Preston has his 2-month checkup yesterday, and it was confirmed that he still is a peanut :). He now weighs 9 lbs 1 oz, and is 21.5 inches long-- which puts him in the 3rd percentile for height and weight for his age. Poor little guy obviously did not get his genes from his daddy, or at least they haven't come out yet! Dr. Meyer is not worried at all, though, since he's been tiny from the start. He has put on consistent weight and is growing longer, so he's a healthy little guy. He got his rotavirus and DTaP immunizations yesterday, too. We will be following the Dr. Sears delayed immunization schedule for Preston. We understand the flack that we may get for doing so, but we are sticking to our guns.**
In other news, SKIP GRADUATED!! What a wonderful thing. Now he has to pass his boards, and he will officially be a nurse! Woohoo!
Our holidays we good. Christmas Eve at Grandma Preston's was very hectic now that there are 28 of us there. But how amazing is it that we were all able to be there together, if maybe for the last time like that?! What a blessing. Christmas morning was low-key like always at my mom and dad's, then we headed up to Racine. We spent a few hours at Skip's parents house, then had dinner over at Gall's. Gotta love the lamb shanks, and Charlie's creamed spinach (I'm still eating the leftovers... :)). We got home and Skip went to work Christmas night, but he basically made a shit-load of money, what with the holiday and 3rd shift pay all in there, so it was okay.
I am back at work. Same as always. Preston's home with his daddy for now, so that makes things a heck of a lot easier, but things will get a little more complicated when we figure out a day care situation for when Skip goes on a shift. That's all I have to say about that for now...
Oh yeah, Scotch is still crazy. :)
**If you know me and Skip (which if you are reading this blog, I assume you do), you know that we are rational, educated people. I have a particular in-depth education and fondness of the philosophy of "the greatest good for the greatest number of people" (i.e. Utilitarianism, a la John Stuart Mill). Therefore, I do not agree with those who choose to cut out vaccines altogether for their children on the basis of "If all the other kids are vaccinated, my kid won't be exposed to anything, so why should I put my kid through them?" (having a legitimate medical reason is another story); in terms of public health, though immunizations and vaccinations have been proven to have eradicated many deadly diseases in our country-- they still exist elsewhere. Therefore, there is still the chance that someone could be exposed and a.) my child could get that disease if not vaccinated against it, and/or b.) could become a carrier for it and unknowingly expose others to it. That's not fair for us to do that to all those other people. Our personal reasoning is that we do not want to inundate Preston's tiny body with a million vaccines all at once (he is running a low-grade fever today-- a common side-effect from the rotavirus vaccine, so we would have hated to have given him any more and risk any additional effects). We have every intention of having him get all the recommended vaccines, just on a delayed schedule. Though we will be following the Sears schedule, we do not agree what he somewhat recommends of "hiding in the herd" and not telling people what we're doing. We are confident that our decision is what is best for Preston, and we will defend it and explain it in order to show that confidence. Though we may not agree with other reasonings for/against vaccinations, we do not judge those who choose to do things differently than us. We've taken time to come to come to this decision through education and conversation together, and by no means should we judge anyone else for doing the same thing, even though their conclusions may be different.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Needs his mommy
I haven't posted in a while, but it's been harder than I thought it would be to get the normal day-to-day things done with the little guy. Not that I would trade it for the world! However, Preston is definitely a Momma's Boy... I'll just start with an update of what's been going on.
We've gotten into a bit of a routine around the house, with Preston usually waking up around 7ish (give or take a half hour), so he eats and then is up and VERY smiley for at least an hour. I try to get a few things done during that time, but I usually just end up sitting there with the little man and we make googly faces at each other for the whole morning :). Or I've managed to make it to the gym a couple of times if Skip is home those mornings. Preston usually eats again around 10:30 or 11, and then naps for a little while. After my lunch (if I'm lucky), he'll eat again around 2, and then again around 5:30. He's a little crankster in the evenings, which is normal (so the experts say), so I tend to try and cuddle him a lot to keep him calm. Our dinners have been up for grabs these days with Skip finishing up school, so I'll try to eat around Preston, but sometimes I'm eating, trying very carefully not to drop rice or something on the little head attached to me... He'll usually eat once again in the later evening, then for his last time around 10ish. We've been lucky in that he either sleeps through the night ('til, say, at least 6) or only gets up once to eat, so that's been nice. Then we do it all again! We've managed to venture out a bit because we're both getting stir crazy, so it's been nice to show him off at the various places I make it out to.
He had a doctor's appointment the other day to check his weight, and he's up to 8lbs 7 oz! Two whole pounds since birth! So that's wonderful, though he still is a little peanut :). My recovery has gone great, and like I said above, I've started back at the gym (thanks to some help from Sarah C. getting me to those step and zumba classes!).
Skip is almost done with school, with his graduation next Friday evening. We're all so proud that he's finishing on a great note, and it will be wonderful for him to finally get some quality time with Preston. He's been really studying hard these past 2 weeks, so I know he'll be glad to be done!
Other news: We welcomed our newest niece on November 20th. Megan Louise Harrison was born weighing 7 lbs 3 oz, and is doing great! Sarah had a c-section, so it was a long day, but everything went smoothly so we were all counting our blessings. They have all been adjusting well to the new little one in their house.
Preston has a little cold today, with a cough and watery eyes, and he's only wanted his mommy... Which is wonderful, but also tiring. I had wanted to put up some Christmas lights today, but that didn't happen. I'll try tomorrow... We're heading down tonight to Racine for a few visits tonight, so hopefully Preston will be okay. He's been fussy so we'll see...
Hopefully I'll get a chance to update again before the holidays, but if not, here's our next two weeks:
Saturday the 19th: TubaChristmas; Christmas party at our friends Roger and Kathy's
Thursday the 24th: Christmas Eve in Crystal Lake with the Prestons
Friday the 25th: Christmas morning in CL; Christmas evening in Racine
Sunday the 27th: Delanee Dwyer's birthday party (birthday the 23rd)
All for now!
We've gotten into a bit of a routine around the house, with Preston usually waking up around 7ish (give or take a half hour), so he eats and then is up and VERY smiley for at least an hour. I try to get a few things done during that time, but I usually just end up sitting there with the little man and we make googly faces at each other for the whole morning :). Or I've managed to make it to the gym a couple of times if Skip is home those mornings. Preston usually eats again around 10:30 or 11, and then naps for a little while. After my lunch (if I'm lucky), he'll eat again around 2, and then again around 5:30. He's a little crankster in the evenings, which is normal (so the experts say), so I tend to try and cuddle him a lot to keep him calm. Our dinners have been up for grabs these days with Skip finishing up school, so I'll try to eat around Preston, but sometimes I'm eating, trying very carefully not to drop rice or something on the little head attached to me... He'll usually eat once again in the later evening, then for his last time around 10ish. We've been lucky in that he either sleeps through the night ('til, say, at least 6) or only gets up once to eat, so that's been nice. Then we do it all again! We've managed to venture out a bit because we're both getting stir crazy, so it's been nice to show him off at the various places I make it out to.
He had a doctor's appointment the other day to check his weight, and he's up to 8lbs 7 oz! Two whole pounds since birth! So that's wonderful, though he still is a little peanut :). My recovery has gone great, and like I said above, I've started back at the gym (thanks to some help from Sarah C. getting me to those step and zumba classes!).
Skip is almost done with school, with his graduation next Friday evening. We're all so proud that he's finishing on a great note, and it will be wonderful for him to finally get some quality time with Preston. He's been really studying hard these past 2 weeks, so I know he'll be glad to be done!
Other news: We welcomed our newest niece on November 20th. Megan Louise Harrison was born weighing 7 lbs 3 oz, and is doing great! Sarah had a c-section, so it was a long day, but everything went smoothly so we were all counting our blessings. They have all been adjusting well to the new little one in their house.
Preston has a little cold today, with a cough and watery eyes, and he's only wanted his mommy... Which is wonderful, but also tiring. I had wanted to put up some Christmas lights today, but that didn't happen. I'll try tomorrow... We're heading down tonight to Racine for a few visits tonight, so hopefully Preston will be okay. He's been fussy so we'll see...
Hopefully I'll get a chance to update again before the holidays, but if not, here's our next two weeks:
Monday the 14th: Scotch vet (thought I'd throw our poor neglected dog in this post a little :))
Friday the 18th: Skip's graduation/pinningSaturday the 19th: TubaChristmas; Christmas party at our friends Roger and Kathy's
Thursday the 24th: Christmas Eve in Crystal Lake with the Prestons
Friday the 25th: Christmas morning in CL; Christmas evening in Racine
Sunday the 27th: Delanee Dwyer's birthday party (birthday the 23rd)
All for now!
Friday, November 13, 2009
To his birth weight then some!
Preston had his 2-week doctor's appointment on Thursday, and all is great! When he was first weighed, he came up at 6 lbs 2 oz, which was frustrating to me initially, since his birth weight was 6 lbs 7 oz. Babies are supposed to gain their weight back by 2 weeks, so the doctor and I were going to talk about supplementing his feedings with a little formula. However, when she noticed that the other measurements from what the nurse took earlier were all off, she did them all over. His head measurement is right on track, and he is now just shy of 20 inches, so he's gotten a little longer. His weight is 6 lbs 12 oz, so that means he's gained all of the lost weight back, and then some, which is wonderful! So no supplementing needed-- just a continuance of 30 mins+ at each feeding... But that's okay if he's getting what he needs! Besides, we're really starting to get into a routine throughout the day and night, so it's getting better.
Other than his doctor updates, everything is going well. I'm feeling pretty healed, though I'm still really tired. I'm starting to get used to it, though, and getting better at functioning on less sleep... Ha, I managed to do some crunches today, too, which was interesting-- I felt my muscles starting to ache only like 5 mins after I did them! I guess that's to be expected after not having done them for ~6 months (plus having my ab muscles all jacked up from expanding so much). I figured I can start doing little things at home, then start back at the gym in December (got a wedding in September to start getting in shape for!)
Skip is doing well, but has had a couple of busy weeks since Preston was born. With school and work, he's running on only a little more sleep than me, so he's exhausted. Thank goodness his school is done next month, and then we can really focus on building our little family! Not that we aren't now, it's just a different dynamic. He's doing okay in his classes and clinicals/internship, though, so that's good.
So that's the update for now!
Other than his doctor updates, everything is going well. I'm feeling pretty healed, though I'm still really tired. I'm starting to get used to it, though, and getting better at functioning on less sleep... Ha, I managed to do some crunches today, too, which was interesting-- I felt my muscles starting to ache only like 5 mins after I did them! I guess that's to be expected after not having done them for ~6 months (plus having my ab muscles all jacked up from expanding so much). I figured I can start doing little things at home, then start back at the gym in December (got a wedding in September to start getting in shape for!)
Skip is doing well, but has had a couple of busy weeks since Preston was born. With school and work, he's running on only a little more sleep than me, so he's exhausted. Thank goodness his school is done next month, and then we can really focus on building our little family! Not that we aren't now, it's just a different dynamic. He's doing okay in his classes and clinicals/internship, though, so that's good.
So that's the update for now!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
2 Weeks
So, it's been a crazy two weeks! Here's the update, from birth to today:
On Friday the 23rd, I had my 40-41 week doctor appointment. Dr. Barnabei stripped my membranes a little bit, just to see if that would get things moving at all. Well, for most of the day, I was feeling pretty uncomfortable. Not really having contractions, at least not timeable, but I could tell things were starting. Skip and I ran some errands, then I took Scotch to the dog park out in Brookfield. We walked quite a bit, then came home and relaxed as best as possible. By the later night, I was feeling things much stronger, and decided I better go to bed and try to get at least a little sleep. I woke up around 3:30 with real contractions, maybe about 10-15 mins apart. I took a bath and shower, then parked myself on the couch while things really began. By the way, there's not much on tv and 5am on a Saturday morning... So I watched the Eukanuba dog shows... Anyways, around 7, I woke Skip up because my contractions were about 6 mins apart. He got ready faster than I'd ever seen him get moving before! We left the house and were at the hospital by around 8:30. They got me into a room right away, and my water broke right then-- nice timing, huh?! After that point, my contractions were one right after another, and very painful. I was dilated to 6cm, so things had progressed really well on their own. I ended up getting an epidural, because I was starting to have really bad back and side labor in the latest contractions, and knew I wouldn't be able to continue breathing through them enough to have the strength to push later on. The epidural went really smoothly, and after that point I was a lot more comfortable. I pushed for about an hour starting at 2:30, and Preston was born at 3:30! He was a little stunned when he first came out and needed oxygen, but as soon as he started breathing, he started crying, peeing and pooping! Glad to see all the systems were working!
My first thought when I saw him was 1.)get him breathing, 2.)he's tiny (he was 6 lbs 7 oz), and 3.)he looks just like Skip! He seriously is a mini Skip. But he's got a little of me in him, too, so he's a little individual :). He took well to feeding right away, and the rest of our stay in the hospital was uneventful. We were discharged on Monday early afternoon, and were glad to be going home. Scotch took to Preston well: Pretty curious, but sweet. He still doesn't quite know what to do with him when he cries, but he's learning to just ignore him. We've worked on keeping his dog park trips consistent, and were grateful to our friend Steph from the d.p. for taking him on a couple trips while we were getting Preston used to being home.
In the past couple of weeks, we've been adjusting well. My recovery has gone quite smoothly, and Preston sleeps well at night. Not completely through, but he's had a couple nights where he's given us a good solid 5 or 6 hours, of which we can't complain! The feedings are going well, as he takes after his father and loves the tatas... His first doctors appointment was fine, everything progressing perfectly. He has his 2-week appointment on Thursday, so we are curious to see how much weight he's put on. He had only lost 2 oz in the hospital and 1 by his first appointment, which is great, especially considering he didn't have much extra!
We've had visits from the grandparents, of course, but also a bunch of family and friends, so a lot of people have gotten to meet the little guy. He accompanied me to Sarah's baby shower yesterday and then to Harrison's for dinner; though it was a long day for both of us, he was a champ and did really well out with all the people! Today was his first trip to church, and he slept right through :) (Wish I could do that sometimes!)
