Doctor visit!

I'm sure you'd all marked your calendars with the date of my latest ultrasound (today), and you'll all be thrilled to know that all is well inside Mommy's tummy! Here's how the visit went:

I was nervous about this appointment, but this time more from the fact that I'd be bringing my 2-year-old than actual concern about the baby. Call it mother's intuition, but I was pretty sure the little one would be fine.

Things were much more up in the air with the 2-year-old. Last week I gave her the choice of coming with Mommy to the doctor and waiting patiently with me, or staying with one of her little friends and his/her mommy (I named a few so she go the idea). Kalina's response was to cower close to me and gently stroke my arm. Point taken.

So this morning, we role-played being in a dark ultrasound room, discussed her options for either playing on a chair or holding Mommy's hand and the fact that I still might be able to line up babysitting for her. No takers--Kalina happily role-played along as we talked about the baby in Mommy's tummy.

Fortunately, I knew that if anyone could handle this, she could. During naptime, I packed up some favorite books and toys she hadn't played with in a while, and put together three surefire snacks (I figured we could share). I was prepared as I was ever going to be.

The ultrasound began right on time. The ultrasonographer, who we love, kindly pulled a chair up right next to the exam table so that Kalina could sit on it and hold my hand. And then we got started! Here's what we learned:

Little Sister is head-down (yay!), with her face smashed up against me a little so we couldn't really get a good picture. Her heart looked and sounded perfect. She was sitting cross-legged (except I guess she wasn't so much sitting as she was balancing on her head, but you get the idea), and we could see a little foot and a little hand. And she's still a girl!

The ultrasound was scheduled to check her size, and we learned that she's approximately 3 lbs. right now, and in the 30th percentile. Looking back at Kalina's late ultrasound, the calculations were definitely off (at 37 weeks she was estimated at being about 6 1/2 lbs., whereas 15 days later, when she was born, she was 6 lbs. 1 oz.), so I think all we really know is that Little Sister is, in fact, little. No big surprise.

What's more, I have plenty of amniotic fluid: good. Not only is this healthy for the baby, but it will cushion her well against her older sister who is still occasionally known to climb on Mommy despite Mommy's best efforts.

We all came out of the ultrasound in good spirits, as I was grateful for another look at my healthy baby, and Kalina, who did remarkably well, was just glad to be out of there. The baby, having been awoken briefly by the ultrasonographer's poking and prodding, settled back to sleep. Role-playing worked like a charm, by the way--as soon as I was on the table, Kalina looked for my hand to hold and played her part marvelously well.

And then we waited for the next doctor for my regular appointment. For about an hour. In a very small, not enclosed, waiting room. You'd think that after an hour of waiting, a toddler would be at her wit's end--but not Kalina! Granted, we had some pretty cool books and toys to look at, but I couldn't help but shine with pride at how contentedly she sat in her chair, and how she knew almost every single animal in our zoo book. I think the nurse who was working in the area was pretty impressed, too.

Once we were actually in the exam room, Kalina developed enough of a comfort level that she was ready to explore, but fortunately we still had enough toys that I could keep her sequestered in the one safe corner. We also pulled out a special snack: cheese cubes. What a treat!

The doctor finally came in, and said that everything looks fine. It was a short appointment, for all that waiting. I don't have gestational diabetes, my weight gain is still on track (4 lbs. this time, but I think part of it was because I was there in the late afternoon, plus I've actually been trying to eat a bit more, just in case).

I did have one question: I wake up achy in the middle of the night and it keeps me awake. Not cool. Can I please, please take Tylenol often-ish? To get an occasional decent night of sleep?

No dice. However, the alternative is equally appealing--I should be getting more backrubs from my hubby, and taking hot baths. I asked if he could write that out as a prescription. He chose not to take me seriously (I'll request a female doctor next time).

And then, we were out the door, with Kalina chanting "All done, doctor!" on the way out. We scheduled my next appointment, and Kalina was given a cupcake sticker by the nice receptionist. It took her a good long minute to choose the pink cupcake over green or brown, and by the time we were in the car, she'd stuck it to me (as she does with most stickers). She certainly earned that sticker, having held up her end of the bargain to "wait patiently" amazingly well.

I doubt I'll get another ultrasound, and this one didn't produce a good picture (Matt compared the image to a dinosaur), so we'll likely have to wait to meet her in person before we can figure out just how cute her little smashed button nose is. No problem--Little Sister is healthy, so I'm happy!

