Never thought I'd be so happy to turn 35!

"Weeks that is. YEA!

I have (as of tonight) been out of the hospital for a week. Bed rest is a little boring, but it does not seem like it's been a whole week. I think all the Christmas activities (that I participated in from the couch) helped time pass swiftly.

My in-laws have been a huge help to us, and my Mom arrived yesterday from St. Louis. We feel like we are in good hands and have all our bases covered for when BITB decides to finally come. I'm knocking on wood as I say this, but I'm feeling really good and that this kid is going to be staying in a lot longer than the fetal fibronectin indicated . . . fingers crossed. (And also, that I'd be okay if BITB came any day . . . it's almost getting to the point where I'm tired of waiting, but I don't want to jinx myself either.)

BITB is just thriving. I can tell with all the kicking and rolling that is still taking place. And here is what babycenter.com says about 35 weeks: 'Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.'

BITB, as I said, is still wiggling around, but it's nice to know that s/he's possibly over the 5 pound mark! Go, BITB, GO! Next mile marker for us to reach is 2009!"
--Clare

Christmas from the couch

"I was discharged from the hospital Christmas eve with the understanding that I am now on complete bed rest and when to take my medicine to keep my contractions at bay.

With complete bed rest I can't even do the dishes or laundry, I can't make meals, I can't lift a thing, I pretty much just have to be prone on the couch or in bed. I even have to eat lying down. (Which doesn't help the acid reflux much.)

BUT I was home for Christmas morning which was the best experience I've ever had. Ross got Jackson up and I hear them discuss how Jackson heard Santa on the roof and the clip-clop of the reindeer hooves. It was so sweet that if I went into labor then and had to miss present opening I would have been okay with it.

We had a great morning at our house, and spent the afternoon at my in-laws with a nice family dinner at the end. The only thing was that I had to witness everything from the couch, lying on my side. It was a strange experience, but if it ensures BITB a few more hours, a few more days baking in the oven I'm okay with it.

Now it is the 27th and I'm a little bored with this bed rest thing but not bored enough for BITB to arrive any minute. We are counting down the days to week 35 (New Year's Eve) then will do the same until week 36. After I reach that point there is no need to keep taking my medication, if BITB is to come after that, all should (will) be fine. Let's hope if BITB decides to come before these two weeks are up that everything will also be fine.

Our mindset has changed from the beginning of February to any day now (but hopefully the beginning of January), and we're feeling okay about it. Now it's just a short-term waiting game."
--Clare

Round two . . . a bit more dramatic (part III)

"It's Christmas eve day, I'm getting my uterine relaxer medication every 4 hours, my contractions are being monitored every 4 hours as well. I am not feeling them any more and am beginning to feel hopeful.

We have moved to 3 different rooms and I'm tired of the hospital. I don't know what's going to happen but I want to be home tonight so Jackson can wake up at home on Christmas morning (the first time we've stayed put in our own house for the holiday).

My doctor wants one more test administered called a fetal fibronectin. 'Fetal fibronectin screening: This test is usually reserved for women who are having contractions or other symptoms of preterm labor. Fetal fibronectin (fFN) is a protein produced by the fetal membranes. If more than a small amount turns up in a sample of your cervical and vaginal secretions between 24 and 34 weeks, you're considered to be at higher risk for preterm delivery. A positive fFN result might prompt your practitioner to give you drugs to hold off labor as well as corticosteroids to help your baby's lungs mature more quickly. However, the test is actually more accurate at telling you when you won't deliver than when you will. If you have a negative fFN result, it's highly unlikely that you'll deliver within the next two weeks. A negative result can put your mind at ease and help you avoid hospitalization or other unnecessary treatment.'

My test was positive!

Meaning that I'd most likely deliver in the next two weeks!

My doctor called me to discuss the news and said that she would prefer for me to stay another night (AND MISS CHRISTMAS MORNING WITH JACKSON! AHHHHHHHH) but considering that I'm so close to the 24 hour mark of the steroid medication, and that it's Christmas eve, she wonders if I might end up being more relaxed going home. It was up to me.

I couldn't imagine not going home, but also didn't want to make a stupid decision. Ross and I decided all would be okay if we went home, and I'm glad we made that choice. (And can I just say how much I love my doctor! She was being both my doctor and my friend. A hard thing to do I'm sure, but I appreciate it so much.)"
--Clare

Round two . . . a bit more dramatic (part II)

"Jackson is at school, I'm at the hospital talking with the on-duty nurse and waiting for Ross.

