January 20

Now that my prenatal appointments are every two weeks (and soon every week!), Tuesday mornings are pretty busy for us. Today we got Caleb on the bus, got all of our stuff together, dropped Daisy off at preschool, and Lily and I headed out to see the midwife.

Today was my 34-week checkup. I'm still baffled that we are within 8 weeks of this child's arrival! Luckily, the receptionist at the Birth Center came up with a list of name possibilities for me during my appointment. So at least we don't have to worry about that. Chris has been lobbying to just not name this baby (or even reveal its gender!) until its first birthday. Pretty sure that idea is not going to fly.

Everything looked great at our checkup, though. My blood pressure was great, Baby's heart rate was great, and - as has been the trend with all of my pregnancies - my belly is consistently measuring 1-2 weeks smaller than normal. It's funny how the fourth time around, the pattern is pretty clear. My belly measures small, the children come 1-2 weeks later than average, and they are born a very average size. Apparently I just grow my babies a little slower during the third trimester!

After our appointment (which was especially exciting because a mama was giving birth while we were there!), we visited my mom for a bit. Usually I have an awful time getting Lily to leave the Birth Center because she loves the receptionist and the toys. But today, all I had to do was say, "Lily, do you want to go see Grandma?"

She stopped what she was doing, looked up at me solemnly, and said, "Esh." (That's "yes" in Lily-speak.)

Then she turned, marched toward the exit, and began trying to push the door open. That sweet little thing walked all the way to the parking lot by herself! When we got to the car, she fussed until I explained to her that we had to get into the car to go see Grandma. Then she cooperated.

We played with Grandma for a hour, then picked Daisy up from preschool and headed home for lunch and naps.

Daisy took a three-hour nap.

Lily, not so much. After two hours of trying to get her down, I finally gave in to my exhaustion and took her into my room. If she wasn't going to nap, I would.

Amazingly, the girl cried in my bed for five minutes and then fell asleep with her face buried in my neck. 

Unfortunately, it was 45 minutes until I needed to go get Caleb off the bus.

So for 40 sweet minutes, Lily and I slept like this:

I could feel her little forehead getting sweaty, but she didn't seem to mind. I felt terrible waking her, and tried to transfer her back to her crib, but no luck. So I popped her in the ring sling and she continued to snuggle into my neck while we walked to the bus stop and back.

When I realize that in two short months there will be a new child occupying this spot, it makes me willing to snuggle Lily as long as she wants. It won't last much longer!