As Promised

Dueling (Seer)Suckers

A Better Belly Shot

Hippy Hippy Shake

I received my hippie wrap in the mail yesterday and immediately tried it out on the more forgiving of our two cats. Surprisingly, she seemed to enjoy it and started purring immediately. If the sling has that good of an effect on Chat Gras, hopefully it'll be good for Junior too.

I slept well last night and spent my early morning scrubbing cat puke from the wood floors. The Husband chastised me but I told him that it's what pregnant women do, we scrub floors. I only have a few more days to find something more inventive and exciting to blame the pregancy on.

I'm looking forward to the weekend even though my plans are to clean, clean, clean and oh yeah, maybe take some measures to cover some exposed outlets and nails. Naaaah.

Appointment #14 - Lead Us Not into Temptation

As hard as it was, I refused an internal exam. No one likes stirrups, it would have been uncomfortable and the bottom line is that it wouldn't have told me a damn thing. I'll get one next week though and if I make it to 41 weeks, I'll be begging for my membranes to be stripped.

I walked back to the exam room with the regular nurse and like my co-workers, she was apparently sorry to see me still around. Plus she gave some crazy story about her mother running over her foot with her wheelchair which I thought was slightly amusing but apparently it's not and requires a lot of pain meds.

Blood pressure is normal. The Doctor says that the swelling isn't "too bad" even if I can only wear flip-flops and one other pair of shoes. I didn't gain any weight which is normal. The Doctor is not anticipating a large baby unless I am hiding it (where would I be hiding a baby?). I don't know if the puppy has dropped or not, my guess is no since I haven't noticed any difference.

One look at the state of our finances this morning and I decided that there's no hurry for me to stop working. Fortunately my job comes with an office and that office comes with a door.

Other than that ... I'm stressing out about the in-laws coming and other visitors after the birth. I might surprise myself and be feeling very hospitable - who knows.

Babies Everywhere!

Oh, everyone is having their babies now. Ok, maybe not EVERYONE but a BIG CONGRATS to Baby Mama at Ready or Not!

As my husband sighed four times on the way to work today (that averages out to be one sigh per 1/2 mile), I assured him that at least he'd have a new toy to play with soon and from what I can tell, Dads really seem to enjoy their little girls. He reminded me that babies are not toys. Grump.

I have another doctor appointment this afternoon. I hate this afternoon business but since I'm scheduling one week out rather than two or even four, I can no longer grab the early morning appointments.

I am SO TEMPTED to find out if I'm dilated but I also know that whether I am or not will not tell me a damn thing. So, I'll wait one more week to get checked if she doesn't pop out by then.

Oh geez, here's another one!

Father Knows Best

Dr. Sears has this to say about the ninth month:

Anticipate being more touchy this month, and bothered by well-meaning but insensitive comments. You may feel more irritable toward your spouse, impatient with your children, and provoked by little things that normally wouldn't faze you. It's normal to be irritated and overwhelmed by all this advice and to wish people would just leave you alone and let you have (and rear) your baby your way. You may find yourself becoming very protective of your peace. This is nature's way of protecting you from outside influences that may distract you from the higher-priority event that is soon to come, conserving your energy for what's ahead. If a bit of advice is headed your way, go ahead and temporarily zone out. Even better, stay away from people who make you nervous.

Is "touchy" another word for incredibly cranky and annoyed by everyone?

Um, Then Again...

Ok, remember how I said my "Secret Last Day" was going to be August 12th? Screw that. If this monkey isn't out by next Friday, I'm not coming back in. I cannot handle anymore speculation of when she's going to pop out. One of my co-workers assumed that I wasn't coming back after THIS Friday. I see no reason to stay home when I am 100% healthy and can still take the stairs without collapsing (last week almost killed me but I'm much better now). The only reason to stay home would be to avoid people which is looking more valid every day.

Plus, if I name a last day before I go into labor, I will not have to report to the office that I AM in labor which will avoid any surprise visits at the hospital and prevent everyone from knowing what my body is doing at the moment. As much as I complain, it occurred to me yesterday that if no one showed an interest in my pregnancy, I would be upset so I just need to suck it up.

I've given my co-workers a bad rap. Most of them are good people and almost all of them mean well. However, all but two are women and women, by nature, like to get all up in yo' business especially when the pack mentality kicks in. One of the men in the office expresses sympathy by constantly asking how I'm feeling. I always say "great" but I'm going to start turning the question around and asking him the same unless he sincerely wants to know about the strong punches to my cervix that make me double over in pain.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

39 Weeks Today!

Good Things:

• Words of encouragement straight from Paris given by a friend using Fuzzi Bunz to diaper her niece and nephew.
• An A/C that works so well The Husband and I had know idea that we were enduring a heat wave here in the city (can't wait for the electric bill - ugh).
• Kitties.

