Hello? Anyone there?

I've been a bad blogging mommy. I've been thinking about blogging for about a month now, but I still don't have my pictures from Christmas edited, and that's been preventing me... Plus I've just been generally exhausted and busy! That's my excuse. So for now, just know that I'm alive, and this little boy has now been cooking for 27 weeks. That means I'm in the THRID TRIMESTER! Goodness! And Baxter is starting to talk (finally!) more and more. Except I'm Dada, and so is Jason, but that's ok. At least Mr. Waffles has a name (Woofooz). It's 8:42, and I think I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll blog more later now that the gate has been broken?

16 months old, my little man...

I can't believe he's 16 months old. And counting! Here are some of his recent antics over the last month. I'm really glad I twitter, so that I can go back through my twitter feed to remember some of this! If you don't follow me on twitter, that's ok. My feed is protected, because there are a ton of spam bots out there. Ugh.

So I"m going to copy and paste some tweets, and might explain them :)

(Keep in mind, that over the last month Baxter has cut 2 molars and an eyetooth, and is working on a second eyetooth. UGH!!! We've also been battling the WORST diaper rash ever.)

Baxter, your stacking blocks are not shoes. But gosh you're cute. Even better when you woof at the same time.

Uhhh, Baxter figured out how to pull up the mattress of the pack n play. We may be in trouble. He can also open his door...

Baxter keeps turning on the tv to infomercials. Sorry Baxter, I'm not bald now but the way you're acting I may be by the end of the day.

I started singing to Baxter, and he coveted his ears and grimaced. There goes my confidence. Concert choir, you have failed me.

Overheard downstairs- Jason "you can't get milk from me, I don't have boobs!" in response to Baxter signing to nurse.

Baxters new favorite thing - when I "kick" him in the head. He picks up my feet and makes me do it. Boy has a long memory too! LOL

The noob kicked the doppler and startled Bax with the loud noise. The HB was 140, and the ultrasound is scheduled for my birthday!!!

Baxter, the kitty does not want your cherrios, no matter how enthusiastically you share them. Time to vacuum.

Nrbbgfhgfggfrtrffhjhgsf grglts Gdsfeyrcdcswcfehrgvr f dvzmgbh - love, Baxter

I will never understand my sons love of infomercials. He turns on the TV, and changes the channel until he finds one. Today it's "The Ninja"

Baxter is a noisy farter today. He let's one rip, looks over at me, & cracks up laughing. Such a boy! Oh wait, he probably got that from me.

Baxters new favorite toy - a bucket he wears on his head (but won't wear regular hats) http://twitpic.com/q15l1 and sometimes over his face.

Soooo tired. Already took two naps, and I'm ready for bed. Two nights on your own with a toddler as a pregnant mama is killer!

Baxter loves his yogurt sooo much, he has to have two spoons so he can eat it quicker. And we figured out the sleep issue, my lack of milk :( (this pregnancy has completely killed my milk supply)

Operation: give Bax a sippy at 4am instead of the boob - SUCCESS!

Reminded why I wait 20 min after Bax wakes up to change his diaper. He doesn't poo overnight, and that first one is just like clockwork.

Showed Bax a pic of a walrus, and told him the funny teeth were called tusks. He pointed at his teeth. I didn't know he knew that one!

Baxter faked sleep in the car, and J and I made fools of ourselves with silly noises to wake him up. He slyly opened an eye & giggled at us.

Jason felt the noob kick last night :) and I'm 17 weeks today! 2 weeks and 2 days until we find out of we have a little brother or sister.

Bax got too quiet. I walked over to Js desk to see what he was doing. Turned the chair, & he was waiting hands clasped like Dr. Evil, lol!!

Baxter is carefully putting pine needles back on the tree. Without touching the tree. Lol.

This might be Baxters last night nursing... Or one of them. He's more interested in his sippy. Cry! I don't want to be done yet! (He woke up at 10pm wanting to nurse, so I let him. That was the last time :( December 2nd, 16 months and 1 day.)

