"Lady of Leisure"

Well, today was my last day of work before baby! I had originally planned to work until next Monday, but because of the way that leave works, it was better to start my maternity leave today! And I'm very glad that today was it! I'm tired, my feet are swollen, and I finished my projects.

I have so many things I want to get done -- washing windows, cleaning under appliances, spending time with mom. I want to have everything ready for baby too.

Most of my family is away in California, on their way to the family reunion that I was supposed to help with. But I'm not at all sad I can't be there. I wouldn't trade this belly for the world! But it's sad that everyone is gone. I hope they're having a good time. No more car breakdowns!

We are supposed to go to the doctor on Monday, but with the death of Scott's step-grandfather, things have gotten more complicated. He's a pall bearer so he has to be at the funeral. But our appointment is at the same time.

We're going out to dinner with friends sometime tomorrow. Other than that, we have no firm plans for the rest of the weekend. We need to mow the yard, but how can you mow when it rains multiple inches each day? We're having to get home by taking alternate routes -- the water has been over our low water bridge every day.

Oh, the nursery rocker is finished! I promised to attach a photo. I will take a photo later of the nursery as it is now. It finally looks like a nursery, although it still needs some accessories.

Shower

I just thought I was way behind on blogging when writing my last post. Now, I am really behind. I've been really tired and really busy.

Last Sunday, the 24th, was our baby shower at church. It was lots of fun and we received lots of wonderful gifts -- now our nursery doesn't look so desolate! We still have some items we need, but most of checklist is now checked! Thanks so much to Kirsten, Adrienne, Rebecca, and Cathy for making everything so wonderful! On Monday and Tuesday, we exchanged some duplicate items and used our gift cards to make additional purchases, like a mattress. So, I finally got to make the bed.

These pictures are from the shower. Don't I look huge? :)

Way Behind

I promised pictures last week, but I just never seemed to get around to it. It's been a very busy time. So, I'm attaching a photo of the nursery as it is now, as well as the photo of my belly from last Wednesday night. I look like a whale!

We have an appointment with a prospective pediatrician this morning. Hopefully we like her and that's that. I don't want to meet with any other doctors. This one came recommended and is conveniently located.

The young ladies from church had dinner and dessert at the Chees*cake F*ctory last night. It was yummy.

It continues to rain here, almost constantly.

We're off to the south this weekend to "help" with a wedding. I don't know how helpful I can be.

Survived the Conference

As the title of this blog entry suggests, I did survive the hp conference. But, I think I did serious damage to my bottom half. Sitting in a wooden chair all day long is just too much. Needless to say, my lovely hemorrhoids have reemerged this week (due to too much sitting and the change in my diet, I guess). There is also a decided increase in the amount of pelvic pressure I am feeling. I think this baby has dropped or begun to drop. He/she is still very, very busy. I have an abundance of new stretch marks as well -- on my legs and my hips. My ankles are permanently swollen.

Tomorrow we have our first every two week doctor's appointment. Then we have a busy rest of the week, with birthing class Wednesday night, dh helping with bil's fence, and some other stuff that I can't remember at the moment.

In other good news, my mom helped me work on the slipcover for the nursery and it is practically finished -- I just need to do some touchups. I am so relieved because it actually looks okay. It was a lot of hard work though. I am so anxious to finish in that room, but am trying to be patient and buy nothing (or almost nothing). We also went to Target to look over our registry items and add additional things. That is always fun! I had to go to the bathroom three times while we were there and we weren't there long! I have to go all of the time.

I am in the office all week (no fun trips to look forward to). I am off to Lane on Friday or Saturday to help with a wedding. Am looking forward to it! I also have to take some photos for a NR nomination while I'm home. The local historical society also wants me to talk to them about a project they're currently working on. We'll see.


Have a good Monday!

32 Weeks!

We've made it to the 8th month. I have pictures to post, but am short on time, so that will have to wait until the weekend.

