Slacker

It seems as if I have been quite the slacker on my blog lately......no posts since summer! Geez! It's like I'm busy or something with a toddler and pregnancy and daycare! lol. 
Well let me try to catch all my readers up on what's been happening the past, oh, 4 months or so!
August: He is doing great, growing like crazy and saying the words "hi", "ball" "dog" "cat" "mama" "dada" "no" (that's a fun one!) and signing about 3 new signs a week! He is a smart little guy and I am so proud of him! He loves being read to and will bring us book after book after book and will point out all the animals when asked. He has been in his "big boy bed" for about 2 months now and is still going strong with that. We have a very solid bedtime routine and I think that helped the transition immensely. He typically sleeps anywhere from 11-13 hours a night (let's hope that continues when baby arrives). We also have started taking away the pacifier for bedtime (the only time he has ever been allowed to have it) and after 2 weeks I think he's doing really well without it. He still struggles taking a nap during the day without it though but that will come with time. 
He has also started to point to his diaper when he poops in it, which is a great sign that he is ready to start potty training. He sits on his potty quite a bit and watches daddy go potty and we talk about it a lot so I'm hoping when we start hardcore potty training it will go smoothly. Him being in cloth diapers helps a lot too since cloth diapered babies tend to potty train much quicker than disposable clad babies since they can feel the wetness more. I'm not sure how deeply involved in potty training I really want to get right before baby arrives but we might experiment one weekend here soon and see how it goes. It's worth a shot at least!
Pregnancy: This has been a little more challenging of a pregnancy than my 1st, but I'm a trooper and know the end is in sight! My sciatica comes and goes since I have no way to make it to the chiropractor anymore with my daycare schedule but it is much improved from the beginning when I was in constant pain! 
I'm 34 weeks 2 days today and am feeling every bit that far along. I usually crash by 10 am each morning and am motivated to do very little lately. My appetite comes and goes but mostly it's not there until dinnertime. I've really worked on snacking on fruit and bread throughout the day so my blood sugar doesn't get too low. I've been taking my old faithful friend liquid calcium magnesium at night so I can actually sleep (I swear that stuff knocks me out 30 minutes after I take it). I also have been taking papya enzyme to prevent heartburn and it also works wonders. I was getting heartburn at like 1 am every night there for awhile until I started taking these after dinner and they seem to be working great...I've only had heartburn once since taking them so that's a vast improvement!
Robert, Joel and I all went to see the birthing room on Monday (they were building this room last time I was in labor with Gus). It is absolutely gorgeous and I can definitely envision myself giving birth in there! It has a huge birthing tub with beautiful tile on the back and a really awesome walk in tiled shower in the bathroom. There is also a gas fireplace and a chair right by the fire to nurse in. It's perfect! I am so hoping it is available when I go into labor! 
Rob will be with us during labor to tape the actual birth. Yes all of you grossed out by this, I want it recorded this time.  Birth is natural, beautiful and there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Our society tries to cover up birth and censor it and I think that's a huge mistake! How are women supposed to feel comfortable laboring when everyone is constantly telling them its "gross" or needs to be censored because "gasp" you see a vagina! Oh my! It just annoys me so I want to say "fuck you" to all those people that feel that way and let them know I am proud as hell to be a strong woman giving birth to my child the way I want to. Unfortunately, not many women these days can say that as they are told how and when to labor. 
I hope to post the video on a natural birth website to inspire mamas to go natural when laboring. Plus I think it will be special for Rob to be there and see his 2nd godson born. It will be something he will probably never forget, that is for sure. We have tried to prepare him for what to expect but there really is no preparing someone for watching a mama naturally labor and give birth. He'll be great though. I have no doubt.
I was feeling anxious about the birth the last couple of weeks or various reasons but I have worked through the anxiety and am now confident and ready to go again.
One of the main causes of this anxiety was the I had a PPH (post partum hemhorrage) with August's birth and looking back it really freaks me out to know what actually happened. 
Basically since I had such a long, drawn out labor, my uterus was unable to properly  contract once I had August. Once my placenta finally came out (20 plus minutes after labor), my uterus did not close off the blood vessels at the attachment site which in turn caused blood clots the size of plums that my awesome midwife Kori had to to take out of my uterus right after I pushed a baby out. I immediately received a shot of pitocin in my leg to cause my uterus to contract and close those vessels. To say it was uncomfortable is an understatement. I'm so glad Kori was there though because I trust her completely with my life and was glad she took care of the issue right away. 
After reading up on PPH, I became very freaked out. It's pretty rare (4%) and it can be life threatening because blood loss adds up quickly. Like I said, thank goodness Kori was there and obviously she knew immediately what to do! Anyone who saw me the following week after birth saw how pale I was. I lost a lot of blood and felt extremely dizzy and light headed for weeks. I took supplemental iron and eventually got my color back but it wasn't the most fun experience I've ever been through. So since I hemhorraged last time, I have a higher chance of it happening this time. Although second labors usually go much quicker so I have that in my favor. Kori has a plan of attack for this labor. Basically if everything goes completely smoothly and I deliver the placenta quickly with no issues and I've had a fast labor and everything seems fine, I can forgo the pitocin shot. If my placenta does not come easily, then she will just give me a shot to prevent the PPH and cause my placenta to come out. It makes me feel much more at ease to know there is a plan in place. 
I am also really hoping baby is in the right position this time so labor goes much quicker! 
August was sideways last time and it caused my labor to be extremely long and drawn out because he was being moved by my contractions and I wasn't dilating very quickly. I think after a 48 hour labor last time I deserve, oh lets say a 8 hour labor this time. lol. 
I remember well the intensity of transition and I keep thinking to myself "was that really me that got through that or was it someone else?" Nope it was me. I know I have the strength and determination to do it again but it's still weird to think that I actually did it last time. Labor is such an out of body experience that sometimes it seems as if I was looking down on my being labor instead of actually going through it. But I know I have my husband to support me every step of the way, through every contraction and every moan. I also have my wonderful team of midwives who will be there to offer support when I need it and to reassure me that I really can do this. 
The next unknown is when is little Phoenix Noble going to arrive? What will he look like and be like? How much will he weigh? I cannot wait to find out!!! My official due date is December 26th so I am very much hoping he will be here by New Year's at the very latest. I have a plan going into the last 2 weeks of pregnancy. It involves lots of walking, pregnancy tea and my husband. I am going to try and let this baby know that mama wants to meet him and urge him to come out and meet us! We are so excited to welcome our new son into our lives and for big brother to meet him and (hopefully) snuggle him. I am looking forward to having my body back and not being pregnant for a little while. I know everything is going to take some major adjustments with two boys under 2 in the house, but I know we will do just fine. We are lucky in that we will have lots and lots of help from family and friends and I think we will do great!