Long time, no write!

Just found out yesterday that we need daycare for Abby to cover the time between when Marti goes to work and I get off for the day.

I suppose I should have asked about my schedule sooner, but they've always been SO flexible that I really didn't think it was an issue.

So, now I'm trying to find a place at the last minute practically.

I really need this...

Went to get Abby's first portrait done today. Of course I was late, so we had to wait for another appointment. In the mean time, Abby got fussy and messed her diapers and we almost left and rescheduled. However, she managed to settle down and we accomplished the task at hand.

I can't wait to see the results! The poses were too cute! I just hope the pictures came out.

Ok, this is totally ripped off from emails I sent, but it is the whole story about her birth, so I'll just paste what I already wrote instead of reinventing the wheel:

We're home and pooped, but figuring it out as we go. She's now eating like a champ and even keeping some of it down. hahaha! It's disturbing, but I guess normal when they barf it up sometimes. No pictures of that fortunately. ;)

I didn't include the C-section pics on the picture page, but if you want to see the gory details, just email and I'll send you the link to those. Marti took 2 pictures over the curtain and then had to sit down. hahaha!!!

As for labor - that was AWFUL!!!! I started contractions at about 12:30 AM Thursday (Wednesday night) and went to the hospital around 7:30 PM Thursday because I thought my water broke. Well, it didn't quite break like in the movies, so I wasn't sure, but I have a "condition" (GBS) and I needed to have antibiotics if it did break, so we went in to play it safe. My contractions were still not regular or close enough to be in the hospital, but with the GBS, they took me in and hooked me up to an IV anyway.

The nurse said I wasn't really dilated much, but with some manual manipulation, she got that process started and got me from 1 to 3 in about 5 seconds. Um, OUCH!!!!!!!!!!! (But thanks for not just sending me home, too!)

About 2 AM I finally got an epidural and that basically stopped labor for all intents and purposes and then we started up again a few hours later. Still, my contractions were not regular or close enough, but I was making some progress, albeit slow progress. They gave me Pitocin to try to help, but had to keep turning it off because it looked like it was stressing the baby. It took HOURS to go from 5 cm to 6 cm!!!! My doctor was recommending a C-section but I didn't want that, so we continued with close monitoring of me and the baby.

Finally at about 3 PM on Friday, I'd reached the magic 10 cm and was allowed to push. Apparently I was pushing well according to the doctor and nurse (although I couldn't feel a THING!). However, the baby would not budge an inch. Well, not like they measure downward movement in inches, but you get the picture.

After close to an hour and a half of pushing, she still had not changed her position and her heart rate looked like it was a little elevated, although still within a safe range. It was time to give up and go into surgery. At 4:30 PM I stopped pushing and she was born via C-section at 4:49 PM!

Had I known then what I know now... hahaha!!! But, hindsight is 20/20, as they say. It was weird to feel all their work as they took her out, yet not really feel a lot of pain. I was given about every drug in the book, but still felt somewhat lucid and did feel a little pain as they tugged and pushed her out. THAT was really weird! Plus, when we got in there and the curtain went up, I looked up at the big light and could see pretty well perfectly a reflection of what they were doing!!!! Mental note to self: DON'T LOOK UP!!!!!! hahaha!!!!

I guess that's pretty much how it all happened. It's good to be home and figuring out how to be parents instead of in the hospital getting poked and prodded every 20 minutes or so. :) Don't get me wrong: we got lots of help and the care was great!!! But it was a little disorienting to not go outside for days, not sleep except for in short stretches for days on end, and to have someone come in to check me or the baby for something every few minutes or so. (OK, so it wasn't really that often, but it seemed like it!)

Like I said, it's good to be home! It was murder just trying to find time to pick up the phone to call anyone while we were there. I honestly just called my grandmother Wednesday!!!! My mom called her for me from the recovery room, but I didn't speak to her at that time. Then I forgot if I even called my dad in CA at all! He assured me that I did, but I don't recall the conversation on delivery day. (Must have been the drugs!)

Marti has been a doll taking care of me, the baby, and running home to take care of the dogs and clean up the house while I was still stuck in the hospital. I don't know how those single moms do it on their own. He just made me something to eat, so I'm going to go eat like a good little patient now. :)

Went to the pediatrician today and Abby's gaining weight back, so that's great! She got her foot stuck for the PKU test and HATED IT!

Dr. Caplan told me that if she hadn't latched on and nursed yet, we may not be able to, and if we do manage it, it will be hard since so much time had gone by already. She sent us right over to the hospital to see the lactation consultants.

I was not too optimistic, as I'd seen 2 already in the hospital and every nurse in the place did their part in trying to get that baby to latch. However, this lady had a little trick up her sleeve that worked great to get us over that hump.

Nipple shield. It's basically like a bottle nipple that hooks on and "tricks" the baby into thinking she's at the bottle instead of the breast. Eventually we wean her off the shield and she nurses like any other baby.

Or, at least that's the plan. We'll see how it goes.

For now, she's pretty much nursing like a champ and I'm happy about that.

Well, except for the part where I have to nurse THEN still pump when she's done! It's like twice the work now, but it's better than nothing. Plus we'll have all that extra milk for when Marti wants to feed her or if we're out and about.

Short version:

Abigail Rose Harris born 10/14/05 at 4:49 PM. She was 7 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long.

Labor started some time after midnight on the 13th and continued until about 4 PM on the 14th for a total of close to 40 hours of labor.

After all that, she wouldn't budge down the birth canal even after close to an hour and a half of pushing. She was born by C-section Friday night and so the next chapter in our lives began...

I'll write more later. For now I'm exhausted and we're trying to get a system down at home to care for her.

The nurses at the hospital were incredible, but now we're on our own.

Marti has been phenomenal!! He's taking care of me, the baby, and had been running home to take care of the dogs and get the house ready as well. I knew he was great before, but he's outdone himself now!

First things first: DON'T CALL US TODAY!!!!

I have been cramping pretty regularly since around 12 or 1 in the morning. At 4 AM I took a shower and that felt good, but they still continued after that until they were 15 minutes apart at 8 AM.

Now that I'm sitting up, I've had one, but not on schedule like when I was laying down, so I'm not sure if this means it was false labor or if it's just the calm before the storm. I have a feeling it will be today or tonight.

Marti took the dogs for a walk so they will be set for the day if we need to leave. (They still have thier doggie door!!) He was going to leave his phone charging while they walked. I refrained from giving him the "ARE YOU FREAKIN' CRAZY" look and suggested he charge it when he gets home and keep it with him on the walk in case my water breaks.

Stay tuned...

We had a little scare earlier today just as I was getting ready to leave to go get Shelley at the airport. I got all crampy and wasn't sure if it was labor starting or not. It was bad timing because it was TIME TO GO and it made it difficult to "wait it out" knowing people would either be waiting for me or stranded without a ride. However, chances were it wasn't the real thing, so I didn't want to panic and have them call a cab right off the bat either.

It turned out to be a false alarm and I made it through the rest of the night (so far) with no further incident except I seem to be a little tired and turning inward. I am going to bed in case I need the rest tomorrow morning in case things get moving.

The burger didn't do it for me. I guess it needs to be the official Birchler Burger to count. So, I'm still sitting here waiting for the inevitable and still not knowing when it will be.

We see the doctor tomorrow, so maybe she'll have some news for us after my exam. I'm hoping tomorrow is our day, but that may be a lot to ask for.

For now, I will just keep working on the crib set I'm sewing and maybe sort through one more box of clothes today before putting them up on the shelf for later.

It's good being off work during this time. I find stuff to do here and I don't have to worry about following up with (or forgetting about) my students for a while. Marti says it's like a weekend every day now since we get to wake up together and spend the days together.

Did I mention he brought me breakfast in bed today? Well, just some toast with butter and jam, but it was just what I wanted, so I think he should get "breakfast in bed" credit. :)

I ate that without even sitting up and then just went back to sleep for a little bit longer. I'm seriously enjoying this while I still can!!!!!

Jessica and Eugene took me out for a burger tonight, as it is sort of a family tradition for her side of the family on a pregnant lady's due date. Actually, her dad makes the burgers normally, but since he's not here, they took me out instead. :)

Well, it is my due date, and my stomach is SO hard right now! I told Marti this could be the night -- or maybe the morning depending on how long it takes to get things started.

We'll see...

Well, we made it a full 40 weeks! Yeah!!! That wasn't so bad so far. (Talk to me in 2 weeks if I still don't deliver!)

She's not moving around much today -- just a couple of wiggles to let me know she's ok. Last night she was poking out all over though!!!

My Countdown to Baby timer is at 1 hour 26 minutes right now. I told Marti it would be funny if that was accurate and not just the estimate based on when I set it when I got it.

I'm feeling fine today. I was a little tired last night, but was able to get dressed and go out to dinner. Mom took us out to The Keg for a really nice meal. It's patio weather again and I really did enjoy that!

She also took my fabric I was going to make a curtain for the closet with and is taking it to have the curtain made for me. One less thing to do... THANKS A TON, MOM!!!

She also brought some more presents from Pat and Nonnie, as well as a few things from herself and a cradle I wanted from one of her neighbors. Marti didn't want any more baby furniture, but when he heard he can keep the baby in it while he watches TV, he got really happy about having it after all. :)

I've been sorting clothes to put away since there's no way it could possibly fit in the closet. I have a good solid (full) bin for each age group now all the way up to toddler, so we can see where we are now and rotate them through more efficiently. Come to think of it, that's why I came in here -- to get something out of the desk to label the bins so I know what size is in each without opening them.

Back to work!!!!! :)

Well, tomorrow is my due date and I'm still feeling pretty much the same. I'm a little more uncomfortable and strangers are telling me I look ready. I guess my turkey timer must be on my back, because I haven't seen it pop yet and they seem to know something I don't know. :)

I watched 2 women give birth on tv this morning without drugs. That is, THEY had no drugs for the delivery. Not like I need drugs to watch them. hahaha!!! But it was a little scary. Mostly funny on one of them because of the looks on her face as she progressed and realized what she was in for.

