Something might be happening....

I was at the doctor yesterday and there was no change in my cervix since last week (or the last 3 weeks really), so I was a little discouraged, but now I think the end of my pregnancy may be in sight!

I have been able to move more easily in the last few days, so I actually went to Curves tonight for a workout in hopes that the baby would drop. I made it through the whole workout without much trouble, but Bodo stayed contently right in the middle of my belly. However, when I got home, I was pretty sure I felt a real contraction in my back!

They've kept up since about 7:00 tonight, so I'm thinking we may be having a baby this weekend after all! (Although Bodo is still floating up nice and high so maybe this is all just a trick...) Nothing is too consistent yet, but the contractions do seem to be increasing in intensity. They are definitely still manageable, so I am going to try to get some sleep now while I can. Hopefully we'll have some good news for you tomorrow!

Still pregnant...39 weeks and counting!

So there is no baby news yet...much to my chagrin! I'm not technically due until this Saturday, but I'm hoping this kiddo will come a little early. Tomorrow or Thursday would be ideal since that will work out best for Mark's work schedule. Plus I am really waddling like crazy and pretty much every movement hurts, so I am starting to be anxious to have a normalish body again. As my wise friend Kathy pointed out, I've never been this pregnant before, and I'm not sure I like it!

Bodo also seems to be stubborn like big brother Sully was and hasn't dropped an inch. In fact the last few days I keep feeling movement way at the top of my belly and I think this kid is trying to get as far away from engagement as possible. But hopefully maybe he or she is just waiting until after Daddy's softball game tonight to put things into motion. (Mark didn't get to play at all last week because he hurt his rib when he was at bat 2 weeks ago. Thank goodness he is healed now because we were a sorry pair when we were both gimping around trying to chase down our 2 1/2 year old. Isn't that crazy? Sully is officially 2 and a half!)

So other than playing the waiting game, things are going well. The heartbeat has sounded strong at all my appointments, and I'm a little bit dilated and about 50% effaced. I go back on Thursday for another check-up, and then if the baby doesn't come I start going twice a week on the 24th. We have a non-stress test scheduled for Monday the 24th, but I am hoping we won't make it to that appointment.

It's been hard trying not to think about the baby every second, but I've been able to find a few distractions. The boys took me out for Mother's Day dinner and ice cream:

and I got to have a fun Girl's Night Out with Katie and Rose. (A surprise Mother's Day gift for Katie from her very thoughtful husband. He planned the whole evening for us and even sprung for dinner! What a guy!) We had quite an adventure!

Other than that, we've been to the library, to Target, and had a few playdates with friends. Tomorrow we're planning on going to Metropolis for Wiggle, Giggle & Grow - I'm officially done teaching the class, but since Sully is one of the students, I thought it might be good for him to have one more class before we just stop going. Plus it will get us out of the house and be a good distraction! Hopefully I won't have to distract myself too much longer and we'll have some baby news to report this week! Keep your fingers crossed!

Here's our baby...still in utero!

So we've officially made it to 37 weeks and Bodo is still in the womb! (That's about 3 days longer than big brother Sully stayed in, so I feel good about that!) The 37 week check up on Thursday went well and all seems to be going along as it should. Bodo was snuggled up in there all nice and cozy - I think he or she may be a thumb sucker if in utero behavior is any indication! The measurements of the baby and my fluid levels were all within the normal range, although my belly was still measuring small. I'm in the 37th percentile, apparently. Bodo's estimated weight was 6 pounds 4 ounces, which I thought was weird since that's only 4 ounces less than Sully was at birth. So it looks like I will be pushing out a much bigger child this time! I go back again this Thursday where they will check my cervix to see if anything is going on down there. The weird thing is, I think I am actually hoping that they will tell me it looks like it will be soon! But that's probably just because my sciatica has been killing me since Thursday night, and I am hobbling around like a pirate with a peg leg. I've been propping up my leg, using heat, stretching every 10 minutes, and nothing seems to ease the pain. So if the only cure is going to be getting this baby out, I think I might be begging for that to happen in the next few days! (Mark is probably hoping that too because he's been having to wait on me a lot more in the last few days!) Although, this afternoon the pain does seem to be more bearable, so either I'm just used to it now or my nerve is finally deciding to give me a break. Other than the sciatica, I feel pretty good. Still sleeping ok and no other major issues, so Iguess that's good.

