Silly hormones

Am I the only one who loves the lullaby in the movie Dumbo?

Tonight my pregnancy hormones surfaced blubberingly while we watched the "Baby Mine" scene in Dumbo. The music started and I felt my face explode in tears. I looked over at Matt whilst simultaneously laughing and weeping. A moment he'll likely remind me of in years to come. :)

What funny moments (funny now that is) do you have from your exuberant baby hormones?

p.s. For those of you who enjoy the pregnancy details (it's probably obvious that I'm one of those women, eh?) I lost the mucus plug tonight and am having menstrual-type cramps ever 12-15 minutes or so. Those are contractions, right?

Still pregnant

I'm hacking and sniffling and I don't feel like blogging but I feel obliged to update you all on the pregnancy. I acquired a head cold a few days ago and it really hit me hard last night. It's the hurts-to-cough-sniffling-chills type of cold (isn't that a nyquil commercial?). Yucky! Boy am I thankful to have a college prof. for a hubby that has long winter breaks. He watched Chloe so I could take a few catnaps today. And tonight I'm very excited about taking some codein to be knocked into dreamworld. Any one else suffering from winter colds?

Finally had my membranes stripped today - YAY! I'm dilated to 2.75 cm, 25-50% effaced, and the baby's head is engaged and down. Let's hope things start happening soon!

I was enraptured to hear that I was dilated last week at my appointment. But now I'm seeing that ladies can be dilated for awhile before labor starts. How long were you dilated before labor began?

Joy to the World!

Tonight we drank hot cocoa and sang Christmas carols. Enjoy Chloe's stirring rendition of "Joy to the World". Sorry the video's so dark; we were singing by the light of the tree for some Christmas ambiance. Merry Christmas from our family to yours!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Appointment update

Well, unfortunately I wasn't able to experience the whole membrane-stripping ordeal at my midwife appointment this afternoon. Even though she assured me at my last appointment that she would, today she was hesitant. She'd like to see what my body will naturally during this next week and then use the membrane-stripping technique if things aren't moving and grooving by then. Wah!

I was disappointed because I had really built up today in my mind and was getting mentally psyched for baby #2 to arrive very soon.

BUT the great news is that my body is indeed starting to progress towards labor. Unbeknowedst (is that a word?) to me, I'm dilated to 2 cm already! I know that many women can be dilated for weeks so I probably shouldn't get excited. But after being induced with Chloe and needing drugs just to get me to 1.5 cm dilation, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that my cervix was dilating on its own. And I'm 25% effaced and the baby has dropped and his noggin' is engaged firmly in my pelvis AND I'm measuring smaller than I was two weeks ago. Yeehaw! My midwife is fairly certain this baby isn't as monstrous as previously predicted. Double yeehaw!

Many thanks to all of you who posted your membrane-stripping anecdotes. My prayer is that baby #2 will still arrive this week while my family is in town. It would be sooooooo very convenient and less complicated regarding Chloe-care if that happened. We'll keep you posted!

Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas. :)

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Here's a Merry Christmas gift from me to you. :) Hope you all can take advantage of this great freebie!

The element of surprise

Last night as Matt and I attempted to watch The Fountain (turned it off because we couldn't get into it) I wrapped up most of our remaining Christmas gifts. As I sat there wrapping gifts for myself from Matt I realized that we've totally lost the element of surprise in giving each other gifts.

Matt could care less about the surprise factor when opening or giving a gift. I, on the other hand, enjoy that surprise-wow-aha moment very much in gift giving and receiving. I find it a fun and unique challenge to search out the perfect gift for each person. Of course, we're limited by budget so that presents boundaries to my gifting. It's kind of like a complex math problem with several variables involved (that analogy was for you Kelly) and I get to solve the problem for each loved one. Doesn't that sound like fun?

