The 1st Week

Yesterday was the 1 week birthday of sweet little Rooney. I can't believe it's been a whole week. Of course, we did spend half of that in the hospital. However, when I flash back to being in labor (I try very hard not to do that) it seems so long ago.

Being a Mom has so far been terrific- if not very surreal. I cannot believe how much you can instantly love & @ the same time be in awe of such a pruney little baby. And I know I shouldn't do it but I already find myself thinking of the future and him growing up so fast. I told him I did not want to miss a second of his life. Then I remembered my teenage years and decided maybe ignorance will be bliss @ some points.

The most difficult part of the week has been dealing with the discomfort of my swollen body & getting Rooney's diaper to fit correctly. Since he's a newborn nothing really seems to fit right & we've had difficulty with him leaking through when he pees. We've done more laundry this week, just in baby clothes & bedding, than I do all week for the rest of the house. I think we're getting a handle on it but I don't think we'll actually ever get the upper hand.

Our 1st two babies (Courage & Rocco) are handling the new addition quite different. Courage is obsessed with Rooney- especially when Mom is with him. He wants to give him kisses constantly & wants to be a part of whatever is going on. Rocco is staying away. Every once in awhile he'll sniff Rooney, without getting too close, and then run away. I think both the boys are feeling a little deprived of attention, although truth be told, I think they are probably getting more. I think they are preying on my guilty conscience. Hopefully they do not teach this manipulation to Rooney.

To cap the week off we had our 1 week MD appt. yesterday. The MD prescribed Lasix to help deflate my feet & hands. They seem a little better & there is hope that I will be able to wear shoes & my wedding rings in the near future. Maybe next week we can venture out of the house.

Pop Quiz...

In honor of the one-week anniversary of Rooney's birth, I thought we would play a little game I like to call "Spot the Non-Rooney".

It is a game that takes a moment to learn, but a lifetime to master. Simply identify which of the following photos is not a picure of Rooney.

( ) A

( ) B

( ) C

( ) D

1st Bath

Today was Rooney's 1st bath by Mom. It's been about 9 years since I've given a baby a bath. They're tricky. I had to stay clear of his belly button & circumcision but wash & hold w/one hand. I can't say he cared for it much. He was so cold when I was going to get him dressed that I had to slip his little puppy robe on.
Ok, Ok it's entirely possible this post was a thinly disguised reason to post these pictures. However since I'm posting I'll fill you in on the homefront. Mike & I are doing well. Strangely enough we feel we've been getting enough sleep. Since getting in & out of bed is the most difficult thing for me Mike took on nighttime. Because I get more sleep @ night I am up a little earlier than Mike & I've been basically handling the daytime. Seems to be working. Also, I think so far we've been very lucky & Rooney seems very easy. He wakes up to eat & get his diaper changed but there isn't alot of crying out of him. We haven't been up consoling him for hours yet. I have my fingers crossed that we won't have to. He seems to love to have his hands, thumb, sleeves...anything in his mouth. We let him suck on a pacifier & he is so happy. When I go to feed him I am constantly playing "Beat the Hand" when I try to get the bottle in his mouth. It's pretty cute.

Rooney also went in his swing for the 1st time yesterday. He seemed very relaxed while he was in there. He just stared out the window like he was deep in thought. It was really sweet & I tried to capture it on the digital camera but it doesn't come through. We really need to get a video camera. Then we can bore all our friends w/every cute facial movement Rooney does.

Finally, I thought I'd share one more photo with you. Seems hormones are still running rampant throughout my body & I am still swollen up like a balloon. I know you've seen a gazillion pictures of my feet but here is one more. All I can say is that it looks like my feet are wearing a fat suit.
So until this passes people can come & visit but we cannot go out & visit.

New Pictures

Rooney's Story

Sunday night had come. Seemingly I was not going to have this kid by myself this weekend. I was starting to get a little nervous about being induced on the next day, Oct. 3rd. I was excited though because I could be induced & have my epidural ready...dare I dream @ the same time? Mike & I decided to go to Annie & Dana's soccer game. It was the their 1st game & we had alot of friends playing so we could see everyone before the big event. Their team ended up being short on players so Mike stepped in & helped out. Since Mike was playing we stayed for the whole game & we were there until 8pm. On the way home we decided Mike should call his folks & let them know that it seemed I would absolutely would be induced the next morning. While Mike was talking w/his Dad about Jim's new laptop I noticed I started not to feel that great. I've had alot of weird "pains" for the last month so I did not think much of it but it was unpleasant whatever I was feeling.

Once we got home I headed for the restroom while Mike finished talking w/his parents. I still wasn't feeling well. Having some pains & I thought I'd lay down & wait for Mike to finish. These pains I was feeling weren't going away like they normally do so I decided to try to find a rhythm & decide if they were contractions. But they were coming kind of quick to be real contractions. However, Mike finally comes in & finds me doubled over the bed. The pain was getting worse. Mike decided to start trying to time them. The contractions were coming about 2-1/2 min apart. Before we could go to the hospital they were supposed to be around 5min apart & last for 60-90 sec. (for @ least an hour). Mine were coming much closer together but there still wasn't a strong pattern established. Finally around 9:30pm we decided to call the hospital. They told me since I was a 1st time Mom to basically stay home & wait until they got worse. I really didn't think they could get worse & now they stole the only gauge I was given as to when labor has started (timing). Mike & I waited another 1-1/2hrs & the pain really did get worse, so we said screw it @ 11pm & decided to go in.

We live about 2 miles from Valley Medical & I managed to have 4 very painful contractions on the way to the hospital, I had to stop walking while I had one in the parking lot & had 3 in the wheelchair from the ER to the Birthing Center. They got me in a birthing room, checked me out (I was 4cm)& decided to admit me. Personally, all I can say about contractions are that they are absolutely the most painful thing I can imagine. Prior to ever having contractions I could never imagine that something could hurt so much. The best description I could give is that it felt like what I would equate to having the lower half of my body explode...slowly.

I let the nurse know that I would appreciate an epidural as quick as possible. Within a half hour I had the epidural & felt great. However, those minutes I had to wait to receive the epidural & for the epidural to kick in were absolutely the longest few minutes ever. I actually thought time stopped several times. By the time the epidural kicked in it was about 12:30pm & it was time to check my progress. I WAS COMPLETE!!!! I was ready to start pushing Rooney out (I got that epidural right on time) & the oncall MD wasn't there yet nor the resident! I got excited because I thought this was going to be real quick & I couldn't feel anything below my waist. Then I was worried because my sister had not got to the hospital yet! Finally the resident MD got there & I was about to start pushing when my sis got there. Everyone was floored & excited & let's start pushing!

Now I'll speed up the story...after the oncall MD finally got there & 3hrs of pushing it was determined that Rooney still had not got through my pubic bone. I had 2 options: Option 1a. try vacuuming him out & b. if that did not work a c-section or option #2 got straight to the c-section. I opted for option #1 & unfortunately the vacuuming didn't work & they wheeled me in for a c-section.

At 5:09 a.m. Rooney Evan Wade was born. Annie & Mike were in the operating room with me & got to see him right after he was born. Because he was a meconium baby Rooney had to go to the NIC unit & Mom (that's me!) finally got her hands on him @ 8am. He was finally given a bath @ 9am & I was finally able to kiss him. I am probably being bias when I say he is absolutely the most beautiful baby boy in the whole world. He's totally amazing.

Finally, after 3 long nights in the hospital & 1 @ home Mike has already shown what an amazing dad he is & will be. I couldn't imagine going through this without him.

A couple pictures...

I finally got the camera working (this software guy was too quick to blame it on hardware...)

At long last...

Rooney Evan Wade decided to join the real world recently. Born October 3, 2005 at 5:09 a.m., he weighed in at 8 pounds 0.5 oz, and 21 inches. Mom and baby are both doing fine: Susan had to have a C-section to get him out, but seems to be recovering nicely (aside from the itching).

It turned out there was no need for inducement, but that's a whole story, which will have to wait until we get back from the hospital (Mama and baby should be released Wednesday).

Unfortunately, now our camera is being stubborn, so you will have to wait until later to get pictures.

