It's getting so close!!!!!!!!!

So, Monday I went to my midwife appt again. Turns out...baby's heads-down! I couldn't believe it! It's kinda facing sideways right now. Its back is on the right side, so the pressure I've been feeling to the right of my belly button has been either its shoulder or elbow.

Saturday we took our child birthing class from 8am-4pm at the hospital here close by. What a gruelling day! When it came to the part about all the pain killers and stuff, I started feeling sick...then light headed and got the cold sweats! I almost passed out! I guess my mind and body have been focusing so much on the natural birth experience that it couldn't take in all the mind-boggling stats. At the end of that section as the Q&A was winding down I started feeling better, then she started in on the C-section portion of the class and I felt it creeping back up, so I told Superhubby that I'd be in the hall until she was done with that part. I couldn't believe it! I know that I don't have a high pain threshold, but I think needles and junk like that makes it worse...I'm preparing myself for the natural pain, not something brought on by others.

Last night at church, I was sitting beside someone and I took a deep breath and exhaled, she looked at me and I said "Look at this!" and she watched my belly move like crazy! I can't believe how much it's pushing on my right hip bone now! Because of all the movement last night, I had a crazy dream! The baby was moving so very much that I started to actually see appendages go across my belly. I saw a hand an arm, so I reached down to grab it and my skin just got really thin and I pulled the baby right out! It was a long, skinny baby and I looked at it and said "It's not ready yet" and just slid it right back in! Talk about BAZAAR!

On Monday evening we are going to the hospital to take a tour of the birthing and maternity facilities. I'm looking forward to knowing what to expect when we get there.

Can you believe Christmas is so close!?!?! We've basically got 15 days left! I spent a lot of time online today shopping because I had only bought one present...now, I'm up to 4! It really crept up on me this year! How 'bout you? You ready yet?

Appointment update

Ok, so Monday afternoon I had my midwife appt and it went well. The gestational diabetes and hemoglobin tests came back perfectly normal. Yay! She said next time (in 2 weeks, well, week and a half now) she's going to check to see if baby is heads down. Wow! I can't believe how quickly this is going by! She also said that at week 36 we'll have a longer appt to meet and talk about my wants and desires as far as birthing goes, basically, we'll talk about my birth plan. The heartrate of the lil' one was 120's-140's this time. Dunno, maybe a boy? Perhaps. :-)

As far as the baby moving is concerned...WOW! IS HE/SHE MOVING?!?!?! I can just sit back and watch my belly roll and jump and jive with every movement...so crazy! I can't believe how big my belly's getting! I'm really lookin' preggo now! Here I go again...using exclamation points all over the place!

Anyway...we're supposed to be getting together with my family tonight for Thanksgiving. I got my work schedule on Monday and she has me working tonight, so we're going after I get off work at 8pm! That's ok though, because mom-in-law is doing the soup kitchen meal tonight from 5:30-6:30 and Superhubby is helping her after he gets off an hour early (I'm helping until I have to go to work.) and then he's going to help with clean-up and then come get me from work and then we'll go see the fam. They'll have already eaten, but that's the only way we could work it out this year. Between crazy work schedules and everything else, there was nothing else to do. Lil' sis is in the hospital with an absess and a really bad infection that they are afraid might be MERSA. They've been cleaning it out and giving her antibiotics through the IV. I feel awful for her! I wanted her to get out of work tonight, but not like this. Please pray for her? The cultures for the infection won't be back until today or tomorrow. She's going to be in the hospital for at least 2 days, they said. She needs your prayers.

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving day, we're going to the in-laws and my parents are coming as far as I know. Then, Black Friday...get up at probably 3:45am, get everything together, go to Staples and set up shop to pass out coffee, hot chocolate, doughnuts and snacks to those standing in line. No shopping for us this Black Friday, just enjoying the spirit of giving. Then I'm headed back home at 6am to hit the sack! I won't be able to function if I don't!

Well, gotta get ready to head out and help mom-in-law with the hot meals for the soup kitchen this afternoon. Have a great Thanksgiving!

In which I use exclamation points all the time!!!

I've come down with the crud. It's not flu-like or anything, just a lot of sinus drainage and a yucky tummy along with some coughing.

