Self-imposed Distress...

Note: Photo above from Lalee's house, May 11th. Testing the capabilities of a Boppy. Results: works well as a portable coffee table.


Arrggghhh, I'm experiencing the most uncomfortable thing of my pregnancy... carpal tunnel! Saby says it's not, but I said it IS (I WebMD'ed it, for God's sake... they're NEVER wrong!) and it hurts and I shouldn't even be typing this, because it finally feels better for the first time in 3 days.

Bash this into a basket with the fact that my car's title is floating in some neverland between Ohio and Michigan, with me (the owner) having no idea where or how to find it, and Tim Kerr, my co-signer, sitting in Missouri at a Chrysler plant trying to keep his company afloat while also dealing with the procrastinatory (I made that word up) issues of his sister-in-law and needing to get some crappy documents notarized so he can sign off on whatever it is I need to do in order to get new license plates.

Hello, run on sentence.

Other than that, apparently I'm 32 weeks and 4 days pregnant today... time is beginning to fly, people! Lessons learned at this point include:

a.) how much I actually use my right hand, which becomes painfully obvious when use is uncomfortable and as a result I have to have Saby push me out of bed from behind (unless of course, I can swing my legs down and get enough momentum to just pop OUT of bed, but that risks a charlie horse)

b.) that I never, ever want to be overweight. Being about 25 lbs heavier takes a notable physical toll on a person, and while I still feel pretty fit and lithe comparable to how I look, just climbing into bed can leave me wheezing for air. This of course is not just all being a fatty, it's partially because baby is busting forth in my sternum and pushing my diaphragm up into my lungs.

c.) our baby is a disco dancer, mountain climber, explorer, boxer, Kung Fu artist, Chinese circus tumbler, contortionist, acrobat, and possibly even the bad guy from Monsters Inc. (because of the way my belly will ripple and bumps suddenly appear and disappear). Apparently this (like everything in pregnancy) is an "enjoy it while you can" issue, because at 33 weeks and beyond baby is getting to big to be punching and jabbing in such a confined space, and rather just rolls and tumbles around.

d.) Braxton Hicks contractions are the coolest things ever... completely painless and throughly interesting, they consist of my uterus contracting and thus becoming HARD... like watermelon hard, where it will give a bit but remain firm. Very cool! That's when I actually try and get people to touch me. "Hey, wanna feel this?"

May showers brings June...

Can I just take a moment to mention that while in April it was almost constantly 70 degrees Farenheit or above, it is now mid-May and not even going to reach 60 degrees at noon.

Happy Birthday to me

Tomorrow's my 29th birthday. That's the age that lots of people pretend to be, when they don't want to get any older. After 29 comes 30, and then it's just a giant slide towards 40 and beyond.

More importantly, my Grandma Schaefer turns 98 in one extra day, May 21st. She lives on her own and until a year ago, was not taking a single medication. Think of all the people our parents' ages, or even OUR age, who are already on some sort of medication for a chronic condition, like high blood pressure or cholesterol. Talk about good genetics... she's from hearty Irish stock. Which, actually, I'd almost consider that they'd be a little worse for wear on the grand scheme of things, as her father was an unemployed flax-mill worker in County Armagh and I'm sure they were working hard, with not a ton to eat. She was born in good old Grand Rapids though, and prospered on good Michigan milk and cherries :-)

For my birthday I am treating myself to less work and more personal pampering... baby's getting big and life is starting to edge towards that "world of uncomfortable" that pregnant ladies talk about. It's time for prenatal yoga, swimming, fruits and lots of stir-fry. We're testing a theory brought up by our birthing class teacher - don't give your kid anything other than vegetables when it first starts solid foods. We thought we'd kick that off amniotic-style... so I'm trying to catch and send the vegetables, but as a result, I'm bombing Saby out of the apartment now with noxious broccoli gas. Apparently the whole thing of giving stomach gas to your baby via breastmilk is rubbish, so as long as he can continue bearing it, we will continue the experiment, even once babe is born. And hopefully Spampy will come out of the womb and ask to be taken directly to Mongolian BBQ.

Yesterday we had an Ikea breakfast to fuel about 2.5 hours of Ikea wandering, down at - yup! you guessed it! IKEA. We moved into a two bedroom apartment having only about 1.25 bedrooms worth of stuff, and now we're looking for a sofa bed for the front room, a bed for the guest/baby's room, a chest of drawers at the right level to also be a changing table (functionality), and maybe a hutch or sidebar. Saby was a TROOPER and wandered happily with me among the POANGs and BJURSTAs. When we realized that a Poang chair would be much cooler and more comfortable than a regular nursing rocker, we giddily decided to get one and did finally burn ourselves out trying to find it in the "self-serve" area. I've never shown my middle finger to more inanimate objects on shipping palates before in my life... alas, the Venna blue was out of stock, so we shall purchase our lovely chair and ottoman combo in a few weeks when we go back for a properly researched shopping orgy.

I like the way you move

I think the days of Baby holding disco parties with friends, and running back and forth through it's womby home like somebody's chasing it, are over. Space must be getting tighter inside there, because lately little Spampers has taken up barrel rolling. Big, clunky rolling surges can be seeing moving across my belly. Less of the sudden jolts and more of these tsunami-style waves are happening at night. Yesterday I was sitting and reading while the baby put on a show... when Saby came to see what was happening, we discovered (much to our terrified delight) that one particular spot on my stomach would pop out suddenly by about a half of an inch. *plink* That fast - you couldn't believe you'd seen it. Like the baby was pushing with either a foot or it's head... probably bracing itself against a rib and stretching out. To our even MORE terrified, disturbed delight, we discovered that if you then tapped that exact spot, it would pop out again. We used it to divine all sorts of questions... no movement meant no, one or two meant yes: "Baby, are you happy in there?" *plink-plonk* - yes.
Baby did refuse to answer whether it is a girl or a boy. Cagey lil' thing.

7 Months!

Quick post, as still lots to do... although a lot less than the last 4 days or so.

Apparently in the hubbub of the last week I've suddenly jumped to being 7 months pregnant! And to celebrate, I think Spampy ran off to Sam's Club and bought "shim"self a trampoline. Things are especially bouncy down there. Already I admire this baby's energy. Or maybe it's all the fast food... poor thing is tripping out.

Two days ago we moved to Beavercreek (Money Magazine's 88th Best Place to Live in the US, apparently) and yesterday I went and signed papers on our new car... today I am exploring the capabilities of our washer and dryer and trying to assemble enough food and clean clothing for Saby to survive 5 days without me. Tomorrow... leaving for St. Louis for the aforementioned 5 days of sisterly love and activities in Kerrville West.

Meanwhile: hungry, feeling great, occasional hip issues but very minor, getting a big ol' belly (to the point where I'm offered chairs at Time Warner Cable, and the check out boy told me at Kroger he'd take my groceries to my car for me - woah!) and generally very excited for the goodness of May: car, birthdays, trip to Michigan, St. Louis, lovely weather, swimming pool opening, etc etc etc. (not in that order)

One note on our new digs: we have a store down the road called "Mall of India." Thought it was a creatively named Indian grocery. Seems it's a grocery-cum-Devon Street style store chock full of accessories, knick-knacks, and clothing as well. First time I've been to an Indian store that had only white people in it. Huh! I think it's expensive :( Honkeys don't know any better ;-)