35 Weeks today!

I can't believe it, but I'm officially 35 weeks today. It's gone by so fast! Justin is starting to ask me if I think the baby is going to be early, and for some strange and mysterious reason, I feel like it will be closer to 37 weeks than 40 weeks, but I also think that it will probably come at 42 weeks just because I said that. My belly is definitely dropping a lot, which seems to have opened my belly up for a ridiculous appetite. I try to snack during the day on healthy stuff (I'm forcing myself to eat carrot sticks. I hate carrot sticks) but I feel like it takes a while to get full. Except for in the morning. Raisin Bran is my breakfast every day, and it seems to sit like concrete on my belly for about 3 hours.

I don't seem to be having Braxton Hicks contractions, which makes me worry that the baby really will come at 42 weeks. I have noticed quite a bit of hiccuping from Hosey, and last night I wondered if I'm confusing Braxton Hicks contractions for hiccups. It's hard to tell. Hosey is still very active, but it's mainly pushing and scooting and sticking his/her bottom against my belly really hard. That's the funniest.

I read in the baby book that 99% of babies born at this point make it fine, and very few have lasting health problems. That always makes me feel better. Speaking of which, I'm feeling really well lately. I have my days where I'm exhausted for what feels like no reason, and my feet and ankles are still really swollen (as are my hands lately) but the pain in my side is mostly gone, and I just feel like a big pregnant lady. I'm pretty moody, getting irritable easily, and hence have been sequestering myself from too much contact with family and friends, and just confining myself upstairs when I'm home with Justin and it happens. I'm pretty sure it's all normal pregnancy stuff. I realized that as of next Wednesday, I'll be 9 months pregnant. That seems so strange to me... I had a lady walk by me in Little Five Points, and she said "You're not pregnant, are you?" and then doubled over laughing. I didn't quite see the hilarity, but I chuckled with her. At the Indie Craft Experience, one vendor asked, looking pointedly at Justin, "Did he do that to you?" and just barely cracked a smile. I love strangers.

The nursery is almost done...

Today, we got lots done around the apartment. Hosey's nursery is really pretty much done. We put pictures on the wall, made up the crib that will sit empty for the next few months, and put the stroller together. We will install the car seat next weekend. Justin joked that we should take the stroller out for a walk around the neighborhood today for practice, but we figured that we might look a little crazy. The bassinet is set up and ready, too, with clean sheets. Thanks again Mom and Leah! It looks very cute. I took pictures and put them on Flickr.

We also used some birthday money I had been squirreling away and bought a couple of new chairs for the living room from a vintage store in Little 5 Points. The woman who owns it is really nice, and actually has extremely fair prices. I had seen a large leather chair there yesterday and fallen in love with it, and managed to talk Justin into going back with me to get it today. It's sort of ugly, and looks a little 80's, but I think in the room, it looks fine. It's one of those chairs that you sit in, and you are sold. I call it the baseball glove chair, because that is sort of what it looks like. It's really big and comfy, and easy for me to get in and out of, even with my growing belly. We figure it will be a good chair for when Hosey comes, too. We counted, and with the two new dining room chairs that Susan brought down a few weeks ago (which I recovered today), we have seating for about 12 people now. This makes me feel better for when we have visitors with Hosey's arrival.

We also got a new office chair for the living room. Our IKEA chair is on it's third seat in under a year, and this last one my mom had bought for us. Even though the seats are only $6 to buy, it's starting to add up. So Justin found a chair he fell in love with at the same vintage furniture store, and it really is perfect. Very slick. We also got a little bit of a break buying two pieces from the dealer. And compared to Athens vintage prices, these were closer to flea market prices...

We are also starting the very early part of packing the overnight bag for the hospital. I picked out way too many outfits for Hosey, but I wanted to be sure that I got lots of size ranges covered. I washed those outfits, and today we bought some travel sized stuff, like toothpaste, and a couple of toothbrushes, so we don't have to worry about remembering our own when the time comes. Probably around week 37 I'll start putting clothes for me in there, too. And for Justin. I read one book that recommended that your partner bring a swimsuit, in case they want to get in the bath or shower with you during labor. The mental picture was just too much for me. Poor Justin in a bathing suit trying to fit into a shower with a gigantic pregnant me who is also in pain and possibly breathing fire. We decided we'd skip that advice.