Silly woman! That's what the epidural is for!!!!!

I made it out of my last full shift at work without a baby! Now it's just time to wait it out at home. Got my hair cut last night since I probably won't be getting my hair cut any time soon after the baby is born.

I worked a few hours today to wrap it up properly and now I'm officially on maternity leave. It feels weird putting "personal leave" in my out of office message at work. It sounds more like I can't handle my job and just need some time off! But, I guess for privacy reasons, they have to insist that I don't say anything resembling medical or maternity leave unless it's one-on-one to a student in conversation.

Whatever.

:)

Last day at work today! Did I mention I'm 3 days from my due date?????? YIKES! Crazy stuff!!!!!

Only 2 more days at work!!!! Today they are having a pot-luck lunch for me. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I carpool with Tiffany, so I would have figured it out when she got in the car with food, so they told me in advance after all. :) Thanks guys!!!

I'm headed off to get ready for work now. Stay tuned...

Cute moment of the week: Marti singing a made up song of "I swallowed a basketball" at the doctor's office.

Things I won't miss when I'm not pregnant anymore:
Urgently needing to go to the bathroom for what wouldn't even fill a shot glass.
Not fitting through some tight spot and instinctively turning sideways to try to fit, only to realize that it's worse that way!
Heartburn!
Baby limbs poking me in the side.
Staggering to the bathroom in the dark in the middle of the night.

Things I will miss when I'm not pregnant anymore:
Being able to give in to the "sleep monster" and going in to work for a half day from time to time.
Being 20 lbs over my normal weight with a massive belly and having people tell me I'm "skinny!"
Showers, baths and good stuff like that. Or at least that's what I hear. hahaha!!!!

On another note, we didn't have the baby on our wedding anniversary today. Marti was a sweetheart and bought me some gifts and a card even though I told him he didn't have to do anything special.

We also went out to Morton's and split a brontosaurus steak for dinner tonight. It was special and splitting it was just right since I can't eat a full meal right now without waking up with the urge to puke anymore.

And any day with Creme Brule is a good day! What did I ever do without Creme Brule????

Went to the doctor again today. No news is good news. If I deliver over the weekend, there's a likelihood that I will see a different doctor in the delivery room, which was news to me. Bummer. I will have to go early or wait for the weekend to end so I get my doctor.

I did have a little back pain last night. It was pretty quick and just once, but it was definitely like they described in class. It felt like something was pulling on my tailbone. Here we go!!!! That's a sign something is working down there!

It still could be a couple weeks away in all reality, but that's still a good sign that we're on our way!

I put in my notice at work that I will be taking my leave of absence as of the end of this week. I started crying this morning because I was just so tired. I think it's time to stop worrying about it and just stay home.

I counted out the weeks I'm allowed off and that lands me right after the new year, so that works for me.

I had another rough night last night and scared the b-jeebers out of Marti in the process.

I finally got my appetite back, so needless to say, I kind of ate a lot for dinner and dessert. However, when I went to bed, the baby must have given my stomach a kick and shoved some up my throat, making it feel like I was throwing up.

I jumped out of bed making a "MMMMMPPPHHH MMMMMMMPPPPPHHHH MMMMMPPPPHHHH" noise and just trying to make it to the bathroom in the dark and not step on the dogs.

Of course, this woke Marti from a deep sleep (as it did the rest of us!) and he thought I was going into labor.

I don't think it happens that quickly where I'll wake up in the middle of the night making weird noises, but it was still funny.

I tried sleeping in the glider (like I did last time this happened) but this time, the upright angle put too much pressure on my bladder and I couldn't sleep because it felt like I had to pee the whole time.

So, I went back to bed and gave it another try.

No dice.

One hour later, I was MMMPPPHHing again and running to the bathroom. I never did throw up, but it was disturbing all the same. So, I went down to the recliner downstairs and slept there until about 4am when I knew it would be safe to go back to bed horizontally.

I'm having a half a rice cake for dinner tonight. (Just kidding!!!)

Saturday agenda:
1.) Cut melon and make melon ball salad for Marti. After Mom and Beryl brought over the salad for Jessica's shower, Marti determined that he loves melon balls.

2.) Clean out nursery. All the wonderful gifts (and MANY gift bags) are piled up in every corner still.

3.) Work on and maybe finish a crib bumper for Diane to put in the crib at her house.

4.) Continue wondering if today will be the day...

Pretty uneventful day. The baby kicked a couple more people today, so we added Jessica and Angie to the "We got kicked by the baby" Club on the Milestones page.

It seems that she isn't kicking as predictably lately or for as long either. She used to go on marathon sessions, but now she sometimes seems to stop before people can feel her going at it.

My countdown timer is officially at single digits now!!!!! Looks like 9 days until my due date --- AND COUNTING!!!!

I work with a guy who's sister was due a couple days after me. He got a call that her water broke tonight! It's her second baby I think, so it makes sense that she went a LITTLE early, but it still makes me a little nervous knowing it can be any time now.

It will be interesting to hear if she makes it to October or if she delivers before midnight tonight, as it sounds like she'll be right on that September/October fence if she labors about 3 hours after her water broke.

Long day today...

Last night Sydney started shaking her head, so I had to figure out how to get her to the vet when I was supposed to be at work.

We decided to take her to the groomers for a bath while she waited for the vet to open. That way, I didn't have to go in to work too late just waiting for the vet to open.

When I got there, I learned that they were open till 9pm, so there would be no problem picking her up after work. However, the woman that happened to be at the vet's office early today said they can't walk her or give her food! I didn't think of that before we left the house, so the thought of her sitting in a kennel having to pee and being very hungry all day almost made me cry! (Is that pregnancy hormones or am I always like that about Sydney???)

Anyway, I worked something out and then picked her up before the end of the day, so she wasn't even there all day anyway.

The other thing that got me today was leaving Joey all alone! I realized as I was taking Syd out, that Joey had never been left ALL alone before and she was FREAKING OUT!!! Rather than come home to her eating holes in walls (again) or eating my cabinets, I gave her a Kong full of peanut butter.

Sure, that's going to probably give her the runs, but that's easily fixed compared to missing walls and cabinet doors!

Am I a bad mom for taking the easy way out on that one????

Ok, so it wasn't much baby news today, but I don't want Nonnie to worry about me if I don't write today. I heard from one of the pregnancy sites that stalking the pregnant lady will become a popular sport before I know it if I don't deliver on time. hahaha!!!

We saw the doctor again today and she said she thinks the baby's head is dropping into my pelvis. She wasn't positive by what she could feel on my belly, so she got the ultrasound machine and verified that she was feeling her butt at the top of my abdomen. That would indicate that her not being able to feel the head anymore means it's dropped.

So, looks like one more milestone down on the way to the delivery room.

She still stands by her "first time mothers are usually a week late" theory, so I'm still working and doing my best to get things all set for my team to take over when I go. I figure the more time I spend at work, the more time I have with the baby after she's born. Plus I do NOT want to come back before the holidays are over, so I must make it to October at least! :)

It's never been fun to work through the holidays, so I can't imagine it will be any better doing so while missing my little baby for the first time.

Marti said that they have a pool going at work to guess my due date. One side is the date and the other is time of day with weight as the tie breaker. I think that is soooo funny!!!! If they keep it behind the bar, I'll have to go take a picture of it for this site later.

Marti took today off work on a whim, and so did I. It turns out we have a couple of appointments to get things taken care of (not baby stuff!!!!) so it worked out great.

I'm feeling crampy as of the last week or so, and it makes me wonder what's going on down there. I think it's starting to dilate a little, but we won't know that for sure. It's just my gut feeling on it.

We see the doctor on Wednesday - maybe she'll know what it means, if anything. I don't know what I expect. I mean, I'm due in 2 weeks!!! What's she going to say? "Your body is getting ready to have a baby."

I guess I don't need her to tell me that at this point! :)

Marti was a sweetheart and made us dinner last night. I was nesting like an animal upstairs and came down to grilled lamb chops and asparagus ready to eat. I wasn't hungry, but I ate my dinner and even a candy bar later(left over from Jessica's shower still!).

With all the stuff around this house right now, it's a good thing I don't have to go to work today. We have a bunch of big boxes to break down and stuff to find places for. I know what I'm doing today!

Oh, and 1,000 thank you notes for all the cool stuff we got at the shower this weekend!!!

Busy, busy!

The shower was fun! Mom and Beryl (and Ron!) made appetizers and stuff for everyone to eat. It seemed like there were a lot of people there, but I think it was more gifts than people. hahaha!!

Charlee and Travis helped pass presents over to me so I could open them and Marti helped by writing down what we got so we can remember what cam from whom later.

Amazingly, other than a lot of clothes (that we've been working on since the beginning) we didn't get any duplicates, so we didn't have to return anything.

There were actually so many gifts that we missed a couple in the confusion. When we got home, I was sorting through it all and found a couple of cards and a present that didn't look familiar. Turns out it must have gotten shuffled over to the "opened" pile before its time.

There were some games at the shower and they were short and sweet. Beryl and Mom gave everyone a cup of water with a baby in an ice cube and the first one to melt wins. Stuart won that round when his "water broke."

Then there was the beer drinking from baby bottles. I think I got a few good pictures of that one! Tony won.

After that, Everyone got a chance to guess how big around I've gotten. Diane tried reading my mind and went 10 (then TWENTY) inches over. hahaha! Marti played it safe and guessed under. (sweet man!) Luckily the few that guessed the same didn't win and have to split the prize. Tony won.

Then Mom and Beryl chose a random number as I was opening presents. Turns out they chose 13. The thirteenth present to be opened won it's giver a prize. Tony won.

