Some Birth Pictures

While I don't know that I'm up to telling the birth story just yet...maybe in the next day or so...I can share some of the photos with you. Now, I'll warn you before I show these to you. There's an important element missing in 99% of these photos - ME!

Apparently, after getting through the whole experience that made up Jax's birth I did NOT want any photos taken of me and I was VERY vocal about expressing my wishes. I'm sure that there are some pictures that include me from other family members, but I don't have access to those just yet. So, these are the pictures that my friend T took for me with our camera.

Hope you enjoy, and if you look real close at one or two of the shots, you might see my arm...first up, the proud Daddy gets to meet his son for the first time... While proud grandparents look on... These are all of my parents - Mom, Dad, Step-Dad and Step-Mom... Doesn't he look just in awe of his little guy? Grammy (my Mom) gets her turn at holding Jax...while Dad looks on looking not too happy about having to share! And the first texts start going out... Here's the bed where I labored on from 7pm to 6am...without me in there...told you that I wasn't in these pictures! Grammy passes Jax off to Gigi (my step-mom)... Then it's back to Daddy...for some more cuddling... One of the BEST nurses, Becky, puts our ID tags onto Brent and Jax... My step-sister gets her turn at being an Aunt again! And then "Aunt" T gets her turn... I'm not really sure, but I think that at this point Jax is fairly bored with all the "paparazzi" photos and the whole scene... My Dad gets his turn... As does my step-dad... That look right here...that's love, folks! He really, really doesn't want to, but Brent has to give up Jax for a minute so that he can get weighed, measured and all cleaned up... After Jax was all cleaned up, the nurses were ready to move the party into a regular room and out of the L&D room that we'd been in all night...stay tuned for some pictures of that - Brent gets to change his first poopy diaper and that's where you MIGHT see my elbow, if you look real close!

The View from My Eyes

This is the view when I look down into my arms...
And if I look a little lower, I see the cutest feet...
And he's got to have the longest toes of any baby that I've ever seen. I mean, they're like little monkey toes or something! If he had control over his muscles and movements right now, he could pick up a LOT of things, if he had his Mommy's talent of picking stuff up off of the floor with her toes.

Yeah...we think he's a keeper.

We're still trying to get into the swing of things around our house, but he's a great little baby with a disposition that every mother dreams of. I'm almost scared to say anything for fear that I would be jinxing myself...but during this first week of his life, he's been an angel. That'll probably change now that I've said that, but maybe I'll get lucky and he'll stay this way...

As we get into more of a pattern, I'll post more about our birth story (with pictures) and our experience so far...be patient with us...it's been a LONG time since I've had a baby around! Talk to you soon.

Pictures from Jenna

We got home late yesterday and are still working on getting settled in...but Jenna took a few pictures on her own camera that she wanted to share with you all.

Having surgery - MAJOR surgery for a little guy! - sure tires a boy out! He wasn't real impressed with the trip home, I have to admit.

This is the door hanger that my dad, step-mom and step-sister's family ordered for us - isn't it cute? And it matches the nursery colors and decor with the monkey and elephant!

Here he is still sleeping an hour later...
And then I had to take a shot of this one since they both looked SO cute!
More to come later, I promise! He's just SO cute!

Jaxon Paul

Introducing...

Jaxon Paul Gross
Born: July 23, 2010
Weight: 7.2 pounds
Length: 21.5 inches

Completely handsome!!!

The Missing Picture

Sorry - something about using that funky script/font messes up my pictures...here's the picture that I tried to upload yesterday of my swollen feet:

A "Little" Scare

So, I had a little scare today. If you've been reading along, then you know that I've been having some troubles with swelling in my right foot. Well, the past fews days, the swelling has evened out a bit - still worse on my right foot, but also starting to be more on my left foot.

And it's been starting earlier and earlier in the day - which has Brent absolutely positive that I should be on full bed rest. His case in point? I didn't really have a problem with swelling over the weekend or Monday when I stayed home and off of my feet. But we'll see what the Dr's official ruling on that is tomorrow at my check-up.

But I digress. Today, I had to go to work and the swelling in my feet was really bad by 9am. I had a meeting with some people from our Corporate offices that I really couldn't have missed, so I went in to work with the knowledge that I would be leaving at 1pm, AKA my normal time. But by 11am, the swelling had reached my knees.

And that's never happened before.

So I had one of the guys drag a chair in to the conference room so that I could put my feet up until it was time for me to go home. That seemed to help for a litle bit, but within the hour, I had a new symptom. Something like heart palpitations. Or flutters. Whatever you want to call it.

After an hour going by and them still happening and the swelling not getting that much better, I headed to the house. And on my way home, I called my Dr. Since this made for two new symptoms, I was supposed to call and let them know, even knowing that I had an appt the next day. When I got home, I immediately laid down and actually propped my feet up above my heart level (I read somewhere that's best). Want some proof? I remembered to take a picture this time:

Yeah, my feet don't normally look like that. Neither do my calves, for that matter. I mean, you can sort of still see the curve of my calf on my left leg, but it's totally gone on my right leg. I should have taken one of my ankle - there's so much swelling that it's starting to "lip" over my ankle area, if that makes sense.

The problem with an almost 39 week pregnant woman laying like that? Yeah, all of the baby weight came crashing down on my diaphragm and I was totally breathless and almost unable to breathe. Not so smart. I stayed laying down the entire hour until the Drs office called me back.

And then I heard these words "We'd like to see you right now."

As in come in right away, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

Scary, right? Right. I was a little freaked out, and so was Brent. And then we calmed down and took it easy the rest of the drive to the hospital/dr office. That was after we sped through the neighborhood and I had to yell at him that he was stressing me out more than anything else at that point. He laughed and wondered about how he would be when it was really time to go for real. I wasn't laughing so much.

So we got to the drs office, did the waiting game and she took my blood pressure. It was perfect - 120/80. But after checking the swelling and seeing how bad it was, she wanted a urine sample to test my protein. Brent freaked out and Wendy, the nurse, had to calm him down a little bit. Don't worry, the story ends as well as it can. My protein levels were great, blood pressure normal, and no dizziness. So I was sent home and put to bed. I have been given specific instructions about staying in bed all evening, taking it easy, drinking LOTS of water, and other such instructions.

I keep my normal appt tomorrow since I didn't really see the Dr today. So, keep your fingers crossed and send positive thoughts my way, if you don't mind. Thanks!

I'm a Total Slacker Some Days

But today was NOT one of those days! At least not until the ripe hour of 4:30. That's when I finally got home and went immediately to bed. Why would I do such a thing, you might ask? Well, for started it's like a million and one degrees outside here in the great state of Texas. Seriously. It's H-O-T. So this preggie is doing her best to stay indoors during the heat of the day.

