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!

Pregnancy Pyromania

Last weekend, I went shopping with a friend of mine. While we were perusing the clearance racks, I found a shirt that I really liked the color of, but wasn't quite sure about the style of it on me. My friend convinced me that it was cute and the color was right as was the price, so I bought it. Fast forward to yesterday. I wore my new shirt to work. Usually, I've been wearing just normal clothes up-sized rather than maternity stuff because I dislike wearing anything that resembles a tent. However, this new shirt tented in such a way that it looked like I was carrying this cute little basketball, and it wasn't even a maternity top! Got a few comments about the shirt throughout the day, including one from a customer, "Well, you're looking more 'motherly' these days." *eye roll* Anyway, the more I saw the shirt on me on my frequent trips to the bathroom, the more I thought that maybe the style was a little too "house on the prairie" for me. (Dan came up with that adjective for the shirt, and he was dead on.) So I was kind of bummed...new shirt, but I didn't really care for it that much. At least it was only $7.

OK, fast forward to home last night. I decided to make some hot chocolate after supper to relax with. So I turned on the burner, put the tea kettle on and went about my business. For some reason, I decided that I needed something from the cupboard above the stove. You guys know I'm an engineer....so I have an equation for you: tent-like shirt + Peanut + lit gas burner + reaching up to get something = fire

Yes, in my infinite grace, coordination and dexterity, I had lit myself on fire. JUST 15 seconds before the fact I thought to myself, 'jeez, I'd better be careful...this shirt could catch.' I happened to look down and yep, there were flames licking along the bottom of the shirt. I couldn't do anything but laugh as I patted the flames out. For the next 20 minutes I smelled like burned cotton/polyester. Nothing else was harmed in the making of this fire. Dan, however, didn't seem amused.

The shirt was worth the $7 in amusement value alone. At least now I don't have to feel guilty about not wearing it again! The friend I went shopping with claims I should scrapbook the event, and I think I might...put the burned portion of the shirt on a page in the baby book to let Peanut know that no one is perfect and accidents happen, but more than that, it's important to be able to laugh at life when you can.

Hellooooo Daddy!

The other day, Dan had his hand on my belly so he could feel some of the 'Nut's antics. He thought that he might be feeling the heartbeat, but he wasn't sure. I don't know if it's possible to feel that externally or not, but I told him that it was possible to hear it externally if everything else was pretty quiet. Peanut was so happy he felt like trying this! Dan put his ear to my belly, and exclaimed, 'hey...I think I can hear it!" No sooner did Dan say that, and Peanut responded by giving him a kick right smack to the ear.

That's our little Peanut....

OB Appointment #7

Not much new to report today. I grew 2 cm in the last 2 weeks, which means baby is growing as they should. Liz talked to me today about the wonderful world of the episiotomy, tearing, forceps, and vacuum. I didn't realize all the ways a person could tear during this event. Let's just say I hope my skin and interior has great elasticity. :P~

Once the baby is born, Dan will have the option to cut the cord, but he isn't required to if he doesn't feel comfortable. She said then she will ask me if he decides not to. I'm thinking that, at that point, I will probably want nothing to do with cutting anything that just came from me, but I guess we'll see what happens at the time.

Peanut's heartbeat was a strong 153 BPM and he/she decided to only kick at the Doppler once...I was surprised how cooperative he/she was. It must have been nap time.

I do have a feeling that Peanut is a girl. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before or not, I'm not sure why I feel that way, and I certainly have no basis on which to judge. Dan believes it's a boy, so that has led to some entertaining discussions. At the end of the day, however, either will be a welcome addition. (Especially once I can let the baby kick at my hands or at least something other than my bladder, ribs, or cervix.)

Welcome to Trimester #3

The 28th week of Peanut's existance begins today. This means that we're entering the last 1/3 of this whole in-body experience.....thank goodness. I don't believe I will ever be one of those women that coo and wax nostalgic about pregnancy. I have been extremely, extremely fortunate in this pregnancy thus far in that I have not had many of the regular side effects that go with the package...I've never gotten sick, no swelling (yet), not too many weird aches and pains, not really too many cravings (at least none I wouldn't have pre-baby), and I can still get to my shoes fairly easily (a skill that I am told will become more of a challenge in the coming weeks). I am very thankful for this. I know things could be so much worse and there could be an entire scad of complications. I believe, however, I am just about ready to be alone in my own body again. Not that I don't already love the pants off Peanut (which is amazing in an of itself to love someone so much that you've never even met), it's more that each of us is our own person and needs to occupy their own space. This might have something to do with the 3 to 5 and then 7 to 9 am kickboxing classes (among other things) that Peanut seems to enjoy doing to me.

There is one of my normal routines that it was time for tonight that I ALMOST couldn't do....and that freaked me out a little. So, now I guess begins the real fun...new logistics for otherwise mundane, routine tasks.

So, I've been told several view points by several people on taking belly pictures. Some say I'll regret not having any, some say I won't miss them. What the heck, might as well try one when things aren't too out of control, right? Against my better judgement, I'm including one taken tonight at the beginning of Tri-3. Here I am 27 weeks pregnant. Peanut is a little over 15 inches long and weighs just over 2 lbs at this point. No wonder I can feel him/her stretching out!

OB Appointment #6

Today was glucose test day! I arrived at the Dr's office and went straight to the lab where I got to drink THE sweetest, orange flavored, flat tasting soda EVER. Oddly enough, I was given FIVE minutes to drink this 10 oz concoction. I joked with the nurse that the "chug" time limit reminded me of college days.....she wasn't too amused. She just instructed me to come back in 1 hour so she could draw blood to send in for gestational diabetes screening. I cut my humor losses and headed upstairs to see Liz.

A lot of this appointment went like the last...routine weighing (no, I WON'T post the numbers....they would startle you... ha ha), urine target practice, blood pressure, etc. Everything checked out, baby's heart was thumping away at 156 BPM and I grew 2 cm over the last 2 weeks, all healthy and normal things. The sugary drink before seeing Liz tho got Peanut in an uproar. When she started the Doppler and went after the heartbeat, Peanut kicked the Doppler wand dead SQUARE, making it jump off my belly. At the same time, on the other side of my belly, he/she must have punched at the same time. I've never seen my belly take on such a weird shape. This playing/kicking went on for a few minutes until things settled down a little. The doc chuckled and commented, 'Boy, talk about attitude!' She assured me though that there was no such thing as an over-active baby, and the fact that Peanut moves around almost constantly is a sign of a healthy baby.

This time I came prepared to the appointment. She always asks me if I have ANY questions about anything...and I can never think of anything on the spot. This time, I came with a list. I asked her about things ranging from Braxton-Hicks contractions (I haven't had any....yet) to classes for Dan and I to take to protein or carbs leading to larger or smaller babies. She took her time with each one, despite being about 1/2 hour behind, which was great because I had to be at the clinic an hour anyway for the glucose to run thru my system.

I went back down to the lab to see the nurse to get her blood sample. She seemed to be in a better mood this time, which I am thankful for because she did an excellent job sticking me! I'll find out the results tomorrow. Today I am 26 weeks, and 1 day pregnant, or in my 27th week. Where did this second trimester go?