Little Sister, second to none.

One of the things I'd thought of since early on in my pregnancy was that if I have another girl, I'll have lots of the equipment already ready to go. Not only would she justify our frivolous decisions to buy the pink toys instead of the gender-neutral ones on a few too many occasions (and Matt's just as much to blame as I am, by the way!), but she would also curl up under the same blankets as Kalina, wearing her same clothes. Easy as pie.

Always one to root for the underdog, not to mention the second child, though, I felt a little bit sad for Little Sister. Doesn't she deserve to be as celebrated as Kalina was? Dread of sleep problems aside, she's certainly every bit as welcome.

And then I recognized that, really, Little Sister will be born in a completely different season than Kalina was. She may need a few long-sleeved and long-pant articles of clothing to put over the summery onesies characteristic of Kalina's earliest days. And, what the heck, they make teensy clothes pretty cheap nowadays so we might as well get her some new sleepers--Kalina's will definitely be too big for the first few months. And she must have at least 1 or 2 dressup outfits for pictures and such--she certainly can't come home from the hospital in the same outfit Kalina wore, now can she? And maybe some socks? And how do you keep a 3-month-old warm in January? Kalina and I will be doing some serious clothes shopping in September to get ready for this new sweet little baby.

And then I looked at Lamby. Lamby is just perfect--almost pose-able, a wonderful size for hugging and a lovely little thing. We like everything about Lamby, except, possibly, that she wasn't a darker color to begin with. Little Sister will need an equivalent. And she'll actually need two, so that one can be "taking a bath" while the other fills in. We've added that to our shopping list.

But what about the nursery? We have all of Kalina's bedding--perfect. But. Wouldn't it be a little bit sad for the baby not to get anything new? She now has a white crib that Kalina helped Matt set it up this afternoon (Kalina will keep hers, as it turns into a toddler bed that's a much better size for our house than a twin, not to mention the fact that she's happily sleeping and we don't think anything is worth changing that). And of course she'll need a mattress. So there are two new things right there.

But then, I thought, she should at least have a new blanket, to be her own. Right? And maybe I can create a little theme around it, that would blend well enough with Kalina's old stuff. The theme became butterflies (have you ever noticed that baby boys can choose anything from "under the sea" to trains, while little girls can choose princesses, ladybugs or butterflies, and that's it?). And then Babies R Us was having a sale, so Little Sister now has a super-soft blanket (after all, it will be winter and she'll need to keep warm) and a sheet, all her own. And Target had a crib bumper on clearance that would match just perfectly, so even though I was definitely planning to use Kalina's, this one adds a lot of cuteness for not much money. And Little Sister will definitely need her own lamp, as we use Kalina's all the time still, and I love cute lamps and Babies R Us had just the best one on clearance that's goes absolutely perfectly, so we got it, too. And if I could just find the perfect valance, and maybe a pink or blue butterfly picture for the wall, then we'd really be set. However, Little Sister will be using Kalina's play blanket for the floor--no question about it. And her flannel receiving blankets.

Surely diapers will be reusable, too, right? After all, that's why we went for cloth. Yes, absolutely. Why wouldn't they? Sheesh. But if I do come across a really cute diaper cover, I just might have to snap it up. After all, some of Kalina's are a little bit worn, especially the mediums, which she was in for more than a year. And we re-sold a few of Kalina's newborn diapers that weren't our favorites, so those are being replenished as well. But that's it.

And it's not like Little Sister won't still be using all of Kalina's hand-me-downs. She'll just have a few new things of her own now. So we'll be able to tell them apart in photos 20 years from now.

And so, it turns out Little Sister will be welcomed in style after all. She's worth it, right? :)

Daddy's Adventure

So, Mary is sitting out for this blog and I get to write one, chronicling the adventures of the past weekend (written by Matt).

First, a metaphor:

When it snows in Minnesota, everything gets more or less covered in an evenly-distributed layer, including the roads. Then the snow plows are sent out to clear the streets, which results in no snow on the streets, but several feet of snow piled up along the roadsides. Makes sense, right?

Ok, now replace “Minnesota” with “North Carolina”, replace “roads” with “hiking trail”, “snow plows” with “hikers”, and “snow” with “venomous snakes”. And onto the story…

This past Sunday we went hiking at a local state park. This park has very well-maintained trails that get a lot of foot traffic, so it was a great place to take Kalina. She was an absolute sweetheart, and had a great time walking BETWEEN Mary and I, never more than a half-step ahead of us. We managed to find a toad, a smashed millipede, and a few other things. Kalina spotted the millipede all by herself, which was really impressive! Even the simple things (like smashed ant-covered invertebrates) are more fun with a toddler.

