Bored and Annoyed

Tomorrow is March 1st, and here I sit...sigh...I know I shouldn't be annoyed that I have carried this baby to the fullest of full term but I am just getting so bored and uncomfortable.  I haven't left town for over a month, I haven't even needed to buy gas for my car since the 2nd to last weekend in January.  It is good to save money, but I don't know if I have ever been more bored in my life.  A house can only be so clean, you only need to grocery shop so many times each week.  I miss working and I wish I had worked for at least a month longer than I did at my old job and I am worried I will never find another one.  I could vomit every time I put on my maternity clothes and think it is the last time I will wear them (this time, anyway, although I don't know if I even want to wear these cheap pieces of crap through another pregnancy.  They are all poor quality and the garments I wear weekly are pilled and look faded and worn already) and before I know it another week has passed and I am washing them and wearing them again.  I think I am so annoyed by this endless pregnancy because at the beginning of the pregnancy I thought my due date was 2 weeks ago and I have thought it was almost time for the last month.  I don't really believe anything they say at the doctor's office anymore because nothing ever happens or changes. 

I was there today and had the same procedure done as I did last week and still nothing is happening.  I guess on the plus side, she did come to the appointment in scrubs from the hospital across the street.  I said it looked like she was having a busy morning and she said that the labor and delivery floor was full and most of them were new arrivals not leaving today so I probably would not have had the normal accomodations anyway (different floor, perhaps).  This same thing happened to me when I had appendicitis when I was 23 and had to be on the pediatric floor of the hospital because the other floors were full! 

I guess the barometric pressure thing applies to everyone else but me...so it looks like there will be no leap year birthday in this family.  I thought it would have been kind of fun and unique but it would have also been kind of annoying to have only had your 2nd birthday when you are eight years old and so forth.  Buy I am so sick of being pregnant that I wouldn't have cared if it happened today.  Actually, I wanted it to happen today.  I wouldn't have cared if I had to give birth in a triage room. 

We have an induction scheduled for March 7 and I think I might just lose my mind if I have to wait for that day.  I really don't want to resort to that anyway because it seems like many people who get induced have a miserable and long labor. 

Justin's co-workers gave us a Pack and Play (the modern version of a play pen).  It is a multi-functional item that can be used as a portable crib.  It has attachments that make it into a changing table and a little hammock type thing for sleeping. 

Yes, that is Biggest Loser on the TV in the background.  It looks like someone lost 11 pounds this week.  I better be losing about that much weight very fast and very soon...

Inevitably, Allan was drawn to the napping seat.

Eyes getting heavy...

Awww...nap time...

Poor kitten, he loves all the baby stuff and we have had a closed door policy with that room. 

Birth Stones

On the mom confession board that I was talking about two days ago, one woman said that she hoped her baby would be born in March because she hates the birthstone for February, which is the amethyst. 

The March birthstone is the aquamarine.



Now, this baby is a boy so chances are he won't care about his birthstone.  However, I kind of care in a fun way.  I would not be opposed to wearing my kids' birthstones as jewelry as long as it wasn't anything over the top that screams "I am a mommy!  My kids are my life!"  like this, for example...

Sorry that is off center.  I copied and pasted the image from a website and it apparently has a big expanse of white space on the left.  Anyway, that is an example of a way that I wouldn't wear my childrens' birth stones. 

Having an April birthday, mine is the diamond.  Most women would say, "you are lucky!" but when I was a kid and cheap birthstone rings from our town's only gift shop were a popular gifts for friends (along with Wet 'n Wild makeup and plastic Caboodle cosmetic cases) I always kind of wished mine was colored.  I had many friends with August birthdays and the light green color of the peridot kind of grew on me.  There were so many girls I knew with August birthdays that I am surprised that little store could keep the green adjustable-banded rings in stock! My sister's was the deep red garnet of January and my mom shunned the pink June gemstone, the alexandrite, for the traditional June stone of the pearl.  I don't know why some months have two stones but several have a gemstone and also another precious stone (March also has the bloodstone, a green rock that looks like jade with red flecks in it!)  I really like the blue toned stones such as the saphhire and, yes, the aquamarine.  My favorite is probably the turquoise tanzanite of December.  That stone is so "me"! 