The monitors are showing that BITB is just fine with the contractions, acting appropriately, and that the contractions are coming closer together, approaching 6-7 min apart. I am also feeling them a lot more. Eventually they aren't just in my lower uterus, but start to climb up towards my navel with lots of tightening!

I am given a medication that relaxes the uterus and it begins to work almost immediately (which is a good sign). However when the nurse checks my dilation again she informs us that I'm almost 5 cm! That's half way there! Ahhhhhhhh.

I am most definitely staying the night and they administer a steroid shot to help mature the baby's lungs. This is at 3 p.m. Tuesday, December 23. Ross and I start going over our baby name choices just in case BITB decides to arrive that day or the next.

We hoped for the next because that would at least put me at 34 weeks and BITB would be even stronger and more matured (the second steroid dose would come at 3 a.m. and then we cross our fingers for 24 to 48 hours to pass--thus allowing the medicine to complete their work in maturing BITBs lungs). . . and then we would start hoping for every day after that (though maybe skipping over the 25th because I wasn't too keen on having a Christmas baby).

The night was a bit boring BUT we made it to 34 weeks . . . and while we were in the hospital, babycenter.com ironically sent me this update:

'Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.'

I didn't get to see this until today (when I was able to get to a computer again) and had a good chuckle. . . the preterm labor link had this to say:

'If you start having regular contractions that cause your cervix to begin to open (dilate) or thin out (efface) before you reach 37 weeks of pregnancy, you're in preterm labor, also known as premature labor. If you deliver your baby before 37 weeks, it's called a preterm birth and your baby is considered premature. . . .About a quarter of all preterm births are intentional. . . .The rest are known as spontaneous preterm births. . . .About 12 percent of babies in the United States are born prematurely. . . .Premature babies born between 34 and 37 weeks generally do very well. If you go into labor before 34 weeks, your medical team may be able to delay your labor for a few days so your baby can be given corticosteroids to help his lungs develop faster, which increases his chance of survival. . .'

Thanks."
--Clare

Round two . . . a bit more dramatic (part I)

"This has been a very crazy Christmas celebration.

It all started Sunday, just hours after seeing my Dad leave for St. Louis my modified bed rest was about to come to an end.

During the night I started to feel a strange tightening that wasn’t BITB pushing against me or the painless Braxton-hicks that I had experienced before. This was closer to the pelvic bone and contained a little bit of pain. That night I probably experienced this 4 or 5 times.

Monday, I went about my day as best I could entertaining Jackson and trying to mind my bed rest rules as best as I could. I can’t actually remember what I did that day, we were housebound with snow falling and the bed rest, but the point of the story that matters is that I was feeling those kind of painful lower pelvic tightening between every 30 to 90 min.

I started to become a little anxious about them and while getting ready for bed Ross and I reviewed what constitutes false labor, or real contractions, and what might happen to me, and BITB, if this was in fact preterm labor (I wasn’t even 34 weeks yet! Not until Christmas Eve).

After deciding that my “contractions” were normal, especially for a second pregnancy, and most likely B-H since they went away when I moved or drank water, we went to bed knowing I’d call my doctor in the morning just to let her know what I was experiencing.

I didn’t sleep much Monday night as my “contractions” were coming closer and closer together. They weren’t necessarily increasing in pain but would occasionally increase in how long they lasted, and didn’t quite go away like the ones during the day had when I moved around or drank water. I was awake most of the night and wandering around the house to try and shake the contractions. (Oh, and that's when I discovered our Christmas tree had fallen over--at least it went towards the windows and not the center of the room.) I decided I didn’t care what the office said when I called for my doctor, I was just going to let them know I was showing up as soon as I dropped Jackson off at school.

I got Jackson safely to school, with only a few slips on the snow piling on the roads, and told his teachers that there is a possibility that someone else might be picking him up as I wasn’t sure what was going to happen that day.

I called my doctor, informed the receptionist that I was coming and made my way slowly through the unplowed roads to my doctor.

My doctor wasn’t there but I was seen by another in the office who listened to all I had to tell of my recent hospital adventure and of these things that I’m almost certain are real contractions happening. . .

