Catching up a bit...

Alright, so I'm really far behind in my blogging. Where did I leave off? Just before Cooper's birthday. So I finished these for a swap on Craftster:

Then the weekend before Cooper's birthday we took him out shopping (Build A Bear & the Lego Store) & he rode on a mall train for the first time. He was a big fan, especially because he had to have a ticket.

On Cooper's actual birthday, John was working so Cooper & I went to the zoo. We walked around quite a bit & I started having contractions. I'd been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for quite a while, but at some point they got more regular & I realized labor was starting. My contractions stayed about 10 minutes about for at least 24 hours before they started to pick up. In that time I walked around the zoo, slept all night, went shopping with John & Cooper, & we all took the dogs for a walk, so I was obviously not feeling too bad.
Wonderful cousin Karen (a nurse who does home births) came out to our house to check on me (after her bedtime even! & she lives an hour away!) so I could postpone the hospital as long as possible. (Thanks Karen!) A few hours after she left my contractions were 3 minutes apart & even though I was sure we had a long time, John insisted we head to the hospital. My mom (who lives an hour & a half away) was able to meet us at the hospital (and I'm sure she didn't break any traffic laws doing it). As I suspected, we had plenty of time. I was only 5-6 cm. Unfortunately, the hospital insisted I lay flat on the bed so they could monitor the baby, making the contractions much worse & me much more tense. Three hours later when I was still at 5-6 cm I gave up & asked for the epidural. Not the natural birth I'd been hoping for, but it all worked out in the end. Dexter was born after only 3 pushes & he was healthy & beautiful.


We came home from the hospital a couple days later & a swap package was waiting for me. This was probably the best one I've gotten so far - a rocket zipper pouch:

And a personalized toddler busy book:

Shapes that snap on, velcroed finger puppet animals,

velcroed finger puppet space characters,

a magnetic tic tac "toad" game, and buttoned flowers. Just in time too. Cooper got these as soon as he came home from spending a few days with Grandma & Papa Fred & it kept him busy as we adjusted to having the baby home.

The day after we got home we got to see Adam! His training was done & he had a weekend break before leaving for Afghanistan. He has a condo with basically four rooms (living room, bedroom, office, & kitchen/dining room) & we filled it with screaming kids: Zak, Caycee, Cooper, Lynzee, & Dexter. We're getting close to being outnumbered by the kids which is pretty scary, but we had a great time (although Adam's neighbors probably hated us for being so loud; good thing he won't be living there for almost a year). Here's Uncle Adam with Cooper & Dexter (in green eggs & ham shirts mommy made them!):

Introducing...

baby Dexter

Me & my big mouth...

So I'm 38+ weeks pregnant now which means weekly doctor's appointments. It wouldn't be so bad except that the wait at the doctor's is RIDICULOUS. Thankfully, John's mom agreed to watch Cooper today so I didn't have the entertain him for the hour & 20 minutes in the waiting room & then the extra 20 minutes in the examining room. So I finally see the doctor & all she has to do is measure me & listen to the baby's heartbeat. It should be quick & simple. She asks, "So, is the baby moving?" And my answer should have been, "Yes, absolutely," but instead I say, "Yeah, not as much as before, but he's moving." BIG MISTAKE. What I mean to convey is that the baby is no longer doing somersaults & flip flops, mostly likely because it's starting to get a little cramped in there, but what the doctor hears is "decreased fetal movement". So she asks me to do a fetal non-stress test. Today. Just to be sure everything's okay. Luckily, John's mom agrees to blow off whatever plans she had for the day to stay with Cooper longer, & I spend another couple hours at the doctors office.
At 2:30 pm I'm finally finished (I arrived minutes before my scheduled doctor's appointment time of 10:30 am). The ultrasound shows the baby is measuring correctly, head down, weighs approximately 6 lbs & 15 oz, & has a good heartbeat & is testing out his breathing skills. Non-stress test shows everything to be fine.
BUT, once they order a NST, they recommend you continue having them twice a week until delivery, so now I'm expected to take a NST every Monday & Thursday from now until the baby arrives. UGH! And for what purpose? Basically because I made a comment that was a little too close to a red flag & now everyone wants to cover their butt.
My doctor says that she just ordered the one & now it's up to the NST specialist to decide follow up. NST specialist says they follow up with bi-weekly test for everyone where another doctor is concerned enough to send them for one. Are you kidding me?? Not that I don't want to do whatever is necessary to make sure my baby is safe & healthy, but come on! What a huge waste of time & money! And they say the test only takes half an hour, but factor in travel time, waiting time, and the fact that Cooper naps right in the middle of the day & the whole day is shot. So instead of spending my last week or so before the baby just relaxing, preparing for the baby, & spending quality time with Cooper I will be wasting 2 entire days a week on unnecessary testing.
So the next time you're complaining about the high cost of insurance, think of me. It's people like me that make dumb, random, poorly thought out comments to doctors causing hundreds (or is it thousands?) of dollars to go towards unnecessary tests. Yah me.