*Side note - I did venture out to the Outlet Mall on Sunday during the heat of the day. But people, it's the Outlet Mall. It's like a Mecca or something. And I only went into one store. But it needed to be done.

OK - so back to my story, which really isn't that much of a story, just ramblings from a crazy, preggie woman.

So, every one knows by now that I'm working half days, right? Well, in case you missed it, my awesome boss agreed like a month ago to let me work half days to avoid the dreaded bed rest. My doctor threatened me with it with like 6 weeks to go and I just knew that I would go mad. Or madder. Whichever. So I went to work - begged, pleaded and promised to abide by whatever decision they made if I could work out a reduced work schedule. I got better than I asked for, and they're pretty cool peeps. It all works out so that I leave at 1pm each day, having worked a mere 5 hours.

But I have to tell you. At this stage of the game, that 5 hours is getting tough on the system. It's true what they say about each pregnancy being harder, especially when comparing one pregnancy in your twenties to one in your thirties. I'm not old, but geez! So yesterday, when my alarm went off at 6am, and the contractions had been ongoing between the hours of 12am and 5:30am - I said no. And not just no, but HELL NO! There was just no way that I could coherent and productive at work.

Which means that although I enjoyed a relaxing day yesterday, I paid the price today and worked my little butt off! I caught up on most of my work in 5 hours, and was only a little bit late leaving today. But that's ok for me to leave late on every other Tuesday, because on every other Tuesday Jenna's summer camp goes skating for their daily field trip and they don't get back to the center until 3-3:15. Which means that every other Tuesday I have like two hours to kill.

Usually I do errands and shopping. Today? Yeah, not so much. I grabbed some lunch, wolfed it down and promptly fell asleep in my car that was parked in the Target parking lot. Maybe not the best idea, but I was reading a book and totally didn't mean for it to happen. Plus, I got really comfortable. You see, the right foot swelling problem was REALLY bad today. Like when I was standing in line for my sandwich I realized all of a sudden how swollen it was and how much it hurt.

Like a LOT more than normal. Hmmm - perplexing. And yes, I realized while typing this post out that I should have taken a picture of it so that you would know that I'm not a big, fat liar or just a sissy. Oh well, next time.

So after I ate, I scooted my seat back, reclined the seat bacl a little and propped my right foot up on my dashboard. You know, to elevate it. Immediate relief followed - which must have led to the nap. But then after I picked up Jenna, I realized that I had to go to the grocery store for some stomach meds for my hypochondriac daughter and bread for the rest of us for lunches for the rest of the week. And by the time that I drove to our town and got to HEB, I could barely walk on my foot. Weird, huh?

After all of that, when I got home I was done. Just over it all and done. I crawled into bed, pulled a blanket up over me and promptly fell asleep. And I slept like the dead people. The dead. I honestly can't remember the last time that I slept that good. I'm sure that I needed the two and a half hours that I slept, but dang! Two and a half hours starting at 4:30pm is a LONG time! I felt a little like Sleeping Beauty when I woke up to dinner all prepared and waiting on me.

What a nice husband I have! He kept the kids quiet and entertained so that I could sleep AND he cooked dinner. Yes, it was just frozen pizzas, but I didn't have to think about it, get it ready, cook it or clean it up. Bliss, I tell you, pure bliss.

So now the $100 million dollar question is - how well will I sleep tonight? Probably not that well considering how much of a slacker I was earlier. But I feel good. Real good. And I wouldn't trade that for the world right now!

Another Meeting of PWA

In case you've forgotten, PWA stands for Projects Whores Anonymous. It's a club that I proudly sit in the President's chair for...I'm not ashamed.

And the project bug hit me pretty hard this past week. I wrote here about this project that I really fell in love with. For one thing, they would be made completely from scraps of material that I already owned, having only to buy the batting. Cheap = lovely in my book these days as we prepare for another mouth to feed around this house! And for another thing, I knew that it wouldn't be a long-term commitment...you know, in case I got interrupted in the middle of the project for a little thing called labor.

Much to my dismay that didn't happen though! I was able to start and finish this project all in one afternoon, then a nap, and then the sewing in the evening. Because that's how my energy level is at this point!

So here's the final result:
And some close ups since I did them all a bit differently. I did the first ones following the instructions letter for letter. Even though with the miracles of modern cameras, I see how clearly not straight my lines are! But if anyone other than me ever noticed or pointed that out, I'd give them a reward...
Then I got a little "wild and crazy" and decided to mix things up a bit on the quilting portion of the project...
Oh yeah, it's just one wild party around our house right now! LOL!

Of course now that I see that this is something that can be compelted start to finish in less than an hour and a half (depending on how badly you may or may not slice open your finger with your rotary blade!), I want to make more. Plus, I can see that 6 coasters in a house is NOT nearly enough. I need some at the kitchen table. One on my nightstand. Another for Brent's nightstand. Then a couple for the little table that sits between our recliners. And last, but not least, some spares to have for the actual coffee table.

Yep, more MUST be made!

The World's Most Annoying Question

I believe that I've found a winner - I'm serious! I actually think that there are several annoying questions that people ask on a regular basis, but this time I've found the mother of all annoying questions.

Before I do the "big reveal" of which question is the MOST annoying, let's do a countdown of sorts on those other questions that annoy me why don't we?

"Are you getting married today?" Yes, this is asked while you're running into Target/Wal-Mart/Insert-your-local-grocery-store-name-here after your hair appt with your veil in your hair. Or maybe if you run to Whataburger to grab a quick bite at lunch. I mean, really people? Really? Just once, I wished that I had told someone no, that this is just what I liked to wear on Saturdays while I do my grocery shopping. But I didn't. Too nice.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" This is asked AFTER you have your baby (since before you have it this questions is completely ok to ask as people can't see inside your belly). But after you have your baby, people really should take a minute and look for obvious clues before asking such a ridiculous question. Look at the clothes. Look at the pattern of the material on the stroller/car seat. Look to see if there are any blankets or toys that might give you a clue and keep you from embarassing yourself or pissing off the mother. Just because my daughter didn't have hair until she was 3 years old, she was OBVIOUSLY a GIRL people! She was always dressed in pink, purple, flowers or butterflies. Boys don't wear those things. I'm just saying.

"How many people in your party?" This annoying question is asked typically as you walk into a restaurant and greet the hostess to be seated. It makes sense to ask if the place is busy, or if several parties walk in at the same time. In those instances, I can understand that the hostess/seater might have a hard time telling how many people she/he needs to seat. But when I'm meeting my husband for an early dinner or a late lunch, the place isn't busy, or we're the only two people walking in the door. I mean, use your eyes lady! Yes, there are just two of us standing here in front of you waiting to be seated. I guess that we could be meeting other people, but that's rare. We like our own company. Just kidding. Just once I'd really like to reply back to her with a "No, there are three of us." And then just smile at her, not explain further and wiat to see what happens. But I've never done that. Once again, too nice.

