What I Wonder...

I would love to have been a little bird in a tree when Adam and Eve popped out their first son (honestly, was it Cain or Able?) and tried to figure out how to feed him.

Wait? What? Where?????

How many tries did it take to figure out where the nourishment came from? I mean, honestly, there are many places I would have guessed to try before a boob. In fact, how long did it take the world's first couple to even determine that apple wasn't for the little man?

In my head I imagine a very puzzled and loosely clothed (leafed) pair who are exhausted from the screaming of their hungry baby and feeling helpless as to how to feed him. But let's be honest, that's just me putting myself and Dom as new patents into the book of Genesis. Anyway, how did it take them to figure it out?   Did God finally intervene?

I just think breastfeeding is the most beautifully bizarre thing ever.  

What I Wonder: Is Honesty Truly the BEST Policy? If so, why don't we use it more?

Honesty IS the Best Policy . . . or so "they" say!

Last Friday after we closed on both of our houses and had a delicious lunch, Dom and I took a quick 1.5 hour shopping trip.  We needed to pick up William's box springs from the mattress store and look at some furniture for our master bedroom.  Before we did either of those things, he jumped into a new store called "5 Below" and I ran into Old Navy to look for some post-baby tops.  He found a car charger for his phone (he's lost two or three now) for FIVE bucks!  I found three shirts that I am hoping will fit me after I have the baby.  After I had paid for the shirts and was about to leave, the cashier did the typical smile and "Have a great day" phrase.  In my head, I responded, "I am having a great day!  I didn't simply buy these three cute tops at a discounted price, I just went through two closings and now I own a beautiful home in Perrysburg!"  But instead I just smiled back and said, "Thanks.  You too."

Don't you wonder why people don't share more?  I know the response is to be polite and just say thanks, but why don't we share our good news with complete strangers?  And if we did, what would they say in response?  The opposite is also true.  There are times when I am having a terrible day and a cashier says, "Have a great day!" and I want to respond, "You know what?  I am not sure that's going to happen, because I'm dealing with __________________ today."  Instead, I still try to smile and say thanks.  Such is typical American culture, but it makes me wonder what life would be like if everyone was simply honest about their lives at that exact moment.  Do you ever wonder that?

I think I'll try this out over the course if the next week and let you know how it goes. Feel free to join me on this honest journey!

38 Weeks Pregnant: Update on the Li'l One!

Dear Baby,

THANK YOU for being so cooperative!  I just know that we understand each other.  :)  That means a lot to Mommy!

So here is the news.  Today I went to see how you were doing at my regularly scheduled 38 week check.  For the record, I was down a pound since last week and I have only gained 19 lbs since my first recorded check during this pregnancy!  Anyway, the doctor checked me to see how you were doing and it turns out that you were SO HIGH that he couldn't even tell if you were head-down or not.  Now this was a little scary for a minute, but I said a quick prayer and knew God was going to handle this for me.  He did take a minute to inform me that the heartbeat was higher than last week and that he predicts you are a boy.  So last week your heart rate was lower and he said girl, this week it's the opposite.  I really don't take his predictions seriously.

Next, I was shuffled down to the ultrasound room where the amazing technician was able to inform me in less than a minute that you were in great position!  Head-down!  Instant relief!!! I just love the tech at my OB office.  She always has KLove playing in the background, and it's so comforting to hear Christian music while I'm seeing your picture on the machine.

After the concern about your position was over and we were simply looking at your pictures, I told the tech (who is always very supportive of the fact that we have not found out your gender) that it was tempting for me to just ask her to tell me TODAY, since I am GOING NUTS wondering if you are a boy or a girl.  Bless her heart, because her response was that we are so close to finding out in real life that she would probably just lie and tell me that she couldn't tell even if I DID ask her... just so we could wait to find out at your birth.  I laughed and thanked her for supporting me, because had she been interested in finding out there is a possibility that she might have convinced me to take a quick peek!  Yet she kept your gender a mystery, and honestly I am grateful for that despite my CONSTANT questioning!  I'm still saying girl like I have been since day #1, but lately I have been planning on you being a boy so I am not super surprised.

You measured somewhere around 7 1/2 pounds (sorry, but I forget the exact amount) and showing that you are about 38 weeks.  I am supposed to be 38 weeks 5 days, so this puts the newest due date prediction at July 12th.  Lucky me!  I might get to have you later than planned after all.  I'm still keeping my fingers (and legs) crossed that you don't come until at least July.  We have a house to sell and one to buy tomorrow, and it would be GREAT if we could have most of our stuff moved and your nursery set up for you before you come.  Yes these may seem like high expectations, but welcome to the Krupp family.  If your Daddy gets it into his head that we are moving next weekend, then we will be moving next weekend.  I guarantee it!

Of course, as you know, I am still hoping you come Sunday July 15th.  However, I have made MANY requests to God and I can't be too greedy.  I will settle for your arrival anytime after this weekend, but preferably after we move.  I know you are frustrated because of the cramped conditions you are living in (I can tell by the ultrasound pic that the tech gave me today) so I apologize to you for this news.  However, I must say that I am happy to see that you will probably be staying put for a little while longer.  We will have plenty of fun when you come out; just let us get through a few more to-dos before you join us.  You don't want to be involved with this crazy move anyway!  Avoid it if at all possible!

