A Long One.

You would think with all this spare time on my hands, I would be updating my blog daily. Actually, sitting upright really isn't that comfortable right now; nor is completely lying horizontal, so I've relegated myself to a sort of weird Jabba the Hut-style position, oozing over pillows and blankets propped in odd places around my body. This makes is difficult to balance a laptop anywhere comfortably. I've almost killed the dog a couple of times when it accidentally slid off my knees. Poor Davey.

Bed rest is going okay. I can't say it's been wonderful - it's actually been extremely stressful and frustrating at times. You never realize how helpless you really are until you can't let your dog out to pee, or pick up the slowly-accumulating mess all around you. Poor Drew: he's been amazing at doing everything - cooking, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, taking care of the animals, shopping, and somehow even finding time to paint the basement.... but I am still frustrated and annoyed that it's not clean ENOUGH. Not that I am ungrateful; I think he's doing an amazing job keeping the house running while I am sitting on my ass (or, rather, balancing precariously on the edge of the couch somewhere between my ass, hips, and back) watching him (but of course, constantly telling him how wonderful he is!!).

I blame nesting. I desperately want to clean out the kitchen cabinets, to clean the carpets, and to clean out the inside of my car before our Little Lady makes her imminent arrival. Unfortunately, if I'm up for more than five minutes, I begin cramping. Again. Despite the medicine I'm taking. So I am trying to come to terms with the fact that the cabinets may not be cleaned out. And we may have to call a professional to clean the carpets. And I may have to add yet another thing - cleaning out the Jetta - to Drew's list of things he dutifully does for me.

My problem is, I am really a control freak. That is why teaching suits me so well. It is MY classroom: I might not be able to determine WHAT I am teaching, but I can decide how and when, and to what degree. In fact, that's been another struggle for me: giving up my classroom to a long-term sub doing God-knows-what to my classroom and with my students - many of whom I haven't even met yet. I don't like bossing people around; I just love having my own space, and being able to organize things the way my slightly-OCD-tilted brain wants them to be. I love organizing my classroom and filing cabinets and desk. Granted, when I get home, the organization at times goes by the wayside to make room for more lazy tendencies, but right now my hormonal instincts are shouting "CLEAN ME! ORGANIZE ME!! HAVE EVERYTHING READY!!!!"

These organizational desires have only been punctuated by the fact that the midwives at my practice have told us that as soon as I hit 36 weeks, they are taking me off the anti-contraction medicine... and there is a very high likelihood that I could go into labor almost immediately after that. So... I could be in labor in a little more than a week and a half.

Uh.... WHAT?!?!

What happened to the at least sixish weeks I had left?! Where has the time gone??? Can this baby truly be ALMOST HERE?!?! Ohhhhh, Lord. Am I truly ready for this???

Since I'm already up:...

How far along? 34 weeks 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: hovering around 3o... but bed rest has actually caused me to lose a few! Don't worry: my midwife said the baby's still growing and all is still well.
Maternity clothes? Actually, practically all I've worn (unless going to a dr's appt - my"big outing" for the week) are flowy yoga pants and stretchy t-shirts... sooooo... not at the moment
Stretch marks? None on my belly, but a few elsewhere. Oh well.
Sleep: Between nighttime cramping, bathroom breaks, and alarms for medicine going off twice a night, I am not very well-rested of late.

Best moment this week: So far this week, it has been Drew going to BRU for the major things we had left to buy for the baby.... and putting all those finishing touches on the nursery!
Movement: All the time - except last night, when I was moving around more than I should... I must have lulled her to sleep, but it was enough to freak me out! We poked her awake, though, haha, and she is currently kicking my left rib as we speak.
Food cravings: Considering I have no room to breathe if I eat more than half a serving of anything, not much!
Gender: She a lady.... woah woah woah.... [Anyone??]
Labor Signs: Don't make me laugh

Belly Button in or out? Still in, shockingly.... but the right side is a little puffed out, weirdly enough
What I miss: Being allowed to move off of the couch for something other than a shower, a bathroom break, or a meal

What I am looking forward to: At this point, I am looking forward to HER!!!!!!
Weekly Wisdom: Listen to your body. It's not really yours right now, anyway: it's here to protect and nourish that baby. If you need to sit on your ass for six weeks to do so, get over it and be content with the knowledge that you are keeping him or her safe for the time being.

