Still cookin'

Yes, I'm still pregnant. Despite my better efforts to walk myself into labor this week, I'm still almost a week away from my due date (8/4/11) and haven't had any steady signs of impending labor. Fortunately, though, both my mom and Nacho's mom made it in to town this week so anytime is a good time to go. If I could will it to start, it would have happened. But no such luck. So instead, we made it to a BBQ-turned-indoor pizza party on Friday night and to our neighbor Skylar's 3rd birthday party at the park today. The superheroes and princesses were in full regalia...

Trying to keep cool in the 90 degree weather was much easier in the shade of the park, and really, that's all I can ask for now. It's too boring to stay at home, but I definitely feel like I'm more reluctant to get out too far. No city trips, except for the doctor visits, for me right now. Baby clothes have been washed up and I'm practically packed, so let's see what the next few days bring. Hopefully, we'll have some news and I'll get to sigh that incredible breath after labor is over. That's what I'm focusing on now. Just waiting and looking forward to the relief of this pregnancy being over. It's been fun, but I'll be so glad when it's over. We have a baby to meet and a blog to rename. Let's get crackin'!

Party crashing

So far July has been a busy month for birthdays and celebrations and this weekend was no different. On Saturday morning, I was honored with a brunch along with my fellow pregnant friend Jessie by our playgroup mamas. It was a nice way to kick off the weekend and get a little fun time away from the kids, and I appreciate these ladies more and more every year. Being the next one up is a little daunting, but as I've seen over the past couple of months, each second time labor has its own unique story and challenge. Some have been easier, but mostly, I think they're just different which is something I'm trying to keep in mind as the days dwindle by. Later that day, we were off to celebrate another milestone for a playgroup family: Monica and Humphrey's one year anniversary at the Douglaston Club in Long Island. It was during their son Bix's birthday party last summer that I learned about Humphrey's colon cancer and the swift treatment he would begin to beat it. He and Monica decided to marry right away which didn't leave lots of time to organize a party obviously. But this summer, they more than made up for it with a gorgeous celebration of their life together and the news that Humphrey is cancer-free. In fact, he will soon be taking part in the PAN-MASS challenge, a bike ride across Massachusetts to raise money for cancer research. I can't think of a better reason to toast them and eat some fabulous cake...

The club was a beautiful setting for the whole affair and the kids had the run of a game room downstairs, complete with an old fashioned three-lane bowling alley and video arcade. Of course, mostly they just wanted to dance in the entry hall where the speakers were set up and so we did lots of that to keep the party going. The atmosphere was fun and lively and Nacho and I both enjoyed chatting with the couple's friends and family. It was a perfectly relaxing evening until the sound of a loud crash jolted me out of my seat in the dining room. I'd been sitting there winding down from the long day while Elisa and her friends paraded in and out of the room with toys and left again to dance. There were lots of parents around with kids so I didn't feel that she was bothering anyone and lately, she seems to hold her own with conversations so I figured she would come back to us when she needed something. But the epic boom from the hallway just sounded like disaster and by the time I rounded the doorway, I could hear a familiar wail beginning. Another mom was scooping Elisa up and looking frantically around for someone--anyone--to take her. I was there in seconds, but still there was that pang of guilt for not being there. I didn't see what happened and as I took Elisa into my arms and tried to assess the damage, it was hard to tell with the shards of glass everywhere and the overturned radiator cover what exactly had hit her in the head. But there it was: the goose egg bump to set my pulse racing and Elisa was inconsolable while people rushed to and fro getting me bags of ice that she wouldn't let me get near her head. It's the worst kind of helplessness to know what needs to be done, but to have a child who won't cooperate for fear of more pain. It's heartbreaking really. But within minutes it was clear there were no other lesions or bumps so my only problem was assessing the one staring back at me. It was giant and purple and I really didn't know if she would start vomiting or have a seizure or what. But thankfully, by the time we called an ambulance (our first!) both of us were calming down and the decision to go have her checked out at a nearby hospital was made.

It's never easy to know in the heat of the moment if you are doing the right thing medically when it feels like there are a thousand choices and still doing nothing would probably turn out okay. Why is that? Yet part of me was also reflecting on the sudden passing of a thirty-something coworker of Nacho's that died last week after hitting her head in the shower. She fell into a coma and died 4 days later. Stuff like that just snaps you out of your life for a second when you realize how absolutely devastating something so trivial can be. Still it's always good to be the parent of the most jovial child in the ER which we definitely were last night. Elisa was a champ through the whole thing and didn't fuss at all through the exam. She really impressed me by listening and doing exactly what was asked which was a small silver lining to the entire ordeal. We were in and out of LIJ in just over an hour (a miracle by any standard) and the doctor was very reassuring that he didn't feel anything to indicate a fracture under the swelling. So we kept a close eye on her last night and today she woke up with a much smaller purple bump and nothing else. Considering how much fun she had dancing the night away at the party, I'm sure it was much less traumatic for her. But for this pregnant momma, I think I'll take the rest of the week to recover from the adrenaline rush and just hope that the next hospital I'm in gives me a new baby to take home!

