transition time!

Nope, not talking about the labor phase.  Still perched on my birthing ball waiting for that!  Rather, I'm talking about a blog transition-- I guess it's time to birth a new blog.  Can't say this is what I wanted to spend my evening trying to arrange, but as I tried to upload some pictures from Sean's birthday this evening, I found out that I'm out of photo storage space under this account!  It's occurring to me now (after hours of piddling around trying to get something in place) that perhaps I could have just transitioned this blog to a new account, but frankly, I'm tired-- and not going to mess with figuring that out any more tonight.
So, until further notice, keep an eye on this website:  http://mumthemug.blogspot.com/

If I can manage to keep all the history of this blog and still add new photos by switching accounts, then I'll certainly do that so everything can stay in one place.  Will keep you posted!

precious cargo

We got to visit with my friend Sarah and her TWO kiddos, Zanna and Wyatt, the other day!  Zanna was keen on including Wilbur in the action, so he came downstairs and even got to go on his first tricycle ride!  

And it's about time I introduce the adorable Wyatt to this blog!  Soon to be Baby Sims' best little buddy, if only our baby would come out and join the rest of the world!

Wyatt's two months old now, with the sweetest grins, biggest eyes, and calmest little disposition.

 Josephine got to practice doting and stroking and holding.  Just melted my heart, of course!

You are due, O Wee One. EMERGE.

Josephine told me this morning, "Mom!  I want to eat you up!  You're like a BIG, big BLUEBERRY!"

 Hard to disagree with her.

Here's the belly at 40 weeks.

I do have good news: my appointment this afternoon revealed that the contractions have been productive lately!  I'm 4-5 cm dilated, 70% effaced, and 100% THRILLED to hear that news.  It's a lot easier to wait around on his arrival if I know that things are actually progressing in the meantime.

That said, I've been brainstorming ways to convince him to come.

A) Acupuncture.  I am going to look into making an appointment tomorrow.  His father has a total phobia of needles; if that sort of thing is genetic, perhaps if he notices my flesh being pierced, he'll be inspired to leave.

B) He's clearly too comfortable in there.  I know myself and my own tendencies with inertia... I'm assuming he's not much different.  So I need to make life a little less comfortable for him.  To that end, I have taken up various outdoor agendas— being sure to do one or two things outside each afternoon that involve general physical misery: mosquitos and sweating and bending.  Things like gardening, hanging laundry, filling car tires with air, canoeing (this was fun, but not comfortable), weed-whacking, installing car seats, etc.  I shall continue with this agenda, namely because it seems to irritate him, so I think it's effective. As I get increasingly desperate, I might need to increase the amount of discomfort.  (Downside is that I get tired about the time that the contractions really ramp up, so I run off to bed terrified that I've started something I don't have the energy to complete.)

C) Make him pay.  In this society, if something is overdue, it doesn't come without penalty.  Time to introduce him to the real world.
My first thought was to take the approach of overdue fines; according to Austin public library system, that's 25 cent/day for a book or $1/day for a DVD.  That seems pretty weak, to be honest.  Not sure it would really provide the needed incentive.
My second thought was that I might be able to sue for breach of contract.  But perhaps that's too far to the other extreme… a bit heavy-handed.  Might hinder the maternal-infant bond when he does arrive.  (And while I could no doubt prove that I sustained damages due to his breach, some folks might debate whether a valid contract existed in the first since the fetus never signed a dotted line.)
In the end, I think I'll just start charging rent.  He booked this room for 40 weeks.  Staying longer will incur at a pro-rated daily charge of $25.63/day.  (Price figured off the going studio apartment rate here in our neighborhood.  I think it's fair.  Every 3 or 4 days I'll have enough for a massage to ease my pains of facilitating the squatter, so that'll do.)

D) Audio filters.  I have grown sensitive to how various noises might sound to him.  We took a walk the other evening and passed two large dogs that barked their heads off at us.  The baby immediately went to kicking my ribs violently, which Sean interpreted as babyspeak for "MOM get out of here NOW.  NOT a good place for birth-- please find dark quiet cave."  I've also noticed that my contractions lessen dramatically around Josephine.  (However, I suspect that is my own subconscious being unsure that it's a wise thing to bring another baby into the world when I still have one very demanding dependent hanging around).  While I am not in control of how often he hears Josephine whine or fuss, I can at least influence the positive end of things, so I feel good about spending time laughing with friends.  We also just finished watching Lonesome Dove, so no more gunfire and indian whoops to keep him cowering.  In short, I'm trying to be mindful about how appealing life sounds out here.  Yesterday's weed-eating might have set us back a bit-- but I don't know-- maybe he likes power tools.  Anyway, it's okay for him to be introverted, but he needs to be that in an extroutero sort of way, so I'm attempting to coax him out by making this big, noisy world sound all happy and appealing.