Milestones: Every week she is still in utero is a milestone right now, so 34 1/2 weeks is my current one!

Really fast

I had my appointment yesterday with Dr. Evil (Have I not explained why he sucks? I shall surely bitch about that soon, then. Thankfully, he is not my main practitioner right now, so it's all good.)

....I am reluctant to admit it, but he really wasn't THAT bad yesterday, with the exception of his five-minute rant on how prenatal vitamins are a scam and you really don't even need that much nurition-wise.... (....uh.... WHAT?!?!) ..... Anyway, he read me my B-12, iron, and electrolytes results and from my research + what he said, everything looks fine and I won't have to go back on my B12 supps.

....And he found the heartbeat right away!!!! Woooo hooooo!!!!!!!!


Looks like we have a real live baby in there. *Giant, face-splitting grin.*


Slightly related: Anyone think stress has anything to do with spotting? I have not spotted at all in the last month with the exception of two, VERY minor/light times, and they were 1) the day before my 10-week appointment, where I was practiacally shitting a brick from terror, and 2) last night after my appt with Dr. Evil. who just freaks me out at the prospect of him giving me ANY news related to my future children. It occurred to me these were moments of high stress and as soon as I had chilled out each time, the spotting disappeared.

Does this theory hold water, or am I just totally making sutff up? Hmmm.... I see much internet searching in my future.....


...But not today! Drew and I are getting our mortage refinanced to take advantage of lower interest rates, and the lady called today and asked if tomorrow at 4:30 was fine; Drew agreed. Now I am avoiding the ENORMOUS pile of laundry that's been sitting at the foot of our bed for the past week and Drew is giving me grumpy looks every time he enters the living room. Must fly!

Does our carpet match our drapes?

HA! ...Sorry, that was gross.

We got new carpet in our upstairs today! Woot!

.... Well, we're halfway there, anyway... apparently the stairs is an "all-day job" that can't be done at the same time all the rest of the upstairs got done.

Here's some pics!!

Background: The house was built in 1900 and we've spent the last three years renovating it room by room. Uh... I say that like I have actually done any of the work, haha. Back in the day - pre-daily puking, that is - I would help paint, etc., but of late it's just been up to poor Drew. To be honest, I think he prefers that anyway, because he's such a perfectionist and would just rather do it himself. We had some nasty old carpet before, but Drew pulled it up -and we found some interesting stain/paint combinations!

By the way, if you've never been acquanted with old houses, bedrooms are generally tiny, and our house is no exception!

For your viewing pleasure:

Back bedroom/ future nursery mid-renovation:
Before carpet:
Post-carpet (view from the other end - and a better representation of the wall color):
Our super loooooooooong hallway pre-carpet:

The hallway post-carpet:
Middle bedroom/den pre-carpet (unfortunately, we didn't get a good shot of the built-ins - this whole room used to be covered in orangey-stained knotty pine boards): Middle bedroom/den post-carpet:
Close-up of the built-ins (and a bit of Drew's butt on the left!! Ra ha haaaaaaaaa!):
Thanks for humoring me in my senseless woo-we-are-finally-allllllllmost-done-renovating-ramble.

Pregnancy update: I officially threw up in the sink for the first time while brushing my teeth this morning. I have hit a new level of disgusting. Granted, I have thrown up just about everywhere else: various faculty bathrooms two in-laws' bathrooms, both of our bathrooms, the bathroom in Lowe's... but never in a sink. Should I be proud? -cause I'm really not.
I have my ten-week appointment on Friday, and I must say, I am TERRIFIED. This was the appointment I had last fall in which they could not find a heartbeat on the doppler... then again a few days later... then... well, I don't even talk about the ultrasound. Not yet. Bleh.

...But we have new carpet!