Preschool and other updates...

I love this picture. It was taken on the third morning that Elisa went to preschool and it sort of captures her whole attitude to the new routine...my eyes may be sleepy, but I have my backpack on and I just need to play the bongos one time before I can leave. Seriously, it's been that easy. The first week, in fact, I was sort of floating on air each morning after drop off. Three hours to myself to do whatever I needed or wanted to do or nothing at all. It was so nice to have that time away from her and to know that she was loving it too. There was a lot of painting and playing outside and of course, the breakfasts that she had to recount in full. A total win-win. And except for one teary goodbye with Papa and a morning of clinginess with me the second week, she has bounced right back into the routine on week 3. I won't credit anything but her own personality for this transition to school, since I really think Elisa is just one of those kids that thrives around lots of people. She is a total extrovert and as she gets older, it shows more and more that she adapts to new situations with new people with ease.

And sometimes, it's a little too easy like the other night at dinner at our neighborhood Mexican joint. She was sitting at the table with us across the aisle from a nice gray-haired grandfather out with his son and two granddaughters. He smiled and started talking to Elisa and she played coy for a few minutes before talking a bit. As he got up to leave, he shook her hand and told us what a lovely girl she was, and Elisa was clearly smitten. She started spewing out a whole series of non sequiturs that seemed to amuse him to no end. When he said goodbye and walked away though, Elisa turned to us and said, "Where he go? I want to go with him." Uh, no. Let's leave the old men alone. Jeesh. Like I said, I'm happy she's such a personable child, but sometimes I think the hard part with Elisa is finding suitable outlets for all her enthusiasm. So for now, preschool is a good start, and I couldn't be more pleased with the way she is responding to the classroom and her teachers at Amazing Magic Beans. It's a short walk from our place to those 9 hours of freedom every week, but what a difference already.

BABY GIRL #2 UPDATE:

So I went in today for my 38 week appointment, and there appear to be some good signs that this pregnancy is nearing its end. I'm dilated to about a 2 1/2 or even 3 cm, up from 1 two weeks ago, and the baby seems to be a little further down. (This is in contrast to the steady 1 cm I was with Elisa, up until about 20 hours into labor when I reluctantly agreed to pitocin to get the whole thing going). My doctor has had a tentative induction date on the calendar for July 28 for weeks now, despite my hesitations and not even asking for it. I was a bit surprised and then annoyed about her matter-of-fact-why-the-heck-not attitude to elective inductions, since she never really adequately spelled out why I would need it. But now that we've come this far and I told her I wasn't coming in for that next week, she cancelled it with no problems. I just don't think I can pick the day like that when there isn't a good enough reason to do it. And despite her swearing that second time inductions are "waaay" easier, I just don't feel that's a good enough answer. I really like the idea of things happening naturally (for lack of a better word) at least as much as they can. And yes, it means I have a few more days with Nacho working and no relatives in town yet. But I have some contingency plans and a whole neighborhood full of friends that could pitch in if things get tricky. So we'll see. I'm hoping that by my next appointment on Wednesday, I'll have more good news that the baby is progressing and still hanging tough. And hopefully by then I'll be packed and ready to head to the hospital if we need to. Nacho is taking off after the 27th, so here's to hoping he's not out of town when my water breaks this time. Yeah, that would be nice.

Pool, pool party!

How do you beat the heat when the temps are going to be above 90 degrees all week long? Join the pool party, of course! Thankfully, Oliver's mom Jessie snagged a kiddie pool early this summer and invited us over for a little post-preschool splash time. Much better than sitting in the dark watching Toy Story 3 again and again, and we got lunch to boot...

I'd say Oliver and Elisa were the last two fish in the pond mostly because they splashed the hardest. Elisa had her moment of being ejected from the pool for violating the no splash rule, but after a timid "sorry," I was ready to move on and let her end on a high note. And she did. It wasn't a playtime without incident, but once these two were alone in their dominion, things mellowed a bit and the shade was a welcome relief to the heat of the day. Now I just need one of these in our living room...hmmmm...there's an idea.

Moving ever closer...

