35 Weeks {Only 4 Weeks Until Baby Cinco!}

Wow.  Only 4 weeks to go until we get to meet this precious baby face to face!  I've been happily excited and counting down...until last night when I had a minor panic moment. 
I have done absolutely nothing to prepare for this baby!!!!!
Yep, you read that right.  Nothing.  There is nothing in this house {besides my enormous bump} to suggest a baby is going to be joining this family anytime soon.  Surely I should be doing something!?
There are some things coming up in this next week or so... 
My mother {bless her!!} is coming up for a day to help me prepare about 2 weeks worth of freezer meals for my family.  My grocery list is nearly complete for that I think...and it's probably the smartest thing I'll have ever done before having a baby.  {Seriously, why have I never done this before!?}
Jason, in preparation for the influx of freezer meals, unplugged our deep freeze and is going to be scrubbing it clean prior to our needing it for storage.  He's also planning to help me clean the back room so we can use the large dining room table back there as an extra work station of sorts.
My mom will also be bringing a new crib bedding set with her that I asked for and received as a Christmas present {Thank you again Grannie and Boppa!}.  We were still using the set we bought for Sis nearly eight years ago - and no, that's not a bad thing.  This mama was just ready for a little something new.  Naturally, when the new bedding makes it here it needs a crib to go in, right?  So I'm hoping while mom and I are working away on meals, Jason {who will also be in charge of handling the requests of the other four, refereeing squabbles etc.} will hopefully be able to reassemble the crib in Eli's room.
That's preparation right!?  Surely that is all that needs done to welcome a new baby home where the last baby has barely begun to grow out of being "the baby"?  I feel just a smidge silly that I - a mom of FIVE - has the crazy desire to google the zillion lists that are probably out there for things one should do before bringing a baby home {and no, I'm not going to}.  Anyways, on to Baby Cinco.
How far along:  35 weeks
Total Weight Gain:  Around 17 pounds so far.
Maternity Clothes:  No and with only 4 weeks to go I don't plan on digging any out.  Thank you BellaBands.
Sleep:  Better actually.  Most nights I'm sleeping through the night which has been fabulous.
Best Moments:  Christmas!  We just finished our last Christmas celebration this last weekend - so I have 2 more Christmas blogs to write! 
Movement:  All. The. Time.  I was rocking Miss G last night and she was giggling uncontrollably because Cinco kept moving, kicking, and pushing her and she thought it was hilarious.
Food Cravings:  None but I'm loving the sweet stuff.
Gender:  Neutrals, blues, and pinks are scheduled to go into the wash soon!
Labor Signs:  Nope.  Just the typical Braxton Hicks contractions.  Unfortunately, they tend to happen every time I bend over, get in and out of the car etc.  Not the most comfortable thing in the world but survivable.
Our Doctor's Apt Today:  Very dull.  :)  Same low blood pressure and a heart rate of 135.  We go back in 2 weeks, then have a 1 week visit and then it's baby time!
Not the most flattering photo.  It decided to snow here and there's no way this mama {who is not a cold fan} is going outside to take our typical photo by the fence.  Yep, I'm a wimp.  So here we are at 35 weeks - only 4 weeks to D-Day!

Family Photos by Renee Miller

A couple of ways to make sure your husband is present for family photos:

1.  Have them taken while you're visiting relatives for the Thanksgiving weekend.

2.  Have a great sister-in-law {preferably one who likes to take pictures} who is more stubborn than you are about getting these things done.

Also, for those of you who may be wondering: yes, I will let the fact Jason missed family pictures the first time be forgotten - eventually - but for the time being I'm still reminding him.  :)  So, for your viewing pleasure, here is our whole family, complete with my husband!

It's been a long time since we had a nice picture of just the two of us.

My favorite people!

 

A huge thank you to Renee!  I love them and I can't wait to show them to Jason!