She hooked me up to the monitors and I hung out for 20-30 min while the baby’s heart beat and my contractions were recorded. The doctor wasn’t too pleased with how BITB was reacting to the contractions (shying away from the monitors so the heartbeat would cut out) and said that she would send me to the hospital for a better monitoring of everything (since they have more sensitive equipment). She then examined me and proclaimed that I was now about 4 cm dilated and that I am to go directly to the hospital and most likely will be spending the night there . . .

I made appropriate arrangements for Jackson pick up, headed to the hospital and called Ross to meet me at the hospital."

--Clare

But not this early . . .

"Yesterday I had a regular prenatal doctor appointment. Everything looked good, sounded good, and my weight was good. Next appointment was scheduled for the new year and at almost 9 months.

My Dad arrived in town last night for a long weekend of pre-Christmas fun. We had big plans of getting dinner then a Christmas tree (yes, it is a bit late to be getting one) that were foiled by both the airport and the weather. Dad's flight arrived on time but had to wait for their gate to open up. Then we had to wait close to an hour for his bag. In the mean time the weather outside was getting dicier, slush freezing and snow flurrying. It took us another hour to drive back home (normally about 20 min). Not a big deal, we'll secure ourselves a tree tomorrow.

That is until the morning when I noticed some spotting. Hmmmm, not this again.

I decided to call my doctor and she wanted to see me immediately. I was feeling just fine so figured that after a quick appointment, my Dad, Jackson and I would go get that tree and have fun setting it up before Ross came home from work.

Well, seeing as things had gone a bit sideways in the past 18 hours, my doctor's visit would foil my plans for the day.

After being examined my doctor said that I was slightly dilated. Hmmmm . . . they hooked me up to a belly monitor to watch for contractions. There are two monitors, one for baby's heartbeat, the other for contractions. There is supposed to be 20 continuous minutes of data for a good reading. Well BITB wasn't too thrilled to be monitored and rolled a bit, kicked a bit, preventing a continuous reading.

There seemed to be enough information for my doctor to read, no contractions and heartbeat was steady. However, it was decided that because I was about 3 cm dilated (oh, 3? I was thinking maybe 1 or even 1/2 when she said "slightly dilated") I had to go straight to the hospital for overnight observations.

OVERNIGHT!!! My dad just arrived and we're supposed to get a tree!

I call Ross and he meets us at the hospital (thank goodness we did the hospital tour earlier in the month, though that didn't really help me remember which nurses station to go to to check in) and I was given a room.

A nurse and doctor came in and asked questions and checked me out. This doctor agreed that I was dilated but thought closer to 2 cm. Either way, it's dilated, and a little early.

I was hooked up to monitors again, and was told I'd be checked after another 2 hours. Ross and my Dad went to get us some food while Jackson and I watched Sesame Street and listened to the monitor's beeping.

After two hours the doctor saw no change and thought it was fine for me to go home (YEA! but on sorta modified bed rest) and called my doctor to say so. Well, there was a short time when we were told, no in fact you're to stay over night (BOO!), but then after some more talk between the doctors I was finally discharged. Whew! I was not too thrilled to be there over night, but if it was necessary, then I was willing to do it. However, I'm glad to be home and relaxing with my Dad, my Husband, and my Son. Interestingly, how luckily am I that this experience happened when those 3 men were all in the same city with me!

And now for some modified bed rest . . . it's going to be hard not to do all the things I normally do around the house. I can't pick up Jackson, I can't vacuum (too bad, though interesting I am still allowed to do dishes and laundry), go up and down the stairs too much . . . I'll include the whole list later.

And hopefully, we wont have to see the hospital again until MUCH closer to my due date."
--Clare

Another vote for early

"At the beginning of the week, as we were getting ready to turn in for the night, Ross asked again when my due date was. I always find this funny because it seems that after your first kid, things like what week gestation you are and even when you're due become less of a first thought than something you're constantly trying to remember. So, it really isn't a crazy thing that Ross didn't remember Feb 4; life is just proving itself to be busier than the first time around when being pregnant was a newfangled thing for us . . .

Ross looks at me and stuns me stupid when he says, 'I think we have a month.'

'Um, it's more like two months, honey,' I replied (thinking 32 weeks means 8 weeks left which means two months!).

'No, I think we have a month left. I just have this feeling.'

There is something eerie about Ross when he gets these 'feelings' of his. He is usually right. It's just weird. He's called a lot of things with his 'feeling' about it, enough for me to get a little jumpy when those feelings involve our having only one more month before this baby arrives. (Ross said that Jackson was going to be early and that my water was going to break. He was right on both accounts where as I was sure I was going to be late, and really only 10% of women have their water break before they go into labor so of course it wasn't going to happen to me. Aren't I supposed to be the one with intuition?)