So now that you have an idea on what other questions I feel are annoying, here's the #1 question that's annoying me right now: (drumroll please)

"How about having that baby today?" or "When are you going to have that baby?" or "You're still here?" (co-workers when they see me at my desk) or any of the other 5 million variations of this question that some people are sending me by text daily.

Let me explain. Just like my doctor can't accurately predict when this baby will be born (due dates ARE an estimate, people!) I have NO CONTROL over when this little one comes out of my body. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nothing. Are you noticing a pattern here? As much as I'd like to have some control over this process, and believe me I've done my fair share of talking to him, taking him cool places to urge him to come on out and see for himself, and other such activities, when it all comes down to it we're on HIS time table here.

And asking me each and every day when I'm going to get this show on the road or some other variation of that same question is really starting to annoy me.

Oops, I don't know what happened, but apparently I hit the Publish button - sorry!

Where was I? Oh yeah. Don't ask me that question anymore, please. Understand that I have no control over this process. And you texting me each and every day doesn't really do anything to speed up the process. It really doesn't. So either you don't trust me to call you when the time comes, so you feel compelled to check on me every single day, or you just enjoy reminding me several times a day that I haven't given birth yet. That I'm STILL pregnant.

Believe me when I say this: pregnant women, especially those past 37 weeks don't really need to be reminded that they're pregnant. We kind of can't forget. There's daily reminders, trust me.

So for now, to help me out, lose my text number. Please. Brent has made the suggestion that I should just not answer the texts anymore, but I don't really think that will help anything. I think that if I don't answer texts, then they'll think that there's a reason that I can't answer texts and they'll start calling. Worse than texts? Phone calls each and every day with those same questions. At least by text I can keep it short and sweet with a simple "Not yet."

Do you understand what I'm asking? Do you get that I still love you, even though I would like some peace and quiet for a few days, please? You do? Great! Thanks so much! Hugs and kisses!

Would You Try This???

So, I was talking with my step-mother last night about the "big" news. You know, the news that I'm finally making progress with all of these false labor pains. Not that 1cm is that much progress, but she was all excited and I didn't have the heart to calm her down. I mean, she's gonna be a grandma again, you know? If I raided her of her excitement at this time, it would be like killing a puppy in front of my eight-year-old.

And I don't play that way.

Instead, I let her have her excitement. And her excitement was even contagious to my Dad who called to tell me that he would be "at the farm" this weekend (that's two hours further from me in the wrong direction, since you didn't know) and that I should just "call him" when all the excitement was over.

He was teasing of course. He was actually calling to make sure that I had the farm cell phone number since the reception out there in the boonies along the Louisiana/Texas border is whack and he has to have a special cell phone JUST to get service there. I assured him that he would be called, if needed.

Anyway, back to my story. So at some point during all of the texting back and forth, my step-mom asks me this question:

Helpful SM: Hey - would you be willing to try maternity acupressure to induce your labor now that it's safe?

Ok, so I'll admit to being a moron for about 3o seconds or so because my gut reaction was "Hell no! Dude, you know that I have thing for needles!" Yeah, I call everyone Dude regardless of gender. And yes, for a moment or five I got acupressure and acupuncture mixed up. I'm silly like that. You all love me anyway, right? Thanks!

Once I realized my mistake, I texted her back for more information on the subject. She sent me this link and told me to do a search on youtube.com for videos of how to do it. I actually checked it out and now I'm intrigued. And I'm wondering if anyone else out there has heard of such a thing. More importantly, do you know if this works???

Because I have to be honest here. If my research proves that it's entirely safe for me to try, and the videos seem to be pretty self-explanatory, then I might be willing to actually try this shiz. So help me out please and tell me that you know something about this. Or know someone who tried it and it did/didn't work.

I'd REALLY love to hear some stories!

Thirty Eight Weeks

Almost there, right? Can I get a BIG Woo Hoo??? Thank you SO much!

I won’t lie – getting to this point has been a slight challenge. Or rather, this week has been challenging. Whichever way you choose to look at it, this week’s been rough. In fact, my Mom and I were talking about that just last night when I called to tell her how our dr visit went and she remarked how this pregnancy has seemed a "bit" harder for me than my last one was. Well, yeah, I’m EIGHT years older. I was only 25 when I had my daughter. Those years really add up and make me wonder about how the ladies that are in their upper 40’s do this. It’s physically, mentally and emotionally challenging and draining and they’ve got buckets of kudos from me for doing it at that age. I just can’t imagine.

Anyway, so thirty eight weeks. Or 435 weeks by my own internal calendar – LOL! I’m nearly at the end, and loving that pretty soon I’ll be holding my sweet baby boy in my arms. I know that I should enjoy these last few days (I’m being optimistic by not saying weeks) of having him all to myself, because things will rapidly change once he’s on the outside. He’ll be noisier for one – and smellier! Just kidding. But seriously, we’re just on pins and needles to meet the little guy.

And we had a good visit at the doctor’s office yesterday, I’m telling you – I might be onto something with the negative jinxing thing. Maybe you all should try it out for yourselves and let me know if it works for you too! We got good news all around, and although labor could come any day or wait two more weeks, I’m making progress and that’s always encouraging. Here’s my stats for you:

Weight? 1 lb gain – marking a total of 18 pounds

Stretch marks? Some VERY faint silver lines on the side of my hips. That I can’t swear weren’t already there from my previous pregnancy.

Belly Button – innie/outie? I don’t even remember the days when I didn’t see my belly button through EVERYTHING that I wear.

Movement? He’s been moving and grooving all week long. In fact, he paid me back pretty good last night after the dr visit. Apparently he didn’t appreciate the intrusion into his world…

Swelling? Yes, and still mainly on my right foot. I forgot to mention last week that I finally took my wedding rings off. They’re not too tight all day, every day, but wearing them for short periods of time on my pinky finger and them flying off (in the middle of Ross) since they don’t fit that well on that finger wasn’t the smartest idea either. So I put my wedding band only on a chain that I wear around my neck since it seemed too awkward looking with both my engagement ring and my wedding band on there.

Contractions/Signs of Labor? LOTS of progress in this department. I’m totally softened, not effaced yet, my cervix has moved to the anterior (which is where you want it), he’s at a -2 station and I’m dilated to 1 cm.

Other Issues? Apparently my pelvic bones haven’t just completely softened in preparation for labor, but they’re actually starting to separate. If you’ve never experienced this (I didn’t with my first pregnancy) it’s not fun. It’s very painful. If I sit too long, or lay in one position too long (which not many positions are comfortable with this condition) I can barely walk when I stand up. And the back pain that accompanies it is just awful. This is a new thing, like within the last two days kind of new.