We all told Tony he needed to go buy a lottery ticket on his way home. hahaha!!!!

We managed to get all the presents home in one trip because Marti thought to drive the Explorer instead of the Honda. (smart man!)

Then today we went shopping and got all kinds of odds and ends (and a stroller/car seat/carrier combo) for the baby. As I was unpacking and assembling everything, Marti went to Costco and bought all the diapers and wipes he could find. hahaha!!!!

That room is PACKED!!!! I think we're as ready as we can ever be. All we need now is that baby!

Tomorrow is the baby shower! After that, we will go shopping Sunday for any odds and ends we still need. We're pretty well set already, so it will be nice to finalize everything.

I stopped by the store today after having dinner with Sandy (and Stuart and Jim & Diane) for her birthday. I got some popsicles, lip balm, and breath strips for the delivery. I was unable to locate the suckers the nurse recomended, but we'll either have to do without or get them later if I REALLY really need them.

Baby's still pushing HARD on my belly, but not as frequently (or more so, CONSTANTLY) as she was before when it was driving me insane.

Maybe she's getting cramped and wants out? I'm at 38 weeks now, so it wouldn't be unheard of. Denise's sister had her baby the day of her shower. That would be a little funny, but inconvenient for sure.

Today was a pretty good day. I felt good at work, but at home before bed, I started getting very uncomfortable. And the HEARTBURN!!!!! I couldn't eat enough TUMMS or drink enough water.

Sleeping is also not so great anymore. My hips hurt and I make all kinds of noise trying to just roll over or get up to go to the bathroom. Marti is always asking me if I'm ok when I make all that noise. Poor guy! He knows even less than I do when the time will come.

I think now that's the hardest part. Not knowing when.

I'm feeling optimistic today. We see the doctor soon and I am determined to have a good day after that.

I woke up to gentle squirming and crossed my fingers in hopes that it stays gentle for the rest of the day.

Wish me luck!

The good day thing is not working out so well today.

The doctor said I'm Group B Strep positive, which means I need antibiotics during birth to protect the baby from a bacteria I carry. It's nice knowing 33% of women have this problem, but still one more thing to remember right now.

Second, Marti HAD to go and ask... "How big do you think she'll be?" To which the doctor replied, "Oh, about 8 pounds -- 7 1/2 if she delivers today."

I was hoping for a little 6 pound baby. Looks like we're already past that now.

She measures my belly each week now to see how much I grow. I guess I've lost a little weight, but the baby is still growing, so that's good news. If I remember right, she measured me at 36 weeks last week and 38 weeks today. I'm really 37 weeks today, so not only is the baby a week bigger than normal at this point, she grew TWO weeks size in the span of one week. Scary stuff for the first time mommy-to-be!

Oh, and my lunch sucks.

Today kind of sucked. I'm getting pretty sick of the baby trying to tear through my abdomen wall like an alien and it's starting to show in my demeanor.

Tonight I met Jessica for dinner and I was just so sick of the baby kicking me while I was trying to eat that I almost started crying right there at the table.

Enough is enough, kid! KNOCK IT OFF!!!!!!

I also noticed that when I scratch my belly it seems to tickle the baby. She moves around a lot if I scratch my belly. I can't tell if she loves it or hates it. Any kid of mine or Marti's will love scratches though, so maybe she'll grow into loving it when she's outside with us.

Baby was pretty active again today and actually kicked me so hard a few times that I yelped. She's been flirting with the idea of getting up under my ribs, but hasn't actually ventured in there yet.

I've haven't been enjoying the kicks so much this last week, as it really hurts and feels like a foot is going to split my side open. I almost cried today when she did it once and then I felt nauseated afterwards.

The good news of the day is that I am finally able to reach my toes again and I clipped them the way I like them clipped finally. It's been months since I've been able to get to them. I think my hips must have shifted to make room for the belly when I pull my leg up.

Anyway, we're still waiting and counting down the days. It's about 3 weeks to my due date now. I can't say I'm to the stage you hear pregnant women in where they jsut want it out, but I'm getting close with all this kicking.

Some of my maternity pants no longer fit well because they don't reach up over the belly anymore. When I'm walking, they slip below the belly and then there's nothing holding them up, as well as a big pooch of fabric below the belly that obviously doesn't belong there.

With some pants I've resorted to hiding suspenders under my shirt so I don't have to keep hiking up my waistband (HAHA!!) every time I stand up. NO! I don't really own suspenders! I stole them off our bed -- they hold the sheets on when the dogs play rough and jump in and out of the bed all day. They are REALLY long, but if I cinch them up all the way, they work -- and it's only for a couple of weeks longer, so I'm not going out and buying real suspenders for the job.

Today was a busy day for the daddy-to-be, and I was plenty busy myself.

Today started with Marti going to Daddy Boot Camp, which he said was the best class out of all the classes we took. It was taught by an ex-military guy and for the guys only.

After that class, we went together to a breathing and relaxation class. We learned different ways he can relax me in the birth process besides telling me to relax. (DUH!) And he learned different massages as well as breathing techniques we can do that pretty much serve only to make sure I keep breathing if nothing else.

While we didn't learn enough in there to justify how long we were in there, we did learn some things that will come in handy later. Another friend told me that he thought some of the stuff in his classes were a joke until the birth of his daughter when they were put to good use.

I guess the frustrating part is that not everyone takes all the classes, so every time we go to a class, they keep covering some of the basics and we get bored.

Anyway, the class ended at 5pm, at which time we had a friend getting married in Gilbert - about 45 minutes away from our class. We changed at the hospital and rushed over there for the reception and made it before they had entered with the bridal party.

It was beautiful, but unfortunately, as a pregnant mom-to-be, I couldn't fully participate in the festivities and ended up being that sober person in the middle of a bunch of silly drunks. I have to say I was entirely entertained instead of annoyed like I usually would be. However, I was tired and VERY uncomfortable.

It seems that the baby decided to kick up her heels and do a little dancing of her own -- all night!!!! Since before we left the class until well after 1am, that baby was kicking me and squirming so hard, I had to keep the palm of my hand on certain parts of my abdomen because it felt like she was going to come out my side!

Scott and Linda are convinced it's a boy and Linda told me if the baby is moving around so much and so forcefully (she felt it!) that I have at least a week to go. She feels that because the baby has room to bounce around like that, then it's not ready to come out yet. She could be right, but I can live without all these pokes!

After the reception, I drove Tony and Jessica to meet a few of our friends at Scottsdale Z for another drink where we hung out for a little while longer.

I was so tired by the time we got home, but I wanted to make sure Marti enjoyed his last hurrah before he gets tied to the house with our little bundle of joy brewing inside me. I was quite the trooper, if I do say so myself.

Sneezing HURTS!

At least it hasn't made me pee my pants yet. But MAN!!!!! It really does a number on my stomach muscles every time I sneeze! I want to hold my belly and brace for it, but then again, I want to cover my face when I sneeze, too. Which, if I try not to hold it inside, is quite necessary! If I hold it back at all, it makes my abdomen hurt even more!

New subject: Parking issue at work. I've been blocked in a couple times now even when I'm not in the compact spots, so I am having a hard time finding a suitable spot sometimes. They used to park the school van in a solo reserved spot right up front, but it's in the garage these days so the spot sits open.

I commandeered the spot the last few times I've seen it open even though it says reserved.

Some lady came over to me and gave me a hard time today about parking there and said security would sticker my car. I told her I didn't want to get blocked in and she pointed to the next spot over. What she didn't understand was the next spot over had a car parked to the left that could very well leave and be replaced by a pregnant-lady's-car-blocker-inner, so I didn't move into it even though she seemed intent on getting me out of the reserved spot.

Just so that I didn't come back to a sticker on my car and have her gloating all the way back to her desk after lunch, I checked in with security and it seems there is no such thing as stickers here and they've NEVER towed a car. Ever. Richard (el jefe) even laughed when I told him about it, so I'm not concerned that they would be out to get the reserved spot commandeered (me).

So, now it's almost (not quite) like the spot is reserved for ME!!!! Sort of. And only for a couple of weeks until I leave to have this baby. After that I'm back to the regular parking spots.

But I told him I've been blocked in a couple times now and if my hips aren't too big one way, then my belly is too big the other and I have no hope of twisting into my car from the driver's side when that happens. And I'm CERTAINLY not going to climb over the center console and under the steering wheel to get in as long as I have this belly!

OK - enough about parking, huh?

Note: I'm going to try to post here every day now until the baby is born. That way, if you don't get a call from me or Marti when I go into labor (I think I'll have a lot on my mind!) and you see that I haven't posted on any given day, you will know I am probably in the hospital either hating life or loving it -- depending on when you check. :)

So, if the material gets boring, it's just me making sure I post SOMETHING for that day. Skimming is definitely allowed. :)

Waking up to leg cramps - NOT COOL!!!!!

This morning Marti got an earfull of "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!!!!!!!!" I'm surprised it didn't send the dogs into fits.

I've gotten them before, but I just flex my toes up as far as I can and they go away right away. Except this time. This time my calf muscle STILL hurts!!!!

Oh, and I forgot to mention I stubbed my toe on one of the dogs hard rubber chew toys a couple nights ago running for the phone. I told Marti as I answered that I was ok so he didn't think there was something wrong because I was yelping and almost crying when I answered his call.

Then, later he tells me I need to be careful because I can't see over my belly anymore.

Nice.

Afterthought for today:
Between the stubbed toe on my right foot still hurting, the leg cramp in my left calf still lingering, and the good solid waddle I have going on now, I must look like the picture of grace walking across the parking lot to my car!

We saw the doctor today after a little delay. She was called away to deliver a baby so we had to wait about an hour or reschedule. I told them I'd try to have my baby after business hours. :)

She checked me for dilation but I'm not started yet. It doesn't mean anything anyway at this point because I could be dilating and still not go into labor.

