I was just over at The Zero Boss and followed his link to a web site for urban parents called Babble. It actually looks like a very cool site that I may frequent often. Anyway, the first article I read I absolutely loved. It's about breastfeeding. Oh, yes I plan on breastfeeding; at least trying it. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. I have an extremely intelligent, and healthy 17 year old who was exclusively formula fed. She graduated from High School a year early and is in college. Oh, and I lost all 50lbs. of that pregnancy weight within 8 months of having her, without trying.

Bladder Control Test

UGH! Today I had an ultrasound done. It was a little late, but now I have an idea of how big Baby G may be right now (7lbs.). What was really interesting, was to find out that had I had this ultrasound earlier, like I should have, I would have been put on bed rest; my cervix is way too small. As the Tech said today though, "that doesn't matter now." I am full-term now so I don't need to worry about being as careful. What sucked about the whole ultrasound thing though was that they said I HAD to drink 6 glasses of water one hour before my appointment so that my bladder would be full. I have spent the past two weeks waiting for this appointment in a state of fear. I didn't even drink the whole six glasses this morning, I only had 4 and a half! By the time they called me in, I was about to cry and almost couldn't lay down on the table. The tech felt so bad that she took a really quick picture of my cervix and said I could just go pee before she continued with the rest of the ultrasound. AHHHHH! I spent the rest of the ultrasound alternately in pain from having to lie on my back or being really happy to see my perfectly formed little boy. Aaron massaged my back while we watched the screen, and we got to see Baby G sucking on his right index finger; it was too cute!
I'm just glad the day is over.

Full Term

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Full Term
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

I am now officially full term. I'm 37 weeks pregnant and in just about a week and a half, I'll be 37 years old. YIkes!
I have a feeling this kid may come early. Luckily we have all the basics; I'm even doing better this time around than I did with my daughter. My daughter slept in a drawer for her first month because her father and I couldn't afford a crib at the time. Aaron and I can afford a crib this time around, but we are surrounded by friends, family and such good people that we didn't need to buy one. I feel blessed to have such good people in my life now and to have a little boy coming into my life.
My daughter will be here in less than two weeks; the day after my birthday. I'm hoping Baby G will hang in there until she gets here because I would love to have her with me while I am giving birth to her little brother. I know that things never turn out the way we expect so I am just gonna go with the flow and it will all work out how it works out.

The Crib

The Crib
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

The final piece of baby equipment is now in our home. Now we just have to find room for it in the bedroom. We got the crib for free from a very generous couple who were getting rid of all their baby stuff. We are so grateful to them for their generosity. I am really happy that it matches my Pooh sheets!

This Is How I Am Spending My Maternity Leave?

I had every intention, when I got up this morning, to gets some cleaning and organizing done today. What did I do instead? I spent the whole day at the computer. I at least got some pictures printed for family members with no computers. Here's a list of the links I enjoyed today:

1. Troll Baby
2. a garden of nna mmoy
3.Fathom
4.finetune
5.Notes from the Trenches
6.BabyCenter
7.The Jean-Paul Sartre Cookbook
and my most favorite link of the day:
8.No Christmas For You

Hopefully tomorrow I will get my butt in gear and get some cleaning done.

Almost Ready

Yesterday Aaron and I went out to get a few things we still needed for Baby G. We first went to Sears to check out car seats, then Toys-R-US, then Target. We went back to Sears for this car seat after all the research I have done for the past month, so I am very happy with our purchase. Then, while at Target, I finally got my breast pump and Baby Bjorn carrier (thanks to my wonderful co-workers who threw me a baby shower before I left and gave me some gifts cards, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!)

Now we just need a crib and we should be set. My bags are packed for the hospital, Baby G's clothes are washed and put away, and we have all kinds of accessories. Now, if I can just get my apartment clean....

Maternity Leave Rocks!

I am officially on maternity leave now. My last day at work was Saturday and it's been so great not to have to worry about getting enough sleep to make it through work the next day, or how tired I will be at the end of the day. The nesting instinct is slowly coming on; I've gotten the pantry cleaned out and today I cleaned out the freezer to make room for the frozen meals I plan to cook this week. Sleeping is still not going well. I am so sore after a 2 to 3 hours that I just toss and turn. I usually just get up for a few hours and then go back to bed for a couple hours; take naps during the day. It's also nice to have "me" time before Baby G gets here. I am very much looking forward to him being out in here in the world; not only so I can drink again and enjoy my venti quad caramel machiattos, lol, but I just can't wait to see him!

