The Growing Caldwell Family

This is going to sound crazy and you will know that we are on the crunchy bandwagon for sure, but I think it makes a lot of sense - we are going to have the placenta encapsulated.  No, not encapsulated as a keepsake for Chubby to dig up on his 18th birthday, encapsulated as pills that I will take after the birth. I first read about placenta encapsulation before I was pregnant and thought it sounded a little gross.  The placenta is the tissue that develops inside the uterus to connect the umbilical cord to the baby.  It is rich in hormones, nutrients, and other minerals like iron.  Most mammals, even those very high on the food chain, eat their placenta and in some areas of the world women eat theirs after giving birth.  The idea of that is more than I can handle.  However, there is a process of cooking, drying, grinding, and placing the ground placenta in capsules that I could wrap my head around.  I take so many other supplements right now that one ...

This week   your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft   a pineapple ) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that   wrinkled, alien look   and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

For months now Aaron and I have been talking about all the preparations for Chubby's arrival.  We decided on a first name, picked out a nursery theme, and made plans for the birth.  One of the big things though that we are stuck on is a godparent.  We believe strongly in infant baptism and want for Chubby to have a godparent who believes in this too.  We also want for Chubby to have a godparent who is connected to us in a long term way, rather than simply asking someone at our church who we may lose ties with down the road. We have family and friends, but it seems like everyone already has a godchild and we don't want to over burden anyone.  So, I am putting it out here in case anyone wants to be a godparent to what we know will be a sweet boy. UPDATE Aunt Linda and her partner, Pat, will be Chubby's godparents.  We are thrilled!  We can't wait to introduce this little guy to his family!

We had a fun filled Saturday!  Sarah Graves and I got our day started by baking some zucchini bread.  We made it with zucchinis that we grew and what a tasty treat!   Then, we headed over to Lovie and Pops to go swimming.  SG tried out her new floaties and loved the independence.  She watched some older girls jumping off the side of the pool in the deep end and got the idea to try it herself.  Next thing you know, she is on the side of the pool counting to herself like the girls were and then she would get up the courage to jump!  She didn't love going under, but she didn't mind it too much.   She had a great time playing in the pool with Lovie and Pops.  She would get out to get a bite of her snack and tell Pops to save her seat.  It was quite cute! After swimming she had a special treat, a big bowl of ice cream!  This kid is crazy about ice cream and asks for it from the moment she wakes up until she goes to ...

Sometimes she is so silly!  This week's favorite activity has been coloring with markers (and picking it up with her teeth)!

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.

Chubby and I had a check-up and we both seem to be doing well.  My blood pressure remains low and my measurements are on track.  Chubby's heart rate was between 145 and 150.  While trying to determine his position, the midwife got him all stirred up and he gave her a few swift moves!  His head is turned downward, but his body is going more diagonal than it is vertical.  His head is not engaged yet, which is okay for 32 weeks. My midwife wants me to make an effort to eat fewer carbs and sweets since my first glucose test was high.  I guess even though the long test came back normal, because the short test was high it indicates that I should be monitoring the sugar in my diet. We also discussed having me drink a combination of teas that are known to help strengthen the body going into labor, help the uterus contract during labor, and help with bleeding after birth.  Because I lost so much blood after Sarah Graves' birth we want to make efforts to reduc...

Our Father's Day was pretty relaxed.  We weren't sure if we were going to make it to church and just as Aaron and I debated whether to wake SG up, we heard her talking.  I love it when everything works for us to be able to get there!  We took Daddy for a big breakfast at J. Christopher's.  SG enjoyed some of everything, including bacon!  Aaron said bacon is the gateway meat.  We'll see!  After church, we gave Daddy his special things.  She made him a picture using her handprints and we gave him a candy jar made from an idea I found on Pinterest.  She was very proud to give him things that she made.  We headed to Little Gym and after a nap we went out for lunch.  Our funny girl insisted on wearing a jacket with a hat (hood) and bringing Kate in her doll carrier.  After lunch there was an upset over Kate that resulted in a bigger upset over not getting to go to ice cream, so she needed some time to relax with h...

Last weekend we started classes at the Little Gym.  Sarah Graves is in the Beast class and she seems to really like it.  The classes are focused on teaching them some basic motor coordination, listening, and social skills through the use of music, games, and of course, the gym equipment.  Sarah Graves is interested in exploring the gym equipment most, but with redirection she joins the group for the activities.  They do some letting the kids explore the gym equipment, but that would be her preference all the time!  It's one way to teach her about paying attention to the teacher and staying on focus. The beam was her pick to play on most of the time and she started to get the hang of it.    After class we were hungry, so we went with Sarah Graves' choice and had lunch at "Steaky Shake". I am looking forward to seeing her physically develop and be able to do more in gym class.  She is definitely interested in it!

