(Intro music)
- Good morning everyone.
It's time to brush our Rue,
which is usually quite an event.
So um, enjoy!
(Background music)
One of the cool things about Rue's breed is
that she doesn't shed,
which is really nice for people that have allergies.
So like I'm kind of allergic.
I think Jacob's a little allergic.
We have allergies to other things, specifically cats,
but there are certain dogs that like, if I'm around them,
I'll just start sneezing. My eyes will water up.
Having a dog that doesn't shed can really help with that.
Downside to that since their, their hair isn't constantly
shedding, it has the risk of matting and getting dreaded.
So you got to brush them constantly.
It's still a lot of work, but it's kind of a nice time.
A nice little time with Rue.
I feel like most of our bonding time happens
when I'm brushing her.
So today I'm kind of going back and forth between her comb
and our slicker brush.
And this slicker brush is the one
that uh, her groomer recommended.
We used to use this one.
It's a self cleaning slicker brush, and we still use it,
but we use it to clean this brush.
So I'll put the tines out on this, go across this like this.
This brush is now clean and I can go like this
and empty it into the trashcan.
I don't want it to float around the yard,
but that's, that's how that works.
Oh my goodness.
Look how fluffy you are now.
You're such a fluffy puppy.
You want some treats?
There you go.
Oh, you're so fluffy, you're so fluffy.
- Okay. We are off to my big 37 week doctor appointment.
And I want to say right off the bat that I have a plan.
And my plan is to ask my doctor to check my cervix,
because I really want to know if I'm having any like
dilation or effacement or not, mostly because I like to know
like how quickly I need to react.
So if I don't have any at all, I'm going to be like, okay.
Like if I'm feeling a little something something,
it's probably not much.
Or if I'm feeling a little something something,
and I'm like very already started in the process,
then I should probably get there fast,
because when I do go, I go kind of quickly.
And when I, when I like have labor,
I cannot always tell when I'm in labor.
And I've talked about this a lot in my past pregnancies.
But if you've never seen me pregnant before,
I guess you wouldn't know this.
So I'm sorry to the people who've been
around for this before,
but um, basically I don't feel a lot of pain
until it's like, just about to push,
you're 10 centimeters dilated.
I can talk through my contractions.
I can hang out with people like, I'm generally kind of fine.
And I'm definitely always nervous around now going like,
am I, could I be in labor?
I don't know.
So far I'm not really seeing any signs aside from the fact
that I felt like a lot of pressure and stuff.
But I feel like my pelvis is kind of ready.
There are things like you start losing parts of
your mucus plug, which can happen all at once at labor,
or it can happen gradually over time.
But I haven't seen that happen at all.
And overall, this whole pregnancy
I've had way fewer Braxton Hicks than I was getting
in my past like three pregnancies,
because I was getting excessive Braxton Hicks
in my past ones.
And this one has been like,
not a lot and now I'm getting them,
but it's still not as many as I have gotten
in past pregnancies.
- Braxton Hicks are practice contractions.
- Thank you, Parker!
Dr. Parker in the back.
So today Bailey and Parker are with us
going to the doctor appointment
and our babysitter Faith is here today.
And she has Jacob and Duncan and Luke.
Christopher is here to (sighs)
- I'm the one driving.
- My driver, driver man.
- We haven't [inaudible 00:04:14] this car yet.
- (laughs nervously)
Yeah, we do not.
And Faith is also with Rue,
I guess I should mention her as well.
My plan is to beg my doctor for a cervix check.
I don't know if he'll do it.
And I know I'm going to get a million comments saying
that cervix checks don't matter.
It doesn't matter how dilated and effaced you are
and et cetera, et cetera.
Yeah, okay, it doesn't, but it matters to me.
And if a 37 week, 38 week, 39 week, 40 week pregnant person
wants to get their cervix checked, I say go for it.
But um, there are also lots of opinions there, so go ahead.
Drama commence.
But I would like to know what's going on.
I feel like other than that,
like there isn't a lot to do for this appointment.
I'm guessing he'll give me a non-stress test.
I don't really want one.
I don't know.
I was like, I don't know why, they're really nothing.
They're like sitting.
Like I honestly don't know why if it's like a,
like something in my brain or what,
but I get really sick feeling whenever I take them.
And it's, it's seriously, it's just sitting.
But I think, I think it's the angle.
So I go to an angle and then I start getting like faint,
sweaty and yucky feeling.
And baby has always been fine when I've done any of these.
But um, I, I'm usually a mess, so.
