Tuesday: A New Day

After only barely interrupted sleep last night (dehydration can be good! Not as many trips to the bathroom!) I think I might have just been exhausted, which led to my physical meltdown yesterday. I have tried to start the day off a little better, meaning that I am back to the 230 calories per serving chocolate milk (I had tried to kick it but alas, it seems to be one of the only remedies for the morning yuck) and I made myself some herbal iced tea since water alone is less than appetizing. I've been awake for nearly 2 hours (Clint offered to do the morning dog routine so I could sleep a little longer! YAAAY!) and so far I've only been a 1 or 2 on the morning sickness scale. MUCH MUCH BETTER!

My new freedom has led me to tackle some of the things I didn't yesterday, including packing up the giant baby car seat for a return to the Magic Beanstalk place. Yes, the seat, while (probably very safe), plush and very soft, didn't work with any of the stuff I had gotten from friends and relatives. When I ordered it, I didn't know that I would suddenly acquire two car seats and three matching bases made by a different manufacturer. The used car seats aren't as cushy, which Clint was quick to point out, but it didn't make sense to keep the other one when it didn't match anything we have. Here's how heavy it was: It cost $25 just to send it back! Now that it is gone, I can focus on cleaning up my desk, which I've been neglecting for at least three weeks. By the end of the day I'd like to have it all tidy... I'm posting a before photo and I'll post an "after" one if I'm successful.

Regression (again?!)

Yes, you are reading this correctly. The date is late August and we are into Week 37 of (approximately) 40, and I was so sick today that the only thing I managed to do was send out some overdue mail. I think I had three changes of clothes too, so now I am doing laundry as well... if that counts.

I don't understand how this could be happening again but it is, and I have no options other than to deal with it and count the days (25ish) until I won't be pregnant anymore. At least now it isn't as bad as having 25ish WEEKS left... Goodness, that would really be terrible. In addition to the lingering sickness, the edema is so bad that I really do have little sausage fingers and the sniffs have returned so the neti pot has to come out of hiding soon. All of these things, combined with the summer heat, led to today's first... A resignation of sorts: I watched a movie in the middle of the day. No multitasking, no matter that I didn't accomplish anything. I have recently decided that I can't think I will manage to do the things I want because then I will only be disappointed when I don't get them done. Instead, I'll have a list of goals and if I do any of them I should be super happy!

Back to today: I rented Hot Tub Time Machine with hopes it would make me forget how miserable I was. It's probably not a movie I would have watched if I felt like actually putting any effort into my cinematic experience. I really didn't care; I just plopped down on the sofa and hoped to feel better. It was more raunchy than I expected and there were a few instances of vomiting, which made me want to demand that the MPA issues warnings. "the following movie contains all of the following:...sensitive audiences, such as the elderly and extremely pregnant ladies, may prefer to see Babe." Man, the last thing you feel like watching when you are sick is a movie with other sick people. Except Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And since he isn't really sick, that can't count.

By the end of the movie I was feeling pretty decent-- well enough to go to the post office. It was 4:30 by the time I left the house. If this continues and I only have short bursts of productivity in the coming weeks, I think I will go crazy!

Weighing In

Today marks the beginning of the end! Officially, this is week 36 so I'll be going to see my doctor every week from now until Trouble/ baby Rockwell decides to arrive, which I'm guessing could be as late as September 24th or so. The doctor says I can go to 42 weeks as long as everything is still looking ok. If Trouble's later than 10 days, which is possible, there'd be a new sign of the Zodiac in our household. This might be good for me since I already live with a Virgo and I can't stand how clean and tidy the house has to be... but I digress.

The news today is that based on a bunch of measurements, baby is approximately 6 pounds and 3 or 4 ounces. It's got plenty of fluid to bounce around in and I was even able to see little dark circles indicating a bladder and stomach! I was told that this is a sign that baby is practicing breathing and ingesting things and stuff is working properly.

I saw a little fist but not much else and couldn't make out most of the body parts. I saw a femur! And some ribs and a spine. All of these things are neat. Oh-- and baby appears to be in the right position for a fast (ok - maybe not fast, but a regular, uneventful and natural) exit. It is facing the right way and everything with legs off to the left a bit. My doctor glazed over various reproductive organs because if we don't want to know, she doesn't want to know. I like that... a surprise for everyone! And it won't be much longer before we know the answer to the question I'm asked all the time!