Making Turkey and Dumplings for my Turkey. Or is that my Dumpling? I think he swings both ways :) (In reference to Jason, but it cracked me up, so I included it)

I bought a laser pointer for the cats. Bax chases it just as much. He brings it to me so he can chase it, while the cats compete with him.

Baxter has a serious love affair with Thomas the Tank. He's my little train boy.

How do I convince my toddler NOT to share his lunch with the kitten?

Its cold and drafty when you shower with a peeping Tom of a toddler in the room.

Note to self. When dancing with a toddler, don't pick them up & spin with them then put them down. They will be dizzy, fall & cry, but fun!

Whenever Baxter sits on my lap, the baby goes nuts kicking him, lol! I hope this isn't the start of something permanent.

Can someone please tell Baxter that drinking the water condensation off the windows is gross? It's cold & coming faster than I can wipe up.

Ok, that catches you up on Baxter's funny antics through this morning. He's always doing something hilarious though, and leaving me in stitches. Like if I pat his belly after a diaper change he'll pat his belly, and then want me to do it to him again and again. And now when I bring out the camera, it's all "ohhhh!!!!" and running at me with open arms. He like to try to kiss the lens. He loves to show us his belly button and have us tickle it, and then tickle the rest of him. He patted my belly and said "baaa" which I'm not sure if it was supposed to be "ball" "baby" or "belly button". He's not really talking yet, but sometimes he'll repeat woof, duck, baaa and rawr. He repeats mama every time he hears it, but it's still not really connected to me. I'm thinking that when he starts talking it's just going to be in full sentences.

He's down to one nap a day, which he's usually pretty good about, but he's fighting today (ugh). It used to be that he would ONLY take a morning nap, and that if it was even 15 minutes late it would be super short and he would refuse an afternoon nap. He's more flexible now, and will take a morning OR an afternoon nap, but still only in his crib or in the car. However, if he sleeps in the car it's ALWAYS 1 hour and 5 minutes. Or less. Naps at home are at least 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Ok, I'm going to shower and hope he's sleeping when I'm done. :)

Things that go bump

I'm definitely showing. I look pregnant. I need to take a picture of this bump.

Speaking of bumps, this kid is moving a storm! I felt Bax between 13-14 weeks, and this one I've felt a few times starting at 8 weeks (which no one believes) but I'm starting to feel it daily now at 13 weeks.

I have halloween pictures, but I need to upload them to Flickr, which I'm about to go do, so I'll post on that soon :)

Oh, and Bax had his 15 month appointment. He's almost 33 inches tall! I'm not 100% sure on his weight, but he's barely over 26lbs clothed. Hehe.

Lately

Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. At the beginning of September when we found out we were pregnant, I wasn't ready to share yet. So I had to be guarded in what I posted. And then I sort of fell out of the habit.

Morning sickness hasn't been too bad on the puking front. I can count on one hand how many times I've vomited, so that's somewhat encouraging. Although the food aversions have been much worse this time. Like I can't eat anything. Or what I can eat changes on a day to day basis. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I gained 5lbs. Mostly water weight. On the cruise I gained a few more, but the massage I had released a bunch of the water, so I was up all night going to the bathroom. Oops! As of today, I've gained 2lbs total from my pre-pregnancy weight. Not too bad for 12 weeks and 1 day! With Baxter I lost a lot of weight the first trimester, and didn't start gaining for a long time. I didn't have the nausea as much with him though, I just didn't want to eat. Now I HAVE to eat. Maybe because I'm still breastfeeding Baxter? Dunno.

Bax is down to nursing 3-4 times a day, and one nap a day. That's been an adjustment. And my great sleeper has turned into a molar bear. He's getting two molars and two canines right now, and that makes a VERY grumpy baby. Ugh.

I'm defiantly looking pregnant now. Looking at me now, I look like I did at 17 weeks with Bax. We had family pictures taken with Fred Calma Photography yesterday, and I can't wait to see them. We had my mom, Richard (stepdad), me, Jason, Baxter, Brent (my brother), April (stepsister), Aaron (April's husband), Riley (April and Aarons almost 8 month old), Andrew (stepbrother) and Tony (stepbrother). It went pretty well other than Baxter being fussy, and having a lovely run in with a cat that morning...