Marti knew a lady that was 5 cm dilated and still bartending at a very busy restaurant in town!!!! That's insane!!!

So, if half way dilated doesn't mean anything, then I'm not going to bother finding out if I'm 1 cm or 2 cm or 3 cm or whatever until the time comes. She said they don't check every week unless I ask, so until further notice, I'm not having them check, so don't ask me about it. :)

Besides, it hurts a little and it made me bleed (because the cervix is engorged with blood at this time) so I figure the less spotting to worry about, the better.

She said when my contractions are starting 3-5 minutes apart and lasting 1 minute each and I can't speak when they are happening, then I'm in labor and to call them. She also said if it starts at night, to go to bed and not stay up trying to time them. She said if I can sleep, I'm not in real labor and to go to sleep in case I am in labor in the morning. If it turns out I'm in labor and wake up, then call and go to the hospital 15 minutes away. I'll be fine until I get to the hospital since first time takes a while.

We decided to collect the cord blood in case it can be used later for diseases. She gave us a special box full of I don't know what, but we bring it to the hospital with us on delivery day.

First of all, work is so completely out of hand busy that I don't know what I'm going to do. I want to put in a few 12 hour days and get under control again, but there's no way.

Second, today we met with the pediatrician we will be going to which was nice, but it took a couple more hours out of my day that I just don't have right now.

Third, we see the OB/GYN tomorrow morning, which will take me away from work some more because we're starting the weekly appointments with examinations now, so it won't be quick "do you have any questions" type appointments anymore.

Fourth, we had another weekly meeting today as well as my having four 1 hour meetings with students today that prevented me from getting back to all the other things I need to do at work right now.

Fifth, I have about 100 voicemails and emails (exaggeration) that I need to return, but I haven't had a second to breathe!

Yes, I am stressed!!!!! The good news is I'm not alone in this and all my coworkers appear to be stressballs too!

I'd love to just take off now, but I don't dare leave them with this ever increasing mess while we get a couple of new people in and trained. Plus, I'd have to come back to work in the middle of the holidays and I just don't want to do that.

So, I sit here and type my frustrations. And eat chocolate caramel swirl ice cream. :)

Marti chose it. He doesn't like caramel. He must have chosen it for me. What a sweetie!!!!!! :) I love him!!!!

Ok, I feel better now.

Last night SUCKED!!!!

I woke up at about 11pm choking! You know when you swallow something down your windpipe and have a raging coughing attack mixed in with desperate wheezing for air? Yea, that happened to me. Except I was asleep for it. And it was heartburn juice that slipped into my windpipe, so not only was it terrifying, but it BURNED!!!!

I was coughing so hard I woke up the neighbors dog and he started barking!!!!! And the windows were NOT open, so you know I was coughing up a storm!

I finally calmed down and managed just a muffled cough here and there and tried to go back to bed. However, no matter how little I reclined, there was no amount that was not too much. I just wanted to go to sleep, but I couldn't lie down. Not even a little.

So, last night I spent most of the night in the glider chair in the nursery.

Yea, that sucked!!!

On a lighter note, I had my very first nude pictures taken yesterday while I was in the bubble bath desperately wishing I didn't turn the hot water heater down to a safe level. Apparently the frozen beached whale with a shower cap look is "cute" to Marti.

Today I threw Jessica a baby shower. We kept it pretty small (10-15 people), but there was enough food for probably 3 times as many people.

Mom and Beryl were a great help by bringing not only 2 massive fruit salads, but also helping me get everything ready to serve prior to, and as, everyone arrived. There is no way I would have been able to pull it off without their help. (Thanks Mom and Beryl!!!!!)

My feet were pretty sore when I got up in the middle of the night last night to take care of business :) but today when I got up for good, they were better again. I think they would have been sore even if I wasn't pregnant because they always get sore when I spend the whole day downstairs on the tile cleaning house and stuff.

So, now I sit here about ready for bed and I made it through the whole day without crashing out or needing to really sit out too much.

Marti was helpful when I needed him to do this or that and didn't squawk at all when we were in the final countdown and I got a little bossy. :) He just did what I needed him to and then resumed whatever it is guys do when the women are buzzing about the kitchen thinking up more silly favors to ask of the men. tee hee!

We took an Intensive Birthing Basics class at the hospital today with Jessica and Eugene. (If you don't know them yet, they are due 11/8, less than a month after us!) As she said, it wasn't as intense as we expected, but we did learn a few new things.

For me, the most helpful part was seeing the epidural equipment and hearing a little more about how that works.

It was fun having them there with us to share the laughs and a few grimaces as we watched videos and heard what we were in for. The funniest part was when I walked up and heard Eugene and Marti having fun mixing the idea of Fear Factor with the placenta video we just watched before that break. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard when those two played Fear Factor Part 2 as the instructor spoke about the mucous plug.

I shudder at the thought still!!!!!

I don't get it. I'm not complaining, but isn't it odd that I've slept through the night without having to get up to go to the bathroom a few nights in the last week or so? I thought once the baby turned that it would place EXTRA pressure on the bladder and I'd have to go MORE often. Other than having this basketball under my shirt (with a squirmy creature inside it) I'm actually starting to feel more normal rather than more bizarre.

I did wake up with a start last night about 5 minutes before Marti got home. I had a sharp pain in my abdomen, but that was it. It was quick and to the point, and nothing else followed. The adrenalin rush you get from something like that at this point in the pregnancy doesn't do much for being able to go right back to sleep though!

I put a T shirt and sweats in the bag yesterday just in case, so at least I have SOMETHING to wear home if I do end up in the hospital sooner than planned.

I also rearranged the closet and got ALL the 0-9 month clothes in there finally. The entire top rack is full and half the closet is double layer hanging - and full as well.

Did I mention that I have 2 stuffed bags of clothes from Mom and a big box of Minnie's clothes from Nonnie still not hung up? This baby better not turn out to be a fashion nut with all this early exposure to wardrobe choices! I can't deal with a clothes horse in my house. We're just not like that here.

Bags are getting packed, slowly but surely, for the hospital. Marti keeps mentioning it and doesn't know I keep adding things to the suit case. I even packed him a new toothbrush so he doesn't have to remember to grab his that day.

We're still chewing on a few names for the baby, but I have an idea which one it will be. Marti now says he doesn't want me to discuss it anymore with people, so from now on, mum's the word until she's born.

I fixed the printer after many months out of service. We'll be printing the announcements here after all because Kinko's can't print on pre-cut card stock. Well, they can outsource it for about $250, but that uh, kind of defeats the purpose of getting the do it yourself kit, doesn't it?

I've been feeling pretty good this week. I'm carpooling with a friend at work this week, so I HAVE TO leave work on time when we do that. I had a thought last night that my family called her and asked her to ask to car pool with me so I'd get my butt home at night instead of working so many hours. I know, that's a VERY paranoid thought and I'm really just kidding, but that would be funny, huh?

It's just as well because I have been slowly winding down these last few days. I really can't work the hours I was anyway, so it's a good time to start carpooling. We really should have done it a long time ago since we live so close to each other and work is so far.

I've been cleaning "odd" things. Well, not odd for some people, but stuff I've never cleaned here before. I made Marti clean the OUTSIDE of an upstairs window this week! (Of course it rained today and got it wet, but it still looks much better.) I'm cleaning tracks for closet doors. I vacuumed BEHIND the monster desk. Now that Joey is house broken, we can get the carpets cleaned FINALLY!!!! (That's not odd, just impossible to schedule!)

I'm throwing a shower for Jessica (due 1 month after me) so I've had this catalyst to clean the place up. I can't say if I'd already be cleaning because of the nesting or if I'm just cleaning this week. I think it's a mix of both based on the things I'm cleaning upstairs. I mean, NOBODY is going to see the closet tracks at the shower! hahaha!!! However, saying we need to clean up for the shower has had a good effect on Marti chipping in more -- even on the random things I choose to clean.

Have I mentioned this week how annoying the baby hiccups are??? I feel like my belly is a watermelon getting thunked over and over by every picky old lady produce shopper in the world!

I took some votes on the announcements yesterday and it looks like Pooh Bear is in the lead. Not that announcements have to match the nursery, but I guess Pook does go better with our outdoor theme better than the cutesy pinkish nursery rhyme ones.

I'm hitting curbs like crazy in my car now. I feel like Mr. Magoo driving sometimes!

I'm getting the feeling that I need to get my affairs in order at work in order to be ready to take the time off when the baby is born. I know I'm not due for a while, but I have this feeling like I need to be ready for it anyway.

My ankles are getting swollen this week. I think it is partly due to my new socks. They seem to bind around my leg just above my ankles. (They are short socks.) When I take my socks off, I have all these lines across the front of my ankles where it looks like my socks bunch up. It's time to switch to sandals full time I think.

Update from the doctor: She has turned and is now upside down! I start seeing the doctor every week after my next appointment in 2 weeks.

Check the Milestones page for a picture of my "WTF?!?!?!?!" moment of the pregnancy.

I got some announcements today and I'm going to show them to Marti and see what he thinks tonight. I'm still torn on what way to go with them and need to narrow down ideas here PRONTO!

Feeling pretty good again this week! Still getting a little tired, but not so fatigued. I just can't put in a 60 hour week anymore is all.

Well, I finally had to remove my wedding ring because it was getting too tight today. Now I get to run around town with a baby in my belly and no ring on my finger and see what kind of looks I get from strangers. I'm sure they'll think I'm just another unwed mother and either glare at me or feel sorry for me. Little do they know I have a lovely husband at home waiting just as anxiously for this little girl as I am. :)

I was talking to one of my students today about her pregnancy (due around the same time as me) and we laughed that we hate when the alarm goes off on the left when we're laying on our right. What a production that can turn into just to hit the snooze button!