I can't believe I only have 10 weeks and 5 days left until my due date! It seems so insanely impossible! I've heard that the third trimester goes slower, but it hasn't stopped galloping yet! I've got too many things to do to prepare the house for baby and I'm now entering the uncomfortable pregnant stage. The last few nights I've gotten to know the restroom really well...I think around 5 visits per night, which really allows for you to get to know the path from bedside to potty with your eyes closed! Superhubby still has to turn the lights on. I guess that's one talent I've gained, if nothing else, from being preggo. My next midwife appt is on this coming Monday...already! I'm not so sure I like driving an hour down and an hour back in trips so close together, I don't know how Superhubby does it everyday! The lil' one is moving a lot lately and I'm feeling a lot more rolls and tumbles in there, more so than the kicks and punches now. Oh, there still there! Just not near as often as the somersaults. Y'know, tying shoes and bending over is getting kind difficult to do now. Guess it comes with the territory!

With all the holidays coming up, I really wish we had the time to be able to visit our family down south this winter. Unfortunately, Superhubby was unable to get off when he wanted, because when the calendar got around to him, those times were already taken. We're praying that next year, he's going to get to see the calendar a lot sooner than he did before. I'm just hoping that somehow my grandparents can come up around Christmas or something. It'd be nice to at least see them. I know it's hard to take a long trip like that, but unfortunately, Superhubby can't get the time off... :-(( If nothing else, maybe they can come up when the lil' one is born.

Lil' sis has a stupid work schedule this next week! I'm so angry with her boss! Just because everyone else is going out of state for Thanksgiving means that she has to work on Wed. & Fri. of next week! Just because she lives in state?!?! She lives 2.5 hours away!!!! Grrrrrrrr!!!! I'm praying that her boss will have mercy and allow her to get Wed. off at least. Otherwise she's going to only be home from tonight until Tuesday. *sad*

Well, I think I've ranted enough! You like all my uses of the exclamation?!?!?!?! :-) Later peeps!

New baby stuff!

Ok, so a lot has happened in the last week-ish. Last weekend, Superhubby's cousin who has sworn she is done with bearing children gave us a bunch of her baby stuff. She gave us: a Pack'nPlay, high chair, swing, jumper thing that hangs from the doorway, exersaucer, boppy pillow and a few other small tid bits. I was blown away by her generosity. Thanks cuz! So, now on top of that, we have our crib & mattress and dresser too. We have been promised a slightly used bassinet also. I'm so excited! Now I just have to get the time and energy to really start working on the nursery! Mom-in-law has said that sometime she will come over (I need to get the paint first) and paint a mural of a jungle or something to that effect on one of the nursery walls. I'm pumped about that too! Yesterday I went to a local non-profit organization that helps with pregnancies and preparing for the coming of baby and signed up for their Baby Bucks program. Said program allows you to go once a week and take a lesson about childbirth or raising a baby, etc and you earn "baby bucks" for each lesson and if there is a homework assignment that is completed. There are other things you can earn the bucks for too, ie: OB appointments (midwife in my case), signing up for WIC and others. Once I earn 5-6 baby bucks, I'm going to get a new infant car seat! I'm so excited! I also went home yesterday with some very nice, very desperately needed maternity clothes: 3 skirts & 4 shirts. Most of which came from Motherhood! I'm so excited!

Ok, nuf about the stuff, now about the kid...Early this week I was laying on the bed and the baby really started to kick hard on the front of my belly. So, I laid there watching my belly jump and jive with every kick. It was the craziest thing! I also had my midwife appointment on Monday and all is well. I didn't realize how high up my uterus is already! It's about an inch and a half above the belly button! No wonder I was feeling some high kicks the other day! At my next appointment I have to take the standard Gestational Diabetes and Hemoglobin tests. Yippee...*Sarcasm!* To complete these tests, they must take 2 vials of my greatly needed blood. If you weren't here for the previous blood draw, just look back a few months...I almost passed out (although, in my defense, they did take 4 VIALS!!!). I had never, that I remember, had blood taken before and I DON'T.LIKE.NEEDLES!

Last weekend I also got to go see my lil' sis! Her birthday is this weekend, but she was home last weekend, so we had her party then. It was good to see her. I feel like I never get to see her anymore. Love ya sis! And happy early birthday, since I probably won't blog before end-ish of next week.

Well, I think I'll end this book now. And just out of curiosity, I don't really know how many people read this bloggy thing, so...to satisfy a pregnant woman...leave me a comment. Even if you have to leave it as "Anon" and sign your name to it. I'm just overwhelmed with curiosity.

:-) Thanks! Hasta Luego!

Slacker's my name and puttin' things off is my game...