I posted yesterday about our struggle to get adjusted to a new school, but I also have to write about just how cute my girl is!  She is really talking a lot now and it is just getting so fun!  She expresses all sorts of ideas and thoughts to us.  I never realized all that was going on inside her mind and still probably only know a little of it.  The other morning she was putting on her clean panties and kept pulling at her nightgown.  When I asked her what was going on she replied, "my pgs stuck in my butt, BaBa."  She said it with complete sincerity and it was so hard not to laugh. Sunday she was painting and I asked who she was making a painting for.  Her typical response is Lovie, but that day she looked at me and said, "BaBa, I make this for you bring your work."  I now have a lovely green painting hanging above my desk that I couldn't be more proud of.  Monday I started with a cold and didn't feel good and she was whining about ...

For three weeks SG has been attending her new school and the adjustment has been tough.  I think my traveling after she first started made it a lot tougher.  I have been so worried about her and whether or not we are doing the right thing.  The school seems nice, her teachers appear to care a lot, and I am happy with a lot of the things they are doing.  The problem has been the changes I am seeing in my child. When I say that last week was bought, I mean it was excruciating and exhausting.  She has started to have some nightmare where she yells out No! in her sleep over and over.  We haven't experienced that before and fortunately, it's not every night.  We also had a lot more two-year-old tantrums.  Some evenings it seemed the crying went on from the time I picked he up until the time we put her into bed.  She doesn't want to sit in her car seat, she doesn't want to get out of the car, she doesn't want to eat any dinner, she won't sit on th...

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds ( try carrying four navel oranges ) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy. AS a side note, I have a cold.  Probably the same one that SG and Aaron have had.  Here is my cocktail of pregnancy safe coping tools: Emergen C, honey and vinegar, and saline nasal spray.  I have also taken some Tylenol wen I felt really awful.  

While I was out of town working, Aaron took Sarah Graves to the zoo. I was excited when i realized that Aaron captured some of the fun for me with the camera! I should probably title trips to the zoo as trips to the playground because that is her favorite part!

For quite a while Sarah Graves has been talking about Kate's birthday being "tomato".  Well, we celebrated her birthday on Saturday!  Lovie brought a cake, we added a candle, we sang to Kate, and then Sarah Graves helped Kate out by blowing out the candle and eating the cake!  According to Sarah Graves, Kate turned two.   As you can see, SG loved the cake and was very happy to enjoy it for Kate!  Kate, you bring a lot of joy and humor to our family and we are glad to celebrate you! My cutie loves to help out in the kitchen and I love the idea of teaching her early how fun it is to cook and share yummy food with people that we love.  So, we made a blueberry pie on Saturday evening.  She was quite proud as she carried the flour into the kitchen for me.   She helped to measure out the flour and sugar and helped me count the number of teaspoons of cinnamon going in the bowl.   She most enjoyed stirring it all together ...

For those who are curious whether SG and Chubby may look alike, here is Chubby's ultrasound picture and SG's together.  I don't think they look that much alike, but we will see sometime in the next 10 weeks!

After a very long week and a stressful one at that, I was grateful to have a lovely Saturday.   The day was off to a good start when Lovie came to join us for breakfast and Music Together.  The bobcat from the previous evening had been replaced by my usual, bubbly, little girl, making the day wonderful! After music, we met up with Aunt Nay and had lunch.  Sarah Graves was delighted that she could have a strawberry milkshake (she called it ice cream) and french fries for lunch!    After lunch we all headed to get a glimpse of Chubby.  Chubby was not in the mood to show off for us.  He was more than willing to show us his bum and his boy parts, but his face was a different story!  For everyone who looks at me and proclaims that I am having a girl, we have not had 4 ultrasounds all claiming this is a boy.  I will be floored if they announce at the birth that it's a girl! Here is a shot of his foot; showing off all of his toes....

I haven't written as much about the preparations for this birth, probably because I know a lot more and I feel a little more at ease.  We have been doing some thinking about the care that we want for Chubby immediately following his birth.  There are several baby care activities that are standard procedure, but at the suggestion of Pam, our doula, we have been researching them and giving them some thought.  First, the erythromiocin eye drops - these are customary for all babies born in the U.S. because they protect against blindness due to bacterial STDs like chlamydia and gonorrhea that the mother may be carrying.  The eye drops make their eyes goopy, blur their vision for a while interfering with their bonding process, and sting a bit.  Because I tested negative (routine procedure at your first prenatal visit) for these STDs, I see no reason to put Chubby through that.  Second, baby's first bath - typically, a nurse bathes the baby soon after birth be...

Here are a few more fun pictures from our laid back Memorial Day weekend. I asked her what she wanted to do and in her usual way she cocked her head to the side, said ooommm for a moment, and announced she wanted to paint with a paintbrush. I like a girl who knows what she wants! She enjoyed mixing all the paints together, so her art came out a bit brown. She had a great time doing it and freezer paper and tempera paints were certainly easy. I also let her help me make some homemade granola bars. Aaron thinks we are really getting crunchy if we make our own at home! We had fun doing it and they taste good, but they don't cut into bars, more like you need a spoon and I think some ice cream would be quite yummy with it!