Baby Cinco {30/31 Weeks}

For the title, the photo below was taken at 30 weeks but my doctor's appointment isn't until 31 weeks, which is when this is going to be posted.  {Though I'll probably be the only on confused when I read the title a year down the road when it appears in our blog book.}  This doctor's appointment is our last of the 4-week visits.  After this one I'll be going in every two weeks, which will just make everything feel like it's going faster and I don't need any help with that right now!!!

 

How far along:  31 weeks when you read this.

 

Total Weight Gain:  Really, at this point I think I'll take that celebs perspective I read about in American Baby.  The "I'm busy growing a baby and my weight doesn't matter as I'm healthy for the baby".  I read this particular celeb even got on the scale at her doctor's appointments backwards so she didn't see her weight.  Go her!

 

Maternity Clothes:  Um, yes and no still.  I have caved twice and worn a maternity top.  I just can't do it.  I don't like the way they look on me at all this time and I'm too lazy to go shopping in stores my town doesn't have to look for something new.

 

Sleep:  The normal.  One or two kids {or dogs} up during the night which usually results in a trip to the bathroom for me.

 

Best Moments:  We finished our Christmas shopping {minus stocking stuffers for the kiddos} and Thanksgiving!  I love my mother-in-law's pies - yummy!  Also, the couple of times Eli came up to "hug the baby" kind of melted my heart.  He's a sweet kid anyway but having him wrap is arms around my middle and lay his head on my bump is just too precious.

 

Movement:  All. The. Time.  Cinco isn't shy about shifting positions and {at least several times a day} pushes so hard it hurts.  Definitely a strong and active baby!

 

Food Cravings:  Not really.  For whatever reason I've gone back to the nothing-sounds-good phase.

 

Gender:  We'll all know soon!  I bought a super-cute FHSU hair bow to go with Cinco's FHSU coming-home outfit.  I really need to get crack'n and get a little black and gold tutu ready to go {and maybe a red and yellow one for our Chiefs outfits}.  We'll be ready for anything.  :)

 

Labor Signs:  I'm sure I've mentioned we don't do "labor" in this house any more!  I get some uncomfortable contractions in the evening as I'm doing a lot of bending to pick up toys but otherwise no.  Hopefully we'll be setting Baby Cinco's c-section date soon!  I'm in full countdown mode - only 8 weeks to go probably!

 

Ah...the picture.  The first thing I notice is Cinco has gone through a growth spurt since the last one I posted {or maybe I should say the sweater is thicker than it looks!?} and wow is that gray hair starting to stand out!!  How old am I again?

As for our doctor's appointment:  I wasn't a very observant mama today, unless you count Izzy trying to use the light {ahem, the ones used for a pap exam} as a microphone {ladies, you can see how she could be confused}, or G trying to use the stool {with wheels!} to fly across the room.  :)  So other than taking care of those things I failed to hear my blood pressure {which has never been bad} or the baby's heartbeat {though the nurse had no trouble finding it and Cinco actually kicked and pushed back in protest}.  All in all, both the nurse and doctor must have been happy/satisfied with the results.
Also, the final countdown, at least in my doctor's opinion, has begun.  We go back in two weeks now instead of the usual four and he's looking at dates for Baby Cinco's birthday.  He looked at his calendar and threw a date out there but, of course, the nurse {you know, the gals who usually know the doctor's schedule better than the doctors themselves do} will call to actually schedule the surgery so the date is nothing that is set in stone.  But Cinco is coming.  Soon.  No lie, I actually left the office a little giddy knowing how close we are to holding our new wonder in our arms.

Stein Kids 2013 with Renee Miller

Aunt Renee does a great job with her camera.  She usually takes her own pictures of her kiddos and was more than willing to take some family shots for us when I asked her.  I was thinking we'd do these after Baby Cinco's arrival, but my sister-in-law said "why not both!?" and I'm never one to turn down pictures!

Now, you've heard the phase "capturing memories" from multiple photographers I'm sure, but let me tell you, when it's your aunt/sister-in-law taking the photos, they really are memories!!!  Everything about this day will probably stick in my head forever. 

