  All the measurements that the doctor took were in the 90th + percentile.  The measurement of the femur was in the 97th percentile!  After we were all done and Joel stood up, the doctor was reminded of how tall Joel is and he said that 97th percentile makes good sense!

The weight estimate came in at 8lbs 2oz.  If you recall from my post a couple weeks ago, that's the same size that Lily was estimated at.  However, I was 38 weeks along when that estimate was taken (and one week later she was born at 9lbs 10oz).  This time, I'm only 36w6d and the baby is already measuring 8lbs 2oz.  So if we talk in relative terms, it would seem this baby is on track to be even bigger than Lily was.  However, we still have the inaccuracy factor of ultrasounds, so who really knows?

The good news is that the baby is head down so at least that keeps VBAC on the table (for a little while longer)!

The doctor's advice was that if I went in to labor naturally within the next week, it would be reasonable to consider going ahead and attempting VBAC.  If I don't go in to labor within the next week, the baby is going to be huge, and he would suggest we go ahead with a C-section.  So at this point, we have gone ahead and schedule the C-section at ~39 weeks and it will be on:

September 6, 2012

If I go in to labor between now and then, we'll likely still do a C-section, but we can make that decision 'on the fly.' 

We don't know the time of the surgery yet.  We won't find that out until probably next Wednesday or Thursday.  PLEASE, OH PLEASE everyone pull for me to get a morning surgery time!!!

One more fun tidbit from the ultrasound today.  At one point, the doctor kind of stops moving the ultrasound thingie around and glances down at the DVD player (they typically record the ultrasounds) and says:

"Oh good, I wasn't recording. I just saw the sex of the baby but since I wasn't recording this, you won't be tempted to go home and try to figure it out later."

Joel and I were glued to the screen the whole time and neither one of us saw a thing.  The late term ultrasounds are so impossible to see much of anything so it amazes that the doctor could tell.  But I guess it's kind of his job so....anyhow, all you nosy nellies, there is now someone out there that knows!  He might take bribes.  : )

Time to get SERIOUS about picking out names. 

This post is NOT for the weak

Today started with Lily SCREAMING her head off to get out of bed at 6:00.  I had just gotten out of the shower and got halfway dressed and went in to fetch her.  She pretty much screamed for the next hour until I dropped her off at daycare.  It's always about something she wants but when you try to give it to her, she doesn't want it - or at least doesn't want it the way you're giving it to her. 

I'm sure you all probably are having a hard time believing me when I say that we've been having trouble with Lily tantrums lately since she's always so good mannered.

Well this little gem is from this morning.  Make sure your volume is adjusted appropriately!  (Sorry I couldn't figure out how to turn the video the right direction).

This is what we mean when we say tantrums.  In this particular phase of this tantrum, Lily wants to sit on the vanity in the bathroom while I get ready (something we regularly do when she wakes up early and I'm still getting ready for work).  So I put her up there.  Then she screams to get down and just about propels herself off - I catch her in the nick of time, barely avoiding a face plant to the floor.  That's when the video starts.  She wants to get back "up there" ....  but not really.

I am at a complete loss!  I have no idea what to do in these situations.  This morning was the absolute worst tantrum ever.  Usually she calms down after about 10-15 minutes and at least gives us small breaks in between tantrums.  Not this morning.  SIXTY MINUTES STRAIGHT of screaming.  We have tried walking away, ignoring it, giving in, distractions.  Nothing works.  We haven't spanked or put her in time out.  I don't think she knows what time out is so I have no idea how to even go there and have it be effective.  I guess I could Google "Time Out Strategy" and see what I can learn.  Learn parenting via the Internet!  That's funny.

I am ALL EARS if anyone has any suggestions.  This behaviour started after we put her in daycare.  At first it was pretty mild but it's just escalated out of control over the past 3 weeks.  The staff at the daycare say she's wonderful and very well behaved.  She's not doing this there.  Even this morning, as soon as we walked in to daycare, she stopped crying.

A Couple Small Victories and a LOT of Tantrums

We've had a somewhat busy week this past week and it's been exhausting for many reasons!  Last Saturday, we had a photo shoot with Marie.  I desperately wanted some updated family pictures (we have ZERO family pictures since January when Lily turned 1 - UNACCEPTABLE) and some nice pregnancy shots (if you call pictures of me in my giant swollen state "nice").  The night before, Joel and I were both dreading it.  DREADING. IT.  Neither one of us particularly likes to have our picture taken and we knew that Lily would likely challenge us and it was all so tiring to even think about much less DO.