Sounds exciting, huh? Yeah, we were pretty pumped to hear about all of the progress that he’s made since our last visit last Thursday. But then again, I stayed at 1cm with my daughter for two weeks before labor actually started. So dilation doesn’t always mean anything, kind of like losing your mucus plug - it could mean that labor is imminent or it could still be a week or more away. I’m excited to know that my discomfort and the pains that I’m experiencing are FINALLY doing something other than making me uncomfortable, but I know that it could still be a ways away. But it’s encouraging still!

Here’s some belly shots for you…getting bigger each day…and lower – YEA! Yeah, talking about the pelvic separation thing, the doctor actually brought me to tears at the visit yesterday when we “discovered” that I was starting the early stages of this phenomenon. Apparently not all women go through it, but I know that this lady has been having troubles with it, and I don’t want to go through too much more of it. In my mind, and I’m not a medical professional, so keep in mind that my opinion is JUST my opinion, it’s sort of like a baby’s soft spots on the skull. The bones softened and prepare the pelvis for the HUGE baby coming through and can be very sensitive to the touch. As evidenced by me coming up off of the exam table and screaming with pain. But apparently my “soft spots” aren’t just soft, they might have a little space in between. Thus the pain. Since I’ve been saying for weeks now that I feel like my pelvis is being torn in two and nothing’s been mentioned about it by my doctor, I didn’t really think anything of it yesterday morning when I had the trouble walking. Yeah.

Apparently this effects how you can position yourself to sleep at night. Literally the ONLY place in the house (and I tried them ALL last night) is on the couch in that half sitting/half laying position is comfortable enough for me to fall asleep. Not fun. But, like I keep telling myself, it’s progress! Keeping my eye on the prize and knowing that I’ll be holding him soon will get me through anything, I’m sure!

I think that’s it for this week. We’ve already talked about my boobs. We’ve talked about my progress towards labor. I showed you my belly. Yep, that about wraps it up for me! I’m getting SO excited!!!!

My Cups Runneth Over

No, not that sort of cup - I'm referring to a much more personal sort of cup. Yeah, now you've got it - THOSE cups!

And it's something that I didn't even notice right away. Partly because I wore a loose-fitting babydoll style of dress with leggings today. And partly because of the lack-of-sleep-frying-my-brain thing that I'm rocking in full force these days. I mean, on two and a half hours of sleep who would notice that their bra was a bit snug at 7am? Not me!

But notice it I did when I thought that I had a hair tickling the back of my arm. Please tell me that I'm not the only person who absolutely cannot stand to have a hair on the back/side of my top brushing against my arm. It will literally drive me crazy until I have to find it and pluck the offender off of my shirt and away from my bare arm. I can't be the only one, I just know it. But back to my story.

So I was hunting for the offending curl and couldn't find it. I ran my hands along the side of my torso, looking for the beast, when I noticed that there was a little pudge around my bra strap. Huh - that's odd, I thought to myself. Then, even though there was no offending hair on the other side of my body, I checked my side bra strap over there as well. Yep, definite pudge.

There are only two options in my mind at this point - I'm either putting on too much weight, whcih cannot possibly be the case as I'm underweight for your average pregnancy, or I've got a little more up top than I had the previous day. And yes, it literally changes overnight.

What do you think my next move was?

If you guessed to check my cups - you'd be right! And boy did I get a nice surprise - there they were literally overflowing from my zebra-striped bra (sorry if that's TMI!). And do you know the first thought that popped into my head? "Well hello Ladies!" Yeah, said exactly like Angelina Jolie says about the cars in Gone in 60 Seconds.

And then this thought hit me - OMG, this means that I'm getting close. Keeping in mind that this all happened within the hour before my doctor's appt (you know, the one where I had been telling myself that NOTHING was going to have happened or progressed in hopes of good-jinxing myself?) I have to admit that I got a little excited. You see, this is something that I VIVIDLY remember happening in the week or few days before I actually went into labor with my daughter.

I might be a little fuzzy on the rest of the finer details, but my boobs growing another cup size in preparation for the little bundle of joy was not one of those forgettable moments. I mean, I had already grown a cup size during the early months of my pregnancy, so to have to run out and buy MORE new bras, in LARGER sizes in the days preceeding her birth isn't something that this solid B-cup girl was likely to forget. Even after eight years. LOL!

So what do you think? Do you think that this could mean good news at the doctor's office for me? I'm gonna be mean and make you wait to find out! I promise to post an update this afternoon when I get off of work - but it's almost 11pm at night right now (on the 15th) and I am honest enough to admit when I'm plumb worn out. Catch you later!

Random Brain Dump

I know that I don’t normally do this, but this post is one of those brain dump posts – just too much on my mind, I suppose. So enjoy the randomness that is MY brain! LOL!

Right now, I’m obsessed with these that I saw here. Just started following both blogs (one is embedded in the other) and I love the idea of homemade Christmas presents and a whole month of Christmas in July ideas! But really, I’m just in love with those coasters! I think that I’ve got some funky scraps of material left over from various projects that would make super cute coasters for around our house. In fact, I KNOW that I’ve got scrap material to make these, so the only cost would be the batting – SCORE! And double score, it would replace the ratty beer coasters that somehow seem to double in number every time I turn around – does that happen at your house? Not to mention that each coaster would only take like 5 minutes to sew together, so this project would be quick, easy AND cheap! Even if it does re-engage my PWA status into the active category since I was on "hiatus."

I’ve decided that this baby is going to be JUST AS STUBBORN as my first child. Love her though I do, she was unwilling to move down into the birth canal until SHE was good and ready to make that move. Looks like her little brother is going to be the same way. HIS time table, not mine. So I’m not expecting to hear much change from last week. No dilation, no effacement, no nothing. And still floating around in there instead of being a good boy and deciding to come on out. By the way, on his way to work this morning, Brent told me that if I wanted to go ahead and have Jax today that would work for him so that it would make today his Friday. I told him not to hold his breath because in this one instance – I’m not the one in charge. He was totally shocked to hear those words come out of my mouth. Truly.

I’ve passed into the stage of not sleeping "just because." You know before, I was not sleeping because I was getting up every hour and a half to pee. Or I was not sleeping because he was moving so much that I couldn’t sleep. Or there were those times when I was not sleeping because I was so unbelievably thirsty that it woke me up. Yeah, last night, I woke up "just because" and couldn’t sleep. Yes, I went ahead and peed, got a glass of water and repositioned myself in case I couldn’t sleep because of all of the normal things, but then I realized that NONE of those reasons were why I woke up in the first place. Go figure.