It started with Jason working.  I told him we should call off the photos and just try it another time but he told me they were planning to be done and back in town by 2 or 3 p.m. {which would still give us an hour/hour and a half of good light I figured}.  "Everything will be fine", he says.  Ha!  When I texted him at 13:30 he informed me they'd be a "few hours yet".  Hoping for the best, I finished getting the kiddos ready.

Aunt Renee and her family arrived {the kids were thrilled to see their cousins!} and we headed out to start getting some shots of the kids while we waited for Jason to get back to town.  That's when I couldn't find my car keys, grabbed J's instead and locked myself out of the house {again - because for some reason we don't have a house key on that set}.  No jackets for the kids or anything {it was about 60 degrees}, but at least I'd grabbed a diaper bag complete with diapers, wipes, wallet, phone and last but not least, a Dr. Pepper.  :)  Discouraged, but sadly not overly surprised with myself, we started downtown next to fun/colorful building I took Izzy to for her 1 year photos.  Then Renee got started. 

Here she'd asked the girls to kiss Eli.  Izzy wanted nothing to do with that, instead watching the scene, and she's the one who adores her big brother!

 I feel overwhelmed looking at these photos!  Jason and I are so incredibly blessed.  That God entrusts me with the raising of these amazing children just makes me shake my head in wonder!  They are His works of art and yet He trusts me to be the mother they need me to be.  Wow.  I definitely feel like I {as a stay-at-home-mom} have the most important job in the world.  The future is being shaped, every day.

A silly pose for some restless kiddos!  They could see the playground!

Big Creek isn't very full at the moment and the waterfall is a wee bit dry.  I'm pretty sure my kids think this is an alternate path to the playground and have no idea that water is actually suppose to be going over it!

They all got in some good play time with their cousins on the playground, about which they were very happy.  By this time the sun was setting on another beautiful fall day and I was fast admitting to myself that "family" pictures were not going to go as I had hoped.  Jason was still miles out of town, though on his way home at this point.  No lie, I was a little bummed about that, but looking at these great pictures of my kids sure makes me smile!

Not complete without Jason but here I am with the fruits of our love!

A huge thank you to my wonderful sister-in-law and her family for coming up to visit {and being chilly with me while we waited for Jason to come home with a house key}.  Getting to see our children through a fresh lens is refreshing and I appreciate it so much!  Truly an afternoon of capturing memories!



Baby Cinco - 25 Weeks

25 Weeks!!  It may not sound like much {some would say, "oh you're just over half way there"} but I'm counting backwards now instead of forward.  Only 15 weeks to go - at the most - and there will be a new little person in our midst!  Like time always does, it's pasted so quickly.

We haven't had a doctor's appointment for a couple of weeks and we have a couple of weeks to go until the next one.  At our last appointment Baby Cinco's heart rate was down to 145 and I got my wonderful drink and paperwork to do our glucose testing before our next appointment in November.  G also had fun at this last appointment talking Dr. F's leg off.  She asked him half a dozen questions, did all her cute, shy, flirty smiles and tried to steal his stethoscope.  :)  So, since I'm lacking any real "new" information, I'm resorting to some standard info.

How far along:  25 weeks or 15 weeks to go!

Total Weight Gain:  Hm.  I think as of my last appointment I'm up approximately 10lbs.

Maternity clothes:  Heck no!  Honestly, I could be.  I can't button or zip my normal jeans but there is this fabulous invention by Ingrid & Isabel called the Bella Band.  I bought two when they were on sale and they are amazing.  They go over your pants, hold them up, hide the fact your pants are not buttoned or zipped and just look like a layering piece.  I'm also pretty much living in tee shirts and sweatshirts.  Not bad for a normal day but church tops are getting a little harder.  I brought home all of my maternity clothes that were stored away and actually tried on one for church this last Sunday, but I couldn't do it.  I felt silly for some reason and promptly put on the stretchy shirt I bought for Jeremy and Ashley's wedding.  Maybe if I could talk my husband into letting me go shopping??  :)

