The Birgies! Part 2

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:27:06 -0700

So the kids (and all of our visitors) love to peek through the curtain and check out how the baby birdies are doing. Gavi keeps saying "I love my Birgie!" When the Mama and Papa birdies were off hunting I opened the sliding door and pulled the feeder over close so the kids could see the birdies up close. They loved that! :-)

Anyways, here's a bunch more pics that havew been taken over the last week or so. They are in sequential order, oldest at the top and newest at the bottom...

Watching over the babies

How close the birds nest is to the house...

The Birgies!

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:55:21 -0700

So Gavi went over to the window one day and said "Birgie!". "Yeah, great," I said. A bird on the bird feeder. Kind of expected, right? So Gavi kept saying 'birgie!' and so I finally went over to look. A robin had built a nest on the bird feeder! I set up the camera and started taking pictures. I will update the pictures here as I get them processed... Mama bird, keeping the eggs warm

The 4 eggs

Papa bird, checking in

Gigi's Dance Recital

Fri, 11 May 2012 20:44:26 -0700

Jim here. Gigi has been going to weekly dance class all year long. The place she attended was in a hundred year old building in a local town. As the designated person to take her there, I would drop her off, get my morning coffee from the local coffee house, and then sit in the waiting area on the second floor of the dance studio while the little kids tromped around upstairs. It was especially cute because being a class full of 4-5 year olds meant they didn't exactly walk softly. They would run from one side of the studio to the other, and those of us waiting on the floor below would see the old lamp hanging from the ceiling shake, rattle, and swing from the stomping upstairs. :-)

Anyways, the class practiced all year long, and had their final recital a little while back. Gigi was so entralled with the stage and seeing the other kids dance. When it was her class' turn to go up and dance, they were the best yet!

New Bibles

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:01:53 -0700

I am so filled with… whatever that maternal thing is called that fills me up and makes me swell whenever my children hit that new milestone that makes me feel both pride and nostalgia; looking both forward and towards the past. It’s that feeling of children growing up and watching it happen before my very eyes. It’s that next step. Another step in watching who they are, what they value, and who they are becoming. It’s that Mama feeling, and much more than a mere FaceBook moment.

We’ve had this Beginner’s Bible from the time Gigi was 2. Both kids ask to read it all the time, and we’ve read through it so many times that the kids practically have it memorized. It is truly a great beginner’s bible, but for us, it was time to go to the next level.

Jim took both kids to the bookstore today, and they each got to pick out their new Bible. The one Gigi chose almost makes me

Guess the Due Date!!!

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:07:33 -0700

If you’ve been with us for our previous two journeys to our children, you’ll know we have to have a guessing game! With Gigi, we guessed when we’d receive her referral, and with Gav, we guessed when our court date would be. With Mehra, it’s rather obvious. We’re going to have:

Guess the Due Date!!Please play!

In keeping with tradition, here are some facts and interesting information (if you don’t know what the acronyms are, don’t worry about it- not really that important):

Based on my LMP date, my due date would be: June 6.Based on my O date, my due date would be: June 3.Estimate based off of 19wk ultrasound: May 31-June 2.

My sister went late

Marathon

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 07:19:22 -0700

(Thank you for all the great comments on my previous post! I really appreciate the feedback, and learned some helpful tips!)

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted two such contradictory things simultaneously before. I want Mehra to keep baking for at least another 7 weeks because that’s what is best for her, but I also desperately really want to be DONE. As one person put it, “I’m ready for this Cadillac to get out of my garage!!” I just want my body back. That sounds selfish, I know, but anyone who has been through the third tri knows what that means. There are just too many things to list (many of them TMI!).

After going to bed last night and still being up 4 hours later literally crying in pain, pacing the floors, trying the recliner, trying every yoga and stretch position I could think of, arranging 6 pillows in numerous ways,

Postpartum Prep Care

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:12:21 -0700

I need your help, girls! If you have delivered a baby either vaginally or via c-section, I want to know your tips for the moments, days, and weeks after birth to make things as comfortable as possible “down there.” I’m counting down the weeks, and just as I plan to have my hospital bag ready to go, I also want my postpartum care kit ready for the big moment!

At this point, I am making the assumption that I will deliver vaginally, but I would like to hear c-section healing tips as well just in case. Here’s what I have so far; I can’t claim credit for most of the things on my list so far- they came from my friend Kara.

Colasce/Miralax – rather obvious.Witch Hazel Pads and/or inserts to make the lady bits feel better.Squirt Bottles - Fill with warm water and use to rinse after urination.Numbing Spray (Dermoplast) –

Registered! **UPDATED with How To Info

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:48:35 -0700

We took the day off last Thursday and went and registered. We had sooooooo much fun. Buy Buy Baby is such a wonderful place, and they were incredibly helpful. Kudos to them. No matter where we went within the store, there was always someone to help us, answer any questions we had, or even help us compare items. They were always asking if we wanted another bottle of water, and one time when I was bent over a dresser with Jim massaging my lower back, one of them women rushed up and asked if I was ok! I had to reassure her that I was not in early labor; my lower back was simply hurting. Their entire goal was to make sure we had fun, and they met their goal easily!