I’m already in maternity leave mode as far as work is concerned. Having been told that you might possibly deliver as early as last Thursday tends to light a fire under your ass for all those little things that need to be tied up and dispersed to someone else at your office. So then when you go PAST that early date, you figure out that you don’t have that much to do anymore! LOL! Which is really kind of nice, except that you still have to come to work. To do not that much. When you could be sleeping in your bed still. Making up for those hours that you were awake “just because.” You get where I’m going with this? I thought you might.

I realized yesterday evening that I haven’t written any letters to baby. You know, that really popular trend on blogs? Yeah, I didn’t do any. And it’s not like they’re secret or personal to me or us and I just don’t want to share them. I just flat out didn’t do them. Now, I could be bold and say that I purposely didn’t do them because they’re so in and trendy and the thing to do right now if you’re prego. Or I could be totally honest and just say that I was lazy. That’s ok. I bet I still have two weeks to knock some out before he puts in his appearance!

(Yes, I’ve started making comments like that. I figure that if you can jinx yourself in a bad way, then you can also jinx yourself in a good way. For instance, I jinxed myself last week when someone asked me how I was sleeping and I answered “Great!” and then this week I’m sleeping like poop. So therefore, maybe by saying that I don’t think he’s coming for another two weeks, I’ll jinx myself and he’ll come this week!)

Don’t shoot holes in my theory. It’s my theory, and I like it!

Ok – that’s enough random stuff for today. I’ll let you know what I DON’T find out (that backwards jinxing attempt again!) at the doctor’s office today!

The Day That I Nearly Killed an Old, Elderly Man

Well, I promised you this story the other day, so I figured that I'd better follow through. So here goes...

One day, when I was only 83 weeks pregnant (that's about 34-35 weeks for regular people) we decided to stop at one of our favorite sandwich shops in San Marcos, Alvin Ords. They have the BEST sandwiches...really. If you're in the area, and you haven't eaten there, you're missing out! Anyway, I get the same sandwich every time we go there, as does Brent. Not that him getting the same thing really matters to this story.

Anyway, Alvin Ord's is a college place. It's run by old hippies who smoked a lot of dope back in the day (and more than likely still do!) and most of the employees that work there are college kids. They're all sort of hippy-ish, if you know what I mean. I think that they all hug trees, care about the environment and the girls probably don't shave. Now, saying all of that, I have nothing wrong with the employees or those beliefs, I'm just trying to paint an accurate picture for you all.

There are also a few older employees. Like maybe they worked there when Alvin Ord's first opened many, many moons ago. Keep that in mind...

So, back to the story. I went up to the counter along with Brent and Tanner and we all placed our order. They ordered the Salvation - a yummy treat for their tummies, and I placed my order. I ordered a turkey sandwich on French, with no cheese. Not that hard, right? I mean, it's not like it comes with a bunch of things that I cut this and that and added the other...I just didn't want cheese on my sandwich.

We sat down and waited for our food. Shortly, since the service is so great, our food was delivered and it was hot and smelled so yummy. The boys immediately dug into their sandwiches and I proceeded to scrape a little of the extra lettuce off of my sandwich first. That's when I noticed the cheese. I mean, how hard is it to leave off the cheese when I specifically ordered it that way? It shouldn't have been too hard, since that was the only change that I had made to the sandwich. I calmly got up, took my sandwich back to the counter and waited my turn.

Was I going to ask them to re-make my sandwich? You better bet I was. I mean, all I wanted was NO CHEESE. Not that hard, and I wasn't even mad about it. Just 83 weeks pregnany and hungry, which thinking about it in those terms makes for a dangerous combination. There was a pretty good line at the counter, and the younger (read smarter looking) employee was busy, so he asked the older gentleman behind the counter if he could help me. I mean, I'm standing there holding an uneaten sandwich - there was obviously something wrong with my order.

Here's how our conversation went down:

Me: Yes sir, I asked for no cheese on my sandwich and it was made with cheese.
Old Man: just stares at me blankly, obviously not comprehending
Me: You see, I ordered a turkey sandwich on French with NO CHEESE...and there's cheese on this sandwich...
Old Man: But it IS French bread.
Me: Yes, I know that it's French bread. And that's fine. But it had cheese on it. I didn't want cheese, and I ordered it without cheese.
Old Man: So you want Wheat Bread? Not French.
Me: (at this point starting to get "testy" and lose my temper) No, sir. I wanted a turkey sandwich on FRENCH but with NO CHEESE. I would like for you to re-make the sandwich.
Old Man: But you still want the cheese, right?

It was at this point that I decided that it was safer for all involved for me to just walk away. You know, to take a step back. I gave him the death glare with evil ojos, which several other employees witnessed, and then I walked (or maybe stomped) back to our table and sat back down. Brent, who had witnessed the rising temperature to my temper was honestly worried for the safety of the old man. Our table wasn't actually close enough to the counter for him to have overheard the conversation, but he knew that it didn't go well. As I related the story back to him, he immiediately got up to take care of the situation.

Luckily, about that time what I can only assume was a supervisor or manager came over to the table to ask what the problem was. I literally had to let Brent do the talking because I was so mad. I know that I probably didn't have a reason to be that mad, but hormones take over your body at this point during your pregnancy and I was hungry. That's really the only excuse that I have. The younger guy was very nice, and understood the problem and went off to re-make my sandwich...correctly this time.

Was I worried about the old man spitting in my food? Yeah, a little bit. But the good news is that we had a clear shot of where they prepare the food and Brent watched them like a hawk on my behalf. Me? I just sat there and ate the rest of my Fritos while I waited. Lucky for them I didn't have to wait for long. My sandwich came out hot and fresh...and right...and oh, so yummy.

After the demons inside me had settled and my hunger was abated, I was slightly embarrassed about the way that I had acted. Brent assured me that I hadn't overreacted or caused a scene in any way, but I still felt bad that I nearly took off the head of an innocent, if somewhat hardof-hearing, older man. I was raised to respect the elderly, even when they can't hear you. But oh well. Brent went up to get a refill on his soda before we left, and the younger guy was up at the counter again and asked if everything had worked out right the second time. Brent sort of apologized for me and told the guy that it was really the best thing for me to just walk away from the old man, being 35 weeks pregnant at the time. The young guy laughed and said not to worry about it, and gave us the impression that things like this happened all the time with that old man.

What's the moral to this story? Well, it could be twofold. #1 - when you're 35 weeks pregnant (or more than 35 weeks along) you don't always have control of your emotions. You WILL go off on perfect strangers for the craziest of things, if not your own loved ons. It's a fact of life. Accept it, embrace it, and deal with it. You're not the first one to do it, and you probably won't be the last either. #2 - you CAN control your emotions, to an extent. You can choose to walk away. Instead of tearing a stranger's head off. You DO have options. LOL!

Have you had a meltdown on a total stranger yet? Or do you know someone that did? I'd LOVE to hear that I'm not the only one...

Sneaky, Sneaky Mommy!