Sleep: What's that?  Frankly, nights of good sleep went out the window about 8 years ago and have not seen it fit to return.  LOL  Let's say, not fabulous.  I still have three children that wake up in the middle of the night {and never at the same time}, two that crawl into bed with us requesting drinks and their favorite stuffed animals they've conveniently left in their rooms, and the other that wants to crawl in but there's not enough room so I usually go lay down with him in his bed for a while.  Then you have the normal pregnancy stuff like trips to the bathroom.  No, sleep is a thing of the past.  At least G and Iz occasionally nap and that allows for me to crash for 30 minutes to an hour some days.

Best Moments:  I moved Eli's furniture around to make room for the crib to go back up.  {Not sure how exciting it was.  I was a tired mama!}  Since Eli's the only occupant in his room we decided the baby would room with him either permanently or temporarily, depending on the gender.

Movement:  Strong and pretty regular.  I can't set a clock by Baby Cinco but he/she is usually very active first thing in the morning and early evening.  I feel movement off and on throughout the day as well but during those active times I can watch my belly move and the kids can see/feel it and get excited.  Some of Baby Cinco's pushing is starting to get a tad uncomfortable and that makes me cringe a little when I think of the 15 weeks ahead of us!

Food Cravings:  Oh, sweet tooth!  Jason has been teasing me about my weight and telling me to lay off the sweets but heavens it's hard!  I mean, really, Halloween is a week away and there is candy everywhere!

Gender:  We'll know when he/she gets here!

Labor Signs:  Ha!  As if I would know!  {I'm sure I'd figure it out eventually.}  I have had some pretty intense Braxton hicks contractions here and there but they are so few and far between they are hardly relevant.  Usually, it's when I've been doing "too much" like moving furniture.  Baby Cinco and I will be scheduled for a C-section at some point in the future.

Ultrasound

I have so much to post from our busy-but-fabulous weekend but I couldn't wait another moment to post these!

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound for Baby Cinco.  Our tech got great pictures of our little guy/gal!  Here's a shot of Cinco's face. 

Cinco is measuring a little bigger than average.  Instead of 20 weeks and 1 day, Cinco is measuring in at 20 weeks and 5 days.  He or she is also weighing in at 14 ounces {a little bigger than the 10 ounce average}.  Nothing so outrageous that our due date will be changing but my chunky babies always make me smile!
Here's a profile shot.  The tech made the comment that Cinco is really curled up in there.  :)  Apparently the fuzzy spot in front of it's nose is a foot!  Talk about a limber little thing!

The typical spinal shot they give you.  The kids love this one.  They think it looks like a dinosaur!

I thought this was a unique angle.  I'm pretty sure we've never had one of these.  I told the kids that it's like someone taking a picture of their back/head while they were doing a somersault.  They pretended to get it.  ;)

So all in all, everything is looking good so far!  The best we can tell, we have a healthy baby boy or girl coming sometime at the end of January/beginning of February.  Praise the Lord!

Baby Cinco - 19 Weeks

Baby Cinco @ 19 weeks.  I can't believe this pregnancy is half over already {since our babies are usually a week early with c-sections}!  Of course, the best is yet to come.  Cinco is moving during the day but I know as he/she gets bigger I'll just feel it that much more and that's my favorite part - at least until they're born!  This has been such an amazingly easy pregnancy up to this point for us...what are the chances that Cinco will be a just as easy going baby??  Could we be that lucky?  Only time will tell!