I will post another update after my next appointment, unless of course Bodo decides to show up before that. Either way, I am hoping my body will actually decide it's ready to go into labor on it's own this time. I'd love to deliver without pitocin! Cross your fingers for me!

It's a Girl!!!!

But she's not ours. Nope, this beauty is the lucky daughter of Julie and Gordon - the first of the many of my pregnant friends to give birth. Claire Elizabeth was born on April 6 and is totally sweet and adorable. I may perhaps be a little jealous, but at least I know that if Bodo turns out to be a boy I will still have Claire as my namesake. Claire was my French name in High School and Julie was my very first French partner, so obviously she chose the name because of me- it's especially obvious because we have the same middle name, too!

Don't you think we look good with a girl baby, though? I guess we'll find out soon enough. I'm currently at 36 1/2 weeks, and since Sully showed up one day shy of 37 weeks, I keep wondering if Bodo will be coming in the next few days. I am hoping that will not be the case, though. But I am trying to be more prepared ahead of time, just in case. My bag is mostly packed, the baby clothes are down from the attic, washed and put away, and I've been reading lots of books on natural childbirth and easing labor pain. So even though I don't really want the baby to come just yet, I think we're probably ready.

I go to the doctor for my 37 week check up tomorrow, so we'll see if they have any predictions. I was almost 1 cm dilated last week, but they said that was common in 2nd pregnancies. I'm on an iron supplement now, though, because I am anemic (I guess now I know who to blame for Sully's anemia!). I also measured a little small last week, so they are going to do an ultrasound tomorrow to check on Bodo's growth. Other than that, I am feeling pretty good - a little sluggish and ungainly, but that's sort of normal for me even when I'm not pregnant!

That's it for now! I'll keep you posted on Bodo's development and impending arrival and promise not to post anymore pictures of other people's babies until ours comes.

Some Easter Pictures

I realized recently that another month has passed since my last post. (And I thought I was being so on top of things....) Where on earth does the time go? So I thought I would do just a quick update with some cute pictures from our visit to Sherrard for Easter. Sully had his first farm egg hunt, but was more interested in looking at Grandma's hose and chasing the cat than finding the eggs. It also took about 2 hours before I could get him away from his toys to look for the eggs in the house. But he loved decorating bunny cookies with Grandma and Aunt Sue and he seemed to enjoy coloring eggs. Mostly, though, he had the most fun playing toys and screaming with Uncle Todd. It was a really nice weekend, and we enjoyed being able to spend the holiday with the Willhites and Williamsons.

Here's some of my favorite pictures from the weekend:

Sully's Spring Fever!

The Wacky Willhites are desperately awaiting the arrival of spring and warm weather, and we've been trying to get out to enjoy the sunshine whenever it graces us with our presence. Sully loved the snow while it was here (especially throwing snowballs) but he has been very excited to be able to run around in the yard again and is always in a better mood when it's sunny. So I thought I would post some pictures of what we've been up to this month in hopes of hurrying spring along!

Here's Sully at the KidsWorks Museum in Frankfort where we spent a sunny and enjoyable day with Great Grandma Griffith. They had some new exhibits since we were there last winter and both Sully and Great Grandma had a lot of fun playing with everything.

After Mark cleaned up a winter's worth of Drogo poop (and all day project...good thing I could use my pregnancy and sore muscles as an excuse...I didn't have to help!), he and Sully went out to test out Sully's new golf clubs. He got a fancy set for Christmas from Grandpa Griffith, and Mark is anxious to teach him how to play so he can get on a tour, make lots of money, and help Mark retire early!

Here are some silly photos from St. Patrick's Day. I tried to get Sully to pose with me, but he was more interested in reading Traveling Tom and the Leprechaun. We did get him to smooch Baby Bodo, though, and I think I have more than enough cheese for the both of us in all these pictures!

