Baby Belly #2 - Week 39

This is the no-make-up, I'm a tired mom look. Just thought I'd keep it real - one day I'll look back on this and smile. 

"Cason. Son. I love you. But PLEASE don't make me take a Week 40 belly photo. PLEASE! I beg of you."

We made it through Christmas. I've been walking every day, pulling Cannon in the wagon, drinking my six-week tea like my life depended on it and NOTHING. The little guy is staying put. What a stinker. He got us all revved up that he was coming early and then . . . stall. I haven't made any significant progress (still about 2 cm dilated) at my birthing center check up, but every time they let me know the weekend on-call midwife just in case. 

I have rough days. The anxiety of waiting, the anticipation of the pain, the FEAR of the pain sometimes is overwhelming. Precious friends are sharing sweet scriptures to encourage me and I carry my verses around on index cards and meditate on them numerous times a day. 

I feel like everything exhausts me physically. The simplest tasks of taking care of Cannon wear me out. We're both going stir crazy staying at home, but I just can't lift him in and out of the car and chase him around the park by myself. It's a catch-22. Don't want to go out, but don't want to stay home.

I also have good days. Days where I'm content waiting on my body to go into labor. Days where I savor the moments where Cannon and I just sit and read or cuddle before nap time. I want to cherish the last few days with just one child. 

Maternity Pictures by Joyful Portraits

I know from carrying Cannon around that one day I'll miss these big-belly days (even though I'm dying to share the load and let someone else carry Cason just for a MINUTE!). So, I wanted to get a few pictures to commemorate the pregnancy belly before it was gone.

I forgot my second outfit (oh the joys of trying to get out of the house with a toddler) but still love these photos that Shadee took for us! Be sure to "like" her business, Joyful Portraits, on Facebook. She's a friend and local photographer from the Love Affair workshop.

Baby Belly #2 - The Danny Stiller Edition

Thanks to Cason coming exactly at 40 weeks on his due date I didn't have to take a Week 40 baby belly picture. 

However, before closing out this baby belly #2 series, I thought I'd give you a little chuckle. My husband is a grand sport of all of my crazy ideas. He tolerates my weekly pictures, my crafty ideas, and my diy projects. He more than tolerates them, he usually embraces them and runs with me to complete them. 

Every week before my belly picture, I adjusted my camera settings using Danny as my "usually" unsuspecting model. ALL of these pictures (except for the pumpkin in the shirt) are unposed and are Danny being himself in all his wonderful candidness. We never anticipated putting these on the blog, but after going through them I just couldn't resist. 

Danny gave his permission for me to post ALL of these. For those of you that make it to the end, you'll understand.

Baby Belly #2 - Week 38

Oh, my achy breaky belly. Things are so uncomfortable. I'm having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions and low, period-like contractions. I've dilated to 2 cm, but that really means nothing. I stopped going out with Cannon (lifting him starts a contraction) and stopped going for walks (any amount of walking starts a contraction) this week because I really want Cason to stay put until after Christmas. Our birth photography is NOT on call on Christmas - so we don't want a Christmas baby!

Cannon and I have both been sick, so I finally went to CareNow and got an antibiotic for a sinus infections. The midwife has assured me that sick, pregnant women rarely go into labor because their body knows they can't handle it. Thanks goodness because I would go straight to the hospital and ask for an epidural if I went into labor this week!

Baby Belly #2 - Week 37

I'm officially on "slow down" mode. Lifting Cannon is exhausting. Do you know how many times a day you must lift a toddler? ALOT! Think in/out of the crib, up/down from the high chair, on/off the changing table, in/out of the car. It's ridiculous!

We're down to weekly appointments at the birthing center which means that one of these days I'll schedule an appointment but will get to cancel it because I'VE HAD THAT BABY! They don't check for dilations/effacement until I ask, so we'll probably wait until Week 38 or so to start doing that fun check up. 

Baby Belly #2 - Week 36

Several note-worthy things happened this week. Some friends from my 2010 Babies Meetup Group threw me a little "sprinkle" for Cason and I walked away with a bundle of disposable diapers. How wonderful!

Nausea has hit again, which basically means it's here for the rest of the pregnancy because my stomach has been crammed up into my throat by this little guy. It's a very odd sensation when you start running out of room to grow a child. You still want to eat a meal, but you literally can't take more than five bites because you have NO ROOM TO PUT IT!

Finally, in addition to Braxton Hicks contractions I started having the low, period-like cramps every so often, which was mildly scary because that's what I had right before I delivered Cannon. So, we're limiting the walking in attempts to keep this kid in until after the holidays.

Baby Belly #2 - Week 35

Oh the boy is growing. I've officially reached the "I CAN'T POSSIBLY GET ANY BIGGER" stage. And yet, oh sad day, I will. For five more weeks I will stretch more. 

It's a weird thing to miss being pregnant after the fact, because during these last few weeks I'm so DONE being pregnant that I can hardly remember what it feels like to have abs and a waist.

People have asked if Cason's movement feels the same as Cannon's when he was in utero. Cason doesn't feel any more active than Cannon (which I'm hoping bodes well for another chill baby) but his movements are different.

Cannon would roll his heel back and forth across my abdomen. I could follow Cannon's feet with my hands. Cason often feels like he's marching or stomping or river dancing.  By the time I try to press my hand on his little foot it's gone, or in another spot. Sometimes I wonder if he's already throwing little temper tantrums of protest from the inside. I'm dying to discover Cason's little personality and watch his feet kick and flail in my arms.

Baby Belly #2 - Week 34

Had another uneventful appointment at the birthing center where everything sounded good, looked good and measured good. No news is good news right?

We carted both boys to our little quarterly review in East Texas and it reminded me of taking Cannon to the top of Enchanted Rock on a quarterly review in Austin FOREVER ago!