My classroom...

is hot. as. hell. Right now, it must be over 90 degrees in here. 35 machines on, plus 37 little kids, and add to that my core body temp being roughly around 103 F. all the time? I'm in hell.

And yeah, do the math. 35 computers. 37 children. Yaaaaay.......

It's only been mildly chaotic thus far. If I can at least get a few extra chairs, we'll be in business. I love the kids, but I'm seriously on fire right now.

Weekly Update: 25 Weeks

How far along? 25 weeks, 3 days. Holy sheet!


How big is baby? Approximately the weight of a rutabega, and about 13.5 inches long. And this week it defintiely feels like it!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm thinking I've gained a pound or two now. I've been trying to increase my caloric intake now that work is in full swing again. I'm getting hungry faster and earlier!

Next Appointment: Soon.

Maternity Clothes: I need to find work clothes. My comfy maternity jeans aren't "work appropriate".

Sleep: Doing okay. It's easier to sleep when my cat isn't walking on me at 4:30 a.m.

Best Moment This Week: Graham got to feel the baby kick on Saturday night! She was rolling around and kicking pretty hard, so I thought we had a brief window of time for him to feel her before she stopped. Sure enough, after a few seconds she gave me a pretty powerful kick to the upper stomach, and Graham said, "Was that her? WOW!" It's been one of the best moments so far.

Annoyance of the Week: Getting a lesson on healthy fruits and vegetables from a few women at work who don't eat healthy themselves. One coworker tried to shove an orange on me the other day. I like orange juice, but I can't eat oranges--it's a texture thing. I told her no, and this other lady in the office--who doesn't even work for my school, btw--starts up with, "Are you eating healthy? You have to eat fruits and vegetables!" I insisted that I do--I have been, I swear! And she gives me the eyes that say, "I clearly know more about this than you," and she asked me if I could name what I've been eating so she could appropriately judge if I've actually been eating healthy. Unfreakingreal.

A close friend is going through chemo right now, and we both like to complain about our public signs of a very private and personal issue. For her, everyone comments on her hair or lackthereof. For me, everyone wants to know if I'm taking care of myself. And the best part? It doesn't matter who!! I can be at the grocery store and I'll get stopped by strangers. She can be pumping gas and someone tells her that she'll beat cancer (which she doesn't have, ironically). We're both struggling with not getting stabby on people who stick their nose in where it doesn't belong.

Movement: Plenty. Hannah's still a big fan of standing on my cervix and dancing. Liz, I think we've got a ballerina on our hands here. Heaven help us!

Planning/Preparation: Doing lots of research on baby products before the register-palooza this weekend.

Belly Button In/Out: It's flat. I don't have much time left.

Gender: Girl. Definitely a girl.

What I Miss: A pain-free cervix.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Getting her bedroom done.

Contractions: Nada.

Milestones?: Being told I've "popped" finally! I feel huge, but everyone says I'm small. Hearing that I've popped makes me feel a little less bloated and a little more human. I know that I'm small and in a few weeks I'm going to wish I was still small...and I don't mind being on the tiny side! I just hate feeling like a VW bug.

Weekly update: 24 weeks

How far along? 24 weeks, 3 days. Whoa.


How big is baby? About 1 1/4 lbs, and about the length of an ear of corn.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still up 4 lbs. since last month.

Next Appointment: Maybe next week...that's still up in the air.

Maternity Clothes: Or, whatever fits.

Sleep: Better, even though I keep waking up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Strangely enough I've been sleeping heavier and more often as school approaches. Is that a sign?

Best Moment This Week: Feeling my mood elevate. Even though I'm being put under a lot of stress at work, I'm trying to not let anything non-essential bother me. It's really helped with my mood.

Annoyance of the Week: Hannah is bouncing up and down on my cervix this week. It took me a day before I could figure out what that pain was! It's not too bad when I'm sitting, and almost undetectible when I'm laying down. Standing, though, is another story. I may never complain about period cramps again if this gets worse!

Movement: Yep! She's kicking me right now, actually. It's rare that she's this active during the day (that I can feel).

Planning/Preparation: Still reading some books and doing some research on post-partum & the baby blues. Hooray for being high-risk for those! Yee haw!

Belly Button In/Out: I don't want to talk about it.
Gender: Girl. Definitely a girl.

What I Miss: My yearly "End of Summer" bottle of wine....

What I'm Looking Forward To: Getting into more of a routine now that school's starting back up.

