6 days and counting!

Well, we survived hosting our first Thanksgiving! It would have been a bit smoother if I wasn't so damn big, but it was (not surprisingly) organized and well-thought out! Paul and my mom had everything running on time (save for the deep fryer, which kept blowing fuses) and it was all perfect! The kids played so well together, and everyone seemed to enjoy one anothers company. The only downer of the day was my mother-in-law. Those are stories for another day though.

Only 6 days until the arrival of the little man! The nursery is pretty much done and clothes are washed and put away. I have a few things to get done before he gets here--some Christmas shopping to finish, errands to run, etc. I met with the doctor for the last time on Wed, and he's still growing! I measured 41 cm, 1 over full term. I'm ready for him to be out of there, though I will miss watching and feeling him move around. That's been fascinating to me!

Happy holidays!

Two weeks!

It's official: the baby will arrive the morning Thursday, December 3rd, via C-section. I went yesterday to the doctor for another ultrasound, and the little man is still very breech, so we got his arrival scheduled. They need to do the C-section ahead of time to prevent me from actually going into labor, which would complicate things...from what I've been told. As much as I would have liked trying to do this naturally, I'm ok with it being scheduled! Additionally, he's measuring 8.5 lbs right now. If I were to go to my due date, he'd be 10 lbs or more...not exactly something I want to try to squish out my hoo-ha!

We had some GOOD news today! Paul's sister, MariaElena, is cancer-free!! This comes after a scare about 10 days ago where we thought the cancer was back. Turns out, it's not. You can read more about this on her website. It's quite confusing but answers are slowly trickling in. The main thing is that she's free of this dreaded disease!

We're slowly getting things together for the baby. Kate and I painted the nursery today (or finished what Paul started), and we made great progress! There's still stuff to get done in there, but it's exciting to be this far! My goal is to have the nursery done and Christmas decorations up by Thanksgiving. I'm mostly done with both, so that leaves cleaning the house and shopping for Thanksgiving. Insanity rules in this house!

A shout-out to the soon-to-be Dr. Linda Ryan: CONGRATULATIONS!! She's 99% done with her doctorate!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The clock is ticking...

Saw the doctor yesterday--I now go weekly--and everything is normal. I'm not one bit dilated, which is a wee disappointing to me. The last week or so, I've felt more uncomfortable than ever. The baby is still breech and sitting on organs that are now moved into places they have no business being. It's quite painful at times, especially at night--no position is comfortable anymore. I sleep on either side and my hips hurt. I sleep on my back and everything hurts. I can't win at this point. The only good thing is that there are only 3 weeks left! Presumably, I'll be having a C-section, unless he flips (and at this point, I'm really hoping he doesn't). I've accepted having this major operation and will be quite glad to have it scheduled. I'll find out for sure after my ultrasound next Wed (the 18th). If it's scheduled, we're likely looking at Wed, December 2nd. PRETTY EXCITING! Less than 3 weeks away!

I've been trying to get things done around the house, specifically putting the nursery together and getting Christmas decorations up. Late next week, I need to CLEAN THIS HOUSE!! It needs to be sparkly clean for Thanksgiving. Paul has talked about hiring someone to come in and clean, but I wouldn't feel right about that. At least not now--maybe after the baby and before Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, his sister and brother-in-law have graciously "allowed" us to host Christmas day at our house! They claimed the holiday several years ago and we've spent the day at their house with them. However, having a newborn, they're willing to share the holiday this year. I'm soooooooo grateful, especially since I'll still be recovering from the C-section. MariaElena is an AMAZING cook and is planning to do all the cooking here. Neither Paul nor I are really that excited about hauling a newborn around for the holidays. This will make our life so much easier!

Please send as many prayers out to MariaElena, who was just re-diagnosed with cancer. She just last week finished treatment for Hodgkin's and breast cancer, after 20+ months, but found another lump on her side. After having an aspirate done, it revealed cancer cells. She's having a PET scan done today and will probably have results in the next day or two. This is all so distressing for them. Her caringbridge site is here, if you'd like to leave her a message in the guestbook. She'd love to know people are thinking of her!

