Ramblings
So as of Tuesday's doctor appointment, I'm officially toxemic (a condition otherwise known as preeclampsia) again. The only cure is to deliver the baby. Fortunately, this time around the baby is due in about 3 weeks instead of 6 weeks, which means less time stuck with bed rest slowly going insane from boredom. Obviously I'm not being very good right now since I'm sitting at my desk typing this entry, and feeling my feet swell up more with every word I type. I can still see my ankles though, and I plan to lay down when I'm through.
Tomorrow I have to go to the hospital for a "non-stress test." I had no idea what that was so I had to look it up. Apparently a NTS is ordered for one of the following conditions:
1) You sense that the baby is not moving as frequently as usual
2) You are overdue
3) There is any reason to suspect that the placenta is not functioning adequately
4) You are high risk for any other reason
I guess my OB ordered the test because of #4, because I'm not overdue, he didn't mention any suspicions about the placenta, and my baby is exceedingly active. More active than Morganne was for sure. You can literally see my abdomen ripple like the ocean as he moves around, which he does frequently when he's awake. The other day I was sitting on the couch reading a hardback novel, resting it on my stomach, and he kicked so hard he almost knocked the book out of my hand. I joked to the kids that he's auditioning for the chestburster in Alien. ^^ Occassionally it's extremely painful, but most of the time it just feels weird.
Something that I think is a bit cool is when he gets the hiccups, because it's regular predictable movement, and all of the kids have all been able to feel the baby move because of it. Morganne felt him for the first time today, and I think it's the first time she's really understood that there's a baby in my tummy. She got this beautiful, amazed smile on her face that was so sweet and said, "It's baby Kurt!" Then she pretended she had the hiccups too.
I'm really hoping Morganne does well with her baby brother. I've been a bit worried about how she'll react, whether or not she'll be jealous, etc., but I have hope that it won't be too traumatic for her, considering how she is around other babies she sees. She gets all affectionate and motherly. I'm hoping that carries over to her new sibling.
And speaking of Morganne, I've decided to put her in a very cool preschool that I've found come September once the kids are back in school and I've recovered a bit from having the baby. She's 2 1/2 and knows her ABC's and the sounds each letter makes, has many words memorized by sight, can read and count to 30 unassisted, knows her colors and shapes, and has countless songs memorized (including "Still Alive" from Portal and "Lament of the Highborne" from WoW -- in elvish -- which makes her geeky mother very proud. One of these days I'm actually going to catch her singing those songs on video and I'll share). She soaks up information like a sponge, and her communication skills just amaze me.
So this preschool has classes for her developmental stage that's 2 1/2 hours, 2 days a week. Each classroom has a room where parents can stay and wach the class through a one-way mirror. The preschool supervisor even admitted up front that the teachers (1 for every 10 children) do better knowing that the parents are watching them work. I like this a lot. As a stay-at-home mom, I've absolutely chaffed against the thought of putting my kids in child care, but this seems like it will be something very different than babysitting. I want to stay and watch, and I'm very curious to see what Morganne does in a structured learning environment with other children her age.
Anyway, that's what's going on with me these days. The upside about having toxemia and being high risk is that I'm pretty sure my labor will be induced, hopefully on or around August 8th. I was induced with Morganne, and for being in labor, it was a pretty good experience. I liked that I was already in the hospital, in a nice, controlled environment, and didn't have to worry about rushing to the hospital, having the baby in the car, or whatever. The thought of just going into labor kind of freaks me out, so being induced is just fine with me. Set a date and a time and have the baby right on schedule. I love modern medicine. :)