The Magic Word

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Elise

Today was a big first for me, because today at my 37 week check up with my midwives was the first time outside of the hospital that I’ve ever heard the word ‘dilated’ used in the context of, “Yes, you are dilated.” What a beautiful word!

You see, despite carrying Alethea to 42.5 weeks, my body never began dilating on it’s own. It was finally forced into it in a successful last ditch effort to avoid a c-section. Of course, Alethea did eventually arrive and was healthy and strong, so it all worked out in the end, but I have to say that it was so depressing to go to appointment after appointment (and spend 2 days in the hospital going through failed inducement attempts) and be still told “Sorry, we don’t know why, but you’re not dilating, not even a little bit.”

Thus, you can imagine my relief when the midwife told me today, “Hey, you’re dilated to one centimeter.” I know it’s only one tenth of the way there, but at least I’m guaranteed that whatever else happens, I won’t have to go through everything that I went through with Alethea. Whew!

The baby is still sitting high, and there isn’t any indication that she’ll make a sudden appearance in the next few days, which is good, because we are SO not ready yet. Funny how I went from being nervous about going way overdue again to being nervous that Baby B will show up before we get everything prepared for her.

I did ask at my appointment whether they would let us induce at 39 weeks, which is the week between Christmas and New Years and I was told that since my last child was so large, the midwives would let me be induced, but unfortunately the hospital doesn’t allow scheduled inducements during that time frame. Something about hospital staff wanting time off for the holidays. What’s up with that?!?! Don’t they know we want our tax deduction?!?!

However, they can’t turn us away if B decides to come on her own, so I’m already looking into ways to get her to come early. For sure I need to get the treadmill cleaned off, so I can do a whole lot of walking that week. Of course, with Alethea I even tried sprinting on the treadmill at around 41 weeks and it did nothing except make me exceptionally sore. But this time is different… this time I’m dilated!

Taking Baby Steps

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Elise

We’ve got 19 days until Christmas, 20 something days until the baby comes and I’m not ready for either one. We did get Alethea’s curtains hung in her big girl room on Saturday. And then on Sunday we went on a Christmas tree hunt. No, the tree isn’t decorated yet and neither Alethea’s room or the nursery is totally ready, but we’re taking baby steps.

Speaking of baby steps… when we were packing up for the tree hunt we remembered that Alethea hates to walk in the snow, so we made sure to bring the sled. Turns out though that she didn’t like that either, even with Mommy holding her hand:

And then Mommy let go:

Peter ended up carrying her until we found the perfect tree. Thankfully it didn’t take long to locate it:

I held Alethea while Peter cut down the tree. When it tipped over Alethea’s only comment was “Uh oh!” But then I asked her if we should take the tree home, she said, “Yeah.”

So while Peter dragged the tree to the car, I carried Alethea. But I couldn’t make it the whole way. Something about being 9 months pregnant. She had to walk. At first she protested, but then it was okay so long as I was holding her hand:

However, by the time we got the tree loaded and ready to go, she had let go of my hand and was tooling around all by herself.

It’s a good thing. She’d have a long 18 years growing up in Minnesota if she was forever unwilling to walk through snow.

Confession Time

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Elise

I come from a long line of keepers. I tell myself that it’s not my fault. It’s how I was raised.

See, the rules of ‘stuff’ in my childhood home were: if it’s useful – you keep it, if it could be useful – you keep it, if it would be useful if you could figure out how to fix it – you keep it, if it isn’t fixable but you might be able to use it for spare parts – you keep it. Also, if it is valuable – you keep it, if it might be valuable someday – you keep it, if it was a gift (even if you don’t like or use it) – you keep it, if it is a book – you keep it. And of course, when in doubt – you better keep it.

I say this not to judge, but as a matter of fact, I decided a long time ago that all this keeping wasn’t for me. I just don’t like being surrounded by stuff. I find it a bit overwhelming. However, despite this inward resolution, every now and then I have a hard time escaping my genetic heritage.

Take music for example. I’m a piano teacher. I need music books to teach. People know this and not infrequently I receive bags/boxes/stacks of music that is no longer wanted for various reasons. For many years I just kept it all in an attempt to build up my teaching library. However, this past summer when I was organizing my piano studio and realized that I had too much music to fit in my large 4 drawer file cabinet, I decided it was time to do some sorting. My rules were, to get into the keep pile the music must either be written by a well-known composer, or it must be visually appealing. (I don’t mind making students play from a battered copy of Chopin’s Nocturnes, but no eight year old is going to want to play some no-name composer’s piece when it’s shrouded in a cover straight out of the 1940s.)

