Category Archives: The Voices Speak

Labor Day Gift

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Catlin finally made her grand appearance on Labor Day 2007 (September 03).  Here is the web site to her birth announcement… Catlin’s Birth Announcement.  Will post more pictures and tell you about her birth as soon as Catlin and I have had a chance to settle down.

PS:  Here is the link to Mercy Gilbert hopital’s birth announcement of Caitlin… Mercy Gilbert Online Nursery.

Sleepless night

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It’s 4 in the morning… I can’t sleep.  🙁  I tried, knowing that I need my energy to deal with my boys… but I still can’t.  Feeling sad. 

William laughs at me… he say other mothers’ are excited cause they only have a week to go.  I, on the other hand, am upset because she’s not here yet.  I was so sure she would be here by now.  To add to my annoyance, he gets happier with everyday that passes without her arrival.  Of course he is not the one pregnant, carrying all this extra weight, waddling around after crazy kids, suffering from uncomfortable Braxton hicks, itchy skin, constipation, etc.  He’s just excited thinking that we are going to have a compliant baby.  I doubt it… cause she hasn’t listened to any of my requests.  Figure she’s going to wait for the most inopportune moment to make her grand entrance.  He’s also excited about the idea that she’s going to be nice and fat the longer she stays in me.  Grrr!  I don’t want a fat baby… she may not be able to fit into all the clothes I bought her while I was under the assumption that she was going to be little like my boys.  I’m not liking him too much right now for all his annoying thoughts.

Funny, she’s not even out and she’s already causing me grief.  And, I was so excited about her birth.  Now I don’t care anymore… I just want it done and over with.

PS:  You don’t have to comment on how stupid I sound right now.  I already know it… doesn’t stop me from being miserable though.  Besides, I’m just a venting, tired fool.

Still waiting…

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There’s a full moon tonight, not to mention the lunar eclipse we had early this morning.  My midwife mentioned how she has three mothers in labor today.  Sadly, neither one of those mothers is me.  I’m still holding on over here.  According to my latest check up, I am now 3 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and the baby’s head is at -2.  I’m not completely sure but I think I need to be 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced before I start having true labor contractions.  With the way I have been dilating, it may be another week before this baby shows up.

Here is an interesting tidbit I learned today.  This morning William asked me if there is a male version for the term midwife… something in the way of midhusband perhaps.   Turns out, there is no male version for that word, although there are male midwives.  They are mostly found in the military and yes, they do deliver babies.  The word midwife is translated from the old German word mit wife which means “with wife” or “with a woman” and was once a predominately female profession.  The reason I find this interesting is because it is the first profession that I have encountered where the label is biased towards women.  William thinks this is sexist!  LOL!

The waiting game

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Given that Aidan was born at 33 weeks and 6 days, Mark was born at exactly 37 weeks, and with this pregnancy my cervix had started softening at 32 weeks, I am surprised that the baby has not arrived yet.  I was so sure she was going to be here by now, but as the days roll by I see no sign that she is about to make her debut any time soon.  With each day that passes without her arrival I grow more nervous and anxious about the future.  How is my labor going to be?  Is it going to be short like the one I had with Mark, or is it going to be long and drawn out?  You think I’d be a pro with the labor and delivery now that I’ve had two kids.  But this pregnancy feels different, so I’m not sure how things are going to go.  Besides, my previous two deliveries have been very different from each other.  With Aidan, my water broke first.  I was then given medication to try to delay the contractions and the labor, but that didn’t work for too long.  I ended up having contractions at midnight and Aidan was born within four hours.  With Mark, I started having contraction and a bloody show before my water even broke.  Mark was born not long after that.  It will be interesting to see how this baby’s delivery goes.

There are other things that worry me as well.  How is the baby going to be?  Will everything be okay with her?  How will my boys handle the new addition to the family?  Will they adjust with ease or will they be difficult.  I’m already worried that Mark will have a hard time dealing with the baby.  He is at that age that he needs to be the center of attention.  So, I’m not sure how he is going to deal with playing second fiddle.  More importantly, how am I going to handle three kids who are all under the age of five?  Will my sanity survive?

*SIGH*

I realize that it’s better for everyone, including the baby, if she incubates for longer.  But this waiting is driving me crazy and it just gives me more time to steep in my worries.  William says that I shouldn’t fret about the unknown.  When it comes time, we’ll know what to do and we’ll deal with it.  I know he’s right.  Who knows, things may turn out better than what I am imagining right now.  But, it still doesn’t help to completely calm my nerves.  I’m still a little scared and I probably will be this way until the baby shows up.

Pregnancy update:  Saw the midwife yesterday.  At 37 weeks and 2 days, I am 2 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and the baby’s head is at -3.  She said that she could feel the baby’s head.  That excited and creeped me out at the same time!

Chandiya

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That’s what comes to mind whenever I see Mark getting himself into trouble. The Sinhalese word Chandiya, loosely translated in English, means rouge or street gangster. Okay, by no means is Mark a gangster of any sort but he is definitely a dare devil. This boy has fallen on his head more times than I can count (and definitely more times than Aidan had when he was Mark’s age). Yet he still gets up, and after a short cry and some consoling, repeats the same action that got him hurt in the first place.

Which makes me wonder… Does his age have a role to play in his fearlessness? Do 18 month old infants even understand the concept of fear and/or cause and effect? You think after he falls off the dining chair and hits his head on the tile floor that he would have learned his lesson. Nope, not Mark! Five minutes after taking the fall he climbs right back up on to that exact same dining chair. One time he fell off the chair twice within half an hour. By the second fall, he couldn’t even walk straight. I was so afraid that he had suffered a concussion or something more serious and I kept checking on him throughout the night.

Now you are thinking why don’t I just watch the boy and make sure he doesn’t climb on stuff. Trust me, I watch him. As much as I can, cause I still have my chores to do, in addition to looking after Aidan. That little creature is fast. As soon as I take him off the chair, he climbs right back up again. His latest trick is climbing up the bar stools. This terrifies me cause instead of a foot fall he now has horrible, HORRIBLE, two and a half feet fall onto tile floors. The boy is crazy! So, in an attempt to try and deter him, we have hidden the stools away in the closet. My kitchen now feel empty without the stools cause that’s where hubby and visitors would sit and chat with me while I prepare dinner. Oh well, I’d rather taken the emptiness than have to deal with a trip to the emergency room.

I leave you with a picture of Mark indulging in his newest obsession… teeth brushing. He loves to climb into the sink, turn on the faucet, and chew on his toothbrush.

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