Goodies for Gavin

Congratulations to John's cousin Gina & her husband Patrick who recently welcomed a new baby boy, Gavin, to their family! I haven't made it to visit with Gavin & his almost-2-year-old brother Jake yet (I have a cold & don't want to give it to the newborn), but here are the goodies I made for when I can visit:

Two burp cloths & two onesies for Gavin, and a t-shirt for Jake.

We have a weaner!

Yep, it's true.. Cooper is weaned.
People assure you that no child is still nursing when they get to college, but with Cooper I wasn't so sure about that. From the time he was an infant he wanted to nurse constantly and for at least an hour at a time most of the time. So imagine my shock when he stopped almost cold turkey.
A little over a month ago he was sick & congested. He nursed for a few seconds, then stopped. Started again, then stopped. I assumed he was having trouble breathing while nursing. He eventually just laid his head down on the pillow & fell asleep. For the next several days he would ask to nurse, but then cry or just sign "finished" when he was given the chance. I finally stopped offering and he stopped asking.
I had (have) really mixed feelings about him weaning. I always wanted to nurse him until he self-weaned. When I got pregnant, I wasn't so sure about that anymore. The thought of a newborn needing to be nursed constantly around the clock, plus a toddler was a little overwhelming. I cut Cooper back to just before nap-time & before bedtime. It was really difficult for the first week or so, but then he seemed satisfied with it. But then he did stop, & I didn't even realize it was happening. I thought he was not feeling well & would come back to nursing when he wasn't congested, but suddenly it was just over.
He did ask to nurse again one more time about a week after I had last offered. I was happy to oblige, but when he got close he just blew a raspberry in disgust and turned away. I think the pregnancy has affected the taste or smell or something and he's just not interested anymore.
I know it's probably for the best, but it still makes me sad.

In sibling news, we have a... well, I just let you see for yourself. There's no doubt - it's a boy.

What I'm currently working on...

As you probably read in this post, I'm working on a major project lately. As you'd expect, I'm pretty nauseous, & exhausted, so all other projects have been on hold for a while. Luckily, I'm not nearly as sick as I was when I was pregnant with Cooper. I'm having an ultrasound soon to confirm how far along I am, but the doctor gave me a due date of October 20. And that's Cooper's 2nd birthday. Yikes. I guess Cooper will have to learn about sharing really fast. I'm trying to come up with a name for the fetus (not a real name, just something to call him or her for now), so if anyone has any ideas let me know.

I did have a little more energy lately (or maybe I was just tired of being tired) & I made a couple aprons. The first one is adult size & the second is a kid's size. What do you think? I plan to put them on my Etsy shop soon. You may have noticed I added a link to my new Etsy shop to the right a while ago, I just didn't mention it 'cause it's a little sad right now. I do plan to add these though, and hopefully more stuff soon. And I had my first sale! Yah! I sold a set of 3 pairs of baby/toddler leg warmers. Sweet!

Drum roll please...