Tomorrow we plan on just hanging around the house, since we had a long weekend. It should be nice. If all is well, I plan on going to band rehearsal on Weds night, which will be a nice change of pace for Wednesday night. Other than that, no big plans, but I'm sure we'll find things to do!
On Friday the 23rd, I had my 40-41 week doctor appointment. Dr. Barnabei stripped my membranes a little bit, just to see if that would get things moving at all. Well, for most of the day, I was feeling pretty uncomfortable. Not really having contractions, at least not timeable, but I could tell things were starting. Skip and I ran some errands, then I took Scotch to the dog park out in Brookfield. We walked quite a bit, then came home and relaxed as best as possible. By the later night, I was feeling things much stronger, and decided I better go to bed and try to get at least a little sleep. I woke up around 3:30 with real contractions, maybe about 10-15 mins apart. I took a bath and shower, then parked myself on the couch while things really began. By the way, there's not much on tv and 5am on a Saturday morning... So I watched the Eukanuba dog shows... Anyways, around 7, I woke Skip up because my contractions were about 6 mins apart. He got ready faster than I'd ever seen him get moving before! We left the house and were at the hospital by around 8:30. They got me into a room right away, and my water broke right then-- nice timing, huh?! After that point, my contractions were one right after another, and very painful. I was dilated to 6cm, so things had progressed really well on their own. I ended up getting an epidural, because I was starting to have really bad back and side labor in the latest contractions, and knew I wouldn't be able to continue breathing through them enough to have the strength to push later on. The epidural went really smoothly, and after that point I was a lot more comfortable. I pushed for about an hour starting at 2:30, and Preston was born at 3:30! He was a little stunned when he first came out and needed oxygen, but as soon as he started breathing, he started crying, peeing and pooping! Glad to see all the systems were working!
My first thought when I saw him was 1.)get him breathing, 2.)he's tiny (he was 6 lbs 7 oz), and 3.)he looks just like Skip! He seriously is a mini Skip. But he's got a little of me in him, too, so he's a little individual :). He took well to feeding right away, and the rest of our stay in the hospital was uneventful. We were discharged on Monday early afternoon, and were glad to be going home. Scotch took to Preston well: Pretty curious, but sweet. He still doesn't quite know what to do with him when he cries, but he's learning to just ignore him. We've worked on keeping his dog park trips consistent, and were grateful to our friend Steph from the d.p. for taking him on a couple trips while we were getting Preston used to being home.
In the past couple of weeks, we've been adjusting well. My recovery has gone quite smoothly, and Preston sleeps well at night. Not completely through, but he's had a couple nights where he's given us a good solid 5 or 6 hours, of which we can't complain! The feedings are going well, as he takes after his father and loves the tatas... His first doctors appointment was fine, everything progressing perfectly. He has his 2-week appointment on Thursday, so we are curious to see how much weight he's put on. He had only lost 2 oz in the hospital and 1 by his first appointment, which is great, especially considering he didn't have much extra!
We've had visits from the grandparents, of course, but also a bunch of family and friends, so a lot of people have gotten to meet the little guy. He accompanied me to Sarah's baby shower yesterday and then to Harrison's for dinner; though it was a long day for both of us, he was a champ and did really well out with all the people! Today was his first trip to church, and he slept right through :) (Wish I could do that sometimes!)
Tomorrow we plan on just hanging around the house, since we had a long weekend. It should be nice. If all is well, I plan on going to band rehearsal on Weds night, which will be a nice change of pace for Wednesday night. Other than that, no big plans, but I'm sure we'll find things to do!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
40 + 2
Waiting... waiting... waiting...
There has been a realization coming out of the wood works that a couple different people have pointed out in the last two days, and that Skip and I have realized: I am a slow poke. Always have been. "Come on, Ellen," has been the story of my life. Hey, what can I say? I like to take in the scenery :). Skip is the same, and even tends to be more on the "better late than never" side of things.
So, we've all decided, why would this little one be any different? Things are coming along, it's just taking its time to enjoy the scenery! (Although I can't imagine how interesting the scenery is right now, considering it's been swimming in it for 9 months already...)
There has been a realization coming out of the wood works that a couple different people have pointed out in the last two days, and that Skip and I have realized: I am a slow poke. Always have been. "Come on, Ellen," has been the story of my life. Hey, what can I say? I like to take in the scenery :). Skip is the same, and even tends to be more on the "better late than never" side of things.
So, we've all decided, why would this little one be any different? Things are coming along, it's just taking its time to enjoy the scenery! (Although I can't imagine how interesting the scenery is right now, considering it's been swimming in it for 9 months already...)
Monday, October 19, 2009
BabyCenter says I have a newborn...
So, apparently BabyCenter knows something I don't, because it says in my status that I have a "newborn." Um, I could have sworn this baby was still in me as of today, made quite obvious by the foot that I'm looking down at kicking my belly button... from INSIDE. I suppose I will now be getting updates on information regarding my little newborn, even though I have yet to birth this child! Well, I guess the info will be useful, just maybe not for a couple of days yet.
This was a tough weekend for me. Long about Wednesday night I started to get a sore throat and a little cough, which turned into a full-blown nasty cold on Thursday. I went for a walk around campus with my boss, which was a bad idea, because I think I jacked something up in my back from the heels I was wearing. So, I left early from work because I was totally dragging ass, and went home and slept for a couple of hours. I ate some dinner, then basically went back to bed. Friday sucked, too. I had my 39-40 week doctor's appointment in the morning, and I'm 1 cm dilated, but that's about it. So essentially nothing big going on. But like I said, that's okay. It's just that I wished I wasn't as sick as I was, or that my back didn't seize up every time I moved. It seriously took me 5 mins to walk to the bathroom (normally 30 seconds), just because I had to hold onto the wall-- I almost burst into tears. I left at my lunch hour to go see my friendly neighborhood chiropractor (i.e. Andy), and he seriously is a miracle-worker. I had been in so much pain, and after he did some pressure work and ultrasound, I was essentially fixed. Thank the Lord. As for my cold, I went back to work and crabbily made it through the rest of the day (sort of snapping at my boss in the meantime...oops), then went home and crashed. I had a temp of 100 at one point, so I was watching myself pretty closely so that I didn't bake the poor baby...
Saturday and Sunday were pretty much sit-on-my-ass days, which was okay. My cough was terrible and really making me sore. I think the only thing I did out of the house was go grocery shopping, and even that kicked my ass (I called the hospital on Saturday evening just to make sure they didn't want me to come in, and they said to just keep monitoring myself, and if things got above 100.4, then come in). However, I was able to do a little cleaning and putzing by Sunday evening, so I feel a little productive. This morning I'm feeling a ton better, though still trying to get all this crap out. I just want to make sure I have all the strength I can muster to push this little one out when the time comes! I think after how I'm feeling today that I can see being fine... whenever the heck this kid decides to make his/her entrance! We're ready for you when you are ready to come out! :)
This was a tough weekend for me. Long about Wednesday night I started to get a sore throat and a little cough, which turned into a full-blown nasty cold on Thursday. I went for a walk around campus with my boss, which was a bad idea, because I think I jacked something up in my back from the heels I was wearing. So, I left early from work because I was totally dragging ass, and went home and slept for a couple of hours. I ate some dinner, then basically went back to bed. Friday sucked, too. I had my 39-40 week doctor's appointment in the morning, and I'm 1 cm dilated, but that's about it. So essentially nothing big going on. But like I said, that's okay. It's just that I wished I wasn't as sick as I was, or that my back didn't seize up every time I moved. It seriously took me 5 mins to walk to the bathroom (normally 30 seconds), just because I had to hold onto the wall-- I almost burst into tears. I left at my lunch hour to go see my friendly neighborhood chiropractor (i.e. Andy), and he seriously is a miracle-worker. I had been in so much pain, and after he did some pressure work and ultrasound, I was essentially fixed. Thank the Lord. As for my cold, I went back to work and crabbily made it through the rest of the day (sort of snapping at my boss in the meantime...oops), then went home and crashed. I had a temp of 100 at one point, so I was watching myself pretty closely so that I didn't bake the poor baby...
Saturday and Sunday were pretty much sit-on-my-ass days, which was okay. My cough was terrible and really making me sore. I think the only thing I did out of the house was go grocery shopping, and even that kicked my ass (I called the hospital on Saturday evening just to make sure they didn't want me to come in, and they said to just keep monitoring myself, and if things got above 100.4, then come in). However, I was able to do a little cleaning and putzing by Sunday evening, so I feel a little productive. This morning I'm feeling a ton better, though still trying to get all this crap out. I just want to make sure I have all the strength I can muster to push this little one out when the time comes! I think after how I'm feeling today that I can see being fine... whenever the heck this kid decides to make his/her entrance! We're ready for you when you are ready to come out! :)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Just about ready...
Today is officially one week from my due date. I think we're ready for this baby to get here! I've set myself up thinking that it will come a couple of days late, so that way I won't be disappointed if it doesn't happen in the next week. As of Friday, I was around 50% effaced, and the baby has dropped, so there are definitely some things going on in there. However, being a first time mom, the doctor doesn't seem to think anything will happen early, which is okay. She thinks the baby is on the small side, so "cooking" a little longer is okay with me.
As far as other things going on, Skip and I spent some time last weekend with the Eckels and Prestons, so that was nice. We went down to CL on the 3rd to visit with my mom and dad on Saturday, and had a really great dinner with Pat and Grandma, too. On Sunday, Mom and I bummed around CL for a few things, then got Mr. A's for lunch-- I haven't had that in so long, and it was SOO good! We went up to Woodstock for my uncle Mike's 50th birthday party, which also was a good time. On Monday we met Skip's parents down at the Yacht Club to visit for the evening, and did some light canoeing in the harbor before going in for dinner and the Packers game. We hadn't seen Mannings in a while, so it was nice to catch up. Tuesday night we had our Baptism class, which was nice and touchy-feely... It was actually okay, though, because one of the girls from my water aerobics class was there, and we came to find out that they go to the same church as us. So it was nice to make some new friends!
I made it to yoga and band on Wednesday, but that may be it for band for the next couple of weeks. It's hard to carry my tuba on my back, not to mention everyone thinks it's absolutely hilarious to watch me (no, not HELP me), so I think I may take a break now until after baby is born. We'll see. Thursday I made it to water aerobics and then Steph came over for dinner. We had a great visit, as we hadn't really had a chance to catch up in a couple of weeks. Plus I got to show off all the things we've done around the house to get ready for the baby. This past weekend was essentially uneventful, with nothing planned. We went and celebrated our friend Pam's birthday on Saturday night, but that was about it. Two mornings of somewhat sleeping in was a nice bonus-- I figured it was probably the last opportunities we'll have to sleep in for a long long time, so I didn't feel bad at all doing it!
Now, to try and stay focused and get through this week.....
As far as other things going on, Skip and I spent some time last weekend with the Eckels and Prestons, so that was nice. We went down to CL on the 3rd to visit with my mom and dad on Saturday, and had a really great dinner with Pat and Grandma, too. On Sunday, Mom and I bummed around CL for a few things, then got Mr. A's for lunch-- I haven't had that in so long, and it was SOO good! We went up to Woodstock for my uncle Mike's 50th birthday party, which also was a good time. On Monday we met Skip's parents down at the Yacht Club to visit for the evening, and did some light canoeing in the harbor before going in for dinner and the Packers game. We hadn't seen Mannings in a while, so it was nice to catch up. Tuesday night we had our Baptism class, which was nice and touchy-feely... It was actually okay, though, because one of the girls from my water aerobics class was there, and we came to find out that they go to the same church as us. So it was nice to make some new friends!
I made it to yoga and band on Wednesday, but that may be it for band for the next couple of weeks. It's hard to carry my tuba on my back, not to mention everyone thinks it's absolutely hilarious to watch me (no, not HELP me), so I think I may take a break now until after baby is born. We'll see. Thursday I made it to water aerobics and then Steph came over for dinner. We had a great visit, as we hadn't really had a chance to catch up in a couple of weeks. Plus I got to show off all the things we've done around the house to get ready for the baby. This past weekend was essentially uneventful, with nothing planned. We went and celebrated our friend Pam's birthday on Saturday night, but that was about it. Two mornings of somewhat sleeping in was a nice bonus-- I figured it was probably the last opportunities we'll have to sleep in for a long long time, so I didn't feel bad at all doing it!
Now, to try and stay focused and get through this week.....
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Patriotic Bathing Suits
I remember when I first started water aerobics about 5 months ago that I thought all the women who were far along seemed lazy, and I swore I would still be working really hard when I was that far along. Ha, now that I'm at that point, I'm totally eating my words! It's been a chore to even get into a damn bathing suit! However, it's good that I'm still going and keeping myself busy. Otherwise I know I would be sitting (or putzing) at home just anxious out of my mind... Oh, and there was a guy that got out of the pool last night that looked like Ron Jeremy and had American flag swim trunks on. NO ONE else in my class seemed to notice the hairy back climbing the stairs and the stars and stripes strategically bulging and creeping into nasty places. That's one flag I don't think I could salute...
I stopped at the grocery store after class to pick up a few things, and when I was walking out I got thinking. The air was really "fally" and it was really calm, and I kind of took a few deep breaths. I, by absolutely no means, resent this baby coming and I am so excited to finally meet him or her. However, if you know me, I am a pretty independent person, and I can't lie that I'm nervous about losing some of that independence. Will I be able to just drop everything at the flip of a switch and run out to the store, go for a walk, go rollerblading by the lake anymore? Probably not. And it makes me a little nervous/sad. I've never been one to handle big changes with ease, and this is probably the biggest change of my life to this point. It's hard to imagine being one of only two people in the entire world that this little being is going to be totally dependent on. Will I be up for the task? I think so? People keep telling me that this baby will adapt to the lifestyle that we have, so I hope this little one is ready to take road trips, go to the dog park, listen to loud music of every type, watch the weird TV shows that his/her daddy watches, talk politics, play sports, do scouts... I know we'll adapt to our little one, too-- it's just hard because there's only so much we can do to prepare.