So I guess I don't really care.  I like the February amethyst but I really like the aquamarine.  Two more days until the aquamarine!

Confession

I confess that I love researching and reading about all things related to pregnancy and babies.  I was not interested at all in most of those areas before (I have always been interested in child development, family dynamics, and such areas.  I even studied it as my major in college!) but as far as minute details about each week of pregnancy I really didn't care much at all.  The best website for this information is Babycenter.com in my opinion.  If you type any topic into Google, the first link that comes up is usually an article or message board on Babycenter.  The articles are authored by medical professionals and seem very legitimate to me.  The message boards are like a community of pregnant women and mothers.  For example, on Friday I searched for information about babies being born during blizzards and if barometric pressure can be related to the start of labor.  Sure enough, there are babycenter message boards about it.  Multiple boards.  There are boards for everything!

These message boards can get crazy.  There are boards, kind of like online clubs, that you can join for your due date (for example, I would be part of the February 2012 or March 2012 group) and for any type of pregnant person.  If you are having multiples, are adopting, are overweight or obsese, have certain complications, have done IVF, or have had miscarriages in the past there are boards for you.  I admit I have never added anything to a board or asked a question but hundreds of women have and they seem to have covered every question anyone might have had! 

I admit that they annoy me sometimes because some of the women are over the top.  They fixate on measurements, percentiles and estimated weights of babies.  They are constantly comparing milestones and worry about how advanced their fetuses are in utero.  There are also the boards where women present worries about things they did when they were unknowingly pregnant, such as getting drunk or using drugs or eating certain off-limits foods.  Inevitably, women reasure the original poster by letting her know that "I smoked and drank for two months before I knew I was pregnant and my son is the smartest kid in his class and in the 100th percentile for everything" or that "I drank caffeine all the time and my 3 year old daughter talks better than most 2 year olds!"  It usually turns into people bragging about their own kids under the guise of reassuring a first time mom that occasional bad behavior isn't the end of the world. 

Overall, though, the boards are reassuring and can get addictive.  I have been going crazy reading about signs of labor and how long labor commenced after certain events occured for other people out there.  Of course, they are all frustratingly different! 

I found a very funny new message board today where a bored with pregnancy March 2012 mom decided to confess the off-limits things she has done during pregnancy.  She also encouraged everyone else to do the same.  The board ended up being 10 pages long after a few days (a page has probably 10 posts) and many of the confessions were things that I too have done and haven't felt especially guilty about. 

So...I confess...

I have, on occasion, eaten deli meat and I never heat it until it is steaming hot to kill any possible bacterial growth like you are supposed to do.  Doesn't that sound gross?  Who wants steaming hot deli turkey or salami?  Mostly I have done this at restaurants like Subway or at catered work events with sandwiches.  I haven't purchased it myself to make my own sandwiches (and I can't wait to do so again very soon!) This was a big one that almost every woman on the board admitted to. 

I drink soda still, although not to the extent that I did before.  I can go days without a Diet Coke and the daily can wasn't too hard of a habit to break.  I mostly want it when other people around me are drinking alchohol or when I am on a longer car trip.  And of course with a combo meal at a restaurant!   I also have been drinking green tea, although I did give it up right after I found out about the pregnancy.  It is off limits because it hasn't been studied extensively.  I use my common sense on this one, and think of the women in Asian countries who have consumed this tea since ancient times and I doubt they stop during pregnancy.  Also, it is boiling water poured over leaves...how bad could it be?

I crave beer in the worst way sometimes.  Especially delicious specialty beer like Blue Moon with its delicious orange flavor.  I don't care if it sounds trashy...I know I am not alone in these feelings!  I haven't consumed beer besides O'Douls, but I have had several glasses of wine (hey, it I was pregnant through the holidays!).  

Everyone makes a fuss over me lifting and doing anything difficult but I continue to carry heavy things and try to bring in all my grocery bags at the same time.  I haul heavy laundry baskets up and down the stairs and move furniture when I clean.  I stand on chairs to reach high cupboards and closet shelves sometimes.  I even shoveled snow a few days ago, as I think I mentioned. 