We were all having a great time, but even so, I was keeping a careful watch out for animals, especially dogs… and snakes.

We hiked about a half-mile out before Kalina started to get tired and anxious for Lamby and Mountain Lion (both in the car) and we turned around. Mary and I then took turns carrying her back to the parking lot. About 200 yards from the car, we spotted a big lizard scurrying around the side of a tree, about 15 feet off the trail. Leaving Kalina on the trail with Mary, I made a quick check of the ground and then stealthily crept over to the tree, hoping to either grab the lizard outright or at least scare it back to the front of the tree so the girls could get a better look at it.

I got about four feet from the tree, and started to lean around it, without moving my feet further. Sure enough, clinging to the back about chest-level was the lizard. I don’t exactly remember why I looked down at this point, but I think it was to check my footing before I took that final step to grab the thing.

Now, in 7 years of living down here, I’d never seen a copperhead, the red-and-cream colored snakes all the locals talk about. But there it was, Agkistrodon contortrix, a yard long, exactly how it looks in all the books and websites…EXCEPT THAT IT WAS THREE INCHES FROM MY SANDAL-CLAD FOOT!!!!

Does the snow metaphor make sense now? Idiot! This in NOT Minnesota…STAY ON THE TRAILS!!!

I got out of there in one piece, but was very frazzled. It was a miracle I didn’t step on it, and other miracle it didn’t just bite me anyway. Just how dangerous are these snakes? Well, here are a few fun facts about copperheads, courtesy of the fine folks at the NC cooperative extension (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/copperhead.htm):

-North Carolina has the dubious distinction of the most venomous snake bites of any state in the U.S.

-Copperheads produce hemolytic venom. The bite needs medical attention, is extremely painful, and may cause extensive scarring and loss of limb. Recovery can take upwards of several months.

-Copperhead bites are typically not fatal (hurray!)

-Closely-related cottonmouths and canebrake rattlesnakes often make threat displays without actually striking. However, the copperhead is different. The copperhead's initial threat display is to strike; most copperheads tested have struck out immediately when they felt threatened. This behavior explains why more people receive legitimate snakebites from copperheads than from any other species of venomous snake in North America.

Yikes. I’d still rather be lucky than good, but needless to say, we are going to be approaching these short weekend hikes in a whole new light after this incident. For that matter, we’ll now be walking around the yard at home with more care! While it was really stupid to step off the trail, we all learned a really good lesson about North Carolina fauna. And better to have it happen to me than the girls.

Fishing with Daddy

Every time Kalina reaches a 6-month marker (and ever since she turned 6 months old), we've upped our standards for her.

"No more mollycoddling!" we firmly tell each other after she's gone to bed. And in the past few months, "When she's 2, she'll go hungry if she doesn't eat the food on her plate! We can't drop everything and play with her every time she whines! She can choose two stuffed animals to bring with her anytime we leave the house, and that's IT!"

Fortunately for Kalina, she's so cute and relatively well-mannered that the actual changes are rather minor and inconsistent. (However, we have managed to limit her to one group of stuffed animals wherever we go: she can choose either her 4 cats, her 5 farm animals, or the Lamby and Mountain Lion pair. This is an improvement.)

And also, there are the happy changes: no more diapers for naps, a few more "treats" than we used to allow Kalina and baby gates that are collecting dust in corners rather than blocking her way as she runs laps around the downstairs of our house, as Kalina can easily navigate steps on her own and knows that the litter boxes are yucky.

But one of the biggest new developments is the privilege of being able to fish with Daddy. After feeding the brim (small fish that hang out in the shallows) with bread and noticing how fast they gobble it up, much to the entertainment of our toddler, Daddy couldn't help but toss a line in. On our first trip, he took the top part of a collapsible rod (so it'd be small enough for Kalina to hold), baited it with thawed frozen corn, and was pulling up a small fish not 10 seconds after lowering the hook into the water.

A few minutes later, Kalina had caught her first fish, and then caught several more without any help. I'm not sure I've ever seen her so proud.

Bedtime was approaching so we couldn't stay long, but Daddy and Kalina headed out again the following Saturday morning to catch their fill (figuratively, not literally). And here's what that looked like:

Doctor visit! Baby update!

