Under Contract

First, yesterday was The Baby's Estimated Delivery Date. Welcome to the World Little Boy! It's hard to believe that we were so scared we wouldn't make it to that point. But everything worked out, and we are happy to have a healthy Little Boy in our lives. And I will never complain about bed rest again. The doctor's were right. I needed to stay in bed to keep the little guy cooking! So whether it was the bed rest or the terb, something made him stay in there. I will no longer wonder if bed rest is actually helpful.

Now ... WE ARE UNDER CONTRACT! (Why do they say under contract?) We went and looked at a house on a great lot on a cul de sac and made an offer the second day it was on the market and the bank accepted our offer! If all goes well we close at the end of September. That should give us enough time to find a fridge (the foreclosed people took the fridge but left three of their Bose surround sound speakers, Go Figure.).

The yard is great for Buddy. It's already fenced and even comes with some dog toys! We will get to see how he is with real hardwood floors. (Something that we will change in the future to a darker wood.) We will all have our own space! The best part ... there will be no one to stare at us. (Even though that isn't happening right now.)

We are going to paint some of the rooms, get the carpets cleaned and clean the house before we move in. Then it will become an ongoing project of changing out light fixtures, painting and all the other fun stuff that comes with being a home owner.

I am so excited! This is going to be OUR house!!!!! (Craig got his porch, I got my colonial. It's not brick, but I am sure this won't be our last home.)

I'm A Productive Member of Society

I'm in the clear. The doctor's have set me free! It was very exciting today getting up and getting ready for work. I felt like a human being! Then I got to work and proceeded to do nothing for the entire day. All is back to normal.

The doctor's appointments went well. There is one big kid growing inside me. He was weighing in at 6lbs 12ozs. WTF!? Seriously, I do not want to even think of making it to 40 weeks. I would not be having a baby, I would be having a toddler! Oh, and did I mention he has a big head. I am serious about this. A HUGE HEAD ... that head better stay up in the ribs, because I don't think it should come out the way nature intended. Just so you don't think I am exaggerating, his head is measuring at 40 weeks. His body? Oh yeah, that is measuring at 36 weeks. I keep hearing in my head "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down." It is on repeat. And to make matters worse, not that the big head can be topped, the nurse found the amount of hair on his HUGE HEAD amazing. She kept giggling! I did not find that nice at all. Especially since she knows of my disgust with hair growing inside of me.

I don't know what else there is to say. I think the big-headedness just about sums everything up.

Peri Appointment and 35 Weeks (Almost)

Tomorrow will be 35 weeks, and I am supposed to get up and start moving around a little more. After all I probably should not just get out of bed and begin doing all the stuff I want without a little bit of preparation. So, what should I do first? I am thinking an eyebrow wax is in my future! I cannot tell you how excited I am just at the thought of an eyebrow waxing. I am even thinking of pushing it just a little and throwing in a pedicure.

I have such a long list of things that I want to get done. The first, following the brow wax, is hair. I need to get my hair done. It is so scary, there is a good two inches, if not more, of roots showing. And boy do they frighten me. The next, if I do not do it tomorrow, will be the pedicure and a manicure. My toes are not in summer condition. They have not seen a good scrubbing and buffing in months. Oh how I have missed a good foot massage and the massaging chair. I honestly think my favorite part of the pedicure is the chair. What could be better then a chair that massages you back as a person massages your foot? Finally the last beauty item on the list is a facial. I am dying for a facial. I have not really been able to take care of my face like I want. And really, does anyone know where all my face stuff is? My guess is no. So my lovely Tea Tree Mask is off making some box very happy. I hope that box has a lovely complexion when it is found.

There is also the list of boring stuff. Like the eye doctor. I have been wearing glasses since I went into the hospital. The glasses, by the way, are from one prescription before the contacts. I had never put new lenses in the glasses. Oops! Not that it matters, as far as I am concerned. I am sure an Optometrist would disagree. But who cares, at least I can see the TV and the internet. Yes, those really are the two most important things in the life of bed rest.