Then we started thinking soon we won't need alarms. We'll either be up all night anyway, or just on leave and following the baby clock.

THEN we came to the conclusion that soon we will actually be MISSING our alarm clocks! If you think about it, alarm clocks wake you from a deep sleep after hours and hours in bed. But with a new baby, you're up all the time and don't get to worry about setting the alarm.

Who ever thought I'd miss my alarm and think to myself, "those were the days" when remembering an early morning alarm????

A while back Jessica and Eugene gave me a gift certificate for a pregnancy massage. Things were going so good that I decided to save it for when I really needed it. :) Well, after last week, I decided yesterday would be a good time to use that up!

It was very nice and relaxing! Even the massage table was warmed when I hopped in. (Using the term "hopped" loosely here!)

With pregnancy they have to avoid certain spots so they don't get labor going, but she said at 37 weeks they can do that on purpose if I want to get things moving. YIKES!!! That's less than 3 weeks away!

I told her I'm waiting as long as I can and giving that little baby the full 40 weeks if I can stand it.

So, for now, I got the massage that was very gentle and avoided whatever spots on my back that have a tendency to stimulate contractions.

I think the best part was when she did my feet! When I get a pedicure, I'm always ticklish, but I didn't jump once yesterday! That was a rare treat for me.

After the massage my mom and Beryl picked me up and we went to a movie in the same plaza. It was a movie I'd seen before, but welcomed the chance to see it again since I'd missed part of it while I was using the facilities, because, you know, I'm pregnant!!!! One of the little published side effects of pregnancy -- missing key parts in a movie if you go to the theater because you're peeing again!

I came home to Marti's fantasy football draft party and the guys were all well behaved and apparently hard at work picking their teams for the next season. My entire downstairs looked like a boiler room operation with these guys pouring over pages of research and computers - complete with a 40"x60" white board to record their picks.

Geeks! :)

But it was cute. They had their little helmets with logos next to each pick on the board. hahaha!!!!

I was anticipating them interrupting my sleep that night, but they were all but done with the draft when I got home and then when they played poker afterwards, all I could hear from my room was the chips. I tried hearing the guys talking and couldn't hear one peep!

Thanks guys!

Bad Week, Part Deux

Ok, now before everyone gangs up on Marti, know that he's been wonderful and I love everything he's done for me in his role as expectant daddy.

However, last night had a comical moment (and gross, sorry) when he lost his focus. I will elaborate, but here's your warning: if you don't want to read anything gross, you must stop now. I'll try to stick to the basics and only be gross when necessary.

So, we're on the way home from his birthday dinner last night and all of a sudden it hits me that I'm not done with the "other food poisoning related symptoms" mentioned in Friday's post. I was visibly pushing myself back up into my seat all the way home relaying to him whether or not I thought I could make it all the way home from Tempe or if we'd have to pull over somewhere and risk taking longer by trying to find me a restroom.

So, I'm quite uncomfortable, but doing my best to just make it home so I can do my business in peace, but it keeps coming over me in waves and I eventually feel like I'm really really no-joke not going to make it no matter how hard I try.

I finally tell him to pull off the freeway "here" because there's a McDonald's right off the exit that I know of that will suit me just fine.

He honestly asked me if I was sure I couldn't make it home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahaha!!!!!

I looked at him and as bluntly as could be, asked him if he was seriously questioning whether or not a pregnant woman with the runs and climbing up the back of her seat in the car with her guts audibly gurgling knew whether or not she really really really needed to go.

He promptly pulled off the freeway as directed, dropped me off at the door to McDonald's and dutifully waited outside. :)

At that point I didn't care where I went as long as we weren't circling a block looking for someplace open with a restroom. As long as the door to the place I was going to let go didn't have a Honda emblem on it, I figured it had to be an improvement!!!

JUST when I was thinking we were done with the bloody noses!

I woke up Saturday night with a bloody nose for no reason whatsoever.

Before now it's been MAYBE a blown nose gone bad, but if I'm asleep, what could I possibly have been doing to prompt this?

This has been a relatively bad week for me.

I missed work on Monday because I was so exhausted. Then I missed work again on Thursday for more of the same, but with extra stuff thrown in.

It's been a really good pregnancy up until this week, but this week I have endured:
1.) Not having enough energy to sit up to send an email, let alone go to work and do so all day. Forget about having a phone conversation.
2.) Headaches
3.) Backaches
4.) Pretty much everything aches and makes it impossible to sleep comfortably
5.) Waking up all night to pee
6.) Waking up at night for no reason and laying there awake for nearly 3 hours.
7.) Waking up hungry
8.) Feeling nauseated during the day
9.) Severe stomach cramp
10.) "Other" food-poisoning related symptoms that I won't go into here.
11.) Not being able to get comfortable on left side, right side, in a recliner, or propped up in bed. (Are there any other options I missed????)
12.) Falling behind at work due to not being there, yet being so tired I can't stay late to get anything done. (You all know how much that kills me!!!!)
13.) Breathlessness to the point that sitting up is even too much for me.
14.) Having a full-on break down and crying for 15 minutes just because the dog jumped off the sofa onto my foot. (What a baby I was last night!!!!)

The stomach cramp thing with the night restlessness had me thinking it could be early labor starting because I heard that's how it starts. However, the other symptoms make me think it was really just food poisoning. Well, that and the part about how I'm sitting here over 12 hours later with not one cramp since then.

Watching these baby shows on TLC and Discovery, knowing women deliver much earlier than this, and then feeling a cramp like that with less than 7 weeks to go is really a reality check though!

Oh my God I'm so tired! Good night.

I'm not sure what's going on, but that thing I thought was a stretch mark is gone now. I noticed it looked like it was sort of cracking. I used some scrubby stuff in the shower and then a little emery board afterwards to really have at it (GENTLY!) and it scrubbed off! It's been there over a week and I thought it was going to stay.

Now I'm just confused, but if I make it through without stretch marks, I'll be psyched!

As for the sleep last night - MISERABLE again! I woke up a few times as usual and then with a case of RAGING heartburn!

I really need to figure out how to deal with this. I don't want to sleep downstairs, but do we really need to drag the recliner up here for the once in a while heartburn attack? And if we do, what about when I want to watch TV downstairs with Marti? There's not room for both of us to relax on the sofa. If the recliner is upstairs, does that mean no hanging out in front of the TV anymore?

Last night was a miserable night! I tried rolling over every time I woke up, but it hurt my hips, my back, even my EARS!!!! That's right -- my ears hurt!

I'm not sure what's going on lately with that, but it seems everything that is in contact with the bed or in contact with parts that are in contact with the bed (meaning all of me!) starts to hurt if I am in one position too long.

I didn't make it to noon today without needing a nap after that bad night's sleep.

Also, my baby seems to be moving differently now. She still kicks me from time to time in that tender spot (see August 15th post) but it feels like she has been rolling over for the last day or so.

I think she's getting into position with her head down now. Wednesday, the nurse said she didn't feel a head yet, so chances are her head was elsewhere at the time and not near the birth canal yet. I've seen it in the sonograms, so I know there's a head in there somewhere! If I didn't know better, as of today, I could swear it's all arms and legs in there.

Last night there was an large obvious lump on the right side as she was situating herself. I looked very lopsided! I'm not sure, but it could have been a butt. It wasn't hard, so I don't think it was her head.

Oh, and that mark I mentioned on August 17th... I'm certain now it's a little stretch mark.

Bummer. It's starting...

It looks like a little dab of dried glue on my skin and is a little darker than the rest of my skin. It's got a little shine to it in the light.

Weird stuff. I hope it doesn't invite any friends to join it.

I forgot to mention something I've been doing lately.

Normally my belly button is an innie. Lately it's been on the verge of becoming an outie, so the inside skin that has not gotten any physical contact except from the occasional lint ball is now exposed.

Since it was not exposed before, it turns out it is quite sensitive. If I'm not wearing pants that come up over my belly, I have had to put a bandaid on my belly button to prevent chafing from my shirt rubbing on it when I move!

How ridiculous is that?!?!?!?!?!

Last night Marti came home and went upstairs to read as I watched TV from my recliner. At 3:00 AM, he came down and woke me up in front of a blaring TV! OK, so I should have gone to bed earlier, but I think I'm on to something!

I was sleeping like a baby and didn't have one bit of heartburn! I think I'm going to fall in love with that chair shortly!

I've noticed I'm getting short of breath and my arms feel like noodles even though I haven't done anything. I'm just getting TIRED! I can see now where it comes from when women in late pregnancy just want it OUT! I'm not there yet, but I know I have 2 months to go still. I can definitely see it coming soon!

I'm also still spending half my day going to and from the ladies room. I moved my office closer (just to get the vacant office with floor to ceiling windows, not really to be closer to the ladies room) yesterday and had to put in a request to have my desk lowered. The guy that was in there before me liked his desk high and it feels REALLY weird right now.

Anyway, I was thinking they should just move my computer and phone in to one of the stalls in the ladies room and I could get a lot more work done if we eliminate the 100 trips a day I have to make there.

Tomorrow we have the tour of the hospital. It's just an hour and there is no class yet, but it will be fun to see where everything will happen soon.

When we were there for the "sneak peak" class, a lullabye played on the the PA system. The nurses said that they play it every time a baby is born there! How cute!!! I guess they do the same thing at the hospital where Jane Granna volunteers.

They'll play that song for us soon!

Man! This whole time I keep thinking how soon it is coming up for me and then I think about my friend Tom! He's got just DAYS to go!!!!

Uh-oh! I think I'm getting a stretch mark just to the right of my belly button!!!! Dang it!

It's a little bit shiny, but not red (yet?) so I'm not sure if that's what it is. I hope it's not!