Jason and I also had a great talk last night {that happens a lot after Catholic Moms meetings!}.  I suggested we hold off on Eli's carpet {that I was very set on replacing before moving him back into his room since it has splashes of paint on it} and wait until Spring break to replace it.  Jason has just taken on another obligation that he will start next week and with everything else he has to do before Christmas {the girls' bed has to be finished and there are Christmas gifts to be made}, I just figured the carpet should wait.  Call it nesting or whatever you want but I want these kids settled in before Baby Cinco gets here!  I'm pretty done with kids sleeping in my living room!  They've done great with it but it really puts a crimp in our evenings - no TV, no lights on in the living room, can't really put things away, etc.
So, me being a nerd, what do I do?  I moved Eli's furniture back into his room this morning and got the living room back in order, while watching the girls and Wyatt.  It probably wasn't the smartest thing I've done.  :)  I could tell by lunch time I had overdone it {I have never had that feeling!} but by then it was too late!  I was exhausted, my back was sore, and there wasn't time to just sit.  Even Jason was a little annoyed with me when he got home and was able to see what all I had done and I don't think that has ever happened!  So, oops.  I'll try to quit while I'm ahead in the future!
Eli was excited to sleep in his room tonight.  It's not "done" but I will post pictures of it sometime in the near future {progress is progress!}.  He's very pumped about the paint job his daddy did and the Spiderman stick-ups he got for his birthday back in March.  His bedspread really pops and I can only imagine how cool it will be once the Spiderman curtains are up!
Happy Wednesday everyone!

Baby Cinco - 16 Weeks

There is nothing new to report for the week.  I'm just trying to keep up on the bump documenting for Baby Cinco's scrapbook.  ;)  I still think Cinco is looking a little more like lunch than a baby, but we're getting there.
How far along: 16 weeks
Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I've never been one to keep track {or really care}.  I think I did with G's {?} pregnancy but I have a tendency not to worry about this - pregnant or not.
Maternity clothes:  Not yet - but I have discovered the Bella Band, which I'm loving.  It does away with my need for a belt as the bump has started pushing my jeans down a bit.
Sleep:  Is never great but that has more to do with Izzy and G coming into bed at night.  I do have to run to the WC occasionally but, again, as often as I'm up in the night anyway it doesn't really bother me.
Best moment this week:  Going to our niece/goddaughter's 1st birthday party.  She's such a doll!
Movement:  Actually, I think so.  :)  It happened twice while I was sitting down for a time, but I haven't felt it again.  I'm excited to feel it more frequently.  That's my favorite part.
Food cravings/aversions:  Not much.  Usually {as in, with the last 4} the smell of cooking hamburger bothers me but it hasn't been bad this time.
What I miss:  The occasional alcoholic beverage.  :) 
What I'm looking forward to:  More movement from Cinco and getting to see him/her again at the 20 week ultrasound.

First Purchase for Baby Cinco

I don't usually by a lot of new stuff for the "new" baby of the family - just because we have so much stuff already it seems a waste not to use it.  I bought some cute little Chiefs onsies though this week and I'm definitely going to be getting Baby Cinco some FHSU outfits as well!  {If Baby Cinco is a girl we'll just put a pretty bow or tutu with it!}  We're 16 weeks tomorrow.

Baby Cinco - 13 Weeks

13 weeks!  We have survived the first trimester with relative ease.  For the first time ever I have not suffered from morning sickness - not once.  The only complaints I have had have been some tiredness {which, frankly, could be just as easily contributed to our other four blessings as the fifth} and for the first time ever, my headaches have not gone away {I guess every baby must be different and Cinco is just being cooperative}.

I haven't gained any weight {yet} this go around and actually weighed less than normal at our first dr. apt.  I'm still enjoying my everyday clothes though there is getting to be a bit of a bump.

A couple other things in no particular order:  I'm looking forward to using cloth diapers from the get-go with Baby Cinco. 
We have another apt. this week {hopefully they'll find the heartbeat without any trouble this time!}.
No, we are not going to find out the gender of the baby {you know how we work by now}.  ;)
Sis and Eli keep looking at my stomach like something out of "Alien" is going to pop out of it at any second.
I'm not craving anything but I'm having trouble deciding what sounds good.
Sleep has pretty much been shot.  The dreams just keep coming.  Lots of bad ones {normal for me} but I had one really great one when I dreamed of my Grandpa Heinrich.
Cheers to the first trimester being behind us and our chance of miscarriage being dropped to near nil!