More on that later, it's Jason's and my date night :)

Baby Update 8/1/08

Let me try this again...my last update was baleted.

Jason updating right now as that our mother is currently a little busy. Merrilee was having strong contractions all night and around midnight she started measuring them closer. At around 1am she woke me up and we arrived at the hospital at 2am.

So we're just waiting now. Doctors and nurses have said she is doing well and our lab results from the blood all came back normal. Looks like he is on his way and will hopefully be arriving later today.

::edit::

It's official! The Dilley's are parents! At 8:10am pst, Baxter Bennett Dilley was born at 9lb 11oz. He is healthy, happy, and a has a strong set of lungs.

I will update with pictures later tonight.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support :-).

We'll keep everyone updated!

Jason

Blech

Another day of just general crampyness. I've had some pretty strong contractions, but nothing regular. So unless something happens tonight, it looks like induction tomorrow morning. I was really hoping not to be induced, so think easy labor vibes, and going into labor before the hospital calls tomorrow.... :D

Oops

Well, I had pretty strong contractions until about 3am, but then they tapered off. I didn't sleep super well, so I'm taking it easy today. My mom is here, so she will go with us to the Ultrasound. Then maybe we'll walk for a while before my doctor's appointment. So I'm still in early labor, but now the contractions are stronger but farther apart. Getting closer!

Update:
Well, the ultrasound went well. It was so neat to see him so much clearer than before! If I get around to it I'll upload some of the photos, but they're not nearly as good as seeing them on the screen. Even though measurements weren't ordered, the tech did them anyway for us :D But now I'm a little scared. They're not perfect, they are generally plus or minus a pound, but she said he was measuring at about 9lbs, 15 oz!!!

After the ultrasound we went to Fairhaven and walked around for a bit, and then went to the doctor's appointment. The early labor last night did some good, I'm now 3 cm and 80% effaced. Yay! She went ahead and stripped my membranes (we decided it was less invasive than being induced with Pitocin) and scheduled an induction for Friday. The thought being that since he is measuring so large the longer he goes the more likely the chance of c-section. I would much rather be induced than have a c-section. In the mean time I'm still doing all I can to make him go into labor on his own before friday so I don't have to be induced at all.

Maybe...

Well, I'm in early labor. I'm having contractions every 2.5-3.5 minutes, but they're not strong enough to be painful yet. My doctor's office said to call back when they're painful enough to take my full concentration. Mom's on her way, since it's easier to come now versus in the middle of the night. My doula stopped by as well, and said to keep doing what I'm doing, which is hang out and wait for them to get stronger. She also gave me a Cohoshes tincture to help encourage the contractions to get stronger. Hopefully it works, because it tastes terrible.

The castor oil just gave me gas ::blush:: but I guess I am in early labor now, so it's nothing to sneeze at!

So to sum up: contractions, no hospital yet, nothing more to report, will do so when I have something more to tell you :D

Still waiting

Well, I had an NST this morning. Evidently I'm having contractions every 8-9 minutes that I can't feel, and harder ones every 15-45 minutes that still aren't painful but at least I recognize them. He's responding well though. Right now, I love my doctor, and if I don't induce on Friday she won't be here for the delivery, and I would still need to be induced a few days past that. I don't feel comfortable going too far past my due date because of the possible dangers, but I really don't want to be induced either. Therefore I'm doing everything in my power to start labor before then...

Yes Christine, we'll post from the hospital :D There's free wi-fi there, and I can't guarantee how MUCH we'll post, but we will post. I also have a mass email list that once he's born I'll email with the basic statistics, and a link back here where the full story will be (once I get it written).

I decided to try taking Castor Oil tomorrow morning. My doula is out of town on Thursday (eep!) but she has a more experienced partner doula who would take care of me if she can't be there. So with that in mind I'll try the castor oil tomorrow. If it doesn't work I'll try it again on Thursday night. I know I have an ultrasound on Wednesday, but I would much rather have a BABY on wednesday than more blurry black and white photos of a little alien head. Hehe! So that's where we are now.

Fun Stuff!

Not Yet...

