38 Weeks

So we have had quite the whirlwind with Nikos these last few days. Normally our little mellow child, he has been on a semi-terror roll. As I think I have mentioned before, he usually goes down to sleep at 7:30pm and then will wake up at 6:30am, at which time we will give him a sippy cup with milk and toys and he will play in his crib for an hour or longer. Ha, not so these last few days. He has been getting up anywhere between 5:45-6:00 (what??) and then only wants to play in his crib for 15-30 minutes before he starts screaming. AAAHHH. Taki said he thinks he is sensing the impending doom and is reacting to that. Great. Can't wait to see he sleep patterns when she actually arrives.

Of course, another new thing (in a cute way though) is that the last few days he wants to eat breakfast before we drop him off at daycare (usually he doesn't get hungry until about 9.) Yesterday when he and I were playing in the morning (after 1/2 hour bath at 6:45am to kill time) he walked into the kitchen, grabbed one of his bowls and handed it to me and said "eggs." Ha, first time he has actually ordered a specific meal from us! I scrambled up two eggs and he gobbled them right down. Later, they told me he ate breakfast again at daycare (unheard of for this child.) Maybe I can cross my fingers that this is just some sort of growth spurt?

Before I get back to work (putting together crib #2 today) I'll address a few questions I've received lately.

Are you prepared? I am not too concerned about the labor part (I plan to meet up with my great friend epidural again), except for the fact that last time I was induced so I am worrying about actually going into labor naturally. Lately, since I have been trying to pack in some movies (Mel and I went to see Taken yesterday) I have just been spending time hoping that my water doesn't break before the movie ends. Ha! Hard life. I do find myself wondering if I should be constantly riding around with my hospital bag in the car (since if labor does start on its own when the baby is still breech - see below question on Version - I will need to get to the hospital asap.) I am slightly panicky about going into labor and Taki not having time to run to Bristol Farms to pick up the cupcakes for the L&D nurses and, very importantly, the epidural man. I do not feel so prepared to have two children, mostly worried about Niko's reaction. As for the infant stage, I know it will be difficult again, but honestly I feel like Nikos was so hard the first 4 months that if I made it through that I can do it again. Hoping that I will be able to make it through with her without having to negotiate with the fireman across the street on the time obligations of the "Safe Surrender" policy (two weeks after birth.) I do feel more prepared for that part this time. To be fair, with Nikos we didn't get to bring him home until he was 8 days old, so I was trying to tell the fireman that I should really have an extra eight days on top of the two weeks. Details.
Are the kids going to be sharing the same room? Unless someone is surprising us with a larger house. We figure the baby will be in our room for the first 4 weeks (same amount Nikos was in our room) and then we will attempt to move her into his room. I am a little bit nervous about this part and how things will go with him sleep-wise with her waking up and everything. And yes, I know, kicking our infant out of our room at 4 weeks is so very UN-Berkeley, but then again, I do plan to shave my legs (and arms!) before labor so I am already bucking the Berkeley trend. Oh, and I am also a Republican. Eek, this is where I may have just lost all my loyal blog readers (at least the CA-based ones)...at least I know I can still count on Greg, Torina and my parents. Oh and Vernie too, if he reads this blog.
Has the baby turned? Your guess is as good as mine. I thought I would know when she turned but yesterday Mel mentioned that she didn't realize it when Kira turned, so I am hopeful. I have seen the acupuncturist three times and Taki has been doing the treatment every other night that I don't have an appointment, so hopefully it was not $150 down the drain.
What is up with the Version? I go in tomorrow at 10am. There are several different scenarios that Mel explained to me could take place. I'll try to summarize here. #1 - we go in and find out baby has turned naturally (go acupuncture and me standing on my head!) and we go out to breakfast and then go home and wait for the baby to be born naturally in the next few weeks. #2 - we go in and they successfully perform the version, we go home and wait for natural birth. #3 - they perform the version and she turns but they don't know if it will "stick", they induce me and set me up with a midwife labor tomorrow. #4 - they perform the version and it does not work. They schedule me for a c-section next week. #5 - they perform the version and the baby goes into distress/fluid is low/etc. and I have a c-section tomorrow. EEK. Obviously we are hoping for one of the first two options (or really the first three.) Oh, and in case you are wondering about the midwife, I worked with a midwife with Nikos (yes, throw a little Berkeley back in the mix) and am really hoping to do so again.
What is up with the name? Are you really going to go with the #1 winner of the poll? Dude, who knows what is up with the name. We do like all the names in the poll, but reserve the right to bring in a dark horse at the last minute. Just like Nikos, this baby will most likely not have a name until after she was born. Whereas it took twelve hours for Jeff and I...er, Taki and I...to name Nikos, hopefully it won't take that long this time. I have promised Melanie that I would not go home with a "Baby Girl" Romios. Taki is still tossing around the idea of having people pay to buy the naming rights for this one or enter a lottery system, I am not a fan of this option.

Lastly, I went to a chiropractor yesterday for the first time, my brother-in-law's brother. Is he my brother-in-law too or my brother-in-law-in-law or brother-in-law once removed or something? I could not figure this out. Anyway, chiropractors also have things they can do to help get the baby to move head down, but since Brandon hadn't actually done it before we just went with the regular adjustments. I really enjoyed it and feel like I had less pain in my hips and back while sleeping last night. I would like to recommend, however, that you do NOT see Taken prior to visiting a chiropractor (especially for your first time.) Melanie and I both agreed that seeing a suspense thriller where multiple necks get broken and then having your neck adjusted by a chiropractor is not ideal. I just closed my eyes and tried not to envision Liam Neeson.