I stopped at the grocery store after class to pick up a few things, and when I was walking out I got thinking. The air was really "fally" and it was really calm, and I kind of took a few deep breaths. I, by absolutely no means, resent this baby coming and I am so excited to finally meet him or her. However, if you know me, I am a pretty independent person, and I can't lie that I'm nervous about losing some of that independence. Will I be able to just drop everything at the flip of a switch and run out to the store, go for a walk, go rollerblading by the lake anymore? Probably not. And it makes me a little nervous/sad. I've never been one to handle big changes with ease, and this is probably the biggest change of my life to this point. It's hard to imagine being one of only two people in the entire world that this little being is going to be totally dependent on. Will I be up for the task? I think so? People keep telling me that this baby will adapt to the lifestyle that we have, so I hope this little one is ready to take road trips, go to the dog park, listen to loud music of every type, watch the weird TV shows that his/her daddy watches, talk politics, play sports, do scouts... I know we'll adapt to our little one, too-- it's just hard because there's only so much we can do to prepare.
Monday, September 28, 2009
36-37 weeks and Buddy Walk
This was just a really nice weekend. I had a doctor's appointment on Friday morning, and everything looks good. My doctor said I am effaced a tiny bit, but to not expect anything too soon. She said I am measuring well, and the baby's heartbeat sounded fine. So, time to just start twiddling my thumbs and wait...
I got to hang around the house on Friday night and do some major nesting, with my weird dog following me from room to room all evening. He's been acting so strange lately. I'm sure he knows something is up, and he has been very good and sweetly protective of me all the time. When we're at the dog park in the area with the other dogs, he'll just stand right next to me with a big grin on his face and keep his eye on everything going on. He never used to do that before-- frankly, he'd barely listen to me when his "friends" were around. His barking is beginning to get under control, which is a great thing because a.)I don't want any more neighbors pissed at us, b.)No pissy neighbors = no more police at our doorstep, and c.)He will know when to be quiet when the baby comes. So anyways, I cleaned the house for like the 4th time in a week, then vegged until Skip got home from clinicals.
Saturday morning we got up and met with a realtor to see what our options are in regards to maybe maaayyybe buying a house soon, so that was interesting. Still have some more research and thinking to do about all of that, but not until after the baby comes. Then we went to Target and bought a shit-load of baby stuff. We got sheets and a cute crib skirt-- since these days that's pretty much all you need for the crib. No blankets, no bumpers. So we saved some money on that, not to mention the crib skirt matches the colors and wall paint in the baby's room perfectly. We got home, and I took the pup to the dog park for a couple of hours while Skip mowed the lawn and started cooking a chicken on the grill for an early dinner. It turned out really good. After dinner we headed up to Glendale to Oktoberfest to see my tuba-friend Roger play, as well as hang out with some of my Knightwind friends. Note to self: Get a DD next year because both of us will be bombed from the wonderful beer. They had like 15 different Oktoberfest beers, so Skip was happy (I even had a little bit)-- and I also got a brat on a pretzel bun, so I suppose I was satisfied :).
Sunday we slept in and had a leisurely morning, then we went over to the zoo for the annual DSAW Down Syndrome Awareness Walk. We met the whole fam over there in time to start the walk, and it was a good time. I, however, realized that walking causes contractions. At least mild ones. I was a little uncomfortable for the rest of the afternoon because my body was doing all kinds of weird things, so we were starting to prepare ourselves for what could have become a long night... However, after we left Sarah and Andy's, I got home a put my feet up, and everything settled down. I can't lie that I wasn't a little disappointed that nothing happened last night, but at the same time I'm glad because now my maternity leave from work isn't all messed up. I've got it planned down to, essentially, the day, so 3 weeks early would not have gone well with my plan! I didn't sleep too well last night because of the nerves and anticipation that I now totally have more than ever, so I'm a little tired today. However, the weekend overall was very nice, and it was good to see the family yesterday.
I got to hang around the house on Friday night and do some major nesting, with my weird dog following me from room to room all evening. He's been acting so strange lately. I'm sure he knows something is up, and he has been very good and sweetly protective of me all the time. When we're at the dog park in the area with the other dogs, he'll just stand right next to me with a big grin on his face and keep his eye on everything going on. He never used to do that before-- frankly, he'd barely listen to me when his "friends" were around. His barking is beginning to get under control, which is a great thing because a.)I don't want any more neighbors pissed at us, b.)No pissy neighbors = no more police at our doorstep, and c.)He will know when to be quiet when the baby comes. So anyways, I cleaned the house for like the 4th time in a week, then vegged until Skip got home from clinicals.
Saturday morning we got up and met with a realtor to see what our options are in regards to maybe maaayyybe buying a house soon, so that was interesting. Still have some more research and thinking to do about all of that, but not until after the baby comes. Then we went to Target and bought a shit-load of baby stuff. We got sheets and a cute crib skirt-- since these days that's pretty much all you need for the crib. No blankets, no bumpers. So we saved some money on that, not to mention the crib skirt matches the colors and wall paint in the baby's room perfectly. We got home, and I took the pup to the dog park for a couple of hours while Skip mowed the lawn and started cooking a chicken on the grill for an early dinner. It turned out really good. After dinner we headed up to Glendale to Oktoberfest to see my tuba-friend Roger play, as well as hang out with some of my Knightwind friends. Note to self: Get a DD next year because both of us will be bombed from the wonderful beer. They had like 15 different Oktoberfest beers, so Skip was happy (I even had a little bit)-- and I also got a brat on a pretzel bun, so I suppose I was satisfied :).
Sunday we slept in and had a leisurely morning, then we went over to the zoo for the annual DSAW Down Syndrome Awareness Walk. We met the whole fam over there in time to start the walk, and it was a good time. I, however, realized that walking causes contractions. At least mild ones. I was a little uncomfortable for the rest of the afternoon because my body was doing all kinds of weird things, so we were starting to prepare ourselves for what could have become a long night... However, after we left Sarah and Andy's, I got home a put my feet up, and everything settled down. I can't lie that I wasn't a little disappointed that nothing happened last night, but at the same time I'm glad because now my maternity leave from work isn't all messed up. I've got it planned down to, essentially, the day, so 3 weeks early would not have gone well with my plan! I didn't sleep too well last night because of the nerves and anticipation that I now totally have more than ever, so I'm a little tired today. However, the weekend overall was very nice, and it was good to see the family yesterday.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Bebes y pinatas
So, I just wanted to write a little about the wonderful baby shower fiesta that was thrown for me today. Steph, Sarah, and Jes planned a whole soiree of Mexican and South American fare, complete with taquitos and a taco bar! We all visited for a while and snacked, and played "pass the babies" with Delanee, Lucas, and Natalie. It was so wonderful to sit back and watch my girlfriends who I knew as kids, essentially, become such wonderful mothers! And to watch all the others step in and take their turns holding and playing with the three of them. It makes me excited to add another one to the bunch! We opened some presents, then ate some more-- SO much food!! Then out came the pinata... Apparently Lindsay had this old pinata that she had gotten as a kid, so they filled it up with authentic Mexican candies, and let me take my shots at it. Well, the only blindfold was a pillow case, which I decided would work best just over my head, so here I was swinging a plastic yellow bat at a pinata hanging 8 feet off the ground-- I think people got some good pics, maybe even a video in there... The damn pinata was SO hard, and I ended up hitting it down from the garage rafter where it was hanging. So we moved it to the end of a shovel, of which Sarah held the opposite end while I continued to swing away. The damn thing STILL wouldn't break! So, I took a metal shovel to it. That broke it! We had some really great laughs pulling it apart the rest of the way, and then Linds finished it off with some deep-seeded childhood beating on the thing. Damn amusing, if you ask me!
We sat down for a while longer outside, and just talked and visited. I'll reiterate again that I was just so happy to sit there and talk with everyone and see everyone all get along so well and be so grown up. Baby Natalie was trying pretty hard to fight sleep and stay up with the party! We moved into the house and continued our conversations, complete with reminiscing from me and the Hams into our amusing high school lives... And a pretty good bashing on some others. Damn we're mean sometimes... But that's what you get with us girls, but we were having fun! The party ended up going until almost 10pm, which was not what I planned, but such a great time nonetheless. I am so appreciative of everything the girls did to celebrate this baby and everything to come in the next month. I really count my blessings every day for the people in my life who I have grown up with and continue to stay close to, and I can't wait for us to keep growing together and making wonderful memories like those today!
Thanks, girls!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Can you spare a square?
I just took a little trip to the bathroom, as I frequently do these days for obvious reasons. Anyways, I went to the one at the bottom of the stairs to my office, where there are two regular stalls, and one handicapped (on a side note, it's always an experience when I have to use the handicapped one in this particular bathroom. The toilet is really tall and it takes me back to my little-kid days when I would have to practically hop onto the toilet, then my leggies would just dangle. I digress...). I went into the first regular one, and there was a lady in the handicapped one (i.e. a stall between us). I went, and the whole time this other woman is doing what sounds like rolling a stuck roll over and over again to get some paper off-- seriously from the time I got in, went, washed my hands, checked my coif in the mirror, headed to the door... Either that, or she's getting all the paper she needs, and she needed a LOT... I was going to offer to see if she wanted me to hand her some paper, but what am I supposed to say? "Um, excuse me, ma'am? Can I get you some toilet paper, so you don't have to keep abusing the roll in there?" or "Excuse me, ma'am? I can't help but hear you struggling with the toilet paper roll, can I get you some?" I mean, what if she really was not having problems, and all I did was interrupt her business? Who knows, maybe she was out of toilet paper at home and was stocking up. Either way, I hope she got her paper and isn't still sitting on the toity with her little feet just dangling...
Monday, September 14, 2009
My drive in this morning
My drive to work is usually an uneventful 6 minutes through the 'Tosa village. There is always the occasional person in a big hurry so they drive like a maniac, maybe a train going by or a parked delivery truck at one of the restaurants that inevitably messes up the social order, but pretty much the same each day. As was today, though I just had to mention that as I was passing the Harwood-Harmonee-Kavanaugh intersection, there was this person sitting Indian-style on the sidewalk waiting for the bus. She was probably my age, but was very skinny, stringy shoulder-length brown hair, all light blue clothing, big (like Coke-bottle sized) glasses, staring aimlessly into space sucking (literally sucking) on a cigarette. Maybe you had to see it, but it seriously looked like this girl was a character you'd see in Men in Black or something. I just thought it was amusingly disturbing. Ah, the people you see at bus stops in a (semi) urban area...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Labor Day Weekend and Dream 9/8/09
I had a great weekend with Skip and the puppers up in the Algoma area! I got off work early on Friday (a nice surprise!), so we got on the road earlier than we had planned, which was nice. We stopped for dinner on our way up, and got to the house around 7ish. We just kind of vegged for a few hours then went to bed. Saturday morning we got up had a leisurely morning-- I went for a walk down in the town with Scotch, then came back to the house and made lunch. We ended up just getting in the car and driving, which turned out to be great! We hit up an apple orchard and got some goodies, then drove up the "coast" for a little while. We found a great county park where Scotch could get out in the water, then drove up towards Sturgeon Bay for a little while. When we got back into Algoma, we realized the place we wanted to go for dinner Sunday night is closed on Sundays, so we ended up just going there that night. We had a great, cheap dinner, then came back to the house and had a fire. The moon was full and the stars over the lake were awesome!
Sunday we slept in again, then got ready and drove up to Sturgeon Bay again to meet Skip's parents for lunch (they were sailing through SB). We met them, but circumstances didn't quite work out for us to have lunch with them, so they set sail down to Algoma while we went up to Whitefish Dunes State Park. We got to the park, and walked the 3/4 miles to the dog beach. There were so many (friendly) people and dogs there, and the water was great! A little cool, but warm enough to swim in, and Scotch was having a blast! The weather was perfect, and we stayed at the park for about 2 hours. We had such a great time. We packed up and headed out with a very sleepy pup in the back seat, then got back down to Algoma and had dinner with the 'rents. Great pizza. We got back to the house, made another small fire, then crashed again.
Monday we went out for breakfast, then cleaned up the house, hung around for a bit, then came home. We hit some expected traffic in the Milwaukee area, but other than that, it was an easy drive. The whole weekend was just wonderful, and we couldn't have asked for better weather!
Dream: I had a dream that the whole Preston family went to Eddie Martinis (the restaurant I used to work at) for dinner to celebrate my uncle's birthday. Eddie's is a fancy place, just FYI. Well, I was dreading going there because I didn't want to run into anyone that I used to know from working there. We got there, and nothing went smoothly. I don't remember actually eating dinner, but I do remember I was wearing sweatpants and a shirt that I always used to wear when I worked there. One of the waiters dropped my mom's veggies, and picked them up with his hand and set them on her plate. I remember thinking that was SO bad, especially for this particular restaurant. We ordered dessert, and my dad was arguing with me because he said I wanted the "chocolate avalanche" cake all to myself, that's why I ordered it. Then Emily and Allison showed up with a video of Uncle Mike that lasted for like 30 seconds, and we all got ready to leave. Well, the bill was split between my mom and her brothers and sisters, and they each had to pay like $300 (which probably would have been about right for that many people at that restaurant). Certain people were making a stink about it, others were just sucking it up. We ended up busting out of the restaurant, and I was practically running to my car so I wouldn't have to drive anyone home. That was the dream!
Sunday we slept in again, then got ready and drove up to Sturgeon Bay again to meet Skip's parents for lunch (they were sailing through SB). We met them, but circumstances didn't quite work out for us to have lunch with them, so they set sail down to Algoma while we went up to Whitefish Dunes State Park. We got to the park, and walked the 3/4 miles to the dog beach. There were so many (friendly) people and dogs there, and the water was great! A little cool, but warm enough to swim in, and Scotch was having a blast! The weather was perfect, and we stayed at the park for about 2 hours. We had such a great time. We packed up and headed out with a very sleepy pup in the back seat, then got back down to Algoma and had dinner with the 'rents. Great pizza. We got back to the house, made another small fire, then crashed again.