Not-So-Good Things

• Choking on my own saliva and puking.
• Forgetting that The Husband does not like onions and therefore ruining his dinner (we've only lived together for six years).
• Work.

LA face with Oakland Booty

Why bother cooking mass amounts of lasagne to prepare for those days after the birth when our local Save-A-Center has two fresh salmon filets stuffed with crab for under $6.00? Why? Yum it was so good last night paired with corn and biscuits. I was beat when I got home and I promised to make dinner tonight if the husband whipped something up. He was a good sport. I know that he had a long day. Apparently my rant about gender roles the other day got to him. I must rant less.

This morning I handed him my jug of water and an apple to put by my purse before we left the house and he headed in the other direction.

"Where are you going?"
"To get a napkin for your apple."

He loves me.

:: ::: ::
We got a phone call at 3:45 AM this morning which can usually only mean one of two things and I'm the only preggo that I know. Turns out it meant a third thing: Junk Fax. That's right folks! Now I'm going to have to hook up the computer to a phone line in order to receive the fax so that I can hunt this assholes down and kill them. We've been through this before. The phone company is less than helpful.
:: ::: ::
I had a nice chat with my neighbor, Gary, last night. He was drunk again but he's a good guy who has a good job and I know that he looks out for me in my "current state". Besides, he's delivered babies in the Army so he might come in handy. He's excited for us.

We have a nice front porch and I was lamenting yesterday that once the baby is born, I will probably retreat to the backyard for fresh air. We used to have furniture on the porch but we had to remove it - not because it kept getting stolen but because it kept getting sat on by one of the neighbors. He would plop down next to our door, ask for money or a cigarette and fall asleep. We've tried our best to discourage this behavior by not giving him anything. This came to a head one night when we refused him hot sauce and black pepper for his dinner and it promptly ended up splattered on our front door. He's a mean man. I'm not afraid of him physically but he has very little regard for people's property when he gets angry. I'm just waiting for him to cross the line again because I won't think twice about calling the cops... or Gary.

A friend of ours recently pointed out that all of the people that hang around in the street outside of their houses on our block brings down our property value. I quickly pointed out that it's because of these fools that we were able to afford our property in such a great location.

:: ::: ::
I tried the Baby Bjorn on last night and felt like I needed an engineering degree. I figured it out eventually and look forward to using it. My sling should arrive tomorrow. The cats will enjoy being test subjects.

Although I am against unnecessary medical interventions, I've been pondering the idea of membrane stripping. I know that my doctor offers it. If I am not even to term yet and thinking about this wackiness, what's going to happen in another week?

I'm probably just jealous of Beth.

Back that Ass Up

I've been half-heartedly training a backup in the office for the time that I am out on maternity leave. There are very few activities that I do daily - or even weekly so it's fruitless to teach them once to only have them forgotten. Besides, the woman who had the job for 16 years before me still works here and is easily reached.

It has been announced that my backup, who is crazy - no kidding, will be having her tonsils removed while I am on maternity leave (or will be going on vacation or to jail - you never really know with her) so I have to train two more backups. My boss expressed concern that so many hands touching the work could muddle it up. Yes, it could and undoubtedly will. However, it took all that I had to keep from saying, "not my problem 'cause I ain't coming back." I like my boss and I'm sorry that it will be problem for her but I'm not sorry to leave my job.

I just have to find some way to keep hanging in here for another week or two or three.

:: ::: ::
I did not do the photo shoot that I was planning to do over the weekend for final belly shots. But I am happy with what I did accomplish and that included organizing baby stuff the the 37th time. I just have a need to touch everything over and over again. Compulsive? Yes.

It took me until about 34-36 weeks along before I started to think about the baby outside of the womb. Up until that point I was obsessed with the pregnancy and labor. Now I'm wondering if the diaper pail is too far from the changing table and if the nearest Starbucks is too far to walk to with an infant.

I buckled this morning and bought a sling. I registered for a Baby Bjorn but hadn't received one and a friend said that she was going to send me hers that she never used (something about Austin Powers and Mini Me that made her uncomfortable).

In the meantime, I'm wondering if Baby Bjorns are comfortable for big breasted women or if it would look stupid on me, like overalls.

SO I decided to buy a Maya Wrap - just in case. Hopefully The Husband will not be opposed to giving it a whirl.