They Say It's Gonna Happen

Mike, Rooney & I made it to our 2nd Nonstress Test appointment today. This was going to be our last prenatal check up one way or another. This 2nd test was to make sure the baby was still doing well so that I could be induced on Monday. I have been assured that Rooney is doing quite well, and was possibly showing off for the machine today. A little showboater just like his Dad. My little chip off the ol' block.

We got more good news...seems magically I have dilated to 3cm & I am 90% effaced. It is very possible that I may go into labor all on my own this weekend. If I don't, then Monday morning I am scheduled to be induced. This kid really is going to come out one way or another in the next 3 days! I'm still hesitant to believe it but they tell me it's going to happen so it must be true.

For the induction it seems we are basically on call with the hospital. We have been told to call them @ 6am to make sure we can go down but the hospital could also call us @ 2am & say they are ready- so we have to be ready. As exciting as this news is I received even more exciting news...they have now changed their epidural rules & even if I stay @ 3cm when I get to the hospital I can get the epidural right away!!! Woo hoo!! They used to make you wait until 4cm dilated but according to the ARNP they found it does not actually slow down labor prior to 4cm like they used to think.

Maybe Rooney really knew what it was he was waiting for.

Evacuation!!!!

I've been grumbling so much lately about Rooney not being born and condo issues (of which I had more this morning) & then it takes something like this to remind me that 1. Rooney's impending arrival, no matter when it will be, will be joyous & 2. not only do I have one home but I have 2.

"Raging Fire Threatens LA Area Homes"

My younger brother Casey, his girlfriend Rebecca & their dog Siren were one of the families evacuated @ 3 a.m. this morning. Right now they are holed up @ my mom's house, with a few possessions they could load into their dog's kennel & are waiting to see if they will be able to return to their home.

Makes me very grateful I can basically manage both mine from my bed.

No need to panic...

Even though there have been no posts here in 2 days, its not because labor has started. We've simply run out of things to write about. We're still holding out hope that the child will be born tomorrow, as then he would share a birthday with his great-grandma Wade. (We have kicked around the idea of naming him Marjorie as an homage). However, we have basically given up hope that this kid will be coming out voluntarily, and are now setting our hopes on his getting induced.

Anyway, in case you were wondering what a 41-week pregnant woman looks like, here's a snapshot...

The Two Libras

Mike and I went to our weekly MD visit. I don't think either of us really thought we'd be making this visit but lo & behold. The receptionist had told us she was hoping she wasn't going to see us. We didn't take that personally because we felt the same way. The good news...the baby's heart beat sounds really good, he's dropped further & I am almost fully effaced. Bad news...I'm still pregnant!!! Hee hee hee.

We are scheduled for another appointment on Tuesday. The Tuesday appointment is for a Non-Stress Test. From what I have read this seems to be a pretty normal procedure if you are overdue. The MD said if I am still pregnant on Tuesday & after the results of this test they may plan to induce on Friday. Seems hard to believe but I could actually have the kid in October! That's not even the right month! I, of course, am holding out hope to have the bambino this weekend. However, my boy will be a Libra just like his momma. Our birthdays will be kind of close together now. I wonder if that will be too much cake in such a short time frame? Let's just hope he likes chocolate.

2 Libras signing off.

Punk'D

Ok, where's Ashton? Where are the camera's hidden? I am absolutely positive I am being Punk'D.

Seems the joke is I'm not really pregnant...I'm just getting really weirdly fat and the big laugh is to see how long I can be strung along.

Come on out Ashton the jig is up. Show yourself & we'll have a good a laugh, a beer and plan a Punk'D for Britney.

What's it gonna take?

Well, its official: I think we've tried everything to get this kid out. Taking long walks. Nothing. Laughing the kid out by watching uproarious comedies. No dice. Eating spicy foods. Jumping on a trampoline. Bubkes.

We've also tried direct communication with the child. Asking politely. Reasoning. Singing (including the occasional falsetto number by yours truly). Begging. Threatening.

All that's left is bribery. So Rooney, we're asking: what's it gonna take?

Property Management Hell

You thought we were done with home improvements.

I haven't written about this but @ the end of July I got bad news from my friend Christine. She had been renting my condo, loved it & was going to sign another year lease however she just found out that she got a new job up north & was not going to be able to renew because she needed to find a place closer to work.

It was bad news on 2 fronts- 1. we were losing a reliable renter & 2. she would be moving out @ the end of August. This was bad because it was not long before my due date & there were things that would need to be done to clean up the condo. I had just contacted our property management in August about the new rent, the condo clean-up & how I wanted the ad to run when Christine called me & asked if she could stay another month (I had previously offered her month to month until she found a new place). The townhouse she wanted to rent in Lynnwood would not be ready until mid-September. I don't know about you guys, but as far as I know apartments are always rented by the month not week. Aren't those motels? Anyway, I said that would be great because that would give us some breathing room time wise due to the baby's impending arrival.

Now, since I haven't written about the condo I also have not written about the property management company that is supposed to be "managing" my property. There has been an ongoing battle with them re: communication & managing my property in my best interest. There have been several terse emails sent in the 10 months they have been our management company and things never seem to get better- we just keep getting new staff.

Well in early September I called Christine (after I left a message with our property manager the previous week) because we had not received our rent check. That was odd because Christine always paid her rent early. I wasn't sure if there was an issue w/the Labor Day holiday, if Christine paid it later than normal or if she was still living there even. I had not heard back from Christine nor the property management co. if she was going to stay in September. The phone call was very enlightening with Christine. She did clear up that her rent check was mailed & cashed (we actually received it the next day). That was good news. The bad news was Christine had also called the management company & still had not received her call back. This made me pretty mad. I also found out that Christine pro-rated her rent because she was moving out on the 18th!! Hmmmm I did not authorize this. I was a bit confused but Christine had been a good tenant so I figured what is done is done & I will have a word with property management. I felt had they been doing their job they could have cleared this up & let Christine know that this is not how apartment rental goes.

That week I wrote a very angry email to our property manager but I really didn't want to deal with any of this. I was very close to my due date, already disappointed we had not had the baby & knew we were going to have to do something to get this condo ready for rental. How? When? Who? Well Christine moved out the day after my due date, what an awful time. This gave us no breathing room & had I known I would not have OK'd her staying longer because we could have used that time in early September to get the condo in shape. After my angry email, property management wrote back, apologized, assured me they would make an appt w/Christine to do the final walk through etc. Well Christine called me on the 18th, wanted to drop off the keys to me because she called property management on Monday & they still had not called her back & guess who told Christine to prorate her rent...the property management company I hired!!!! Unbelievable. A very emotional, very pregnant woman does not to be dealing with this!! I told Christine to mail the keys to property management & I would call them. So now she's out.

We went by the condo last night because we have to get going on this so the condo will be available for renting in October. The place didn't look bad- we are repainting the bedroom (I let Christine paint it) & putting new carpet in. Little clean up & the place will be back to it's shining glory. We went to Home Depot, got paint, primer & ordered carpet last night. I had to change the carpet selection because if I did not get the stuff on special we would have to wait 3 weeks!!!! That would really not work w/the early October timeline. Ok that was all done. Mike went to the condo this morning to prime the walls & ceiling. I got a call from Mike a couple hours later & he was having problems primeing the ceiling & he broke the paintbrush (thus resulting in a skunk stripe on the back of his head). He wanted to buy a sprayer.

I'll end this story here. I will say Mike has not bought a sprayer, the condo is still not primed @ this time & my husband will be spending his free time primeing & painting.

I'm sure to go into labor now, right?

No baby today?

Ahoy, me hearties! So Rooney wasn't born today. I think that be probably for t' best. I wouldn't want him t' have been born on December 25, January 1, or July 4, either. Could you imagine havin' t' share your birthday with International Talk Like a Pirate Day?

No Dice

I didn't want anyone to be sitting in suspense- I thought I should let everyone know that we are still waiting.

Looks like on due date #2 we also will not be of the 5%. I liked the teens for a birthday but it looks like we'll be creeping into the 20's. We'll shoot for the 21st or 22nd.

We'll keep you posted.

It's Come & Gone

Well September 17th has come & gone yet I am still pregnant. So it seems for the 1st date I will not be of the 5%. September 19th was the other due date I was given. I was never really attached to this date but @ this point I am clinging to it. Mike is sick today, and I believe laying in bed as I write this, so maybe it'll be today. I thought, to add a little more fuel to the fire, I would forego shaving my legs for today.