This is the week I've been dreading at work, our Statewide Preservation Conference. I'm out of the office, but yesterday I had to give a 45 minute presentation and then I'll be late every day, especially tonight. I probably won't get home until after 10:00. Last night, I was home around 6:00, but I was exhausted. I fell asleep on the couch at 9:00 as dh was watching the Stanley Cup Finals. I did sleep better though, not as much pelvic discomfort. So, I'm not looking forward to today -- I'll have to really pace myself during the day and rest frequently. But thankfully my presentation is over. I have virtually no responsibilities today although I have to moderate sessions all day tomorrow.

Our crib is here and put together. Dh put it together in the same amount of time it took for me to find the camera to take a picture of him putting it together. I had stashed the camera in my sewing basket! What a perfect place for it. But, I did get a picture of him assembling it (he was really finished at that point) for our baby book. I'm still trying to decide where to put what in the nursery. I keep moving things around. I think I am going to need a bumper pad, so I am trying to locate one. The dust ruffle I have may not be necessary. I also moved a bookshelf into the room. I want to put baskets in it for storage.

Baby has been very active lately, sticking his/her butt or head out and moving my belly around.

Well, have a good day. I will post belly and nursery pics soon.

31 weeks!

Well, 31 weeks tomorrow, that is. Very exciting. I keep thinking in terms of "we have 6 to 9 more weeks." I know it could be more like 10.

Last night was bad -- long and uncomfortable. I was up 3 times before 1:30 a.m. I'm trying to wear myself out tonight so I'll pass out from exhaustion. It's 9:53 and I'm about to start a second load of laundry. It's also snack time. I had to stop at the local dairy store on the way home for some bread and dh requested some ice cream. It was very hard to resist.

I've had a productive week thus far at work, trying to finish up things on my to do list for before I go on maternity leave. Sometimes I make stupid mistakes in my writing and it really makes me mad. I don't like looking incompetent! Next week is our big conference in Guthrie. My duties there keep increasing. I still have to write a 45 minute presentation. I plan to work on that tomorrow and Friday. I have started on it, as I'm not a complete procrastinator.

My belly seems to be moving in all sorts of directions lately as baby is very, very active. A couple kicks have been very painful. Baby seems to get some part of his/her body in delicate places quite often. I have to rub on the belly to get the baby dislodged.

We're now register at Babies 'R Us, Target, and an online site called wildflower diapers. The diaper place has the toilet sprayer attachment I'm really interested in for spraying cloth diapers. I want to decrease the gross factor as much as possible.

Time to change out the laundry.

The Big 30!

We made it to 30 weeks today. Yeah! The baby has been very, very busy today. It's so much fun to kick mommy's bladder and other internal organs.

I heard from the dietician this evening -- I only have to test two days out of each week. Of course, I have to test four times on each of those days, but still it's a major improvement. I just have to be really careful with visible sugar -- that I have to avoid completely. I'm developing a taste for sugar free jelly -- well, I"m trying to develop a taste for it.

Tomorrow I'm off to Marietta, to document an old jail and and the Santa Fe Depot. I started writing the nominations already, but need to visit the sites to get a better architectural description.

Still no word on the baby bed. I'm ready for it to get here! Maybe over the weekend.

We're so looking forward to the 3 day holiday weekend! (Of course, we have prepared childbirth class on Saturday morning, but other than that, we have no plans).

Weekend

Baby has been very active the last few days. He or she seems to be rolling around and every once in a while, a hard body part will stick out from my stomach.

Dh and I endured the second birthing class today. The classes are really good, actually. Today was the class on labor.

I am still coping with this dietary change. I seem to be hungry and lethargic most of the time, which stinks. My numbers have still all been well below normal. I had to go pick up additional test strips. A 25 day supply was 60.00 -- and that was just my copay! Pretty ridiculous. And then, I finally made it to the grocery store -- low carb stuff is expensive. Oh and I got yelled at by a rude man because I wouldn't let him pull out in front of me. He told me to stop talking on the phone. The phone had nothing to do with it. I was waiting to drive in front of the store to find a parking space because the person in front of me was dropping someone off. The rude man thought I should let him go even after I could pull forward. I did -- I think I'm too nice. I should just have gunned it and made him wait. I had the right of way. His comment bothered me the whole time I was at the store. JERK!