E) Food.  This is truly a last resort, as I suffer equally, if not more so, by removing this persuasive pleasure.  But come on.  If your mom was feeding you steak and the occasional spoonful of gelato, would YOU exchange that for months of monotonous breastmilk?  And so the day is rapidly approaching in which I will need to engage in culinary warfare.  Nothing but dill pickles and sauerkraut (and bucketfuls of antacids).  Babies have extremely sensitive taste buds.  This is my last resort, but I'm convinced it would be more effective than the last few combined.

Already underway are at-home acupressure stimulation, sitting around on a stability ball, raspberry leaf tea, the occasional attempt at positive visualization, sniffing a hanky that's been sprinkled with clary sage, and other standard tricks of the trade.  We're TRYING to send the message.  Trying to point out that his due date is TODAY.  

Let's go, buddy!  

We'll all be happier when this part's over!

the precarious positioning of a pregnant lady in a canoe

Always a terrific idea to take a couple balance-compromised folks and stick them in a canoe.  I'm kind of surprised Sean went along with the idea.

 He took the photo above, which is why the horizon is straight.

Then I attempted to turn around (read: shift to one side of the boat) and take a picture of them with the Austin skyline in the background, while not dropping his phone in the water and highly distracted by the kayak we were coasting towards.  For the record, the result is either a scalped husband, or the appearance of sliding off the planet, or the reality of sliding into Town Lake.

Some photo ops aren't worth it.  I gave up.

As you can see... we've been killing time... attempting to keep Josephine and ourselves distracted from The Thing We Are Here Waiting For.
Between numerous trips to the library and all the standard chores/housework around here, we've managed to take Josephine to Deep Eddy twice, on a playdate with Julien, to the park, on a daddy-daughter date to a juice bar, to the Pease Park splash pad with the Denings, canoeing on Town Lake, and to her first matinee.  We went to see Brave at the Alamo Drafthouse.  Bit too intense, it turns out.  We're still listening to her tell us how Brave is a "bad movie" and "maybe next time we can see a Brave movie where the girl's mom doesn't turn into a bear (insert casual shrug) or sumthin'..."

Tonight, it was Chuck E. Cheese.  Her first real encounter with such chaos.  She loved it.  I'm still astonished that we got her to bed without a total meltdown, as that's typically the result of over-stimulating this child.

Tomorrow's a playdate with Zanna!  (Last week's got cancelled, because I thought I was going into labor.  Ha.  Hahahahaha.  Labor!  Can you imagine??  With this child?)

well, Janell won that one.

I mentioned in a recent post that the race was on to see if Janell or Junior would have the next birthday. That statement, along with my prior conviction that this boy was most likely going to come earlier than Josephine did... in addition to me calling Sean home early... all thoroughly jinxed the whole notion of an early arrival, of course.  My due date is Thursday, but the chances of him coming before then are slim, according to the midwife I saw yesterday.
I was two cm dilated at 37 weeks, but not effaced, nor was the baby low and engaged.  As of yesterday (my 39.1 week appt), nothing has changed about that business.  I was pretty surprised to hear that, considering how strong some of my Braxton Hicks are getting.  Lately, every other day seems marked by intense contractions, so I thought SURELY they were doing SOMETHING.  I was pretty crushed to hear how nonproductive all that has been!
Of course, on the bright side, the contractions are getting really nice and strong, so I can choose to view it as some sort of uterine fitness training regime.  One day of relative rest.  One day of intense bouts of weight training.  One day rest.  One day of paced heavy lifting.  One day of rest.  Another day of hourly bouts of strength building.  Etc.  So perhaps by show time it'll be nice and strong and ready to go!

I just don't really understand why all the contracting isn't opening stuff up.  So I looked into early labor hormones.  I'm wondering if taking zinc with my daily vitamins is affecting my progesterone levels, which need to drop in order to go into labor.  So I think as of tomorrow, I'll drop the zinc.  I take it for immune system support, but I'd rather catch a cold than deliver a 10 pound baby two weeks late.  So bye-bye zinc!
(I know, I'm an idiot.  Still trying to control things.  I can see God sitting there shaking his head.  He has the same look on his face that Sean and I exchange when watching Josephine and her little OCD tendencies.)

Meanwhile, bags are packed, half are loaded in the trunk, and Junior's little living space is all set up and ready to roll!  (Yeah, he's sleeping on the window seat.  Josephine still occupies the crib in her room, with one wall off to look like a toddler bed.  Once we come back from NY, she'll have her little IKEA bed and then the baby can have the proper crib.)