Now to what you all really want to know about. The Appointment. It was boring. The Boy did what he was supposed to. We got some good views of his little face. Then I got the NST. The boring part. It is so boring being hooked up to the monitors. You cannot move and you have to lay there for 20 minutes minimum. Yet in my case today it was longer because, just take a guess. Did you guess contractions, because if you did then you win the prize. The prize being you are the world's best guesser. So it appeared like The Boy was not liking the contractions. I could not feel them, but I guess he could. However after observing me for AN HOUR! Yes, you read that right ... ONE. HOUR. The Peri decided that since he was not reacting to the later contractions that the reaction was The Boy just moving around during the first two.

The Boy is still breech. We are going to talk with The Peri to see what are his thoughts on turning The Boy. We will make our decision about turning or c-section after next weeks Peri appointment. I have come to the point where either exit strategy is fine, the goal is to get The Boy out safely.

I will post pictures later. I am too lazy to turn on the scanner. This does not bode well for getting out of bed and moving around a little more.

My Buddy

Buddy is an interesting creature. He is super sweet and sometimes, when I am lucky, he will even cuddle with me. Most of the time he just wants to lay beside me and for me not to touch him.

This is a picture of Buddy being, well Buddy. Who knows why he likes to lay like this. But it is about the cutest position that he gets into. Anyone that owns a Boxer knows the cute things they do, but this to me is by far the cutest and funniest. I just want to reach down and rub his soft underside. He has the softest belly!



The next picture is his usual position during the day. He takes up the entire bed and has to be in his space. And by his space I mean my side of the bed and my pillows. I know my place in this relationship, I am a litter mate. A two legged playmate that he can push around. I admit it, I am in no way in control of this relationship. He pushes me out of the way, will lay so close that I have to move, all so he can have the exact spot that he wants ... usually mine.

I love the i.Phone. It is one of the best toys The Husband has ever let me have! I only mention this because I took these pictures with the phone. They are so much better than pictures taken by my old phone.

Doctor's Appointment and 32 Weeks

Today's appointments went well. If Doctor's making me stay in bed can be considered going well. The Boy is still breech, resting his active little behind right on the exit route. He is weighing in at approximately 4lbs 5oz, and still measuring around a week ahead. The Peri said that if he stays put until his due date then he would say that he is on track to being about a 7 and 1/2 lb to 8 lb baby. Not too bad. But until we reach the 35 to 36 week mark, The Peri still considers me to be a good candidate for pre-term labor. I will go back every week from now until that time to check the baby's growth and overall well being.

The Boy cooperated in as much that he moved a lot, had a good heart beat and did the other things that he should be doing at this point. I know that everyone wants pictures, but he was not willing to cooperate that much. He was however willing to show us his boy parts and his back. But no face. He decided to keep that in the shadows.

I tried to get the OB to take me off bed rest. She was not seeing my point. I guess I had no valid arguments. I am really bored does not constitute a valid argument, nor does I promise not to leave the house if you let me walk around on the inside. She is making me stay put for the next couple weeks. Hopefully I can convince her that modified bed rest is a good option in 2 weeks. I'll be 34 weeks at that point and should be allowed some freedom.

Project #1

*Who knew The Husband still blogged ... see the post below this one.*

I have a couple projects that I have started since being on Bed Rest and have not worked on any of them. You would think with all this time on my hands that it would be easy to get projects completed. Well it should be easy, if I only worked on them.

Today I started working in earnest on the Baby Announcements. I am making one set. These will go to special people in our lives. The other set I am buying and they will go to extended family, co-workers and friends. Both are equally as cute, and I could not decide between which I liked better so I decided on both.

I would talk more about the design of the cards I am making, but I want them to be a surprise for the people that will get them. In my mind they have turned out wonderful, so lets hope I can make the finished project as nice as the one I have designed in my head. You can never be sure that you will accurately get across what you have envisioned. I have all these wonderful plans and embellishments that I want to use, but I need to decide on the ones that I like the most. I do not want too much going on so that people will be distracted from The Boy's debut!

