So the past few weeks, I've been very irritated by the fact that when I eat, it feels like the food is backing up in my throat. Sometimes a little something comes up when I'm laying down or feel like I have to burp....yes, I know it's disgusting, but you know what I mean. At the same time though, I've been thinking, "Well thank goodness I don't have that acid reflux thing!" Umm, idiot...that's exactly what it is. I love how sometimes I have a moment of such density, it scares even me.
ANYHOW...we have three days until track-out! I'm so excited to not be at work for at least the next three weeks....much longer if Ava decides to give her mother a break and come a little bit early! I'm trying to talk her into January 5th or 6th, but she'll do it on her own schedule I'm sure, which probably includes her breaking my water during 4th period Pre-Algebra or something. Yuck. (I know I should just stay home after Christmas break, but I can't stand the thought of wasting my maternity leave on sitting around the house, having nothing to keep my mind occupied.)
In other news, here are a couple of recent pictures for your amusement...I thought it was about time for a "before" and "now" comparison:
BEFORE PREGNANCY
36 WEEKS PREGNANT
Okay, that's a bit exaggerated...I was never Leia-in-a-metal-bikini hot. But aside from the green color (which I may actually acquire in the delivery room), I totally look like that lumpy singer from Jabba's palace in the second picture. Chicken legs topped off by a big ol' gut? That's me! I bet if she turned around, she wouldn't have a butt either.
Last but not least, Anna found this gem online and shared with me:
It's a baby head planter. Sure, why not?
The appointment went well today...the issue with the kidneys, if not resolved on its own, will probably require some antibiotics for the baby after she's born. I'll meet with the pediatric urologist next week and he'll recommend a plan of action for the pediatrician (don't have one yet...if you are local and can suggest one, please do!), they'll check her out after birth, and that's it. I did get a couple of ultrasound pictures but they're not 4-D and she's so big they didn't come out clearly, so there's really no point in posting them. That's pretty much it.
I did have a really scary dream last night: I dreamed I woke up in a hospital bed, I was really sore so apparently I'd had the baby but nobody was there...no doctors, nurses, or husband; and no baby. I dragged myself out into the hallway to look for a doctor but all I could find was a cleaning lady, and all she did was come to my room and start mopping. The floor was disgusting and grimy, and I was really upset that I'd apparently been in a filthy room. I kept trying to find a doctor but nobody would help me and I couldn't find Craig or the baby...I finally got a hold of my mom and one of my brothers but they were in Illinois and didn't have anything helpful to say. I finally woke up when Jack started to cough/choke/heave loudly. Ugh.
Last night I got home from work and took a shower. When I got out, I happened to look down at my feet and noticed that they were swollen...I have bony feet with long toes, so swelling is pretty noticeable, in fact, my toes looked like fat cocktail-sized hot dogs, which really cracked me up. I came very close to taking a picture of them and posting it (and I will if it happens again!). Anyhow so my feet were kind of puffy but didn't hurt or anything, so I made dinner and then sat down to help Craig with his math homework for awhile....then I noticed my feet started to feel uncomfortable, kind of numb and tingly. Figured it's because I'm hauling around an extra 30+ pounds now and that's going to happen. When I stood up, my left foot HURT....looked down and it was HUGE. I called my mom, who told me to put my feet up for awhile to see if that helped, and if not to call the doctor. It didn't help, I called the doctor, they had me come in to the birth center to have my blood pressure taken. (Meanwhile I had looked up the swelling online, apparently rapidly swelling feet and ankles, especially when one swells significantly more than the other, can be a symptom of preeclampsia, so I knew that it was probably a good idea to actually listen to the doctor.)
So at about 11:15pm last night we head over the the birth center....I had to get undressed and put on one of those bizarre gowns and lay in a bed for a good hour or so while they took my blood pressure numerous times and hooked me up to a machine so they could monitor the baby's heart. I was pretty much scared to death...not because I was worried about something being wrong at that particular moment, but because that was like an introduction to the real thing, which will be happening in approximately five weeks. Anyhow, things checked out just fine--Ava is strong and healthy and my blood pressure continues to be great--so the doctor didn't even put me on any restrictions, since I have two appointments next week anyhow. (Thank goodness, I was fearing a bed rest order...I was just told to try keeping my feet up, especially if there was any more swelling.) We got home after 1am, I stuck an extra pillow at the end of the bed to keep my feet elevated while I slept, and they're not perfect but looking much better today. That's good, because I still have to put up a few strings of Christmas lights, get and decorate a tree, run to the store, and tonight is the work Christmas party, which I am NOT missing. It's my one excuse a year to dress up and enjoy the fact that I have a job at a school where they do things like throw nice Christmas parties for us. (Craig on the other hand is trying to put me on bed rest today so that he can avoid the party....sorry, not going to happen! ;o)
That's about it. There are annoying little issues to contend with in these final few weeks, but for the most part, nothing serious to worry about. Except that whole "giving birth" thing. Ugghhh.
1.) Submit insurance paperwork to the birth center
2.) Tour the birth center
3.) Pack overnight bag for hospital
4.) Work on road rage issues
5.) No, seriously...work on them. Big time.
(Of course, the road rage comes from being stuck either behind idiots, or in front of them. Note: if you drive completely up my butt with your brights on when I'm already going 10 miles over the limit and then pass me on a dangerous stretch of 2-lane road that's also a no-passing zone, don't be surprised by my wrath. That is all I am saying.)
Anyhow.