These last couple of weeks have been really tough. I'm basically sequestered to the house, @ least if I'm bymyself. Since Mike is still working & I cannot get my sister to visit me for anything, it is basically me & the dogs staring out the window. Yesterday Dana, Renae, Natalie & Felix came to visit. It was such a nice diversion. Mike & I would have basically just sat around waiting. Well I would have been waiting, Mike would have been playing Unreal Championship. As they were here I was a little saddened when I realized the swing we got so many weeks ago now had dust on it!!! The nursery seems like it's been empty so long now- to think a couple months ago I was stressed if we were going to get it done.

So not only am I basically homebound, I feel like a sloth. My brother said I seem pretty agile for my state but I feel so limited. Bending, walking, getting dressed are difficult. Since Rooney has dropped in the pelvis I can barely lift my leg and I walk as if I have a head in my pelvis. To see Renae, who had Felix 6 months ago, moving & seemingly feeling and looking normal, I am so jealous.

I think I'll go dust the nursery.

So close...

Today Mike & I went for our weekly OB appointment. I have to be honest I did not think we would be making this appointment. Then again I thought I was going to have this kid 2 weeks ago. Seems everyone is getting prepared for Rooney's arrival- I know people have been getting jittery about phone calls & yesterday my sister called to say she is officially on "maternity leave". Um...no pressure there. I hated to tell her they made another MD appt for us next week.

Although the MD did not fill me with a great hope that I would have Rooney before next week she did say I was "very thin" (in terms of effacement). So I am maintaining my glimmer of hope. My official due date isn't until this weekend (they have me down to give birth between 17th-19th) so I'm not actually late yet. Also, the MD did say that if I was still pregnant next week than "we can see what we can do".

I have my fingers crossed we won't have to see about that (you have them crossed too)!

Britney Stole Our Birthday

I'm going to reveal a little secret...I've been harboring a secret battle with Britney Spears since I found out we were both pregnant.

Right after I found out I was pregnant & started spreading the news, out comes Britney with her big pregnancy announcement. The media focused on her and stole the spotlight from my child. I started getting pregnant belly & there's Britney showing off her bump. She even had a designer making her maternity daisy duke shorts while I settled for clearance items @ Old Navy.

So far Britney 2- Susan 0.

For a short while there I was definitely sure that Britney was looking "more pregnant" than me.

Britney 2- Susan 1

However, it quickly became evident I was "more pregnant" than Britney.

Britney 3- Susan 0

As my baby shower was being planned and I was deep in the throes of RSVP stress my new People arrives & who is on the cover with her fantastic baby shower?!? Britney!! I couldn't get all my "friends" to come to mine due to their previous engagements & Britney gets international media exposure (no doubt ensuring all her friends RSVP's but also a bagful of dough).

Britney 4- Susan 0

The one thing I thought I had over Britney was that I would be announcing my childs arrival 1st. I was absolutely certain I would have my baby before her. Not only did Britney have her baby before me, she had a boy & HAD HIM ON OUR ANNIVERSARY!!!

Britney 6- Susan 0

I officially hate Britney Spears.

Happy Anniversary

Two years ago tonight Mike asked me to be his wife. It was that night that we decided to make our little ragged band of riff-raffs a family. It was good timing for Mike to ask because the next month I was turning 30.

Now 2 years have passed & who would have guessed that I would be tap dancing on the verge of having our first child and solidifying us as a family. It's all very surreal to me. It seemed having Rooney today would be very apropos.

I don't think it's going to happen.

I Hate Tuesdays

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Boomtown Rats song "I Don't Like Mondays". It's been running through my head all morning but I've been substituting Mondays with Tuesdays. I may have mentioned this before but Tuesdays are trash day @ our house. Normally that is a good thing. Purging crap from your house feels good. And if you recycle you feel extra good because you are helping the Earth because you've sorted and rinsed your crap. However, Tuesdays @ Tiny House mean 3 garbage trucks (1 regular crap truck, 1 yard crap truck & then 1 recycled crap truck) and that is 3 instances of absolute barking hell! The trash trucks pull right up to our back fence, they are big & loud & they set the dogs off like nobodies business. If you can imagine all the hate, frustration & anger you have ever felt & channel it through the body of a 20lb dog you would know exactly how Courage feels about these trucks. What's a dog to do? He has managed, over time, to take his frustration of not being able to get to the truck out on our fence. I'm pretty sure he's gnawed 1/2 way through the poles. I've walked outside to find him hanging by his teeth from them. Rocco isn't as angry. He may be used to the sounds of the trucks from his days as a little dump dog in Puerto Rico. He does like to instigate the anger in Courage though, and often gives him the "trash truck warning bark". I'm sure you can imagine how much we all appreciate that. Especially when the 1st truck arrives before 8am.

We've consulted a dog trainer about this. The easiest thing she suggested was to keep them in the house when the trucks go by. We agreed that would be the easiest thing and the bonus for me is that the garbage men wouldn't have to see me in my jammies & bedhead while chasing the dogs around the gazebo. Our fence has stopped taking such a beating but these boys have great hearing & they are @ the back door a block before the truck even gets to our house. Of course Rocco is leading the charge. We've been dealing with this & I have been trying to work on "quiet" with them but as the pregnancy has progressed it's become a little harder. As it is I have a little head wedged in my pelvis so getting up, down & general walking isn't as easy but the nursery window also faces the back fence & Courage knows this. Even though I have kept the blind down and the window closed he will still force his way into the bedroom (we should really get this door fixed to close tight) and stand in front of the closed blind/window & bark his little floppy eared head off. What's a Mom to do?

The trucks are gone now and it's quiet around the house but after all the chaos this morning I cannot get this song out of my head!

Get Out of My Belly!!!

It seems after not writing for several days that I would have tons to write about. However, this weekend really consisted of alot of waiting & wondering. As you've been reading I'm real interested in getting this birth on. To be a "normal" person again would be fantastic. Saturday, Mike & I took Couragito & Roccosani to the dog park. We really weren't sure when we'd be able to take them again & I thought the walking might be helpful in bringing on the big event. Well Sunday I woke up & I was still pregnant but the boys seemed happy.

Sunday was 9/11 as everyone knows. Mike was real worried about my having the baby on that date. I guess he didn't want his child to have to grow up with his birthday always being in the shadow of such a horrible day. I understood that, & 9/11 would not have been my preference on a birthday. If it was between the baby being born & not being born though, I may have leaned towards being born & coming up w/something like "beautiful miracle" happening on the anniversary or something. By afternoon I knew we didn't have to worry and we took the boys for a walk & maybe we'd be able to shoot for 9/12.

Last night was rough. I had problems going to sleep, I was up about every 30min, Rooney was moving all over & finally around 3am I started having what I thought were "contractions". It was kind of exciting & of course scary. I tried to still get sleep, because they advise that, & the "contractions" were erratic so I was pretty sure any birth would be a while. Although I have not ever had contractions before & I was still trying to get back to sleep I was also trying to time the contractions as best as I could. Once they were more regular I thought I'd wake Mike up. It was 4-something in the morning now, still too early to call my sis, so I laid there, counted & actually eventually fell back to sleep. When I woke up @ 8am, no contractions and no baby I realized I had "false labor". I can't tell you how disappointed I am.

I thought I'd be holding my son now, my legs were already shaved & Mike would have been well rested. Seems last night would have been a great night to have a baby.

Good Things Come To Those That Wait

Mike and I had our weekly MD appointment today. I was really hoping to hear I was dilated 4cm. I know this was a tall order since I haven't had any contractions but maybe I'd be one of those women that have no idea they are in labor. Unfortunately, my not-so-secret dilation hopes, were dashed. The MD said I had not dilated any further but I had made progress on effacement. That's something. Technically I still have a chance of having Rooney early but I am much less hopeful than I was a week ago and we made our MD appt. for next week.

Hmmmm...this week may call for some long walks and housecleaning.

We Can Eat!!

Since I've been pregnant Mike & I have been pretty lazy about what we've been eating. The 1st 3 months I was nauseous the whole time & seemed to only want Mac & Cheese and Grilled Cheese sandwiches. By the time I was feeling better from that we were both still working & were extremely tired. Me, due to pregnancy. Mike, due to breathing (just kidding Sweet Pea). So needless to say neither of us felt much like preparing dinners. We've muddled through and even kept our Caesar salad night on most Wednesdays but anything that required the oven to be on was seriously dismissed.