Since I will not be able to have them completely finished, even I cannot see into the future, I have some other cute stuff in mind that I want to get started. I should probably also get going on the Christmas stocking. That is one project that will take a lot of time, and will surely be frustrating. I wish that I could pass it off to someone else and have them make it for me. I should also order the one that I want to make for The Boy. He should be as privileged as the other babies in this family and have his own handmade stocking.

31 Weeks and Still Pregnant

I thought I would give a quick update since I have not blogged in a couple days. Nothing new is going on. I wish I had insightful things to say about being on bed rest, but really there is nothing. I have realized my dream of not working can never happen. This experience has opened my eyes and taught me that as much as I complain about work, I like getting out of the house and working. I like dealing with people, and it gives me pleasure to accomplish something no matter how small. I also really miss going to the gym. I miss that sense of calm that I get after a good work out. One thing I do not miss is grocery shopping. But does anyone really like going to the grocery store?

All the bed rest is working. We made it to 31 weeks. And according to my handy weekly pregnancy calendar, this week there is some major lung development going on. The lungs develop some sort of lining that secretes something that prevents lungs from collapsing. (If I knew what the big words meant I would write them.) So simply put, He has a better chance of breathing on his own now. Ok, I just finished reading the page ... this calendar freaks me out. I read that He can grab his cord. Oh, but don't worry. It is sufficiently sturdy to withstand grasping and squeezing. This would be one of those things that you do not mention to crazy people. Now I am going to think about nothing but Him trying to rip the cord loose, or Him squeezing it so tightly that he cuts off all the life flowing to him.

Also in the calendar is the average weight gain. This whole weight gain thing is such crap. I have decided that you are going to gain whatever amount of your weight your body thinks is sufficient enough to support another person growing inside you. At least the doctor's are no longer on my case about the weight gain. Their only concern is that I am still pregnant. I did not think it was too nice of them at the beginning to say that I was above the average in terms of weight gain, well suck it doctor people my weight seems to be leveling out. Maybe my body needed to add the weight at the beginning and now I am growing into it, did you every think of that? Really all the reading I have done makes me think there is really no right amount of weight for EVERY woman. You would think being on bed rest would cause me to balloon up, in reality I am doing really well. It helps that the only snacks around here are fruit and vegetables.

Speaking of food, my lunch is here. Turkey sandwiches are yummy. But only with Dor.itos. That's what makes the meal. It is all in the chips. You have to put them on the sandwich and crush them in, it adds the crunch.

Do You Lick Your Chicken?

(I am limited on pictures, so this is as good as it gets. Internets, meet Buddy.)

Buddy is having some adjustment issues with me laying in bed all day. He has forgotten all his manners. Since I have food brought to me in bed (that sounds a bit pompous), he has decided that it is okay to get as close as possible to the food. It used to be he would sniff the air and lick the air in the vicinity of the food. He started out by inching closer and closer to the food on the tray, until he was sniffing on the tray. This closeness leads to the Chicken Licker.

We had chicken for dinner, very good chicken by the way ... thanks Nanny James. I finished eating the chicken and moved onto the salad, looked away for a nanosecond, and Bud had has tongue around the chicken bone. I swatted him on the nose and he looked at me as if he couldn't understand why my fingers had met his nose. Really dog, you didn't know that what you just did was wrong? He then gave me the sad eyes and decided it might be best to lay down and actually pretend to be a good dog.

Later on in the evening, Nanny James was eating some pineapple chucks and The Worlds Best Dog again decided it was no big deal to lick the pineapple container. And again my fingers met his nose. And again he looks at me as if he has NO clue that what he just did was bad on any level.