So, I've been rightly reprimanded. I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted, I'm sorry. Time has just flown by over this last month with all that is going on right now. We've been trying to get wood cut for the cold weather ahead of us (that's already here!!!), trying to get the rest of the garden harvested, getting the house cleaned up from the week and a half of sickness that plagued our home and working at the restaurant...I don't feel like I've had time to breathe! There have been many a day over the last while that I've been too busy to take my afternoon cat nap...NOT.what.you.want.to.be.around...a.napless.pregnant.woman!!! So, things have been crazy, and I apologize for my slacking blogginess.

Update on baby: (because that's why you're here, right?)
Just this week, Superhubby felt the baby move for the first time! It was so cool! The baby has been moving a lot lately and kicking like mad! One of the guys I work with said I'm going to have a soccer player...I told him "I think so!" and he laughed. I have my next appointment with my midwife on the 19th, so in a little over a week. The last appointment, the heartbeat was in the 140's and she said everything looked like I was growing at the right size for 20 weeks. I'm now 23 weeks along and beginning to show. I still have the waist line thing going on, so I still look fat instead of pregnant, but people are starting to say that I look pregnant now. So, I guess that's a good thing. I'll have to break down soon and take a belly pic for y'all to see. I've been avoiding them thus far because of my plumpness anyway.

Other news in life:
We had the police out to our house last night because Superhubby went out to the shed to get some wood and went to split a larger-than-would-fit-in-the-stove piece of wood and couldn't find his ax, so he got to looking and not only was his ax missing, but his sledgehammer AND his chainsaw! We checked everywhere...they were nowhere to be found. After the deputy came out to file a report, he told us that another theft was reported on Wednesday up the road of a weedeater and some other stuff stolen out of a shed. So, I'm thankful that we have as much wood as we have cut so far this year, but just when things have gotten tight over the last couple months, we have to fork out more $ to replace these items by spring. We definitely need a new ax soon, but I think the others may be able to wait...we'll see.

This morning, I went to leave the house and slipped on a muddy spot on the sidewalk and fell flat on my face! I actually did hit my forehead, but it only hit a soft spot of grass, so it just got muddy, but my left knee got scraped up pretty bad and my left ring finger popped when I fell too. So, I took off my wedding band in fear of swelling, but I think it's ok...it just smarts. The baby is still moving a lot, so not to worry there. Just my graceful self (I get it natural) showing off again.

I also translated (in Spanish) a church service for the first time last Sunday night...or tried to. I actually did better than I thought I would. Yay Me!!!
Well, I think that's all for now. Toodles!

We have movement!!!

It's crazy, but I have definitely been feeling baby move more and more over the last few days. It's not what I was expecting, although I really don't know what I was expecting to feel. I can tell you that I don't think I liked it at first because it was really weird...pressure...almost (ALMOST, mind you) painful. I didn't really know what it was for obvious reasons, but the more I felt it, the more I knew. Now, the more I'm feeling it, the more I'm liking it. It really makes you feel close to your baby like no one can describe. It's a wordless sensation...women try to put words to it, but it's not the same coming from any one woman. Some say it feels like gas bubbles, others say butterflies, I had one woman tell me it felt like a little worm inside. Truly, none of those things describe it for me, it's just the reality of knowing that my baby really IS inside of me, because it's indescribably awesome. I sat down this morning, eating french toast and chocolate milk and felt the baby begin to move and I had to smile because I think it got a sugar high. ;-) I think it's just so cool...

In other news, I'm working the main restaurant tonight...yes...Friday night. I'm scared out of my wits! You see, during the school year, with two colleges in the vicinity, that place is crazy! I'm glad to find out that there are going to be 1-2 other people there at the front helping me with the various duties of a host/ess. The things I am expected to do:
1) Seat customers while trying to keep it fairly split for the waiters/waitresses.
2)Run the register, which includes the credit card machine.
3) Insert tips into the credit card machine while in down time.
4) Answer the phone
5) Take down to-go orders & take them to the kitchen
6) Get the to-go orders bagged up with the correct stuff in them (salsa, chips, utensils, tortillas if needed, etc.)--this is a crazy task if you have many to-go orders...I had 7 at one time the other day!.
7) Just keep smiling, smiling, smiling!

I'm sure there are other things I'm expected to do, but that's mostly what I do and it really keeps me busy as a bee. Well, my name does mean 'honeybee'! So, I'm glad to have someone else to help when it's crazy busy tonight...because that's just way to much for my little prego brain to handle right now.

Well..I guess I outta post huh?

