Baby/Pregnancy Update

Things are going so well for baby Lila. Last week I had another "major" ultrasound to check on her and she is doing great! She is now well over 6 pounds and is definitely the most active baby I've had at this stage. There is plenty of fluid but I still haven't gained tons of weight (compared to my others). One problem with me is that the mild anemia I've dealt with my other pregnancies and during this one is now "severe" anemia and its definitely contributing to much fatigue. I got a call from my dr this morning and I will go to a hematologist today for an iron IV infusion. Hopefully that will help. She said if it doesn't, I could very easily need a blood transfusion after delivery. Hm...that doesn't sound great. The good news about this to me is that I don't feel so wimpy. At least there is a reason why I feel so crummy, besides just being pregnant, and maybe this infusion tomorrow will actually give me some energy and help me feel well. We'll see.

I recently purchased a dresser on craig's list that I sanded and painted for Lila. It will be a changing table as well as hold all her stuff. SC was really excited to help me wipe out all of the drawers and put in the clothes that I had washed. She is a great girl and will be a lot of help to me.

I am curious to see if the heartburn/amount of hair of the baby connection proves true with Lila or not. I had it bad with SC and Finn and they both had quite a bit of hair. I did not have much with Deedle and she was mostly bald. With this one...she should have a luscious head of hair for the heartburn/reflux I've been going through! I pop Tums like they're going out-of-style and take other OTC meds that the doc has approved, but am still often up at night, propped on pillows, sipping ice water to ease the symptoms.

I could take or leave chocolate but must have my Bottle Cap candies.

I feel nearly intoxicated with joy as I smell the wrapper after opening a "Finish" dishwashing detergent tablet.

I think the fatigue has me worried more than usual about the energy I will need to care for an infant. After Finn came home from the hospital, I really just let myself bask in the happiness of baby. SC was in all-day school, Deedle half a day and Loumy went 3 mornings per week, so those times I did nothing but feed or hold the baby. The "kids", of course, still needed plenty of attention, but they entertained themselves a lot and I did not have to do things like dress them or brush their teeth for them. I thought Finn was my last baby and I really just tried to enjoy every minute of it. Of course I should have done that with each of my babies. But now I admit that I am a little frightened. Finn still often wakes in the night. He adores the older kids and they are SO good to him. I know he's not an infant. But I worry about him feeling neglected by me when the kids are at school all day and, well, I'm exhausted now and worry about double-baths and double-diaper changes. The thing I keep forgetting and have to remind myself, is that I am going to fall in love with this baby, too. I keep having this thought come to me, whenever I feel overwhelmed, "You are so silly! You are so in love with this child, you just don't know it yet. Soon you will not be able to imagine life before her and we will just get into your routine and everything will be fine." And also...fixing my blood so that I can function with out feeling like I'm constantly going to pass out will be good, too.