Monthly Archives: May 2008

Baby, Family, Home

Weekend!

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After sleeping in this morning, we went to the Petersburg Farmers Market to browse the veggies and herbs. We came home with a parsley plant and a basil plant. We also zoomed up and down the cobblestone streets in the hopes of shaking Joe loose. It didn’t work, but I like to think he was in there going, “Wheee!”

A quick stop at the stationery store (to look at baby announcements, which are absurdly expensive) and then the Wawa (to pick up lunch, which is delightfully cheap) were about all the public appearance I could handle — everywhere I go now, people stare and say “OH MY GOD, WHEN ARE YOU DUE?!” So then I have to say “Last week,” and they start in with the well-meaning advice. What cracks me up is that at least three total strangers have said, “Oh, you have definitely dropped.” Uh, do I know you?

Anyway. Tonight for dinner we finally went to The Phoenician, this new Lebanese place I have been dying to try. Oh, it was so good! Our friend Lisa and her friend Dan joined us, and the four of us tore into a whole spread of baba ghanouj, tabouleh, hummus and about a dozen other yummy things. Dessert was namoura cake, which was like a honey-soaked, coconutty piece of cornbread. So good!

Tomorrow we’ll probably just kick around the house — I really need to clean again before the kid gets here, and Patrick is probably going to mow the lawn. Plus we have new herbs to plant!

On Monday, my sister and her kids are coming to visit, which will be a nice distraction for me. We can walk down to the playground and listen for the ice cream truck, or sit on the patio while Lola licks the children to death. Good times!

Baby

Today at the Doctor's Office

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We had a looong visit today.

First up was an other ultrasound of Joe. They checked to make sure he was “breathing” ( his little lungs take in fluid and let it back out, which is practice for breathing air on the outside) and that he had enough fluid to move around in. They also checked for gross movement (like waving an arm or bending a knee), along with finer muscle tone (opening and closing his hand). He took a while to do that last bit — his little fists were clenched the whole time — but he must have done it eventually because they let me go and said he had done well. Yay!

You know what else they said they could see on the ultrasound? He has hair!

We didn’t get photos to take home this time, but it’s just as well — the bigger he gets, the harder it is for me to tell what I’m looking at. You can only see an elbow or foot at a time instead of the whole baby.

Next up was a fetal non-stress test, where they hooked me up to two around-the-belly monitors: one to record his heartbeat and one to record my contractions. He kept moving away from where they put the sensor, so it would drop out from time to time — but then he’d turn back and it came in loud and strong. I didn’t have any contractions, so no news there.

Finally there was the pelvic exam, which showed NO CHANGE from last week; nothing has moved down or opened up like it’s supposed to. So we have one more appointment (Thursday of next week) and then the doctor wants to induce labor. I don’t think I’m OK with that option, so hopefully Joe will make an appearance before then. I wish I knew what he was waiting for — we’re so ready to meet him!

That last bit was very discouraging, so Patrick cheered me up by reading two books to my belly when he got home — The Poky Little Puppy and The Taxi That Hurried. (We were going for a punctuality theme; here’s hoping Joe got the picture.)

After story time, I decided that a chocolate malt from Hardee’s would hit the spot. Patrick jumped up and was out the door to get it in seconds. What a guy!

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Maybe He Didn't Get the Memo

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Today was Joe’s due date, but he is apparently not as deadline-oriented as his mama. Hmph!

Our bags are packed, we’ve got a muffin basket for the nurses, and everything Joe needs to come home and settle in is in his room. Nothing to do now but wait.

We have an appointment on Wednesday to see him on ultrasound again and then visit with the doctor. Maybe he’ll be here before then?

We’ll keep you posted!

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The Belly

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Patrick has taken profile pics of me about every two weeks since we found out I was pregnant. Here you can see how it’s grown, right up to 38 weeks.

(Mouse over each pic as it goes by to see how many weeks pregnant I was there.)

Yikes, right?

Baby, Family, Home

Weekend at Home

We are now one week away from Joe’s due date, but he’s showing no signs of coming any time soon. He’s very wiggly, despite running out of wiggle room, but seems quite content where he is.

I, on the other hand, have developed severe belly itch and a mysterious rash on my fingers. Also, my snoring has reached the point where Patrick now quietly excuses himself to sleep in the guest room. (I mean Joe’s room!)

Saturday morning we went to Ft. Lee for Armed Forces Day, where Patrick had signed up to run a 5K. (It turned out to be more like a 6.5K, which they realized when everyone was disappointed in their time. Whoops!)

That’s him in the red shorts.

After a few errands, Patrick went out car shopping so that he can finally get rid of the truck. (No luck yet, but he seems to be enjoying the research!) I puttered around in the garden, snipping some roses to bring in and re-potting a few houseplants.

I have done nothing but ignore all my roses for the past year, but they haven’t held a grudge — these are just four out of about a dozen blooms on one bush!

Then I made deviled eggs!

Patrick went on a picture-hanging spree, getting the last few things put up on Joe’s wall, as well as this shadowbox his dad gave us a while back:

Those little figurines are Wades, which for years were distributed in boxes of Red Rose tea. Patrick’s dad gave us a whole collection of them. There’s everything from a horse to a lemur in there. (And a camel, of course!)

Today I accomplished very little, while Patrick:

  • fixed a leaky sink
  • installed the baby seat in my car
  • looked at some more used cars
  • mowed the lawn

I better hurry up and have this kid so I can feel like a contributing member of the household again!

Baby, Home

Joe's Room

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I got a burst of energy this morning and cleaned up Joe’s crib. I even washed his little sheets and got the whole thing all ready for him. Looky:

His changing table is all set for use (instead of piled up with stuff I wasn’t sure what to do with), and his light-up globe and moon have fresh new batteries. All we need now is to put down a rug, hang some stuff on the walls and wait.

Oh, and I should pack my bag for the hospital too.

Baby, Home, Work

Man, I'm on a Roll!

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What is this, like four posts in a day?

I’ve been neglecting the blog because of a pile of freelance work I had to get through. I have a new client called Lifewire, which is a subsidiary of the New York Times Company. They provide consumer health care content to a variety of sites, and I’ve been writing some of that content. It’s fairly easy, but time-consuming — I have to track down journal articles for clinical evidence on everything from green tea to triglycerides, and translate it from doctor-speak to plain English. So far, so good. I got paid for my first four articles this week (and the deposit showed up as being from the New York Times, thank you very much).

Earlier this week, my office threw a lovely shower for me and Joe. We got a play tray for his little Bumbo seat, a set of sweet little onesies and the highchair of our dreams (which Patrick put together immediately after getting it in the house). They are a great group of people and I’ll miss them when I leave next week.

On an unrelated note, I don’t think I’ll be wearing that top again — I look like a tick about to pop!

I went to see Baby Mama last night with a group of women from the Richmond Mommies club. Tina Fey is one of my personal heroes, and Amy Poehler is one of the funniest women alive. Throw in some Steve Martin and you have yourself a hit. I laughed until my big belly hurt!

This weekend there’s still more writing to do, plus some more tidying of Joe’s room. (I had it all cleaned up a few weeks ago, but the gifts keep coming and I have just tossed them all in his crib. I’m waiting for the nesting instinct to kick in a little more energy so I can clean up again!)

Don’t forget to check in with Joe’s blog — his dad has done a couple of updates leading up to the big reveal (whenever that happens).