We walked around the farmers market today, and took a two hour walk around Whatcom Falls Park. Both were lovely, and today there were at least a few more contractions involved. But still no real progress. Guess it's off to the hospital tomorrow for the NST! Unless something happens tonight.

All the bags are packed and I'm out of things to do besides knit. This kid is going to have a lot of pants.

Not yet

Well, not much progress has been made. I'm still about 1cm dilated, and slightly more effaced. My doctor scheduled me for an NST (non-stress test) on monday morning, then an ultrasound on wednesday morning to check fluid levels, followed by an appointment with her on wednesday afternoon.

Evidently in Whatcom county they really don't like you going 41.5 weeks, so she'll let me go to August 1st (next friday) before inducing. So we're eating Chinese food for dinner, and tomorrow may be a walking day.

Today we went and saw The Dark Knight (the new batman movie) and it was really good. I got another project done, and now I'm almost out of stuff to do. I just thought I would update, but now I'm off to go sit on the exercise ball and roll around, it's supposed to possibly help labor along too.

Pray for labor vibes!

Just Because....

I know when my friends are about to have a baby I compulsively check their babysites for updates....

Nothing happening yet. I've been having contractions, but nothing regular or even remotely painful, just uncomfortable. I had a doctor's appointment today but it got rescheduled to tomorrow since my doctor was at the hospital delivering someone else's baby...

We plan on taking a long walk tomorrow to see if that starts anything. I think the cats are telling me it will be soon, they're both SUPER cuddly. Maybe I'm producing oxytocin and they can smell it? Seriously, they follow me around everywhere....

I'll update when we know more!

It's here!

My due date.... not the baby. He's still marinating. I figure the longer we wait, the better he'll be, right?

So much for a European Pi Approximation day baby!

Yesterday I spent the day dying diapers with my friend Miranda. They turned out awesome. Maybe I'll post pictures later, but I think I'm going to spend the afternoon sewing, and then watch Project Runway. Then I go see the doctor tomorrow! Wheee! Maybe Jason and I will take a long walk tomorrow. We'll see :D

Nope

He dropped some, but not completely. We had our 39 week check up yesterday. I'm 1cm dilated, 40% effaced and at +3 station. Still have a while to go. I'm still just puttering around the house. Mom and Richard are coming for the weekend, so hopefully having so much going on will wake him up some and make him want to meet them. My doctor wants me to have him next week, since she's the on-call doctor so she would be sure to deliver him. We might take a lot of walks.... Not much else to report on!

This week:
Congratulations - your baby is now fully formed and ready to be born. If your due date passes, your doctor will check to see if the baby has enough amniotic fluid. If he's fine, you and your doctor may still want to discuss induction.

(we don't want to induce, we believe that when he's ready he'll be here. Plus induction increases the chances of C-section, which we want to avoid. So he'll be here when he gets here! I have nothing against encouraging him naturally though :D )

Did it happen?

I think he may have dropped last night. I'm not 100% sure. I got up last night and as I was sitting down I felt him "click" into place. I don't know how else to explain it. But next time he moved he was much lower down. When I got back in bed he seemed to be higher up again, but today I think he's lower. I'll have to take pictures and compare. Still feels like progress!

The start...

of the due month. Anytime in the next 4 weeks, but most likely not for another two. Let the countdown begin! It's getting uncomfortable enough that I'm really hoping for the 22nd....

36 weeks!

So I have 2-6 weeks left.... goodness there's still a lot to do! I uploaded pictures from the baby shower, and I still need to take a recent one, but we've been a little busy.

OH!!! I don't plan on putting many baby pictures on this website. I'm going to be putting them on Flickr, so you can download them better. But I don't want just ANYONE downloading them, so it's going to be required that you be on my Flickr friend's list. This is free, and you just have to have a yahoo.com log in that's registered to Flickr. Once you register to Flickr, you can become my friend. If you have any problems with this, or want help setting it up, please contact me (link on the left) and I'll help you through it.