Monday we went out for breakfast, then cleaned up the house, hung around for a bit, then came home. We hit some expected traffic in the Milwaukee area, but other than that, it was an easy drive. The whole weekend was just wonderful, and we couldn't have asked for better weather!
Dream: I had a dream that the whole Preston family went to Eddie Martinis (the restaurant I used to work at) for dinner to celebrate my uncle's birthday. Eddie's is a fancy place, just FYI. Well, I was dreading going there because I didn't want to run into anyone that I used to know from working there. We got there, and nothing went smoothly. I don't remember actually eating dinner, but I do remember I was wearing sweatpants and a shirt that I always used to wear when I worked there. One of the waiters dropped my mom's veggies, and picked them up with his hand and set them on her plate. I remember thinking that was SO bad, especially for this particular restaurant. We ordered dessert, and my dad was arguing with me because he said I wanted the "chocolate avalanche" cake all to myself, that's why I ordered it. Then Emily and Allison showed up with a video of Uncle Mike that lasted for like 30 seconds, and we all got ready to leave. Well, the bill was split between my mom and her brothers and sisters, and they each had to pay like $300 (which probably would have been about right for that many people at that restaurant). Certain people were making a stink about it, others were just sucking it up. We ended up busting out of the restaurant, and I was practically running to my car so I wouldn't have to drive anyone home. That was the dream!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Pregnancy Survey
I found this on BabyCenter, but I thought it would give a good perspective on my pregnancy up to this point in time:
Age? 27
Pre-Pregnancy weight? 17 pounds less than right now ;)
Current weight? 17 pounds more than where I started ;)
Is this your first pregnancy? Yes
How far along are you? 33 weeks +2
Do you like being pregnant? For the most part, yes. Especially when Squirrel moves :)
Have you had any morning sickness? A little nausea, but that's it.
Any mood swings? Mood swings? God no... ha...
Do you feel you have a stronger sense of smell? Eew, YES.
Have any swelling? A little in my calves and feet off and on.
Have you had any aches or pains yet? Yes, my hips and... um... let's just say some "spreading" is starting...
Favorite maternity outfit? Anything stretchy!
Have you bought anything for baby yet? Tonight we're getting our crib!
Are you excited? Of course!
Due date? 10/19/2009
When did you find out you were pregnant? February
Who was with you? Scotch, and my last beer :(
Were you trying to get pregnant? Yep.
Do you have a guess when and where your baby was conceived? I can pinpoint it to one or two days back there...
How far along were you when you found out? About 4 weeks.
What kind of pregnancy test did you take? First Response, then one Skip yoinked from Sinai.
How many tests did you take? See above.
What was your first reaction? Not convinced... (the line was SO faint)
What was your partner's first reaction? "We're going to have a baby?!"
Who did you tell first? Skip, Melissa, Sarison
What were your parent's reaction? Ecstatic!
Would you ever consider having an abortion? No.
Who is you doctor? Vanessa Barnabei at Froedtert/MCW.
Have you heard the baby's heartbeat? Every visit.
Have you had any ultrasounds? Just one at ~20 weeks.
Will you have any 3D/4D ultrasounds? Nope, not unless there's a medical need for one.
Have you had any complications with this pregnancy? No, thank God, and knock on wood.
Are you high risk? No.
Girl, boy, or surprise? Surprise!
Have you picked out any names yet? Boy: Preston Charles. Girl: Claire Rosemarie
What is something you eat almost everyday? Fruit!
Do you have any pregnant friends? Sarison, for a while my other friend/neighbor Sarah was, Andy Harrison's sis, my sister-in-law-- TONS!
Have you felt any movement yet? All the time!
Has your partner felt any movement yet? All the time!
Do you or your partner talk to baby? Yes, and Skip plays guitar for him/her, too :)
When did you really start to show? Mmm, maybe about 2 months ago.
Have any stretch marks? Knock on wood, NO.
How well have you been sleeping? Between peeing trips, okay for now. Getting less and less as the days go on.
Any strange dreams? Almost every night. See other posts!
Have you had any Braxton Hicks contractions yet? Maybe a few each week for the past couple.
Any baby shower plans? One last weekend, another on the 19th of September.
Have you registered any where? Target and Babies-R-Us.
What was the first thing bought for baby? A onesie from Dwyers :) Still hanging on the back of the bathroom door, ready to go :)
Are you going to take any birthing classes? Just finished them up last night.
Are you reading any pregnancy, baby, childcare books? The Vaccine Book, and a few others.
Has anyone said anything unusual to you since you've been pregnant? Luckily, not really.
What is the best part about being pregnant? Knowing what the end result is!
What is the worst part? Body changes, realizing I can't do a lot of things I could do before.
What are you most nervous about?Being a good parent.
Birth Plans:
At home or at a hospital? Hospital
Vaginal or C-section? Vaginal if all goes well...
Natural or medicated? Hopefully natural...
Will you be induced?Not unless it becomes medically necessary.
Who will be in the delivery room with you? Skip, Mom and Sarison
What couple of things will you be sure to have with you? Not sure, but at least the little "Scotch" Skip got for me :)
What do you think will annoy you during labor? Possibility of nurses/docs pushing meds on me.
Are you going to take pictures? Me? Hell no. Maybe Mom or Sarah will.
Will dad cut the cord? Yes.
Are you scared? A little bit.
What are you most scared about? Tearing, bleeding out like Sarah...
When the baby is here:
What is the baby's coming home outfit? Haven't gotten it yet!
Will you come home as soon as you can? As soon as I'm ready and they let me.
What is the best thing about coming home? Starting our new family at home!
What is the nursery's theme? Eh, browns, greens and reds (like the Kandinsky painting called Farbstudie Quadrate, the one with all the circles)-- if the store still has what we want!
Will you breastfeed or formula feed? Hope to breast feed, if all goes well!
Will you co-sleep? Not anything besides maybe short naps. It's not safe.
Age? 27
Pre-Pregnancy weight? 17 pounds less than right now ;)
Current weight? 17 pounds more than where I started ;)
Is this your first pregnancy? Yes
How far along are you? 33 weeks +2
Do you like being pregnant? For the most part, yes. Especially when Squirrel moves :)
Have you had any morning sickness? A little nausea, but that's it.
Any mood swings? Mood swings? God no... ha...
Do you feel you have a stronger sense of smell? Eew, YES.
Have any swelling? A little in my calves and feet off and on.
Have you had any aches or pains yet? Yes, my hips and... um... let's just say some "spreading" is starting...
Favorite maternity outfit? Anything stretchy!
Have you bought anything for baby yet? Tonight we're getting our crib!
Are you excited? Of course!
Due date? 10/19/2009
When did you find out you were pregnant? February
Who was with you? Scotch, and my last beer :(
Were you trying to get pregnant? Yep.
Do you have a guess when and where your baby was conceived? I can pinpoint it to one or two days back there...
How far along were you when you found out? About 4 weeks.
What kind of pregnancy test did you take? First Response, then one Skip yoinked from Sinai.
How many tests did you take? See above.
What was your first reaction? Not convinced... (the line was SO faint)
What was your partner's first reaction? "We're going to have a baby?!"
Who did you tell first? Skip, Melissa, Sarison
What were your parent's reaction? Ecstatic!
Would you ever consider having an abortion? No.
Who is you doctor? Vanessa Barnabei at Froedtert/MCW.
Have you heard the baby's heartbeat? Every visit.
Have you had any ultrasounds? Just one at ~20 weeks.
Will you have any 3D/4D ultrasounds? Nope, not unless there's a medical need for one.
Have you had any complications with this pregnancy? No, thank God, and knock on wood.
Are you high risk? No.
Girl, boy, or surprise? Surprise!
Have you picked out any names yet? Boy: Preston Charles. Girl: Claire Rosemarie
What is something you eat almost everyday? Fruit!
Do you have any pregnant friends? Sarison, for a while my other friend/neighbor Sarah was, Andy Harrison's sis, my sister-in-law-- TONS!
Have you felt any movement yet? All the time!
Has your partner felt any movement yet? All the time!
Do you or your partner talk to baby? Yes, and Skip plays guitar for him/her, too :)
When did you really start to show? Mmm, maybe about 2 months ago.
Have any stretch marks? Knock on wood, NO.
How well have you been sleeping? Between peeing trips, okay for now. Getting less and less as the days go on.
Any strange dreams? Almost every night. See other posts!
Have you had any Braxton Hicks contractions yet? Maybe a few each week for the past couple.
Any baby shower plans? One last weekend, another on the 19th of September.
Have you registered any where? Target and Babies-R-Us.
What was the first thing bought for baby? A onesie from Dwyers :) Still hanging on the back of the bathroom door, ready to go :)
Are you going to take any birthing classes? Just finished them up last night.
Are you reading any pregnancy, baby, childcare books? The Vaccine Book, and a few others.
Has anyone said anything unusual to you since you've been pregnant? Luckily, not really.
What is the best part about being pregnant? Knowing what the end result is!
What is the worst part? Body changes, realizing I can't do a lot of things I could do before.
What are you most nervous about?Being a good parent.
Birth Plans:
At home or at a hospital? Hospital
Vaginal or C-section? Vaginal if all goes well...
Natural or medicated? Hopefully natural...
Will you be induced?Not unless it becomes medically necessary.
Who will be in the delivery room with you? Skip, Mom and Sarison
What couple of things will you be sure to have with you? Not sure, but at least the little "Scotch" Skip got for me :)
What do you think will annoy you during labor? Possibility of nurses/docs pushing meds on me.
Are you going to take pictures? Me? Hell no. Maybe Mom or Sarah will.
Will dad cut the cord? Yes.
Are you scared? A little bit.
What are you most scared about? Tearing, bleeding out like Sarah...
When the baby is here:
What is the baby's coming home outfit? Haven't gotten it yet!
Will you come home as soon as you can? As soon as I'm ready and they let me.
What is the best thing about coming home? Starting our new family at home!
What is the nursery's theme? Eh, browns, greens and reds (like the Kandinsky painting called Farbstudie Quadrate, the one with all the circles)-- if the store still has what we want!
Will you breastfeed or formula feed? Hope to breast feed, if all goes well!
Will you co-sleep? Not anything besides maybe short naps. It's not safe.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Great weekend!
Though it is Monday afternoon and I am quite tired, I wouldn't give it up because I had such a wonderful weekend!
Skip and I hung around the house and got some things done on Saturday morning and through the early afternoon, then got ready to go down to Chicago. We had anticipated needing to drive around the train station a bunch to find long-term free parking, but we totally lucked out in being able to find a 10-hour free parking area literally across the street from the Intermodal (Amtrak and bus) Station. Yay! So then we were there like 45 mins before our train left. Oh well. We got on and our car only had like 3 other people in it, so it was nice and quiet. That route to Chicago from Milwaukee on Amtrak is so easy and convenient. Mom, Dad, and Michael met us downtown and we went to The Parthenon for dinner. It was just as good as always. We had SO much food, but we also had a great time. It was Taste of Greece outside on Halsted St., so after dinner we walked around for a little while before heading back up to Milwaukee. Mom was happy with her unnoticed "roadie sodie" of Mavrodafni :). We made it back up by about 9:30, and visited a little while before Mom and Dad went to their hotel, and Michael, Skip and I crashed.
Skip and I got up Sunday morning and went to church, then picked up Michael and headed out to Waukesha for our baby shower at Sarah and Andy's. It turned out to be such nice weather, which was great for the shower. There were between 25 and 30 of our closest family members and a couple of family friends. It was great to visit with everyone! We got some very nice gifts, as well, which is always a bonus :). Sarah did a wonderful job coordinating everything! There were 7 kids under the age of 10 there, so Skip and I got some good kid-practice in there, too. It's going to be so wonderful to bring our little one into that crowd!
After we left we went home, and while Skip dog-parked with Scotch, I went on a little "stalking" excursion to the east side of Milwaukee... (details later, maybe :)). We got back home and had Parthenon leftovers for dinner, then walked our overfed bodies down to Walgreens to pick up some pictures. We got home, and again, totally crashed.
We have had some great weekends lately, and a couple more to come. I'm really enjoying the end of this summer, with much anticipation for the fall!
Skip and I hung around the house and got some things done on Saturday morning and through the early afternoon, then got ready to go down to Chicago. We had anticipated needing to drive around the train station a bunch to find long-term free parking, but we totally lucked out in being able to find a 10-hour free parking area literally across the street from the Intermodal (Amtrak and bus) Station. Yay! So then we were there like 45 mins before our train left. Oh well. We got on and our car only had like 3 other people in it, so it was nice and quiet. That route to Chicago from Milwaukee on Amtrak is so easy and convenient. Mom, Dad, and Michael met us downtown and we went to The Parthenon for dinner. It was just as good as always. We had SO much food, but we also had a great time. It was Taste of Greece outside on Halsted St., so after dinner we walked around for a little while before heading back up to Milwaukee. Mom was happy with her unnoticed "roadie sodie" of Mavrodafni :). We made it back up by about 9:30, and visited a little while before Mom and Dad went to their hotel, and Michael, Skip and I crashed.
Skip and I got up Sunday morning and went to church, then picked up Michael and headed out to Waukesha for our baby shower at Sarah and Andy's. It turned out to be such nice weather, which was great for the shower. There were between 25 and 30 of our closest family members and a couple of family friends. It was great to visit with everyone! We got some very nice gifts, as well, which is always a bonus :). Sarah did a wonderful job coordinating everything! There were 7 kids under the age of 10 there, so Skip and I got some good kid-practice in there, too. It's going to be so wonderful to bring our little one into that crowd!
After we left we went home, and while Skip dog-parked with Scotch, I went on a little "stalking" excursion to the east side of Milwaukee... (details later, maybe :)). We got back home and had Parthenon leftovers for dinner, then walked our overfed bodies down to Walgreens to pick up some pictures. We got home, and again, totally crashed.
We have had some great weekends lately, and a couple more to come. I'm really enjoying the end of this summer, with much anticipation for the fall!
