She's Here!

Rosalie June Miller was born the day after Christmas 12/26, one day past her due date at 6:53 pm. I had a drug-free VBAC with a whirlwind 4.5 hr labor from water breaking to delivery! She was 20 in long and 8 lb 2 oz. She has a lot of light brown hair and looks just like Lila! Mommy and baby are doing great!

I hope to share her birth story soon and more pictures as soon as I get around to it. For now, we are enjoying our girl at home!

Baby #2: 39 weeks

I'm 39 weeks tomorrow and I'm feeling pretty good. I went to the doctor on Monday and I am dilated to 1 cm! That doesn't sound like a lot to most people, but I was thrilled. That tells me that my body is progressing and is doing something earlier than last time! I wasn't 1cm until past 41 weeks with Lila. I know this still means I could go overdue, but I'll take it!

My blood pressure was pretty good (130 over 78) and I have very little swelling going on. I am having some Braxton Hicks and some cramps and back pain but nothing major. I go back on Dec 23 but I may reschedule for Dec 26 or 27, just to give myself a chance to go into labor without even going in to see the docs again before my due date. I mean really, what's the point?

Rosalie is still very active in there which is reassuring. I really don't have much to say other than we are just finishing up last minute Christmas shopping and activities and trying to get together with people before the baby comes. I don't have a true feeling either way, but I do want to meet her so I'd like her to come soon, but I'm fine with her waiting until after Christmas.

I'm excited to have my family come visit us for a week next week but they may be sick of us if they end up having to come right back if the baby isn't here yet and then decides to show! It's all so unpredictable!

I'll add a photo later on if I take one today or tomorrow!

Lila Caroline at almost 3!

There is just so much to say about Miss Lila it's been hard to actually type up an update about her. She is just an awesome little human being! She can be very stubborn and annoying as well, but we sure love this girl to death! She is SO funny and loving and smart! I'm so lucky to be her mom.

As far as size, which I always do on her update posts, Lila is getting to be a big girl. She actually is starting to feel heavy when we lift her! Last time I weighed her she was 28 lbs! That is the highest she has ever been and I'm so happy! She is wearing 3T in almost everything and a size 7 or 8 shoe. Her waist is small so some 3Ts are still too big, but in jeans with adjustable waists she definitely needs a 3T for the length. I think she is around 36 or 36.5 inches tall.

Lila loves Halloween!! She is still obsessed. Christmas is pretty cool, but Halloween is her favorite! She is always talking about ghosts and witches, wants to listen to Halloween songs and stories and plays "trick or treat" often. I wish she would just get over it already but she really likes it!

She is also in love with Disney princesses! She loves Belle. Obsessed. She also loves Ariel, "New-lawn" (Mulan), and "Poca-homas" (Pocahontas). She loves to sing and act out the songs. Watching movies is not a quiet calming activity for this girl. She is up and active and dances, sings and acts out everything! It's so fun to watch. She is such a performer. Extremely dramatic and expressive and it's hilarious!

She loved her dance class. We tried it at the YMCA this fall and even though we missed a few classes she was really into it. It was a tap/ballet combo at the most beginner level and I think we will keep her in it. She seemed to really like it and LOVES performing and being in front of people. I was so proud of her in her little recital!

Lila loves TALKING. The girl never stops. She is so funny and smart and imaginative. She cracks us up all the time and we have headaches every night from her constant high-pitched musings. Wouldn't have it any other way though.

She loves "school" and her backpack and reading and learning! EVERY day when I pick her up from Amanda's she says, "I had fun at school today!" and she tells me all about what she did. Her vocabulary and memory are super impressive. She seems to have more of a knack for the verbal side but still does pretty well with numbers too. She wants to read so bad and loves for us to read to her and she often is found in her bed "reading" to herself.

She loves crafts and I really love doing them with her. We spend a lot of time making ornaments, coloring, doing water colors and putting googly eyes on things (mostly ghosts!)

She loves playing with stuffed animals and dolls. Her bed is chock full of blankies and "pets". Her favorites are probably pink bear, sock monkey, and whatever newest toy she has gotten. A Belle Barbie and her Build A Bear are on the top of the list right now!

Speaking of Build A Bear, we went on Sunday and Lila made a pink bear for Rosie to take to her in the hospital (Rosie will have a gift for Lila as well). And Lila also got to build a bear for herself. She really enjoyed the process!

Waiting in line to get her bears stuffed.

Washing and cleaning "Rosie bear"

Her final bear creation!

Lila is excited about Christmas and her new baby sister. I am so ready for this next stage in our lives with two awesome little kiddos!

Baby #2: 38 Weeks

I'm now 2 weeks from my due date. Exciting! Of course we still don't know if Rosie will make her appearance before or after Christmas, but we are prepared for either scenario. I feel pretty good, honestly. I am sleeping well and only waking up once a night. Some days I feel pretty crappy but other days I feel great! I have been trying to stay active when I feel good and even walked a mile on the treadmill and rode the elliptical for about 10 minutes the other day. I've not had much swelling at all, and even though I weigh more now than what I did when Lila was born, I think I look and feel better.