I N S O M N I A

Ugh! For the past month I have been waking up after 3 hours of sleep and not able to go back to sleep for about 2 or 3 hours. I can only sleep 2 to 3 hours at a time. Is this my body's way of preparing me for what's coming up?

The Final Countdown

9 month belly
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

Today I am 35 weeks pregnant. I got the baby clothes and blankets all clean and put away. I am exhausted most of the time and I am sooooooo big I can't stand it (OVER 200 LBS!) I have 2 working days left before I start my maternity leave; Saturday will be my last day. I get 4 whole months! WooHoo! I seriously thought I would only get like 6 weeks, but the state of California see pregnancy as a disability...soooo.... I can definitely say I feel disabled. Work is almost impossible now. I usually just show up and walk around the store delagating everything, which as a manager I have to do anyway, but I really like to be "working". Getting down to get a book on the bottom shelf for a customer is a major pain and there aren't a lot of projects I can work on when I can't lift or bend. Standing at the cash register all day is out of the question because my feet swell up so badly. So I am very much looking forward to being off work for a few weeks before the baby gets here.
Aaron and I do have a name picked out, but l won't be posting it. I haven't posted my daughters name either and won't until she is 18 and I have her permission (only a few months till then, omg!). For now I'll call him Baby G. :)
I had my baby shower last Saturday. It was a really nice, low-key get-together. I got some cool stuff, but had to do some more shopping yesterday to pick-up the necessities we didn't get because the shower was so small. I truly love everything we got, and most everything came from my list.
I really would love to be getting my apartment clean, but the energy required to do it only lasts for about 15 minutes so not much is getting done. My place is a mess and it's driving me crazy. I am hoping the nesting will kick in soon.

8 months

8 months
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

Not really anything new to report. I am big, like a beached whale, and tired and looking forward to my son being here. It's almost 6 in the morning. I've been up since 3 am. I needed a glass of water and just decided to stay up. I played a game, read some blogs and now I'm posting. I'll probably go back to bed after this.
I can only sleep for a few hours at a time right now. After 3 or 4 hours I get cramps in my hips and legs, I think it's all the extra weight because it's only on the side I am laying on that it hurts; if I turn over it goes away and the other side starts to hurt. Just a couple more months, people keep telling me. Ugh!

Making Progress

Today I had my OB visit. My tests all came out great...I passed the glucose screening and I don't have gallstones. I was so happy to hear all that! The only problem I have is that my iron levels are a little low so I need to supplement. The Doctor didn't mention my wieght this visit, I was frankly surprised since I gained another 7lbs. since last months visit. During the last visit she threatened to put me on a diet and told me not to gain more than 2lbs. a month. I'm so going back to smoking after I'm done breastfeeding!!!!
I managed to get pre-registered for the hospital today; it's great to be able to do it online. I also got the times for the hospital tours which we need to do soon. I also spent an hour and a half making up a list of supplies for me and the baby for the hospital and the first six weeks so I can check stuff of as I get it, and pack it. Just a couple months to go....

7 months Pregnant!

7 months2
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has passed. Just another week and half and I'll be 8 months pregnant. The past couple months have been a roller coaster ride. During month 5 and 6 I felt great; my morning sickness went away and I had gained back some of my energy. Now in month 7 I am tired a lot, I am achey a lot, I have swollen feet a lot, I am in general pain a lot. I can not wait for this to be over, yet I fee like I need more time to prepare. We still need to look into daycare. In this area and at the amount of pay Aaron and I make, there is no way that one of us could stay home; it takes one of our pay checks just to pay the rent. We can't afford day care, but we also can't afford to lose one paycheck. We also still need to tour the hospital. We opted not to take the childbirth classes; we can watch videos at home for free, or almost free and I've been through labor before.
The baby is moving, a lot. He is very active....it scares me just a little, lol. So I have to go clean now.....but I think I would rather take a nap. I also noticed that I have not posted my Recently Watching and Listening posts...I'll have to pick that up again...geez....

So Far Behind

Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead!
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

I'm so far behind in posting (August 20th!!!) I totally missed posting pictures of my pregnancy for month 5 and don't even have any of month 6, ugh.
I've been busy getting the house cleaned out and organized. My best friend of 27 years came out to help me get things started and on the right track and now I have a much cleaner, organized home. It's still hard to keep it clean constantly; work just wears me out, and who wants to clean after running around on their feet all day?. I at least now spend less time cleaning when I do finally get around to it. We got the bedroom cleaned out and just have a couple things to move out so that we can put in a crib for the baby and I've got drawers for his things now.
The big news this past month is that my evil step-mother has finally left this world. Not only was this woman the epitome of the evil step-mother, she was a hateful, spiteful, evil person who took joy in hurtng others. I cannot describe the relief that I, and a few other people feel right now.
Okay, so I'll post the 7 month pics shortly. If I have forgotten anything I'll post it in the next post.