Yesterday I worked a good 10.5 hours, because I was being shadowed by the person who's covering my maternity leave. This was a good thing but I didn't get any work done and so I stayed after for about two hours...can't do that any more I guess. Feel like crap today and think I might be coming down with something....would go home if it wasn't more of a hassle than it's worth. Seriously, you non-teacher people are so lucky...if you are sick, you stay home. If I am sick, I have to drag out busy work that completely throws off my lesson plans or entrust my regular plans to a teacher who may not have much math experience. I have to write out my day and all of it's instructions in excruciating detail. Then, I have to spend the next day playing catch-up. Sometimes I really just long for a cubicle. Oh well. Also, my fingers are swollen...not much but enough that I cannot get my rings on. I hate not wearing my rings, but I AM going to laugh at people out in public when they see me walking around all gigantic and knocked up and then try to subtly check out my fingers for a wedding ring.
Sorry for the bitter attitude. I'll feel better this weekend when I've slept. I hope.
Oh, and check out the ticker.....35/35! Ha!
Well, it appears as though the issue with the baby's kidneys has not resolved itself so we will be going to Duke on Monday to see a specialist who will be able to give us more information. Then it's back to the doctor next Thursday...I have to start going every week now. I thought maybe they'd let me hold off until we're tracked out, but no such luck...apparently when it gets down to this point, they say "come in" and you just do it.
Also, she's weighing in at slightly more than 6lbs. according to the ultrasound tech's measurements. (and no, we didn't get pictures....it was a different tech and he was all business. So no fun extra 4-D pics. But he did use me as a guinea pig to train someone else on the ultrasound machine, which means the exam was extra-long, and he was jabbing my abdomen so hard with the wand I didn't know if I should pass out, throw up, or pee in my pants, since I hadn't yet given my urine sample. Seriously...I'm so over this.) ANYHOW I cried when I heard the weight...I was only 5 1/2 lbs. at birth, and I was on time and healthy! What am I having, a baby ELEPHANT?!?! Then the doctor pointed out that 6lbs. five weeks before delivery isn't that big, she's only in the 64th percentile, so that put it into perspective and made me feel a little better.
That's all. I'm not feeling chatty. I'm showering and eating and going to bed.
This weekend, I was hit by an uncontrollable desire to get ready for Christmas. It was less about the spirit of the season and more about going totally insane, I think. Anyhow, as a result I am done with all but a few tiny odds and ends of my Christmas shopping, and I have written out, sealed, and stamped all of our Christmas cards. All of them. Friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, you name it...done. (They won't go in the mail until we get a little closer to Christmas, though...and I am baking my usual Christmas bread for the neighbors but that can't be done until I'm ready to deliver those cards.) Today I am going to drag out the decorations: I'd like to start early because usually I take everything down on New Year's Day, but this year I want it down before then so I can have the house back in order long before our due date...I'm also not doing as much decorating this year...I don't go crazy anyhow, but I'm just going to do the tree, a few strings of lights on the porch railings outside, wreaths on the doors, and a couple of things here and there inside. Oh, and probably those candles in the windows.
In other news that's equally disturbing and a little disgusting, back in September my mother-in-law gave us a really pretty framed picture for the baby's room that says "Ways to Welcome a Baby" and then goes through twenty-six ways, A to Z. (Keep reading, that's not the disturbing or disgusting part.) Today, Jack and Toby decided to contribute their own way of welcoming the baby, to be filed under the letter "V"...for "Vomiting on the carpet in the baby's room." Thanks, guys. :-P
My birthday was last Tuesday (officially the last one I want to acknowledge!) and it was pretty low-key...we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and then just hung out at home and watched TV...Craig gave me something I've been running my mouth about for the past six months or so: a video camera! I have one that's about 10 years old or so, and it's huge and does those little VHS tapes that you need an adapter to watch, so we really didn't use it. (Plus, what were we supposed to videotape? Ourselves, sitting on the couch and eating dinner? The cats?) Now that we'll have a kid, I really wanted a good one so I can be the annoying video-camera parent. ;o) (I refuse to be Soccer Mom or Minivan Mom....I have to have something mommy-ish; besides, with so many relatives far away, it makes sense to record the things they'll miss.) Anyhow we've used it once thus far, we recorded each other acting like idiots and making hot chocolate, and the cats whining by the back door. That's just so sad. (I should also say that I got two other gifts--The Chronicles of Narnia, which I've been wanting to read for ages but never have, and the latest Die Hard movie. Yeah!!!)
ANYHOW, at the beginning of the week, Craig also broke down and bought himself--errr, I mean, "us", a fancy new TV. Flat screen something-or-other. He's wanted one for a million years and has spent about the same amount of time bugging me about whether or not he should get one. I didn't really feel like we needed one but finally have just said yes, please get it so I don't have to hear about it any more! So he bought one on Monday. And yesterday, he returned it. ARGH!!!! Hopefully it's out of his system now. Last night, we did invest in a Tassimo beverage maker:
It's a Christmas present to ourselves and would seem like an unnecessary appliance if we didn't drink an abnormal amount of tea, cappuccino, and hot chocolate...it's great because there's no mess involved whatsoever, you just put in the little packet of whatever you want to drink and press the button. It brews in a few seconds, so I can actually have a cup of tea BEFORE work if I want...nice. (I never eat or drink before work...I also shower and dry my hair at night because I have compacted my morning routine to the smallest possible amount of time because I hate getting up. We have to be at work by 7:15am which means that I like to get there no later than 7:05, and I live 15-20 minutes away, depending on whether or not I get stuck driving behind a moron.)
That's really about it...sorry I'm not more interesting, and have nothing baby related to report, other than the fact that for some reason I'm sleeping better but getting more scatterbrained by the minute. Example: instead of putting down "cottage cheese" on my grocery list, I typed "cottage twins" and I didn't even notice until this morning. I have no clue where it came from...Craig was talking to me at the time so maybe I started typing something from the conversation? I don't know.