I've succeeded in keeping most of my gifts a secret from Matt though he "accidentally" found a few cds I got him (by the way, any of you use a cd swapping/exchange store? I got rid of 9 of our cds yesterday that we no longer listen to and in exchange got 3-4 new or used cds for our collection! What a financially frugal way to switch up our music!). Matt however straight-up asked me for a list of specific gift ideas. I guess after 6 Christmases together he's tired of trying to guess what I'd like. Not that I'm complaining; it will be awesome to actually get what I want and need this year. (I'm pumped because I'm finally getting a new nut chopper - talk about romance!)

How about your family? Is surprise a big deal to your clan during Christmas time?

Tomorrow is a big day

Tomorrow is a big day for several reasons.

1) Tomorrow morning my mom and grandma fly in for our Christmas visit. Yay!
2) Tomorrow afternoon at my 37 week appointment my midwife will attempt to strip my membranes to get labor started early. Let's hope it works!

I've also been taking my evening primrose oil capsules (3-4 a day - thanks to tip from Rachel I got a bottle online for under $5!) and drinking my red raspberry leaf tea. I've done a tiny bit of research online about this stripping the membranes thing and I'm getting a bit nervous now. Sounds like it could be painful. Have any of you had this done at the end of your pregnancy?

Toddler animal classification

Chloe has a nature book she enjoys looking at with me and it's been interesting lately to see her limited view of animal classification. To Chloe every animal falls into two categories: animals that will bite you and animals that won't bite you. Not sure where she got that from; my only inkling is from a line in The Cat in the Hat ("these things will not bite, they have come here to play").

Most animals are in the won't-bite-you category according to Chloe. I have taught her though that jellyfish and sharks shouldn't be trifled with. Good thing too, we run across those animals all the time.

Ah, the wonderful workings of the toddler mind. Chloe likes most animals so I can't say she has a favorite. What animals do your kiddos enjoy?

You guys are NOT going to believe this!!!!

Here's a good reason to enter freebie blog contests - you just might win!

I subscribe to goodyblog. It's a fun blog created by the editors of parents magazine with posts on a wide variety of topics. Anything from parenting headlines and trends to unique products and craft ideas can be found on goodyblog.

For the month of December, goodyblog held several free giveaway contests. And due to my love for all-things-free you better believe I took the time to sign up for each one. :) It was easy, just read the giveaway post and then post a comment to enter.

And guess what?!?! I won the gigantic holiday gift guide prize! I did, seriously!!! I just about cried when I received the email today confirming my winnings. I won 32 unique gifts featured in the parents magazine holiday gift guide in their December issue. It's worth over $750 all together. Can you believe this?!?! Here's a link to the blog so you can all see the neato things I won. You'll have to scroll down a bit (it's the 8th one down with the Christmas tree photo) and then click the link to see my winnings.

I'm overwhelmed and dizzied with God's lavishness to me. All these things I won were grown-up non-Chloe type things so it's obvious that God is giving this prize specifically to me (though I hope to share several of the prizes with loved ones as gifts). Wow. I'm speechless and stunned and agog.

Anyone know who I can give the hanukkah activity menorrah to?

Napping battles

For months as I've made mommy friends we dish about our toddlers and their toddler-issues, and inevitably the topic of naptime has come up. I usually politely nod my head as the other mommy complains about how early her toddler "gave up" naps. On the inside I'm thinking, "Right, your toddler gave up naps. Who's in control here? That will NEVER happen to us. Chloe's such a good sleeper and I'm strong enough as a mom to put my foot down and make her take a nap."

Yet another case of my huge and inexperienced mommy-pride. You'd think I'd have learned by now that I do not have all the mommy answers and that just because we're not in a particular developmental/behavioral stage yet doesn't mean we won't be soon. In fact, usually each dreaded stage is right around the corner.

As I type this blog post, Chloe has been crying for 30 minutes in naptime protest. She's gotten a spanking and a talking-to and now I'm letting her cry it out. Now that she's so verbal she tries everything she can think of to get me up to her room. For example, this afternoon she screamed at various times "I poopy, mommy", "I hit my head", "My nose has boogies", "I wake up", "I need help". The poopy one got me up there today but she was bluffing.