Regardless of when you arrive, you are loved very much and we are so happy that you are making our family a family of four.

Love always,
Your very excited Momma

This is either a smoosh face or a ticked-off grumpy one. Either way, it is adorable and I can't wait to kiss your cheeks! 

 

 

 

??? Questions ???

I want to document some of the questions that are running through our minds about the logistics of the next 2-3 weeks. And please don't panic, because we aren't!

Here are the questions Dominic and I are currently pondering:

? - What time will baby come? Morning? Noon? Night?

? - Will baby be born on a weekend or weekday? - Pulling for the weekend!!!

? - Will baby be a June or a July baby? - Aka what birthstone will he or she have?

? - Will I make it past the 4th of July? - I sure hope so!

? - Will I make it to my due date? - I'm actually the weirdo who is still pulling for going LATE!  Fingers crossed that this baby will be a Sunday baby just like his or her big brother, Mama, and Daddy. :) Or better YET - a Sunday the 15th baby like his or her big brother AND Mama!

? - Will Dominic be at work 80 miles away when baby comes? - When we had William, he worked in Perrysburg.  Even better, he wasn't even working! We went to the hospital over the weekend!

? - Who will handle William when baby comes? - I know this will just fall together when the time comes.

? - How long will I be in the hospital? - Fingers crossed that it won't be as long as last time!

? - Will baby be a boy or a girl? - We have to buy clothes either way, since William's will be the wrong size for the season.  Or perhaps baby #2 will just be in a onesie and diaper all summer.

? - What will baby's name be? (especially if it is a boy since we still haven't officially finalized one!)

? - How much will baby weigh? - My prediction is that this baby will not be as big as William was.

? - How long will he or she be? - See above prediction.

? - Will this baby be tongue-tied like William was? - Man I sure HOPE not...

? - Will this baby be on the bilirubin blanket like William was? - See above statement.

? - Will I be finished with all of my work stuff before baby comes? - Uh, I better!

? - Will we have the baby before or after we move? - Preferably AFTER we move, but that's not likely.

? - When will we paint the bedrooms in our new house? Currently the plan is for Dom to paint sometime around July 4-6.  But will we be having a baby then?

? - When should I schedule to get the carpets cleaned? - As long as the paint is done this will probably be the weekend of the 7th, but that is my due date... So.... who knows!

? - What washer and dryer will we buy? - Leaning towards the top-loaders now that the front-loaders have had so many negative "Mom Reviews".  We're also sort of waiting until we get a nice Lowes coupon in the "change of address" package because we were told by the Lowes worker that you can get that discount ON TOP OF the sale they are currently having (10% off appliances). Not bad, especially once we use our Discover reward gift cards!

? - Will we have our master furniture ordered and delivered early on or put it off until later? - I sure hope it's the former and not the latter. I don't feel like dealing with this once we have a baby.

? - Will William be ok in his big boy bed? - We may find out tonight!  Dom and William are currently on their way to get the new mattress and we are transitioning him tonight in order to to slowly start all of his many changes.

? - How long will it take us to move? We have until early August to move out of our home on Mapleway, so we know we will be fine but we are hoping we can move all of our big stuff in a day or two.  The tentative plan is to move our big stuff the weekend of July 15-17.  Of course that depends on when the baby comes!


And this was just the short list.  Hence the reason why I am focused on Philippians 4:6 right now.  Worry about nothing and PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING!  Or the verse below from Isaiah - one of my favorite books of the Bible. I know that God is in control, and He is the only one with these answers.  Therefore I am calm and leaving it up to Him!!!

Thank you, Lord, for handling all of these many stress-ers.  I appreciate not having them all on my shoulders.  I am already carrying enough baby weight!

What I Wonder: Boy or Girl?

My biggest wonder right now is whether "Li'l Krupp" aka Baby #2 is a boy or a girl. Seriously, I SWEAR baby is a girl. I have had TWO dreams during this pregnancy, one early on and one the morning of my birthday. They both told me that I was having a girl!  I feel like this "Mother's Intuition" is pretty right solely because I only had one dream about the sex when I was pregnant with William and it was that he was a boy... and he clearly is!

However, my male doc has not once but TWICE guessed that our baby is a boy based on the heart rate during two checkups, both after 30 weeks.  I informed him politely both times that we do not know what the sex. The first time he guessed boy, I was worried because I figured he was probably right since he has listened to heart rates for YEARS. However, my mother found this article on baby heart rates and sent it to me after his first "guess", which reassured me that this baby could still be a girl.

What about the Daddy? What does he think???  Well, Dominic thinks that baby is a boy. He once swore to me that he is only going to have sons, since he came from all boys. However, I am always quick to remind him that his brother has two kids - both of whom are girls!

At this rate, only God knows what we are having. However, if this baby is a boy I think I will have to find out the sex of the third kid (if we still are willing and able to have one) because I don't think I can go through another entire pregnancy thinking we are going to have a girl if we are not.

If you want to guess the sex, birthday, weight, and length of this baby, I welcome you to do so at this baby guessing game website!

P.S. Don't mind the fact that this ultrasound makes baby look like he or she has either a lobster claw or a spatula hand! I'm hoping that's not the case!