Sunday morning already

Justin and I have had a nice weekend. We stayed busy, going to Lenox on Friday night to look for a new pair of jeans for Justin. That worked out perfectly, as to our surprise, Express (for men) was having a sale where all jeans were $20 off. He found a nice pair and got a great deal. I love it when that happens!

Yesterday, we went to the Indie Craft Experience, which is a great big market that was set up in this really neat studio called the "B Complex" over in Capitol View (yucky neighborhood, neat place). There were over 70 vendors, all selling really really neat things that they make themselves. We bought a few things, like a journal, probably to be used to track Hosey feedings in a few weeks. The man selling the journals was really creative. He takes old hardback books, everything from Cat in the Hat to old books called The Universe. We got one that is some kind of 1960's social science book. He leaves a few pages of the original book scattered throughout the blank journal pages and the whole thing is spiral bound. Very creative. The best part was that he sells them for only $12, which is very reasonable for handmade crafts. A lot of the vendors had beautiful things that we would have loved to bought (especially for Christmas gifts) but out of necessity, they are expensive. We did buy a print for the kitchen from a girl who does these really neat botanical drawings. Ours is sort of a poster about "air plants." It's neat. And it was very reasonable also.

The last thing we did there before leaving was make our own T-shirts. They had a stand set up where you could donate $5 to the Hagar House (a great charity) and get a t-shirt and the opportunity to stencil a design on it. I made one with the Indie Craft Experience logo, which is a bird holding scissors in its feet. Justin did one with a nuclear symbol in three colors of blue.

After that, we headed to Manuel's to watch the football game, or the last half anyways. It was nice to see Georgia win, and we ran into some friends there, too. After that, we went shopping in Little Five Points with my friend Sarah, where I bought a fantastic 70's "Newport News" coat that I think might be maternity. It was very cheap, and it's warm. It is sort of ridiculous looking, kind of like a hippie tent or something, but it has more than enough room for my belly, and I like that!

Last night we went with friends to see the new Coen Brothers movie at Phipps. "No Country for Old Men." It was really good, but definitely tough. Lots of gore. Lots of gore. But it was really just so well made. The acting, writing, directing... amazing. Tommy Lee Jones was really wonderful, and surprisingly, Woody Harrelson was spot on playing a cocky cowboy. We give it a ten out of ten.

We hope everyone had a great weekend!

Sad news

My grandmother (my dad's mother) passed away this morning. While I cannot make the trip to New Jersey for the memorial service, I will be thinking of her. My dad promises that in a year or so we will have a family event to remember her. Justin and I are thinking of using her name for the baby's middle name if Hosey is a girl. It's a beautiful name, Elizabeth, and it was my middle name before Justin and I got married. I think it would be a nice way to remember her. She was a very wonderful woman, and I only wish that I had been able to see her more growing up. It's hard to have family live so far away. I'm glad that Hosey will have lots of access to his or her grandparents. And we'll definitely have to tell Hosey all about "Gramma Zaic."

In the meantime, I'm trapped at work, as I don't get paid days off, and with only three paying days next week, I'm not going anywhere. I've got my door closed, but I have to complain just a little that it doesn't seem fair to not give your employees paid days off sometimes. However, as my officemate got fired last week, I'm trying to be on my best behavior. Doesn't it seem like things always happen all at once?

34 Weeks and Hosey is locked and loaded

I just got back from my 34 week check up. Nothing too exciting, except that I remembered to ask the doctor what position Hosey is in, and she said that Hosey is head down. Sounds like Hosey's head is down, and feet are up in my rib cage, and the bottom of the baby is smushed against my belly. So the baby is facing my back. Does that make sense?

My blood pressure was good this time, although I still have no frame of reference. I think she said it was 90/100. I don't know what that means. But I remember that when I was first pregnant it was 70/100. I read that the further along you are, the higher your blood pressure gets. Maybe that's in part due to the fact that your blood volume increases close to 50% while you are pregnant. That's so gross.

Anyways, she also gave me a brochure about labor, and kept patting my back and giggling, saying, "Not too much longer now!" It scared me. I was supposed to go back in 2 weeks and then have weekly appointments from then on out, but my doctor and the other doctor I see, Dr. Kleiss, are both out of town that week. So my next appointment is 3 weeks out, the day I will 37 weeks. I think it's December 5. Anyways, I have to have the strep test done, and I guess I should bug them about testing my blood again for iron levels, as they were supposed to do it today and didn't.