Friday, August 28, 2009
32 Weeks!
I had my (end of) 32 week appointment with the doctor today, and all is well. My blood pressure was great (98/58-- thanks, Mom, for the gene for low healthy BP!), and my weight gain is right on track. I have started to feel more anxious about everything that's coming in the next months, so I was sure to ask the doctor some questions I had. The baby's heartbeat was fine, fluctuating like it should with movement. The doctor was able to tell me that it felt as if the baby's head has turned downward, which is the right position from this point on in pregnancy. Based on my measurements, she guesses the baby is somewhere between 3 1/2 and 4 pounds.
I asked her when we would start talking about my "plans" for L & D, and I've decided that when doctors hear the word "plan," they freak out. And I don't really have a dedicated plan, per se. There is the ideal way I would like for this all to play out, but of course I'm realistic enough to know that nothing ever goes exactly as planned. She did offer me advice, saying that the less interventions I want, the longer I should stay at home. Which is good info to know. I have not completely written-off drugs or an epidural, it's just that I would like to try and go as natural as possible. However, if that does not work out and I need the meds, it will be fine. I'm not looking for a gold star or someone to pat me on the back and tell me "good job!" for doing things without drugs. If it hurts that much, bring on the Nubain, Stadol or Epi. The doctor did tell me that she and her partners do not routinely cut episiotomies, which was also good to know. Because her schedule may not allow for her to be there to deliver our baby, she said she trusts all of her partners and knows that they all practice with the same principles and therefore will be able to care for me as well as she would. It's good to hear. Being a patient in such a large practice and hospital has its drawbacks, such as lots of doctors and not as much personal "warm fuzzy" feel. However, I am willing to forgo some of that to be able to have the best docs and facilities available to me if I need them-- 24/7.
I asked her when we would start talking about my "plans" for L & D, and I've decided that when doctors hear the word "plan," they freak out. And I don't really have a dedicated plan, per se. There is the ideal way I would like for this all to play out, but of course I'm realistic enough to know that nothing ever goes exactly as planned. She did offer me advice, saying that the less interventions I want, the longer I should stay at home. Which is good info to know. I have not completely written-off drugs or an epidural, it's just that I would like to try and go as natural as possible. However, if that does not work out and I need the meds, it will be fine. I'm not looking for a gold star or someone to pat me on the back and tell me "good job!" for doing things without drugs. If it hurts that much, bring on the Nubain, Stadol or Epi. The doctor did tell me that she and her partners do not routinely cut episiotomies, which was also good to know. Because her schedule may not allow for her to be there to deliver our baby, she said she trusts all of her partners and knows that they all practice with the same principles and therefore will be able to care for me as well as she would. It's good to hear. Being a patient in such a large practice and hospital has its drawbacks, such as lots of doctors and not as much personal "warm fuzzy" feel. However, I am willing to forgo some of that to be able to have the best docs and facilities available to me if I need them-- 24/7.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Dreams 8/17
I had a weird dream last night that both my sister and I were feeling the babies move like crazy, which was cool. But then I look down between my legs and there is a tiny leg sticking out. I told my mom hurriedly to call 911, because a breech/footling birth is really bad. The baby somehow ended up coming out, and it was totally stiff. Not dead stiff, but it's legs were all contracted. The 911 operator instructed me to start "working" the legs and arms by bending them and moving them. All of a sudden, after everything started moving smoothly, the baby turned into this plump perfect little thing. Still don't know if it was a boy or girl, though... Weird? Signs that something isn't going to go right with my delivery? :/
Friday, August 14, 2009
Baby update 8/14 and vent
I had my 30 week appointment with Dr. Barnabei this morning, and it went fine. One pound in three weeks-- take THAT, Doc! I suppose that's what happens when you don't have a stitch of ice cream or extra salt or oatmeal in 3 weeks and load up on fruit, veggies, water and eggs. Too bad my digestive system hates this new way of eating... Okay, TMI. Anyways, the baby's heart rate sounded slow to me, around 120, but it was kind of fluctuating and the doc didn't seem concerned. She said it's common for the baby's HR to fluctuate as it moves around in there. I'm measuring fine, and everything else is going well. My doctor is not unpleasant, but just very down-to-business, so I wasn't in a super-excited mood or anything leaving the appointment. However, I do trust her 100% medically-speaking, so I suppose I can do without a little bit of the bedside manner. I just don't anticipate having her be my OB anymore after this baby.
Skip and I are going up to Algoma tonight, and we're not going to have the house to ourselves like we thought. It's not like we were going up there to "make out" the whole time (I'll keep it PG for the kiddies :)), but we would have just liked to have a nice, private, relaxing weekend. The whole thing with this house is, though, that my in-laws gave keys away to like a bajillion people, with no rules/stipulations on who can go up when. No sign-up sheet, no reservations, don't have to tell anyone, just go when you want. So, Skip and I will call Mannings when we're planning on going up there (like we did 2 weeks ago), just to give a heads up. Well, apparently some others also had planned for a couple of weeks to go up, which is totally fine-- but there are only 2 bedrooms with a queen in each. So if there are more than 4 people up there, then people are relegated to the couches. Um, pregnant lady gets a bed. Sorry. So Mary and Charlie were going to go up, too, and we find out a couple others are going up. As bothered as I am with the fact that we didn't know others were going to be there, I feel just as bad encroaching on their plans, if they wanted a nice weekend alone. So we said we'd pass, but now Charlie and Mary are passing instead. I guess I'm happy that we can still go and have the weekend, but the confusion of the whole mess has set my weekend off to a bad start. I was looking forward to telling my in-laws that their system of "first come first dibs on beds" doesn't work, but it looks like that will have to wait for another time. Besides, it might fall on deaf ears anyways, so it may be pointless to even bring it up. I guess we'll just have to flat-out state next time "we are going up to Algoma on such-and-such a date, and we would like it to ourselves. Period." Not only for our sakes, but for everyone else who may not particularly want to spend a whole weekend with us. Urgh.
Anyways, I was stressed about all of this, but then found out that Ziemerham's house got broken into, so that puts some perspective on my stress...
Skip and I are going up to Algoma tonight, and we're not going to have the house to ourselves like we thought. It's not like we were going up there to "make out" the whole time (I'll keep it PG for the kiddies :)), but we would have just liked to have a nice, private, relaxing weekend. The whole thing with this house is, though, that my in-laws gave keys away to like a bajillion people, with no rules/stipulations on who can go up when. No sign-up sheet, no reservations, don't have to tell anyone, just go when you want. So, Skip and I will call Mannings when we're planning on going up there (like we did 2 weeks ago), just to give a heads up. Well, apparently some others also had planned for a couple of weeks to go up, which is totally fine-- but there are only 2 bedrooms with a queen in each. So if there are more than 4 people up there, then people are relegated to the couches. Um, pregnant lady gets a bed. Sorry. So Mary and Charlie were going to go up, too, and we find out a couple others are going up. As bothered as I am with the fact that we didn't know others were going to be there, I feel just as bad encroaching on their plans, if they wanted a nice weekend alone. So we said we'd pass, but now Charlie and Mary are passing instead. I guess I'm happy that we can still go and have the weekend, but the confusion of the whole mess has set my weekend off to a bad start. I was looking forward to telling my in-laws that their system of "first come first dibs on beds" doesn't work, but it looks like that will have to wait for another time. Besides, it might fall on deaf ears anyways, so it may be pointless to even bring it up. I guess we'll just have to flat-out state next time "we are going up to Algoma on such-and-such a date, and we would like it to ourselves. Period." Not only for our sakes, but for everyone else who may not particularly want to spend a whole weekend with us. Urgh.
Anyways, I was stressed about all of this, but then found out that Ziemerham's house got broken into, so that puts some perspective on my stress...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Weekend and Baby Class
I had quite the productive weekend, at least Friday and Saturday, and really feel like we've made some progress on the house and baby's room. Right after work on Friday I headed to Homo Depot to rent a carpet cleaner. We rented it for 4 hours, which I figured would be plenty of time to get the carpets cleaned in the living room, foyer-ish area and guest bedroom. I didn't, however, factor into the equation that I was picking the thing up at the height of rush hour, and I live 20 mins from the store-- in good weather and traffic-- which it wasn't. So I got home and started by 6:00. Thank god Skip had moved all of the furniture and the house was all ready to go. I got all of the carpets done before 8, then even did the couch in the living room with the upholstery attachment to the cleaner. Wow does everything look nice! It just sets the whole house off to have clean carpets, and now there's also no dog spooge on the couch! I left the house just after 8:30 and got back to the store with 10 minutes to spare, just in time.
We had wanted to do the carpets on a dry day, so we picked Friday. Haha, NOT! Of course we pick seriously the wettest, most humid weekend to let them dry, which totally sucked. We weren't in any of those rooms too much on Saturday, which meant we were kind of sequestered to the kitchen and bedroom, or outside-- which wasn't happening. I managed to get into the guest/baby's room a bit and finish taking apart and moving to the basement the remaining furniture that needed to move. I really now feel like we don't have much left to do in terms of getting the room/house ready for the baby. We still have to organize the spare closet in there and move Skip's nursing school papers and info to the basement, but other than that, it's coming along. I'm sure my nesting instinct will find more things to do, but for now we're good. :)
I took Scotch to the dog park in the late afternoon, got soaked by the rain, then came home and had a hormonal pregnant crab attack. Skip was like, "what is wrong with you? why don't you just go lay down for a few minutes?" So I did, then I was better. I love hormones. Then we headed down to Bristol for an engagement party for our friend Quentin (from Meda-Care) and his new fiance Kim. We had a very nice time, and really got some good catching up done with the Bowmans and Meshenkys. I've decided the Meshenky kids are two of the cutest kids EVER! Too bad we didn't get to meet Ben and Christy's baby Brie-- but hopefully soon! We stayed up and talked (yes, talked) for about an hour when we got home, so I was up until like 1am-- haven't done that in a while!
Sunday was friggin' hot. I stayed inside all day except to pick up dog poop so Skip could mow the lawn. I got some laundry done, then vegged. We got yummy stuff from El Rey for dinner, then went for a walk and vegged some more.
We had our first Baby/Birthing Class yesterday evening, and it was very informative. I know neither of us are uneducated or naive about the whole process, but it's nice nonetheless to go and just get some exposure to what will be happening. There is a couple in my class who are both approaching 50 and whose baby (their 1st) was a TOTAL surprise (the lady actually thought she was going through menopause at first!)-- they were "hard partiers" they said (she looks like she has smoked 2 packs a day for her whole life, and I would have pegged her for approaching 60). So if we think our baby is changing our lives, I can't imagine how theirs is changing! Squirrel wriggled all night through class, which seemed quite appropriate. I took a little road trip after class to get some shoes from Steph to borrow for her wedding (NEXT WEEKEND!), and had a nice visit. Then Stephanie got kidnapped-- we had no idea where she was. No, actually, she just went to visit the neighbors, but Mike didn't know and was worried, so he called me to see if I knew where she was. A couple of tense moments, but she was fine, thank god. I thought she had gotten stolen by the freaky lady with the suitcase who had been wandering the neighborhood just moments before...
Okay, long enough post for now!
We had wanted to do the carpets on a dry day, so we picked Friday. Haha, NOT! Of course we pick seriously the wettest, most humid weekend to let them dry, which totally sucked. We weren't in any of those rooms too much on Saturday, which meant we were kind of sequestered to the kitchen and bedroom, or outside-- which wasn't happening. I managed to get into the guest/baby's room a bit and finish taking apart and moving to the basement the remaining furniture that needed to move. I really now feel like we don't have much left to do in terms of getting the room/house ready for the baby. We still have to organize the spare closet in there and move Skip's nursing school papers and info to the basement, but other than that, it's coming along. I'm sure my nesting instinct will find more things to do, but for now we're good. :)
I took Scotch to the dog park in the late afternoon, got soaked by the rain, then came home and had a hormonal pregnant crab attack. Skip was like, "what is wrong with you? why don't you just go lay down for a few minutes?" So I did, then I was better. I love hormones. Then we headed down to Bristol for an engagement party for our friend Quentin (from Meda-Care) and his new fiance Kim. We had a very nice time, and really got some good catching up done with the Bowmans and Meshenkys. I've decided the Meshenky kids are two of the cutest kids EVER! Too bad we didn't get to meet Ben and Christy's baby Brie-- but hopefully soon! We stayed up and talked (yes, talked) for about an hour when we got home, so I was up until like 1am-- haven't done that in a while!
Sunday was friggin' hot. I stayed inside all day except to pick up dog poop so Skip could mow the lawn. I got some laundry done, then vegged. We got yummy stuff from El Rey for dinner, then went for a walk and vegged some more.
We had our first Baby/Birthing Class yesterday evening, and it was very informative. I know neither of us are uneducated or naive about the whole process, but it's nice nonetheless to go and just get some exposure to what will be happening. There is a couple in my class who are both approaching 50 and whose baby (their 1st) was a TOTAL surprise (the lady actually thought she was going through menopause at first!)-- they were "hard partiers" they said (she looks like she has smoked 2 packs a day for her whole life, and I would have pegged her for approaching 60). So if we think our baby is changing our lives, I can't imagine how theirs is changing! Squirrel wriggled all night through class, which seemed quite appropriate. I took a little road trip after class to get some shoes from Steph to borrow for her wedding (NEXT WEEKEND!), and had a nice visit. Then Stephanie got kidnapped-- we had no idea where she was. No, actually, she just went to visit the neighbors, but Mike didn't know and was worried, so he called me to see if I knew where she was. A couple of tense moments, but she was fine, thank god. I thought she had gotten stolen by the freaky lady with the suitcase who had been wandering the neighborhood just moments before...
Okay, long enough post for now!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Thoughts
Lately I've really started thinking about the little things that I have to get done before this baby comes. Sure, Skip and I have had a list in the kitchen for a few months of the major "household" changes that need to occur, in terms of rearranging furniture and rooms and such. However, up until just recently I have managed to keep my brain free of other details that I might either need to get done before the baby comes, or things that I've been told about birth/babies/pregnancy-- the things that people say to me along the lines of: "I wish I would have known this when I was pregnant/in labor/bringing home a newborn." Here are my latest pregnancy thoughts:
1.) How are birth certificates handled? Does the hospital file it? [Got this one answered by a co-worker. Check.]