Meg, good luck with the concert tomorrow. Enjoy the desserts! Someone could send me pictures of Quinna's kitchen, btw. Since I don't know when I'll get down there. :)

Have a blessed and restful Sunday!

No More Cake For Me!

Well, I have gestational diabetes. From looking at the number with the dietician, it looks like I have a mild case. In fact my numbers were within the normal range (if I wasn't pregnant). The dietician thinks that the doctor is just playing it safe -- doesn't want me to have a giant baby or any other complications.

So, for this week, I have to monitor my blood sugar four times per day. Once before breakfast, then 2 hours after each meal. I have to significantly cut back on carbs and no fruit in the morning. Not much fruit period. And no desserts. That stinks, but oh well.

This has been a really crazy week. Dh has been late almost every night and had to work from home. I've been working on that wonderful slipcover for the nursery rocking chair -- so I've worked myself to the bone every night. Okay, I haven't been working that hard, but it certainly feels that way. I think it's going to work out okay. I basted most of the pieces together tonight -- I'm departing a bit from the instructions, but I was more comfortable with basting first and then using the machine. That way, I can hopefully get a better, more custom fit.

In other news, our cloth diapers finally came. Yeah! I went by the baby store today and no word on our baby bed. They expect a shipment any time, though.

I am glad tomorrow is Friday. I've been to the lab 3 times this week, plus the doctor once, missing an entire day of work if you add up all the hours. Of course, if I was going to miss this was an okay week to miss because I'm supposed to be doing some website editing and OSU messed up the website -- I couldn't even do the editing. So, I worked on my pet project National Register nomination instead. Hopefully that's almost finished.

This weekend will be full as well, with shopping for MIL's mother's day gift tomorrow night (game night for the guys), then birthing healthy babies class on Saturday morning, working at MIL in the afternoon on Saturday, and a baseball game on Sunday afternoon. I may not make the baseball game. Sitting on bleachers for several hours does not sound at all pleasant at the moment. My bootie is awfully sore these days. Sorry, Meg, that I can't make your concert. Just think, if I don't drive down, I can make a bigger donation! Stupid gas prices.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Glucose Testing

I went in Monday morning at 7:40 for my 28 week gestational diabetes test. I made it to work around 9:30. Then, I had to go back to the doctor at 4:00 for my regular appointment. There, I found out that I failed the glucose tolerance test. I also had some nitrates in my u/a, so I have to watch out for a bladder infection.

So, this morning I went back at 6:50 to do the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. Four blood draws! Lots of scary mental patients (I was really uncomfortable several times -- one lady was crying and ranting and two guys were sitting in the chairs rocking themselves back and forth). I fell asleep after the first blood draw and then the time passed fairly quickly. I made it back to work around 10:40. I worked a few minutes and then went to get some lunch upstairs. I waited too long -- by the time I got some food, I was shaking and sweating. But I felt better after eating, although still fairly tired.

I hoped to hear something by late this afternoon, but nada. I called the doctor, but they assured me they had no results. So now I have to wait until tomorrow morning, at least. I just want to know what is going on.

In other news, dh let me celebrate my first mother's day despite his insistence that this one really doesn't count. For my last birthday, he bought me an iPod nano. Well, I love it, but it's hard for me to use (clip on my carrying case doesn't work well and it's too big even though it's small). So, he bought me a shuffle -- it's the perfect size and the clip is part of the package! I love it and he needed an iPod of his own, so he is taking the nano. Thanks, sweetheart!

28 Weeks

Last night was terrible -- I was ready to give up on sleep at 1:30. I finally started sleeping well when it was time to get up. Oh, well, it will all be worth it.