Since I have been home I have been cleaning the cat box.  Justin did it for months but I know that Allan doesn't have Toxoplasmosis.  I did alot of research on this and that disease is spread when cats eat raw meat (such as an outdoor cat eating birds and squirrels) and Allan was born at the Humane Society and came from there into our house.  He hasn't set foot outside in his life and has certainly never eaten a rodent (he wishes!).  This was another big one that women admitted to...they also admitted to letting someone else deal with this chore even though they really weren't worried about getting Toxoplasmosis!

I go to the Y in the morning during the hours when normal people are working and I secretly like all the attention I get from the stay at home moms and water aerobics ladies that I see there at that time of day! 

I have been eating peanut butter and peanut products.  There are these no-bake cookies that I saw on Pinterest where you mix oatmeal with butter, cocoa, and sugar and also peanut butter and put blobs of it on foil until it cools.  They are so delicious.  I also eat peanut butter on toast (not daily) and eat peanuts in party mix.  I admit I do feel kind of worried about this although the research isn't conclusive that eating peanuts will cause my child to be allergic to peanuts.  I am not a one of the "high risk" women that has allergic tendencies that they speak of.  I just think living with one of those allergies in the family would be a huge pain and a constant worry.  My doctor never did tell me herself to avoid peanuts but I know about it from reading all those crazy message boards and from other pregnant people I know. 

Oooh...and a recent one...I had a cold earlier this week.  I seem to be over it but for about 3 days I was really congested and had an awful sore throat.  I bought one of the few pregnancy approved medications, Tylenol PM (well, the generic CVS version of it) and it has really helped me sleep after weeks of sleeping like crap and waking up every hour of the night.  I didn't take it last night and slept like crap again so...I might have some more tonight...my throat is still kind of sore...

One thing I don't admit to is having a bad diet.  Many of the women admitted that they never eat fruit or vegetables and eat fast food constantly.  One lady said she never drinks water.  Fruits, especially citrus fruits, have been something I crave and I have always like vegetables.  And I can't get enough water!  As soon as I wake up in the morning I am chugging ice cold water from the fridge!  Most of them also said they didn't take vitamins regularly or at all.  I hardly miss a day of vitamins, although I took a one-a-day vitamin before.  It has been a habit since I was a teenager to compensate for my distaste for milk and red meat (you need that iron and calcium!).  I even drink extra quantities of milk now and pay attention to protein intake so I guess my eating habits are better now than before. 

So that's it...please don't judge me...

Is anyone watching the Academy Awards right now?  I confess that I think they are really boring and I love pop culture but I guess I don't especially care which movie gets best picture.  Anyway, all of the winners can be read about online almost immediately after they are announced.  I have the show on but I admit I haven't paid much attention.  This afternoon I did watch the E! Channel's red carpet interviews where they talk about everyone's clothes and jewelry.  I find that aspect of the evening much more interesting than the actual show and I remember the stand out dresses more than I remember who won the awards from previous years!

I guess the bad weather this weekend didn't make me go into labor..sigh...Justin used the snow blower for the first time this year today.  I spent all day yesterday hanging out with friends so that was a fun change from my usual boring routine.  There is another weather disturbance forecast for Tuesday so maybe that will be the time...I will be 40 weeks on Wednesday.  Holy crap.  I can't believe I made it this far!  That fateful late June afternoon when I stood in the pregnancy test aisle at Walmart seems like a lifetime ago!

Calving

Well, no baby yet...no labor yet...nothing yet...sigh...

This evening we went to Scheels and visited the NDSU championship trophy.  There were some marketing people there to take photos and they gave away some free posters. 

There were photos with me included but they were truly so bad that I couldn't let them be shown.  I usually have a sense of humor about bad pictures of myself and do not hide from a camera but these were really bad.  I just look very overweight as opposed to pregnant because I am wearing a men's Bison shirt and my face looks so fat you can't tell where my chin ends and my neck starts.  Also, I forgot to mention the other day that I have contracted a cold and my eyes are very puffy and feel allergyish today.  There isn't enough make-up in the world....  Ugh I can't wait to drop some of this weight! 