2.) I will need to apply for the baby's Social Security number. [Also answered by coworker, Froedtert does it for us. Check.]
3.) Call the doctor who we've decided will be our pediatrician. Find out if she will follow the vaccination schedule we want.
4.) Add the baby to my insurance.
5.) Pre-register at the hospital. [Thanks for that one, Sarison.]
6.) Finish filling out FMLA forms and turn them in.
7.) Get the carpets cleaned so the baby doesn't get salmonella like I did at 6 months old.
8.) Figure out when to pack my bag for the hospital, and what to put in it.
9.) Start thinking about tying up any loose ends at work and finish up projects in case I go early.
10.) I was told that my boobs will hurt like hell when I am transitioning out of breastfeeding.
11.) I need to talk to my doctor about whether or not my tattoo will pose an issue if I need an epidural. Not planning on one, but just in case...
12.) My water might break while I'm in bed, so I was told to get a waterproof mattress pad.
13.) Start cooking and freezing some meals now because I won't want to cook after the baby comes.
I'm not REALLY stressed out, but my mind is running a mile a minute these days just thinking about things. Thinking, thinking, thinking. I wish there were things that I could DO to practice before this kid comes, because I'd really like to prepare myself. But alas, apparently there isn't much I can do besides just wait patiently and feel it squirm in my tummy to Frank Ticheli. I suppose that'll do in the meantime...
1.) How are birth certificates handled? Does the hospital file it? [Got this one answered by a co-worker. Check.]
2.) I will need to apply for the baby's Social Security number. [Also answered by coworker, Froedtert does it for us. Check.]
3.) Call the doctor who we've decided will be our pediatrician. Find out if she will follow the vaccination schedule we want.
4.) Add the baby to my insurance.
5.) Pre-register at the hospital. [Thanks for that one, Sarison.]
6.) Finish filling out FMLA forms and turn them in.
7.) Get the carpets cleaned so the baby doesn't get salmonella like I did at 6 months old.
8.) Figure out when to pack my bag for the hospital, and what to put in it.
9.) Start thinking about tying up any loose ends at work and finish up projects in case I go early.
10.) I was told that my boobs will hurt like hell when I am transitioning out of breastfeeding.
11.) I need to talk to my doctor about whether or not my tattoo will pose an issue if I need an epidural. Not planning on one, but just in case...
12.) My water might break while I'm in bed, so I was told to get a waterproof mattress pad.
13.) Start cooking and freezing some meals now because I won't want to cook after the baby comes.
I'm not REALLY stressed out, but my mind is running a mile a minute these days just thinking about things. Thinking, thinking, thinking. I wish there were things that I could DO to practice before this kid comes, because I'd really like to prepare myself. But alas, apparently there isn't much I can do besides just wait patiently and feel it squirm in my tummy to Frank Ticheli. I suppose that'll do in the meantime...
Friday, July 31, 2009
Dreams 7/31
I woke up in the middle of the night Wednesday to a really unsettling dream, and I woke up hysterically crying. So I was NOT in the mood to dream last night, but alas, I have no control over that...
Dream: Skip and I were hanging around in the house when it came clear to us that apparently Skip had somehow scorned Tim Roth/Thade from Planet of the Apes (yes, Planet of the Apes, very odd...). So Roth had like permanently turned into Thade, and he was really really scary, scouring the neighborhood looking for Skip. I saw him walking down the street so I 
frantically went around closing all the windows/blinds and doors of the house, and told Skip to stay away from the windows. We could tell that Thade had an idea that this was our house and that Skip was inside, because he kept trying to look into all the windows and "sniff out" Skip. At one point we heard the lawnmower going like he had picked it up and was trying to ram it blade-side into our back door. It was actually really scary. It turns out they wanted Skip to be in the next movie, like he had a debt to fulfill or something. He didn't want to. So later that night I go into the living room, and I see our big front window busted in and the blinds are destroyed. I was upset because I didn't want our landlords to get mad at us for the broken window, when I noticed all of these cats lying around the living room floor. Thade had put them there as a threat to us that he knew where we lived (Skip is allergic to cats). Thade was at our back door again, banging like hell to get Skip to come out. I started think "Skip, maybe you should be in the movie," so I asked him how much money they were offering him. Then I remember waking up from the dream and being very glad that my house was still in tact! It was actually kind of a scary dream-- if you've seen the Thade character, he's not the nicest guy...
frantically went around closing all the windows/blinds and doors of the house, and told Skip to stay away from the windows. We could tell that Thade had an idea that this was our house and that Skip was inside, because he kept trying to look into all the windows and "sniff out" Skip. At one point we heard the lawnmower going like he had picked it up and was trying to ram it blade-side into our back door. It was actually really scary. It turns out they wanted Skip to be in the next movie, like he had a debt to fulfill or something. He didn't want to. So later that night I go into the living room, and I see our big front window busted in and the blinds are destroyed. I was upset because I didn't want our landlords to get mad at us for the broken window, when I noticed all of these cats lying around the living room floor. Thade had put them there as a threat to us that he knew where we lived (Skip is allergic to cats). Thade was at our back door again, banging like hell to get Skip to come out. I started think "Skip, maybe you should be in the movie," so I asked him how much money they were offering him. Then I remember waking up from the dream and being very glad that my house was still in tact! It was actually kind of a scary dream-- if you've seen the Thade character, he's not the nicest guy...Then I dreamt that I was back at my parents' house, going room to room and closet to closet trying to find something to wear, and no one would leave me alone so that I could take a shower to get ready to wherever I had to go. Then all of a sudden I was in our guest room, which now had a bathroom, and I was trying to figure out how we were going to arrange the baby's room now that a huge corner of it was taken over by the new bathroom.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Update 7/29
We had our 27-28 week appointment last Friday, and it went okay. In terms of the baby, everything is going great: the heartbeat was fine, and it's measuring right on track. I haven't heard anything yet from my glucose test for gestational diabetes, so the assumption is "no news is good news." I even got complimented on my pee (it was nice and clear)! I've never had anyone say "nice pee" to me before :). I was pretty frustrated leaving the appointment, however, because of some weight gain issues on my part. I've been trying so hard to keep everything in check, and let's just say the scale didn't cooperate with that on Friday. Chalk it up to common jumps in weight gain for many women at this point in pregnancy, or the fact that I had been on vacation and not exercising as much, who knows-- but I was kind of crabby. However, I'm pretty much over it since I've gotten back into my routine, and I'm feeling much better!Overall, I've been a little more tired these days, but I hear that's to be expected. I've otherwise been feeling well, and "Squirrel" really moves like crazy these days! I had his/her head or something right in my belly button last week during a staff meeting, so that was pleasantly distracting. My boss looked over at me at one point and said all she could see was my belly moving :).
As for other things, I got the opportunity to head up north last week, which was great. Scotch and I hit the road early on Saturday morning, and met the family first in Mosinee (to pick up Pat and Ann at the airport), and 
then stopped in Minocqua for lunch before making it up to Boulder Junction and Evergreen. We had about 3 days worth of decent weather, and we got in a really nice visit with everyone. I even got to finish a book, which I haven't done in a while. Scotch was sweetly neurotic as always, and really loved swimming and exploring the Northwoods. I came home with some nasty fly bites, but that's okay because I also came home with a pretty nice tan and bleached-out hair :). I actually think I'm more tan this summer because of pregnancy skin differences, but no complaints here!Work has been the same. Yup, that's all I have to say about that. Oh, I went and did some PR work for Meda-Care a couple of weeks ago for some extra cash, and that went well. A good way to stay in touch with MCA while I can't be working the streets. I used a lot of hand sanitizer that day, though, especially after leaving Mary Jude nursing home... yuck.
Skip is doing great in school, pulling high Bs in all of his classes. His finals and ATIs are next week and the week after, so pray for him that all goes well. He will have a few weeks off to relax and work a bit before going back in early September. We plan to head up to his parent's cottage in Algoma on the 14th, and then we'll be back in town for the next weekend-- yay for Steph and Mike getting married! SO excited :)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Dreams 7/22/09
I had a slightly disturbing one last night, unfortunately. Maybe it was because I was doped up on Bendryl from my monstrously annoying fly bites. Anyways:
I was in downtown Milwaukee, standing up where Vliet St. goes over 43 and turns into Winnebago/Juneau, where it overlooks a bunch of the city. There was some registration or sign-up for some armed forces-related thing up there, and Sarah C. and Kendra Kulans were registering. I was talking to them, and looked down towards downtown and noticed there were hundreds of "sailors" coming into the city from being out at sea, and I remember saying "no offense, girls, but it's much more interesting watching the sailors come in, because they put on more of a show." (There were all kinds of marching bands and a huge parade going on.) So I start running down towards the city, feeling good that I could still run even though I was pregnant.
I get down by one of the bands, and I manage to jump on one of the wagons, right behind the tuba player. As I'm listening to him, everyone notices the horses pulling one of the wagons ahead of us start taking off running, and the tall wagon tips over (like one of the 12-footers from the Circus Parade). Well, all of the people on the wagon get flung off, and the conductor of that band smacks the ground, and everyone knows he's dead (because, not to get graphic, his head splits open and "stuff" goes flinging...). Well I go running up to him, and no one wants to look at him-- his shirt had come up over his head. I start saying "well, someone has to look at him, because if he's not dead, then he needs help!" So I take huge deep breath, pull down the shirt, and put it right back over him because, yep, he's definitely dead (it was gross). So then I start yelling at people to cover up all the bodies and call 911 to help the others and to control the scene from onlookers.
I don't remember the rest of the dream, but that was enough disturbance for one night.
I was in downtown Milwaukee, standing up where Vliet St. goes over 43 and turns into Winnebago/Juneau, where it overlooks a bunch of the city. There was some registration or sign-up for some armed forces-related thing up there, and Sarah C. and Kendra Kulans were registering. I was talking to them, and looked down towards downtown and noticed there were hundreds of "sailors" coming into the city from being out at sea, and I remember saying "no offense, girls, but it's much more interesting watching the sailors come in, because they put on more of a show." (There were all kinds of marching bands and a huge parade going on.) So I start running down towards the city, feeling good that I could still run even though I was pregnant.
I get down by one of the bands, and I manage to jump on one of the wagons, right behind the tuba player. As I'm listening to him, everyone notices the horses pulling one of the wagons ahead of us start taking off running, and the tall wagon tips over (like one of the 12-footers from the Circus Parade). Well, all of the people on the wagon get flung off, and the conductor of that band smacks the ground, and everyone knows he's dead (because, not to get graphic, his head splits open and "stuff" goes flinging...). Well I go running up to him, and no one wants to look at him-- his shirt had come up over his head. I start saying "well, someone has to look at him, because if he's not dead, then he needs help!" So I take huge deep breath, pull down the shirt, and put it right back over him because, yep, he's definitely dead (it was gross). So then I start yelling at people to cover up all the bodies and call 911 to help the others and to control the scene from onlookers.
I don't remember the rest of the dream, but that was enough disturbance for one night.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sousaphones and Circus Wagons
Yesterday was the Great Circus Parade on the streets on downtown Milwaukee, and I was a participant riding on the Adam Forepaugh Stringer wagon #201. I had been asked months ago to be in the parade by a colleague in WASB, and although I anticipated being pregnant, I thought it would be fun-- not to mention a pretty darn well-paying gig for the type of "work" I would be doing. So yesterday was the day. I got to the festival grounds pretty early so that I wouldn't have to battle with traffic. I had plenty of time to get my horn ready, get all costumed up, and walk to meet my group at the wagon. My "costume" consisted of a teal long-sleeve t-shirt, a fringed vest, a scarf around my neck, and other on my head (a cowboy hat wouldn't fit with my sousaphone)-- I was in the Wild West section of the parade. I had some time to get an ice cream and wander by the lake and festival grounds, then I got my horn ready and met my group at the wagon. Walking that distance made me glad that I was NOT marching yesterday. I found my group, we went over the music, and then a few of us decided to take a quick stroll to the port-a-potties before the parade rolled out (fyi it was the 3 people in our group over the age of 70... and me-- the 4 of us with limited bladder control... :)). Well, we realized that the wagons had already started to load, so I decided I would run into the woods to pee REALLY quick before loading our wagon. Why is it that whenever you have to pee in a hurry, you can't?? So, I managed a little, and it went straight on my pants. Yes, I pulled a nature, right off Lincoln Memorial Drive, and I peed on my pants. Wonderful.
I managed to get back to the wagon, and the Nazi wagon men almost left with me barely onto the wagon. (Keep in mind I'm dressed in Wild West garb and carrying a sousaphone.) So we get moving, and boy is it different riding on a wagon when it's being pulled by 4 draft horses (Percherons, to be exact). Interesting parade issues:
1.) Lots of jerky starts = mouthpieces jabbing into teeth. Owee.
2.) Wind + sousaphone = Danger. Every gust of wind that blew through caught my "sail" (i.e. sousaphone bell) and threatened to fling me off the back of the wagon. I felt like I was getting such a workout with trying to keep myself stable! Someone from the front of our wagon asked at one point: "Everyone in the back okay?" And someone responded: "I think the question should be: Have we lost our sousaphone player yet?!"
3.) Drawbridges are really scary when you're going over them in a wagon pulled by horses who don't want to go over them.
4.) The 5-foot high wagons are so much more inviting than the 12-footers. Thank the Lord I was on a shorter one. I wouldn't have climbed my ass, pregnant or not, up a 12-foot ladder any day of the week. No sir.
All-in-all it was a really great experience, despite the fact that my tush and shoulder are pretty sore, tush from sitting uncomfortably and shoulder from the horn. However, the pay was definitely worth it, and it was so cool to see all of the horses, wagons, elephants and various other acts up close. And the people lining the streets cheering for us just gives you a big high, which makes you feel good. It was something I will definitely take part in again, should I have the chance. Just remind me not to do it if I'm 6 months pregnant again. I was SO exhausted afterwards.