I am not ready to even think that this baby is going to be here in a month . . . but then I thought about it and a month would be Jackson's birthday (which I think is entirely possible), and that now, at 33 weeks, I have 49 days left . . . one month would have me deliver 19 days early. Jackson was 15 days early. But still one month????? I need more time."
--Clare

Swimming for two, a curiosity for others

"Though I am going it alone this time around, I seem to have gathered a few admirers at the pool. Maybe no one in Tacoma swims while pregnant or maybe it's just that people who swim in the mornings with me get a kick out of my hot pink maternity swimming suit and blue swimming cap.

Lately the water has been very cold. I don't know if it has anything to do with the Y getting spruced up, but it's not fun at all. One of the women who occasionally swims around the same time as I do, asked me if I thought the baby feels the temperature change? (It was exceptionally chilly that morning.) I said I didn't think so, but felt sorry for the baby if s/he did. My friend Jen said that she doesn't think the baby would feel the coldness, and that maybe it feels colder to me because my body is working on keeping the baby warm. I'm down for thinking about it like that, plus it helps me brace against the chill and actually get some laps in.

Today, a man was swimming in the lane next to me and when I was getting out of the pool asked if the baby kicked while I swam. What a fun thought. But no, BITB doesn't move at all while I swim. Maybe the motion lulls BITB to sleep, or maybe it's just not a normal active time. But since the man asked I have had funny visions of the two of us doing the breast stroke at the same time . . . "
--Clare

We're at 8 months!

"Today I entered my 32nd week, also known as entering the eighth month. Eeep!

I have noticed a few pregnancy trends starting up again that I wish wouldn't. Acid reflux is coming back. I was made aware of the fact that once the baby reaches 31 weeks, s/he would go through a growth spurt. I think that the growing babe and uterus is contributing to this increased influx of acid reflux.

The second trend isn't too bad: I am back to needed an afternoon nap. With the growing belly and task of running after an almost 3 year old (how did that happen), I am thoroughly exhausted by lunch time. A nap is just the ticket to pep me up enough for the afternoon activities awaiting us.

The last may not be completely noticeable to others yet, and really in the possibility of things that could happen it's not horrifically terrible (though that depends on my mood), but the unsightly blemishes I started getting at the end of my pregnancy with Jackson are starting to show up. Luckily, I know that they will not scar my neck or back and will eventually disappear, but they are annoying and are not going away until I have BITB! YUCK!

Here is what babycenter.com has to say about 32 weeks: 'By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.'

I think that BITB needs to put on that poundage as all the pokes and jabs are very SHARP! Get some meat on those elbows, hands, feet, and knees! Okay, I'll eat a few chocolate cakes if that will help . . ."
--Clare

Hospital visit #1

"On Friday, Ross and I went to check out the hospital where I will give birth. Normally with a second baby, there wouldn't be a need for a tour of the maternity wing, but since the birth of Jackson we have moved clear across the country and thought it would be wise to know, at the very least, which door to enter when the time comes.

I don't know who designs hospitals, but I think a lot of them must have really been into mazes as youngsters. Half flights of stairs, secret elevators, 5 different wings extending off of one long, winding, and sometimes narrow hallway . . . I'm glad that I'll be wheeled around from place to place and wont really need to navigate except from bed to bathroom and back again, with maybe a few trips down the halls for exercise and showing off the new babe.

Now, Jackson was born in DC and the hospital there was just fine. We didn't know any differently. Our Tacoma hospital offers us a few new amenities that weren't available to us three years ago: DVD players in the recovery room (which are actually the same size as the ones in DC = small), a jacuzzi in the delivery room to help relax during active labor, and a crazy sense of heightened security.

I'm sure all of their security measures are in place for a reason, but the extent of them seems a little over the top to me. They do report a 100% success rate, so I guess that's a sign these measures are worth while . . . Your baby is with you from birth until being discharged, there is no nursery. There are little microchips in your id bracelet (as well as baby's and daddy's) that will trigger an alarm if you get too close to an exit door or opening elevator (the I guess there is a mini-lock down and a security nurse will rush to you and make sure all the bracelets match). And now, the majority of tests or treatments that BITB will receive can all be done within my recovery room, and if they have to take BITB elsewhere, I am to go along. Wonder if I'm going to be able to get any recovery sleep that I know I'll be needing. . .