UPDATE: I spoke too soon. Upon arriving home from work, I found a package at my door with one Baby Bjorn or "Mini Me" enclosed.

Done!

THE GREAT WASH is now completed. My cloth diaper tower is assembled and the changing area is stocked. We are slowly checking things off the list ... or rather I am slowly checking things off the list. The Husband's job for the day is to install the car seat.

We had a cloth diapering demo earlier (check out Pooh Bear below). I think that we have the basics down for diapering inanimate objects.

WAITING FOR BABY

Boy, this picture really exhibits how smudged the mirror is. Don't worry, I'll get on that immediately. I also now have to wash the changing pad cover - again.

Appointment #13 - Second Guesses

Everything checked out beautifully. I even lost a pound after eating ice cream for dinner two nights in a row and a huge lunch today. Last week, The Baby's heart rate registered around 150 which my doctor said, "is a good girl heart rate." This week The Baby was pumping at 130-140 which is in the other direction. The perinatologist who did the ultrasound around 18 weeks said it was a girl but I've told myself all along that it's not 100%. Now granted, there's not much medical stock put into the heart rate thing but if my doctor is second guessing, I start to too.

Then again, Nino, our Sicilian pizza man, said that I am "carrying high" and therefore it's a girl. He has to be right - Old Sicilian Wive's Tales and all.

I've said before that I'm not opposed to dressing the fellow in pink. Besides, I have a boy name that I'm very partial to.

Last Night I Dreamt

The Husband has been working his butt off lately and is at that point that we all reach where we are fed up with our jobs from time to time. I tell him that it's cyclical and he'll move past it but in case he doesn't, I need him to continue working there for the next few months for obvious reasons.

As I sat down for lunch yesterday, I thought that he might get an earlier vacation than intended as I had a good three or four contractions. They subsided without progressing but BOY was that a wake up call. I have no other labor symptoms so they were merely practice.

I haven't been exempt from crazy vivid dreams during this pregnancy. My dreams are usually wacky but I have tended to remember them more clearly during the past few months. I feel like I spent all last night dreaming. So many dreams. I only wish that I could remember them well enough to find a common thread. I've only recently begun dreaming about the baby and thankfully they're not anxiety dreams (sometimes I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking that I haven't completed an important exam for college graduation ... seven years ago).

Today we have a farewell luncheon for one of our workers. She's been here for about twenty years and manages our properties as well as oversees our programs. She's moving on to take care of our city's beautiful oaks. I'm sorry to see her go. She must be at the end of her rope here. She told me once that one of her favorite memories was when we were hiking at one of the camp properties and got caught in the rain. I was so happy then just to be outside of the city and in the woods that I didn't mind getting soaked. It's a good memory for me too. I'd be more disappointed in her departure if I wasn't planning on leaving myself.

I have a doctor's appointment later. She doesn't do internals unless asked, other than when she does the Strep B test. I'm tempted to request one but it'll only frustrate me to know that I'm not getting anywhere or if I know that I'm sitting at 3cm, 75% effaced for three weeks. It's a no win situation and it involves stirrups. So, I'll just keep waiting.

Where I List My Woes and Lack There Of

38 Weeks Today!

Gulp.

At least now when people ask when I'm due I can easily say "two to four weeks" rather than an exact date. Cause ya know what? I don't expect her on time. I know I'm gonna be mighty ready to give birth by the time she decides to enter this world. How do I know? Have you met my husband?

I spent yesterday evening feeling guilty about the three Fuzzi Bunz sent to me in error a couple of days ago so I emailed Cotton Babies to notify them. Apparently, the owner was on her way to give birth when she emailed me back. That is another hazard in dealing with home businesses - those women are always having babies! Hopefully I'll get to keep the diapers.

I wanted to have a picture for today but I was too lazy and The Husband didn't get out of work until 10PM last night. I'll post one within the next couple of days.

Symptoms:
*The pains have subsided since last week to some degree
*I am mucho tired
*Carpal Tunnel under control
*Hunger nausea in the mornings
*Puking ensues if I only eat potato chips for dinner
*I feel icky if I don't eat veggies during the day
*Swelling in hands, feet and throat?

Somehow I've managed thus far to avoid some of the nasty symptoms that have to do with bathroom breaks. I have no back pain and I'm sleeping relatively OK. I am thankful daily. I haven't peed my pants... yet and no sign of unsightly veins.

Oh, and this PUPPS thing? It just sounds horrible. I'd be clawing the baby out of me.