On Thursday the baby and I went happily off to my 28-week doctor visit. I am actually 28 weeks and 5 days. The receptionist never schedules anything early, so if you get off just a little bit, it can add up. No biggie. I left Big Sister home with her Grandpa because this appointment would be the big 1-hour glucose tolerance test.

Despite a very pleasant morning with Kalina, I was happy to go sit in a quiet waiting room with only Little Sister for company. First things first, I drank a bottle of fruit punch stuff. It didn't make me nearly as dizzy as last time, but it left me wondering:
1. Couldn't they have at least added some vitamins to it, just to make me feel a little better?
2. If they wanted me to have that much sugar, I would much rather it be delivered in the form of a large piece of chocolate cake.
Just a few things to think about for next time.

The doctor was right on time. We happily listened to the baby's heartbeat, and then we talked about my weight gain (14 pounds total) and how I'm really right on track.

And then we got out the measuring tape and the doctor measured my belly. I measured at about 25 1/2 weeks. So, about 3 weeks behind.

Which is generally fine, really. Remembering how I measured behind in my last pregnancy, and how, lo and behold, Kalina was pretty tiny, I didn't freak out. The doctor casually asked if I'd had an ultrasound to check the baby's size last time, and I said I did later on. Then she said we'd do one earlier this time, and so on July 20 I will have one.

Yay! Says the half of me that's not worried--after all. Uh-oh! Says the other half, which has been far too distracted to worry so far--or eat probably quite as much as I should, or rest as much as I should.

Most of the rest of my time before my 1-hour test was done was spent chatting in the waiting room with another expecting mom.

So, in less than 2 weeks, we'll get some more pictures of Little Sister! I'm trying (and generally succeeding) to be more excited than concerned at this point.

Baby Update:

Little Sister, who has been making her presence known for months now, has graduated from cute little taps to attention-demanding rolls and kicks. A week or two ago she held her own mini-Olympics as I was trying to sleep one night, and then spent so much of the next couple of days recovering that I became slightly concerned lest she might still not be in there (she was).

The girl always pushes back whenever her sister shares a wall with her on Mommy's lap--possibly to the annoyance of Kalina, but I'm not sure.

I believe Little Sister had her first case of hiccups (that I noticed, anyway), the other day. They were quite close together and cute, but haven't been repeated. She prefers instead to work on expanding the boundaries of her domain using sheer physical force.

As for me, I could tell when the second trimester hit (ah, relief!) and I can also tell that the third trimester has hit (aargh, discomfort). With the second trimester going so smoothly I could almost forget I was pregnant, the third has come like a ton of bricks. I've learned that I can no longer bend over quickly--which is quite inconvenient if Kalina is picking up a nondescript berry from the ground to sample, I can no longer sing toddler songs after chugging up the stairs (I have to catch my breath, first) and in the past few days, sleep has been mostly a dream. I could go on, and I probably will another time.

We're working on emptying out the baby's room and shifting all of that stuff to other places in our (or other peoples') house. And we thought we'd cut back before Kalina came. But I'm also managing to cobble together a very sweet nursery quite economically in my quest to make sure Baby #2 doesn't get too slighted. Kalina is helping, mostly by answering with an enthusiastic "yes" when I ask if we should get a cute little ____ for the baby. I love my little shopping buddy, and I love having a new little person to shop for!

Little Sister received one of her first presents the other day, along with a birthday present for Kalina (thanks, Krista!). Kalina dove for a handmade cloth ball that's intended for the baby, and excitedly rolled it around the floor. I gently reminded Kalina that the ball was for the baby, and Kalina proceeded to hand it to my tummy, and then put it back in the box. I then garnered Kalina's agreement to teach the baby how to roll the ball at some point after she's born. Aw! [I realize this story was mostly about Kalina, but I still think it's sweet--plus now Little Sister will know that I didn't allow Kalina to play with all her toys before she was even born.]

I'm getting excited to meet Little Sister, but am content that she's in my belly for the time being, as I'm ghostwriting a book and will need every day (possibly every hour) that I can get. I'm enjoying the project--it's a book on parenting--but I know I'll be relieved for a change of pace the second the baby is born.

Pediatrician visit!

Kalina had her 2-year well check today at the doctor. *sniff!* She's growing up!