But we did it!  And Marie did a great job!  During the photo shoot, Lily behaved as expected.  ATROCIOUSLY.  She is 19 months old, so I'm going to cut her a little slack.  I was pretty sure there was no way Marie could have gotten any good pictures seeing as how we were not cooperating very well for her as a family.  But somehow, she did it.  She got a lot of good ones and I can't wait to get my hands on them and print them out and hang them up everywhere! 

Sunday was pretty laid back.  Typical Walmart day and such.  Lily was very good on Sunday.  My lovely, well mannered child was back and that was nice!  I made the following craft for Lily's room - another Pinterest find.  It looks blue in the picture but it's purple to match her room.  It's a wooden letter wrapped in yarn with a couple crocheted flowers I made.


L is for Lily!

 Then we started our normal Monday routine, and Lily the devil child re-emerged!  She's been having these trantrums like crazy.  Screaming and hollering.  Wants picked up.  Wants put down. Wants a yogurt.  No, not that yogurt, but the other yogurt that's exactly like the first yogurt she discarded.  Wants outside, wants back inside.  Wants a bath.  Wants to get out.  Read a story.  No not that one, this one.  No not this one, that one.  Fix my hair.  No don't fix my hair.  FIX IT.  ELLIE!  ELLIE!  Then throws Ellie across the room.  On and on and on.  This has been our nightly routine (and sometimes, when I'm really lucky, we do this in the mornings too) all week long.  Sigh.  Too early for terrible twos and the new baby isn't even here yet so this shouldn't be jealousy/attention rebellion.  What happened to my sweet baby?!

But not to fear.  She's still pretty stinkin cute.  On the way home from daycare today she was singing:

"A  B  C  D  H  I  J   LMNO  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  andZ" 

She sang it probably 10 times and said the same letters each time.  I wish I could have gotten it on video but I was driving and I couldn't get her to do it again when we got home.  Bummer. 

Also, they have officially started potty training at daycare this week.  Yesterday, Lily had a victory!  Yay!

Meme and Papaw sent Lily some mail.  She was excited to OP-EN-IT!

Stickers!!!

Dora Stickers!!!!



Now, we're all decored with Dora stickers.  I'm currently sporting about 12 on my legs, belly and laptap.  Joel's not as lucky, he's only got 2.  : )  The couch has also been recovered.  This baby loves stickers!

Tuesday we had our PrePARE visit at the hospital.  This is where we get registered and they document our "birth plan" and other wishes.  And also tell us all the hospital rules.  And tell us how to take care of newborn.  This is when it really starts to get real that the baby is coming soon!  This was another time where Lily was throwing tantrums like crazy.  The nurse who was talking to us was pretty patient.  We kept bribing Lily with grapes and fruit snacks and ice and milk and post-its (yes I said post-its) to keep her busy, but she was insistent on being loud.  Sigh.  The nurse just kept talking right over the top of her, completely unphased.  She said she has 5 grandchildren and she's used to it.  : )  Whew.

And tomorrow is the ultrasound!  It seems like I've been waiting for this day FOR-EH-VER.  I've been having so much back and abdominal pain that I'm finding myself hoping they will determine this baby is huge and just schedule me for a C-section at the safest, earliest possible time!  So more to report tomorrow!

She's got two left feet

I've been working on a knitted baby blanket for the past couple months for the new baby.  I know, I know.  I've already mentioned one blanket for the new baby...so what gives?  Well I really wanted to make a quilt for the baby because quilts were kind of my thing and I wanted to keep that up.  BUT knitting is my new crafting love.  I learned how when I was on maternity leave with Lily because I thought it would be a good hobby that could be picked up and put down with ease.  If I had 5 minutes to work on it, great!  There wasn't much to have to get out and set up so it was easy!

Anyway, here is the knitted blanket that I've finished up!

And a close up:

I'm pretty happy with it - just don't look too close or you'll see all the mistakes.  :-P

After I finished the blanket, I had just a little bit of yarn left so I found a pattern for baby booties and thought I'd whip those up real quick.  And they did go together pretty fast....except for two little problems.

1)  They might fit a premie.  MIGHT.  I really need to not be so lazy and double check my gage before I get into a project.