And lastly, here are some pictures that should shout out spring, but instead are a little chilly. Sully and I went to Brookfield Zoo yesterday with Kathy and Piper. The sun was shining, but the wind was out and it was a bit nippy! We had a fun time nonetheless, and spent a large part of the day in the Family Play Zoo (which is indoors) where Sully and Piper could water the plants, work in the animal hospital treating sick stuffed animals (Piper's favorite!), and see some small creatures up close. Sully got to pet a guinea pig! We also rode the tram throughout the entire zoo, but as you can see, we needed to be bundled up with blankets so we didn't freeze. So much for spring weather! But hooray for the zoo, indoor exhibits, and spending some quality time with good friends!

That's all the pictures I have for now, but I do have some other Sully news to share. We officially began the journey that is potty training last week. It has been quite an adventure so far, let me tell you! The first day everything went amazingly well so I had high hopes. But as the days progressed, Sully got increasingly more adamant that he was not going to sit on the potty and even got to the point where he was telling his body, "No pee! Don't come out pee!" so that he wouldn't even be asked to sit on the potty. So we've had lots of peeing on the floor, countless pairs of soaked pants and underwear, and two very frustrated parents. We've taken a step back in the last 2 days, though, and it has seemed to relieve some of the power struggle. He was in his underwear all day today (which is progress since for a long time he screamed and freaked out whenever I even showed him the underwear) and I just let him do his thing - which consisted of him wetting his pants, then taking everything off from the waist down and telling me he was wet. But since I knew that would happen and had no expectations of him even going near the potty, it was much less stressful for me. Sully even surprised me by being willing to sit on the potty for a bit, so I guess we'll just keep plugging along. Keep your fingers crossed we all survive this milestone! And until I can post again, keep thinking spring!!!

Here's Baby Bodo!

It's hard to believe, but Baby Bodo is due to enter this world in just 8 weeks! YIKES! Two weeks ago (at 30 weeks) I had an ultrasound and checkup, and I had my 32 week checkup on Thursday. Both appointments were full of good news - I'm measuring right where I should be, the baby's heartbeat is strong and easy to find, plus everything looked normal on the ultrasound! There were 10 toes and the baby has a nose and lips (quite voluptuous ones I thought), which were some of the features they were unable to see at my Level 2 ultrasound at 18 weeks. Bodo was actually fairly cooperative during the process as well (surprising for a Willhite, right?), but we were only ever able to see about half of the face because of Bodo's preferred position (shoved between my uterine wall and placenta). It was very cute though because we were able to see Bodo yawn a few times and I'm pretty sure there was some thumb-sucking going on. Mark and Sully were both at the ultrasound, and Sully was really well behaved. He liked looking at Baby Bodo's heartbeat on the "TV" and he kept asking, "What's she doing?" Yes - he did say she. That day Sully decided that Bodo was a girl. Other days he says boy, though. And sorry - I can't tell him if he's right or wrong because we all turned our heads when the technician examined Bodo's "parts." (And in case you were worried - which surprisingly enough, I haven't been this time considering how irrationally I worried about it during my pregnancy with Sully! - she did mention that she only saw one set of parts, not both, so that is always a relief.)

So there's the pregnancy update. While I am feeling pretty good overall, I am having some sciatic pain that I wish would go away and Bodo is definitely getting bigger in there. So much so that he or she has pushed out my belly button. :( I feel movement almost all day, but it's no longer the swimmy kind of little baby stuff - now it's the pushing and shoving of body parts into my internal organs. Thanks, kid.

We're trying to get a head start on preparations for this baby, as well, but please cross your fingers for me that Bodo stays in as long as she/he is supposed to. I've already got some clothes out of the attic and washed and the cosleeper is in our room, so I guess we're at least as prepared as we were when Sully showed up 3 weeks early. Hopefully we'll be able to get some more prep work done in the next few weeks (including getting big brother peeing in the potty consistently...more to come on that lovely subject in the next post!).

Until next time, here's a really dorky picture of Baby Bodo's first St. Patrick's Day!