I managed to get back to the wagon, and the Nazi wagon men almost left with me barely onto the wagon. (Keep in mind I'm dressed in Wild West garb and carrying a sousaphone.) So we get moving, and boy is it different riding on a wagon when it's being pulled by 4 draft horses (Percherons, to be exact). Interesting parade issues:
1.) Lots of jerky starts = mouthpieces jabbing into teeth. Owee.
2.) Wind + sousaphone = Danger. Every gust of wind that blew through caught my "sail" (i.e. sousaphone bell) and threatened to fling me off the back of the wagon. I felt like I was getting such a workout with trying to keep myself stable! Someone from the front of our wagon asked at one point: "Everyone in the back okay?" And someone responded: "I think the question should be: Have we lost our sousaphone player yet?!"
3.) Drawbridges are really scary when you're going over them in a wagon pulled by horses who don't want to go over them.
4.) The 5-foot high wagons are so much more inviting than the 12-footers. Thank the Lord I was on a shorter one. I wouldn't have climbed my ass, pregnant or not, up a 12-foot ladder any day of the week. No sir.
All-in-all it was a really great experience, despite the fact that my tush and shoulder are pretty sore, tush from sitting uncomfortably and shoulder from the horn. However, the pay was definitely worth it, and it was so cool to see all of the horses, wagons, elephants and various other acts up close. And the people lining the streets cheering for us just gives you a big high, which makes you feel good. It was something I will definitely take part in again, should I have the chance. Just remind me not to do it if I'm 6 months pregnant again. I was SO exhausted afterwards.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Update on life 6/23
I had a very good weekend to finish off last week and start this one. I took Friday off from work so that Skip and I could spend some quality time together and get some things done around the house. We stopped over at Meda-Care for a little while and chatted with the folks there, then ran some errands and putzed in the house for a bit. The evening was nice and uneventful. Saturday Skip got up and went to clincals, while I went to my BodyWorks class in the morning at the WAC. I hadn't been to the class in a while so it was nice to get a good workout. I came home and mopped the floors, then left the house with Scotch and walked down by the lakefront with Steph. What a gorgeous day! Everyone and their mothers were out by the lake, but everyone was very pleasant, and me and Steph managed to get some sun (although her not as much, considering she just came home from Florida-- two months from now to get that peeling taken care of!). Then I got a private tour of Steph and Mike's new house, which was so great to finally see! I am looking forward to seeing what they do with the place, and spending some time down at Roots... :) Sarah, Andy and Elizabeth came over on Saturday for dinner, and we had a very nice visit. Us girls tried the new gelato place just down the street, SO yummy! Skip and I headed out to Waukesha with the Harrisons for the airshow on Sunday, and then just had a lazy afternoon and evening. We had a nice last-minute dinner at our neighbors' house, then I punched out! I haven't had a weekend like that in a while, so it really was kind of a good change of pace to be able to just do whatever for 3 days in a row. Especially with the weather as nice as it was. My hair is finally bleaching out!
As for the ever-developing pregnancy, I had my 23-24 week appointment this afternoon, and everything is progressing fine! I have been feeling okay lately, though I've had a couple pretty tough nauseous spells so I'm keeping watch on that. Skip, for the first time, got to feel the baby move the other morning, which was great. I've been feeling it squirming around in there for quite a few weeks now, so I'm glad Skip finally got to share it. I have all of my appointments scheduled for the rest of the pregnancy, which is a little surreal, but so exciting! Let's just hope I don't need that one that's scheduled for October 23rd!
As for the ever-developing pregnancy, I had my 23-24 week appointment this afternoon, and everything is progressing fine! I have been feeling okay lately, though I've had a couple pretty tough nauseous spells so I'm keeping watch on that. Skip, for the first time, got to feel the baby move the other morning, which was great. I've been feeling it squirming around in there for quite a few weeks now, so I'm glad Skip finally got to share it. I have all of my appointments scheduled for the rest of the pregnancy, which is a little surreal, but so exciting! Let's just hope I don't need that one that's scheduled for October 23rd!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Dreams 6/11
I was driving down Watertown Plank Rd and was the 4th car in the left turn lane onto 87th St into MCW. Well, all 3 cars ahead of me decided to turn at the same time (like side-by-side) when the light turned yellow, and they all started rolling over onto each other. The lady in the middle was in a convertible so I thought she was a gonner for sure. So I got off the phone with my mom and told her I needed to go help. So I kept my car running but put the blinkers on and ran over to help. I started to help with CPR and some other things, and everyone was okay, thank god. About 20 mins later I look over and there's a tow truck taking my car! So I run frantically after the truck and finally catch up to it at their office. I totally was yelling at them asking why they didn't ask around to see who's car it was, or why they didn't go look up the license plate at MCW. I was SO pissed, knowing I would have to pay to get it back. It turns out that the truck was contracted through this office, so not only did I have to pay the driver, but I had to pay the office, too. They handed me the bill, and it was over $3,000! I went ballistic on them because I said that was a ridiculous amount to have to pay, and I would have to write them a check because I didn't have $3,000 just lying around.
So I went out to get my checkbook, only to realize I was out of checks. The only ones I had were pre-paid amounts for my mom's checking account, which I knew I was going to have to use to get my car back.
This is one dream that I can peg a reason for having. First off, I have Advanced Skills at Meda-Care on Friday, hence the CPR and helping in the car accident. And second, I've been SUPER stressed about money lately, and I suppose that's where the concern over the $3,000 comes from. I swear I wake up MORE stressed after a dream like that, instead of working out all of my issues in my dreams like they say you should. Woof.
So I went out to get my checkbook, only to realize I was out of checks. The only ones I had were pre-paid amounts for my mom's checking account, which I knew I was going to have to use to get my car back.
This is one dream that I can peg a reason for having. First off, I have Advanced Skills at Meda-Care on Friday, hence the CPR and helping in the car accident. And second, I've been SUPER stressed about money lately, and I suppose that's where the concern over the $3,000 comes from. I swear I wake up MORE stressed after a dream like that, instead of working out all of my issues in my dreams like they say you should. Woof.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Dreams 6/10
I can't remember exact details, but I remember being at this old townie bar somewhere, and in the dream I had been there in the past and met all the people who worked/frequented there. I had gone that particular night to go get a jacket I had forgotten or something. As I was leaving, I wanted to take some french fries with me that they had just made. They were really greasy. Somehow I was walking back out to my car, and ended up not driving it. Skip was calling me to figure out where I was, because I wasn't home yet. Then I was walking through a weird forest/field, like towards a festival or something because I was walking towards music (all this was at night). Then it was like I was in the middle of a big race, and all these people were screaming because they had just run through a huge swarm of bees, which was now stinging me. I was freaking out because it hurt, plus I was thinking I was going to swell up and die. Sarah C and Andy Z were there, too. The stings didn't swell, but I had 4 or 5 of them all up and down my hands and arms and they itched. I remember crawling through some vines or woods, and then I was at another outdoor bar.
I also dreamt that I was in a department store shopping for pregnancy clothes, and I was already nine months along. However, no one believed me because I was barely showing. Then I was in my old bedroom/guest room at my mom and dad's, and it was like I was recovering from a surgery or something. They told me I had already had the baby, a boy-- Preston Charles-- but that they had put me completely under anesthetic because I had been in so much pain. I was happy to have the baby (whom I never met in the dream...), but I was so mad at everyone because I said I didn't have the memories of his birth, and I could never get them back.
No wonder I toss and turn at night...
I also dreamt that I was in a department store shopping for pregnancy clothes, and I was already nine months along. However, no one believed me because I was barely showing. Then I was in my old bedroom/guest room at my mom and dad's, and it was like I was recovering from a surgery or something. They told me I had already had the baby, a boy-- Preston Charles-- but that they had put me completely under anesthetic because I had been in so much pain. I was happy to have the baby (whom I never met in the dream...), but I was so mad at everyone because I said I didn't have the memories of his birth, and I could never get them back.
No wonder I toss and turn at night...
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
All offense intended.
I frequently go on BabyCenter.com and read the useful information regarding pregnancy, as well as the posts other people can put up and comment on the October 2009 Birth Group. Usually the posts are posing questions and concerns about whether or not to have an epidural, how much weight people have gained, whether they're having a boy or girl, etc. Occasionally, people will also post vents/rants about off-topic things, and one of the latest was a post called "No offense, but..." It was allowing people to post purposely offensive statements under the safety net of that post. For the most part, it was amusing. However, one person put a post saying, "No offense, but a Bachelor in Arts is NOT a good degree." So, I retorted with, "No offense, but a Bachelor OF Arts IS a good degree, as is a Master OF Arts. I have both, and neither of them are in Art-- there is no such thing as a Bachelor IN Arts. If you think that, YOU are not the educated one." If anyone knows the BabyCenter world or any other type of site, then you know that I immediately initiated a "posting war," which I HATE doing-- even though this person was a moron and I was right. So instead of continuing the war, I just decided to vent on here.
I know plenty of people with Bachelor of Arts degrees who have wonderful careers and lives, and some of them even have them IN ART-- some of my artsy musical friends from Augie have gone on to be music and art teachers. I myself have completed two ..."of Arts" degrees, and am quite proud of that. Say I'm tooting my own horn, fine. But the thousands (and thousands...) of dollars in loan debt that I will be paying back over the next 20 years entitles me to be proud. I worked damn hard at both degrees and to have some moody, uneducated pregnant woman tell me that my degree is NOT a good degree makes me testy. Urgh. Anyways, I figured I'd vent this all out on here instead of doing so in a really long post on BabyCenter, only to have a bunch of other uneducated, moody bitches tell me that I'm attacking them personally and being "snarky." Damn proud to be snarky, especially today.
I know plenty of people with Bachelor of Arts degrees who have wonderful careers and lives, and some of them even have them IN ART-- some of my artsy musical friends from Augie have gone on to be music and art teachers. I myself have completed two ..."of Arts" degrees, and am quite proud of that. Say I'm tooting my own horn, fine. But the thousands (and thousands...) of dollars in loan debt that I will be paying back over the next 20 years entitles me to be proud. I worked damn hard at both degrees and to have some moody, uneducated pregnant woman tell me that my degree is NOT a good degree makes me testy. Urgh. Anyways, I figured I'd vent this all out on here instead of doing so in a really long post on BabyCenter, only to have a bunch of other uneducated, moody bitches tell me that I'm attacking them personally and being "snarky." Damn proud to be snarky, especially today.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Update on General Things 6/8/09
I thought I'd put a little update on here about our lives in general, not particularly dream or baby-related. First things first, Skip is trucking along with nursing school at Bryant and Stratton College. There were some setbacks at the end of last semester, and left us both (as well as our families) feeling quite disappointed with the school and how they handled some situations. Nevertheless, Skip continues with the program and if all goes as planned (ha), he will officially be finished with classes in December. He has been doing very well in his Peds/OB class this semester-- perfect timing with a pregnant wife-- as well as his Writing class. I'm so proud of all he's accomplished up to this point, and have all the confidence in the world that he will one day make a wonderful nurse. Just keep him in your thoughts during the next few months that he can do as well in school as we all know he will do in the "official" nursing world. Skip has also kept up the jamming with the newly-reorganized "The Halo Effect." It's a mature group of folks that really seems to gel musically, and it's been much more bearable for me to listen to them a couple of times a week down in my basement.
As for me, my job at the Medical College of Wisconsin has been the same. We've had some frustrating projects/audits lately that have made obvious to me the bureaucracy of academia, but that's just how things go. Gotta go through the right channels and chains of command to get the work done and our recommendations out there. It's hard as the weather gets nicer to be sitting in an interior office with no windows and being inside for 8.5 hours straight. However, I think with my wandering mind, if I had a window I would get way too easily distracted from the work I should be doing (like right now...). I also have to remind myself that this job is what will pay for this baby to be born, and I count my blessings every time I have a doctor's appointment for the benefits I have through MCW, Froedtert and Children's. I cherish my time on the weekends to spend time with Skip, family and friends, as well as getting out in the coming months to the beautiful weather. My pale skin really needs a tan... I'm thinking I'll look like a big, fat ghost in my black dress at Steph's wedding in August if I don't get some color before then! Other than work, I've been trying to keep up with the exercising, though it's been actually quite hard to stay committed with all the changes happening lately. I've had to make adjustments each month to my physical activity, which I hadn't anticipated to be so difficult (not so much physically, but rather mentally). I'm doing okay, though. I haven't been working at Meda-Care pretty much since I found out I was pregnant. I just feel, for a variety of reasons, that it's too risky at this point in time. From having to lift heavy patients (with which I have trouble to begin with) to the myriad of risks in working in some sketchy neighborhoods (crazy drivers, shootings, diseases, filth) to germy hospitals, I feel taking a break from EMT-ing for now is the best for me. Though I still have to do Advanced Skills on Friday... I think I remember how to do CPR: 37 chest compressions to 5 breaths? No wait, that doesn't sound quite right... ;)
I look forward to the coming week: 1.) I get to spend some time dress-fitting with Steph for her wedding; 2.) Skipper and I are going to get some crap out of our basement for Mom's garage sale; 3.) Jazz in the Park on Thursday to see Bonerama (trust me, they are awesome!); 4.) Catching up with MCA people on Friday at Advanced Skills; 4.) Saturday spending some time with the Dwyers and the Prestons-- congrats to my cousin Catherine on her graduation from Woodstock High School! The summer will go by fast, as I already have most weekends booked with at least one or two things, but it'll get me out.
That's the update for now!