2)  I accidently made two left feet.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  Seriously, only I would do that.  I would be REALLY ticked off at my mistake if they weren't already screwed up and most definitely too small for any child born from me and Joel.  I'm sure they will fit one of Lily's dolls and we'll be sure not to use them to teach Lily right from left.  Ha!!



Supervised Visits with Lily's Boyfriend

Today I took Lily to visit with Maria and the kids since we hadn't seen them since we started daycare.  Lily was still asking for Ria and everybody else every morning until about 2 days ago so I imagine I'll start hearing that request again now that she's been reminded!

Everybody was so excited to see Lily.  Alex was waiting with the door opened when we walked up.  She was a bit unsure at first but that only lasted about 90 seconds and then she was running to hug Maria and everybody else.  We spent about an hour there and for probably 40 minutes of that time, Lily was glued to Alex.  She LOVES that boy.  It's pretty clear that Alex would do just about anything for Lily. I think Alex is a tad bit old for her though so we'll have to keep our eyes on them.  :)

Even though Alex looks a little bit annoyed in this picture, he's not AT ALL.  He's eating up every minute that Lily is sitting with him.  So CUTE.  But as Ruben told Maria, I might not think it's so cute in about 15 years!  Ha!

In The Home Stretch

Today, I'm 35 weeks 3 days pregnant.  I had a doctor's appointment this morning and am now officially in to weekly checkups - a sign that the end is near!  Yikes!  Everything is looking good and no concerns from the doctor at this point.  Baby's heart rate sounded good.  My blood pressure was a tiny bit higher than normal but no one seemed too concerned about that.  My weight...well....I'm on track to have gained a couple more pounds with this baby than with Lily.  Too many chocolate chip cookies and Fazoli's breadsticks (the last time I was there, the cashier said "Your baby really likes Fazoli's!" - uh oh, they recognize me....)!

I talked a little bit more about VBAC today with the doc.  He asked me, "How big was your first baby?" 

"9 lbs 10 oz"

"AND YOU WANT TO HAVE A VBAC?!?!  What if you're having another 9 lb baby?!  Are you SURE you want to try that with a baby that big?????"  The look on his face was a bit shocking. 

"Well no, not really. But how do we know if I'm having a 9 lb baby?"

So I'm scheduled for an ultrasound on Friday 8/24.  I'll be 36 weeks 6 days and the doctor thinks we'll have a good enough indication at that time on what the predicted baby size would be by my due date (9/15).  So I guess we'll know a little bit more about when Peanut #2 will get here but it could go a couple different ways:

1. The baby isn't measuring "too big" - if that's the case, they will give me up to my due date to go into labor on my own and attempt VBAC.  If I don't go into labor on my own they will schedule me for a C-section on either 9/13 or 9/17.  They will not induce me and they will not let me go much past my due date (2 days at most and only cause my due date is a Saturday).
2. The baby is measuring "big" - they will go ahead and schedule me for a C-section at ~39 weeks.  Since they schedule surgeries on Mondays and Thursdays, I'm guessing that could mean a birthday of 9/6 or 9/10 or maybe even 9/13 but probably not that late.

No one should go making any travel plans yet cause I'm mostly speculating with just a little input from the doctor.  But it's kind of fun to speculate.  : )

It's very difficult to put much faith in the accuracy of the ultrasound.  With Lily, at 38 weeks, we had an ultrasound and it estimated her current weight at 8lbs 2oz - one week later she was born at 9lbs 10oz.  There's no way she gained 1.5 lbs in a week so obviously the ultrasound was not that accurate.  Now, balance that with the motivations of the doctor (who would probably gently nudge me in the direction of C-section just cause it makes his life easier), and I may end up C-section no matter what just to be on the safe side.

I've said all along that I'm ok either way and I've been mentally/emotionally preparing myself for a C-section since the day I found out I was pregnant.  In fact, I've been so mentally preparing myself for C-section, that if I can do VBAC, I'm probably ill-prepared!!

Also, we still have not picked out any names.  This is not good.  

Peanut #1
35 weeks 3 days



Peanut #2
35 weeks 3 days



After dinner tonight, Lily was so stinkin cute.  She noticed her shadow on the wall and started pointing to it and saying "Lily!  Right there!!"  And then she'd laugh and laugh.

 

We really ought to set her up on some play dates so she doesn't have to play with her shadow!

 

Oh and she's getting another tooth!  Maybe even both of the upper two canines!