So, I tried to sneak a fast one by baby boy today. I tried to convince him that it would be MORE fun outside of my belly rather than inside of my belly. I tried all that I could to cajole, tease and bribe him out of my belly.

I even went to the hospital in hopes that he would recognize my urgency and help me out a little bit.

Nah, that's not really true. I mean, I did go to the hospital where I plan on giving birth. But I didn't visit the maternity wing, although I looked longingly at the doors and even gave Jax a good, firm nudge from the outside of my belly.

Do you think that worked?

Yeah, I didn't really think that it would work either. But I figured that it was worth a try.

He did nudge me back. Painfully. In the ribs along the right side of my body. I didn't laugh.

In all seriousness, we got a call that my MIL had been taken to the hospital this morning. She's been sick for about a week with a bad sinus infection, but nothing too serious. Therefore, you can imagine my alarm to hear that she was now in the hospital. After taking Jenna home, I went up to the hospital to check on her and see what was going on. Unfortunately, I went at a time when MIL was having a long test (it lasted an hour and a half) so I had to turn around and go home. I went back once Brent got off of work so that we could both check on her.

It turns out that they're keeping her overnight and tomorrow for observation. They don't really know what's wrong with her. She's diabetic and her blood sugar levels are off the charts right now. Along with stomach pain, intestinal troubles (don't want to share too much TMI) and just overall feeling faint and not well. At this point, they think that it's an infection in her intestines. Once the doctors can narrow down what type of infection, they'll know how to treat it and can proceed from there. But since they haven't determined anything yet, it's all still up in the air.

The good news is that she's feeling better. And her RN, Natalie, was encouraging her to get better because it looks like she needs to be in the hospital visiting the maternity ward, not as a patient in her own room. Apparently, Natalie thought that I was just about to pop, but maybe she was just judging by looking at my belly button! Who knows? But that's what both FIL and MIL said to me - "We both thought the next trip to a hospital would be to meet Jax!"

I assured them that I was having the same thoughts! I thought the next time that I was in a hospital would be birthing this baby. But two seperate trips up there today didn't convince the little guy to come on out.

Oh well. That concludes day #4,972. Luckily, I go see the doctor tomorrow. Maybe she'll have better news for me this week? I, for one, am NOT getting my hopes up!

Why Didn’t Anyone Warn Me About the Hormones???

This is what MUST go through my husband’s head sometimes...really and truly. He’s been great, he tells me all the time that I’m not that hormonal and other than a few times have been acting totally normal and not crazy-hormonal-pregnant all the time. I think that he’s forgetting about this incident. Or the weekend of my baby shower, which yes, I still need to post about. Or the time that I almost assaulted the old guy in Alvin Ord’s in San Marcos…oh wait, I haven’t shared that story yet. Well, that’s a story for ANOTHER day, I promise!

Yeah, and if you believe that I’ll remember to post that one later, you must be smoking crack too! I mean, did I mention that I still haven’t posted about my awesome shower that was two weekends ago? Yeah…keep holding your breath.

Anyway. Back to my post about hormones. No one tells you how bad it is or how irrational you’re being. Well, strangers might tell you, because they can always run away. But your friends and family and especially those that have to live in the same household with you don’t really like to talk about it. It’s like that dark, family secret that great-Aunt Bertha doesn’t talk about, you know? They lie to your face and tell you that you haven’t been that bad, when you know that they’re lying to your face because they have to live with you, and you probably prepare some or most of their meals so their scared that they might get spit in their food if they speak ill of you. It could happen. Especially when you’re 37 weeks pregnant.

And you love hearing the lie. Even knowing it’s a lie, it makes me feel better to hear it. They’re only lying out of love for me, right? Let’s hope so. And he must love me lots…because I’m 100% hormonal right now. I could cry at the drop of a hat and not know why. And that’s a for real not know why, not the whole I’m telling you that I don’t know why I’m crying when I really do know and I’m too pissed off at you because you don’t know why I’m crying to tell you why I’m crying. Did you follow that? It made sense to me!

If it’s not tears that are afflicting me, it’s the darn heat. No, not the heat OUTSIDE – I mean, I know that I live in Central Texas and July is usually spent with days reaching into the 100’s each and every day. No, I’m talking about the heat that is roasting my body from the inside out. I’m literally H-O-T all the time. All. The. Time. As in, my husband obviously thinks that we own a portion of the electric company (which it turns out that it’s a Co-op so we kinda do!) and he likes to keep the house at a chilly 70 degrees year round. And since installing the tile in the whole downstairs of our house that makes for a CHILLY downstairs. And I love it right now. On any normal-not-pregnant-day you would find me wrapped up in a throw or quilt trying to stay warm and sneaking up the stairs to turn the thermostat up “just a little bit” without him catching me. These days? You’re lucky to find me fully clothed during the middle of the day, let alone not laying on the tile floor just to transfer the coolness to my body.

And another weird hormonal thing that MUST be related, I cannot drink enough water to quench my thirst. I figure that it’s related to those hormones that are making my temperature gauge all freaky right now too, since I figure that the water is cooling me off from the inside out, while the A/C helps cool off my outsides. I seriously consume at least 10-12 glasses of water each day. And three of those are drunk between the hours of midnight and 4 am, which does lead to more peeing. But I’m up in the middle of the night peeing whether I drink the water or not, so I might as well try to make myself nice and hydrated. And it has to be water. Not vanilla cokes from Sonic – although they still taste divine, they do NOTHING to quench the thirst. Kool-Aid is a close second to water, or sweet tea, but there are times that I can’t even do those – it HAS to be water.

And this is all BEFORE I give birth. From what I remember, it gets WAY WORSE after the birth process is over and you’re back at home. I remember friends coming over to bring us dinner or to visit and finding me all curled up in a little ball crying my eyes out while my baby was snuggled up nice and tight in my arms. I remember it being MUCH worse afterwards. But shhhh…that’s my little secret. I haven’t told that to Brent or the kids yet. I figure it’s just better experienced without forewarning. Or maybe I can pull it off that I “didn’t know” that it was going to be that way afterwards? Probably not, I’m a horrible liar. But I can still try!

Anyway, I guess it’s true what they say about another person controlling your thoughts, body and actions when you’re pregnant and the period immediately following giving birth. There are times that you don’t know why you do what you do, why you eat what you’re eating and so on. There are moments that you’ll be so aggravating to be around, or maybe I should phrase that to say you’ll be so aggrevated to be around anyone else, that you just won’t know what to do. And then there are times that your limits of self-restraint and control will amaze even you. And it’s those times that I try to keep in the fore-front of my mind…and my husband’s. A little positive reinforcement never hurt, right? LOL!

**And just in case you’re wondering – none of the above counts as me complaining or whining. I’m still holding to my pledge to minimize the complaints, and the above post was written purely for educational purposes…not to vent or complain!