So another weekend is here with no baby.  There is also supposed to be a winter storm this weekend.  It has been a strange winter here in ND and here it is, almost March, and this is the first potential storm of the year.  Last year there had been about 10 winter storms by this date.  When I found out I would be due this time of year I imagined snow drifts to the roof of the house and assumed the weather would be bad whenever the baby decided to come.  None of that has come to pass!  UNTIL NOW!  My sister texted me tonight that I couldn't have the baby this weekend because she couldn't come because of the weather.  Then she mentioned that my brother-in-law told her that when spring calving season comes cows have a tendency to give birth during blizzards. 



Yeah...that idyllic spring scene starts in the unstable months of March and April.  It is awhile before those cute little families are out frolicking in the grass!  I have never been involved with calving or lambing or any kind of livestock birthing season but I know it is exhausting and usually someone has to stay up all night with them in case of late night complications.  With large herds there can be multiple babies every day and you have to make sure the mothers are in shelter when the time comes so the baby doesn't die from the cold.  Not only is it sad to lose one, but also very costly since a cow can be sold for hundreds and even thousands of dollars depending on the quality and breeding. 

So the point is...it would be weird but I guess not surprising if I went into labor this weekend during a blizzard!  Good thing we only live about 20 blocks from the hospital!

Last Days as an "Only Child/Kitten"

My poor kitten seems to know something is up but I don't think he has any idea how big that something is!  I don't really worry about how he will act since he is friendly with everyone who comes to the house, unlike the typical cat stereotype where people would expect him to hide under the bed whenever someone new comes around.  I have noticed that the classified ads are full of people looking for people to take their pets because "they had a baby and don't have time to give them the attention the deserve".   I also see alot of "my baby is allergic" ads.  I am not worried about the attention thing because he doesn't need that much anyway. He sleeps all the time.  He is sleeping on the couch right across from me right now.  I think a dog requiring walks and exercise would be more of a challenge in this area.  Of course, the allergy issue can't be helped but I really hope that it doesn't apply to us.  Neither Justin or I are allergic to animals or anything else and our siblings aren't either.  I know they can develop later in life (my mom had this happen after years of living allergy free) but for now I hope we can continue to be an allergy-free house.

I certainly do not believe in any of the old wives talkes associated with cats such as the nonsense that they steal the breathe from sleeping babies.  I didn't do any research, but it probably dates back to the times when cats were associated with witchcraft and also could come from the tendency that cats have to snuggle up to people and animals.  If anyone in modern times is uneducated enough to believe that an animal would intentionally suffocate a baby based on human emotions like jealousy or some crazy superstition I feel bad for them.  I do know that we are not going to give Allan crib and unsupervised nursery access.  That's just common sense!  There is actually a tent-like net that you can buy to keep animals (probably specifically cats, since I don't think dogs can jump high enough to launch themselves into a crib!) out of cribs but it is not very cute so we are going to rely on shutting the door for now!

Anyway, I am sure everything will work out fine because I know many people who grew up with pets in the house but I still worry a little bit,  mostly about the allergy aspect. 
I would sure hate to see the guy anywhere else, even if it was a good home.  This is his home! 

 And he is very happy here...

 Here is a nice treat for everyone...get a load of that load!

This is an unflattering angle, I know.  I didn't realize what I looked like sitting down because I only see myself in mirrors and photos standing up.  I hope this will be over soon because this morning at my weekly appointment my doctor stripped my membranes.  I am not going to describe it here (another thing you can look up if you are curious!) but it is a way to induce labor without medication.  I trying not to get very excited because she said it has a 50% success rate.  If it works, though, it usually starts labor within 24 hours.  YIKES! 

Finished Project

Remember when I made this hat a few months ago?  It was a project I saw on Pinterest...oh, fascinating Pinterest...

http://pinterest.com/pin/165648092513814414/

It was really easy to make even though it entailed making a lining which is kind of intimidating!

The original blogger that shared the tutorial also had a tutorial for a matching blanket.  I had planned to make both (they are made from old flannel shirts) and even bought shirts and backing material but I never got around to making the blanket...until now! 

http://thismamamakesstuff.com/hes-all-boy-baby-blanket-tutorial/

The link is the original version. 