There are a number of people I blame this on, the first being The Discipliner. Bud is used to seeing The Husband (who said I couldn't use his name or put his picture on the blog) every evening and it keeps him calmed and well behaved. Or at least Bud has the appearances of being well behaved. (All that know this sweet creature know that he tries so hard to be a good boy, but sometimes it is just too much to behave.) Then Bud has heard that certain people that spoil him rotten, people from Florida, are coming and he feels he must get out his badness before they get here so they will love him even more.

I blame these people for my dog deciding that it is okay to LICK CHICKEN!

Bed Rest ...

Is NOT fun. Whoever out there that enjoys staying in bed all day is nuts. I don't know how much longer I can take this, well according to the doctor's it will be for at least 6 more weeks. There is only so much TV you can watch, so many books you can read and so many crafts you do before they all get boring. I don't think that even napping (not that I have done any) would help.

And this kid kicks me ALL THE TIME. It doesn't hurt, but He finds places to kick that I never knew existed. I will have to ask Him if the bladder is a nice little punching bag. He gets all upset when I eat as well, as if I am taking room away from Him. Ummm, HELLO! I have to eat kid. It doesn't matter how small a meal is or if I stuff myself, the results are all the same. Let me stretch out top to bottom on the right side and push. Let me tell you, THIS IS NOT COMFORTABLE!

Okay, enough complaining for one post. I am going to try and keep the bed rest complaining to a minimum, no one wants to hear about how awful it is in bed with certain people staring at you.

Now for some good news. Our house has been appraised and it looks like we are on our way to closing. YEAH! Now The Husband can start packing and moving our stuff to who knows where, I can tell you it is not going to be into this house. I will admit right now that even if I were able I would NOT be helping with any of this. I believe that I am a better supervisor than I am a worker. (Read as: I am better at ordering The Husband around.) If this move were left up to me, it would never happen. I would just sit in the middle of a room and look around not even knowing where to begin. Oh, should I warn Him about all the stuff that is under the Pretty Room's bed, or just let Him find out on his own?

Randomness

First, they are now trying to starve the dog. The poor boy didn't have any food OR water all morning. I don't know what it is with these people, they just are not helping those of us who need the help.

Second, because I am on bed rest and there is really NOTHING that I can do but sit and lay here in bed I am mad at Op.rah. She is doing a lot of reruns and taking shows from other programs. Come on woman! I need new content. I am planning to learn to knit so that will take up a lot of time and maybe I won't have to depend on Op.rah for entertainment.

Third, how much protein can a person eat? They keep shoving things with protein in my mouth. At every meal they want me to be eating some sort of protein. They are crazy! But I have figured a way around this ... they can make me fruit smoothies with protein powder (this way I won't be able to taste the powder. It's so smart, I AM BRILLIANT!). Thus, I won't have to eat so much meat and I can go back to eating salads and cereal (1/3 less sugar Frost.ed Fl.akes are the BEST!) whenever I want and not getting a lecture on how the Baby needs protein. Ummm, isn't the Baby causing enough problems without me having to eat things that I dislike. But then it's not really the Baby, it's my uterus and cervix trying to evict their tenant.

Fourth, I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday. I don't think that we will find out any new information, but they will be checking cervix length. We are hoping for no change. You hear that cervix, NO CHANGE!

And last but not least a big thanks to the Actual Owner Of This Blog (The Husband) for pointing out, after only one day I might add, that bed rest sucks. Without your astute observation I would have NEVER figured that out on my own.

She Is Trying To Starve Me

Patient here.

Since it has now fallen on my shoulders to update someone else's blog I thought I would get started.

The Caretaker has been trying to starve me the past two mornings. Did you hear me? She is trying to STARVE me. I have had to get out of bed and wake her up so that she could get me some breakfast. Now I normally am not so demanding, but I am not allowed to leave the bed except for the bathroom. (The kitchen is not on the way to the bathroom. The original writer of this blog would take major issue with me going ALL the way to the kitchen and then CARRYING something back to the bed to eat myself.) I would just like to eat at a normal time. A normal time is not when the two other "bed ridden" people would normally get up. Because really who knows when this would be.