Quick Quotes

Josie, directly to my tummy this morning: "Okay Roly Poly! You can come out now. Poke, poke, poke. Come out today. You can come and meet ME now....mom squeeze."

Lou to me last night as he was cuddling Josie on the couch and looked over to see me empty-handed: "Soon we'll each have one!"

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38+ week update

I gotta say folks...I never thought I would see 38 weeks. We were so convinced she would be premature that getting this close to our actual due date never really occurred to us. So...there are some issues that come along with this but obviously we will take a healthy full-term baby without too much complaint over the money spent on the newborn-sized wardrobe that will likely get sold as "never worn" on craigslist, etc.
Since Josie has been crazy-sick, I had to reschedule my 38 week appt and see another obgyn than Scott. Truth is I really liked the guy, even though the first words out of his mouth included his pitch for an induction by the end of this week. (You can read about our thoughts on medical interventions in childbirth in the birth story & resources tabs above.) Anyhoo- he was more than respectful of our decision to let Roly Poly declare her own showtime and then issued a big "well...nevermind" as soon as he checked me. The stats: 2 cm, 70% effaced & +1 station. The prediction: "I give you about a 20% chance of making it through the weekend without a baby!"
Here's the deal - I was told for two weeks with Josie that labor imminent & that it was going to be a quick one. After over two weeks of off & on contractions and one false alarm that sent me & the whole family to the hospital, I finally let them strip my membranes on my due date and endured 18 hours of active labor at the hospital (sans epidural because that is really important to us). Suffice it to say, I have been chirping happily for 38 weeks and 3 days that Roly will come when she's ready and that I will sit back and patiently wait for her. Yea, well...so not the case anymore. Hear this my friends: I am done. It has been a looooong tough road and I am ready to greet our light at the end of the tunnel.
That said, I am not ready to compromise our beliefs and beg for the pitocin but I certainly ain't sittin' with my legs crossed either! ;)
Those of you who've been around awhile know that I feel this baby belongs to all of us. She is here because so many of you didn't give up when we did. So - if I could have one more teeny tiny favor from all of you...let's put that collective will to work again and make some wishes come true.
Here's my "if things could be perfect wishlist": friday labor and delivery. (Bonus: full moon & she makes the aquarius cutoff. Just sayin...) Saturday would work too. My family all has Monday off of work so everyone wins. While you're all at it, I will take a smooth-sailing delivery without any of the complications that turned Miss Josie's birth into a marathon. And if you've got a little more time set aside for making wishes, it would be great if everyone who wants to be at the birth is miraculously able to pull that off. And one last thing - pray for my sanity. The curse of the "any day now" from the obgyn has a long history of making women crazy (just ask Tia).
Thanks to all of you for your continued well-wishes and support!

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68! what?

Great afternoon for a long trike ride and stroll up and down our street. (And so trying to get this labor going, but more on that later...)

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*this* time of year...ugh!

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poor little thing

So two weeks of the "double ender" stomach bug for me and now poor Josie is sick.
We got an email from her school yesterday that 8 of 20 kids were out Monday with various symptoms - including vomiting, fever & respiratory symptoms. Lou and I decided to keep her home from school today to try to prevent her bringing anything else home.
And then, about 11 last night she woke up vomiting with a fever. (And I let out a pretty long strand of four-letter words.) She was up until 2:30am, slept til 7, then woke up with the funky welts pictured above all over her face, arms, and chest. Luckily we were able to get her in to the pedi and found out that it is actually some strange strand of strep!
We were shocked to find out it was strep but doc said the hives, fever and vomiting were a dead giveaway. Who knew? Seriously, everyday there's another parenting lesson. I am glad we got her in and started her on antibiotics. And now if Lou & I get it we can attack it as well.
So...add all this winter illness business to the loooong list of reasons why being pregnant and due in the summer is infinitely better than the winter. There is just nothing fun about *this* time of year.

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Miami Merger Memories

Every year we get a "Miami Merger" valentine from Miami University. Here is this year's card. It all started 14 years ago in Oxford...Happy Valentine's Day Sweet Lou!

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Take That, To Do List!

Out of nowhere yesterday the weather gods decided to hint at spring with nearly 60 degree temps! Josie hit the driveway with her trike and scooter, and we enjoyed some sunshine while Lou installed the infant carseat in the car.
Josie and I got to spend the entire day together (just like we used to) while Lou put a **huge** dent in our baby prep to-do list. (Pictures of all the progress are coming soon!) Little Roly Poly officially has her own corner of Casa De Schneider and we can't wait to welcome her into it!
In the meantime, I am unbelievably grateful that our 'bunny' decided to wait long enough that I could get off of bedrest with enough time leftover to help with final preparations and spend some much-needed individual time with sweet Josephine before her life as an only child gets completly flipped upside down (in the best way imaginable).
All told, it was a perfectly productive weekend and if the babe is waiting until we feel 'ready' to make her appearance, then we are waaaay closer to meeting her than we were on Friday.

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Happy Half Birthday Posie!

Today is Josie's half birthday. She is three & a half (which is crazy). We don't typically highlight the half way point, but it took on new significance this year since it was celebrated at school. They make a big deal out of birthdays in Montessori and since she has a summer birthday, her half birthday got to be shared today with her friends and "school family."  Lou & I were invited into the classroom to share this special event.