Mr. Postman

I love mail. I drove to the Post Office today to pick up a package on the way to work. Our mailman doesn't leave packages on our porch when we are not home because we live in the ghetto. Instead, I get little orange notices. Today I received my next to last order of cloth diaper supplies which included some hemp and cotton pre-folds. This means that I can start THE GREAT WASH this weekend. THE GREAT WASH will consist of cleansing large amounts of baby clothes and all of the diapers in hot water with hippie, chemical free soap. Some items, like hemp inserts, will be washed SIX times for maximum absorbency.

THE GREAT WASH will have to wait until I get our other laundry done which just keeps piling up because I am very lazy and have better things to do like beach myself on the couch and eat ice cream sandwiches.

:: ::: ::
I've heard women say that they miss being pregnant. I'm not sure that I will. I can't blame people for glancing at my belly, I know that I did it to pregnant women too but it's unsettling. I know that it will never cease to amaze me when The Baby moves inside me. No matter what is going on around me, my attention is devoted to my rolling alien. I can do without my resurfacing first trimester symptoms including acne and a slight resurgence of morning sickness. I also don't like being achey and helpless. I've been moaning the loss of use of my stomach muscles for weeks now but it's pretty cool that my gut sticks out further than my boobs - no small feat. All in all I've had it pretty easy but again, to miss it? We'll see.

Reviews

Since I have very little to do all day, I am able to research a gazillion sites and find the ones that I want to buy stuff from. I have learned that smaller companies might move more slowly than Amazon and the orders might get a little screwy. I thought that I'd provide a few reviews of some popular homegrown businesses.

My first task was to research cloth diapering systems and then pick the one that seemed to suit me best with no hands-on experience. Illogical, at best. However, I decided to go with Fuzzi Bunz and set out to find the best bang for my buck. After looking at many sites that offered free shipping and/or free inserts with the purchase of each diaper, I narrowed it down to two sites, Mother Eve and Cotton Babies.

I really liked the ease of use of Cotton Babies' website and how professional it looked. They also have a large selection of goods that they offer. However, after a few unanswered emails, it was the lack of customer service that pushed me over to Mother Eve. If I was having problems with $15 diapers, I wanted someone to give me immediate support.

Over at Mother Eve, free shipping is offered for Fuzzi Bunz as well as a free cotton insert. Their packages are great and the best prices out there that I've found. In addition to the cost savings, Mother Eve offers free All Together Pre-folds or Joey Bunz inserts with the purchase of multiple diapers. I have placed several orders and each was satisfactory. It is obvious that they take great care to ship items in a timely manner and they seal the orders in plastic to secure them in the package. One recent order was delayed due to a backorder of a particular color diaper, because of this my free cotton inserts were upgraded to hemp.

Mother Eve has a small but growing collection of merchandise. The only drawback that I have found is the website. I did register with them but people who tried to access the gift registry gave up. It's not really user friendly yet but they are working on it.

Recently I did have the need to make a purchase at Cotton Babies. I figured that it might benefit us to have a backup system to the Fuzzi Bunz for the early days and for days when we simply don't get the laundry done. Cotton Babies has a large selection of Diaper Covers. Because I am totally winging it on reviews alone, I purchased a couple of Snappis, two newborn Proraps Classics and a small Bummis Super Whisper Wrap (who can resist the frogs?). The Bummis wrap and the Snappis were shipped off immediately but the Proraps were on backorder. I emailed yesterday, about a week after placing the order, to check the status and got a response today saying that they should be shipped from Cotton Babies on Thursday. In the meantime, I received a package from Cotton Babies with three small, white Fuzzi Bunz diapers inside. Was this a shipping error? Generous Lagniappe? I'm not sure but I'm not inclined to ask just yet...

The third company that I've dealt with was Nurtured Family. I read that Bravado Bras were great nursing bras and Nurtured Family had the best deal. The bras were shipped with free breast pads very quickly. However, I ordered two styles in two colors and they reversed them. I emailed the next day to see how to return the items. I was immediately shipped an UPS shipping label for the return and replacements. The exchange was quick and customer service was very good.

I almost forgot about the last company - probably because there were no problems whatsoever! I ordered a Co-Sleeper Leg Extension Kit from Baby Bungalow. Good prices, quick shipping and no hassles.

Hopefully this is somewhat helpful to someone out there. In only a few weeks I will be giving a first hand account of cloth diapering. I'd like to say that everyone has been supportive of my choice to cloth diaper but mostly I get a lot of negative comments like, "So and so tried it and quit after a week" or "Miss X said that you won't last" or "Ewwwwww." The Husband even thanked people at the shower for not buying us cloth diapers. I was pretty much under the impression that he was going to humor me until I gave up. He became more supportive the other day when I assured him that I would do the washing.