This is my version.  The tutorial used strips but I had mangled the first shirt when cutting the had and I didn't feel like piecing together strips from little peices of fabric so I resorted to the very easy and familiar squares!  I can do squares with my eyes closed!  It is pretty cute, I think.  Upon closer inspection, you will notice that the plaids are not perfectly straight.  The problem was that the small plaid patterned shirt was quite a bit larger (I think it was a XXL compared to the other shirt which was a L) and of much higher quality than the large plaid.  The flannel was thicker and almost wooly feeling on the small plaid and very threadbare on the large plaid.  The large plaid was very off-kilter when I cut it and I couldn't get as many squares out of it.  Also, I sewed this thing together very fast (probably spent a few hours total between cutting and sewing and quilting).  The quilting is minimal because there is no middle layer of batting to hold together.  All together, it is a very half-a$$ed piece of work even for my standards!  I wanted to get it done though and since it is just for my own use (or my son's use, I should say) I dodn't really care that it isn't perfect. 



No baby yet!

Waaah whaaah...

I think people who I don't see very often probably check on here for baby news especially after I have been posting for several weeks about being dilated and having feelings that labor is imminent.  That picture is your "Waaah Waahh"  moment...you know...the noise that plays in a comedic situation when something is a bust? 

That is me last night, 38 weeks along and getting impatient.  Blaaahhh...get this boy out of me!  See those pants?  I have a black pair and the grey pair shown and I wear them all the time around the house and to the YMCA.  This afternoon, since it is going to be near 50 degrees today, I might even wear them out in public.  I am so over all of my maternity clothes.  The jeans, especially, are getting unbearble.  They don't stay up and the panel ones are getting too small!  The panel just rolls down and bunches up and they pants then start falling down.  The non-panel ones just fall down all the time.  Most of my shirts are looking pretty tight too. 

On a different topic, while searching through the cable TV schedule this morning I came across a Bruce Springsteen concert that was shown as an HBO special back during the summer of 2000.  It was after Bruce and the E Street Band reunited and went on tour and this concert took place in New York City.  I remember it because it was one of the reasons I started really liking Bruce in addition to listening to my dad's greatest hits cd. 

At this time I was 17 and it was the summer before my senior year of high school and spent all day every day listening to the radio while I was lifeguarding.  I thought alot of the pop music that was played was pretty bad.  Britney Spears was at the height of her popularity and it had come out that when she performed live she didn't really sing but instead lip synched.  Her publicists explained that this was the case and the norm for pop stars because high energy dance performances were a big part of their popularity and they couldn't do both live. 

When this concert was recorded, Bruce Springsteen was 50 and was all over the stage, jumping around and playing instruments and dripping with sweat and I remember thinking, "If that 50 year old guy can do all that while singing, why can't a 20 year old?"  I still wonder!  Also, I can't believe I thought 50 was so old.  Now I am almost as close to being 50 as I am to being 10! 

Speaking of Britney, she has had a rough 11 years...



Then...



Now...Aye carumba...she has had two kids and had a nervous breakdown so I don't fault her for trying to rebuild her career but jeez...maybe some more age appropriate costumes would be a good idea!

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, yesterday was Valentine's Day and I have been so distracted with the obvious that I actually forgot about it until I realized it was the 13th and people were starting to talk about their plans for the 14th on Facebook.  Holy crap, I thought!  Not that I am a huge Valentine's person, but we do have one Valentine decoration that I could have set out.  It is a cheap red placemat with hearts on it. We went out for lunch at our usual Chinese restaurant.  Then I went to Target and bought a hand held manual pump (you know what for!) and Justin went back to work.  He brought home these flowers after work...   

I love the orange color!  Quite unique as opposed to the usual pink, red and white!  It would be fun to be a florist!  I'm sure wedding season is chaotic, but being around those flowers all day would be wonderful. 

Valentine's Day was always fun as a kid in elementary school.  I loved making the Valentine boxes for the class party and distributing cards.  There was always a "everyone gets cards from everyone" rule so there was no drama about people being left out.  And who didn't like getting out of some afternoon class time for a little party? 

I had a doctor's appointment and have nothing new to report...38 weeks...whoo hoo...afterwards I went and bought some pineapple.  Maybe if I believe in the power of pineapple it's effects will really manifest!  On that note, our newest newphew is being born today!  The c-section was sheduled for 9 a.m. this morning so he could be here already but I haven't heard the news yet!  I am waiting anxiously! 