Using this sorting method I was able to get rid of a large box of music and fit the remaining books back into the file cabinet with room to spare:

I was feeling good about everything, everything except that one book that was in the give away pile. It was a book of character pieces (musical vignettes) by a composer that I’d never heard of, with no visual appeal that any child would perceive:

And even though I hated myself for thinking it, I heard a voice in my head say, “That book is kinda cool and antiquey looking. If someday you ever wanted to do a craft project using old music, that is exactly what you would need. What’s the harm in keeping just one little book?” So, after a brief internal debate, I grabbed the book and (feeling like I’d made a deal with the devil) I shoved it into the back of the bottom drawer and quickly closed it before I could change my mind again.

After that, I forgot about the book… that is until Pottery Barn entered the picture (because every good story involves Pottery Barn, right?)

Take a look at what they came up with for Christmas 2010:

Paper Music Star Vase Filler, $12 (and already sold out online).

Turns out a guiltily kept music book plus handy online instructions (thanks for sending me the link, Mom!) equals Pottery Barn-esque holiday decor, for FREE! Gotta love it (and the stars turned out great):

Now, I suppose I will hear a big ‘I told you so!’ from all of my dear family and that’s fine, I can admit it, every now and then, it’s good to be a keeper!

Begining to Hate Weekends

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Elise

Most people know the acronym TGIF (Thank God it’s Friday). I think I’ll start a new one ONIS (Oh No, It’s Saturday). Two Saturdays ago Alethea came down with a horrible cold, then last Saturday night, it was the flu. That’s why yesterday evening when Alethea was so hysterical I had to pick her up early from Cousin’s Night at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I knew we were headed for trouble. After an urgent care visit this morning and a trip to Target Pharmacy, we are home again with some antibiotics to treat Alethea’s ear infection.

Maybe at least this Saturday trend means that since Thanksgiving is on a Thursday, we’ll get to enjoy a few days of fun before Alethea develops some new illness to keep us on our toes. Let’s hope so.

As you can tell, I’m feeling a little whiny here. November hasn’t been a good month around our house.

Some things to look forward to in December:

1) Christmas Tree Hunting, maybe it might even be a little warmer than last year?

2) Neighborhood Secret Santa, I stocked up on cute clearance items last year, so I am prepared!

3) Spending Time with Family (this is Alethea and her cousins at Christmas last year):

4) Advent Services at Church, this is probably my favorite time of year to attend church. I just love the music and the messages and focusing on the spiritual side of the holidays. It keeps me grounded during the craziness!

5) Celebrating Christmas with Alethea, even if Santa hats don’t quite fit her cute Bobble Head:

6) Meeting Baby Bob, yeah, I know her due date isn’t until January, but I keep telling her to shoot for December 27th or 28th. That’s enough time to recover from Christmas, but still before Peter has to go back to work at the beginning of January (his busiest time of the year at work).

Here’s to a fun, festive and healthy month of December!

200th Post Celebration

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Elise

This is BobbleHeadBaby.com’s 200th post! Here are three things I’m celebrating today:

Number 1 – We picked up the craigslist bookcase last night, which means that my used furniture hunt for Alethea’s room is officially over! It also means that I get to do my ‘super cheap’ furniture dance because I’m WAY under my original estimate in the furniture column of my spreadsheet. (Please don’t ask about my fabric/bedding/window treatments column, I’m celebrating here, folks!)

Number 2 – The doctor’s office called and told me that I passed my glucose tolerance test ‘with flying colors’ and that I won’t have to take the test again this pregnancy! No more icky orange drink for me!

Number 3 – Last night I got a lovely and unexpected gift in the mail. A good friend of mine spotted some cute glass knobs at a store, bought them and mailed them to me so I could finish Alethea’s dresser! The dresser looks awesome, but even more than that, I love knowing that I was being thought of even though she’s far away and we can’t hang out in person anymore. What a day brightener!

So at long last, here is the COMPLETELY finished dresser:

Wooo-whooo!

Mommy’s Little Chain Smoker

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Elise

Sorry I haven’t posted in the past few days. Alethea came down with an awful cold late Saturday night and as a result, things around here haven’t been running as smoothly as I would like. Over the course of the last day or so, the cold has moved down into Alethea’s chest, which isn’t really a good thing, but it does have the humorous upside that when she laughs, she sounds like an old chain smoking lady cackling away. It’s pretty funny.

As I’m sure none of you want a blow-by-blow of how the past few runny nose days have gone, I’ll simply give you the non-boogery highlights:

1) Now that I’m done stenciling the focal wall in Alethea’s big girl room, I’ve turned my attention to the remaining projects in the room. I was able to get some shopping done over the weekend and picked up some supplies and also a beaded curtain for the window. When I handed Alethea the curtain still in the box she said, “Oooh!”, but when I took it out of box and held it up she said, “Oooh! OOOOOOH!” I’ll take that as an 18 month old’s seal of approval.

Alethea was excited about her curtain, even when it was still in the box!

2) I finally found a bookcase on Craigslist that I think will be perfect for her room. I’m supposed to pick it up tomorrow evening. Crossing my fingers that it doesn’t get sold out from under me.

