32 weeks.....say what?

The title says it all.....we blink & I am 32 weeks. Well, 32 weeks for another day & then I will be 33 weeks which is why I am determined to write this now. At this point with the twins, I was only two weeks away from delivery. Wowsers, we better start getting some things together for Buckaroo #3. 

More important than a baby bathtub or new bottles, the Valentine "family of kids" has been in full prep mode for the past two months since I last wrote about the babe in the womb. We have a bin of babies & baby items up in a closet that we had not played with for awhile so I pulled it down in hopes that it would be enjoyed by all & boy was it! 

• First order of business, strap the babies into Ergos on the boys. They were "shushing" their newborns without receiving instruction. 
• Second, practice swaddling giant babies & finding it is easier to start with a fitted crib sheet 
• Third, feed the babies their bottles
• Fourth, get the new "bracelets" as the boys say....try to rip them out & wear them on wrists until I saved & hid them. 
• Fifth, the babies have grown quickly & have advanced to solid food.

I found myself laughing often as I observed all the newborn care provided around here. The boys were absolutely precious & the girls were thrilled to offer their wisdom on how to best problem solve. Owen (as usual) was busier than his pal Anson so the girls had to trap him & make him be a baby until being forced to release him in fear of being bitten.  Anson on the other hand was (& is) the perfect baby. Our low key kid that loves his thumb & his blankie would lie in a reclined position being snuggled all hours of the day. I actually really enjoy this about him & wonder how he might feel about sharing snuggle time with his baby bro. Good thing I have practice snuggling two little guys at once ; ) He had a good "baby" cry to get attention from his caretakers.

Owen & Anson have had a baby or two in their bed to take care of at night since the baby box came out of the closet. Each of them have woken at night screaming they have lost their baby....so hilarious. Anson likes to take his in the car but we tell him that she must stay put when we get to our destination. When we get back to the car he climbs right in & says "Hi baby, how are you, you hot?" She would definitely not survive the Texas heat inside a car but Anson would blame it on us for making him leave the car empty handed ; ) 

Charlotte & Eloise have enjoyed some time with real live babies! Liam has been back over a couple times for cuddles with these two. My cousin Amy welcomed another sweet baby girl named Hallie early this month & the girls got to see her before me! They loved holding her & have told me multiple times that they can't believe Arlo will be that small. 

 

I had the opportunity to offer a "You Pick 2" to my friend Kate who was helping with watching kids during my blood draw & appointment a couple weeks ago. I actually chose to leave Charlotte with her since she is most independent & safe child. This means I automatically got Eloise. When the boys were up in the morning, I picked the one that was having a harder time dealing with life (that day) & got to put Owen on my team. So, Charlotte & Anson were happy to play with their buddies & I pretty much had no idea what I was in for. I was quickly reminded of why we call these two "the spicy middle" since they are our official middle children. They were like little jalapenos as we waited an extra hour for my appointment. At one point Owen picked up his Hot Wheel car & took off running as fast as a cheetah down a straight stretch. I was not sure where it ended so I began chasing him. I basically sprinted a good 200 yards which is something I hate when not pregnant so you can imagine how great I felt haha! I turned around to tell Eloise to follow me & she was running full speed with a stroller & three bags...she almost passed me. Thankfully I caught that little stinker & strapped him down.  

Once we were taken to a room the mood improved. Then we got to squeeze into a 2x2 ft space as two curious children observed how to provide a urine specimen. Thankfully our doctor & staff are awesome & provide large Tootsie Roll pops instead of those minuscule Dum Dum's. Although they cause an extreme amount of sticky saliva on clothes, hands & hair (that's Owen's problem) they sure occupy a chatty mouth for a good length of time.  Our doctor is so sweet & let Eloise find the heartbeat & measure my belly. Her eyes were huge & her grin even bigger. Her payment was two gloves that she was very proud of. After all the ridiculousness Kate made my day so much better when we arrived to grilled cheese & fruit on the table. She even made me a second grilled cheese....they were the best! Here is my stand in doctor...

Onto this sweet baby boy who is growing like crazy along with me. I look back at the amount of weekly pictures/updates with the other four & I should be ashamed. At least a son might not care as much as a daughter & would prefer not to see photos of his mother's bare belly...I'm guessing Arlo will never hold it against me. I say this because he is pretty sweet..........

a few pregnancy updates

• at 30 weeks Arlo weighed almost 3 pounds
• I have gained 22 pounds so far which is about 15 less than I had gained by this point with the girls & WAY less than I gained with the boys ; ) 
• Arlo is constantly showing off his dance moves & makes my belly look crazy a few times a day which is entertaining for the rest of the brood
• In every single ultrasound he has been in a full pike position...maybe headed towards being an Olympic diver? We are guessing he is not practicing his technique rather protecting himself from all the body slams my belly receives on a daily basis. 
• We have been able to see him open & close his mouth, suck his thumb, scratch his head & open his eyes...incredible every single time
• I had a follow up appointment with my neurologist at the end of July. My medication has been increased multiple times to achieve a therapeutic level. 
• Robby & I are enjoying our dates to the doctor & out to dinner here & there. He's my favorite & I am so thankful we are walking this parenting road together. 
• I passed my 1 hour glucose screen with flying colors, such great news since I failed that one & the three hour last go round. This means I have been able to keep up my bowl of ice cream a night diet. This is the most difficult pregnancy yet since there is no Blue Bell around. I have found some decent substitutions that I am sure I will think are disgusting once I try Blue Bell again & that's alright ; ) 
• After much consideration, we have decided for me to attempt to VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) instead of scheduling a repeat csection. Please join us in praying for labor to begin easily on it's own & progress naturally (& quickly) to a safe delivery
• Just over this past week I have begun to experience much more difficulty chasing children, getting up off the ground & rolling over in bed...all part of it!

One exciting addition to our family as of three weeks ago is Rosie, another Blue American Pitbull Terrier like Bella. She is sweet & a little wild which is making things even more exciting around here. She likes the belly & snuggles with me after she has been run ragged. A Rosie post will come in due time...like maybe years later. 

My mom came into town this past week for our pre-baby sewing extravaganza. We went through some baby items & put them away but our main focus was making Big Sis, Big Bro & Lil Bro shirts.  It was a more intense project than we anticipated but love how they turned out.  My mom snapped a pic of me during one of our late night craft sessions. 

I'm loving being pregnant with this little guy & although there are multiple things we need to knock out before he arrives, we can hardly wait for him to get here! We just know he will fit right in : )