Lila Burke Dodson

At 7:06 am on Christmas morning, we welcomed Lila Burke Dodson into the world. She was 7lb, 10oz, 19 inches long, and her arrival was anything but boring. More to come, but for now, here she is...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jesus or Mary?

I'm really hoping it doesn't come down to those two names, but apparently I'm 2-3 centimeters dilated. TMI for you? Yeah, me too. Let's just say I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Bedo doesn't get antsy because I know she/he really doesn't want a Christmas birthday. I know, such a selfish and silly thing to worry about given all that could go wrong with pregnancy, but I'd really like my doctor to deliver me and I really don't want to miss Christmas with C and D.

Please don't be offended...

If 12/30 rolls on by and you don't get a post or an email announcement from us. Why the delay?

1. I haven't created the "email list" that everyone says you should do beforehand. I'm too superstitious.

2. We have no name. Seriously. I packed my hospital bag and in it are two baby name books. There's no way we'll have a name for Bedo upon arrival. I don't think I want to at this point. I'd like a little time to get to know the monkey first. We're closer on a girl name than a boy name, but we're definitely not "there" in any way.

BTW, is it weird that I'm sort of thinking of my stay in the hospital as a mini 'vacation?' No one to cook a meal for, tv in my room, vicodin, what's not to like? I actually have a list of "to dos" I want to get done while I'm there. I think I keep forgetting that this baby will actually be in my room a lot of the time. With C and D my room was eerily quiet (though the NICU is the world's best babysitter, i'll say that much). And I'm forgetting that I might actually be in pain, or tired, or on drugs. Still, some of it sounds kind of relaxing.

Confidence is Key

We were talking to D and C about what they might be when the grow up. We were offering ideas "You could be a doctor" "You could be a jet girl" etc. etc.

Andrew says "You could be a swimmer."

C looks at Andrew, gives him a "Daddy you're so silly smile" and says, "Daddy, we already ARE swimmers."

Accurate Visual

From the Sports Guy a few days ago...

Get it? They're holding a fishing pole and trying to reel you in? My latest favorite excuse for Donovan McNabb's resurgence these past few weeks: His wife had a tough pregnancy that was resolved Dec. 4 (healthy twins), and now that his house is back in order, he's back to playing with the same old fire. I have to admit, that's a pretty good one. One catch: How does this explain his unwillingness to scramble until AFTER he got benched in the Baltimore game? If you're battling family problems, it makes you not want to roll out and run for 10 yards on a wide-open field? Beyond that, wouldn't your life become MORE complicated after having twins? Have you or a friend had twins? Remember when Richard Dreyfuss was scuba diving in "Jaws," and he was looking through a hole in a sunken boat and a waterlogged head floated in front of him? The face the waterlogged head had … that's what parents look like after they have twins. For like three years. Anyway, I'm not buying the McNabb twins theory. Sorry.

The Goose is Cooked

I'm over 37 weeks. If I had Bedo today she/he'd be term. I had an ultrasound last week and Bedo was 6lb, 5oz--one ounce shy of double miss D. Bedo still has the enlarged ureter/kidney issue. It is 'borderline' but they are going to do another ultrasound a month after birth. Most of these resolve themselves naturally. (Bedo also has a very large nose if the 3d ultrasound is accurate. As an aside, I realize I really don't like ultrasounds--they stress me out).

I'm going to get a term baby, one who bipasses the NICU and heads straight for the Fat Baby nursery. That is awesome. Now I just need to hold out 11 more days. I'm a few centimeters dialated. It is selfish to worry about because there are no health issues, but I'd REALLY like to get past Christmas at the very least.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

And that would make me incredibly stupid. Why? Oh let me count the ways. Let's start with the basics. A kid due Jan 6? A Dec 30th c section? Two days after my birthday!! With two other kids at home not yet 3? And moving two weeks after a c-section?

• For having a kid at this time of year--both because it is a brutal time to have a birthday, and being this pregnant around the holidays SUCKS for your other kids. Not to mention that I feel selfish being so worried about not going into labor when it is for purely selfish reasons, not health related reasons, that I am worried.
• For having 3 kids in 3 years. Someday I think I will think it was a great call because hopefully they will all be close enough to be friends, but right now I just keep thinking "what was the rush again?" The other day i was in a store buying gifts and I turn around to find that C and D have pulled the grocery cart on top of themselves. People were quick to help me get them up and put things back in our cart and as I effusively thanked them they said "Well you look like you have your hands full." Translation: "You're an idiot, but I feel bad for you anyway." (Which is better than the other translation that sometimes applies: "Where's your nanny? Don't all twin moms have full-time nannies who go everywhere with them?" Or worse "I don't fault you for the twins, but clearly you could have done something about that giant basketball underneath your shirt.")
• For moving 2 weeks after a new baby (and a csection). Again, we are pretty excited about the apartment so I think it was the right call, but right now it just seems so daunting. I mean packing seems like a good way to induce, not stave off labor, wouldn't you think?
• For living in San Francisco. Let's not get into that right now I guess, but just think: $,$,$.

So feel free to call me stupid. I know I do.