Breaking the news of a doctor appointment to a 2-year old is the type of thing you draw straws for with your spouse. Since Matt had already drawn the breadwinner straw, though, I am often the one who gets stuck with little tasks like this.

Guided by the advice of one or more parenting resources, I waited until the day of to mention the appointment to Kalina. It went like this:

Me: *deep breath*
Me: Hey Kalina? You know how we talk about getting our work done before we play? Well, this morning our work is to go to the doctor.
Me: *deep breath out*
Kalina: No. No, no, no. No doctor. No.
Me: (slightly relieved at her reaction) And then we'll go to the mall to play!
Kalina: Back home.
Me: Or whatever.
Kalina: Waaahhhhh! (The news must have finally caught up to her)
Me: Mommy will be with you the whole time. The doctor just wants to take a look at you. It'll be quick. He'll listen to your heart (I pretended to listen and made a thumping noise), he'll look in your ears, to make sure there aren't any cats in there (as I pretended to do), and he'll look in your eyes.
Kalina: Mommy play food with Kalina.

And at this point, I knew we were out of the woods, and Kalina had accepted the information as best she could.

Kalina and I tried our hardest to be 15 minutes early to the appointment, as requested, but didn't manage it (truthfully, one of us was trying a bit harder than the other). We split the difference and arrived at 8:22 for an 8:30 appointment. We spent our entire 3 minutes in the waiting room looking at fish in the fish tank and reading the first few pages of a Winnie the Pooh book, and Kalina surprised me by remaining calm.

My surprise turned to dread as Kalina caught sight of the nurse and burst into teary protestations as we were directed to room 4 to prepare for the weighing. She let me keep Kalina's shorts and underwear on, at least, as Kalina couldn't be pried away far enough for me to remove them.

I was annoyed to see they still insisted on weighing her on the baby scale: I think she'd do much better standing up on a big-girl scale. They said that after this visit, she'd graduate, thank goodness. She weighs 25 pounds, 11 ounces.

The doctor was in in a flash. Kalina seemed stoically resigned to her examination--possibly because she didn't have quite the history with him that she does with the nurse. He asked a few questions as he predictably looked into her ears and eyes and listened to her heart. And he checked the hematoma on her shoulder, which has faded quite nicely but is still visible. Then Kalina, a bit sadly, stretched out on the exam table so he could measure her height and check her tummy. Poor girl. I could tell she was terrified and hating it, but she kept a wide-eyed, almost eerie, silence. I was glad to scoop her up into my arms again.

Kalina's weight is beginning to catch up to her height--she's in the 35th percentile for weight, and at 35 1/2 inches, is in the 90th for height. Her head circumference is in the 50th.

Developmentally, Kalina is right where I thought she'd be--very advanced in her language capabilities (the doctor was very impressed that she constructs 8-word sentences), with no worries whatsoever about anything else (she can climb stairs, etc.). And we've crossed the potty training hurdle, which the doctor was also impressed with.

I was pleased to learn that we don't have to take Kalina to the dentist yet, as long as she keeps letting us brush her teeth. Child, if you know what's good for you, keep letting Mommy and Daddy brush your teeth!

I was not pleased to learn that she'd have to have a shot at this visit. One of the vaccinations has been expanded, and Kalina needed immunization to a few extra strains of whatever it was. The girl cried a little, but not nearly as much as at the weighing.

As we were finishing up, I asked the doctor what I should be doing with her in the next year. He urged as little TV as possible--even educational programming is a bit of a misnomer--and mentioned books, possibly some memory games and toys instead. I don't think Kalina would have it any other way.

And then I got to inform the girl that we were all done with the doctor! All done! We hastened out of the room, and selected a cow sticker as we checked out. Then Kalina wanted me to finish the Winnie the Pooh book, and I readily obliged. Apparently, Kalina's fear of the doctor does not extend to the waiting room.

When asked, Kalina admitted to being scared and sad at the doctor. I said I couldn't blame her, but let her know that making it through was something to be proud of. What a trooper!

We headed to the mall after all, and had a lovely time goofing off, our work done for the morning.

Photo: Kalina picking blueberries (and earlier, blackberries) with me last week. We had an awesome time, and even got to feed corn to some chickens. I don't know if more than 1 or 2 of the blueberries Kalina picked ended up in the bucket, but she did at least ask permission before eating the blackberries (there was no stopping her with the blueberries). I left an extra dollar when we paid--which would cover 2/5 of a pound. Hopefully that was enough.