Thursday seems to be when fatigue really hits me and I don't know how I'm gonna get through Friday. Spending almost four hours in a car today didn't help, especially when combined with sitting through all day meetings. But otherwise, it was a good trip.

Last evening after work seemed to drag. I was tired, so I rested after fixing dinner. Tonight I tried to keep myself busy. I did some cleaning and gathered some donations for pickup tomorrow by a local charity. I've really been wanting to clean out some cabinets and closets -- stuff we don't need and don't use that is just taking up space. I love to de-clutter, especially right now. There's much more to do, but I did all I could physically handle tonight. I almost fell twice in the bath (I cleaned the tub and it was super slick). Hopefully I'll be able to sleep because I'm so tired.

I get to leave about 1.5 hours early tomorrow because of working longer than usual today. This is good because mom will be in town. Not sure what our plans are, I told her it's her decision. She said she hates making decisions. Me, too! I hope to take the rocking chair for the nursery to the upholsterers. It's gonna cost more than I want to spend, but it will be nice when it's finished. And it's still much less than a comparable new chair, even if I could find a new one I actually like. Definitely looking forward to mom's visit, although I may find things around here to keep her busy.

Have a good night!

At loose ends

28 weeks tomorrow. Very exciting! I've been re-reading old entries tonight. Sometimes this 9 months seems to be passing so slowly, but at other times rather quickly. But most of the time it seems slow!

I'm laying on the couch. Dh is working from home this evening, and last evening, and some last week. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen at his new job. It's not nearly as fun to be home when he is busy. He won't let me finish up my decorating stuff because it requires the ladder. Really, I'm at a decision making point in the kitchen and I can't decide. The only other thing to do is clean and I'm not in the mood. I did a little cleaning last night -- swept and mopped and did laundry. But I am not motivated tonight.

Oh, I got pulled over today on my way home. Apparently I did not signal. I frankly find that hard to believe. I thought I signaled, I always signal. Dh says I don't signal long enough -- that I signal for a few seconds and then turn it off. I call myself a conservative signaler, but I do signal! I just can't imagine that I wouldn't have done it, if only for a few seconds. Who knows -- maybe I'm getting very forgetful! Luckily he let me off with a warning. Do they have nothing better to do than stop people who don't signal -- people who aren't speeding or otherwise breaking the law? Don't tons of people NEVER signal?

In other news, two of the ladies I keep up with in blogworld had big developments yesterday and today. Larisa got an early bfp (although she's being very cautious -- as we all are after a positive) and Emmie had her twins!

I'm off to Elk City tomorrow for a National Register Workshop with my supervisor. So I'll feel shut off from the world. My mom is supposed to come sometime this weekend. Yeah! And we start our birthing healthy babies class this weekend. So, another busy weekend. I don't know what we're doing for mother's day. Maybe we can all go out or take one out at lunch and the other out for dinner. It might be less hectic that way. Oh, and dh tells me tonight that, "you know this isn't your first mother's day." He wasn't very happy because I didn't even respond. I just glared!

My diapers and snappis still haven't arrived. :( I keep checking, but nada.

Cheers for my "little" middle sister, B, who sent the boyfriend packing! I'm proud of her for finally doing it!

Well have a good evening. L*st starts in 27 minutes!

27 Weeks 4 Days

I'm sitting here watching "Jon and Kate Plus 8." I've been decorating in the living room and am now very tired, so Dh let me choose something to watch. Dh told me no more climbing on the ladder. I was determined to finish decorating the kitchen and living room before baby. Bloss helped me pick out some items and I'm well on my way. But there is definitely gonna have to be some climbing on the cabinets in order to finish.

(DH is saying my decorations are girlie!) He likes the pictures Bloss picked out, but not the ones I picked out. Everything I got was 1/2 off at Hooby Looby! So, it was a good time to buy.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of our cloth diapers and snapp*s. Hopefully they arrive this week.