My Best Little Helper

Whenever I do anything my buddy Allan is by my side and usually he is getting in the way.  I usually give him time to do his thing and get in my business for a few minutes until he gets bored and does something else.  This morning I decided to assemble this baby swing that has been sitting in its box for months because now the baby's arrival is imminent and I think they can use these swings when they are pretty small.  The assembly was quite easy and didn't even require any tools.  I knew Al would want to check it out and I was right...

Then the inevitable happened...

Those owls are attached by a little peice of velcro so they didn't stay on very long.  I need to flip that arching piece around so the owls will face the baby since they are for they baby to enjoy and not for me! 

Here are some more little owls in the room...

This weekend was a big event at NDSU!  I am referring to Little I, a big 4-H type agriculture show that is orchestrated by a large club on campus.  It is a historical event that has been going for years although NDSU's academic programs have expanded in many directions since it was known as North Dakota Agricultural College.  It is a big production with many events, alumni activities, and even royalty.  The students involved spend months preparing.  I think I have shown these photos before but not since 2010 so I am going to show them again! 

Yes, that is me out there!  I went to this even for the first time my Freshman year and didn't miss one during my four years in undergrad.  I grew up on a farm but not the kind of farm with animals.  Also, 4-H wasn't huge in my county so I was never involved in that either.  The first time, I went to watch my friend in my dorm in the show and I always was kind of intrigued because everyone seemed to be having so much fun even though it was hard work and you had to work with farm animals (and you know they don't smell good!)  Also, (although not my main concern) you got academic credit for participating.

I finally went for it my senior year, after working as a seamstress at the theater for two years.  I felt confident in my sewing ability so I signed up for the Lamb Lead, which entails sewing a garment from wool and learning and demonstrating knowledge of the wool industry.  Also, you have to show a lamb (they are actually full sized sheep that are under the age of 1.  Her head was about the height of my waist) that you have sewn a blanket for that showcases the organzation that sponsors you.  The good part of the Lamb Lead for a beginner like me was that you didn't have to actually prepare the animal yourself...you just used one that one of the serious showers had spent weeks grooming and bathing and working with.  This was good because I had no idea what I was doing! 

There I am before heading to my interview with the judges (prior to the actual show).  I love that coat and I heard that a long time Little I spectator from my area (an older rancher type guy who had been attending for years) thought it was the nicest garment there.  I didn't win, probably because I had no idea what I was doing with that lamb and the other contestants were experienced with showing, 4-H and also sewing.  I didn't care though...it was alot of fun and one of those things that is a challenge that makes you feel confident about your abilities.  I have never been intimidated to try another sewing related tecnique sinces then.  Also, everyone involved with Little I is so nice and fun.  There is a dance afterwards followed by parties that go all night.  On Sunday morning (in the present!) I woke up for probably the 3rd or 4th time that night at 5:30 a.m. and realized that I wouldn't even have been home yet on Little I night back in college!  Where did those days go?!

Waiting waiting...

Well, here I am, just waiting!  I really want to go into labor even though my due date is March 1st!  I always have felt that March 1st wasn't right so we will see what ends up happening...I have had some signs that labor might be close so that makes me more anxious...

Yesterday Justin hung my planter basket so we would have a toy holder like I saw on Pinterest. 

Whoever came up with that idea originally is pretty clever!

We also recently recieved this rug that we ordered last week.  Pardon the clutter in the room...those brown end tables are without a place right now.  We are thinking about getting a rocking chair of some sort for the room so one will probably stay in there.  The charge cord for the electric vacuum will probably have to find a new home though! Have I shown the crib on here yet?  If not, there it is!  The mattress has been purchased as a gift but it is not here yet!  I have the sheets washed and ready to go!

I have been practicing my camera settings when I get bored and, like I said before, my most available and agreeable subject is Allan. 

I don't remember what my settings were here but I love how his eyes look so green!  I wonder what color eyes the baby will have...

Full Term YEaaaahhhh!!!!