We started the day off by dropping both kids off at school, and then we had the whole day to ourselves (thanks to my mom who picked both kids up at the appointed times and did the Grammy thing with them). First stop- Starbucks! I try not to drink any caffeine except

Beside Myself

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:47:22 -0700

I am just beside myself. I don’t know how else to describe it. For the first time ever, I actually like being pregnant! How weird is that that the best tri is the third (so far)? I finally understand when some women say, “I’m not ready for the baby to come because I’m enjoying being pregnant.” Prior to a couple weeks ago, I thought they were loony and delusional (sorry if you are one of those women!). Now I’m completely going back and forth on, “I want to see my baby. No, I’m not done being pregnant yet. Yes I am. No I’m not. Yes I am. No I’m not.” Still won’t say “love being pregnant,” but I am enjoying it more now.

Yes, everything aches and I’m big and ungainly and all that, but with Zantac and Tums as my bedfellows, I can manage. I’m cheerful. Chipper. The energy everyone promised would arrive in the

Starting to get excited

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 06:25:14 -0800

This post can be filed under keeping it real. I’m getting excited about this baby. Not that I wasn’t excited about her before, but it’s a different kind of excitement. It’s no secret that pregnancy was never what I wanted or envisioned (other than as a means to an end). Nor is it any secret that I still mourn the loss of my daughter from India. And while I sugar coated it, I hope it was no secret that I absolutely hated pregnancy in the first trimester. Hated it. And the second trimester was a disappointment. Everyone told me I would love it, and on the good days it was pleasantly tolerable. None of this I hold against Mehregan. It’s not her, it’s just pregnancy in general.

Tomorrow I start the third trimester. The beginning of the end. Perhaps it’s finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel that makes me excited. Or perhaps

25 week belly pics

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 06:51:35 -0800

T minus 14 weeks- woo hoo!

It's time for me to be immodest again and do the bikini pictures. The reason I like them so much (and I cut my head off so that I can forever deny they are actually me should I decide to run for government office- ha!) is because they show off the true bump.

Here's the comparison between 19w and 25w. I do believe Mehregan has grown a wee bit! :-)

I had to take out the belly button ring a couple weeks ago. It was the part of my belly that was protruding the most, and it was getting caught on things (ouch!!!!!).

My weight has been tracking really well so far. Fairly pleased with that.

All in all, things are tracking very well and progressing as they should. As for how I'm feeling (and doing),

Viability and Crib Bedding

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:38:44 -0800

Woo hoo, I’m viable! Well… Mehregan is at any rate. I hit 24 weeks yesterday which means that if for some reason, I go into labor that can’t be stopped and Mehr is born, she has a very good chance of surviving. This is such a relief. Although I want her to bake until at least week 39, I can stop worrying over every little cramp. Not that I really worry per se because cramps are totally normal, but it’s always in the back of my mind.

My biggest fear is still the cord. Always afraid she’ll do enough spins and somersaults to wrap the cord around her pretty little neck and strangle herself. There’s nothing I can do of course, so it’s pointless to worry or think about it, but I do have to admit that I find the cord length to be one of the design flaws in the creation of female human anatomy and conception (sorry, God).

The kids and I were singing the ABC’s to Mehr one evening of hopes

23 week ultrasound pics

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:53:42 -0800

Another SUPER visit at the ultrasound place today. Last time we took Gigi (age 5), and she wasn’t very engaged at all. Today we took Gav (3), and he was really engaged. He kept looking at the screen at all the baby parts, he was asking questions of the technician, and when I asked him what he was staring so intently at he replied, “Duh baby, Mom-mom!” It was all very sweet.

Mehregan is looking great. She weighs 1lb 9oz which is fairly big considering average at 23 weeks is 1lb 3oz.

My uterus is only about an inch above my belly button (which is low because of my height) which is why my turkey timer (belly button) hasn’t popped yet. However, the tech had to dig the wand into my ribs to see Mehr’s foot which was significantly bigger than 4 weeks ago!

She was facing the right direction this time (and head down) which meant the tech was able to see all the positions of the heart she needed to.

Father Daughter Dance

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:26:40 -0800

Amazing. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Lovely. Happy. And they are both all mine. (swoon) I do hope someone puts on a mother-son dance.

Preggo brain for Husbands?

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:03:45 -0800

So everyone knows about pregnancy weight gain for women and sympathy weight gain for men. What about that forgetful, spacey preggo brain for husbands? Does it transfer from the wife to the husband?

Mine has proven to have a very good case of it. (Honey, I love you and honor you and respect you, but these are just too funny not to capture for posterity.)

All in the same 3 day period:

Locked himself out of the house.Made a cup of coffee with the Keurig, and in the span of that 30 seconds, completely forgot about it until later in the day.Started a pot of water boiling, and forgot about it until all the water had boiled out.Made a loaf of bread, and forgot to add the yeast (Jazmynn, our English Mastiff, enjoyed that bit of forgetfulness very much.)Forgot to turn off the car headlights and drained the battery.Forgot to turn the car off and left it running.Got frustrated that the Apple TV wouldn’t connect, and then realized the internet was not

Convergent Paths