I seem to have won the battle today. Chloe cried for almost 40 minutes but she did finally give up and fall asleep (albeit vvvvvvvery late).

Got any tips for a mom who needs naptime advice? What do you do with your naptime protesters? I'm extremely curious and anxious to hear your responses on this one. My mommy pride walls have broken down in the last few weeks and I'm more than ready to admit I need help!

Preparing for baby and freebies from God

Nope, we did not birth the extremely tiny-headed baby pictured at left. That's Chloe's baby Pinocchio that she's singing a lullaby to in our bassinet. Boy was Chloe pumped to see all the baby equipment come out! She promptly put all her animals and baby dolls into the various places and went to work at playing mommy. :) I taught her how to cradle a baby too so now when she walks around with an animal she holds him gently in the crook of her arm. Let's hope she's as sweet and motherly with our real baby!

Things are slowly coming into place to welcome baby #2. The crib, swing, bassinet, dresser, and changing table are all moved and ready. Now that we've moved so much baby furniture from Chloe's room, it's looking mighty bare! I'm hoping to make Chloe's room more of a play room for her but we don't have many big toys to take up the space.

UNTIL Sunday that is. Driving home from church we passed a pile of big plastic toys on the curb waiting for trash pickup. Now, I'm not usually a dumpster diver but I try to keep my eyes peeled for re-usable things if they sit curbside. One man's trash is another man's treasure as the saying goes! We snagged this awesome desk for Chloe (it was quite funny to watch Matt squish it into our pint-sized Jetta). Matt cleaned it all up and it looks as good as new. God is so good!

God also provided some free stuff for baby #2 last night. A good pal of mine is done having kiddos and she had FIVE bins of baby boy clothes for me to go through! Not all of it will work with the seasons and such but we came away with lots of stuff that will take us through to at least 18 mos. Looking through all the baby sleepers and cozy velour outfits last night is making me excited to have a new baby to cuddle. A huge THANK YOU to the Macks for being so generous to us!

Though I certainly didn't need a new maternity top, God provided one for me for FREE while shopping with a friend. She was purchasing a dress and I noticed a coupon for $10 off in the circular lying on the counter. I snatched it up and got a free shirt out of the deal! It's super cute and trendy. I'd post a photo but I'm afraid it might scare you to gaze upon the hugeness of my 36 week belly. :)

It's encouraging for me to reflect on all that God's done in getting us ready for baby #2's arrival. Now that I'm nearing the end of the pregnancy, my energy level dips lower and lower each day so I don't feel like I'm getting much done. I call it "reverse nesting".

I've done absolutely NO pregnancy/baby reading this time around. Any good books you recommend I skim before the time comes? Also, any last-minute preparation tips for a tired preggo?

Favorite Christmas Carol poll

During the day I play Christmas music to keep Chloe and I singing and bouncing around (not that I'm doing much bouncing these days). It's so fun to teach her the Christmas carols and to watch her playing with her nativity set. Today she lost the lamb and she was going around the first floor calling out, "Lamby?! Lamby where are you?" Then she took Mary and proceeded to speak for the virgin by saying, "Lamby! Where are you? I miss you!" I didn't know the lamb was that important to Mary . . . .

I digress. I'm wondering what your favorite Christmas carol, hymn, or song is. And why is it your favorite during this wondrous season?

My fave would have to be "O Holy Night". I especially like the version sung by the lovable crooner, Harry Connick Jr. It's such a gorgeous musical arrangement and the words are so powerful and truth-packed. The song's dramatic musicality emphasizes the immense importance of God's incarnation in His saving-Son Jesus on Christmas Day.

Now it's your turn to answer . . .

A pregnancy first

You know your internal organs are getting squished and twisted when you have to go to the bathroom twice in one visit.

