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. :)