I have a new job! As of last week on Thursday, the owner of a Mexican restaurant in the area called me back and asked me if I could work in two hours! I said, "YEAH!" So, I got ready and headed in to get trained. Since then, I have worked:

Thursday -2 hours lunch shift
Friday - 2 hours lunch shift
Saturday - 2 hours lunch shift & 3 hours dinner shift at Express
Monday - 2 hours lunch shift
Tuesday - 2 hours lunch shift
Thursday - 2 hours lunch shift at Express
Then today, I must work the 3 hour dinner shift at Express
and tomorrow, the 2 hours shift at Express.

Whew! What a busy week!!! I'm really not good at getting in the groove of a new routine. So, I'm still trying to figure out how my day should go if I work the lunch shift or the dinner shift...the things I can get done and the things that must be done in the short few hours that I have at home.

I LOVE MY JOB! I haven't really spoken Spanish much since I quit teaching two years ago, so I was really scared that I wouldn't pick it back up as easily as I'd like to. However, I'm not doin' so shabby if I do say so myself. I have made mistakes though...my forte is really not taking to go orders over the phone or in person. The food tickets must be just right and the menus are different for the two restaurants. So, it's kinda hard to remember which restaurant has which items and for what price and how to write them down on the ticket so the cooks understand it. Yesterday, I made the cooks make 2 chimichangas more than what they needed to. Ooooops! I'm getting the hang of it though. One of the waiters just got back from a two month trip to Mexico last week and he speaks so fast it's not even funny! And who's the one to help me understand how the menu and tickets work yesterday...yes...it's him! So, surprisingly, I got the gist. I don't think I've heard anyone speak that fast since I was in Costa Rica! Crazy stuff! I like the interaction more than I do the actual work though. I've been hoping to get a little closer to this group for a long time. Now we seem to be making a connection.

Also, in the last week...our melon patch that is full of different kinds of melons...watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydews, European melons, muskmelons, etc...was getting really close to producing vine-ripened melons for us. Notice, the "was" in last sentence. Suddenly, we noticed the vines being trampled and melons MISSING.....yes...I said missing!!! There was no trace of some of the French melons that we so wanted to try once they ripened...the ones that were closest to being ripe were GONE. At first we thought it was either a family of raccoons or a groundhog, but we had a problem...how were we going to figure out which it was? So, we went out to the patch and numbered all the melons that were close enough to worry about and we had 17 at that point...we had already lost around 4-6 of them. So, every morning and evening we went out to count the melons and one or two of them showed up missing during the daytime. This was odd, because Superhubby instructed me to try to keep the dogs outside in the backyard where the melon patch was as much as possible. Very odd, melons coming up missing with Molly in the backyard...she's our watchdog when it comes to vermin. So, upon recognizing the melon-napping in the early evening, Superhubby and I went back to the patch to re-count just in case I had missed the melon. On our way there, Superhubby decided to stop by the "shredding grounds" (a spot in the yard where Belle, our newest, has picked to bring things to chew on for a while) and guess what he found? Melon #12!!!! Our Springer Spaniel is eating our melons!!!!!! Granted, they're smaller "gift" melons that she can pick up on her own, but shouldn't she be having intestinal problems by now? Melon #12 was still green...or unripe for those of you who don't know gardening lingo. This dog is crazy! So, when my father-in-law asked if we caught a coon yet in the live trap, we said, nope, we caught a dog! CRAZY DOG!

Oh, and the baby's doin' fine....I think I might be feeling the beginnings of movement in there, but I don't really know for sure yet. Midwife said on Monday that I'm right on target for week 17, so all's good so far.

And thus ends my book....

Praise God for cooler weather! AC off-windows open! We got a heavy rainstorm last night. It just popped up out of the blue after all the other storms had passed and we got nuthin...thought we had been neglected AGAIN, but God gave us rain! It was probably around 10 or so and we heard thunder...checked the radar and sure 'nuf...here she came. What a great way to cool the weather down! It's going to be a beautiful day today!

I really haven't felt like blogging the last few days. I've been trying to get caught up on everyone on facebook and then I got addicted to cloth diaper shopping! I had no idea that they had come so far! Some friends of ours just showed us a bumGenius diaper that they use on their one year old and I was AMAZED!!!! I think that's the brand I want to go with, especially the one size ones because they will go with your child until they're potty trained. I stand in awe...

So, last weekend, Superhubby and I were laying in bed and I felt the baby "lump" like I had before and I said "There's the baby!" Superhubby asked "Where?" So I put his hand where mine was and HE FELT IT! It was so cool! Then he said "It moved..." and he chased it around my belly for a couple minutes. Even though we're not feeling it kicking and tumbling around, it's cool to be able to feel that it's there. They neatest feeling when he actually felt it. So amazing!