Contractions: Nada.

Milestones?: Feeling her hiccup during the day. It's the weirdest feeling! I wasn't always sure if it was movement or hiccups, but the more rythmic and timed movements make me confident she inhaled a little too much amniotic fluid and has a bout of the hiccups.

Weekly Update: 23 Weeks

How far along? 23 weeks, 4 days. Whoa.

How big is baby? Still hovering around 1lb, and a whopping 12 inches long! That explains A LOT.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 4lbs since last month, which means my "10 lb" weight gain a few weeks ago probably wasn't accurate. Oh well. My dr. isn't concerned, so I'm not.

Next Appointment: Saw Doc Holliday yesterday, and will probably be back in 2 weeks for a special appointment. My glucose test is coming up, too. Woo-freaking-hoo.

Maternity Clothes: Or, whatever fits.

Sleep: A bit wonky now that we have Jane. Hopefully we'll all adjust to one another sooner rather than later.

Best Moment This Week: Well, it's a toss up. Just getting through this week was an effort in and of itself. But also getting to talk out some of my concerns with my doctor made me feel a lot better.

Annoyance of the Week: Being told by a few people to "be careful" until I reach 30 weeks. A secretary at work had her baby at 23 weeks, so now she's super concerned I'll go into labor early too. And anyone I met while I was out running errands told me to be careful because they all know someone who had a baby in the 20 week period. Thanks guys, you're making me feel AWESOME. Keep up the good work.

Movement: Plenty! She likes ice cream, which makes me happy. We're going to get along just fine if this keeps up!

Planning/Preparation: Still no change from last week. I need to call my "special nurse" back and start checking in with her.

Belly Button In/Out: I have this weird ridge on my belly button when I'm standing up. It's like it's trying to stay in for me, but it's fighting a losing battle.
Gender: Girl. Definitely a girl.

What I Miss: Not being touched.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Weird as it sounds, talking more in-depth with Doc Holliday about this pregnancy-depression thing.

Contractions: Nada.
 
Milestones?: She can feel movement and hear music more than ever before, so being able to dance and sing and move around and feel her moving in response (or protesting to the music of Glee) has been fun.

Things I've Learned While Being Pregnant

Before you get the priviledge of sharing your stomach space with another human, there's a lot to learn. At 23 weeks, here's a short list of things I have learned thanks to the people around me.

1. Everyone who has ever had a baby is suddenly an expert on you and your body. And they all want to share their birth stories, too!

2. Babies breathe through your belly button, so standing in water over your belly button or showering facing the shower head will make your baby drown.

3. Bathing in warm water will boil your baby and give him or her warm water burns.

4. Drinking peppermint tea will ensure a baby girl.

5. Eating spicy foods (specifically Indian or Mexican) will give my baby colic.

No, really. So far, I've heard all these things (though I suspect only #1 to be true). ;-) Keep 'em coming! This stuff is gold!

Meet Jane!

As long as I can remember, I've wanted a cat. When I was in college, I even tried to figure out how I could hide a cat in my dorm room because I so desperately wanted one! When I got my first apartment I was devastated to find out I couldn't adopt a cat (or small dog; to be fair, it was a small apartment). When we signed the lease on our first place together, Graham asked all the technical questions while my first (and probably only) question was, "Can I have a cat?" When the landlord said no--denied again!--I cried. I just wanted a damn cat!

When Graham got worms, the deal was that he could get worms if I could get a cat. He's not a cat person. His parents and siblings aren't really "cat people." I'd probably be more of a dog person if I hadn't been attacked by my great-aunt's poodles when I was 2 or 3. (No, really. I was attacked by poodles. True story.) But because he was able to get his worms, he made a promise to me that "someday" I'd have my cat. Once we bought our home, I could almost feel a little furball in my arms. And after we moved? I asked quasi-jokingly each day for about 2 weeks. Finally, Graham promised me that my birthday gift this year would be my kitty. Well folks, my birthday was in May. It seemed that one thing after another kept popping up and we weren't able to get to a shelter to rescue a cat. On days when we were available, we usually had plans that took us out of town the next weekend--I didn't want to be cruel and adopt a cat, only to board it after 4 days in its forever home. Well, once things calmed down...it was August. Poop.

