Baby Poll Winner!

It's Wendy!!  If she has been wondering why we haven't publicly recognized her prediction skills, she hasn't brought it up.  Thanks for patiently awaiting this announcement!  My lovely friend Wendy correctly guessed that Deterding Baby #3 would enter the world on March 27 in the morning.  Congratulations and thanks for playing.

* I had to mention that Natalie missed winning for the second time in a row by a mere 8 minutes!  Amazing.  If I'm ever 9 months pregnant again, I will ask Natalie when I can expect to go in to labor.

Peace

I think that "peace" will have to be the theme of my Project 52 this week.  I haven't taken any pictures all week because I'm too busy trying to induce labor and time contractions, but I'm sure I can come up with something that shows "peace".  Here's the story.

I've been banking on having a newborn in my arms by this time and it's just not happening.  Women who are 39 weeks pregnant are, for the most part, always anxious to go into labor and I've been no exception.  This pregnancy has challenged me physically in many ways- and it's been hard to see my higher-than-usual levels of pregnancy discomfort affect my ability to care for my family over the past 9 months.  However,  I've been blessed to have a healthy pregnancy without any complications, for which we as a little family daily thank God.  

When all the "signs" pointed to an early delivery, I set my heart on it and imagined the bliss of having my body to myself again.  And as silly as it may sound (especially to those who have never been pregnant), I was NOT supposed to be waiting, still, for our baby today at six whole days before I'm even due :)

I went to the OB today and saw a doctor that I hadn't seen before.  She told me that I was maybe 2 cm dilated and then launched into a conversation about inducing me on April 5th and setting up appointments for next week.  After two straight nights of false labor, and having been told a week ago that I had progressed to THREE cm and would likely be in labor soon, I was a little discouraged on my drive home from the doctor's office.  

Then I started preaching truth to myself.

-- I can't be discontent with the sovereign plans of a God who loves me and loves my unborn baby so much that every detail of this pregnancy and the future delivery have been planned for our ultimate good.

-- It's not the end of the world if Grace and her sibling share a birthday.  Actually, it will make a 4-year old Grace extremely happy!  The thing I've wanted most was some space between their birthdays, but that's not how we do things in the Deterding family anyway so I need to let that go (right, Steve and Amy?!)

That's all I really had to say to myself to snap out of it.  So, there's been a restoration of peace in my heart and I hope it remains even if I'm headed for another night of regular contractions!

Birthday girl-- she's going to be four next week, I just can't believe it:

And the Competition Begins

Baby Three Baby Poll

Kaz and his Cuz

We're estimating that our nephew Kaz and his cousin are about the same size in this picture.  

(One is a bit more cramped, however).

The Things I Do To Pass Time

I'm enjoying a day at home all by myself, and in between fake contractions I'll be working on the chair a friend is helping me reupholster, watering our seedlings for the garden, napping, eating ice cream, napping, and doing my taxes.  And napping.  First, though, I discovered that you can add a poll to our blog.  Why not?  If you feel so inclined, vote for boy or girl on the sidebar to the right.  Then play in our Baby Poll.

It's pretty obvious that I have baby on my mind, isn't it?  Hehe.

Eight Months

Yesterday I enjoyed contractions every 5-7 minutes, beginning at 3pm and finally slowing down and then stopping by 11pm. Someone may be anxious to make an appearance!  I hope...

Don't forget to leave your guess on the baby poll by scrolling down the page.

Going Weekly

It's time to go to the OB office weekly.  And that, I suppose, means I should be washing baby clothes and getting around to my "to-do" list.  I went in today and am "about one" centimeter dilated.  The third time around you really do believe in your heart that one centimeter doesn't mean much of anything, but progress is progress!  

Here's Leah, to give you something adorable to look at~

Deterding Baby Poll!

*click on the image above to enlarge the calendar*

Once again, it's Baby Poll time.  Here's a refresher on the official rules and regulations:

1.  Post your guess for the baby's arrival in the "comment" section.  Be sure to specify both date and time of day -- either "am" or "pm".

2.  Limit one guess per person, and only one entry per time slot-- no sharing!

3.  Winner is determined based on time of birth.  For example, if the baby is born on March 29th at 7 AM, a guess of "March 29th,  AM" would be the winner.  In the event that there is no entry for the correct arrival time, the next closest guess based on actual time of birth would win.  

4.  We will post entries on the Calendar above.  Check prior entries before placing  your guess!  Dates not displayed on the calendar above are still up for grabs (be aware that my doctors usually plan to induce 1 week after the due date...)