Last night I rushed upstairs (yes, our only bathroom is upstairs - ugh) to relieve my cramped bladder. As I finished washing my hands and prepared to leave the bathroom the urge struck me again!

My poor organs.

p.s. THANK YOU for all the wise labor-inducing advice! Not sure if I'll try all of the suggested methods (I about fainted when I saw the price of evening primrose oil capsules) but I'll keep you posted. Discreetly posted that is, wink-wink.

Pregnancy update: 35 weeks

My overwhelming feeling at 35 weeks is anticipation and longing for this baby to arrive early. I'm sure every mother feels that way during the last weeks of pregnancy, but I more so since I'm still measuring bigger than Santa's huge pack of toys (like the Christmas metaphor?). I'm measuring as though I'm 39 weeks now so it's no wonder I feel like I want to be done with all things pregnancy!

During my most recent appointment, my midwife gave me all the possibilities for labor. As it's looking definite that I won't be able to deliver baby #2 if I carry him to term, these are the scenarios:
1. I go into labor naturally 1-3 weeks before my due date and the baby will be small enough for me to deliver vaginally.
2. If my body is showing signs of readiness, they can try to induce me but not until 39 weeks. At which point the baby would probably be too big (if their estimates are correct) and I'd most likely end up with another c-section.
3. We can schedule an elective c-section at 39 weeks. (We'll also have another ultrasound at 38 weeks for a weight estimate.)

So at least I'm guaranteed that something will happen during week 39! :)

We're praying for scenario number 1 but we know that God is in control. All that matters is that we get a healthy bouncing baby boy out of this experience!

As for me, I'm pretty uncomfortable. Feeling a lot of pressure and forceful movement from our little guy. I get up often during the night and I've developed a 4 pillow system to keep me as cushy as possible. I'm convinced God will use these restless nights to prepare me for the newborn weeks to come!

My midwife gave me some herbal suggestions for getting the hormones moving and grooving. Do any of you have any tips or stories of what works to get labor going?

It DOES really exist (and other news)

Kudos to Jen S. for validating my claim on St. Nick's Eve as a real holiday. (No, Carissa, I didn't make it up!) One of my blog subscriptions even mentioned St. Nick's today. Chloe really liked her Christmas puffy stickers and I'm pumped about her Elmo preschool activity book. Thanks for the goodies, mom! (I mean St. Nick, of course.)

In other news, Chloe is doing great passy-free. She only cries a wee little bit before bedtime now and it's almost like she's totally forgotten about it. Yeehaw!

Potty-training seems to be progressing upwards slowly. Turns out the stickers aren't truly motivating her. In fact, she really likes sitting on the potty because I read to her and she gets my undivided attention. So lately when she sits she prolongs the process and doesn't do her business. I'm on to her now though! Yesterday I realized her bladder could NOT possibly hold it any longer and so I tried a new tactic. Our conversation went like this . . .

Me: Chloe, I'd like to go downstairs and make some Christmas cookies. Would you like to help me?
Chloe: (immediately jumping off the potty) I go downstairs please!
Me: Well, you can't come downstairs with me to make cookies until you go pee-pee in the potty. I don't want you to have an accident while we're downstairs.
Chloe: (hopping back up on the potty and tinkling in a matter of seconds) I go pee-pees, mommy.

What a stinker! She certainly knows what's going on and can't fool me anymore. Tonight she did something similar and went almost immediately when I motivated her the right way. Pray for me to be consistent and to separate reading books from potty time. When baby #2 comes along I certainly won't have the time (or the energy) to sit and read to Chloe on the potty.

St. Nick's?

Tonight I'll be sneaky and put little stocking stuffers into all our stockings to celebrate St. Nick's Eve. My hubby's never heard of it but I grew up always excited about waking up to goodies in my stocking on the morning of December 6th. Since I'm from Milwaukee, I'm assuming this holiday tradition has German roots.

How many of you celebrate St. Nick's Eve?