Our special morning started with an enthusiastic round of "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" -

 Then it was time to get out the special birthday mat, light the candle to represent the sun, and then choose a globe to make the journey -

 Josie took her first trip 'round the sun -

 And her second -

 And her third (and obviously *loved* every second of it) -

 Then she got to sit in front of the mat and hear special wishes from her classmates (several of which centered around wishes that she would get lots of candy which was too funny) -

Then Josie got to make her own special birthday wish. Here she is really, really putting a lot of thought into it. Finally, she said sweetly "OH, I definitely have my wish now" (a secret wish by the way).

 Then she snuffed out her candle -

 And it was time to pass out birthday treats and share a book with the class.  (Oh & I should've probably mentioned sooner that it was also Pajama Day today at school - hence everyone's wardrobe.)

 Next I got to read a book to the class which brought back lots of memories of reading to second graders.

We were all smiling and laughing through the book together -

 And 3-6 year old kids are just nothing short of hysterical...obviously -

Finally everyone got to enjoy the special heart, puppy & people cookies that we made for the class. It was the perfect morning and we are so grateful that she goes to such an incredible school!

The Backstory: Last week Josie wasn't able to enjoy a birthday cookie with her classmates because her teachers weren't sure it was safe and peanut-free. She had a rice cake while her friends had cookies.  We definitely appreciated that the teachers kept Josie's safety as the top priority. But Josie was so sad about it Friday night that she couldn't sleep until we talked through a solution.  Part of that solution was getting to take similar cookies - with sprinkles and frosting - to school the next week for her half birthday.  Tia saved the day by sharing her fantastic sugar cookie recipe & Louie saved the day by coming home for his lunch break on Thursday to help make the dough so it would have chill in order to be ready for Josie to bake and decorate last night.  All in all - everyone was happy & most importantly - Josephine felt so special today! In her words, "today was so awesome!"   (And I am so grateful I was able to come. I was worried I would either still be on bedrest or have the baby already and have to miss it.)

One more thing: This morning I said to Lou, "I can't believe she is half-way to being 4."  His response, "She's 3 1/2...that's half-way to 7."  Um....wow.

Ooops - two more things actually: I originally forgot to post about the fact that on each trip around the sun, Lou & I got to share an event that marked that year for Josie. It was definitely an emotional moment to see the passage of time zoom by so quickly.  The other thing is that when Josie's teacher asked what she hoped to learn about this year now that she's one year older (and wiser), Josie said she wants to learn about space.  She's been very interested lately in trying to figure out how we can live on the earth when the earth is actually in outer space. There have been some big questions lately - time to hit amazon for some space-themed books to satisfy this new curiosity. I love her little mind!

One Month of Four Schneiders

Well friends, I have to say I am really, really flattered by the great response to our new Four Schneiders blog. We launched this blog exactly one month ago, and have had over 3200 visits already!  I am so grateful that so many of you are sharing this journey with us.
We would love to hear more about who is visiting - please leave us a comment to say Hi. (You can leave "anonymous" comments and just sign your name if you don't want to create an account.) We are so glad you're here! Thanks for visiting. :)

Homemade Pizza in 15 Easy Steps

1. Roll out the dough.

2. Really get into rolling out the dough.

3. Toss the dough with Daddy.

4. Share a little tushie with the audience.

5. Learn from a pro.

6. Sprinkle the cheese.

7. Seal it with a kiss - MWAH - and stick it in the oven.

8. Dive into the leftover cheese, assuming that no one is watching.

9. Realize you are so busted!

9. Go in for some more.

10. Shoot mom that sly little grin that you know she can't say no to.

11. Really go for it.

12. Remember that smile will buy you some more time with the cheese.

13. Really, really go for it - every last speck of cheese - straight from the counter.

15. Remove any excess cheese from your fingers to conceal all the evidence (having no idea it is literally everywhere - head to toe - even in your hair).

(Isn't it great how the smallest, seemingly most insignificant moments turn into the best family memories? Oh how I love little moments like these!)

37 week update

Despite the fact that I either still have the stomach flu or got the stomach flu again, things are looking better in week 37.  My body is getting used to moving again (although this darn stomach bug laid me up for a few more days).  I am also starting to feel the tell-tale signs of impending labor - the achy hips, the notorious "waddle", and the "ah heck this is really gonna happen, isn't it" panic attacks. 

At my doctor's appointment today, we discovered that my body is starting to progress toward labor again now that I am off of bedrest. Contractions have picked back up, I am a 2 cm dilated, 50% effaced and the baby is now head down and low at -2 station.  As anyone who has had a baby knows, that really doesn't mean diddly. I could go into labor tonight or in another month. One thing is for sure - we trust that she will come when she's ready.  Um...maybe we should try to get ready ourselves.

I am a little nervous about our plans for another unmedicated childbirth in the physical condition I am in and really hope that we're not in store for another 18-hour active labor marathon like Miss Josephine's (check out her birth story here).  That said, we have a doula we really trust, I know Lou will be the "rock" that he was last time, and I know what my body is capable of doing.  Our wish is for a couple more weeks of healing and recovery from the bedrest and stomach virus before we enter into the craziness of having a newborn.  We'll see...  :)