Poor Hosey

The concert was very fun last night. The opening act was just one girl, and she was very mellow and had a pretty voice. Animal Collective was also good, although some songs were better than others... All in all, it was very enjoyable. Hosey was definitely moving around a lot during the louder songs, and although I've read in a million places that occasional concerts are fine when you are pregnant, I couldn't help feeling a little guilty. I just kept picturing Hosey trying to put his/her hands over his/her ears and sort of cowering. Judging by the kicking that has been going on today, no damage was done. This baby is definitely tough.

In other news, my doctor's nurse called, and told me that I have to take another antibiotic for 5 more days, since the culture they sent off showed them that the antibiotic they gave me won't totally make me better. I hate taking antibiotics, and I'm not really happy to have to take even more, but I also had noticed that I wasn't 100% over everything. Hopefully this will be it. And I'll feel better.

I have to get a flu shot this year, and so does Justin. Pregnant women rank with people over 65 and kids under 5 as "high risk," so I figured I'd try and get one early. I'm going to try to find a place that offers the special vaccines with no mercury. Good luck with that...

27 Weeks and Holding

So I'm 27 weeks today. According to my sources, this is my last week before the third trimester begins. Hosey should be about 15 inches head to foot now, and somewhere around 2 pounds.

This morning I had a group meeting at work, and as I was trying to ask questions, Hosey thought it was fun to kick me in the ribs, making me lose my train of thought halfway through each question. Add this to the fact that I'm wearing flip flops because my left foot is too swollen to fit into the work shoes I put on this morning, and I'm sure I made a great impression... :)

I've noticed that the kicking has become more regular, and happens at certain times through the day. Sometimes I worry when I don't feel it for a while, but then it starts up again. It's usually strong enough that you can see twitches on the outside of my belly. I've noticed hiccups a few times, too. They don't last for long, but they feel very very funny.

I woke up last night at 4:30, which is normal, but this time, I didn't fall back asleep for close to two hours. I was thinking about how I am possibly going to make it three more months not knowing if Hosey is a girl or a boy. It was really making me crazy. I'm sure it doesn't help when you are tired and in that weird not-quite-awake phase, but I started to think that I might just have to beg my doctor for another ultrasound. However, that would never happen, and even if it could, I'm determined to stick to our decision to make it a surprise. It's just getting tough. And people seem to all have an opinion. The only thing they all have in common is that they are all very very sure it's one or the other. So people either tell me "it's definitely a boy" or "it's definitely a girl." I don't know how anyone can tell if you are carrying "high" or "low" or what. Even so, that doesn't seem to be a fool-proof method, as my sister carried in a very boy-like way for both of her babies, and they were both girls. However, for those who haven't seen me in a while, I'm posting my most recent photo (26 week) and you can tell me if you think one or the other.

In other news, Justin and I are going to the Variety Playhouse tonight to see one of our favorite bands, Animal Collective. I hope Hosey enjoys it, too!

Moving anticipation

Justin and I are really getting excited about our move. We're also easing into our new budget. Or maybe easing is a little too gentle of a word. I guess you could say slamming into it. We are actually keeping transaction logs and receipts and making sure we are keeping an eye on everything. It's all very adult and responsible. Thank god Justin takes care of most of it...

In other news, we are still on the names crusade. Justin has been working very hard to compile lots of nice and neat ones. We are still open to suggestions, since we get great ones a lot, but think we are not going to be sharing some of our favorites anymore. It's too hard to find a name that you are both pleased with, and think it's nice, and then get negative feedback from people about it. I always thought it was silly when couples kept baby names a secret, but now I see why they do. It's disappointing, since we love to talk to people about things, but it really does get tough hearing person after person say that they don't like a name that you've spent hours cozying up to and started feeling a connection with. Justin and I are on the same page with baby names fortunately, and as long as we are in agreement, that's all I'm concerned about. I hope that is OK with everyone. I think once Hosey is born, whatever we name it will be just right. And whatever name we pick will belong to Hosey, and all other connatations people have will fade. So according to Justin's rule, if anyone asks, we're naming Hosey Petunia if she's a girl, and Mordecai if he's a boy.

In other news, I am still being surprised daily by new and interesting pregnancy side effects. I woke up with a horrible leg cramp the other night (and accidentally woke Justin up, too...oops) and it took a while to work it out. I felt silly, but I used one of my yoga positions and it helped a lot. Last night was another first, and don't be offended by my over-sharing. I'm just over-sharing because I was so amused by the whole thing. And Justin, poor Justin. I was sitting on the couch an hour or so before bed, having my nightly small bowl of Raisin Bran, and I started choking on it. Not for real choking, just the kind where something goes down the wrong tube. And then you cough and cough and your eyes water, and in my case, you pee on the couch a little. Not enough to cause a problem, but enough to make you laugh while you are trying to stop coughing, and all the while trying to swallow the mouthful of Raisin Bran that caused a problem in the first place. I'm discovering that violent coughs or sneezes are a cause for concern. Another few weeks and I may be walking around in a diaper. Isn't that lovely? I am sorry again for over-sharing, but I just thought it was so funny, and of course wanted to share it. Justin will probably kill me. But I figure if I have to deal with all these weird and sometimes icky pregnancy thing, I'm allowed to share some of them. And it could be worse... Just ask Justin.

Sunday afternoon again

This week went by so fast... I was out sick on Friday after spending the morning at the doctor's office. I'm telling you, it's getting excessive. This time I was not imagining things, and the doctor wrote me a prescription for antibiotics. I have a UTI. Since I had a mild fever and just felt generally yucky, I went home and napped. By now I'm feeling much better, and the weekend was nicer and more relaxing after having a day to feel better. I was planning on stopping in at work on Saturday morning or this morning to try to catch up a little from being out on Friday (and because I don't get paid for sick days) but I never made it.