Binky break-up

Tonight we were forced to start the binky break-up process. After a long, disappointing and messy day of potty-training and then a naptime strike with Chloe (Chloe won), I was more than ready for something positive in my mommy world. Matt took Chloe away for some errands to give me some quiet recuperation time. He insisted we have fishsticks and mac-and-cheese for dinner so I'd have no supper prep stress. Then he gave her a bath and she was exhausted by about 7:40 this evening.

I was reading her a bedtime story when she dropped her beloved passy behind the bedrail. It must have been humorous to watch me in my huge pregnant state contorting myself to fish said passy out from behind the bed! I came up empty though and the passy fell irretrievably into a nook that is beyond both Matt and my reaches. So, the passy has been lost for good.

Thankfully we've started talking to Chloe about giving up her passy so she wasn't completely taken aback. But she wasn't happy either. Here was our conversation tonight . . . .

Chloe: Mommy, I want my passy please.
Me: It's lost Chloe, there's no more passy. You don't need it anymore because you're a big girl, remember?
Chloe: Mommy, I want another one passy please.
Me: But sweetheart, it's lost and we don't have any more passies.
Chloe: (after a pause) I not a big girl anymore.
Me: But you ARE a big girl, sweetie. You're so big that you don't need to use a passy to go night-night. Only babies need passies.
Chloe: (rubbing her eyes from exhaustion and having difficulty expressing herself) I . . . I want a birthday cake.
Me: Ok, I think it's time to pray together and go night-night. We'll pray that God helps you fall asleep without your passy.

After only 10 minutes of crying she's sleeping passy-free tonight! Yay! God is His providence kept her from napping so she'd be tired enough not to put up a big fight. Let's hope she deals well with this new transition. Matt was ready to run out to the drug store to buy another passy but I'm fine getting rid of it now. I've heard going cold-turkey and enduring the crying is the way to go. What do you all think?

Snowpants!

Today we woke up to a couple meager inches of snow. It wasn't much but definitely enough to do some romping and playing in.

I happily got out Chloe's winter snowpants and decked her out for the cold. She's such a big girl; this year she's graduated to the overall type of snowpants! She LOVED them. The feel, the noise, everything. Check out her happy smiles below! Who needs snow when you've got rockin' snowpants?!?

Outside we made a teensy-weensy snowman, romped through the backyard making footprints, and formed some snowballs. Chloe doesn't get the whole throw-the-snowball idea yet. She just wanted to hold hers and carry it around. :)

After only 20 minutes I got cold and forced Chloe inside. She kept saying, "I not cold. I not cold, mommy!" Oh well, there will be other snowy play days where her and daddy can brave the weather for longer periods of time.



What are your favorite snow-playing activities?

December already?!?

Am I the only one in shock that today is December 1st?!? I'm still wondering where October went, much less November.

Our Christmas decor is up, most of our cards are mailed and I'm plodding forward on some homemade Christmas gifts. I'm a slow worker on sewing gifts and my project-time has been diminished as of late as my energy and Chloe's seem to be inversely proportional. It doesn't help that I'm constantly making mistakes like sewing snaps on wrong or mis-measuring fabric.

This year Chloe is extremely cognizant of what's going on and so we're hoping to institute some family Christmas traditions. We've already started moving the Mendez-family traditional teddy bear on the Christmas calendar but that's it so far. I'd like to do an advent devotional every night after supper instead of our regular Bible reading/prayer time. Any suggestions?

Tonight I also plan to give Chloe her own little nativity set to play with. She actually found it herself at a dollar store last month. I was looking down the aisle at gift wrap and Chloe discovered an open nativity set which she proceeded to set up and play with there on dollar store floor.

I naively thought I'd have time to make our own advent calendar to use during our devotional time but that never happened. Oh well! Is it just me or is it difficult to even find advent calendars to buy in stores these days? I've only looked two places but was disappointed not to see any advent calendars displayed. Now that I'm starting to look online, I'm astonished at how many advent calendars have nothing to do with Jesus' birth.

What family Christmas traditions do you practice?