Last night Mom took me out with all of my aunts for a birthday feast at The Keg. (Happy birthday, Pat! Happy birthday, Beryl!) I got the baseball cut sirloin knowing that I wasn't going to be able to eat much of it, but Marti was at home and I know he can't resist a perfect medium rare steak! So, I "let her" splurge on me and I nibbled to my heart's content until I thought I was full. Well, I was full until the waitress brought up dessert!

And who am I to deprive my dear sweet baby inside of a little creme brulee? It wasn't really more food anyway since it's made with cream and egg yolks. Those are liquids originally, right? I thought of it like a big glass of milk and down the hatch it went in about 10 seconds flat!

We need our calcium, you know!

Lately it feels like my uterus has been stretched too thin on the right side where she keeps kicking me. The reason I think this is because it really does hurt when she kicks me there as opposed to anywhere else.

I have this visual of the tissue and I compare it to a hand tossed pizza dough. Imagine that one spot that you can see the light coming through and you anxiously watch the guy twirling it wondering if it will break open or not.

That's what my uterus feels like where she keeps kicking me.

On another note, it's gotten so big that it (my uterus) takes up most of my middle now. I have a hard time eating anything of substance and then find myself a bit hungry later, so I snack a lot. I've had to completely avoid pizza, spaghetti sauce, and meals after 8pm in an attempt to keep the heartburn at bay. I have a feeling I'll be sleeping in the recliner downstairs soon so that I'm a little more vertical at night.

If it's not heartburn, it feels like my stomach contents - whether it's dinner or just a drink of water - are just a little burp away from "part duex." And we all know sequels are never as good as the first one.

Dearest Baby Inside Me:
I know you are there and this kicking and scratching the inside of my uterus today will not get my attention any more than you already have. You already consume my every waking thought - and most of my sleeping thoughts, too.

So, for the good of us all, you can stop whatever it is you're doing in there and go back to the cute little bumps and nudges you were doing a couple weeks ago.

Don't get me wrong -- I love that you are in there having a good old time. It is comforting to feel you moving about. It's encouraging to know you're awake and active more than the 5-10% of the time that the newsletters say you should be right now.

However, nobody likes a show-off, so you really need to turn it down a notch now before you make it a habit. If not, you're going to end up being that kid that gets picked on by the school bully and I hear that's no fun.

Consider this you first piece of motherly advice.

KNOCK IT OFF, KID!!!!!

Love,
Your dear sweet mommy

The baby newsletters I get have just told me that the baby sleeps 90-95% of the time now. If that is true, then she's making up for lost time now when she is awake!!!!

She has been moving around SOOOOOO much this week that it seems I spend half the day just watching my belly.

I'm sleeping pretty well except for having to get up multiple times to go pee. Also, the heartburn is really getting to me now. I keep a bunch of TUMMS by the bed and a few rolls in my purse at all times now.

Also, I have to keep a snack with me in my purse. I can't eat much because my belly is so squished, so when I do eat, I get hungry pretty soon afterward.

Eating late at night is not going to work anymore, as it feels like my stomach is in my throat and one false move could bring a little dinner "revisited."

Well, I had thought we may change the name we chose from Hannah to something else, but I keep finding myself calling her Hannah, so maybe that's what it will be after all. In our minds she's already named maybe.

I can't remember the last time my toenails got any attention, but now, courtesy of Dyan, they are back in tip-top shape again!

What a treat to have them all fixed up again!!! Not to mention the massaging and exfoliating that comes with all that...

I think pedicures should be included with all pregnancies from now on. I mean, seriously! You can't see your feet when you stand, let alone get them up to where you can reach them to trim them. And you can just forget about a nice color of nail polish, that's for sure!

We're lucky to get them trimmed down far enough so that they don't poke through the ends of our socks. I even went so far as to ask Marti to help me trim them one time. Whoa! Was that a bad idea! You never realize how delicate an area that is until you trust someone else to clip for you.

Yeah, I think I'll have another pedicure before this baby is born and make sure I don't have possum claws hanging over the end of the stirrups as I give birth.

Where, oh where do my ankle bones keep going? I look down and see someone else's feet some of the time and it's very disturbing!

I'm used to seeing boney veiney feet, but instead, when they swell up, I see what looks like someone else's feet. The feet themselves don't look too bad until you see the ankles! The feet, when swollen, look just normal for the most part. However, then ankles can get pretty bad. Well, at least for someone that is used to boney ankles!

A couple of times it has gotten to the point where you could not see my inner ankle bones any more! And I thought exercise was supposed to be good for me!!!

I am officially becoming uncomfortable now. I have heartburn all the time and spent half the night last night eating tumms and peeing. If I sit up straight, I feel tired and want to slouch. If I slouch, I can't breathe and I get heartburn. I can't win!

On another note, she's been moving around almost non-stop since the middle of last week. Not a half hour goes by without at least a bump and a nudge; and most of the time it's a lot more than that! Seeing my belly rise and fall in various places from across the room is getting to be a regular occurrence.

Today was Cydney's first birthday party and it was pure insanity! I can't tell you how many kids were there, but for my taste - and patience level - it was too many. Marti and I agreed that for this little one's first birthday party, we'll invite Everett so we can say there was a kid there and then whatever family wants to show up to see her trash an entire cake on a plastic tablecloth on the kitchen floor, and then call it a day.

Maybe things change when you have kids, but 20 little ones running around screaming and yelling and having the best time of their 6-36 months on this planet was more than I can willingly subject myself to as a parent. As a guest I was able to step aside and watch it from afar, but as a parent you have to be in the middle of it.

None for me thanks! :) My hat's off to Jon and Shelley for pulling the whole thing off without screaming at the tops of their lungs even once!

Well, I am officially making other women sick! I had a feeling, but one of my students actually said it today!

She said she has a baby boy and besides gaining a BUNCH of weight, she had just about every problem in the book with her pregnancy. It was sad and funny at the same time. I'm glad she had a good sense of humor!

I hope people don't think poorly of me for saying what a good pregnancy I've been having. It's not like I'm gloating, I'm just happy about it. I speak just as freely about the bad stuff that led up to this, so I don't feel bad that this pregnancy is amazingly good and the other 2 were amazingly bad. I've earned this easy ride. :)

The funniest thing happened with the baby today! I was watching TV in bed with Marti, lying on my left side, when the baby started kicking Marti's right arm. Ok, that's not really that funny, but the next part was.

As we were watching it and watching TV in between kicks, she really started some weird stuff. It was not the quick jab kicks she usually did, but instead it was long (5-10 seconds long) presses on the side of my belly. So much so that it looked like she was raising my side up about 1-2 inches each time! Marti said on one he wasn't even watching and could still see it out of the corner of his eye.

I was laughing so hard I was crying and every time she did it, I started laughing again! It was really WEIRD!!! It was as bizarre to watch as the time the doctor flicked at a little ball of fat hanging out of a dog bite puncture on my arm. It was that same uncomfortable kind of laugh. It didn't hurt, but it really freaked me out. I told Marti it looked like an alien was going to come bursting out of there any second!!!!!

I didn't dare get up to get the camcorder, but I wish I had a clip of that to show her sometime later.

I got my glucose test results back and everything is "perfect" as the nurse said. :) Yeah!!!!

Another bit of good news is that I worked until 10:30 pm last night AND that was after spending a couple hours in the morning before work cleaning up our downstairs at home.

I still have some stamina in me, even if it is getting sporadic. Now before you start telling me to take it easy, I only work like that when I feel like it and if I just feel like stopping, I have no problem stopping if my body just doesn't want to play along.

It does feel good to still be able to get a few things done, though! :)

Another unproductive weekend. Well I did spray down the patio, but given the storm tonight, that was a fruitless effort. I came home to standing water in the back yard all the way onto the patio with little areas of what used to be dust settling in the texture, now mud.

I don't have the energy I used to. Tonight I left work as soon as my 8 hours were up. I guess that means I'm not doing a "flex" week. I took yesterday off and was going to work 4 ten hour shifts and save my sick time, but I really didn't feel like it today.

I had the glucose tolerance test yesterday and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The one on Wednesday last week made me feel sick and want to pass out. When I didn't pass that one, I got invited back for twice as much sugar, 3 times as much time spent in the office waiting, and 4 times as much blood drawn, and amazingly I wasn't feeling like a pile of dog vomit when I left there.

I actually went out to lunch and shopping with my mom and Beryl for a new dress for a couple of weddings we'll be going to in the next month. After that, Mom and Ron and I got a bite to eat for dinner. All together it was a pretty good day of hooky!

Baby was kicking like crazy last night and I had a hard time getting comfortable for the first time. I mean, I've had some joint pain in the past, but nothing that really interfered with my sleep.

Last night, between the kicking, the uncomfortable issue, the dogs, and the storm turning the power off and on for a while, I had a really hard time sleeping.

Today I am tired and want to go back to bed... really badly, too!!!! I hope this is just a fluke and the rest of the pregnancy isn't like this. I'm not ready to feel this way yet.

Today I was on the phone with a student and my other line rang. It was the nurse from my OB/GYN's office. I didn't notice the voicemail lamp until later in the day, so I didn't get the message until RIGHT AT 5:00pm when the office was already closed. :(

Of course with the tests yesterday, she said if the results are normal, we will get an automated message from their new service. However, they never leave abnormal results on the machine and always call directly. (ding ding ding!!!)

So, that can probably only mean one thing. I didn't pass the glucose tolerance test. :(

I know a million people that have had to take the follow up test and everything came out fine, but it's just the fact that I have to take the 3 hour test that really gets me down right now. I'm going to feel like total crap for hours on end in preparation for the test and in recovering from the test. If normal people are floored by the glucose roller coaster, what is that going to do to me, the hypoglycemic kid?

I have low blood sugar which I understood to be the exact opposite of diabetes, so the way I figure, test or no test, it's going to be hard for me to get gestational diabetes. I figure it's like telling an anorexic she's got high cholesterol. Sure, it's possible, but not likely. But I still have to do the test I think.