5.   The winner will receive... bragging rights and a congratulatory post here at The Deterding Family Blog!  It doesn't get any better than that, right?!

We had 35 participants in Grace's Baby Poll...let's see if we can top that!  Play today!

7 Month Belly

Excuse the circles under the eyes and the general appearance of weariness...this is nearing the end of the third trimester, after all.  I'm just about 34 weeks and a little late getting this picture taken, as I'll be eight months pregnant on February 29...er, if there was a Feb. 29.

I've got a to-do list a mile long and we're still working on finding the perfect girl name in case we'll be adding another little sister into the family!  Braxton Hicks contractions every single day.  Lots of Tums.  Lots of belly-hugs from Grace and Leah.  Lots of help around the house from my sweet husband.

Rum pum pum

Our sweet little angel feels her little sister or brother for the first time...I think she will take good care of him/her

Or maybe not...

Six Months

I had a little helper this time...and she's already been asking how many days until the baby comes out.  Instead of answering with "Roughly seventy, my patient Grace!", I've been telling her 10 weeks or so.  Seems like a shorter wait that way.

In this photo I'm 29 weeks, a little beyond the 6 month mark.  Grace (or should I say Cinderella, note the dress) is 3 years and 9 months.  Leah was not interested in participating!

View from the top

Oh boy.  At least I can still see my toes!  At 29 weeks, the new development is baby hiccups!

5 Months

The baby and I have reached 23 weeks.  I celebrated by getting a mom haircut and then lying on the sofa while my wonderful parents did my laundry and vacuumed the house etc, etc.  My newest pregnancy adventure since my last belly update is some bad lower back pain that I think may be with me for the next 4 months.  Really, though, I think that not being able to bend over or sit in a chair for too long is a small price to pay for bringing our baby into the world.  I must have a really cozy backbone that makes a lovely little cradle for my little guy or girl!  Steve and I are very thankful for both sets of grandparents who pamper me with playdates and meals and housecleaning.  And I should say for the record that Steve has stepped up in the laundry department and keeping clean clothes on our backs....what a guy!  Right now I'm laughing at myself for ever entertaining the thought that I may be able to pull off reusable diapers this time around.  HA!

All in all I'm feeling well!  The newest name suggestion from Grace is "Clementine", in honor of our favorite seasonal treat:

(that would be Clem, I guess, if we're having a boy).  Isn't it FUN not knowing the gender?!  :)

Four Months

I'm at 20 weeks and despite a sciatic nerve that frequently acts up, I'm feeling good.  Grace and Leah  got to meet our new little pal Knox (Shane and Wendy's newly adopted, teeny, tiny bundle of sweetness) for the first time on Saturday, and it was very interesting for me to see how they acted around a newborn.  Leah was very gentle and stroked the baby's arm and head while saying things like "hi, baby Knox..." and "awwww..." in a whisper.  Grace let out a little shriek, ran up to Knox, and starting digging her fingers under his chin to tickle him.  Two very different big sisters in the making!

Sonogram!

It's our baby!  We didn't find out if we have a boy or a girl...20 or so weeks to go until the big reveal!

My next OB appointment is in a couple weeks, so we'll get the full report from the radiologist then.
Just for fun, here are Grace and Leah's sonograms.  At first Steve and I thought this little one looked like a replica of Grace, especially the second picture, but the more we stare the more we can see some differences.  I just love sonograms!

To Find Out or Not To Find Out

At this morning's OB appointment I received three things:
1) the confirmation that I need to stop acting on my late-night cheesesteak sub cravings
2) my second opportunity to watch my girls as they listened to the baby's heart beat
3) a sonography request form

I just now made my sonogram appointment for 9 am on November 1, when I'll be 18 weeks + 6 days along in my pregnancy.  A couple weeks ago, during the night, I woke up and decided that I DIDN'T want to find out if we're having girl #3 or boy #1.  This was a big change in opinion because up to that point I was anxious to know.

I still think that I want to keep it a surprise but I still have 2 weeks to change my mind.  I think Steve could go either way.

...does anyone want to go out for a cheesesteak tonight?

14 weeks + 5 days

Or, the three month belly picture.

I'm feeling the baby move today!

Here are big sis Grace and big sis Leah at the same age...

The Picture I Just Posted

If you follow my Project 365 blog you may have noticed that some days have been skipped.  It's true that I did forget to take a picture a couple of times back in May, but more recently I've had to hide some of my pictures of the day until the right moment.

I think we're ready for that moment to arrive...

Here are some previously-hidden Photos of the Day that I posted on the blog today:

July 20. There's a subtle message in this one.


August 18.  The first portrait!