Pregnancy superlatives

The most interesting thing about being pregnant:
The kicking and rolling around going on in there! I sometimes sit and watch my stomach area move around. Just fascinating!

The worst thing about being pregnant:
The uncomfortableness of it all, especially in this last month. I feel sometimes like my insides are smashed against one another and nothing is where it's supposed to be.

The most surprising thing about being pregnant:
I'm a hot box! I can't believe it's November and I'm still sleeping in a tank top with just a sheet over me. Usually by now, my toes and fingers turn blue at night, and I'm wrapped in blankets all the time. There are times when I'm cold, but more often than not, I'm quite warm.

The biggest craving I've had:
Besides meat, I could eat Taco Bell Black Jack Tacos everyday, if given the opportunity. Oh wait...I have the opportunity. ☺ I don't indulge everyday, but at least once a week. I mash them up in a bowl and make a taco salad.

The hardest thing to get used to:
Wearing low-rider pants. I have ALWAYS worn pants (and underwear, for that matter) at my waist. I have a pair of maternity jeans that have a panel that pull up over the baby bump, which is about as close as I get to having something at my waist, otherwise everything sits below the bump.

5 things I miss the most:
1) Milk in the first trimester. I LOVE LOVE LOVE drinking milk all the time, but for those first 3 months, it did horrid things to my digestive track. Thankfully, that cleared up and all is well in the world.
2) Riding my scooter. YES, I know I did that for a lot longer than most people felt comfortable (despite the fact it was ok'd by my doctor!), however on a weekend like the one we're having right now (70's today and tomorrow!!), it would have been reeeeally nice to jump on it and go for a ride.
3) BEER. I've never been a heavy drinker of beer, but for some reason, I have craved it!! Especially at bowling, where one always bowls a little better with beer in ones system. I've been told by some that it's ok to drink beer while pregnant, however it took me a LONG time to get knocked up, so it's just not worth it to me. I have been known to practically sniff the flavor out of beer whenever I get the chance.
4) Sleep. I realize this is something I'm not going to have for quite a while, I just didn't expect to lose the ability as quickly as I did. I don't think I've had a decent nights sleep since WAY early on in the pregnancy.
5) Of course, along with this, I could say I miss the occasional Melatonin, Tylenol PM, and other helpful sleep aids. Drugs in general have been missed by me, especially a few weeks back when I had a cold. When I was having horrible back pain over the summer, there wasn't much I could do about it--I have a TENS unit (electrical stimulation) that I couldn't even use.

When it rains...

My living room looks like an explosion from Babies R Us!! We had 2 beautiful showers in 2 weekends, and the generosity of everyone was overwhelming. I don't think there's a thing that needs to be returned. We got gift cards galore, enough to stock up on plenty of diapers for the little man. I still have thank you notes to write, which is always the hardest part for me--I like them to be personalized, not generic, and each one has to be different. Not always easy.

I've entered the world of the non-working!! Well, I'm tutoring still, but that's only 1.5 hours once a week. I ended my job at the vet clinic last week. It was a little sad to me, but Paul is convinced I'll end up working there again one day. I doubt it, but if they wanted me back, I would try. Frankly, I didn't make enough to justify dropping the baby off at a daycare or babysitter's, though if they wanted me on weekends, I could do that. But they don't. Anyway, I'm getting easily used to not having to go to work!

I had some sad news today. The father of my friend Michelle passed away last night. He was diagnosed late last year with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). I worked for Joe's hot dog business for many years and he was, by far, the BEST boss I ever had! I was in awe of his devotion to his family, and everything he did for Michelle--driving her to all her doctor appointments, going with her to New York for treatment, standing by her and helping her in her fight against cancer (more than 7 years now). He was married to Barb for more than 45 years (not exactly sure how many). He'll be sorely missed.

I had a doctor's appointment today. I'm now on weekly visits to the doctor. Nothing's really new or different, except for the occasional contractions I've been having. They're few and far between, but pretty distinct, however nothing to be concerned about...yet. As far as the doctor could tell, the little man is still breech. He moves around a lot, but had yet to flip. I have a feeling we'll be scheduling a c-section in early December!

Only 3 weeks until Thanksgiving! Happy November!