38th week Update

I'm 4 cm dilated now, 70% effaced, and was told my cervix is "soft and ripe"..... interesting terminology, eh? Had my 38th week appointment yesterday and since labor is progressing my midwife did not "strip my membranes." She highly recommended I increase my daily number of red raspberry tea to 3-4 cups a day, I guess this really does strenghten the uterus and aid in contractions. She is on-call at the hospital today and tomorrow so how ideal would it be if he decided to be born now ;) I swear I lost my mucus plug yesterday too..... so just waiting on the contractions to start any time now! I feel cramping here and there throughout the day along with Jax's movement and pressure. Can you tell how incredibly impatient we are at this point?!! Taj's labor was much faster I remember, one week I was 1cm dilated then the following week I went into labor dilating to 4cm and in the hospital to greet him! Yup, instead of getting my epidural at 4cm like I did with Taj, I am walking around and going about my regular day..... I think Jax is just too comfortable! And I know he has another 2 weeks to technically "cook" but with Taji being born at 39 weeks and Jax being a second baby, my expectation is that he will come sooner?! I told you I scared him off when I found I was dilating two weeks ago! Oh well, nothing like good 'ole surprises..... everything definitely has its timing, no matter how much wishful thinking or preparation.

Dear Baby Jax,
This may be the last entry I write before you enter this world and I want you to know how much love, warmth, and excitement is awaiting you when you decide to make your entrance! Your big brother Taj loves to give you kisses on my belly and is contstantly pointing at my belly saying "Jax." When we ask him "Who's your brother?" He excitedly yells your name! He is just as impatient for you to come out and play as we are! Maybe I am feeding you too much good stuff...... the salmon, the spinach, the pomegranate seeds.(trying to pack all those in the last few days so your brain is well nourished!), but I promise you I have more goodies for you when you are born! I hope your delivery is fast and easy, we are going to try and video it too! I love you so much my little baby boy and cannot wait to introduce you to your dada and big bro, and the rest of our family that is excitedly anticipating your birth! We hope to celebrate your first Christmas with you as well, wait until you see our beautiful christmas tree and our warm colorful home! Please please come soon, I just don't know how many more hours and days I can wait to hear your cry, see your face, and hold you! Let my impatience and excitement encourage you to make your descend, and allow my love and joy to wipe away any fear or anxiety you may be feeling........ hope to see you soon! Love, Mama

Deck The Halls

With boughs of holly. Fa Lalala lalalala. Tis the season to be jolly. Fa Lalala lalalala. Yes it is! Its quite the jolly festive time in the Grover household nowadays, especially with the anticipation of baby Jax (ha ha sounds a lot like Baby Jesus!) Our holidays have begun, and its so warm and sparkly at home:
We have our outside christmas lights on the balcony and around the windows, the wreath is on the door, and the poinsettias greeting our guests. On the inside, our mantle is glittering with more lights, the tree is exuding the spirit of christmas, our Christmas Clock is counting down the days, and our stockings (including Jax's) are hanging by the fire. Proudly, we did all this in the last week!

It all started last weekendwith CDM's annual Christmas Walk. Our little town threw a street party with lots of food, drinks, a band on every corner, and people just kind of strolled down the sidewalk of PCH and hopped around from restaurant and bar. This year was a huge turn-out, they even had a santa taking pics with kids. We left our kid at home with the babysitter for the first part of it so we could go over to our newly married friends Griffin & Jane's annual Ugly Christmas Sweater pre-party brunch. Then later in the afternoon Taji came by to say hi to everyone and we headed home while dada hit the local bars and partied on with everyone else:



This last Saturday we took Taj to pick out his Christmas tree; we just love the smell of a real noble fir in the home despite the messies. We took this family pic by the Grand Wagoneer, can you see our tree on the top of the car?
Then just in time for the holiday season, Taj got his 2nd haircut by the same lady who cut it the first time. So funny our little boy has his own stylist! She does an excellent job and Taji always has fun "flying" the planes. Look at Mr. Handsome with his short 'do, very proper for the holidays!

Since Baby Jax was nowhere in sight and mama was feeling good, we decided to continue our Christmas spirit by taking Taj to Disneyland for the 1st time on Sunday. Since he is older now, and so observant and captivated by all the Christmas decorations and lights, we thought it would be fun to show him the grand display of decorations only Disney knows how to do. Plus, Brad and I have been wanting to go to Disneyland during the holiday season for this exact reason. We planned to make an evening out of it, to see the sights and sounds, ride a few of the family storybook rides, watch their christmas parade, have a yummy dinner under the twinkling lights of the princess castle, and make our way home after their fireworks display. We even made plans to meet up with our friends, the Jacobsen Family. We got there just in time to see that last half of the parade, but it was completely impossible to find the Jacobsens! :

Then, benounced to our expectations and hopes, we got caught up in the BIGGEST crowd. Seems like everyone else had the same idea as us. There were SO many people it was very difficult to walk, to see anything..... to enjoy ourselves. We attempted to see the "Small World" light display and even got caught up in the snowfall at the castle...... however, we were miserable so fortunately Disney refunded us our tickets (we were there for less than an hour).