The doctor also told me that she wants me to call if I have any pre-term labor signs, but as far as real labor, she doesn't want me to call until my contractions are very painful and five minutes or less apart. She wants me to labor at home as long as possible. That's fine with me. I'll probably be mean and whiny, and best to keep that to onesself and one's husband as long as possible. Lucky Justin. She did say that if my water breaks, I should call no matter what. From what I hear, it's not so easy to tell most of the time...

Anyways, I'm avoiding work. I'm just starting to get excited and my focusability around here is declining a little bit. Or a lot. Don't tell anyone. :)

Phew!

So I finally heard back from my doctor's office today. My ultrasound was normal. This is definitely good news. I'm weirded out by having severe pain in my side for weeks and weeks with no explanation, but I'm OK with that. And while it's been bothering me a little bit today, it's nothing like it was. Somehow, the start of this week seems to be marking the point of it getting better. I'm so glad! Just having it not hurt all day yesterday made me feel great. I went out with Justin to run some errands after work, and then got home and hung out with him in the living room... Just like a normal person! I feel sheepish having been complaining for so long and not having any sort of reason for it, but the only thing I can say is that I wasn't imagining it!

One thing we've been working on is baby names. We've got the boy list and the girl list whittled down to three names each. We're working on middle names, too, so each name has roughly 3 options when you include the middle name. I think we'll try to get the whole name worked out for all three of each gender, and then we'll just have three names to choose from once the baby is born. It's like a geometry proof...

I've been perusing the baby announcements on my favorite website, www.etsy.com, and it is starting to make me think I'd like to make my own. We'll see about that though... I just like looking at some of the interesting things people do. Some are REALLY terrible, with excessive amounts of bows and lace and lambs and any other baby thing you can think of. It's like a giant bundle of overkill. I actually found an article on the Martha Stewart website with cute ideas about making your own. And they really were cute. Surprisingly, a lot of Martha Stewart's craft ideas are really amazing. Please don't tell anyone I said that.

Well, I'm going to get back to work, doubly refreshed knowing that I don't have a gall bladder on the verge of bursting. :)

Thank goodness for Muppet Shoes

I always hated Ugg boots. They came out, and pretty much every female in Athens seemed to have a pair within a week. Of course, it was still 70 degrees outside, and they mostly wore them with very short skirts and t-shirts. All I could think when I saw the masses of them walking around campus was that they made everyone look like their foot had been swallowed by a clunky and cruel monster.

Yesterday I bought fake ugg boots. From Target. They were very cheap, but still. I'm feeling a little guilty. However, my feet are continuing to swell and spread, and I am down to roughly two pairs of shoes that fit me, and they are both ballet slipper type shoes that don't allow for socks or cold weather. So these boots are really comfortable. And they are lined with fleece. And my feet fit in them. Please don't judge me.

I also ordered a pair of black suede moccasins from Target. They are technically slippers, but they have rubber soles like regular shoes, and I tried some on yesterday at the store. They were very comfortable, especially since they are also lined with fur, but they didn't have them in my size. Rather than troupe around to the 9 million Target stores in the Atlanta area to find my size, I just ordered them on the Target website today. I never do things like that, but I figure now's a good time to start.

Still no news from the doctor, but my side has been feeling much much better for the last couple of days. It was still bothering me on and off until today, but not all the time round the clock pain like before. Today it hasn't hurt at all (knock on wood). There's a lot of pressure in my torso, both from what feels like little feet, and just the general weight of my belly. It's a new sensation. I have to remember to ask the doctor if she can tell if the baby is head up or head down. My appointment is Wednesday, so I figure I'll stop calling about the ultrasound, and if they haven't called me by my appointment on Wednesday, I'll just harass them in person. :)

Wednesday marks both my doctor's appointment, and 34 weeks. I can't believe it. I keep thinking that I still have at least 7 weeks, and that's a long time, but really, the baby will be "full term" at around 37 weeks. So I want to try and have the car seat in and the nursery ready by 36 weeks. I know that sounds silly, since the baby won't be in the nursery for months, but still. I guess it's my nesting instinct...

We hope everyone is doing well!