But here's what's happening this week anyway:
Your baby has likely hit the six-pound mark by now, and his length is approximately twenty-one inches. The weight on your abdomen probably feels like twice that. Your baby is practicing his breathing, but he has increasingly less space to practice stretching and kicking. Your baby' intestines are also building up meconium, a greenish-black substance made of baby by-products such as dead cells, shed lanugo, and amniotic fluid. It'll become your little darling's first bowel movement, hopefully after he is out of the womb. His body fat has increased to about eight percent. By birth, it'll be about fifteen percent. If your baby is a boy, his testes will have descended into his scrotum. While your baby could be born at any time, the longer he stays in, the more time he has to develop the connections in his brain in the pleasant peace and quiet of your womb. At this point, he can do all the things a newborn can, with the exception of breathing air and pooping in a diaper. Just as you're feeling stretched, your baby is being squeezed on all sides. Some of your antibodies are crossing the placenta, giving your baby's immune system some support for his first days in the world. If you breastfeed, you'll later be giving him immunities in your milk.

Slowly...

I'm slowly getting caught up. We finished moving into our new place, and now we just have to finish unpacking. The whole house smells like East Indian food, so Jason has to wash the walls with TSP to hopefully take care of it. Overall I really like the way it's coming together! It's not the nicest place in the world, but it could be worse.

Jason starts looking for a part time job this week to hopefully help us until the Baby is born. I hope he finds something with decent hours and pay, and that he won't mind leaving once I'm in labor!

We had our baby shower on Saturday at the Cook's house. It was amazing, I had so much fun and got such great gifts! I'll post pictures later. We're still at my Mom's house until this afternoon. It's her birthday so we're doing lunch with her then heading home. We still don't have internet at the new place yet, but hopefully in the next few days that will change.

Anyway, I'm really tired so I don't have a whole lot to say. I'll update more later! Oh, but I suppose I should tell you what's going on right now. I'm at 35 weeks and 5 days, 8 days until I'm FULL TERM!!!

With one month to go, your baby weighs about six pounds and is fattening. His full length from crown to feet is about 20 1/2 inches. Has your baby's movement slowed down? If so, you shouldn't worry. Five to ten percent of all mothers report that babies start to slow down as they grow larger and get more cramped for space. Still, you should be able to feel your baby move more than ten times a day. If you're concerned, try drinking a sweet beverage, such as orange juice, and then lying on your side for a while. Most babies will wake up and start to move. If you're still concerned, contact your healthcare provider.

Happy Father's Day!

Jason is going to be such a wonderful father.

I see it in the way he treats me, and the way he interacts with the baby, and the amount of attention he pays in birth class, and the way he loves our cats. I'm so proud of him and so blessed to have him in my life. I can't wait to see him interacting with our son.

Jason has been amazing the last few weeks. He's been keeping my anxiety down and getting a ton done around the house. We're only a few days away from moving now, and we're getting close to being ready. Today he hasn't felt the greatest but he's been a trooper and stuck with it. He's out getting us dinner right now, because we decided to eat all our pantry and fridge food... and we succeeded.

I just want you all to know how great he is. I love him with all my heart and I'm so happy to be sharing my life with him. I can't wait (well, I can) to give him a son.

I love you Jason!

Almost done....

With school. Just a short presentation tomorrow morning, and I'm done for a while at least. I spent all of Wednesday afternoon and most of today being totally unproductive. I'm completely exhausted, so even though I have a ton to do, all I can do is nap!

The little man has been super active recently. He likes playing "kick Dad's hand!" but generally refuses to move when anyone else tries to feel him. Whenever my Mom is around, he won't even hiccup! I'm hoping she has that calming presence on him when he's actually here.

We still have a ton of packing and cleaning to do, but we're slowly making progress. I think I might have more energy today but I haven't eaten enough. We need groceries, but I hate buying food before a move. So I ate a can of corn for lunch. What I really wanted was corn bread (no idea why) but I wasn't about to put on real pants and shoes to go buy it. We're down to beans, chicken broth and pineapple in the pantry. I might need to make a grocery run for frozen lasagna's or something like that. I still feel like I'm not eating enough. I've gained all of 8 lbs so far! But you can see exactly where it all is, so I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Ok, so talking about food made me hungry. Maybe I will think about getting dressed. Or I may think about the oreos in the pantry. I forgot I had those....