It's A Boy!

It's A Boy!
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

My intuition turned out to be correct. I've had a boy vibe all this time and the ultrasound tech confirmed this morning that , yes indeed, were are definitely having a boy! :)

Sleep and Sex

Not that kind of sex...lol. I'm off this morning to find out the sex of my baby ;) Also, this is the second morning in a row that I have gotten out of bed with having had very little, if any, sleep. That Barenaked Ladies song just keeps going around in my head. Every night I get leg cramps from hell; and yes, I am getting enough calcium. I guess this is mother natures way of preparing me for the loss of sleep after the baby is born; just get used to it now.

So, I'm off to get ready for the big ultrasound in which I find out (I hope) if were are having a little blue baby or a little pink baby. :)

The Process of Organization, or Why I Love IKEA

Organizing
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

Aaron and I have a lot of junk. We are both over 30 and we both hate to throw things away. We also both work in the retail book business; both of us for more than 7 years each. This has caused an over abundance of books in our home. Over the past year, we have gotten better at getting rid of things we don't need, but with a baby on the way now it is imperative that we get rid of and organize our stuff. With that in mind we headed out to IKEA yesterday and spent the entire day (except for the two hours we were in the movie theatre next door watching Clerks II) going through IKEA and finding things that would help us in our quest to organize the things we can't get rid of. The day was a success. As soon as we got home I organized cupboards and made more room in them while Aaron put together yet another bookcase, in which I inserted little canvas boxes to hide away clutter. We are going back today to get some more of what has worked so well and a dinning room table; I am so tired of eating my meals in front of the television, and once we have a child I am adamant that we have a place for family dinners. Now I just have to finish putting books in the bookcase, and probably getting one more (we only have room for one more in the apartment) and then we have a game plan for clearing out the outside storage to fit more of what's in our spot for the crib in there. Still lots of work to do, but I am happy to see that we are making progress.

Nancy 4 months prego

Nancy 4 months prego
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

Here I am...4 months along. I keep promising to post belly shots and never get around to it, so here it is. :)
I'm feeling movement now; usually in the evening after dinner, sometimes in the afternoon after lunch. I've gained 20 pounds...waaaaay to much, but I think some of that is from having quit smoking.

Month 4...Lactose Issues

I have been having such an issue with indigestion that I finally realized that it could be lactose intolerance. I'M PREGNANT AND I CAN"T EAT ICE CREAM!!!! The injustice! So I am going to try to be dairy free for the next few days and see if it helps. I ate a couple of shredded chicken tacos last night with just the chicken and lots of dark green lettuce and I felt fine afterwards; I haven't had an issue yet. My doctor recommended that I supplement with Tums, so I am eating lots of Tums now.
I'm going to try to get a belly shot up soon; I just want to post one that doesn't look like I belong in front of a trailer; in the last one I took I was in my jammies and had my shirt hiked up and my pants underneath the belly...it was bad....

Our Baby June 15, 2006

Our Baby June 15, 2006
Originally uploaded by ladyrhowan.

I had my Early Screen Test done yesterday. They did a sonogram and took blood samples to test for down syndrome. I guess cause I'm an old lady now they have to check for that stuff. Everything looked good, but they said that I may be further along than expected. The sonogram shows me to be 13 weeks, while I am 12 weeks now. The nausea is getting better, but I am still throwing up ocassionally. For two days now I have thrown up upon waking, luckily making it to the bathroom first. It's probably because I am not getting up in the middle of the night to eat. Vomiting on an empty stomach is no fun, but I prefer it to vomiting on a full stomach.

11 Weeks 4 Days

Had my second prenatal Dr.'s visit on Thursday and got to hear the baby's heartbeat; it was nice and strong. The baby is becoming more real to us everyday. I really never thought that I would have anymore kids, but here I am. My morning sickness has been so bad that the Dr. gave me a prescription for Reglan, and if that doesn't work (which it's not) she also gave me a prescription for Zofran. Hopefully, the sickness will be over shortly, I'm almost to the end of the first trimester. Time to go vomit.....