We wondered if we felt this way pre-baby what were we going to feel like after the birth? Undoubtedly, we would be less motivated to prepare decent meals. We decided to try one of those places where they prep all the dinner & you package it. There are alot of different places but we chose Designed Dinners because of it's close proximity to our house. We received 24-2 person meals. After Rooney is born we will be feasting on such meals as Tiger Shrimp Paella, Mushroom Asiago Cheese Quiche, Flat Iron Steak etc. We decided this idea was so good that it may be worth while to just go there on a regular basis. We also realized these meals are portioned correctly & they provide all the nutritional value info. This will be a huge help whilst I'm trying to shed pregnancy weight. I suppose the real test will be in the tasting. I'm pretty picky so I have my fingers crossed. From what I could see through the packaging it looked pretty good.

Also on the agenda was to squeeze in another pedicure before the baby was born. I thought I was out of luck on that earlier this week. Unless I go into labor tonight or tomorrow morning I am proud to report I have a appointment for tomorrow. After the pedicure I think we will be as fully prepared for the child as we can be.

Keep checking for updates and maybe new feet pictures.

There's a Disco in My Belly

Since our last MD appt on Friday I have been hopeful that Rooney would be making his grand entrance early. Being pregnant has been wonderful and a amazing experience but at this point the puffy round body, not being able to bend over & having numb arms every night is wearing a bit thin. Plus now that I feel pretty prepared I can't wait to see my son!!! Sunday I kept dreaming that I was going into labor but that didn't happen & then this morning I thought maybe the unveiling would be today but now I get the feeling that may not happen.

I woke up around 3-something a.m. this morning & Rooney just started moving all over. Since there is so little room for him to move now any movement he does is a huge ripple across my body. I don't know what was going on in there but for the next 3+ hours he was dancing or something. I had a mental picture of him trying to get comfortable & get out. I wasn't in any pain but there was so much movement I thought for sure it would be no time before I had to wake Mike up. Around 5:15 a.m. I realized I was not going to be able to go back to sleep for awhile, and both arms were numb so I went out on the couch. I was kind of hungry & thought I better grab a snack before I had to go to the hospital & was not able to eat anything. I watched the Morning News, cuddled Courage and Rocco and ate some Mini Wheats. Finally, I went back bed after 6 a.m. let Mike feel the roller coaster in my belly & eventually fell back to sleep after 7 a.m..

Rooney has quit squirming and it seems everything is back to normal...for now. We'll see what happens tonight.

Baby Shower Pics, Thank You's & My Sincere Apology

I've finally received some baby shower pictures! I eagerly popped in the CD looking for pictures to post. I ran through all 70+ pictures and let me share with you there is only a handful of photos that I will share with you. For obvious reasons I am in a good deal of the photos & there doesn't seem to be one where I am not talking, making some weird distorted face and in most cases, both. I won't go into it too much here but this is generally why I refuse to take photos- especially candid ones. I beg of all home photographers please wait until people stop talking, are done shoveling food in or waving body parts around before you take pictures!!!







Let me thank everyone yet again for the wonderful gifts, for coming & a special thanks for Annie,Renae & Brandi who put it together.

Now to my apology. I am in the process of sending out Thank You notes. Many of you should receive yours on Tuesday so you'll soon understand what I'm apologizing for. I have had a problem for months in which I will wake up with numb hands. It seems to have escalated in the last couple of weeks to where my wrists will hurt all day. I asked the MD about this & apparently this is normal. She said that fluid is pressing on a nerve. The problem for the people receiving Thank You notes is that my handwriting was already questionable (something I attribute to years of computer use) but with my wrists & hands hurting so much it may be completely illegible. Let me assure you that I only wrote good things on each one and I am so sorry I haven't figured out how to print them.

I may dictate the rest to Mike.

We're Making Progress

Mike and I had our weekly MD appointment today @ 10:45 a.m.. It had to be our longest appointment yet. That was not because there was many procedures happening- they just let us wait, and wait & wait. I'm not sure how familiar many of you are with what happens @ the OB appointments but each visit starts with a urine sample. That means when you come to the appt. you should probably have to pee already. Normally not a problem. Today, however, it was a problem. They let us wait so long before we saw the MD or anything that things were getting a bit critical. Who would leave a pregnant lady waiting to use the bathroom???? So when we finally get in the room I insist on the urine sample first. Good thinking, right? Seemed that way. We got all the preliminary stuff done w/the nurse- weight & BP. She gets me ready to be seen for the MD & I'm waiting. I'm waiting, waiting & waiting. I have now waited so long that who has to pee again? I was a little afraid this may interfere w/the exam. Good news is it didn't. Bad news is we didn't get out of the office until a little after noon!!!! The interesting news is that I am now 1-1/2cm dilated. What does this mean? Well we don't exactly know. We know the baby is coming soon, but how soon? It's a crap shoot. The MD did tell us who was the on-call MD this weekend but we also made an appt. for next Friday. All we know is that we have to make sure we get the 4th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm before I go into labor.

Keep reading for updates.

The Mascara Incident

The last 2 days have been interesting. Monday Roto Rooter was coming to once & for all take care of the slow drain that caused the bathroom remodel. I was pretty jazzed about the prospect of being able brush my teeth & floss @ the same sink again. But then something happened that threatened my jazzed feeling.

As some of you may know I am extremely near sighted in my right eye. Sometimes this causes a problem with perception but for the most part, other than @ nighttime, I can see pretty well. So I was a little alarmed on Monday when I was getting ready, putting on my make-up, & I managed to stab myself in my good eye with the mascara brush. There was a span of about a week a few months ago that I seemed to do this almost everyday. I finally deduced that this kept happening because I had switched to a mascara with a longer brush & my depth perception must be off. I figured I would solve the problem by switching back to my old brand and I appeared to right & avoided any further stabbings until Monday. You might say why don't you just close your eye when you put on mascara? Most people probably do that. However, since I am so nearsighted in my right eye I cannot see if I close my left eye. For some reason running the risk of having uneven mascara outweighs any apparent risks to myself.

The repercussions of the stabbing were that I could not see clearly for the last 2 days. I wasn't too concerned on Monday because normally the mascara blinding only lasts a day & when I wake up the next morning I can see clearly again. However, when I woke up yesterday my eye was almost crusted shut & once I pried it open still couldn't see any better. I was a bit worried since I have only one good eye and had to ask myself some hard hitting questions. What if I permanently marred my vision for vanity? Would I ever be able to clearly see my son? Should I stop wearing mascara all together? Clearly it was the mascara that attracted Mike- could I run the risk of not wearing it around him anymore? I tried to put all these nagging questions behind me & trooped on, blurry eyed, the rest of the day.

The good news is that when I woke up this a.m. I was able to see clearly again. All these hard hitting questions I had are moot and I am relieved to know now that I can brush, floss & irrigate my eye all from the same sink. Best of all my jazzy feeling is still intact.

Where'd these cankles come from?

It's been awhile since I've last posted. A lot has happened since Wednesday & I will try to recap best as possible. Firstly, Friday Mike & I went to the MD. I'm 37 weeks preggers now. That means @ the end of this week I am full term. The MD said the baby has dropped, cervix is thin but I wasn't dilated yet. I think Mike & I were both relieved to hear that I wasn't dilated since the bathroom still wasn't done @ this point and we had the baby shower on Saturday. The MD said I seem to be inline with my due date. (Let's go 5%).

By the time Mike went to work on Friday most of the bathroom was finished. We still had some painting to do, caulking & cleaning but while Mike was @ gone I did some of the touch-up painting. When Mike got home & I was done grocery shopping, we started back to work. At 1am we called it a night & basically the only thing we had to do for Saturday was put the bathroom back together and hang towel rods.

