Party Time!

Today, a friend of mine threw a shower for me in West Bend. This was an unexpected offer, and it really touched me. Since a good portion of my friends are male engineers, I never expected such a surprise. She did a wonderful job with everything, and knowing some of what her schedule entails, I know it couldn't have been easy to get everything lined up for the day. I can't thank her enough for thinking of me in this way and being a valued and trusted friend throughout quite a few discussions and events. Buddies like this are hard to find.

The group of women that came to the shower, too, were awesome! Some I hadn't seen in too long! Two of my college buddies even made the trek from IA, one of which is due 2 days before I am! We had a good time talking about kids, parenthood, the changes that happen throughout this whole process, and miscellaneous other things which, like things in Vegas....will stay at the shower. ;)

I want to truly thank everyone that came, and everyone that took the time and trouble to bring or send gifts and diapers to the Peanut. He/she appreciates each and every one, and will soon be here to thank you him/herself! Everyone has been so generous! It wasn't until about two years ago that I really appreciated how special having a baby is, and why people would want to celebrate this with you. I hear that once Peanut comes, I will truly appreciate what joy a baby can bring and that will help me better understand why everyone is so happy when those they know come to expect their own Peanut.

Here's a pic from the shower of me opening a 'survival kit' for the changing table. Note that I am holding ear plugs....I'm sure that we will use them too!

OB Appointment #9

Today marked my 8 month appointment to the doctor. Earlier this afternoon the nurse called me to let me know that Liz, my doc, had gone home with the stomach flu that's been making the rounds up here. Luckily, the PA in her department (whom I'd never met) was able to fit me in this afternoon. I didn't mind since it was just a routine appointment, and she seemed nice. Baby and belly were both growing as they should. He/she is still head down, but now all the limbs and pointy equipment is on the left, which makes my right kidney breathe a sigh of relief! In the last 5 or 6 appointments, the baby's heart rate has been pretty consistent. This afternoon, however, they must have been excited about something! Heart rate was up a few BPM to 169. I'd had a swig of soda on the way to the appointment, so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it or not.

I've been noticing a difference in the movements of Peanut lately. Not in the amount of movement, they are as active as ever, rarely resting more than a half hour or hour or so at a time. Instead of so many kicks and wallops though, I get more and more sliding and wriggling movements...which are totally weird. There must still be enough room in there to get a few good swipes in though....I still get a good wallop from time to time. These days, however, they make my whole belly move. Dan has finally felt a couple of these monsters. It's hard to believe someone so small can cause that much movement!

After my appointment today, I filled out the paperwork to pre-register at the hospital so I wouldn't have to worry about it when I go in April. As I was sitting in the waiting room and filling the sheets out, Peanut was having a wonderful time making my Brooks Stevens polo shimmy, dance and shake. There were a couple of older kids (5 and 7 or so) waiting for their mom to see her doc watching the tv. The younger one caught my belly movement out of the corner of his eye and nudged his sister. They both watched my shirt dance and started giggling, then the younger one asked his sister if mom's tummy would start doing that too. I winked at them and nodded as I got up to turn in the paperwork.

It's been a rough couple of weeks for me here. Not with the pregnancy and Peanut so much...all is good there....but with work stuff, how I've been feeling and a few other misc. things. One of my sisters knew this, and decided to brighten my day. Yesterday in the mail, I received a box. Upon opening the box there was a detailed letter telling me how to proceed thru the box and all it's treasures. To brighten my day/week....one of my sisters had sent me a "shower in a box." It was so clever (it came complete with confetti!), it made my week! I told her that she should start an Internet site making different 'parties in a box' for people to order and customize! What a fun product line that would be...think of the possibilities! :D

Insomnia and Infant Class

Last night, Dan and I attended a 2 hour class for newborn care that supposedly took us through the first six weeks of their lives. It was a good class, certainly nothing earth-shattering was covered, but there were some things that I hadn't thought about before....like not burping a newborn on your shoulder until they have some head control because their little heads can bop around too much. The slides of what NEW newborns actually look like were good to see, and much more realistic than anything you'd see on any tv drama. Each couple also had a doll, which we got to diaper, swaddle, toss around (just kidding), etc. I didn't remember how small actual newborn diapers were! So there's one more thing to check off the list as being done. The next class.....a series of 4 that I start in March, I'm not looking forward to as much. It's the childbirth preparation class. I'm sure I'll see all SORTS of videos in that class.... :P~

