Who Pea?

So more than one person has asked us recently to clarify our "pea" nicknames. Here's the breakdown:

Nicole = Swee
Wilson = small pea born of Swee, therefore, "Swee Pea"
Violet = small pea to-be-born of Swee, but Swee Pea already taken...so, "Wee Pea" then "She Pea" and now "Chick Pea"

Josh is not a pea. Or a swee. Just a he.

Baby Update: 37 weeks.

So we're technically full-term now, which means anytime little baby girl wants to come out, she's free to. Although seriously, she is actually welcome to come a week late because then I could finish my classes and maybe vacuum the nursery first.

We saw the doc on Tuesday, and he gave us some interesting news. First, I have not progressed in dilation or effacement at all this past week. Still 2.5cm, still 50%.

Sad. But oh well.

Second, y'all know how huge I am? Like, as the Safeway checker pointed out to me this morning, I look like I'm carrying five babies in there? Doc says I'm carrying around lots and lots of fluid. Which is good. Maybe I won't give birth to a Thanksgiving turkey after all. And maybe that means some of that 50 pounds gained might disappear faster than I expected... (hey, a girl can dream, okay!?)

So, there you have it. Average-sized baby disguised as holiday fowl and feeling stubborn about coming out too. Lovely. She already takes after her father.

Belly Pictures.

Okay! So! We took belly pictures again. We hope to take some more with Wilson before I pop, but we'll see.

I was 33 weeks when these were taken, and I'm 37 weeks currently. I'm noticeably bigger now...

Belly 2 Pictures

Super In-Law.

Remember weeks ago when I mentioned my [cookie]lust over thin mints? And how all the wretched little girl scouts went into hiding about thirty-six hours after beginning the cookie sale? Well my father-in-law found one of them hiding in the gulches of Helena, Montana. AND he managed not only to wrestle a box of the beloved minty goodies from her (well, actually, from her father, but that's another story), he even delivered them to me personally when visiting this past week.

Many thoughtful gifts have found their way to me in recent history, but few will be as fondly remembered as this one.

Love ya, Paul. *mwah*

Turtle Mode.

So anyone who knows me well knows how much I obsess over organization. (Case in point, my family purchased a virtual buttload of baskets and organizational products for me as shower gifts.) So you may not be surprised to hear that the "nesting" instinct has an exponentially obnoxious effect upon me -- I organize not just the baby's room and things, but anything and everything (and anyone and everyone) that falls into my sphere of influence. It's obnoxious. Avoid me. Really.

Anyway, one of the interesting side effects of this whole nesting thing is how it impacts my socialization. I've noticed this in other pregnant women too, and certainly remember it in myself when I was getting close to having Wilson. That side effect is what I think of as "turtle mode", a time when all focus and energy moves inward in preparation for little baby's arrival, often at the cost of social engagement, even with close family and friends.

I'm not saying I'm going to tuck my head in and not talk to anyone for the next four weeks. But y'all should know that my every waking thought is pretty much dominated by images of plump baby girls and nursing bras and postpartum belly sag and anxiety over when she'll actually arrive and if I bought enough bottles of Desitin and is her coming home outfit the perfect one? (I'm sure I don't need to detail out for you how this is affecting my studies...) It makes it a challenge to be motivated to do much more than daydream and fulfill my basic daily duties.

So if I seem really distracted or disengaged, please don't take it personally. It'll be over soon. I'm just doing what I think that most late-term pregnant people do -- tucking in and making sure our nests are ready for hatchlings!

Baby Update: 36 weeks.

Hello! So little Chick Pea (as I dubbed her recently) is now 36 weeks old, gestational time. Based on the strength of her kicks, she's steadily getting fatter and stronger, and is right on the money with her measurements!

Saw the Doc today. I'm 2.5cm dilated and 50% effaced, which for the uninitiated means I'm a quarter of the way to being ready to push the baby out (literally) and she's halfway down the first leg of the journey. Good baby!

While I would be thrilled to have her arrive at, really, any time, I am resolved to her being on time. Perhaps even late. The truth is I have so much to do between now and early June that if she decided to wait that long, while I would be exhausted from lack of sleep (it's really hard) and barely able to move (I'm that huge), it would be okay. Because then I wouldn't need to take a nursing infant into an organic chemistry final, for example.

Anyway, good news! We're making progress!

Good baby!

Wilson's First Birthday Party.

I don't know about some of you other parents, but birthday parties are one of those events that you hear nightmare stories about and dread yourself because you just aren't sure how your kid is going to act or how the other kids are going to act and what if they're all different ages and pick on each other and on the birthday kid and what if the parents are all snobby jerks and then add sugary cake to the mix and it just spells d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r...

Well, it was totally fun! There were lots of kids and lots of food and all the grown-ups were nice. The chilluns played on one of those inflatable bounce thingies, and while Wilson was intimidated by it (and the copious amount of children bouncing inside of it), by the time we left he was flopping around in there with the best and biggest of them.

He was mostly well-behaved. At one point he pushed the birthday boy for not sharing his football. *sigh* Did I mention the birthday boy is not only twice as tall, but twice as old as Wilson? Yah. Oh, and when he got impatient waiting in line behind a little girl for a turn on the slide, he gave her a shove and sent her down. Josh claims she didn't notice. But still.

So, that's certainly a milestone. First birthday party*, and we made it out in one (well, three) piece(s). We look forward to the next part-ay! Good baby!

*Now, technically this is not the first birthday party that Wilson has ever attended. For example, he has many cousins, many of whom have had birthday parties. But they are family, and we know and they know what to expect of each other and each other's kids. It's when you go to other people's parties that things can get scary...and this was our first experience in that context. And it was good!