(This brings me to the baby shower, or secondly) Saturday morning we had to get up & get moving. For anyone that knows Mike & I, that is the last thing we like to do in the morning. However, we prevailed & finished the bathroom and cleaned the kitchen by noon. It was imperative the kitchen be cleaned by noon because my sister, Annie, and Brandi were coming over early to cook for the baby shower. I had to get a good base clean in before Brandi fried her food because anyone that knows Brandi knows she's a great cook but not so great on the clean up. (Or so I thought- they actually did a great job). Also, I had to beat Renae, who also came over @ noon for final clean up, to the punch because there just wasn't enough time to get ready, make sure Mike had time to get ready and let Renae clean the kitchen & vacuum. I knew she would have insisted (which I do appreciate) but I didn't do anything I didn't think I was able to do. The baby shower was great, Rooney got a lot of wonderful stuff & I think everyone had a good time. I want to thank everyone again who came and/or sent gifts. Mike & I really appreciate everything everyone has done for us. The unveiling of the finished bathroom also happened @ the baby shower & for everyone that knew of the ongoing saga they seemed pretty impressed. I only have this picture from after the shower. I will probably have a specific post about the shower once I acquire photos.

Thirdly, Mike & I went shopping today. I think we might be basically prepared. We got what was left of what we thought were necessities, if they were available. Babies R Us is a great store. They have a ton of stuff but we had a hard time locating items. If we couldn't find the item, and we really want it, we decided just to order it online. Now the hard part...picking out the outfit Rooney will wear home from the hospital. They are all so cute, how do you pick one?

Lastly, and most horrendously, I woke up this morning only to discover I have...cankles!!! I thought I'd gone through all the body changes I was going to go through with this pregnancy but here I am almost done & I get cankles. I knew I was retaining, especially since I'm all puffy but my ankles were really the least of my worries. Of all the places I used to want to gain a little weight my ankles was it (besides my butt for obvious reasons). I know that sounds a little funny but they always looks disproportionately chicken-y to me. Now I feel like a wet Nerf ball- squeeze me & I'll squish out water. I've attached before & after pictures.

Can I get any bigger????

My Mom has been asking to see a more recent picture of me. Mike captured a good shot I think. You get to see the full effect of the belly...almost. When he took this shot I could only see from my knees to my toes. So I'm sure you understand why the pedicures are so important. (That reminds me I need to squeeze in one more appointment.)

Courage & Rocco are out of the house today. They are spending the day @ the spa getting some R&R and pedicures too! In actuality, they are spending the day @ the vet getting their comprehensive exams, teeth cleanings & toe nail trims. I don't really consider it lying if I told them the prior- they'll be knocked out anyway. So it seems it'll be a quiet day for Mom. I know I should really relish this time but I am already missing Rocco @ my feet and Courage's obsessive fence patrolling. It's almost a little too quiet now. Maybe I should still shout out "Quiet" & "Too Bad" every once in awhile for Rooney's sake (being as I'm pretty sure these will be his 1st words).

The boys will be home around 6pm so I have a lot of time to catch up on Sex and the City uninterrupted and not clean. Renae has forbade me from cleaning (she's coming over w/Nat,Megan & Felix tomorrow to clean for baby shower)- so I'll just do laundry & maybe some vacuuming. I believe that is commonly referred to as "just straightening up".

Saved by a Professional

Sometimes you just have to accept that you can't do everything. You know what...that's OK. When it comes to DIY I'm personally not that into it. I cannot cut a straight line let alone tile my own entry way. When I lived alone there would be 10 nail holes behind any picture I hung. False starts. Let me say this though- Mike has done a ton of DIY on this house. There's been a lot of frustration & maybe some broken tools but he's got stuff done. As you've been reading, this bathroom has been an absolute nightmare. Unfortunately we can't blame anyone. No one screwed up, it's just been circumstances. After everything we made the decision yesterday that we had to call in a ($$) plumber ($$). This was a scary decision but a great one. We definitely paid through the nose for the 1 1/2hrs he was here (possibly dipping into Rooney's future college fund but sorry Rooney, it was worth it. You may have to get a scholarship). He was not only able to fix the pipe through the existing hole and did not have to tear down any wainscoting but he also wore surgical shoe covers as to not dirty our floors. I was absolutely elated. We were even able to make a little additional progress. Had we (& by "we" I mean me supervise & Mike as the muscle) decided to try to fix that pipe, that whole wall probably would have been torn down. Just a day earlier I wanted to take a sledgehammer to it anyway. And not only was the plumber able to fix the pipe but my brother in law, Jim, happened to be in the area & was able to come over & help Mike mount the sink. WE HAVE A SINK!!! So exciting. I did promise before & after plumber pictures but they would have looked the same so I am including the 1st pics I took. We still have a lot of stuff to do in the bathroom this week but the major stuff is done.

After this weekend it will be all about the baby and I think we're getting pretty excited. Let me say I cannot wait to see what Rooney will look like, hold him & finally rock him in his nursery but I also cannot wait to get back into normal clothes, bend over & get out of bed without being pushed.

...Let's hope the bathroom is done...

The last line of my last post was "Let's hope the bathroom is done". I said that trying to be funny and knew as I was typing it that the bathroom would be done. Mike worked really hard Friday & Saturday nights. He got all the wainscoting & baseboards up. He was working on the chair rail when Dana came over on Sunday to help him install the sink. I think everyone pretty much thought Dana would be here for about an hour. I had plans today to do some puttying & touch up painting. Well on Sunday fate stepped in yet again & slapped us in the face. The drainage pipe threads were rusted & broke off when they removed the old pipe. Because it didn't break clean the new pipe they got doesn't seal and now it leaks.

So what does this mean? That's what I asked @ least. This is the list we compiled: 1. call a plumber 2. new wainscoting torn down 3. wall busted open. If there are no further complications (and we all know there will be) than 4.wall will have to be repaired 5. wainscoting replaced. All this has to be done before we even progress anymore with the bathroom.

After a very long emotional breakdown I mulled over the financial ruin this bathroom is causing & had another long emotional breakdown. I took pictures of the bathroom in near completion status & I will post those with the newer pics after the plumber comes. Somehow Mike still thinks this may be done before the baby shower this weekend. I'm not so confident.

Friday Mike & I went to the MD. I'm 36 weeks preggers now. She said the baby is in the head down position. I appear to be retaining and my blood pressure went up a bit. After the last 3 weeks we've had I don't think that came as a real surprise. The MD said to watch my salt intake and we are going back this Friday. Yikes I am on a weekly cycle now! I think that it was supposed to be 2 weeks but since I seemed to be retaining a lot she wants to see me sooner. My sister ended up getting toxemia & had to get induced when my nephew was born. She was in labor 34hrs- I'm really hoping that will not be the case with me. I'm just speculating here & I'll let you know when I know something.

There is a bright spot in this weekend. My wonderful niece Natalie came over and helped with some of the ridiculous weeds we had. I can't really bend over & Mike has been so busy w/the nursery & now the bathroom they got a bit out of control. I really wanted these cleaned up before the baby shower plus they were driving me crazy. She did a great job & I believe she got most of them. Even after getting lost & working in over 80 degree heat she thanked me!!! What a great kid. Good job Dana!

So that's the weekend we had. What else can happen? I shudder to think.

Getting Ready

One month from today is my due date. Only 5% of women actually give birth on their due date. Most give birth from 2 weeks before to 2 weeks after. The thing is I really like my due date. For almost 9 months I have been attached to this date and not only I, but some family members have used this date to plan their schedules. September 17th is a Saturday. Most people are off of work that day. Giving birth is something exciting to do if you don't already have plans for the weekend. For those people taking off of work when I give birth it's nice to know that when Monday rolls around you won't be getting up early.

I'm also attached to this date because if I gave birth in the 2 weeks prior we would run a significant risk of not being fully prepared (I'm going to go into preparedness a little bit more)- such as having diapers, formula, bedding, clothing etc. We're pretty sure we'll have to do some significant shopping after the baby shower. We don't even have a car seat yet. OK I just had to remind myself to breathe. If Rooney is born 2 weeks late he runs the risk of being a larger baby & I'm not really sure I'm OK with that. (Taking large, deep, breaths)

Seems to me it is really a significant draw back to go into childbirth w/preconceived expectations. Some women worry about hemorrhoids, others tearing and of course I would assume many like myself...pain! Let me preface this by saying I do not believe I am any kind of wuss, I am a woman after all, & I've been told I have a pretty high pain tolerance by the DDS (& he should know, right?) but I have the unfortunate knowledge of knowing this pain will be different from any other type of pain I have ever experienced. I have nothing to relate the pain I will feel to & how long will I be in it for. I have elected to have an epidural of course, but there is question of how long will take before I get to 4cm. and I know I can only do so much to speed that up. The scariest part to me is that I cannot fully prepare for the pain or time.