But all in all, it was a great visit. The birthing rooms are large and comfortable and I'm excited to welcome BITB into the world there.

When Ross and I returned home, Jackson was still awake so I tucked him into bed again while Ross drove the sitter home. Jackson asked me, "Did baby come yet?" Too cute. He knew that we were going to the hospital and figured that meant that BITB was arriving (if only it took one hour!). I explained we had a little more time and that we were just learning about the place BITB would "pop out" in (in reference to Jackson's 'when is the baby going to pop out' questions). He seemed satisfied with that, and settled down to sleep.

60 days, give or take a handful, of just one kid to put to bed . . ."
--Clare

Growth spurt, growing anxiety

"I just came back from my doctors for a regular two week check up. I was seen by another doctor at the practice because mine was in a delivery. I was bummed I didn't get to see her, but also very pleased to hear the reason was because she was at a delivery. Just kind of reconfirms that she does in fact do those sort of things and isn't just the face I see in the office. I KNOW she delivers babies, but when all my encounters with her have been in a patients room, actually hearing she's at the hospital solidifies my knowledge and actually got me excited for when I'm the reason she's out of the office and at the hospital delivering a baby.

Anyway, this other doctor was very nice, but two strange things happened. One, she measured my belly as right on target (31 cm for 31 weeks) where as my doctor had been measuring me 2 cm behind. Now, I do think this doctor started the measuring tape lower on my pelvic bone, BUT around 31 weeks BITB is supposed to hit a growth spurt so maybe s/he just hit it early. So maybe BITB won't be all that tiny after all (hmmmmm).

Two, the heart beat was only 130 bpm. Maybe BITB was just extra calm, but his/her heart beat has never been that low. (And when Jackson was asked if he thought he was going to have a baby sister or a baby brother, he replied with 'a baby brother', which he's never said before . . . give us 2 months or so and we'll find out.)

The fact that Jackson was early, and the fact that I'm into my 30s (week wise and belly measurement wise) I'm really getting to the overly anxious stage. I hope I don't have a holiday freak out . . . I need my yoga class to start up again!!!

I talked with a girlfriend of mine this morning who is due a month before me (aka: due IN a month). She also has a little toddler running around at her feet and said that she is just ready for her baby to arrive. I can't imagine what I'll be feeling in another 4 weeks . . .

Today is Dec 3, I'm due Feb 4. That's 63 days . . .

I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself and I should just be glad BITB is growing and thriving."
--Clare

Belly encounter with Becky & Kim, round 2

"When I was pregnant with Jackson, I was very fortunate that my company sent me to a conference in Portland where I was able to also visit with my two college buddies Becky & Kim. This was the first encounter they had with a pregnant Clare, and we all loved it. (It is also important to note that Kim canceled a date with the new guy she was seeing to have dinner with the 2.5 of us . . . and now they're married--that trip to Hawaii BITB and I got to go on was courtesy of them!)

Here is what we looked like in October of 2005:


Last Saturday, Ross, BITB, and I went to Portland to celebrate Becky's upcoming marriage to Dave. Kim and Justin (aka "new guy" mentioned above) were also there and everyone had a great time catching up after a few months of not seeing each other. We were also able to get a photo of the 3.5 of us. I'm about 5 weeks further along than I was in the 2005 photo:

(And they insisted I wasn't as big as I was last belly encounter . . . I think it was just the shock of a pregnant Clare back in 2005 that made them think so.)

The party was wonderful, and it was nice having a "date" with Ross (Jackson was with his grandparents getting better from an ailment) again. Most of the time I forgot I was even pregnant because BITB was calm the whole party, no kicking or rolling around. And while that disappointed Becky since she wanted to feel movement in the belly, I think it was very considerate of BITB to recognize this was Becky's party and to not take the attention away from the lady of the hour."
--Clare

Do you like music?

"Jackson and BITB have conversations.

Jackson talks to my belly and I, acting in BITBs place, respond to him in the best little-sibling-responding-to-a-beloved-big-brother way (luckily for me I have a big brother and know how the admiration is to go). There have been pretty funny ones and sweet ones, and thankfully no rivalry ones.

This past Sunday, Ross was playing music with Lance and their new band. Jackson was explaining this to BITB and said that he too likes to play music with Daddy. "Do you like music, baby? When you're bigger you can play music with Daddy, too."