Secret Last Day

I'm tired from lack of sleep and work isn't going so well today. I'm actually clearing a bunch of stuff off my desk that's been pushed aside. I'm enjoying the fact that I have work to do but I feel awkward and conspicuous. I'm very much looking forward to not coming back here.

I plan on working up until the end ... whenever "the end" is. In order to console myself, I have an unofficial last day just to keep me going. It's Friday, August 12th - a safe nine days after my due date.

The way I see it, if I make it to nine days overdue then the last place I need to be is where I'll be constantly asked why I'm still there.

Mother's Tired She Needs a Rest

I had a good weekend. We got a lot done and I got my way when it came to furniture placement. This is no big surprise, however, since I am married to a lawyer I had to list all points and counterpoints in order to make a good argument. Despite my long list of reasons, it really came down to aesthetics and that a four poster bed looks better behind French Doors in a red room, period.

Our huge 14,500 BTU A/C was installed. This task involved a lot more consternation than anticipated. However, now that we have it, I have nearly forgotten what it's like to sweat while sleeping.

We moved the bed into the second room. Although I'm not crazy about the layout, there was really no other good solution when considering the addition of another being to our household; a being with A LOT of gear and needs. I set up the co-sleeper immediately and the cats seem to be enjoying it. They are pleased that we have provided them with such a nice bed of their own where they will not be kicked in the middle of the night.

Because of the new A/C installation, the family is together again. During hot weather, the cats search out the coolest place in the house and now the coolest place might as well be the bed. Unfortunately the cats take up a lot of space and compete with The Husband, me, my belly and my four pillows.

Here is a layout of our tiny home. It's 1/2 of a duplex and referred to as a Double Shotgun. It's typical of New Orleans architecture. The other half is mirror image of ours. This is where The Tenants live. It's small but we bought at a good time and we have a great backyard. One day I would like to convert it into a single family home but for now we will enjoy our ridiculously low share of the mortgage. I also keep reminding myself that there are families of six that live in the same amount of space on our street.

Thank You's

Thank you to The Husband for waking me up last night and informing me that I was snoring, thereby making me fret every time I neared sleep. Any sleep that I could have attained after 2:30 AM was merely superfluous anyway.

Thank you to out-of-towners for scheduling visits during my due date window. No pressure there. Don't worry, I had no plans to spend quiet, uninterrupted time with The Husband for the first week that we bring The Baby home. Thankfully they're not staying with us but if my husband ends up on Bourbon Street, there will be papers filed.

Happy Monday!

Appointment #12 - Just Call me Big Bird

I spent yesterday morning with 500 little people dressed in pink explaining to them small group by small group how to make their bones strong.

"What can we drink to make our bones grow?"
"Water?" "Milk?"
"Milk, very good. Milk has calcium to make us strong. What can
we eat to get calcium that is made out of milk?"
"Cows?" "Carrots?"

You get the picture. It was cute and I was able to duck out early for a doctor appointment.

:: ::: ::
My appointment went well. My numbers "looked good." Now me an' Doc are just waiting.

:: ::: ::

It was after the appointment that I caused a lot of trouble. First I was off to make some returns. The Husband and I received THREE of one baby item. So, off to Babies "R" Us I ran to get a pad for the changing table and a few kimono tees. When I got there I of course remembered that receiving blankets were on sale and I definitely needed some waterproof lap pads. And oh! The baby book - we still needed one of those. Needless to say I spent a lot of dough. BUT, considering I hadn't bought much up until this point, I feel pretty good about it. It was VERY hard not to buy clothes. I have yet to buy an outfit because The Baby has so many.

As I was picking out the tees I was struck by the oddity that I would be dressing this baby in a few weeks and that I would be shopping for her clothes regularly. This is a no brainer for most people but for me she won't be real until she's out or even at our home.

Despite the amount of money spent at Babies "R" Us, I was not to be thwarted from my trip to Target to buy the following:

409
Scrubby Things
2 Shower Curtain Liners
Shower Curtain Rings

Yeah. Well, I can't leave Target without a full cart SO The Husband got three new pairs of pants, some t-shirts and toiletries. The toilet got a new seat. I definitely needed a new clothes drying rack and fingernail clippers for The Baby. There was so much more...

I am no longer allowed access to our checking account.

:: ::: ::

Finally, I returned home exhausted. However, I immediately went to task putting everything away. There was a knock at the door and I knew it was The Tenants and I couldn't deal with them so I continued my business while tip-toeing around the house and trying not to step on the noisy floor grates like the mature landlord that I am. I decided to hang the new shower liners which couldn't be done without scrubbing the tub which turned into a whirlwind of Softscrub and Windex. The inside of our toilet has never looked so clean. What, me nesting?