This weekend, we went to the Animal Welfare League in the 'burbs and after a few hours "test driving" some feline friends, I was smitten with this one. She was one I ignored at first in favor of some of the more entertaining kittens. I knew we'd probably walk out with an adult cat (Kitten chasing + pregnancy + eventual baby? No thank you!) but I still had fun playing with the baby kittens. And once I started meeting some older cats, I was hoping to find one that was friendly, a little playful, and affectionate. I heard this one mewing loudly in the cage just above one I was hoping to meet and take home. Her card said she was "Very playful and affectionate!" When I walked up, she was curled up in her litter box, giving me the stink eye. Instead, I asked to see Jane (named Donna by the the staff at the shelter) because she was sticking her little paws out of the cage and making noises. She seemed really interested in who we were, so we took her into the "Get Acquainted Room" and played with her a bit. I brought a toy along, just to see how different cats reacted to playing with us, but initially she wanted nothing to do with it--she climbed right into our laps and let us love on her. After that I was totally smitten--all I've ever wanted is a cat that's willing to let me play with him/her and one that will curl up with me when its tired. Jane does both! Here are some photos of the new little one...

 

Her first night home. It was a long day (and ultimately a long night).

Showing us that she can blend in with my chair if necessary.

Being stoic.

Sniffing the stick end of a toy, just to be sure.

Considering a pounce.

Watching TV after getting fur all over my skirt.

Getting distracted by a bird hopping on the sidewalk outside.

Two seconds later? Out cold.

I thought her sleeping was cute, so I kept snapping pictures. She disagreed, so this is what happened.

Her first night with us was okay. She was just getting used to everything and both yesterday and today she did a lot of hiding under the dressers in the bedroom. We were able to get in an active play session with her before we went to bed, and she still woke us up at 5:30 this morning. Not cool. Yeah yeah, "It's good practice for when you have a baby." I won't love getting up at 5:30 then, either! She wasn't hungry or asking for food, she just wanted to play--at least, I hope that's why she started eating my hair...she didn't eat much yesterday since she was getting used to everything here, so we left a bowl of food out for her all night and she was coming and going in the bedroom and snuggling with us when she felt like it. Is that the best habit to start now? Probably not. Oh well. But we know she ate and found her litter box overnight, so she was eating when she was hungry. Today she felt more comfortable so she was eating and drinking, but still needs someone in the kitchen with her--she feels more at ease if someone's eating with her or at least standing guard. Weird, right? Whatever. If that's what she needs to feel comfortable here, I'm all for it. At least for now...not sure how I'll feel about it come January...

So far, so good. She's very gentle and even though the shelter said she was a stray, she's clearly comfortable around people and has been for quite some time. We both think she lived with a family for a while, and either she was abandoned or a runaway. Even so, she probably wasn't out alone for very long. She's very comfortable being handled, and her natural hunting skills are just so-so based on some of the games we've played with her so far. It could be a product of the shelter, but she's a master with a litter box. When we opened her carrier after bringing her home, the first thing we did was plop her in the box and let her dig around so she knew where to find it (though she's had moments of confusion after Graham decided to move the box...hopefully that will clear up soon).

All in all, I have high hopes! We're all still getting used to one another, but I have a feeling this is the start of a great relationship. She's already smitten with Graham....and don't tell anyone, but he's a big fan of her, too.

Weekly Update: 22 weeks

(I'm posting this a little late because of everything that happened last week. Oops.)

How far along? 22 weeks


How big is baby? I think this week she's as long as a spaghetti squash.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: No idea...I'll find out at my appointment "next week".

Next Appointment: Visit to Doc Holliday "next week".

Maternity Clothes: Yup.

Sleep: I need to be dragged out of bed each morning. I'm so screwed when I go back to work.

Best Moment This Week: Being puke free! Still sick to my stomach each morning, but not throwing up has drastically improved my overall mood.

Annoyance of the Week: Saying goodbye to all the plans we'd made for things we'd do before a baby. This week has been really hard and I'm not ready to give up on all those plans, even though the plans need to change.

Movement: Plenty. When I'm relaxed, she's relaxed, and when I'm happy she's kicking like crazy. Makes me wish I was happier more often--maybe I could guarantee a more relaxed baby.

Planning/Preparation: Not much more than getting the name and nursery plans finalized (and those will probably change a lot before we get started). We need to get the dining room painted first.

Belly Button In/Out: It's getting flatter all the time. ::sniff::

Gender: Girl. Definitely a girl.

What I Miss: Having more energy during the day.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Cleaning out her bedroom and making some babyish progress in there.

Contractions: Nada.

Milestones?: Getting to August without passing out in all the heat!