I love that Jackson is so willing to share the things that are special to him, like playing music with Ross, with this child even before s/he arrives. And I get a big kick out of that fact that Jackson will call himself a big brother already. He's getting there, but I think he'll grasp the concept whole-heartedly once BITB arrives. I hope so . . ."
--Clare

Surreal Dreams

"I have been having more baby dreams of late, but they are all jumbled and gobble-degooked. Full of stops and starts and discontinuity.

What I'm relieved about in these dreams is that they are all taking place in a hospital, not in my bed at home or at my Mom's house. What I'm not comfortable with is the reactions I'm having in my dreams to the baby or the baby's gender or the fear of Jackson's needs not being met because of the baby. They have not be the most fun baby dreams of late.

However, I wake up, relieved they're just dreams and know that no matter what happens everything will work out just fine, for us, for the baby and for big brother Jackson."
--Clare

Where did the time go?

"The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was my 30 week mark. Ross and I are just floored to think that we only have 10 more weeks, 2.5 months to go. How did this happen. And really, since Jackson arrived at 38 weeks, we might have even less time!!!

We're both trying not to hyperventilate."
--Clare

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

"This year was a Thanksgiving in St. Louis year for us. And in regards to pregnant traveling, I think that worked out to be the best plan. (Where as when I was pregnant with Jackson I was a very bad pregnant lady and traveled 2 weeks before Jackson arrived . . . how was I to know he'd come early?)

Most of my family had seen me in September (except for my brother John) but I think they were a bit unprepared for the change in my belly in just 8 weeks. While Ross's family is all out here and gets to see the progression at a slower rate, my family receives the shock of no belly to almost full belly. But sometimes that's more fun, there are better reactions that way.

It was wonderful for me to get to spend a week in St. Louis, where the air was crisp and chilly, but the sun shone brightly. Jackson had a grand time playing with all the St. Louis toys he only gets to play with when in town; he has a great memory for what he has to look forward to and races down to the basement at my Mom's house first chance he gets, and races to the guest room at my Dad's house for "his" toys.

BITB received a lot of attention too, and lots of yummy food (two Thanksgiving dinners is a pregnant lady's heaven). My sister Anna was the main one to feel my belly. Though she and Jackson (when he was Bucky) did have a belly game of Anna poke-poke-poking and then he kick-kick-kicking, I think BITB might not be at the interactive belly game stage, or maybe s/he is a bit more stubborn and didn't respond to Aunt Anna as actively as "Bucky" did.

But now we're back, and rightly so as it's time to get ready for Christmas, Jackson's 3rd birthday, and the arrival of BITB. It's nice to have our own home in which to do all these things, and it's nice to be able to travel and spend a lot of time with family (I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be traveling again, especially since it's not just with a belly but with a toddler as well)."
--Clare

Dec 1 picture

"Here is a comparison of my belly at approximately 30 weeks (Dec 1, 2008 vs Dec 1, 2005). I have been feeling like this time around I'm carrying lower, and friends have said I'm not as big (though I wonder if the shock of a pregnant Clare the first time around made me seem bigger than I seem now, not the first ever sighting of Clare pregnant).

However, I think that the belly looks about the same when all is said and done (but maybe it's just that I'm wearing the same shirt in the pictures that makes it seem so).

What do you think?"

--Clare

No pokes this time

"Something I'm finding different with this pregnancy is that NO ONE (outside of family) is attempting to touch my belly. No one has asked to feel my stomach, or done so without asking for that matter. I don't know if that is because I'm not in an office as I was with Jackson where friends felt comfortable asking, and once had permission were allowed to do so anytime. I was fine with it.

But then, I remembered this incident from the Bucky Blog:

'I went to find a cheesy magazine to keep my mind occupied during the flight out for Thanksgiving. I'm standing a few feet from the magazine racks because a woman is replacing the depleted supplies. She turns around, almost directly into me, and stops. With eyes lit up, she asks 'When are you due?' AND POKES BUCKY! Yes, she actually poked me in the belly. But what was really weird about it is that it was such a kind poke, if there ever could be one.

It took me a second to gather my wits, and when I said the end of January, her reply was 'Oh, how wonderful!' Then she gave me a big smile and went about the rest of her job. I was so dumbfounded I left without getting myself a magazine.'

And I realize that I'm pretty pleased that I haven't experienced any of that this time around. The only people who touch the belly, are connected to the belly whether it be my doctor, my family or my best friend."
--Clare