Covered in sweat, I knew my gig was up when there was another knock at the door while I was standing two feet from it. The Tenant was informing me that "Good News" their latest problem had been taken care of and that we do not have to purchase a new washer to accompany the new dryer we bought last week.

:: ::: ::

Oy. It's Friday and this weekend will be dedicated to moving furniture and getting situated. Maybe we should look into installing that car seat... By next weekend all of the Fuzzi Bunz should have arrived and I will be washing baby stuff with my new hippie soap. Fortunately it's all small so an entire wardrobe can be done in about one load. With my due date just over two weeks away, I no longer have to keep myself from turning the house upside down to prepare for the baby. My poor husband. My poor, poor, darling husband.

Happy Full Term Day!

37 Weeks Today!

Wow. I've been here 45 minutes and no one has mentioned anything about my pregnancy. This is fantastic! After consulting two recently pregnant co-workers, I realized that I was putting up with way too much from the office including sexual position advice and waddling comments from women who waddle when they are NOT pregnant.

The bottom line is that I don't share much about my personal life at work. I have friends for that and I realized long time ago that it takes a special connection to remain friends outside of a job. I'd rather share my life with complete strangers via the internet - at least there's less gossip to get back to me.

It's hard for me reconcile that something so personal and private between me and my husband is out there for the office to comment on. I waited nearly fourteen weeks to announce the impending arrival which was as long as I could without bursting but I certainly don't give weekly updates. If someone asks me, like they did one of my predecessors, if I've started dilating yet during a total staff meeting, there will be trouble. If my co-worker accuses me when I return from a doctor appointment of just having a "nooner" one more time, it's getting reported.

So, my recently pregnant co-workers have given me the right to be more "salty" and if anyone gives me any guff, I am to direct them to the new mommies.

:: ::: ::
Two Bite Brownies from Whole Foods are to die for.

:: ::: ::
The Husband and I are pretty much set for The Baby (I mean, as much as we will ever be). There are a few things that I need to pick up including a changing pad, some waterproof pads and a few tees to get her through the summer. We are getting the crib as a gift and there is no hurry to install that since we have the co-sleeper. The stroller and Baby Bjorn can wait.

I ordered some final cloth diapering goodies yesterday. I've ordered all of the diapers that I'll be needing in the smaller size and will order larger sizes as we go - just in case. I keep going to the Happy Tushies website and drooling over the fabric choices. I'll probably buckle today and buy a few more goodies.

I will be begging a couple strapping young men to assist my husband in some furniture moving this weekend and the installation of an additional a/c window unit. THANK GOD.

Tidbits

Listening to NPR on my way to work is hazardous to my health. Sobbing while driving was not what I had planned for today.

I quickly adjusted my mood when I walked into the office and the receptionist remarked on how pregnant I looked. I put up with a gazillion similar comments yesterday graciously but as I said to my husband, "heads are going to roll" if it starts in today. I don't care if they blame the hormones but I don't need daily updates on how big I'm getting when I'm here to get what little work I have to do - done. Grrr. Oh! And the waddling! When I sit for a while and then stand, I waddle the first few steps due to the INTENSE PAIN IN MY CROTCH. The receptionist thinks my gait is cute. I'm doing my best not to throw office supplies.

Despite my mental instability, I am looking forward to a good day. I wrote eight million thank you notes yesterday so that's done with. The steroid shot that I got in my right hand last week has helped significantly with the carpal tunnel on that side. That was the worse one. My left (dominant) hand was sore last night but probably because of all of the thank you notes.

The baby was having another dance party last night and The Husband and I watched my belly as it rippled.

The Husband and I also caught Six Feet Under last night and my only advice to Claire is to buy a pant suit and suck it up. My advice to Billy is to cool it or the writers are going to kill him off just like they did Lisa when they didn't know how to resolve her character. And George, poor crazy George. Bah, it's the final season anyway.

Shower Power

Hooray! We had our shower! The weather did hold a few people back but there were plenty of my favorite folks there so I consider it a success! The hostesses did a fabulous job and went with a duck theme. There was so much food and sangria. I had my own special fruit punch that was delicious.

The most impressive gift that I got was from The Good Doctor and KK. Not only did they supply me with a tasty looking bottle of rum for post delivery but The Good Doctor actually set foot in a Babies "R" Us and left with a breast pump.

I also got some other fabulous things like a baby bath and enough soap to last for at least five years, a Boppy, loads of bottles and a baby chair.