Some pics of C in blue and D in red

Bandaids...

...not just for owies anymore.
C sporting the look

D sporting the look.

And thanks to Lindsay for this pic of the girls in their "holiday outfits" (complete with PJs underneath). C in blue with pink shoes, D in red. They are obsessed with their pink and red "sparkle shoes." And I have some 'outtakes' from our holiday card photo shoot i'll post (and yes, thank goodness i made it a new years card because i don't think we're going to make the big day. At this point I am happy to get ANYTHING out.

Add it to our List

We found a new place to live. The good news? Bedo will actually have a room of her/his (this week i'm guessing girl) own. The bad news? We have to move within a few weeks of someone slicing my stomach open. Sweet.

In all seriousness, we're pleased. It is walking distance to C/D's preschool, and though we'll have to leave our current neighborhood this other neighborhood is great too (Andrew judges all locations by how close they are to a starbucks and this place is even closer). There are definitelly some trade offs--only one parking space in an area with bad parking options (as opposed to where we live now where parking is unbelievably easy)--but we've looked around enough to think we are making the right trade offs.

Now we just have to pack and move. With a newborn and an almost helpless mother. Wish us luck.

Project Dylan

Just in case D ends up some kind of designer someday (I like to think she'd be of the Gwen Stefani/L.A.M.B genre) , I thought I'd chronicle some of her 'early works.' This is her most recent favorite ensemble...my favorite part is the flame leggings OVER the jeans (it looks like one of my ski outfits circa 1987). Often times when D gets dressed in the morning A reminds her "not to forget her Indigo Girls CDs." (And yes, I've started to hide some of her shirts because EVERY morning she says to me "I want to wear my fish shirt." The only really girly things she likes are the barrettes I get on Etsy. While inexpensive, they aren't free, and yet D manages to lose them ALL the time. But sometimes they are the only thing on her that says "girl" so I feel obliged to grant her demands of "4 barrettes" in her hair each morning).
Of course, not to be outdone, this is C's version of 'bundling up' for a cold day.I have been terrible on the pictures this month too. Worst month yet. So sad. I have gotten several professional pics of c/d (a photographer at school and a photographer who I had a credit with) but I can't post those. I'd say you'd see them in our Xmas card but Recessionmas has made me think that maybe I'll just take a pic myself and throw it into Tiny Prints instead : ).

Bump Watch

On 11/21 (or maybe 11/20 depending on how you count it) I was 33 weeks and 2 days pregnant. That is when I gave birth to the monkeys. So I am officially now more pregnant than I have ever been. Pretty cool.
Just to give you a comparison, here I am pregnant with C and D.

At almost 31 weeks, headed into the hospital for steroids and bedrest on 12/30/05. (And yes, I'm petrified in this picture).

At almost 32 weeks.The day of delivery, 33 weeks and 2 days pregnant. And here are some pics with Bedo.

At 31 weeks.

At 33 weeks and 2 days (and extremely freakin' pale, I might add). Yesterday, at 36 1/2 weeks.

Looking at these pics makes me realize why people take pictures of their bellies with their bellies showing, because clothing really changes the way you look. I definitely look different this time around, but that's to be expected given the 1/2 difference. For one thing, unless I've gained a lot of weight in the past week I'm 10 lbs lighter at 37 weeks than I was at 33 weeks with C and D. (It didn't hurt that between 32 weeks and 35 weeks--when I got really sick--I actually lost a pound). Otherwise I guess I'd say that I stick straight out more this time around, as opposed to being rounder last time. And finally, I'm carrying about the same height, maybe a little higher, but the drop off after the "peak" is more like a cliff than a ski slope. The bottom picture probably shows it best.

Yes, I'm Still Here

Barely.

• Two weeks ago I got really, really sick. Started out as a flu and then became a stomach virus. Add in every bad pregnancy symptom you can imagine (heartburn, acid reflux, aching, insomnia, stuffy nose) and that was me. I was miserable and worthless. One trip to the emergency room, 5 days of worthlessness, a Thanksgiving that included about 4 bites of food, and finally I saw the light of day. The only upside was that I had started to wonder if I was just experiencing the last few weeks of pregnancy. I was pretty sure I couldn't take a month of it so I was devising ways to induce labor. So even though I'm big and tired now, I feel so much better than I did that it is manageable.
• Trying to christmas shop, prepare for a kid, finish up work stuff, look for a place to live, get a christmas picture/card, enjoy the holidays with C and D, put up a tree, continue to research school options, figure out a schedule for our lives post-baby, fix the car, hire a mothers helper to get me through a few evenings a week for the next few months, show up at c/d's school for the things I signed up to do, go to doctors appointments, see friends before I explode and become a hermit for awhile, get big kids furniture for C/D, get baby gifts for other people having kids, check off things I won't be able to do for awhile post baby (dentist, haircut), potentially switch pediatricians, yada yada yada. I'm tired. Really tired.
• A's in London this week.
• I have been terrible with pictures these past two months.
• I have some older posts that I wanted to finish but I think I'll just throw all my thoughts into one post and hopefully get it up this weekend, and maybe even with a pic and video or two. Dare I dream.