I hope this is hormones

I am stressing again.
I have a vein problem...I think...in my girl parts. I couldn't get the U/S tech to verify it today. Whatever it is...the risk is high like 25% that something very serious could go wrong. On a good day it is 20 minutes to the hospital...realistically 30 minutes.

My first child was born less than 4 hours after checking in, my second was 2 hours after checking in (a birth center, and most of that 2 hours was pushing cause he was big.) Anyone care to take a guess at how long I will have for #3 who should be equal to the size of #1 (who took 5 minutes to push out)??

Realistically there is a good chance I could push the baby out before getting to the hospital and 25% of something life threatening happening and 3% of death. If I could I would stay at a hotel next to the hospital the last month.

I really want the birth I had with my DS, but I don't think it is worth the risk. On top of all this I have a 3 hour glucose test I really need to get done since the chance of hospital looks greater and greater.

I really wish I could think positive and make all of my problems disappear. Is it bad that I am thinking about trying this line of thought for a month before making a final call?
In good news the baby is head down......

Where I was meant to be

So first with baby news. I didn't pass my glucose test and I am suppose to do the 3 hour one. However I am waiting to hear back on the number because I took it in the evening and I didn't eat well the 24 hours leading up. I know I don't have a sugar problem as the baby is clearly not measuring big. Plus that whole sit around for 3 hours is not going to happen...my husband can't take off that much time from work right now unless it is an actual emergency and I am not going to take 3 kids to a lab for 3 hours. I'll switch over to a super healthy diet before I take a 3 hour test.

I have been thinking and I really am living where I belong.
In California the mosquitoes always bit me. Here not at all. (Maybe because I am pregnant??)
I can smell when and where some of the more dangerous animals go through the yard. I could smell a bear went through Saturday night, I think they peed on something in a specific corner of the yard.)
I enjoy watching the eagles on tree tops and the deer rest in the yard.
I enjoy the rain and think the summers here are perfect. Just long and hot enough to enjoy summer activities outside and make you appreciate the rain.
The days are long. About an hour longer than in California. I love seeing the sun at 5am or sometimes earlier.

Now if only I could figure out how to garden in this climate and keep the slugs away.

The challenges

Ironically my husband was lazy most of the weekend. So by Sunday afternoon I was upset about it and trying to minimize my complaining. I had cleaning to do, laundry to fold, and dinner to make. I asked him to help with one and he refused. The next day, "I think you need to rest a lot more." Easy to say, not so easy for him to follow through when I ask for help. Come this weekend if he doesn't follow through I may do the throw it in his face move.

We had an ultrasound follow up. The doctor (at the U/S place) was happy the way everything looked, but my husband I were not so convinced.
The placenta did not continue to grow as rapidly, which is good.
The baby looked healthy and measured one day ahead, good again.
The baby went from the 56 percentile to the 38 percentile, to us this was questionable.

Our first question was, how can a baby measure ahead but then measure smaller than 50%. What does that even mean?? We got no real answer from the doctor. My only guess it...maybe baby needs to fatten up is all, like the weight measurement determines the percentile???

Second question was, How can an almost 20% drop in percentile be a good thing? Her answer was because the ultrasound tends to be more inaccurate the earlier it is done.

Obviously with the placenta issues we are concerned with a 20% drop so we made a follow up appointment.

In other "fun" news I have been paying more attention to my body. I have had some swelling in an area (along with previously mentioned discomfort) that doesn't go away completely at night when I get off my feet. The same spot has been sensitive since being sewn up after the birth of #1, but now it is just a mess. I will talk to my mid-wife, but after online research my first guess is Bartholine Gland Cyst due to location, my second guess is some type of varicose vein. Neither sounds too horrible, but not something I really wanted right now. :)

Strider PreBike

My son just turned 2 years old. For his birthday he got a Strider bike. I must have researched for a month before deciding on this one.
I choose this one because it fits the smaller children. My son has a 13" inseam and most of the bikes required 14-15".
It was not a cheap wood frame. A lot of the cheaper wood push bikes have problems holding up to heavy usage or more than one child.
I did not see the need for the bike to transition to one with pedals since we have other children that will use it.

The bike was smaller than I thought it would be, but it was perfect for my son's height. I am not sure I would try it for a child with a 12" inseam, I would be afraid of them hurting themselves. At first just pushing it while standing over it (inside on the carpet) presented it own challenges for both of my children. I could see that they needed to get use to holding it up while walking over it.

My son was so excited when we took it out of the box. It included the wrench required to put the bike together and took about 10 minutes man style, without using directions. :) To a 2 year old it is a real bicycle for big kids because it has two wheels like the grown-ups. Once outside we walked up and down the street 3-4 times. My son wasn't interested in sitting on the seat and walking it but maybe in the next 3-4 times we take it out.

I wanted my almost 4 year old to use the Strider bike (she has a bike with training wheels) but little brother was not very interested in sharing and she was more interested in seeing how fast she could go on her own bike. I think starting my daughter on a bike with training wheels may prove to be a big mistake.

So far I like the bike and my son likes the bike. Hopefully it will prove to be a god investment.