The shower was co-ed and I think that it went well. It was most comfortable for me that way just to have The Husband with me and since there was only one mother (actually grandmother) in attendance, most of us were not terribly baby savvy people. The men might have been a little uncomfortable during the gift opening but otherwise it was a normal low key party with yellow cupcakes.

A special shout out to Kristy and Alicia for being SuperHosts. The shower meant a lot to me since I'm so far from my family. I think that the baby is trying to break loose today via my ribs.

Danger, Will Robinson!

I'm compiling a large mix of music that I might want to listen to during labor. It's an eclectic collection of moods ranging from Babes in Toyland to Cat Stevens, from Jane’s Addiction to Charlotte Church. It's five hours of music. A lot of these songs have a memory closely attached to them already. However, I am sensing danger if I actually play these songs during labor. What will happen to my psyche if I associate the theme song from Amelie not with a Parisian accordion player on the last day of our honeymoon but with intense pressure and pain? Conversely, it might be strange to think of my daughter every time I hear My Adidas by Run DMC or worse, Britney's Toxic.

Friday

"You haven't had that baby yet?" Not Normally a Stupid Co-Worker

It's WAY too early to start with that nonsense. I just ignored her. I think that my boss set her straight.

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This blog entry reminds of what a terror I was the other day. The Husband kept putting off accompanying me to Home Depot to pick up a newer larger AC so I decided I would do it on my own and just ask the helpful Home Depot crew to load it into my car. If only it were that simple. After purchasing the AC with the assistance of two employees to load it onto the cart, I found another employee to help put it in the car. It wouldn't fit so we opened the box to remove the extra packaging. It was during the removal of the unit from the box that I was responsible for the maiming of one very helpful Home Depot employee. He sliced his finger on a vent and went inside to fill out accident reports in triplicate. I was left waiting outside for some time until two more employees came out to help me. Did I happen to mention that it was pouring? It was. The AC made it into the car. I made it home. The Husband got it into the house and onto the living room floor where it has been sitting for nearly a week now. It is a very expensive cat perch.

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I've slept well two nights in a row. I am very thankful for this.

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Another fabulous present arrived in the mail yesterday. This is currently serving as our second very expensive cat perch:

Speaking of expensive cat things, over a year ago I bought one of those fancy litter boxes because I was insane and feeling wealthy at the time. It died when the power was turned back on yesterday. My husband will now have to manually scoop poop for another month.

Open Letter

Dear Dennis,

You're really cramping my style. First of all, The Husband and I went on vacation LAST week and cannot afford another trip especially when the closest available hotel rooms are in Houston for christ's sake. Secondly, I'm not sure that you know this, but I'm pregnant and have been looking forward to my baby shower for MONTHS now. MONTHS! You indicate that you will be heading for the coast on the day of my shower.

Furthermore, it doesn't even look like you are going to hit the city but you know how people are - they leave at the drop of a hat. This means that no one will be around to even attend my shower. I just left a message with a family friend's answering machine promising not to give birth in their living room if they agree to house us Sunday night. They don't live far from here but at least they're out of the city.

Can we strike a deal, Dennis? You continue to head eastward and leave my fair city alone and maybe we can put your name on the shortlist of naming possibilities. Of course, we're having a girl so what do you think of Denise? Dennisha? Denniqua? Drop me a line. And hey, if you could go easy on Pensacola that would mean a lot to me too.

Sincerely,

Kelly

Appointment #11 - Husband Included

36 Weeks Yesterday!

My doctor appointment went well. I dragged The Husband along with me so that he could meet The Doctor at least one more time before delivery. My Group B Strep test came back negative so that's one less thing to worry about. The Doctor gave us the low down on hurricane evacuation which is to evacuate if mandatory. We are welcome to sit in the Labor and Delivery waiting room but the cats are not. The Doctor confirmed for me that The Baby's head is indeed where it should be and not breech.

I asked when to call ... heavy bleeding ... water breaking ... and at the 4-1-1 mark (contractions 4 minutes apart, lasting one minute for an hour).

As for hurricane Dennis, it looks like it's going to hit Florida and Alabama. Of course, it's still far out in the Gulf but I ain't worried. I'm just worried that no one will be in town for my baby shower on Sunday!

This is why Kat stopped posting in my comments! Congratulations!

Cindy Lou Who

Cindy really did a number on the city. Unlike the overhyped storms that come through with news reporters standing in the Quarter under light rain speculating what would happen if we were submerged under 30 feet of water, this storm seemed to go underreported. Then again, I haven't had power for 36 hours and counting so I might not be a good source of information.