27 Weeks, almost

Well, I've almost made it to 27 weeks. But the reason I'm writing today is that I finally did it, I talked to my boss about maternity leave. I told him last week that we needed to discuss that issue. I'd been putting it off since then. Today, he basically asked me if we needed to talk about something. So, we did. He was very receptive, even to the possibility of working part or 3/4 time. We'll still have to discuss this with the "big" boss (who is out until Friday), but hopefully everything will work out. My boss even offered to donate some of his sick leave to me! If all goes well, I hope to go on maternity leave after the July 4th holiday. But, we'll just have to see how I'm feeling.

Monday, I was really tired and having some tiny cramps -- just uncomfortable. Last night, my stomach was super upset -- my poor intestines are being squished! Today is better. I have more energy, so I was able to run errands and even cook dinner before I took up my nightly position lying on the couch. Now I'm in the optimal baby moving position. He/she really likes to lay on the couch sitting next to daddy.

Speaking of daddy, we "decided" on names, well, maybe. For a girl, I really wanted Anne with an E! Dh does not want the E, so we had to go with something else. I really wanted an "A" name, so I suggested Audrey. For a boy, we're down to two possibilities that we both like, Frederick Hewitt or Frederick Howell. "Howie" or "Huey" according to Millie. Hewitt is my favorite, but Howell is good as well (and it's a family last name, as well as a misspelled action verb).

I found out this week that our crib should arrive the 3rd week of May. Yeah! I'm ready to get the nursery put together.

For once, we don't have a baby related class this weekend. This is our only free weekend between now and the middle of June. But, I really need to go to Mom's, but I also want to stay home. That 2.5 hour drive is not a lot of fun in my condition!

Welcome to the 3rd Trimester!

Well, I've officially entered the third trimester -- if you go by certain charts. Others say it doesn't start until Tuesday, but I'm sticking with today. I finally dropped the bomb on work, sort of. I emailed my supervisor and said we needed to discuss maternity related issues in the very near future. Now at least he knows we need to talk about it and I shouldn't be able to keep putting it off! I should have talked to him about it yesterday when we were in the car together all day! We were in far western Oklahoma doing some research. It's very ugly out there.

Today, I did research into potential pediatricians. I think I've found two good candidates that we will try to meet up with in June. Their offices were very friendly and each came highly recommended from coworkers.

I went and bought flowers for the yard tonight (I had a coupon that was expiring in the next few days). DH won't let me plant them though, so MIL and SIL, if you're reading, I need help, please. He says I can't even help (although the education class said I could garden as long as I wear gloves).

We're having dinner tomorrow night with some friends of Dh's. They have a little boy who was born in January and we haven't seen them since December.

Dh is late tonight (he's been late every night this week with work and sports) and I'm starving. I've been hungry all day -- some days I'm starving and other days, I just eat because I know I need to.

Beware of whining and general complaining . . . (bear in mind that the true object of this rant is completely unaware of my blog as he is "no longer my brother in law" -- no wait, his words were "you're no longer my sister in law") . . .

I was having a really good day today until . . . I tried to mettle in the affairs of others. I had very good intentions and IT IS MY BUSINESS!! This is the second time this week something like that has happened. But, I shall not bother to make suggestions, share my opinions, or otherwise try to help again. I've learned my lesson and I'm just gonna stay out of things. Sometimes families are very difficult and I would just like to move away with DH and the baby and be alone for a while. Other times, I'm afraid that things are just going to slip out of my mouth -- that I'm going to tell people how I really feel and stop being NICE. (I think I've got a few too many hormones raging at the moment and I'm hungry).

Okay, that was very therapeutic.

We have Healthy Pregnancy class on Saturday morning and then we're off to Atoka for a wedding. Not looking forward to the drive, but am looking forward to the visit. This will probably be one of my last drives down before baby, so I plan to enjoy it.

25 weeks

Well, the trip to Bartlesville didn't go exactly as planned. I felt kind of sickly Tuesday morning (runny nose and sore throat). This only worsened through the day. By Tuesday night I was running a fever and was miserable. I might have slept two hours. And because I was worried about fever and the baby I was even more miserable. I managed to get my work done, somehow. I hope I didn't miss too much. I was so glad to get home. I was running a temp of 100.5 when I got home, but managed to get it down to 98.9 shortly after getting home. I still felt pretty bad until around 9:00 -- then the mucinex or something finally kicked in. I was able to sleep through the night which was wonderful.