In the end, we actually got to see the holiday highlights of the theme park (along with the annoying and overwhelming crowd and chaos,) and it was all free thanks to Disney's hospitality. We walked back through Downtown Disney and had the most fun there. We grabbed dinner, Taji loved running around the fountain, and we took him into the huge Lego store where he picked out his favorite Lego set Santa will put under the tree for him. I think he enjoyed himself the most at the Lego store, playing with the legos!:
On our way home, we actually got to see the fireworks, so I guess we were somewhat successful in our Disney plan of the night! I told Taji this visit didn't count, so his first official Disneyland excursion will be sometime soon, and on a weekday when its not packed, so we can relish in the beauty, imagination, and fun the park has to offer. Plus, Taj will be a bit older so he will probably be more into it anyhow...... can't say the same for Baby Jax, but he'll like people watching and hearing his older bro giggle!

These Boots Were Made for Walking (Downstairs!)

Taji boy got some new boots from dada the other week, very slick Vans ugg-style boots for the winter weather. And what a big boy he is wearing them, they definitely made him grow up a little more, he is now walking down the stairs all by himself!!!!! Check out our stylish big boy!!

False Alarm

It's 4:30pm Thursday and I start having contractions. They come and go every 20 to 30 minutes, sometimes lasting only a few seconds, and the longest 60 seconds. They continue through the evening, sometimes stopping for an hour and then all of a sudden, BOOM, they are back. I alert the husband, and my sister who is on-call for this reason. She asks if she should drive up and stay the night in case we have to go the hospital. Could it be that I am in labor? No. Its called False Labor, and it was yet another little joke Baby Jax played on us! Just like the other week when I found I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced at 36 weeks, I had not encountered a single contraction until this past Thursday when they came full force. But no, Baby Jax is becoming a little tease...... it was false labor because the contractions were irregular, would come and go, and would dissipate if I laid down or changed positions. They faded when I fell asleep in the night, but then woke me up at 4am..... still irregular. And I haven't had one since! You would think being pregnant for the second time would be familiar territory, but trust me when I say every pregnancy and every delivery is different. The symptoms can be different, the progression towards labor can throw you for a loop and confuse you even more (like now!), and I expect my delivery will probably also be unique. I wonder if Thursday's contractions dilated me more, and if so, does that mean that when the actual labor happens I will get my epidural in time or will I be too dilated to get it? Ayayay! Anyway, being that this is the 2nd wake up call in the last 2 weeks, we are definitely prepared and ready for Jax Franz Grover to come out and play. Even Brad has his bag packed now! I have my 38th week appointment Tuesday morning and my midwife is going to check how much I dilated and wants to "strip my membranes." Sounds weird, and it is probably going to be uncomfortable since in some women it could possible rupture the "bag of water" or bring on labor contractions within 24 to 48 hours. So, we are taking bets now, on which day will Baby Jax arrive? I like the sound of the 11th or the 12th, Brad prefers the 15th, our babysitter predicts the 12th (so next year on 12-12-12 he would be turning the big ONE), and both Brad's dad and my mom predict the 20th. Only little Jax knows for sure!

Ready or Not?!!!

The 9th Month.
Ok, so my sister's prediction that I was going to go into labor right after Baby Jax's celebration dinner did not come true...... however, I went in for my 36th week appointment at the beginning of this week and found out I am already 2cm dilated with my cervix soft and effaced! That explains the on again off again contractions and pressure I felt over Thanksgiving, but do you know what I did when my midwife gave me this update? I started crying! Yes, crying. I am an emotional wreck and somehow the speed of this pregnancy has caught up to me and I feel like it just dawned on me that we are really going to have a second baby to care for! My midwife said that with second pregnancies, labor tends to go faster, and that Jax may arrive in the next few days or weeks, just depends on how strong my contractions get. She told me the feelings I am experiencing are normal and that I should journal my thoughts and fears. Hence, this post!

Funny how things work out, at first I was afraid Jax would be born on Christmas and now I am nervous he may be born too soon in December! Goodness, is there ever a time we are really ready? Last week's intense pressure and contractions got me in the nesting mode and I packed up Taj's bag, my hospital bag, and even things for Jax. I washed all the things we will need in the first days Jax is home, I coordinated my delivery "plan" with my sister (who by the way is on-call and will be caring for Taj when we are in the hospital.) I made sure I had enough broth to make soup, and steel cut oatmeal for the liquid breastfeeding diet (thanks mami for this tip when Taji was first born.) I started drinking my red raspberry leaf tea (that I drank while preggo with Taji), supposedly helps to strengthen the uterus and aid in an easy labor. I even started and almost current with the "Birth of Jax" book that documents his pregnancy. And to ease my worries post birth, I already have our babysitter Sam waiting in the wings to help assist me whenever I need her to after Jax is born. The infant car seat is going to be installed in my car tomorrow, and Sonia is coming to give the home a real good deep cleaning. All that's really left now on our to-do list is to put the crib together and set up Jax's side of the boys' bachelor pad nursery. The nursery is the least of my worries though because Jax will sleep in his pack n' play in our bedroom for the first weeks, even months.