This was easily the worst storm that I've seen in my five years here and although our tenant's reported a new leak in the roof and an aged antennae was ripped from the side of the house, I think that we got off pretty lucky. I drove The Husband by a huge tree that was torn down blocks from our house. Fortunately it didn't land on a car nor another home.

Living without electricity hasn't been that bad. It's just frustrating because it's so spotty and until we drove around the city last night it felt like we were the only block without power. Since our problems with the refrigerator, I've been concerned about what little food we have going bad but we did manage to find ice last night along with a small radio to listen to our AM talk shows.

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I have a doctor appointment later today and The Husband is coming along since he's only met my doctor once before. I'll probably post later.

More Moaning

The Husband and I had a really super weekend. The Inn/B&B that we stayed at was large enough that it didn't feel like we were invading someone's home. There were several other guests staying there and pretty much everyone kept to themselves except for one wacky Pensacola couple but they were alright.

It was so good to leave the city. I hadn't seen The Husband in that good of a mood for a long time.

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Our baby shower is this weekend. I'm very much looking forward to seeing people that I don't get to see often enough. After the shower The Husband and I will be moving into high gear to get the house in order - although I'm not sure that he's aware of this plan. It may be worthwhile to hire someone to boss around for the day rather than try to negotiate with The Husband but we'll see.

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One good thing about carpal tunnel is that it distracts me from all other pregnancy symptoms! At my doctors suggestion, I made an appointment with an orthopedist for Friday. Surgery is not an option nor something that I would want, however, my OBGYN said that a cortisone shot would be fine and would do nothing to The Baby except further develop the lungs. I still have a lot of questions for the Orthopedist at my appointment but if a couple of steroid injections could kill the pain until I deliver then it might be worth it. I spoke with my uncle last night who's a chiropractor and he suggested acupuncture to manage the pain. I'll be looking into that today as well. Most of the time I just feel like a gimp; especially when I wake up in the morning or when The Husband has to carry something for me because my fingers go completely numb. I can type without a lot of discomfort but writing by hand is taxing.

This whole thing is incredibly frustrating because I'm usually very good with pain and we don't even keep pain killers in the house. Carpal tunnel sucks, dude.

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Triplets!

Pay Back

"You don't even look pregnant today. You look like you are going camping." Sensitive Co-worker

What the? Thanks. So I look REALLY fat today. Thanks.

That's what I get for the previous post I guess.

By the way, someone has the hiccups and it's not me - or is it? This could lead to a very big debate. It's freaking me out just to think about it.

P.S. Further proof that my office is crazier than most crazy offices: Previously mentioned Sensative Co-Worker finished taking bets on what fanciful lies another co-worker would return from vacation with - in the running; 1. new beau; 2. moped accident; 3. horseriding accident; 4. friend in jail.

Hermit

I was raised to be polite and I was raised to respect my elders. Because of this, I am appalled at my behavior in this office from time to time.

• Our receptionist, for example, has been here for over a year. She talks constantly. The only way to excuse yourself from a conversation with her is to literally turn your back and walk away. She'll keep talking even while you are out of sight. It took me about 7 months before I reached the walk away point. Occasionally I'll get trapped in the bathroom but it's a small price to pay.
• The person in charge of our "retail division" is notorious for trapping people in the lunchroom. I can be eating my lunch alone with my nose in the paper and she will still yap about how many times she was up in the middle of the night. I've experimented with the height at which I hold the paper while she is talking. Does it make a difference if I completely cover my face from her view with the paper? Does she realize that I am not interested in hearing about vet visits? Apparently not.
• Yesterday I literally turned my back to someone who wouldn't leave my office. I turned to face my computer and started working. She kept talking. She even came around to the side of my chair in order to try and face me.

I know I sound completely anti-social and despite introverted tendencies, I'm really not. These women are THAT insane. A couple of months after starting here I removed the extra chair from my office so that people would stop coming in and sitting every time they brought me paperwork. And I wonder why I can't get a promotion...

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I slept well last night. I even woke up at one point to use the bathroom and said, "wow, my hands aren't even numb." Of course, that jinxed it because all I could think about were my hands. When The Husband came to bed he not only had to fight me for space but for his pillow as well. Apparently the three that I have for myself were not enough.

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Two more hours of work then I get to leave this crazy town and it's a good thing since my co-workers just reminded me what festival is this weekend. It's impossible to get anywhere and most of our neighbors get drunker than Mardi Gras. Oh yeah, and the shootings, those are fun too. Then again, there's been so many murders within the past month or two that maybe an influx of tourists will cool things off. Then again, maybe not.