I'm glad that I have no more out of town trips before baby. I go to Vici next week and then have to go Marietta sometime in May to survey an old jail and railroad depot. There will also be day trips to Elk City and Guthrie.

My first national register nomination was officially forwarded to Washington today. Yeah! I was definitely down on survey work after being in Bartlesville, but seeing the end of the survey process (a completed nomination) helped me to see that it is worthwhile. One shouldn't survey sick though! (My boss's advice was to "drug up" when I told him was sick -- like that's a possibility when you're 6 months pregnant).

Bloss asked me how much weight I've gained. I don't know, since I don't really pay attention at the doctor's office and I don't know what I weighed when I started IVF. I did measure my waist tonight, though. At the "widest" point I am now 43". My belly is coming awfully close to my bosom area. There's not much separating the two and that can be a little uncomfortable.

24 1/2 Weeks

24w5d to be exact, I think. We had a doctor's appointment today, that was pretty uneventful, except that I forgot my u/a sample in the car! Scott had to go get it and bring it in. I thought he'd try to hide it under his jacket or something, but no. I was laughing about it. He wasn't. But all ended well. We listened to the heartbeat. I expressed my pain complaints and that was it. Btw, did I mention that we don't have to pay anything to the doctor? We tried to pay them today, but they wouldn't take anything. Yeah!

Our sprinklers are finished, after a little drama on Friday. Apparently there was a problem with the connection and we had a leak. So, we were without water till Saturday. So we spent the night at the in-laws. Then there was baby class. Scott was feeling pretty crumby, so I had to do shopping for the niece that turned one's birthday. Not nearly as much fun.

After the appointment today, we registered at Babies R Us. Lots of fun (for me, I don't know if Scott enjoyed it as much).

Tomorrow I'm off for Bartlesville again. I hope to finish up my survey work there. But, I plan to put in very long days, so I can finish and have a little downtime on Friday. I need a pedicure! My nails are growing like crazy.

I signed up for a breastfeeding class -- I told Scott he didn't have to go, but the other ladies said they're making their spouses go.

Our Family/Maternity Photos are Ready!

My belly is huge! You don't realize how huge till you see it uncovered on the screen! And the photographer kept telling me how small it was. She's crazy! So, if you want the link to the pics, email me and I'll send you the page, username, and password.

24 weeks today. Yeah! But 14 to 16 weeks more seems like such a long time.

I was in Tulsa today for a Tulsa Preservation Commission meeting. Almost four hours in the car has done me in! I don't think I have the energy to cook dinner, but will have to find something. I don't want takeout. I'm back into that really hungry, my stomach is rumbling all the time mode. Not good. I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday because I am very tired.

Our sprinkler system is supposed to be finished. The owner of the sprinkler company is supposed to demo it for us tomorrow night. Hopefully everything works well and it will be smooth sailing. We're suposed to have interesting weather from now through the rest of the weekend.

More ultrasound pics

Good afternoon. I finally had a chance to scan the rest of our u/s pics. Enjoy.

Today was also the day we took couple/maternity photos. Scott loved it! We should have photos sometime next week.

Now, we're just relaxing and enjoying our "vacation."

23 Weeks

Okay, so I know it's super late and we should have put pics on earlier, but I encountered technical difficulties. I had to resurrect the old machine just to scan a photo. I promise to do the others tomorrow. I am attaching only the best one.

Everything went well -- the baby is measuring to be about 1 lb. 4 oz. and by development, is 23w4d. It's edd by the ultrasound is 7/31/07. Good news for me.

Baby was beautiful -- I think I cried through most of it! The tech avoided the lower leg area, just so there would be no accidental peeking. I want it to be a surprise at this point. I'm just not ready to know.