During the process of being pregnant I have realized I may be a bit controlling. Before I get any posts agreeing enthusiastically to this let me clarify. Controlling in the sense that I want to be prepared. And then there is the overnight bag & after birth preparation. Ever since I was a kid I loved to pack. I have always been that person that if you went on a trip with them had hand wipes in their bag...just in case. I have bought so many embarrassing products I hoped I'd never have to buy. Tucks (for jock itch)is used to help with swelling, stretch mark cream, breast shields in case I leak, the big ol' bag of Overnight Always with wings and to top it off yesterday I went to a pharmacy that seems to exclusively sell geriatric supplies (i.e. raised toilet seats, shower chairs, toilet rails etc.) so I could buy a sitz bath. It says quite large on the box that it helps with HEMORRHOIDS and then says in a much smaller print ...and episiotomy. I also want to purchase some kind of waterproof mattress cover just in case my water breaks in bed. (I have to start breathing again) But I am willing to swallow my pride, and youth, to be prepared for this kid. According to the birthing class we should be packed 3 weeks before our due date- just in case. I'm running out of time and my overnight bag is still in the garage!

Let's hope the bathroom is done.

It's a toilet!!!

If you've been reading this blog over the past week or so you are already aware that our bathroom inadvertently started going through a remodel. What started as an innocent backed up sink snowballed into replacing everything except the shower. This weekend was supposed to be the big weekend where most of the work would be done. My brother committed himself to the whole weekend & of course, so did Mike. Sat. morning Dana comes over around 10 a.m. & by 11 a.m. there was already catastrophe. The toilet was off, wh/is a huge deal w/a nearly 9mo. pregnant woman in the house, & it appeared that the original drainage pipe was still in use. Our house is from the 20's so this caused some problems. Now I may be sketchy on some of the details but it seems that toilet was bolted to the floor, not a flange. The flange that was on the toilet was lead (?) & finding replacement parts was very difficult. I went & spent the day w/Renae, Dana's wife, & her toilet & the boys spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what to do & how to fix it. That evening around 7-8 pm they were pretty sure they had come up w/a solution for the next day but we were still w/o a toilet for the night. Mike & I stayed @ the Holiday Inn Select (not a recommended hotel) down the street. The next day Dana & Mike got to work again, I went to my sisters & spent the day w/her & her toilet. Around 6pm I called Mike & found out that the new linoleum was in, the toilet was mounted, it flushed & didn't leak...however it didn't fill either. Seems the water line was too short so Mike went to Home Depot & Lowes to find a longer one. He was short on time, they closed @ 8pm & Mike only left the house @ 7:30pm. We both got home @ the same time, Mike went to throw the new line on real quick & wouldn't you know it... didn't fit!!! We couldn't do anything last night but use a bucket to fill the toilet tank. That worked out well enough for a night & this morning Mike went to the hardware store w/all the tubes & got the one that fit. Turns out they make more than one threading. Anyway I am very pleased to say that we have a toilet!!!

Maybe next weekend will be the big weekend for bathroom unveiling or new catastrophe. Stay tuned.

All About Mike

There was no question that when I married Mike I was marrying a great guy. He treated me well, learned to love my dog like his own, & even had a great family but throughout this pregnancy he has constantly surprised me by just how wonderful he can be. The house projects that have been in the works for 2 years he promised to get done before the baby was born. He did it & for the most part most of those projects are done(see B.D. post "Giving the People What They Want..."). Mike absolutely hates shopping for non-electronic items, and especially hates going to Ikea, but shopped like a trooper when we had to buy baby furniture. He didn't complain once when we spent 4 hours trying to do our baby registry (see Archives for a recount of that horror), got the nursery done in record time, with minimal amounts of frustration, even though I was stressing out about the timeline and had the added project of finishing yet more baseboards & putting the new furniture together. He went to every birthing class, openly participated & when I was wincing @ birthing films he was taking notes!

Now, as I am in the last stages of pregnancy, this bathroom debacle happens & he has been working on it morning & night trying to make sure it is ready before the baby shower & w/only limited time without a toilet (I would also like to thank Dana for committing himself to the effort this weekend). Not only is he doing this but he has taken on daily walks for Courage & Rocco, making dinner a good portion of the time & readily giving up more of the bed to my expanding stomach. Plus, when I'm crying about how big I'm getting, he's there to make me feel better, tells me he thinks I'm beautiful and means it.

There is so much more but I don't want to embarrass him too much. It's not mentioned much in the blog postings but I wanted to let him know how much I appreciate everything he does/is doing and how much I love him.

Love,
Q

Just another day

I should have posted this between 4:15-6 a.m. when I was sitting on the couch twiddling my thumbs. I originally got up to use the facilities (of course) & could not get back to sleep because my left hip hurt. Now this is kind of pregnancy induced but truth be told I think I hurt my hip while I was shaving my legs preparing for the pedicure I got yesterday. My ligaments are like jello in the hip area now & my body is producing so much Relaxin I'm clicking & popping like a menopausal woman with osteoporosis.

It's funny if you watched the episode of Absolutely Fabulous that I watched today.

Anyway the good news is 1. I can still shave my legs & 2. I have pretty toes.

Progress?

Last night was a weird night. Mike pulled down the old bathroom cabinet. This cabinet has been a real issue with me because it is one of those awful tri-fold mirrored cabinets that are about 3" deep. Nothing really fits in there & what's worse is that the previous owners cut out the wall behind the cabinet to recess all 3" of it. We found that out at least a year ago when we were going to replace the cabinet- all of a sudden the non-recessed (supposed to be recessed) light fixture made sense. Anyway...SURPRISE we found out our bathroom walls are made of wood slats!!! I assume this is because the house was built in the 20's but I've never seen that before. Now do we fix the hole w/drywall or wood? Mike and Home Depot can figure that out.

There was another first for me last night. Around 3:30 a.m. I awoke with Braxton-Hicks contractions. I was told these are mild cramps but they are exactly the same as period cramps. I won't be embarassed to tell you that I have never had mild cramps- more like doubled over on the floor, taking handfuls of pills, cramps. These were awful & I couldn't take any pills to get rid of them. Ummm...I'd be OK if I didn't have anymore of these. I am aware it is just a small taste of what I am in for though and I'm phoning in my epidural request now.

34 weeks and More Remodeling

This weekend was supposed to be the weekend Mike and my brother Dana installed our new sink. Before installing the sink we all agreed it was a good idea to put down the new linoleum. We thought it would be easy enough to add a new toilet later (the worst thing being we might have to replace a few of the linoleum tiles). So Dana & Mike remove the old sink & cabinet & then Mike started tearing up the old linoleum. Who is going to be surprised when they read he found a water leak? Turns out there has been a leak from the toilet, presumably around the flange, & it was kept hidden by the linoleum that was over it. The picture of our bathroom is how it looks today. We got a new toilet this weekend & have decided to paint, put up wainscoting, new bathroom cabinet, lighting & of course sink. Oh and new floor! This is all going to be done, not in a 6 week timeline when I'm due, but by 8/27/05 when we're having the baby shower!!! What is really nice is that Dana has already committed himself to help Mike next weekend. Almost thankfully our bathroom is pretty tiny so things shouldn't take that long as far as space is concerned (i.e. flooring, painting etc.). The real unfortunate part is that the bathroom now smells mildewy & we are brushing our teeth/handwashing @ the kitchen sink for a couple more weeks.

In other news, the nursery has been inaugurated! Rooney's cousin Felix took a nap in the crib and used the changing table. It was nice to have a baby in there. According to the books Rooney is basically just fattening up now. Wow I cannot believe he is going to born soon. I guess this is one final declaration that I am an adult. Buying my condo was one, when I turned 30 and getting married another. Now having a child seems to cinch the deal. Wow! Wow! Wow!