My symptoms are pretty typical: I'm sore when getting up and walking, have back pain, heartburn, numb/tingling hands, some pain in pelvis/hips, tingling in ribs, hot flashes!! and a few other random things like soreness in my c-section incision site. No real "labor signs" to note other than a few short rounds of contractions that ended up petering out within an hour or two.

I had my 38 week check up Monday. I declined the cervix check this time. I doubt I've progressed any, and it doesn't really matter anyway. I am strongly considering a cervical check and membrane sweep at my next appointment on Dec 16. I haven't fully decided. I'd have to be at least 1 cm dilated to get the sweep, so it might be a moot point anyway.

I haven't done anything to try to bring on labor at this point (since nothing is really proven to work). I have listened to my "Come Out Baby" track from Hypnobabies a few times, eaten some dates and pineapple and started taking an evening primrose oil (EPO) tablet every day in addition to my 2-4 daily cups of red raspberry leaf tea. I've been trying to stretch, do yoga, bounce on my ball and have good posture for optimal baby position. I've also been visiting the chiropractor weekly.

Baby Rosie is still active in there, but her movements are more restricted. I feel much more big movements and fewer little fingers wiggling. I hope this means she is flipped into an anterior position. I am so ready to see her little face, but I honestly am fine waiting until after Christmas for her to come!

We are taking Lila to see Christmas lights tonight, she has a Christmas party on Friday and seeing Santa on Saturday. I am glad to have these last few weeks to spend focusing on her instead of being in the hospital or at home with a new baby. Our lives will be changing very very soon though!

I will be sure to update after my appointment next week or if there are any other changes to report!

Photo added: 38 wks 2 days

Baby #2: 37 Weeks!

It's December, I'm now full term and Rosalie could be joining us anytime in the next few weeks! The earliest I'd even imagine her showing up would be at 39 weeks, but it feels nice to know we are getting so much closer to meeting this little girl. At the absolute latest (42 weeks gestation), we have about 35 days max to go. I don't believe we will last that long!

We are ready. The bassinet is set up, her room is nearly done (pics soon!), carseat ready, clothes washed and diaper bag packed. My body is tired and big and ready to not be pregnant anymore. Neil is ready to not hear about my pregnancy aches and pains and about all of my birth plans and preparations. Lila is ready to meet her sister! She even said to my belly the other day, "Come on Rosie! You're 'sposed to come out!"

We are very busy with holiday stuff! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and now we are gearing up for Christmas. Lila is very excited and it's so much fun to celebrate with her. We have the tree up and I'm hoping to be done with ordering gifts very soon. Lila has already seen Santa a couple times, once at the Museum Center (from a distance) and once at the outlet mall as he was walking around. She was very confused as to how he got there from the museum and then after we left him, she said, "I didn't ask him for my Belle doll." We hope to have a sit down with Santa here in the next few weeks.

I had my 37 week checkup yesterday. Everything is fine. My BP was a bit elevated because I was mad about spending 1 HOUR in the waiting room, which is rare, and especially annoying because I had a chiro appointment to get to. I'm still gaining weight and I'm pretty much on pace to meet or exceed the weight gain I had with Lila. I am trying not to fret about it.

The doc did my group B strep test, and while she was down there, checked me for dilation. Guess what?!! Nothing! I'm not surprised AT ALL. I was only dilated to a 1 at 41 weeks last time, so I know my body only starts to dilate when labor is underway or very imminent. She did say baby is head down, but didn't mention effacement or anything. The doc also said to BE PATIENT.

So even though there is a possibility that Rosie will arrive before Christmas, I'm not betting on it. I think I should start focusing on the potential reality of going overdue again. We may be indeed looking at a January baby and I need to be okay with that! It's just tough when we're all so excited about meeting this baby girl. I also cannot be induced at all so going into labor naturally is my only real way to avoid a scheduled c-section.

I'm feeling okay most of the time. I'm tired. Every other night I have a decent night's sleep. I'm getting Braxton Hicks, my hips hurt, baby is on my bladder/cervix, I get lightening/shooting pains "down there", mild swelling, backache/cramps and I think thats about it! I'm just 9 months pregnant, that's all. It's a hard business, bringing a little baby into the world.

I'm feeling really positive at the moment. I am confident that I will have an uncomplicated VBAC delivery and I just cannot wait to get my hands on Miss Rosie June and have our family be complete!

Here is me at 37 weeks. Get used to those gray corduroy pants because those are 1 of 3 pairs of non-yoga pants that are still comfortable.

I go back to the doctor on Dec. 9 for my 38 week checkup, and I will likely decline a cervical check. They really mean nothing as far as when labor is coming. I will continue to go weekly and then every few days if I go over. I am considering a membrane sweep at my 39 week appointment. This is the most augmentation/induction most docs will consider. So, we are playing the waiting game. I am beginning to feel like a pregnant Christmas is in my future and in reality will probably be easier than having a newborn. If it works out that way, it'd be really special to have one last Christmas with my Lila before her sister arrives!