These past few weeks of July have inched us ever closer to the big day, and there's building anticipation about exactly when this new little girl will make her appearance. My gut feeling (not to be taken literally) is that I will have this baby before the end of the month. But with a due date of August 4th, who knows if I'm just kidding myself. Normally, I love how every pregnant woman thinks she will go early. It must amuse our docs to no end. But really, for real *wink, wink*...I do think I have a good chance of going into labor on my own before August, so I guess time will tell how close I really am. And as many of my friends keep remarking, I am trying to stay busy up until the point that I collapse in a heap. It's definitely getting harder to do, but I really enjoy the time relaxing at the park watching Elisa splash around or just hanging out at the evening barbecues with our friends. Just a couple of weeks ago, we wandered around Central Park one afternoon with Elisa and managed to get her on the carousel for the first time ever. She wasn't too keen at first when Nacho hoisted her up on the towering horse, but by the time it started moving, she was all smiles.

Considering how the months of May and June were mostly filled with Nacho's absences, we are also looking forward to seeing him much more now that his training is done and he's passed everything with flying colors. The timing of the transition couldn't have been better in a lot of respects since he's got more time at home this month just as we're winding things up with the pregnancy too. And we've decided he'll take all of August off (through FMLA which is unpaid, but still a great option) to hang out and acclimate to this new little life. I keep wondering how much different it will feel compared to Elisa's birth and first few months. Nacho and I both openly acknowledge those were not good times in many respects. As much as the euphoria carried us through the first couple of weeks, by a month or so in, we were toast--physically and mentally. It was hard, hard work and we just didn't know what we'd gotten ourselves into. But time passed and it got easier and we realized maybe we kinda liked this girl. And now, three years in, we can't imagine our lives without her. So what will it be like for her to have a new person join us? Will this cosmic shift bring us instant alignment, or more likely, a gradual understanding of our new family? I'm so eager to find out. And I really think with as much as we've talked about the new baby that Elisa is going to be over the moon to finally see her and touch her and try to play with her. Picturing it in my head is near impossible, but I keep trying. Oh, to have a crystal ball and see what is coming next. I know I would peek which is why maybe it's a good thing I can't. There's so much to look forward to. And soon.

Splashin' around

Somehow in the past week or so, Elisa has taken to the local kiddie pool with a renewed vigor. It doesn't hurt that it's been in the upper 80s and we've been able to get there in the late afternoon when there aren't too many kids hanging around. I don't think she's brave enough yet to put her face in it, but she's really exploring the water and loving how much mobility she gets from just walking across the bottom on her hands. Watching her jump forward and land on her hands and then splash her way from one end of the pool to the other has been so much fun for me as well. If I were a betting woman, I'd say another year or so and this little mermaid will be sprouting flippers.

Birthday bonanza

Since having Elisa nearly three years ago, one of the biggest changes in my life has been the social network I've developed around the neighborhood. Having a child changes you in ways you cannot begin to name, but having mom friends enhances your social life in ways you cannot imagine until they are there. And truly, I have been lucky in this regard. Joining the Sunnymoms Yahoo group was really only the beginning because out of that came a smaller, more intimate group of friends who all have kids born between May and November of 2008. It is even more fun that there seems to be a cluster of kids in July and August whose birthdays keep us busy celebrating all summer long. So this was the first weekend of back-to-back festivities and we had a blast joining Oliver on Saturday at the New York Hall of Science and then Riley on Sunday at the Queens Zoo.

Oliver and his mom Jessie take a moment to enjoy the party...

Elisa ate her way through the icing first...

The kids all loved the circus display at the museum

The costume area was great for a little dress up fun...

Oliver and Elisa share in some human cannonball antics

My wizard girl takes the stage and pulls the curtain closed

Riley's safari walk through the zoo was loaded with animals for the feeding...

Oliver and Elisa check out Kitty the guinea pig up close

The kids all loved getting to feed the different animals and get their fingers tickled

Elisa got the hang of it pretty quick but got a little nibbled on at one point

Maya and Elisa got into the whole farm thing...

Riley blew out his candles like a pro!

Both parties kept the kids engaged and bouncing from one area to another, with plenty to offer this age group. There was a circus tent and cool playground at the Hall; a petting zoo with lots of animal food on hand and great science lab play area at the Zoo. Seeing how the kids all related to each other and the activities was a lot of fun for me since I'm used to the free form playing at the park, but this was a bit more like a field trip. And as far as I could tell, there were no tantrums or general craziness on display. Even Elisa kept it in check. It just reinforces how much they are all growing up. Three already. They are all such sharp little people with their own distinct ideas and seeing how they meld together to celebrate each other is so heartwarming. It's one thing for us moms to have chosen each other as friends, but it's another to see how they choose each other. When I mentioned going to these parties to my hairdresser the other day, he said, "A three year old has friends?" Yes. For these kids, I can honestly say it's not a stretch to call them friends. How lucky are we to be able to celebrate them together. Let the birthday bonanza keep on rollin'...