Spending Time

The last couple days have been rough. It's been pretty warm, dare I say hot? Yesterday I spent the whole day in my bedroom with A/C. Rocco slept @ my feet the whole day and I kept trying to convince Courage to come in and cool off. Let me tell you there is not much on daytime TV. Fortunately, I was able to catch up on watching Sex and the City (don't ruin it for me I only watched the 1st season). They had an episode called "The Baby Shower". I felt I could relate to this episode a little bit & let me apologize to any of my single/childless friends that are coming to my baby shower & don't really love them. I'm sure it won't be too over the top. On the homefront, in a single bathroom house we are down to 1/2 bathroom. It started so innocently- our bathroom sink has been backing up for quite awhile. We thought cleaning out the P trap might solve the problem (it's that kind of quaint thinking that gets us in trouble all the time). It didn't solve the problem, pipes are leaking now & I am brushing my teeth @ the kitchen sink. Since we think our bathroom could use some sprucing & we're pretty sure the drain pipe is rigged together we decided to get a new pedestal sink (freeing up some valuable space in Tiny House). It is snowballing & speaking of baby shower, I really hope it's done by then.

It's hot again today so I'm off to watch Absolutely Fabulous.

A Few Things I Forgot to Mention

Sometimes there is so much I want to say I forget about little things that have happened on the way. I did want to document things as they happened so I would remember them later...so here are a few. It has been a couple weeks now since I've worn my wedding rings. They fit but they were feeling tight & when I would take them off to wash my hands they'd go shooting. I am now wearing them on a necklace. I have been very nervous about getting them stuck & wondered when/if I would have to stop wearing them. It was around 7 to 7-1/2 months.

There has been a long running joke between my sister & I that I would get a big swollen nose when I got pregnant. My nose is kind of mushable (I believe she called it a "chair balancing" nose) so she always thought for sure it would get big. Well, I believe I noticed that it was a little swollen this weekend. I, of course, called my sister right away to let her know that the big nose has begun. I'm pretty sure after I give birth it will de-swell & then I'll look like I have a "Farrah Fawcett" nose (for anyone wondering what that looks like just pinch your nose together & look in the mirror...voila instant Farrah Fawcett). We should do before & after pictures on the blog. I'll have to get Mike to take pictures.

Lastly, I believe Rooney has now crammed himself into the crawlspace of my ribs. He hasn't really kicked my ribs too much & my breathing isn't that bad but I'm definitely moving to the stage where I'll be able to balance a glass. Maybe a week ago I still had plenty of space between the belly & my chest and I thought I was carrying him so low. The space is almost gone & I think the belly looks fake. I'm still clear of stretch marks though & my belly button is still on the verge of being an outie. The last time it was an outie was probably when I was a baby. It'll be interesting to see my old friend.

That's it for now...

Family Ties and other news

Originally I had this big, long post written with history behind what I am going to say. This is a family of geniuses or near so I am probably using too many words as it is.

I am requesting that all available grandparents, aunt & uncles to Rooney move within close proximity and/or if you already live close than to make sure you are active participants in his life. Good family friends are also welcome to participate.

In other news, as of last writing Rooney was sitting on my right side just testing his walking reflex to no end. Well I woke up Friday morning and there was a bruise where he had been!! He is now going to town on the left side so the good news is I'll have matching bruises.

Mike & I took our "hospital tour" on Saturday evening. That term is used very loosely. The other couple that was there for the "tour" was able to wrangle a nurse & we got to see an empty birthing room. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was alright. They do have a DVD player in the room so I want to make sure to bring comedies. Maybe laughing will help push the baby out.

Finally, I will not say much about this in case Mike was going to write about it, but the stalemate has been broken and Mike read part of a pregnancy book!!!! I'm 33 weeks now so there isn't much left for him to read but I am happy nonetheless.

Annie's 1st Movement

Yesterday it was uncomfortably hot- not just for a pregnant woman. Annie, my sis, called & said they were thinking of going to the lake if I wanted to go. If you've been reading the blog regularly you'll remember my anxiety of public displays of my body in a bathing suit. Well it was hot, I've been visible in my bathing suit @ water aerobics and I am quite visibly pregnant so I took my boy swimming. It was a nice afternoon, the water was cool and for the 1st time my sister got to feel Rooney kicking. He's been sitting on my right side for the last week. It really hasn't been uncomfortable but there's been alot of action on that side. I think it was nice for her to finally get to feel him move. Then Brandi had her charge put his hands on my belly trying to feel the baby & I started to feel like a freak show. While he's waiting for the baby to kick I looked over @ the family next to us. The Dad was wearing a backward tank top, smoking a cigarette while wearing bright purple latex gloves. I suddenly felt very comfortable in my bathing suit with hands on my belly.

Signs of Life

The last few days have been fairly uneventful- take what I said with a few grains of salt though. Rooney has been moving around & letting Dad & I know he's here. He squirms around & plants himself right on my bladder in the evenings. I've tried asking him to move, demanded he move & finally tried a pinky-promise with him. However, the logistics of getting to his pinky made that deal fall through.

Recently I've realized that this pregnancy is stealing a great love from me...shopping! Once we're in the middle of our appointed errands and my feet start to hurt, I need to lay down & let's not forget to mention the sudden, irrepressible hunger! I've started bringing a Cliff bar or something similar with me when I go out because I don't know when it's going to hit. The other day, I kid you not, we were in the car maybe 7-1/2 minutes before it got me!!! We would have had to turn around if I didn't bring the bar.

I say the last few days have been uneventful because I'm pretty sure this is all typical. The only "new weird thing" is when Rooney moves while I'm walking around, cleaning or doing water aerobics. I'm pretty sure he is just trying to relocate himself to my bladder though.

Just waiting for Rooney

The waiting is the hardest part

Giving the people what they want...

By now you've all seen the nursery photos, and things look even better in person. But here at headquarters, we have gotten a lot of requests to see the best part of the entire nursery. Without more ado: check out those baseboards! Each one a little work of art!

One of the more challenging bits of the entire process was getting the furniture in place after it has all been constructed: there was basically one open spot in the entire room. Arranging everything was like a furniture-sized slider puzzle.

Of course, now that the nursery has officially been declared "done", I have to find some way to spend my time. I suppose I could spend it with the baby books I should be reading.

Hmm, I wonder how I can justify Grand Theft Auto as baby-related research...

All Done or 32 Weeks and Counting

I am officially calling the nursery done. There are a few minor things left but we got the pictures hung, the curtains are up (I will say I did a stellar hemming tape job, despite one being about 1/4" longer than the other), lamp and dog butt hooks mounted! Woo hoo but now what am I going to do?

Today Mike & I went to the MD for our monthly check-up. Tomorrow I will be 32 weeks. Not much time left. The MD said Rooney is good size- not too big, not too small. That's about it. I was a little annoyed because my understanding is that we should be going every 2 weeks now but she has us coming back in a month then every 2 weeks then every week. That means I will basically be 36 weeks next time I see her. That doesn't seem right but Mike has pointed out that not much really happens on these appt's. She listens, measures & that's about it. I guess I should just be thankful that I don't need to see her more often.

Day 32...still clear.

Finishing Touches

Last night Mike & I arranged the furniture in the nursery. Besides the room size factor we have 2 walls that are virtually useless. One big wall has the window & baseboard heater & the other wall has a big closet. Oh there is also only one real functioning outlet. It's amazing how we can still put stipulations on furniture placement when there is really so few choices. We did not want anything hanging above the crib, we had to have the changing table near the crib for diaper changing convenience, we couldn't have any furniture too close to the baseboard heater nor could the crib be next to the heater. We've got it all arranged & I can sit in there now & be amazed that our son will be here soon. The boys come in there & sit with me. I explain to them that this will be their "little brother's" room, ask them to protect him and be good. I'm not sure they get what I'm saying but they generally lick my face & it reassures me anyway.


I realized last night the baseboard heaters will keep me up for 3 months every year. Make sure nothing fell off the chifferobe, make sure the curtains are far enough back, no toys touching, make sure Rooney keeps his hands off...the doggy door was my biggest worry prior to this. I'm sure there will always be something. I'm starting to understand why our parents got upset when they found out Dana, Lisa, Tommy & I were jumping off the roof of their house into their doughboy pool. I'm sure we took all the standard safety precautions that 8-12 year olds could take though.

Day 30...we're good.

B.D. chimes in...

Well, I pushed it off as long as I could. Susan finally had to call me out to get me to post. So, here it is: my first blog posting ever.