Still Pregnant!

I think that I’d really like to title a post “What It’s Like to Be 547 Weeks Pregnant” because that’s about how I feel at the moment. Seriously. When your due date is moved up and then moved back a few weeks later, you seriously do feel like you might be pregnant forever. FOREVER. Most of this pregnancy has passed by in a blur – could be my age (not that I’m that old, but time does pass quicker with each passing year!) or could just be the lack of sleep that these last few weeks offer a mom-to-be.

I took a vow recently (just to myself, but it still counts!) that I wasn’t going to complain as much as I felt I had been doing. There are many, many, many women out there who struggle with fertility issues and cannot conceive, and I am one of those lucky few women who got pregnant soon after starting to try to become pregnant. I wasn’t sure that it would happen like that the 2nd time around, but that’s how it happened. And since I personally have several friends and loved ones in my life who deal with fertility issues or cannot conceive at ALL without the aid of modern medicine, I vowed that I would be more sympathetic and not complain as much. Not just to those particular people (because I know that some of them would trade places with me in a heartbeat) but to the world in general. I mean, no one likes a cranky-pants, right? Right.

But when you feel like you’ve been pregnant for 3,829 days (or 547 weeks, whichever works for you) it gets really hard. You’re past the honeymoon stage of “yea – we’re pregnant!” and you’re full on into the “OMG – what the heck were we thinking?!?!” stage. Because if this lack of sleep is to “help prepare” me for having a newborn in the house and all of those nighttime feedings and diaper changes, then I’m more than prepared. I am happy to report that I can work half a day on only 3 hours of sleep and be fully functional for the most part. I can also sleep semi-sitting up/reclining for more than 2 hours at a time, which was an important pre-requisite for my daughter’s first few weeks!

The nursery is complete, for the most part. Or maybe I should say that it’s as complete as it’s gonna get. I have all the big furniture items that I think that I need. I’ve got clothes coming out of every possible drawer and closet space available. I’m 100% covered as far as receiving blankets, swaddler blankets and regular, soft baby blankets. I could use more diapers (who couldn’t?) and I would really, really like to be able to find a formula that does NOT contain Iron. My daughter could ONLY take the pre-mixed (not the powder kind) Low Iron formula from Enfamil. Which isn’t produced any more that I can find. Oh yeah, they’ve got LOTS of other newer kinds that they didn’t have when she was born 8 years ago, but NOT one SINGLE manufacturer that I can find at HEB, Target, Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreen’s or anywhere else you can think to look carries a Low Iron formula.

And yes, I know that I might not even need it with this little bundle of joy, since he might be completely different than his older sister, but I think that I would feel better if I could find something that would be easier on the digestion. And yes, I also understand that there are other types now that say for “colicky” babies and partially digested for less gas. But I don’t KNOW that those will work. I know from experience that Enfamil Low Iron will work and is gentler on sensitive tummies. I’m sure that something else will be fine, but this is for my own sanity. Which at day #4,287 my sanity is really the only thing that’s important. At least in my world.

So, I’m not going to complain about the ever-present back ache. I’m not going to complain about these stupid Braxton Hicks contractions that are just regular enough to get me all scared/excited and then disappear for three of four days. I’m not going to talk about the constant heart burn. (From a glass of water, people! Water!) I’m not even going to think about mentioning the swelling on my right foot which is painful to the point of I’m certain that my skin is going to explode because it’s not meant to stretch that far. And I’m totally not going to mention how painful those little kicks and nudges that I so looked forward to feeling 5 months ago are becoming as he runs out of room in there.

Nope, not going to mention any of that. Except that I just did, didn’t I? Oh well, no one’s perfect. Baby steps. Baby steps to less complainging. (Extra kudos if you can give me the movie reference in comments below!)

At this point, with the lack of contractions that I had over this weekend in comparison with the abundance of contractions that I had the weekend before, I’m pretty certain that I’ll make it to week #634 of pregnancy. (That’s 4,438 days for you math whizzes out there!)

And yes, I know with every fiber of my being that this little one will be worth all of this. All of the aches and pains and discomforts will pale in comparison once I get to hold him in my arms. To count his tiny fingers and toes. To smell his sweet baby-smell, which I have a theory on that I haven't shared with you all yet. And just to hold him on the OUTSIDE of me...can't wait! And every day that I get closer to my due date I just get more and more anxious. And ready to meet the little guy!

Just A Little Something

So I ran out of Bath & Body Works hand-soap last night. I typically order this stuff in bulk, so when I run out of soap, it's always sort of shocking. I mean, when you get a BOX of it on your doorstep that lasts several months, it's still somehow shockig when you run out.

Luckily, we were doing a BBQ with friends and Nikki mentioned to me that Bath & Body was running a big 75% off sale. So, after resting most of the morning (after being on my feet all evening cooking my legs/back and right foot were KILLING me!) little Jenna and I took off yesterday afternoon to run some errands.

One of those errands was running into Bath & Body. Score for me - they were still running the sale and they had their hand soap on sale 6 for $20. After scooping up some new scents and old favorites, I noticed that Jenna was captivated by something else. This little guy:

Yep, that's a little rubber casing that you can loop around your purse/back pack. Or a diaper bag, maybe? Since the little bottles were also on sale (5 for $5) Jenna and I both got a holder and each picked out a few scents. For these, I went with some old favorites:

Warm Vanilla Sugar

Coconut Lime Verbena

Midnight Pomegranate

Have you seen those little things? For $.50 I thought that it would make a GREAT addition to my diaper bag, and thought that I'd pass along my "find" for all those other moms-to-be or current moms right now!

Thirty Seven Weeks

Full term. Sweeter words, I don't think that I've ever heard! If Jax were to decide to come on out and play today, there is a great chance that his little lungs would be just fine on their own and need no help from the medical professionals. Full term also means getting the "green light" from the doctor on taking short walks in the evening to try and "encourage" labor. Of course, that's if the swelling in my feet isn't too painful to prevent that, and that all depends on how much bed rest I got that day. It's all relative, I suppose.

But I made it. Our fears of not making it to this day a few weeks ago are now over and a distant memory. Now the 10 million dollar question is "When is this show going to get on the road?"

Here are some belly pictures for you. He's dropping lower each week, but the doctor is quick to assure me that he's not "that low" yet either. Meaning that he hasn't started the descent into the birth canal at this point. There are days that I will agree with her assessment and other days that I think she's nuts. Some times he seems content using my bladder as a speed bag for his exercise routine and other days my pelvic bones are a great substitute for a heavy bag. (Sorry for the boxing references, but I'm married to a Marine - we have all of that stuff in our garage!)

He's also doing a great job now of staying on track with me - as evidenced by the doctor re-changing our due date back to the end of the month. He's measuring right on track, even if she thinks that he's about a pound heavier than my weekly updates say that he is.