The only other thing I suspect it can be is they did also test for anemia yesterday, so it could be about that. But I don't think it is because I have been taking my vitamins so how can I have low iron? Plus my blood is as red as can be - I see it all the time! hahaha!! I guess the bloody noses serve a purpose there?

Today we met with the doctor again and it was time for the glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes. I was fine for a while, but eventually all the sugar got to me and I was in "going to pass out" mode for a while. Marti had to drive me home so I could sit it out. I didn't make it to work until noon!

That was also the last of our monthly appointments and we're officially on to the appointments every 2 weeks now.

If you are offended by bathroom talk, do not read any further on this day's posting.

Otherwise, keep reading and I swear it is not that graphic, just comical.

So, apparently, there are a lot of problems that pregnant women can have in the bathroom area, but so far, other than having to pee every 10 seconds now, I have been lucky enough to get away without any hemorrhoids or constipation. However, today pretty much sucked because all day I felt like I had to go poo, but every time I went to the restroom, I didn't have to go anymore.

I was afraid to make an issue of it and push for fear of the hemmies, so I just grabbed my purse and headed back to my desk each time.

Finally at about 4pm, after about 10 failed attempts on previous trips, I decided enough was enough and I was going to just sit there until it happened.

I no sooner sit down and, wouldn't you know it, here comes the rolling garbage can that can only mean the janitor is coming to clean the bathroom. Knock knock, and I have to answer that the room is occupied. Knowing he waits outside the door, I decide to abandon ship and make alternate plans.

So, as if that wasn't potentially embarrassing enough, I left the restroom and decide to go to another building completely to avoid the janitor situation. Sure enough, as I am walking out, the security guard asked me where I was going! (Since I had my purse on me, I think he assumed I was leaving for the day at 4pm and probably wanted to tease me since I normally leave MUCH later than that.)

Of course, the "trying to find a safe place to poo" response probably wouldn't have been well received, so I just said I was going to another building and left it at that. Thankfully he chuckled only that it was approved and let me go on my way.

I am equally thankful to say I ran into no obstacles on the way to the bathroom and was able to successfully take care of business in a nice quiet secluded restroom with no interruptions.

I've heard holding it in and trying to force it out are the 2 main problem causers in the aforementioned problem areas, so I didn't want to have to resort to that. I've made it this far without needing a donut cushion for my desk chair; I don't want to start now! ;)

OH MY GOD my belly itches today! I think this linen has wool in it! If I pull my waistband below my belly it doesn't itch as much, so it has to be the pants. But I've worn them a few times and this is the first time they've made me itch this way. WHAT is going on?!?!?!?!?!?! What cruel person made maternity pants out of itchy fabric??? What were they thinking????

I've also found myself watching WAY too many baby shows on Discovery and TLC lately. They are even on in the morning now, so I get to watch them before work. The other night I fell asleep in front of the TV and woke to a woman screaming in agony as her breech baby (and an adult human hand) were being pulled through her nether regions. I guess sometimes it's not important how you do it, just as long as you get it done and nobody dies.

Nobody would ever ask for that pain, but once it's over I don't know any mother that would say "I wish they would have just let that baby fade away so I didn't have to feel that pain." The doctor said she was afraid the head was going to get stuck if it came through backwards, so I guess that's why her hand was in there guiding the chin downwards and out.

Yeah, this is what I watch for fun these days...

Tonight I was sitting in my chair and mentioned to Marti that it smelled like tunafish. He informed me he had a tunafish sandwich for lunch that day.

Pregnancy side effects:
Itchy belly: CHECK
Bloody noses: CHECK
Heartburn: CHECK
Increased sensitivity to smells: CHECK

Today I got to watch Joey get spayed at the vet's office through a big glass observation window. COOL!

Except I got a bloody nose as soon as I sat down and it was a doozie! I went through about 4 or 5 McDonald's size napkins trying to get it under control.

I literally bled more than my puppy did while watching the surgery! The vet had a little stack of 2x2 gauze squares sitting there to dab the blood as she worked, and she may have gotten spots on about 5 of them. However, they were not soaked like my napkins were.

So, yea, surprisingly I bled more than my dog that day.

Today got off to an interesting start. I sat up in bed and felt the blood drip down my upper lip. This bloody nose thing is just WEIRD!!! Don't you normally get LOWER pressure from sitting up too quickly? Lower pressure shouldn't cause a nose bleed. Higher pressure does, right?

Oh, and for the record, my belly is officially getting hard. I used to be able to squish it a little still and thought I remembered people telling me pregnant bellies were hard, so wasn't sure what was up with that. I thought it was just my extra fat.

Well, it's hard now!

Also, I keep seeing a girl at work that is about as pregnant as I am but we haven't spoken yet. Since we haven't spoken yet, it's getting weird because we probably both know we're looking at each other's bellies all the time as we pass. hahaha! I should introduce myself, but maybe I'm a little shyer than I thought I was. I was sitting right next to her in the lunch room today and couldn't make myself turn around and say hi. It was a weird feeling for me to not be able to just start up a conversation. Maybe it's that thing they say expectant mothers do. Maybe I'm turning inward these days. Who knows?

My baby had hiccups last night! Tee hee! With all the hype in the pregnancy articles I've read, I thought they'd be more pronounced, but I barely noticed them. Maybe they get stronger later -- hence the irritation factor "they" refer to.

On another note, I slept on the toilet last night. Well, not all night -- not even close!!! I just had to get up to pee at about 3:30 am and I was so tired I shut my eyes for a bit. It was not much later when I realized I fell asleep there. hahaha!!!!

Nursery check: I was originally going to hang a shelf in the remaining corner of the nursery, but decided it's too close to the crib and I don't want the little bugger trying to grab things from it - or even grabbing the shelf itself. It just didn't seem safe.

So, I am painting cute little bugs and other creepy crawlies all over to fill the space since they can't fall off or be pulled into the crib. Marti said our kid is going to grow up an entomologist with all the bugs, but I was sure to point out there are reptiles (gecko) and amphibians (happy little frogs) also. Then you add in the birds in the tree and the various stuffed bears and mice around the room, and I think we have a pretty well rounded group of outdoorsy creatures.

Last night proved to be an interesting 4th of July! We didn't plan to watch the fireworks, but it turns out we couldn't miss them if we tried!

At 9pm I went downstairs to get a glass of water and Joey followed me.

BOOM!!! It sounded like someone lit a Roman Candle in our back yard! Needless to say, Joey panicked and didn't know what to make of that! I settled her down and went upstairs, just thinking it was some neighborhood kids getting into trouble.

Next thing I knew, they were going off like crazy! And I'm not talking the little fire cracker type that kids normally play with. I looked out the south facing window to see if I could see anything, as it's only houses to the north. I couldn't see a thing. It was as if they were directly over the house!

Obviously there was something going on, so I decided to look out the other side of the house, and sure enough, there they were! It turns out that I had a perfect view of them while sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery! So, if they do it again next year, we will have a perfect view of the fireworks from Baby's own window!

I wish I knew who put on the show. We could even hear the music when it was semi-quiet between booms. By counting the time between the visual and the audible on each firework, I determined they were about 2 miles away. That is, if the same holds true for thunder and fireworks. :)

Well, the last 2 days have been absolutely ridiculous! My baby is doing gymnastics in there ALL DAY LONG! Remember when I said she calmed down and I thought she wasn't moving around as much because maybe it was getting a little cramped in there? Not any more!

She's making up for lost belly jabs now! Seriously! Yesterday, not a half hour went by when I wasn't thinking "WHAT in the name of sweet Jesus is going on in there!?!!?!?!" Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration because I don't normally use "sweet Jesus" in conversation, but it seemed to fit in this case. Kind of like when I walked outside and was blasted by the furnace that was the first really hot day in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago. That was "sweet mother of God" day for certain! hahaha!

Blasphemy aside though, sometimes I am just shocked and amazed at how much movement can really be happening in there as well as the stamina of that little one! She's been at it for 2 days straight!

It all started with Diane feeding me some blueberries and whipped cream. Thanks a lot, Diane! hahaha!

If this is how she's going to be, and if you spoil this grandbaby, I'm feeding her blueberries and cream before sending her over to visit you when she grows up. That will show ya'! hahaha!

Ok, it's probably not a good idea to threaten the grandparents with hyper kids before the baby is even born. I take it back.

I know this is the time when Marti and I still know everything and have great confidence in ourselves, but come October, I know that gets torn out of us along with this baby and I hear our hearts forever! :) Nothing will ever be the same and we will need all the help we can get.

So Mom, Diane, and to all the rest of you around us that have been there and done that, get ready, because we're depending on you for guidance.

Can you tell I'm getting scared?

:)

The emotions are starting to kick in, as well. This morning as I was getting ready I saw Val try to play-bite Joey and all of a sudden Joey had this cute puppy face again instead of that rabid beast ready to attack look she usually has when she play-fights. It was so cute it brought a tear to my eye.

How pathetic is that?

Well, apparently not as pathetic as the crying that followed! Yup, I was bawling because my puppy had a split second of sweetness on her face.

I need to get a grip! Hahaha!!!!

I love three day weekends! I get one day to do something fun, another day to rest, and another day to get things done.

This weekend was kind of a mix between all 3, but I got to take my time knowing I could do it all.

We went to Mesa to go swimming with the doggies and it turns out that we have not just one water dog, but TWO! Joey jumps in the pool with almost the same reckless abandon that Sydney does! They even race to the ball when it's floating and you can visibly see them turn it up a notch in an effort to win.

That was the fun, then there was the rest. I had to take a few hours nap prior to going because I just didn't feel good. The rest did the trick and when I woke up, I was good as new and even swam a couple (really slow) laps in the pool when we got there.

And, we've been working on the nursery all weekend, too. Marti was very helpful in completing the shutters and the faux window project. We finished a couple of shutters that we'd made last year and then made a couple more from scratch for the faux window - and even had time to hang all four!