It's also occurred to me that the baby isn't coming out because he's not happy with any of the names on our little list!  :-[  So I keep watching for new names (despite the fact that I think I've read and considered every name ever given to a male).  If he's wanting something special in that department, he'd better get some loud and clear hints dropped our way very soon!

Okay, just wanted to post an update, and that's pretty much all.
Do say a prayer for renewed resolve on my behalf when it comes to carbs.  I've been swimming and walking in the evenings, but probably not enough to combat the weary, burned-out-on-pregnancy, self-comforting caloric intake.  But it doesn't appear that he's coming tomorrow, so I need to refocus.  Must stay strong for this last stretch!!!

a whole week of grandma!!

My mom stayed with us last week, much to our deepest appreciation.  She helped tremendously with chores and Josephine-- essentially taking over all the main responsibilities-- and played with her and read to her endlessly.  I don't think Josephine's ever had that much undivided attention for such a long span of time, and she. ate. it. up.

My camera sat on the shelf the whole time, despite about a hundred different instances of watching them and thinking, "oh, man, would I love some photographic evidence of this!"  I focused on baby prep, though, and some intentional episodes of rest and relaxation.

The idea was that she would come down and be with me while we waited for Sean to join us on Friday, just in case something happened.  But by Monday, I was calling Sean and saying he ought to come home early, as I thought there was a good chance the baby was on his way.  I won't go into graphic depiction of the symptoms that concerned me, but suffice it say, I thought the risk was real.  Naturally, Sean's arrival on Tuesday coincided with the abrupt halt of all such symptoms.

Lucky for us, though, my mom still hung around the remainder of the week, which also enabled a couple of dates for Sean and me and gave him time to settle back into things here in Austin and get some work done before really having to tow the parenting line.  We are SO grateful for her tireless help this last week!

I did insist on taking a couple pics before she headed out yesterday...

I think it's funny that they're making the same expressions in these.

In terms of baby prep... we got the clothes and gear washed and mostly in place, figured out how to arrange his stuff without disturbing Josephine's little world too much (which involved a lot of disturbing OUR room), packed hospital bags (mostly), I took a "coping skills" class with my doula, Kim, read about 5 more baby name books (still undecided), prepped a bunch of paperwork and other needed stuff, had another check-up, and below are pictures of us on the hospital tour yesterday. 

There's still a short list of things that need to be ironed out before I can truly stop fretting about an early arrival, but that list is a LOT more manageable than it was a couple weeks ago.  Considering my exhaustion level and the pace at which I'm moving lately, it feels like just about the right amount for what I can get done before my due date.
Without a doubt, having my mom's help and Sean's early arrival and help all enabled progress without the heaps of stress that would have come if I were trying to manage it all single-handedly.   So thankful!

ten little monkeys swimming in a pool

Two families with three small kids, and four families with one kid each... I do believe at its peak there might have been fully ten little ones in this splash pool.  A treacherous ordeal, when you consider that I'm stretching the definition of "little" to include up to 6 years.

No real injuries, though-- just fun times.

(Weeeellll, the first time water was splashed in Josephine's eyes she screamed as though the pool had been filled with caustic acid.  See above.  Other than that, fun times.)

 Eventually the swimmers petered out until it was just Josephine and Elora left.  Like usual, I loved watching them play together.

Josephine's such a social little bird.  It really warms my heart to see her back with her friends here in Austin-- equally as much as I enjoy getting to reconnect with their parents.  I love our small group and all these kiddos!

her fourth Fourth

I'm a little shocked to realize that this is our fifth summer here in Austin!  Time has gone quickly.  This means Josephine has been through four neighborhood Independence Day parades.  It's fun to go back and see how much she's changed every year, so I'm linking to the different posts:

2009

2010

2011

and now here we go for 2012:

Her tricycle has plastic wheels, which makes it not-so-road-worthy.  But we gave it a shot anyway.  I didn't feel like dragging her in the wagon this year, but I knew she'd want some kind of vehicle once we got there and saw all the other little kids on bikes.

A fire truck came this year!  She got to sit inside of it, too.

There was a decent breeze if you were somewhere open enough to feel it, but regardless, it was HOT.  We did get to see a couple friends, so that was nice-- but I tucked tail and steered us home before long.  Josephine was a little disappointed, as this year she spotted snacks, face painting, and balloon creatures being formed, but even she wasn't too hard to persuade once I showed her the lines.

Most of the way home is downhill, so she rode that, giving me a break from carrying her tricycle, but she opted to push it the last little ways.

On whole, another successful parade in the name of a day very worthy of commemorating!  So grateful for the freedom and liberties we have and for the people who sacrifice so much to protect them.

a couple of renegades

Obviously we didn't plant a garden this year, since we weren't going to be around.  But shortly before Josephine and I went to join Sean, I noticed a tomato plant growing way over by the firewood stack.  It's sort of the catch-all part of the yard, so no doubt a seed took root after falling off drip line hosing or some other kind of gear.