Both Brad and I are crossing our fingers and praying that Jax waits another week at the very least to make his grand entrance. Now don't get us wrong, we would love nothing more than to have Jax spend his very first Christmas with us, we just want to put to rest these other things that need to be done so we can solely focus on our new bundle of joy. Hopefully my stress earlier this week hasn't scared baby Jax too much that now he's going to come late LOL. My wicked dreams lately have brought on new fears about breastfeeding, how I'm going to handle taking care of a toddler plus newborn, and whether I will be a good mom. It doesn't ease my worries that at exactly this time (this month) Brad is super busy with work and gone most of the day and even has to go into the office at night. It kills me that he is not around as much I would like and probably more stressed than myself about Jax arriving early. Things are definitely different second time around. Our household is busy, Brad's work is busy, our schedules and days are booking up fast, and we have a very precocious toddler that demands a lot of attention from us. I'm not surprised that Jax may be born earlier than 39 weeks...... my running after Taj, carrying up loads of groceries on our triple set of stairs, walking and holding Taj, and lifting heavy loads probably isn't delaying the labor process.

Nevertheless, I have decided to completely relinquish control, and told myself that up until this point I have done everything I can to be prepared. I will not stress and I will not take these days leading up to the birth for granted, after all, it could possibly be the last time I experience being pregnant (maybe that's why I'm also feeling emotional.... its like I'm already grieving about my preggo belly.) From here on out its a waiting game, with lots of down time, rest, consumption of water and tea, and positive thinking. I have already relaxed a great deal and in a totally different zone than earlier, I feel much more spiritual and psychologically prepared to deliver and meet my second son :) Thanks to the support and pep talk of friends & family, my mother-in-law kindly coming over and taking Taji out to play for a few hours while I nap, and to the incredible Brad who still manages to bring home dinner, give Taj baths in the evening, and gets up with him in the early mornings despite his insane and long work days. We are even going to try to squeeze in a date night this weekend.

And so I leave you with a photo of my 9 month belly. Whether its days or weeks, I am eager and very excited to hold our precious little Jax and shower him with love!

ps... i forgot to mention that I am at a 45lb. weight gain!!! Jax's approximate weight is at 6 lbs and he has a very strong heartbeat!

Baby Jax Celebration Dinner

In lieu of a traditional baby shower for Baby Jax, since this was our second time around having a boy, we decided to host a very special coed family & friends dinner celebration, and we had it at yummy and healthy restaurant Great Maple:
Our custom menu in which we hand picked numerous small plates, flatbread pizzas, salads, pastas, and wine and shared it with the table as family style dining.... everything was delicious!
The happy Grover family of 3 (soon to be family of 4) celebrating the anticipation of their new addition:
Our wonderful friends and family, one side of the table:
the other end of the table:
and another side of the table! We had approximately 17 adults, 3 kids, 2 toddlers, and a newborn!



Taj making a toast to his baby brother (this was when we asked him "who's in mama's belly?" and Taji responded "Jax"!)
The adorable celebration Jax cake, hand made and baked by our very own Samantha (our babysitter)


The dada to-be 2nd time around with his good buddies:
Teta Petka and Chloenkers (and Bryan (who's not pictured) have truly been an amazing support system to us throughout our pregnancy with Taj, the last 18 months with Taji, and now our pregnancy with Jax. Their home is Taj's 2nd home, and they have gone above and beyond in caring for him, and helping us when the time comes that Baby Jax makes his debut. We cannot thank them enough and made a special toast to them at the dinner.
We were happy that Grandma Sue, Papa Gene, and the Rustman family were able to celebrate with us as well, we cherish the family time we get with them!
The dinner was perfect, couldn't imagine a better way to initiate Jax into this world and celebrate his pregnancy and impending birth. We were surrounded by our loved ones and our closest friends who continue to grow with us. The only missing pieces were our Babi and Deda, Aunt Jody, Brad's brother's family, and Auntie Dina, who all live either on the East Coast or in Europe, and who we love and miss so much!

Thanksgiving Trimmings 2011

First stop: Aunt Sherry's for a Grover Thanksgiving dinner (more like lunch!)




Second Stop: Aunt (Teta) Peta's house for a Fetters thanksgiving dessert and silly play with Chloe

Blessed

This Thanksgiving, I feel eternally blessed for my beautiful family. I adore my men! I am thankful for my family's health and happiness. I am grateful for my hard-working husband, and for this precious time spent with my children. Today and every day, I feel fortunate for all that we have been blessed with and will never take anything for granted.