Next weekend I hope to make the curtain for the closet and hang it. When I picked up the thread, I got some cute flower and bug buttons to attach the tab tops with, and I want to see how that will look. I also got a curtain rod with leaf finials and hold-backs that should fit in well with the outdoorsy theme.

I'm almost done!!!!!!

All we need now is a little screaming, kicking bundle of joy and we'll be all set.

Oh my God! My hips hurt so bad these days! For the last week it's been building up, but now it's all the time when I sleep.

I have to sleep on my side, so it seems that the pressure on whichever hip I lay on is enough to make it hurt. Also, my elbows and shoulder hurt sometimes, too.

This sucks! I've never had a problem sleeping, but I can see this seriously cutting into my winks!

Just rolling over is enough to make me grumble in my sleep and then once I GET rolled over, I'm not actually sure it hurts any less. Kind of like when part of your body is asleep -- sometimes it hurts to get it out of that mode, but it's necessary.

I couldn't resist. I bought a different changing table yesterday for a smokin' price! I'm selling the other one.

I have heartburn every day now and can only take Tumms for it, which seems to make it worse!

I'm still getting bloody noses for no reason. Well, no other reason other than I'm pregnant and it's normal.

The doctor told me I have to do the diabetes test on our next visit and sent us home with a little bottle of orange stuff. I put it in the fridge for later. Marti and I both keep wanting to drink it because it looks like a little orange soda. :) I hear it's not that good though.

Oh, this test is routine, so nobody get worried. :) There's nothing wrong that makes them want to do the test, it's just part of the drill.

I can't believe I didn't write about our class on Monday night!!!! We took the "Sneak Peak" class and it was a lot of basics.

Since we don't have experience with babies, it was all good info, but I stepped aside for the diaper changing and swaddling so Marti could test his skills.

He did ok, but the nurse said the diapers need to be VERY tight across the top edge so that they don't leak all kinds of wonderful and colorful baby things all over us.

It would have been better if we had a more realistic plastic baby instead of the stuffed sack with hands, feet and a head. Our practice baby didn't bend realistically, so it was a little stiff and hard to manage for Marti, as well as all the other parents that were unlucky enough to get that model.

At least we didn't get the one with the sour look on its face.

Last night I went and helped Jess put up wallpaper border in her nursery and found myself REALLY irritated by the dogs in the car on the way there and back. I thought it was just that they kept licking me, but today I'm super tired again, so maybe the third trimester slump is coming on. I'd better get to my projects soon or they may never get done.

Funny thing is, I haven't been working as many hours this week, yet I'm more tired. It seems like the more I take on, the more energy I have. I think I'll still take it easy this week though just in case.

Besides, with the work in the back yard being done, we have to keep the dogs penned up in a different area of the house and Joey's already pulled the carpet pad out of the bathroom closet, so I need to get home to them as early as I can anyway.

Plus, it's fun to get home in the daylight hours and see the progress the guys are making on the concrete repair/resurface job. Today they started adding color to yesterday's texture and I think it's going to look REALLY nice!!!!

Maybe I'll check the weather archives later and see what the mornings are like in September and have Jessica's shower outside at our place if it's going to be nice that time of year. :) Clean up will be a breeze if it is! Just hose it down and I'll be done! hahaha!

I could visibly see my belly move this weekend -- and I wasn't even looking at it!!! It was so obvious that when I was watching TV, I could see my belly moving out of the corner of my eye!

This is WEIRD!!!

As I sneak up on the 6th month, I'm getting more "in touch" with my bladder. It seems like I have to go every 10 seconds and getting up in the middle of the night is not uncommon -- again. I don't even really feel that much pressure from the weight of this baby yet, so I can imagine it's only going to get WAY worse!!!! Let the games begin...

Until now I was concerned that I wasn't eating enough, but the doctor told me I'm doing just fine. She actually cautioned against eating anything extra on top of what I'm already eating, as extra weight in me or the baby makes delivery difficult. So, my theory that I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing until the doctor tells me otherwise still stands.

I'm not overly hungry, so I don't have to worry about curbing my appetite. Also, since I don't feel like I'm eating a lot, I still don't have to concentrate on eating any more than I already am.

That's good news and I feel better now.

She also said the little thing I experienced yesterday was nothing to worry about -- probably just my blood pressure dropped and I need to get up slowly and stuff like that. She said some ladies can't take a hot shower in the morning because they get nauseous!!! I'm glad that's not me! I'd die without my relaxing showers!!! I gave up hot baths, but long warm showers? Forget it!!!!

Although, as hot as it's been here, I could almost stand to take a shower outside with the hose and not notice the difference! (See Sunday, June 19 for outdoor bath review)

So I'm wearing the little red top that I was wearing when the random person told me I was a cute pregnant lady. :) Guess what? I got the same comment today again! I'm going to go buy 20 of these little red tops and just make them my pregnancy uniform! hahaha!

On a more serious note, I almost blacked out this morning before work. I made it to the bed to rest a bit only to be hopped on by 2 play-fighting doggies. It wasn't pretty. I had to just take it and luckily they got bored really fast and stopped. Want to hear what it feels like to have a 50 lb dog and a 20 lb dog step on your hair when you're resting??? It feels a little like this: AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

So, that's that. I feel great now so I have no idea what that was all about. It was like low blood sugar except I'd eaten breakfast already, so that wouldn't be it.

I'll have to ask the doctor about that...

Well, the closet organizer is finished and looks good. I just need to pick a curtain rod so I can make that curtain to replace the doors I removed.

The frame for the "window" is cut and I put a final coat on it before work today. Once that is dry I can put up the frame and see how big the shutters need to be to finish that up.

Let's see... I got some new hangers for the bird shelves in the tree since those keep falling down anyway. That's a small project on the list, but still needs to get done.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the little wooden "plus mark" that we'll put over the mirror to make it look more like a window. That needs to be cut and painted, too.

Make & hang curtain, hang window frame, make & hang shutters, rehang bird shelves, make, paint and mount "plus" in the window... I think that's really it and then we're done.

The ongoing saga of the patio... This fine balmy June evening I was out spraying down the patio and washing away large chunks of concrete from the top layer and the dogs decided to join in on the action. Joey was so cute biting the water, but she doesn't have that sideways trick down like Syd does. Joey bites it head on, so basically the hose sprays straight down her throat.

It was so cute in a sick sort of way.

At this point I figured they may as well get their baths outside since they were already soaked. So, bathe, we did.

Except now that it was business and no pleasure, Joey wanted nothing to do with the hose and decided to jump up on me and run around me as I was crouched down trying to wash her.

What does this have to do with the pregnancy, you ask?

Well, besides the fact that the little one inside got a nice blast of my "laughing my butt off" endorphins, I learned that I have no sense of balance now.

So, rather than finding a way to fight off a 20 lb wet puppy, I had to give in and let her climb all over me. Needless to say I got soaked, too, and hence, the laughing my butt off.

A good time was had by all.

More of the same this week. Belly is big. Baby is kicking (although a little harder last night again instead of the mild version she's been doing lately). Working on nursery again this weekend (installing closet organizer).

Absolutely nothing spectacular happened this week.

Ok, I think we made our final preparation trip to Home Depot today. Marti's had a few priceless looks on his face throughout this pregnancy, but when today's total came up, the look was not priceless. Actually, it had a specific dollar amount tied to it, and that number did not make Mr. Daddy happy today.

Ok, ok, I'll stop shopping already! :)

Braxton Hicks, meet my uterus.

http://www.juniormagazine.co.uk/module-pagesetter-viewpub-tid-5-pid-29.html

If you didn't already know, Dr. John Braxton Hicks was the guy that had these little practice contractions named after him. And boy, are we practicing a LOT these days!

I think I feel that more than I do the baby kicking.

My theory on that is the baby has less room to move around now that she's getting bigger, so she has less room to "wind up" for the swings, so the kicks are less dramatic now.

I still feel her kicking, but it's not the kind that makes me think she's going to grow up to be a kick boxer some day. Now it's more like she's stomping grapes. Come to think of it, it probably wouldn't be such a bad thing to have a grape stomper in the family. Marti would have a permanent "in" with the wine makers and he'd be a happy boy.

Anyway, I'm quite certain this feeling is Braxton Hicks because early on I remember telling Mom that I can almost feel when the baby is getting ready to kick. I imagine it is my uterus tightening up, then the baby reacts by kicking.

Or I could be imagining the whole thing. That happens when you read too many books.

ITCHY BELLY!!!!!!!

It has gotten so bad today that I pulled my tank top up, pulled my waistband down (what there is of it) and just scratched my belly like a dog scratches her ears!

All this was in my office at my desk. I didn't care!

Oils and lotions help, but MAN, some days it's just CRAZY!!!

OK, this is just getting comical! I think I'm getting my (good) cosmic payback for having had the 2 bad pregnancies because this one is going so well. I'll explain why it's funny today in just a second...

So, I was over visiting an old coworker in their new building and taking a little tour of the place at lunch today. It made me think for just a second that I wish I'd stayed with the team because the new offices are soooooo posh!!! There's landscaping with boulders and waterfalls - and the waterfalls even have mist coming out of them!!!!

Also, there are abstract canvas ramadas (pet named the poppies) outside with little eating areas tucked away here and there in a kind of snail shell pattern of walls with different seating levels joined by flagstone paths.

Why, there was even a guy sitting there on his break playing a guitar for his friends! It couldn't have been more perfect! Wish I was there!

So, anyway, as I'm awestruck and walking through this place, some random person stops us at the elevator, points at my belly and says how cute she thinks I am as a pregnant woman!

Tell me THAT doesn't feel good as I'm getting rounder and rounder!!!! :) It's been a great day so far -- and a great pregnancy all around.

And I do mean ROUND! hahaha!