As for me, my job at the Medical College of Wisconsin has been the same. We've had some frustrating projects/audits lately that have made obvious to me the bureaucracy of academia, but that's just how things go. Gotta go through the right channels and chains of command to get the work done and our recommendations out there. It's hard as the weather gets nicer to be sitting in an interior office with no windows and being inside for 8.5 hours straight. However, I think with my wandering mind, if I had a window I would get way too easily distracted from the work I should be doing (like right now...). I also have to remind myself that this job is what will pay for this baby to be born, and I count my blessings every time I have a doctor's appointment for the benefits I have through MCW, Froedtert and Children's. I cherish my time on the weekends to spend time with Skip, family and friends, as well as getting out in the coming months to the beautiful weather. My pale skin really needs a tan... I'm thinking I'll look like a big, fat ghost in my black dress at Steph's wedding in August if I don't get some color before then! Other than work, I've been trying to keep up with the exercising, though it's been actually quite hard to stay committed with all the changes happening lately. I've had to make adjustments each month to my physical activity, which I hadn't anticipated to be so difficult (not so much physically, but rather mentally). I'm doing okay, though. I haven't been working at Meda-Care pretty much since I found out I was pregnant. I just feel, for a variety of reasons, that it's too risky at this point in time. From having to lift heavy patients (with which I have trouble to begin with) to the myriad of risks in working in some sketchy neighborhoods (crazy drivers, shootings, diseases, filth) to germy hospitals, I feel taking a break from EMT-ing for now is the best for me. Though I still have to do Advanced Skills on Friday... I think I remember how to do CPR: 37 chest compressions to 5 breaths? No wait, that doesn't sound quite right... ;)
I look forward to the coming week: 1.) I get to spend some time dress-fitting with Steph for her wedding; 2.) Skipper and I are going to get some crap out of our basement for Mom's garage sale; 3.) Jazz in the Park on Thursday to see Bonerama (trust me, they are awesome!); 4.) Catching up with MCA people on Friday at Advanced Skills; 4.) Saturday spending some time with the Dwyers and the Prestons-- congrats to my cousin Catherine on her graduation from Woodstock High School! The summer will go by fast, as I already have most weekends booked with at least one or two things, but it'll get me out.
That's the update for now!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Dreams 6/1 (So weird)
This was the weirdest set of dreams I've had in a long time. I woke up this morning in such an odd fog because I think my mind had only just recovered from constantly dreaming all night. It was a very weird feeling.
Anyways, it was all a big long series that just kept going: First, and I can't exactly remember the beginning, but I do remember having some type of a tornado dream and saying (in the dream) that I spoke too soon in my blog about not having a tornado dream in a long time. Then there were a few other little ones in there that I only remember snippets about. Then I was playing soccer with a bunch of Mexican guys (we had Mexican for dinner, so I'm sure that's why I was dreaming that). After we were done playing, I was in an outdoor kitchen with a bunch of them speaking spanish and they were showing me how to fry these donut-type things in a big pot of hot oil. I started fishing all of them out of there, and then I told them I had to use the bathroom/restroom. As one of the guys walked me to the bathroom, he asked what's the difference between saying "bathroom" and "restroom." I told him saying "restroom" was a little more polite. The bathroom was in a big park, and there was a weird attendant man in there (like there often was in South American and Mexican public bathrooms), and he had Joker makeup on-- Jack Nicholson Joker makeup. Odd. So I went into a stall and I overheard a couple of women saying how there was some rumor of a killer on the loose in the area. I got done and was walking out of the bathroom, when all of a sudden the bathroom attendant turned out to be the killer, and so we all started running away from him. He had this huge hatchet that he chucked across the field and it hit the bathroom lady and cut her leg off. Then my Mexican friend turned out to be a cop with a gun, so I told him to shoot the attendant, which he did. Then he apologized and started shooting at me and I realized he was the real killer. I kept trying to wake myself up because I was realizing it was all a very scary dream. Then I was all of a sudden back as a camp counselor, and the camp was back behind South Elementary school in CL. One of the kids was riding a little bike through the field, and I told him he needed to keep the bike on the pavement. Then a little later I went over to talk to him and he was all sad because he couldn't be talking about quantum physics anymore (or something like that, it was a very weird subject that a 6-year old would normally not have said). So I thought that was weird. Then I went over again to talk to him and he was all swollen and fat, and I asked him if he had gotten stung by a bee, and he said yes. So I picked him up and said that I was going to run him over to the Children's ER, which by now was right on the other side of the field-- by this point the kid's mom was there, and she had also gotten stung, as evidenced by a large welt on the side of her face. So I start running with this fat kid in my arms, and I get into the ER and they start working on him. The doctor was saying that if I hadn't gotten him in when I did that he would have died. I started trying to tell the kid that he would need to carry an Epi-Pen with him from then on, but he kept squirming around on the bed and wouldn't listen. I then was walking around the ER just looking around, and the doctor came up and squeezed my ass. Then all of the ER staff was goofing around with each other. Then I managed to wake myself up, thank the LORD.
I felt SO weird when I woke up.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Dreams 5/29 and General Reminiscence of D-Chi Days at Augustana
So, I keep having these recurring dreams that I am back visiting Augie, and I'm hanging out with all the current Delta Chis (I know who some of them are through my DCT family tree on Facebook). Why I keep dreaming this, I have no idea. I think the first time I started dreaming about them was when Sarah C. told me she had met a bunch of them at Augie last weekend when the 'Hams were there for Scott's graduation. Also, maybe it was because yesterday I had some strange hankering for a loaded baked potato from Arthurs or the super-unhealthy yet ever-so-tasty chili cheese nachos from the downstairs cafe at the College Center (I have craved those nachos at least once a month since I left there 5 years ago. Maybe it's because Jes and I would sit down there for hours at lunch time senior year in that back table hiding from everyone else on campus. Funny how some things stick with you...)
The first dream was thoroughly strange, as I was kind of "babysitting" the current girls in this huge hotel room... with Shay and Kim (Girls, I love you. I dream about you all the time... Just kidding, I have no idea why I thought about you when I was dreaming about Delta Chi, considering you two were Speeds). Anyways, Shay stayed up in this huge loft with the girls, and Kim and I were downstairs just about to fall asleep, when I look up and there's a huge tidal wave coming at us. I was afraid for all the girls, but I knew they would be fine because they were all so high up. However, Kim and I got soaked by the wave as it splashed into the room. After that I don't really remember much of the dream...
The latest dream was that I was back at Arthurs, but it looked like a combination of The Mark and Arthurs, like the bathrooms were back in this huge conference center-type area. And the restaurant part was like a restaurant, then all of a sudden I was talking to all of the girls who were on treadmills. I was trying to convince someone (like Sarah C. or Steph or someone, can't remember) to come and hang out with the girls with me, because I didn't want to be all by myself. I don't remember how oddly the dream must have morphed after that point...
Maybe I need to go back to Augie just to quell this strange obsession. I had thought about Homecoming, but that's not happening this year because I will look like I'm about ready to burst being so pregnant. Oh well, maybe next year. It's just very odd, but then again my dreams are always very odd. This pregnancy thing is just making them all the more peculiar. At least I haven't had a terribly scary one in quite a while (those are the worst-- I don't wish my scary dreams on anyone)... knock on wood!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
19-20 Week Update
Skip and I had our 18-20 week ultrasound yesterday, as well as our latest regular appointment with Dr. Barnabei afterwards. The ultrasound went really well, and it really was amazing to see all the developments that have happened with the baby since the last one. You could see every little finger and every little toe! The tech said all was well, and everything was measuring as it should. The Maternal Fetal Care Center doc came in and took a look as well, which was a little uncomfortable, because he didn't say practically more than 5 words the whole time. So much for bedside manner. However, he did say that everything looked good! We got some great pictures of Baby Manning. For now it's going to be a surprise as to the gender of the baby. I swear I saw a certain, ahem, "structure" that would indicate this is a boy, but then I also swear I heard the tech say something about it being a "beautiful girl" which I could have imagined (and she wasn't supposed to do, since we said we didn't want to know). So now I'm totally confused, which is fine, because I still don't know what the baby is! I feel like it is a boy, Skip thinks it's a girl-- so we'll just have to wait and see!
My appointment with Dr. Barnabei went fine as well, and she said everything sounded good. Her only concern was that I was getting enough to eat, because I've only gained a total of 4 pounds so far. I told her I eat enough, but I'm also cautious not to be one of the people who just gains and gains-- I have to LOSE that weight, you know. I just said I'm keeping close tabs on everything. So she said things are on track. We are going to sign up for a childbirth class pretty soon here, too.
So that's about it! Monday will be 20 weeks, so that officially makes it 5 months. More than halfway through!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Dreams 5/11
Just one short one from Friday night, after having been at the Brewers game (I kept a scorecard for the whole game, and was very proud of myself that I remembered how to do it! I was a great game!):
I was back in summer softball, and we were playing on one of the old grass fields that probably is now part of the parking lot at South High School. I was catching, and someone pitched the ball, and I kind of fumbled it. Well, the girl on first base started stealing second, but SUPER slowly, and I thought to myself: "Are they seriously trying to steal with me behind the plate? This will be easy," (This often happened during summer ball, when they didn't know that nearly every catcher on our team could gun down people at second, because about 2/3 of our team played school ball-- so we could actually play, unlike many of the other teams during the summer. The other coaches would be surprised when their girls would be out by miles trying to steal...). Anyways, I go to throw the ball, and my cleat totally got stuck in the mud, and the ball only went like 3 feet. That was pretty much the end of the dream. Talk about an anxiety dream!
I was back in summer softball, and we were playing on one of the old grass fields that probably is now part of the parking lot at South High School. I was catching, and someone pitched the ball, and I kind of fumbled it. Well, the girl on first base started stealing second, but SUPER slowly, and I thought to myself: "Are they seriously trying to steal with me behind the plate? This will be easy," (This often happened during summer ball, when they didn't know that nearly every catcher on our team could gun down people at second, because about 2/3 of our team played school ball-- so we could actually play, unlike many of the other teams during the summer. The other coaches would be surprised when their girls would be out by miles trying to steal...). Anyways, I go to throw the ball, and my cleat totally got stuck in the mud, and the ball only went like 3 feet. That was pretty much the end of the dream. Talk about an anxiety dream!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Update for the Pams :)
I was told I need to blog about my pregnancy by a couple of Pams... And I said I was! So, to appease these ladies and anyone else curious, I'll give a little update from our latest doctor's appointment.
We saw Dr. Barnabei last Friday morning (after waiting 30 mins from when our appointment was supposed to be... urgh). We just talked about how everything was going, and also got to hear the heartbeat. Still going strong! No news is good news at this point, as she said we're just kind of in "cruise control" for the next couple of months. We're officially 4 months (16 weeks) along! I've got to remember to go to the lab sometime this week for some bloodwork, though, since it was too crowded last week. Don't let me forget... Oh, and according to Babycenter, the Squirrel is the size of an avocado, and his/her heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood per day. Pretty cool!
In other news, Steph's bachelorette party was this Saturday, and a wonderful time was had by all! Especially Steph! A little embarassment of the Bride-to-Be, some games, food, wine (LOTS of wine) and chocolates made the night a success. Looking forward to August!
We saw Dr. Barnabei last Friday morning (after waiting 30 mins from when our appointment was supposed to be... urgh). We just talked about how everything was going, and also got to hear the heartbeat. Still going strong! No news is good news at this point, as she said we're just kind of in "cruise control" for the next couple of months. We're officially 4 months (16 weeks) along! I've got to remember to go to the lab sometime this week for some bloodwork, though, since it was too crowded last week. Don't let me forget... Oh, and according to Babycenter, the Squirrel is the size of an avocado, and his/her heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood per day. Pretty cool!
In other news, Steph's bachelorette party was this Saturday, and a wonderful time was had by all! Especially Steph! A little embarassment of the Bride-to-Be, some games, food, wine (LOTS of wine) and chocolates made the night a success. Looking forward to August!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
55 year-old Queens, Drunken Behemoths and A very hungover Sarah
I went to the Britney Spears concert at Allstate Arena last night. Yes, me, who went to her first Dave Matthews band concert 2 years ago, and usually prefers places like Ravinia... However, 5 months ago I had been toasted enough to say "oh my gosh I think that would be so much fun!" to also call my sis and rope her toasted-ass into it, too. Fast forward to now: We're both pregnant, can't drink at the concert, and don't listen to Britney Spears unless we've got our iPods and are on ellipticals at the gym :)
So, we met Sarah C., Jes, Liz and her friend Barb at the Residence Inn in Rosemont, and much to my hoped pleasure, it was closer to the entrance of Allstate than some of the parking lot was. Nice! The non-pregnant girls boozed it up a bit, then we headed to the concert. We ended up having great seats, thanks to Kermit, Liz and Sarah's planning, so that was nice, except there were people in our seats when we got there. So we just kind of sat a few seats off, and waited for them to (hopefully) move so we could sit where we were supposed to.
Well, the Pussycat Dolls opened and closed, then the group of girls in our seats left (assumingly to get booze). So we moved into our seats, and then they came back a short time later. They were all WASTED, but seemed to slowly make their way past us to their seats. One of them kept slurringly asking me if I was in the right seat (shw wasn't being unfriendly), and I said "yes, this is #27, you're in #26, right next to me." So, we're enjoying the pre-show when all of a sudden this huge behemothly tall woman starts yelling in my face "okay-- get the FUCK out of OUR SEATS!!!" I was like "OH MY GOD what the hell is going on???!!!" So then another one of her monstrous friends comes over and joins in the argument, and Sarison turns and starts in with "whoa! Calm down-- we're in the right seats!" Keep in mind Sarah and I are both stone sober, and I had double-checked our seats. So then Sarah disappears to go get security, and I'm stuck in the middle of the Jolly Green Giants and Barb who was trying to save me. I was thinking to myself "what the hell is going on??? I'm so confused!!!" Sarah didn't come back with the security person because she was like 80.
It ended up getting settled as fast as it started, but yes, we totally almost got in a fight, totally sober, with a bunch of scary drunk huge women. In retrospect, it was actually kind of funny...
The rest of the concert was good-- raunchy, but good. Very interesting people walking by, and quite some hoochtastic outfits. Back at the hotel we pigged on chips and french onion dip, and listened to Sarah C. (who had drank the equivalent of 5 shots worth of tequila, plus beer and wine before) talk about her mannishly muscular arms and how she doesn't want them to look bad in her wedding dress. Quite amusing.... Until this morning when she woke up and looked like Death had run her over with a 10-ton semi :)
Kind of nice to feel all fresh and be free of hangovers in the mornings for the next 5 months... :)
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