So baby Trouble will most likely be a normal baby weight, which is exciting for someone who wants a natural birth and personally weighed more than ten pounds! There's very little chance that Trouble will gain 4 whole pounds in the 4 weeks remaining. I guess it's possible, but a little scary to think about! My weight didn't change this week (yay) -- I am still 184 pounds. It seems crazy, but that's what the scale says. It'll be nice to feel light(er) again... SOON.

Car Seat Madness

Since Trouble could decide to come any day in the next 4-6 weeks (unlikely, but possible), I was encouraged to do things like pack a bag for a speedy departure to the hospital and get things ready for the tiny human that will eventually live here. The list of things to do included getting a car seat for said tiny human (which shall not be named Trouble in real life because Clint as vetoed it... sorry, Trouble fans).

I ordered the car seat on-line based on something I read on a website called Magic Beans. Of course, if I'm reading any website with "magic" in the title, this MUST be a safe, reliable, trustworthy piece of baby gear, right? Either that, or it will magically take my money and disappear.

The seat arrived today and it was so heavy that I could barely get it out of the box. This doesn't bode well. It means I am weak and the seat weighs something like 10 times what my baby will probably weigh. It was a miniature fortress that I have to somehow put in my car and be expected to extract the child from every time I want to take it somewhere. I don't leave my dog in the car, but after looking at this seat and the buckles and straps, I'm going to be tempted to leave the kid in there. Really. I don't think I could even practice with one of the baby-size puppets we have (the harbor seal is baby size) because I would buckle it to itself and probably rip the stuffing out or something.

I got the "adventure" colours - gray and green. It's not gender specific and I thought it might clean up well in the event of an accident, but now that I've had to pick the thing up, this baby isn't going anywhere. Ever.

Tough to Get a Grip

While things are a bit unpredictable in the mental health realm lately-- I'm happy! I'm frustrated! I'm excited! I'm scared! I'm just about any and everything... Things are becoming increasingly predictable physically: uncomfortable. I almost made it an entire week without getting sick, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. So there's that physical hurdle, but there's also more now: I'm puffy (everywhere)! I don't fit in much! I tend to be hot! My shoes don't fit!

Last night (ok, more like this morning) my puffy mitts made the simple task of drinking my bedside water a disaster. Luckily I've switched to plastic, because I can't get a single paw around our big glasses these days. It wasn't a big deal, but it was an "oh shit" moment when I realized that water was dripping next to my clock. It was 3am. I unplugged it, took the opportunity while I was standing to shuffle over to the bathroom, and then wiped up the excess and fell (sorta tripped) back into bed. Will I be this sleepy and clumsy when I have to change diapers in the middle of the night?

Stocked!

All the stuff swap and family-donated goodies are clean and soon they'll be folded and put away. To those of you who sent something gently used or a sweet moose (sporting the new frog booties), THANK YOU! We have sooo much! I just hope we won't go through everything in one day!

Mirror, mirror not on my wall

A recent houseguest (you know who you are) told me we needed a full length mirror. It suddenly occurred to me that people DO care about what they look like. Don't get me wrong-- I also care about how I look and this morning I even curled my hair for my little tv segment (looked good!), but I haven't felt the need to give myself a full head to toe inspection prior to leaving the house lately.

I was thinking about this today when I was in the grocery store getting a sandwich that caused some nasty heartburn-- my first bout since probably week 14 or so. As I made my way across the parking lot and two cars stopped for me, I couldn't help but think that they weren't just polite drivers, they saw a pregnant lady! I forget what I look like until something like that happens. Other examples over the past few days: doors open for me or people hold elevators, one guy even offered to help me load my truck at Home Depot (no, thanks). Even though Clint says I've "been pregnant forever," I know this isn't true because I still don't think of myself as looking pregnant. I figure I am the same as I have been for roughly the past ten years, size 8ish. It's only when I eat and dribble (often) that I realize I am so, so wrong!

Anyway, the mirror: I have a full length one that hides on the back of the door of my closet. I don't look at it much. Maybe I'll move it into the guest / baby room so that other people can have the full body view they need it and baby can stare at itself when the time comes.