The other thing that's been going on lately with me (besides an inner ear thing that allows me to recall the delightful feeling of being unbalanced from being buzzed....without the hangover) is raging insomnia. Why oh why does this happen? I haven't slept decently in about 2 weeks from lower backaches, a fidgety baby, and who knows what else? I know that once my mind starts going once I'm awake, on work or baby or whatever it chooses to latch onto, it's all over for a few hours, there's no getting back to sleep for awhile. Unfortunatly, this week, it seems to have spread to Dan too. I try to be quiet and not shift around, but he claims that most of the time, it isn't me waking him up. Are we in training or something? Is this a common thing?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Give your loves a squeeze today. :)

OB Appointment #8

Today marked my 30 week appointment with the doc. All the usual things took place. I talked with her about some concerns that I have regarding the upcoming events, as well as the leave I will take once Peanut decides to arrive. Her 'million dollar question' to me today was "Have you thought about birth control for after the baby has arrived?" Honestly, this is the last thing on my mind, but she's just putting it out there so we don't accidentally have 2 children that are really close together. I'm not convinced that I need to worry about that JUST yet, as there are other pressing matters weighing more heavily on my mind...things like labor, delivery, and what will happen in the days immediately following.

Anyway, all was well...Peanut is growing as they should, despite my not having gained any weight since my last appointment (yay). Heart rate still thumping away at 152 BPM. Since my appointment was in the AM, I mentioned that I was surprised that the 'Nut wasn't kicking at the Doppler since it was prime kickboxing class time. She responded that she was listening to his/her heart rate thru their back, where they didn't have a way to kick at the sensor. His/her BACK! I asked her how she could tell one part from another, or have an idea of the orientation. I don't know exactly WHAT I thought....I guess I just figured Peanut was swimming around in there, doing flips and somersaults with no real defined position....never really thought about orientation. Lately, though, I have noticed that the movements have changed. Not in the time or frequency so much, but where they are....these days I'm getting more kicked in the ribs instead of the bladder or cervix, which is a relatively new development. Anyway, back to Liz explaining position. She explained that if you press gently, you can tell. The long firmer spot is the back, and the emptier, more bumpy places are feet, knees, elbows, etc. From my asking the question and being interested, she felt for Peanut along my belly a bit, and we determined that Peanut is now mooning me with their head down and facing my right side, which is why I am starting to feel stretches and kicks to my ribs and right side. He/she can still move and flip if the mood strikes, so this isn't any indication of an early delivery. I must admit though, my bladder and kidneys are enjoying the break from the boxing!

A pal of mine sent me a link to an article that I really identified with. Here's the link:
http://lifestyle.msn.com/familyandparenting/raisingkids/articlemc.aspx?cp-documentid=6141899&GT1=10921
Those of you that know me well will understand. ;)

Pregnant Women and Motorized Machinery

Hi Everyone. Thought I'd check in now that the snow has finally stopped here. Today was an interesting day! Dan is in Virginia for work and was supposed to return tonight, but due to the lovely snowstorm, he's stuck there...checking out the BEACH. :P~ Anyway, before he left, we'd heard it was going to snow, so he left me the truck, and I'm very thankful he did! I probably should have stayed home today, but like the bull head that I am, I went to work anyway, despite the warnings and projected totals. However, you know what? The driving wasn't all that bad.....because I had 4wd and a road to travel where there was very little traffic. It's been a long time since I've seen it snow like this. The latest total that I've seen locally was reported in Jackson (a town a few miles south of West Bend) reporting in at 8pm this evening with 20 inches, with 2-4 foot drifts. Fun eh? Anyway, the weather and me being single for the evening led to a different kind of necessity when I returned home.....teaching myself how to use the snow blower! Now before you get worried, our snow blower is the single stage kind that helps to pull itself along when engaged. It wasn't hard to figure out if you'd ever used a push mower. The amusing part to me was how it must have looked to have a 7.5 month pregnant woman with a winter jacket barely zipped trying to figure out how to clean off the driveway without getting a face full of snow (which I couldn't avoid, by the way). Oh how awkward I must have looked! I'll never take the ease with which Dan seems to push that thing around and clean off the driveway for granted again. I should also mention that at some point during the day, one of Dan's co-workers stopped by and cleaned out the driveway for me once, so I only had a partial accumulation to deal with thankfully!! Thanks, Jim!!!

Below is a current belly shot taken tonight. I am currently 30 weeks pregnant, so 7.5 months. Peanut's movements are no longer the cute little flutters and taps they used to be. This little nut can really haul off and pack a wallop! I've read articles where little 'nuts have cracked ribs, bruised organs, and caused internal bleeding in the expectant moms. Nothing like that has happened here thankfully, but I can see where it could! I swear when I'm sitting in meetings, or have some point that I'm trying to make, Peanut will take that as his/her cue to launch into some elaborate dance choreography that makes my torso appear as if it's being pummeled. I'm probably the only one that notices this, but it still never seems to fail!