Today was weekly appointment day once again and if you are getting your hopes up there was no news and nothing really has changed!  However, this is a good day because I am 37 weeks pregnant which is full term!  No NICU for this baby!  I am getting anxious to be done with being pregnant (at least for now!) so I would be ready at any time.  Although...I will be glad with each additional day because I know alot of key development happens during these last weeks.  I remember seeing an article about unnecessary c-sections in Time magazine months ago (it might have even been before I was pregnant) and there was a chart in there that has stayed with me...it showed how the size of babies' brains increases from week to week from 37 to 40 weeks.  And it was quite an increase.  I looked all over the internet and google images to find the chart and I found the article but there was no chart.  The one below is the best I could find.  These deficiencies are overcome in the weeks after birth, of course. 

Anyway, I am getting really tired of being pregnant and I don't mean that in a negative way because I know there are families out there who struggle in that area for years.  However, I don't think anyone enjoys the last weeks very much.  For example, I was watching "Biggest Loser" last night and some of the women on there weighed less than I weigh right now (and it is still early in the season).  Also, these maternity clothes suck. 

I have been cleaning alot lately but I don't think it is nesting...it really is just trying to catch up on chores that weren't done at all during the time I was gone for over a year.   You don't want to know how big the dust bunnies were under our dressers.  They were more like dust tumbleweeds or something.  It was kind of embarassing.  Also, our stovetop has never been cleaned at all since we moved in (well, it gets wiped off, of course!  I am referring to the drip pans and under the lift-up part).  The reason I know this is not nesting is because nesting supposedly has an accompanying burst of energy and I don't have a burst of energy.  I would rather be watching recorded episodes of "Dance Moms" and reading magazines.  I'm just doing it because I don't want my house to be gross. 

So that's all for now! 

A Pinterest Project

I saw this on Pinterest awhile ago and I thought it was a good idea for a baby or kid's room...

Those are metal planters...the kind that you would have that fake moss stuffed in to contain the plants.  I went on the hunt for some of them yesterday because I want a place to store stuffed toys where they will still be visible since babies can't have plush toys in cribs because of suffocation hazzards.  Also, our cat seems to think any plush toy is for him and wants to wrestle with them on the floor and bite on them so I want them to be out of his reach when not in use. 

I wasn't sure if this would be a successful search because it is the depth of winter right now and hardware stores don't have their garden items fully displayed yet.  Lowes actually did have lawn furniture and grills and other yard related items out in the seasonal area already but they didn't have any planters like this that were flat on the back except for a huge trough shaped window box that I thought was too big. 

Menards didn't have any in the main store so I broke into the garden center which showed no signs of civilization and found some employees and they were happy to help and I found what I was looking for!  The items they were stocking weren't even priced yet, because who buys garden and yard stuff on February 2nd around here?  No one!  They checked the price for me which was very nice and I left with what I came for! 

Check back for photos when this actually gets done...

Speaking of safety precautions...I saw this on a car seat at the store awhile ago...

It is hard to read but it says that this booster seat is for children 40-100 lbs.  100 lbs??  When I weighed 100 pounds, I think I was in 6th grade, had been driving a riding lawn mower and four wheeler for several years, and was only a few months from getting behind the wheel myself on the farm for the first time that summer. (I was 12 and this was and still is a typical occurrence on farms in America.  Judge if you want but there was always alot of supervision and if I was driving at that age one of my parents or my grandpa was in the vehicle or following close behind me or I was following them at a slow speed because they were driving a loaded truck, pulling a heavy water tank, or creeping along in a huge peice of farm machinery).  And I was far from the smallest girl in my class.  I was probably one of the taller and heavier girls in my class actually.  If anyone tried to get me to strap into a car seat I would have said "huh?"  I can't imagine heading to a 6th grade birthday party and there being controversy about driving us girls to the waterpark or the nail salon or wherever it might have been because there wasn't enough room for all our car seats in my friends' parents vehicles.  I don't think car seats are a joke or something to be cavalier about and I know there is good research behind these recommendations but for a child on the brink of being a teenager I think a carseat is ridiculous.  Who knows how outlandish these rules will be by the time my kids are in middle school?  At least I won't have to worry about this for years.  And a boy would probably reach 100 lbs. before that time.  At least a boy related to me will!  There aren't alot of fine boned small guys in either of our families!  I will just enjoy my time with our little rear facing seat that I can carry around with me! 

Progress!