I want this bookcase!

3) Tomorrow I have my 32 week pregnancy check-up. This is also the third time this pregnancy that I am taking the 1 hour glucose tolerance test. I passed the test when I was pregnant with Alethea, but then she was 10lbs at birth, so they are convinced I had undiagnosed gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy and are determined to make sure I’m diagnosed if I have it this time. So far this pregnancy, I passed my first test well, the second one at 28 weeks was ‘on the high side of normal’, so they are having me do a third.

Sigh…

In my head I know it’s all for the best, but I don’t really like having blood drawn and I really HATE the stuff they make you drink beforehand. If you’ve never had the test, just imagine guzzling 10 ounces of undiluted McDonald’s orange drink concentrate. Yuck!

I think Alethea is going to be up from her nap soon, so I’d better run, but stay tuned and I’ll let you know how everything turns out.

The Big Move

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Elise

A.K.A – Bye Bye Nursery

Today we moved Alethea from the nursery to her big girl bedroom. We started in the morning moving her bookcase, lamp, toys, etc into the big girl room. (At some point soon we will be getting a different bookcase and lamp to match her room, but for the time being, she’s going to use the ones from the nursery.)

Alethea took it all in stride. I’d say she seemed… interested.

Me? I was doing pretty well until I decided it would be best to clear out the nursery as much as possible. I took everything off the walls… and then I cried. Silly, I know. I’m going to be such a basket case when she goes off to college!

Fast forward to the afternoon… we took the mattress off her bed and moved it into the new room as well. She had a blast yelling ‘three’ (she hasn’t mastered counting up to three yet, so when she does tricks she just says ‘three’) and then taking a running step off the mattress onto the floor. She also enjoyed arranging pillows, blankets and stuffed animals on her ‘bed’. She was having so much fun, she declined any interest in an afternoon snack.

I thought, “Wow, she’s taking this really well.”

Then Peter came home and began disassembling the crib (it’s too big to fit through our doorways assembled). She had fun helping Daddy and was ready at any minute to hand him his hex key:

The crib parts got moved into the big girl room and Peter began the reassembly process. And that is the precise moment when she lost it. She cried and screamed and couldn’t be consoled. She pushed me out of the room and back into the nursery. Then she cried some more. She most definitely did not think her crib belonged in the big girl room.

After she had dinner, she did mostly calm down, so perhaps part of it was hunger.

Fast forward again to the present… We just finished our bedtime routine and so far all I’ve heard is talking (no crying!) from the room. She’s not asleep yet though. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the night goes.

Kinda Tired

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Elise

Peter and I stayed up late Tuesday night to watch Election results. Turns out we shouldn’t have bothered. With the MN governor’s race headed for recount, we won’t know for weeks what’s going to happen. Besides, as Peter put it, “I’m just too old to stay up ’till 2am anymore.” Sad, but true.

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Early this morning we were treated to a very enthusiastic rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star coming from Alethea’s room at 2:30am, and 3:30am AND 4:30am. While mildly impressed that my child can carry a recognizable tune, I think I must have a discussion with her about appropriate concert times.

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I’ve skipped my afternoon nap and stayed up late into the evening a few days this week to try and get the stenciling done in Alethea’s big girl room. I’m almost there (just some touch-ups left), but I didn’t make my original goal, which was to have Alethea moved into her room by the end of October, nor am I going to make my second goal which was to have her moved in by today, which is two months until Baby Bob’s due date. New plan: finish painting/clean up today and move her crib into the room tomorrow.

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Oh, and I AM going to take a nap this afternoon.

Happy Anniversary!

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Elise

Peter –

It’s hard to believe it’s already been four years since our wedding day:

Four years since I got to wear the most fabulous thing I’ve ever worn:

Four years since we nearly froze to death taking pictures:

Four years since our ‘First Dance’:

And four years since your friends nearly burned down the reception hall with fists full of sparklers:

I know getting married didn’t magically make us see eye to eye on the best way to do things:

But I’d say “I Do” all over again, without a second’s hesitation:

I love you so much!

Elise

Mommy’s Little Fashion Consultant

Posted on October 9, 2010 by Elise

I’m about ready to walk out the door for a very welcome girls night out with some friends. I had Alethea help me get dressed. When I asked her whether I should wear the pearl necklace or the purple beads, she very decisively said “Purple.”

I said, “I do like the purple, but I think maybe the pearls are the way to go in this case. So, why don’t we try both and see which one is better?”

Now after Thursday’s fashion incident (see my previous post), you can understand why I wanted to form my own decision, but you know what, she was right… the purple beads were definitely the right necklace choice.

I told her, “You were right, the purple beads are better for this outfit.”

She replied, “Purple!” with a look that said, “How could you have doubted me?”

I probably shouldn’t be surprised. This is likely only the start of Alethea being my fashion consultant.

“Oh mom, don’t wear that, that is sooooo 2010…”