Announcement

I am AWFUL at keeping secrets - happy ones anyway - and I am just dying to shout to the world that Baby Stein #5 is in the oven. Sigh...it's so hard!!!! 
This is the "announcement" we plan to give our families. Not the greatest thing but I wanted to do something different than we have before {aka Grandma Stein we need more Vegetable Soup over here! And vegetable, not vegetable-beef. Jason always ruins my plan to be able to eat it during lent!}

The plan is to give my parents the photo on Father's Day - but we're going to try and wait to tell the Stein Family until the weekend of the Stein Family Reunion {which will be after our first doctor's appointment when we should hear a heart beat} and that's a whole other month away. As excited as I am to show the "new family photo" I'm just plain awful at waiting. :P I guess we'll see if I make it!

A Letter to You

Written March 4, 2015

Dear Samuel,
You will undoubtedly see the pristine white Creative Memory photo albums of your siblings one day.  They take great pride in pulling them from their place in the china hutch and flipping through the pages, reliving the first year of their life the only way they can.  Their birth, first days at home, first bath, their first trips, monthly updates on their growth and progress, their first steps...it's all captured in those pages with as much loving detail as I could muster.  You will see theirs and I can already picture your sweet upturned face as you look at me and ask "where is mine?".  I can show it to you.  I have it.  Beautiful, white, just like your brother and sisters', still wrapped in plastic and as new as the day your Grannie handed it to me.  We were pregnant with Elizabeth and she knew there would probably be another miracle to follow.  So she took a chance and bought two when the opportunity presented itself.  The albums were getting harder to find because they had been discontinued...but there will never be a picture of you in yours...
You see, I got complacent.  I have, slowly, started to trust in this thing called technology.  All the photos I had taken of you, from your birth until the day before your first birthday, were on my old laptop.  The laptop was feeling it's age though and starting to act up.  I was worried about losing our photos.  Funny, now.  Your daddy bought me an external hard drive to store our pictures on.  I was so happy to have them in a safe place at last!  The old laptop could die and all the photos would still be within a seconds reach.  I had used the external hard drive several times.  There is/was even a folder on it titled "Baby Cinco", the name we called you before you were born.  I had started going through each folder and saving the pictures I wanted for your scrapbook in that folder.  Belly pictures, getting your room ready, the day you were born, all your monthly photos, they were all in that folder, ready for me to send them off for printing.  I just hadn't printed them yet.
Then daddy went to look for a couple of pictures to print my blog for me like he does every year.  Can you guess?  The hard drive wouldn't work.  The computer didn't seem to believe it existed and then even when it would show up on the screen the hard drive would whir and nothing else would happen.  Daddy has tried everything he can think of - and he is good with computers.  He's asked another friend who is also good to no avail.  Daddy's next plan of action is to send it in to someone with recovery experience.  While daddy is still hopeful, there is a very real possibility those photos of you are lost to us.  Sort of.
There is still our Stein Family blog I keep.  It doesn't have everything, but it has a great deal of it.  Before you get old enough to point it out to me let me just tell you, yes, I know I could take those pictures from my blog and print them.  The problem is after I edit the photos I half-size them for the blog so they upload faster and don't take up as much memory on Picasa where they are stored.  Yes, I could print those but the quality would be lost and I, frankly, have become a spoiled photo snob.  I want the best.  I want sharp.  I want clear.  Especially for you, sweet boy. 
So it comes down to this.  I think this is the option I can live with.  It's not the same as having a photograph in hand but I can take the pictures from Picasa and put them in this blog for you without future lessening their quality.  I can tell you your story and daddy will help me publish it in a sturdy book for you.  It isn't the same.  It's reading from a Nook or Kindle.  The story is there but you miss the feel and smell of the pages, the sound of the paper rustling as you turn the next page.  Not the same.  Different.  Not as good, but maybe, maybe okay.
Without further ado, here is the story of our first year together.
We love you Samuel.
Mom