I had a routine dr. appointment this morning.  I am now going every week instead of every two weeks like I have been since around Christmas.  I have been getting paranoid about the baby not being head down (apparently they have usually turned head down by this point in preparation for labor.  I haven't felt different and I don't think my abdominal area has changed to a "lower" position.   I was having scary thoughts about breech babies.  I asked the dr. this morning if she could feel the position and she said she would check (yes, THAT kind of checking...all good NDSU students should know what that means!) and she said "Oh!  You are about 1 cm!"  Yes, 1 cm dilated.  AAAhhh!  What a reality check!  Also, she said I was 70% effaced (you can look it up if you don't know what it means!).  I will just  say that 100% is in labor.

I am trying not to freak out too much...someone can walk around for weeks 1 cm dilated.  I know people from school and work who have experienced it.  So who knows.  Maybe I will make it to March 1 and maybe I won't.

I am looking forward to this being done (and yes, I know it is just beginning and nothing will be the same and I won't be getting any sleep for a long time etc. etc. etc.).  Right now I am thinking about wearing normal jeans with a zipper (and yes I know they probably won't fit for a few months) and being able to bend and move like normal again and sleep on my back and drink soda and tea without feeling like I shouldn't be (and yes I know that if I am nursing I will still have to take care with my diet).  I am very excited to get rid of this extra 40 lbs. I am lugging around! 

On to a different topic...many people ask if I have had strange cravings.  I haven't wanted any weird combinations or the stereotypical pickles and ice cream.  Early on, back in the first trimester days, I wanted lots of sugary candy like sweet tarts and sour patch kids.  Then I forgot about those things and was just hungry all the time.  Then I started wanting celery all the time.  Yes, celery.  I have always liked it.  It is so refreshing.  But now I WANT it all the time.  This has been going on for about 2 or 3 months now.  I actually crave it.  I think about it when I am not home and get excited about getting home so I can have some.  I eat a stalk every week.  I thought this was kind of dumb because I thought celery was a pretty nutritionally empty food (Now sweet tarts...those are rich in nutrition and very necessary for a growing baby!)  Well...I read in a library book (You!  Having a Baby! By Dr. Mehmet Oz) that celery actually is a good source of an antioxidant called Quercetin.  I don't really understand what it does but it seems to have benefits as an anti-inflamatory and also the antioxidant qualities prevent cell damage by neutralizing free radicals.  Celery also has a small but worth mentioning amount of calcium!  YES!  Celery is not a total dietary waste!  I was kind of confused when I read that pregnant women should not take quercetin on a website after the Dr. Oz book said it was a good thing to consume.  I believe the website was referring to supplements in pill form and not from food sources. 

Also, this morning I was reading about what it means to be 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced...I wanted to see what had happened to other women and how long it took before they went into labor.  I came across some information that indicated that eating fresh pineapple can  encourage the effacement process.  Pineapples are in season and I have been eating one every week.  I have probably eaten 4 or 5 pineapples in the month of January all by myself.  I looked it up and there is, indeed, alot of information out there about pineapple and labor.  There are alot of women who swear it worked for them.  I also read that the pineapple has to be not only fresh, but also unripe.  Apparently, in tropical locations women have historically consumed unripe pineapple when they are "late" because it is a natural abortificant.  Apparently there is an enzyme in the pineapple that softens the cervix.  I don't know what I believe because who can get an unripe pineapple in America?  The ones I have been eating have been ripe and sweet and juicy and delicious.  Now I am wondering if I should stop eating it so much!  I am not full term until next week so I hope this baby stays in for awhile longer!  Or...maybe it is just an old wives tale...

Ok...enough cervix and dilation talke...I hate to be a dullard and talk about the weather.  I like to think I am more original than that.  However, look at this forecast for this week! 

 What the H?!  There is no snow, it has reached 50 degrees the last two days, and the sun has been blazing bright like an April day.  And it keeps staying like this!  All through January everyone said that we shouldn't get our hopes up.  Now it is February and the 10 day forecast says more of the same!  I was certain that this baby would be born in a blizzard but that doesn't seem very likely!  YES!  This might be the strangest winter I have ever experienced and I like it!  As long as there is snow at Big Sky Ski Resort in MT I am fine with a brown winter!