And I'm not a mess in a lot of situations.
But for some reason, like sitting, I, I become a mess.
- [Parker] I'll bring a book, so that I can fan you.
- Oh, Parker!
Parker says, he'll bring a book, so he can fan me.
And he did have to do that last time.
So Christopher and Parker were both like helping me
cause I was like blarghhh
(laughs)
and that was really sweet of you to think of that, Parker.
I think that's all that'll happen this time around.
Like honestly, there's nothing else I'm really anticipating.
I'm going to ask if I still need to register
at the hospital, but
I don't even think I'll do that.
Even if I do have to do it.
(laughs)
This is my sixth time around.
- Sticking it to the man managers.
- Yeah
- Oh, oh register? Not this one!
- No, I just like don't think we'll have the time.
So like, I don't even want to like, think about it.
You can do it when you just go into labor.
So hopefully that's fine.
I don't know.
I guess maybe erase this and I get in trouble for it later.
(laughs)
Edit it out.
- [Christopher] Non-stress test is underway.
- My super doula Parker.
Yes.
- I'm really scared if I let go of the book.
- Oh yeah. I don't think you will.
I trust you.
- [Christopher] How are you feeling ?
- Okay. I, they, they let me be up high
and I was like, yay-yah!
And then um, they couldn't find the heartbeat.
Cause like, that's why you have to be at this angle.
Cause it's easier to find all the stuff they need to find.
So then they lowered me to this angle and it's just like,
it's just the wrong angle for me when I'm pregnant.
I know, I don't know why, cause it is elevated.
Like it should be fine.
But um, see, I can feel like my skin is all clammy.
I even had a video here with um,
I think when I was pregnant with Duncan where I like fainted
and it was just me and Bailey.
Do you remember that day, Bailey?
- Yeah.
- I was a mess.
- I finished all my schoolwork today already.
- [Christopher] What?
- Yeah.
- [Christopher] That's so early.
Getting so quick at it.
- [Jessica] Yeah. She's highly motivated
to be able to work ahead and start
reading ahead in our books, so.
- I feel that breeze.
I feel like I'm on a Hawaiian vacation.
(laughs)
Especially with your mask.
Oh my goodness.
Thank you for the ambience, Parker.
- Okay, so the good news is
that I have the best doctor ever,
and he gave me a cervix check.
He said he doesn't usually do them until next week,
but he did it. So nice.
Um, but the bad news is
that there's definitely nothing going on.
He's like, the baby is totally floating.
It means the baby hasn't dropped um, and
- [Parker] That's good that the baby hasn't dropped.
- Well, yeah, I mean, my babies don't, they don't drop.
So I was kind of hoping that I get to experience it once,
but whatever.
- Were people guessing in the last vlog?
(loud music starts playing)
(Christopher and Parker screaming)
- Turn it off. What?
- [Christopher] What?
- What? That wasn't even, uh
- [Christopher] That's not even the-. what's going on?
- I don't know.
So um, I think people were like,
no you haven't dropped Jessica.
- So people were right.
- Yeah (laughs)
- Good job people.
- And I don't think I'm anywhere near having a baby,
but I mean, I'm kinda near,
like at least a couple of weeks close.
He was like, yeah, I'll be seeing you next week.
I was like, yeah, I figured, okay.
That's that update.
- Wait, is he still doing the cervix check next week?
- Oh yeah, he'll do it next week,
cause I'm gonna say "yes, I want to have a cervix check."
They give you an option usually.
I'm a big fan.
Some people are not big fans.
But I'm a big fan.
Um, and maybe next week I'll ask for a membrane sweep, too.
But I don't know. I don't know if he'll do that.
- [Bailey] What's that?
- That's when he, when you are closer to having your baby,
both in time, like 38, 39 weeks when it's kind of safer
and when people are considered like cleared to induce
a little bit,
like you wouldn't do it at this stage or earlier,
um, but if you're closer and you're a bit more dilated,
the doctor can actually kind of like go around the edge and
sometimes it will start up the labor process.
And sometimes it'll just make you like
a little uncomfortable and like
have some contractions and then they end
and it doesn't happen.
That's actually probably most of the time,
but something doctors and midwives sometimes do
are membrane sweeps.
I'll probably ask for that too.
So we'll see where I'm at
and where our life schedule is at,
cause we're on a little bit of a time crunch.
Like it doesn't matter, baby is gonna come when baby comes,
but we don't have Faith anymore on the 13th.