Popped a cage around it, and we came back to find it growing happily.

Josephine was especially excited about it; she has always loved Sean's tomato plants in particular.  Despite my attempts to teach her about germs and washing things before eating them, she tends to view them as all-you-can-eat-buffets.  

Knowing this, we went ahead and had a little harvesting session, and I'll have to keep a close eye on the situation as the green ones ripen.  It's really not a good part of the yard for her to be lured over into without supervision, especially considering the proximity to the snarling dogs.

But I'm glad, especially for her sake, that we have this little renegade plant.  It's been fun incorporating her into the vegetable gardening, and I was a little sad she wouldn't be having that kind of wholesome influence this year.  In the end, she's still getting a small taste of it.  Or rather, dozens of bite-size, ideally escorted, and hopefully pre-washed tastes.  :-)

the royal family

(I actually haven't finished posting pictures from New York, but since Sean isn't around, I figure he's more interested in seeing what he's been missing than what he was with us to experience.  Hence the Texan interlude in my posts.)

Royalty, Part One

Janell, at camp at couple weeks ago, was crowned "Mr. Camp Summit" in their annual, cross-dressing, performance-based competition.   There she is, second from the right, having won everyone's hearts with a surprising serenade.  Apparently she floored them all by kicking her stage fright and singing her heart out into the microphone, until they finally had to take it away from her!  Boy, would I have loved to seen that!  So proud of her.  

And of course, her little photo album of camp pictures is her new pride and joy.  She showed everyone so many times that on the last night there, Josephine woke me up by talking in her sleep, saying very earnestly, "You know what that is?  That's Aunt Janell's camp!"

Royalty, Part Two

My mom, whose brother brought her a balloon dubbing her the Birthday Princess, turned 29 again on Saturday.

We went to church that afternoon and then out to eat at Bellisimo's.

This was followed by cake and presents back home.  I didn't get the greatest pictures, but these are somewhat representative.  In addition to it just being fun to celebrate my mom, it was a great excuse to get everyone together.  Happy birthday, Mom!

And now the race is on to see whether Janell or Junior has the next birthday!

Um, it's hot here, folks.

The night before Josephine and I boarded the plane to come back to Texas, we slept with the windows open, under a cover, with cool 50 degree temperatures keeping us comfortable.  Didn't even break a sweat hauling all our parts and pieces 3/4 a mile to the bus stop the next morning.   

So you should have heard the passengers on my flight as we started descending and the pilot came over the PA system announcing, "It's a sunny and beautiful 104 degrees in Dallas..."  

Quite the disgruntled bunch!!!

Now, of course, it's back up with highs in the 80's and 90's in NYC, and we'd definitely already had some hot days before I left, but on whole, my view of Astoria's preeeeetttty rosy, seeing as how the majority of my time there consisted of gorgeous spring weather.  Seeing as how they actually HAVE spring weather. 

And despite a lifetime of practice enduring Texas summers, I can't say I've handled the transition back especially gracefully.  I used to take some amount of pride in being able to weather the heat, or at least, in not fussing about it endlessly.  

But frankly, I feel fussy.  Endlessly fussy.  This is pretty brutal, people.  

And there's just something so dismal about knowing it won't go away for many, many weeks.  Once it's here, it's here.  No storms to magically cool it down to 60-70 degrees, the way they get up north.  

I'm excusing my rather indulgent approach to our air conditioner because of the whole very pregnant thing.  But I'll admit, it's just an excuse.  In reality, my skin just got used to feeling comfortable, and I'm having a hard time letting it go.  If I thought I could have a pool installed before Sean got home or noticed the credit card bill, I'm pretty sure I would do it.

I did enjoy a pool vicariously through Josephine at my parents' house.  Pictures of little kids swimming are so cute.  I hate that I have so many of her in the $6 swimsuit I found at a variety store next to our apartment in Queens... it was literally my only choice for her.  She has a cute one in Austin, but I hadn't packed it for NY.

Of course, the $6 candy cane one I found that would stretch over my tummy (again, my only choice) is even worse.  Hence the vicarious enjoyment.
Though, I'll be honest: at this rate, hideousness isn't holding much sway any more.  It's starting to fade in light of things like lower body temperature and less gravitational drag.  So Austin, be forewarned... you might find a whale-sized Christmas decoration in your neighborhood pool.  Please don't stare.  Divert your eyes to my cute kid who will no longer be sporting this rastafarian gucci handbag.  Thanks.

(In case you're wondering why my mom is sitting in the pool fully clothed-- she slipped and fell in, much to Josephine's delight.)