Last night I went to my cousin's wedding with my sister. Our husband's stayed home with Kendree's girls, since my sister's husband had minor surgery on Friday, Justin helped him watch the girls. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and it was outdoors at a small guesthouse near Helen, Georgia. It was small, but I got to see lots of my dad's family, who had come down from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. None of them knew I was pregnant, and it was funny watching them try to ask me nicely if I was. They are all very nice, and I wish I got to see more of them.

Today we are doing our usual household tasks, although we are going over to dinner at Susan's sister's family's house later for dinner. That will be nice to see everyone.

I think we have busy weekends planned until sometime in November. I figure we should enjoy it while it lasts. Once Hosey is born, it will only get harder for us to get around. At least for the first few months...

Improv Comedy

Justin and I went with some friends to see improv comedy at Piedmont Park. It was a free event, and lots of fun. Katie was able to come with us, too, although she was definitely on the verge of bolting for much of the time that we were there. She's deathly afraid of the dismbodied robot voice when we go through drive thrus, so this was even scarier. She made it through though, and had fun checking out all the smells on the way in and out of the park.

The comedy was very funny, and I definitely think it would be fun to go back. It might be a little tough, since it runs every Wednesday for the next three weeks, and the next two weeks might be pretty taken up with moving stuff. Justin started getting boxes from work, and we'll start packing this weekend I think. Moving always helps me get rid of things, too, since I realize that if I haven't seen it or missed it in the past year, I probably can get rid of it. Especially with clothes. Although I will admit that when moving, I usually just throw my clothes in garbage bags and sort them once I'm putting them away at the new place. Terrible, but effective.

Justin is looking into renting a small Uhaul so that we don't have to make too many trips with the big stuff. We still plan to make trips in the evenings of that first week, and then use the big truck on Saturday for one fell swoop of moving. I hope that works out. My mom has generously offered the van, but in all honesty, both would be good, too. One trip in the van and one trip in a truck and that would probably be about it. We don't have too much big furniture, and we've really culled knickknacks. Well, I have. Justin never really had any...

I'm most excited about starting on the nursery. I can't help it. I just think it will be really fun, and I've asked my mom and my sisters to help me get it ready. I'd really like to get a big soft area rug for that room. Something sort of like the rug in the picture of our crib. We'll just have to blacklist Katie from the nursery. She loves rugs because she can rub her belly on them. It's totally rude. Cute, but rude. I think once we've recouped some of our moving expenses we'll take a trip to IKEA to get a few things. Just a few though. We've both become a little bit minimalist this last year (I had a long way to go, although Justin is always clutter-free). I used to be desperate to put stuff on every available surface, and now I'm getting to be more like Justin. Hallelujah. It's a life-long battle though. :)

The Eagle has Landed

We picked up the crib last night from Wal-Mart! Unfortunately, the box is very very heavy, and Justin won't let me help move it. So it's still in our car pending a pair of strong arms who can help Justin move it inside. Either way, I'm so excited that we have it! As soon as we move, I'll set it up and start decorating the nursery. What a lovely way to dispell my nesting urges! I feel so spoiled! I've also asked my sister, who is a very talented painter, to do some paintings for Hosey's room. I think we will also commission her daughters for some more masterpieces for the new townhouse. We have two canvases now that they painted for us when we first moved into our apartment, and I thought it would be neat to get two more and put them all in the stairwell. Who needs expensive gallery bought art when you've got family?

I think one of my favorite things about our new apartment is that it is still small enough that we have just the right amount of furniture for it. Only now it won't feel so claustrophobic... There is a small deck (I think it's less than 6ft X 6ft) and I thought it might be nice to get a couple of plastic chairs or a bistro set for out there, but other than that, we are really set. It's a nice feeling. For a minute I thought we might need a coffee table for the living room, but I realized that I'd rather not have one so that baby has a place to play without having to move furniture around. I also think that the thought of getting any more furniture might give Justin a few more gray hairs. He's really getting a nice little spray of them on his temples. I think he had about 3 when we found out about Hosey. Now he's got a few more. But they look very handsome on him.

Hosey is continuing to kick and punch, and seems to be getting stronger every day. I'm starting to find it difficult to concentrate at work because I'm thinking about who I could get to feel the kicks through my belly. Strange, I never wanted to feel a baby kicking when other people I knew were pregnant, but now I feel guilty because I realize how it's fun to make people feel it. Maybe that will wear off... Tomorrow I will be 26 weeks, and creeping ever closer to the third trimester. Spooky.

Joys of Google

I just found this website while googling "hosey." Click here

My favorite is the Hosey coat of arms, seen on the website. Who knew?

And that is why I love Sunday night. We took Katie to the dog park earlier this evening, around 7:00 or so, and she did the usual Katie thing. She tried to hide under my bench for a while, even though there were LOTS of dogs playing and running around. Justin had to walk her out into the crowd, and then she played a little, but was still being very shy. It's so frustrating when she does that. Especially because she gets so excited whenever we see another dog walking in our neighborhood. And I mean REALLY excited. Over the top.

The dog park is nice, and in Oakhurst, which is very convenient. We think maybe Kati is starting to show her age a little. She is probably around 9 now, although we still only have a best guess. Whoever left her malnourished in that Tennessee hotel parking lot did not leave her with a birth certificate. Hard to believe, I know.