Our babysitter, not like faith, but (laughs)
- [Bailey] We lose all faith!
- We lose all faith.
Um, but we don't have Faith as of the 13th.
And if I delivered when Faith was still with us
and not off at school,
I think it would be easiest for us,
for us to be at the hospital
because Faith knows our routines.
She knows our dog.
She knows all the things.
So it'd be easier.
But if baby doesn't come then,
we're not going to force the matter.
It's gonna just, we're just gonna figure it out
and we'll do a little improvisation.
- Are you having a hard time, uh, saying "Teddy"?
Cause I know, I always say like "the baby".
- Yeah.
- But his name is Teddy.
- I was thinking about that lately.
We haven't been saying "Teddy".
I don't know.
I guess, I don't know.
It, uh, like it's just like saying a name. I think-
- It's new, right?
- Yeah, I think I do this with every baby.
- Me, too.
- Like, it doesn't, it doesn't feel as natural
to say it until I've said it a lot and the baby's there.
- I still do it with our kids.
Bailey's big baby.
(Jessica laughs)
- Jacob's the next biggest baby.
Parker's middle baby.
- And Duncan's toddler big boy.
He doesn't like being called baby.
- Yeah. Duncan's little man baby.
- Little man baby.
- And then Luke's the baby, but now this one's the baby.
So Luke's the other baby.
- No, I, I do need to say Teddy more Teddy, Teddy, Teddy
and get like used to that because I think it,
and I love the name and I think it's adorable.
Like I'm set on it, but I just don't say it naturally yet.
So anyway. All right.
We are off right?
- Sounds good.
We'll try and figure out the radio
so that it doesn't blast in our face again.
- Okay.
I think that was a good update.
Basically not a lot of change, but I'm 37 weeks.
So I shouldn't necessarily be expecting much,
but I was curious because Luke came a week from today.
But I also was at the same point
two days before he was born.
So two days before he was born,
I was like maybe a centimeter dilated.
And that's kind of what I am now.
Anything could happen, but you know,
it doesn't look very super promising right now
that anything will happen.
- You don't worry.
We're still proud of you, Teddy.
- Yeah, no, he's doing great.
He's cozy. He's just hanging out.
Like, yeah I like it in here.
- [Christopher] What are you working on?
- 3D Drawing.
(3D pen buzzing)
(Background music)
- No back lid, but this is what I made.
It's got no other sides, but uh.
I made this
so far.
Focus, focus, focus.
A dragon.
Rawr rawr rawr
I don't know what I should make,
but I kind of want to make something different.
(Background music)
I want to show you a creation
and it got pretty close to done.
This is a [inaudible 00:13:11] dragon.
[inaudible 00:13:14] Dragon.
Dragon, it's just dragon.
Um, it's got some scales or
fluff it looks like.
(giggles)
It's pretty detailed.
I haven't finished it as you can see, but you know,
it's got epic wings and things.
And so it has pretty good balance as you can see.
And I just thought it would be nice to vlog.
So anyways, bye.
- [Christopher] Hello, sir.
Did you have fun with Faith today?
(Luke babbles)
- [Christopher] Yeah? What are you,
what are you doing right now?
(Luke babbles)
- [Christopher] You've got a horse?
Are you riding on a horse?
Oh good petting your horse.
Good petting your horse.
(Luke babbles)
- [Christopher] Oh, your horse, horse has a motor?
Your horse goes vrooom. You can go fast on your horse.
You want me to give you a little ride on your horsey?
(Christopher makes playing noises)
(Dog barks)
(Luke giggles)
(Dog barks)
Jessica just asked me to go to the sporting goods store
and pick up a birthing ball.
So that's what I'm going to do. And I'm in the, the old van,
the old van, cause it's the smallest car that we have now.
So, and it's just me.
I didn't want to take the, the big vans over there,
but I'm going to take this one.
Going to the sporting goods store to get a birthing ball
for birthing purposes.
Went with the premium, premium exercise ball.
I'm not totally sure what the difference is.
It's rated up to 1000 pounds though,
which means all my kids could pile up on it.
And since I know they're probably going to do that,
I went with the one rated for 1000 pounds.
Back home to the kiddos.
(Background music)
- Gotta do it!
(Action music)
- Hi, let's talk about what we learned today.
We learned that boycotting the pre-registration process
at the hospital is the best way to stick it to the man.
We learned that the most essential tool for a super doula
is a big book.
And finally we learned that I'm a big man-child.
Thanks for watching everybody.
We'll see you next time.
(Parker giggles)