I'm not going to post the weekly update this week, if that's ok with you (or even if it's not!) since they don't really seem to be saying much anymore except that he's continuing to grow and put on weight. Which is all well and good, but gets somewhat tedious week after week, you know? But I do have some updates for you:

Weight? 1 lb gain – marking a total of 17 pounds
Stretch marks? They still seem to be staying far away from me thus far
Belly Button – innie/outie? It's WAY out now
Movement? He scared me pretty good one day this week, with what must have been a "sleepy day" for him - but other than that one day, he's been moving and shaking all over the place.
Swelling? I'm still having trouble with my right foot. The good news is that this week the doctor seemed a little more concerned about it - taking the time to measure one foot against the other one, and wouldn't you know it, my right foot was 1.5 inches bigger around than the left one! The better news is that the swelling doesn't go up too far, but the time she got to my calves, my two feet were even again.
Contractions/Signs of Labor? I don't suppose I'm having anything other than Braxton Hicks contractions. I know that they're false because they come and go, and they're not making alot of progress towards other signs of labor. My cervix is softening, but no dilation or effacement as of yet.
Other Issues? I've got a new strategy as far as sleep goes. I'm thirsty (like drinking water by the gallon!) these days, but especially at night. I'm either getting up to pee or I'm getting up to drink ANOTHER glass of water. So far, most nights I can stay in bed until sometime between 12a-1a and then if I move to the couch and get into a reclining position, then I can sleep the rest of the night. You know, in between trips to the bathroom!

Otherwise I'm feeling ok most days. Besides being tired and ready to meet my baby boy, and getting overheated and winded on short walks up the stairs or to my car in this Texas heat, I'm really ok. I'm starting to feel anxious about being able to recognize real labor, but I think that most moms-to-be go through that!

Why My Sanity Might Be In Question

Or this post could be titled “What Happens When Doctors Smoke Crack.” Either title works for me because it’s official, I’ve decided that my Dr smokes crack and needs to be taught a lesson.

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about how happy I was that my due date had been moved up? Do you remember when I wrote about how my baby was larger than he was supposed to be so she was talking about inducing me as many as 4 weeks early? Do you remember these events? Because I seem to remember them happening – but we were told yesterday in the Dr’s office that they never occurred. My due date was NEVER changed from it’s original position at the end of this month, and that she would never have offered to induce me that early as the hospital won’t let her.

As in, the hospital will NOT let her induce a mother before 39 weeks. Like, it’s a written rule or something in their little hospital handbooks. And since it’s a rule (in said handbook) then I must be crazy for thinking that she told me that she would induce me around the 8th of July.

Yeah, just in case you just joined in, it’s the 9th of July and I’m not going to be induced any time soon.

Which is fine with me. I’ve heard some really horrendous stories about women who have to be induced and how much harder their labor is because of the artificial hormones and drugs starting the labor process. And Lord knows, I don’t want a more difficult labor – even an easy labor is still LABOR. And of course, I want a healthy baby. Hands down, no questions asked Jax’s health comes first in my book, which I know is what is also first in the Dr’s book. But does she have to make me feel crazy/insane for remembering events that now have suddenly “never occurred?”

Not to mention how depressing is that? I spoke about it a little bit last week, how sad it is to hear that you have less time, and then maybe she’s taking that less time back. There’s no maybe about it now, she’s definitely taking that time that she gave me back. And she’s doing that because A – the hospital has that pesky little rule and B – because my cervix is “unfavorable for delivery” at the moment.

Yep. Words that every woman who’s entering week 37 want to hear. NOT! Especially after the long weekend and the hours and hours of contractions that I was having. Or possibly not having, as it turns out. They were definitely all Braxton Hicks contractions as is evidenced by the lack of progress “down there.” Here’s the official ruling about where I stand right now – I’m almost completely softened, but not at all effaced or dilated in any way, shape, form or fashion. Le sigh.

Oh well. They say that childbirth is not an exact science, and truer words could not apply at the moment. Jax will come when he’s good and ready, whether that’s in three more weeks (as originally planned) or sometime sooner. Maybe I’m being given a lesson on patience? Possibly. Either way, I got a lesson on biting my tongue yesterday, and holding my temper since I didn’t go off on the Dr or harm her in any way. I really DO like her – for the most part. You know, except for when she’s telling me that I’m delusional.

Be Careful What You Wish For

Isn't that how that old saying goes?

Why did someone not tell me that yesterday when I was worried about a lack of movement from baby Jax yesterday? I got some concern and suggestions for getting him to move, which was all nice and helpful and made my heart go all warm and fuzzy with love. But no one, not a single one of you, told me to be careful what I wished for.

It's like the Finals for the World Cup are being hosted inside my belly today.

And it's been non-stop, all day long so far. With brief periods of intermission or time outs. Commercial breaks if you will. I've jumped more today from ribs and pelvic bones being caught in the cross fire of his movements than any day in recent history that I can remember.

I'm just staying positive and trying to remind myself that this is a GOOD sign. Of health and happiness.

Cross your fingers and wish me luck - I have a doctor's appt this afternoon. I'm not really expecting to hear anything earth-shattering, but progress would be nice! I'll catch you up on the visit tomorrow!

Putting on the "Icing"

Well, I think that we're officially done with Jax's nursery. I picked up the last piece of furniture that I was hoping to find yesterday - a glider with ottoman for that little nook in his space. Check out the deal that I got: And this is a Dutalier glider, which was the most expensive one that I saw at Babies R Us. I would NEVER have paid full price for this piece - ya'll know I'm cheap! But I found one on Craigslist and booyah - welcome home. It's in excellent condition (exactly as the seller advertised it, shocking I know) and I scored this $500 set for $140.

Come again, you say? Yep, you read that right. One hundred forty smack-a-roos...a GREAT deal, if I do say so myself.

And to find a Craigslist seller who's willing to honor the order that people respond, even if it's frustrating or extra work for her...even when the first responder (not me) lead her on a merry chase for a week before she eventually pulled the plug on him. But that's just my newest soap box, and a story for another day!

So back to Jax's room...once we got the glider and ottoman placed in that nook, we saw how cramped the space would be. Granted, the glider is over-sized, but that's something that we'll both be thankful for after spending a few hours each day in it here pretty soon! To alleviate the problem, Brent slid the dresser down a foot or so closer to the bookshelf and then we decided to move the diaper stacker off of the crib and onto the wall. Once we started all of that, it just made sense to go ahead and hang the art work that came with the bedding set, as well as the blanker. Check it out... Other than getting a night light bulb for his lamp, I think that we're set for this little guy to make his appearance. Isn't it nice when things all come together?

I mean, the baseboards, trim and crown molding all still need to be done, but one step at a time people, one step at a time!