So, what took so long? you're probably wondering. As you can imagine, there were several contributing factors.

First of all, I know these things aren't supposed to be super time consuming, but I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to just blog like a normal person. Any significant prose that I write tends to be read and re-read, and then re-written for hours on end. I finish up writing when I am about as sick of the topic as I can possibly be. All of this re-writing leads to long, rambling text, which is probably as frustrating to read as it is to write. Just for curiosity's sake, we'll start a little timer to see how long this actually takes. 9:15, and ticking.

Next, the bar has been set pretty high for quality posts. I feel that Susan has been doing a wonderful job (yes, I have been reading her posts), and there wasn't anything else that I could add.

This segues nicely with the next reason: I was trying to think of ideas that wouldn't be redundant. I seem to be going through the same stuff as Susan. Restless nights? I get those. Frustrations over Tiny House? Check. Weight gain? Game, set, and match.

Of course, some people probably find it interesting that I am going through some of the same stuff as Susan. That's when I realized: there's an angle! Finally, something to write about!

But wait, there's more. Susan mentioned some "Big News". Susan read (yes, Susan read, not me: this has been a frequent point of contention in our house) in one of our baby books that it may be possible to hear the baby's heartbeat around week 28 simply by pressing one's ear against mom's belly. (I strongly recommend everyone give this a try next time you see Susan. I'm sure she'd love to let you listen. AndI promise you won't look silly.) So, we had tried a couple of times to see if I could hear anything. The first couple of tries, I definitely heard something, I'm just not sure what it was. Susan's heartbeat? My heartbeat? The ocean? I'm not entirely sure what I heard, but I'm pretty sure what it wasn't.

Well, last Thursday, I finally heard the baby's heartbeat! I could tell because of how fast that little thing was beating. Not quite as exciting as the first time we heard it through the sonogram, but this seemed more like a part of real life and not part of visit to the doctor. We grabbed a stethoscope (what, you don't have a stethoscope?) to see try to see if Susan could hear, but by then we had lost it. But at least one of us got to hear.

So, there you have it: a post by your's truly. Pertinent info, tons of unique witticisms, and all in fewer than 600 words! Time check: 10:09. This was so easy, I may just end up doing it again.

Until the next time Susan calls me out...

Puppies Everywhere!!

First things first...the walls of the nursery are finished. Unfortunately the nursery is not exactly complete yet & I cannot figure out how to zoom out on the camera so I am just attaching photos of the prints we added to the walls. Mike will be posting to this blog- he has been "planning" it so I will not talk too much about what he is doing. I will tease you a little by saying he has what some might consider exciting news.

As some of you might remember from a previous post I talked about a "big move" from the baby. I thought maybe he was sideways & was getting into position but I was really just speculating. Now Rooney has been very active & his little kicks are around my hip area! What does that mean? My right side inparticular has been a little punching bag. I haven't had any of the breathing problems & kicks to the ribs I've read about. He seems to be carried so low as it is I cannot imagine where he'll be when he "drops".

I will also note that we have finished w/our Labor & Delivery class. Mike took the classes really well, probably better than me. He took notes & everything!!! Mike has a 1hr class coming up in August- "Here Comes Daddy" but that is just a prep class, from a males perspective, of what to expect from me & the baby when we get home.

That's what's been going on this weekend. We did pilfer through Rooney's cousin, Felix's, too small clothes. They'll be 6 months apart so the hand-me-down's should be plentiful. I think I grabbed some pretty cute stuff.

Day 27...still clear, but for how long? My belly button is starting to go away.

We got it!!!

As you've been reading we've been working on the nursery a little while. Mike painted some of the walls & window trim. He finished up the baseboards that were started 2 years ago & repainted the ceiling to cover all the white spots we thought we could live with when he moved in. The room looks great now. We've planned on keeping it pretty simple all along-no baby borders or anything like that. However, because we live in "Tiny House" we've had to recycle some of the things used elsewhere in the house. The rocker is from the living room, the rug from our bedroom & we had a big picture of a dog that was already hanging in the room. So I had what I thought was a really great idea. To make it a bit more kiddish in the room & to go along w/the big dog picture I thought it would be great to put puppy paw prints along the walls. I thought it would be simple & you see these everywhere. Well just try shopping for a great idea! I've been online hunting & we had gone to a couple of craft stores looking for a paw print stamp. I thought we found it @ one store but they were out of stock. I made a special trip down to the store to get this stamp yesterday (because their new stock should have all been out by Wednesday) but it was still out. I was told they don't always get what they order. Seems there may be an issue there but I was too crushed. I called Mike heartbroken & asked if he had time to check a store by his work. Mike did it!!! He got the stamp! Now neither of us has used these before but hopefully it turns out well.

In other news, Rocco officially graduated from training last night. He got to show off his tricks of "Shake" & "High 5". I was a very proud Mom. Now both boys have diplomas. Also, tonight is the last night of our birthing class. Ooooo all the prep classes are ending. That means it's getting close. This Sat. I will be 31 weeks!!! Yikes 9 more to go!

I've lost count on what day of the watch we are on, however it's still clear.

The Big Move

Many mornings I wake up and have problems going back to sleep. Normally because I start thinking of baby stuff & then Rooney starts getting active. Well this morning I woke up around 4:15 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. I was up & down for the next 1-1/2hrs. I had some Cap'n Crunch & came back to bed. As I was laying there, thinking of baby stuff & trying to get back to sleep, my stomach all of a sudden felt like someone was picking it up & twisting it. It didn't hurt but it felt really weird. A couple minutes later I felt it again. I've been saying I think Rooney has been laying sideways. I'm not sure if he was or not but it feels like maybe he moved into the correct position. Once he did the big move he calmed down & then I was able to go back to sleep. Unfortunately Mike was sleeping so he couldn't see or feel this huge move. I'm sure he would have found it impressive.

The Nursery- Part Deux

This weekend has been a very productive weekend. The nursery is basically completely painted, the crib and chifferobe are put together & we got a rocking chair/ottoman in the nursery. Now there is no room for the baby!! Just kidding but that room, much like the rest of the house, is tiny. I always laugh @ that commercial where the couple have to live in "Tiny House" for a year. That's us. We still have some decorative wall painting we want to do & curtains need to go up. They are not ready yet. I have to figure out how to use hemming tape. We also have increased the space in or bedroom a bit. Got rid of the big bulky TV. Everything needs to come off the floor.

Mike worked so hard this weekend, it was really impressive. Than the poor guy gets freezed out @ night. I've been so hot sleeping that we have the A/C on & a fan blowing the cool air over us. I've been sleeping outside the covers & Mike, under the blankets, wakes up w/his arms crossed over his chest shivering. He says the blanket is too short on the bed but I think he's just being tough guy.

My mom really wanted to see a pic of the nursery so I edited this posting & added pic.

Labor & Delivery Relief

Tonight was the 2nd class of 3 in Labor & Delivery. After the 1st class I was so freaked out. I told Mike I didn't want to continue & we could just adopt. I started feeling better this week anyway but after this class I am happy with the choices I've made as far as how the birth will go. I feel more relaxed now & that is a relief. Probably for Mike too since his Number #1 job is to keep me relaxed during labor.

Otherwise, still working on nursery & should make good progress this weekend. Also, we've been working on how to create more space in our bedroom for a bassinet. Any of you that have seen our house know that will take some creative furniture placement. Keep fingers crossed.

Day 17...clear.

Water Aerobics

The day had come. I have avoided really thinking about it since I signed up for the class but I had to don the bathing suit!! When the 1st few women came up it was what I had feared- skinny 1st/2nd trimester ladies!!!! Two of them were still able to wear bikinis!!! Thankfully several more later stage ladies came & the class was actually fun. I had a good time, it was quite a work out & my legs felt better.

I haven't written about this yet but I think my legs are swelling a bit. They've been uncomfortable lately & I've been trying to elevate them. It's a bit hard to sleep that way. Mike officially gets 1/8th of the bed now. Rooney has been really active the last couple of days & seems to like to kick Dad while we're cuddling.

The nursery is progressing & hopefully I'll be able to play with something soon.

Day 16 of the watch...still clear.

Mom & Baby

We finally got a pregnant pic that was at standing heighth. In the background is the newly painted wall of the nursery.