Saturday, January 31, 2009

well...this is gonna be one clean baby

not only has she been showered three times now...

she got 6 new baby tubs today!

my mom's friend, who also happens to be my friend's mother-in-law, threw me a beautiful baby shower today. it was an eclectic selection of the most fun people...and i was so happy to have them there to celebrate with me.

i would also like to put out there that i am grateful for the small stuff...the diapers, the baby wash, the practical detergent, and bottles...while clothes are very cute and tempting to purchase, p.j. is set in that department. now she is set in all departments. which means i am going to sleep better tonight knowing i have all the ammo i need to be a prepared mommy.

it was a little tough getting ready this morning. i am just plain huge. and i am dripping in sweat constantly. i felt so swollen and had a headache and changed my clothes three times. i even had to dry my hair twice.

but i got help getting gifts on my lap, and i got help throwing things away...cause at this point, there is zero bending over, and very little room left on my lap.

i really felt very lucky to have that many people want to help me have the things that i need. pregnancy is an overwhelming adventure, and these are the people that have made it bearable.
so i was glad to spend the day with them, laughing, and of course, crying.

i have to go now...i have to set up a tub in each room of our house. hee hee.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

really...REALLY?

third day stuck inside.

as a teacher you are groomed to love snow.

as a pregnant person you are groomed to fear it.

i may just pad myself with pillows and go for a walk

cause i can't take it anymore and neither can she.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

37 and snowed in...

so today marks the 37 week turnover.

and while i should be ecstatic for the second day off work...i am getting a little ticked off.

this is no time to be snowed in, or as i see iced in. my list of TO DOs had me filled this week with chances for checking things off. hair appts., nail appts., doctors visits, meetings after school, carseat installing, grocery shopping, meal making, etc.

and im stuck. thank god monday was a good day and we met with her new pediatrician. greg and i really liked him and hope we only have to see him for well visits...and i braved the harmless roads last night for the sake of my hair. listen people, if you know anything about coloring your hair, you should be doing it on a regular basis...i hadn't gone since mid-November. it was worth braving the road conditions to look good for my daughter.

and i just heard the garage door - which means greg's attempt at getting into work for the second day (this time trying with my car) did not work. poor guy.

so we are iced in. looks like i may have time to create laundry...so i will have something to do.

stupid snow.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

breathe through your nose...in and out...

so today, from 9 am to 4 pm, daddy to be and i were sitting in the most uncomfortable chairs.

oh,

and we were learning about birth.

i think they tell you to bring two pillows and a blanket cause you will need to pile them up to sit on in the chairs they offer.

yea, i learned stuff...but mostly i had seen it before...either LIVE at the three births i have witnessed...or i have taught it in a sex class.

and of course, right away, i get pinned as the "one who doesn't want pain", which meant that everytime something was described as painful, the instructor looked at me and grimaced.

what was kinda frustrating was the breastfeeding lecture. i kinda felt bombarded with the laundry list of things your child will be if you breastfeed. and i felt like yelling, 'HEY I WASN'T BREASTFED, AND I AM A SMART, SOLID-BONED, DISEASE-LESS ADULT'

which i don't think would have done a lick of good. since 'breastmilk is best' was the message pressed upon today.

the only reason i say that is cause i am not sure i am going to...i mean, i haven't made up my mind and frankly, i shouldn't have to make up my mind based on threats that my child may have a lower IQ, learning disabilities, a harder time bonding with me, and be on the path to a list of diseases later in life. OR that i will have a harder time losing weight, or have a harder time shrinking my uterus back, or lose that precious bonding connection that skin on skin gives. especially when NONE of that is 100% true.

ok, i am off my 'breast' box. it's just that i don't think that it is a decision that should be made for me. so back off nurses.

other than that, greg was hysterical, being innappropriate whenever possible, and totally disgusted at the part in the video where the placenta is put in the pan. i myself have seen three of them, and find it to be the most fascinating part besides when there is JUST a head poking out of the mom. i just found it annoying that they only spotlighted three women who went natural in the video...i mean, what am i supposed to connect to...there is no way i am doing this without drugs, and i don't think anyone in that room wants me to attempt that.

so yea, it was 7 hours of sitting uncomfortably. now i have to go, and practice my breathing.
in through the nose, out through the nose, short controlled breaths....

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

officially cooked...

so all the books say you are officially finished at 36 weeks...that all the rest is just fluff to get the baby chubbier and cuter.

which i can deal with...really...what are four more weeks of no sleep, tight pants, burning hips, waddling strides, emotional outbursts, hunger pangs, and massive urges to use the restroom COMPARED TO a chubbier cuter baby.

i can do it.

i just must will myself to do it...

but i know i can do it.

now if she would just get her feet out of my ribs - i could go longer i bet.

nah, i take that back.


pregnancy bliss update : measuring 37 weeks, and the midwife felt her head - which is ever so gently pressed on top of my bladder, and she felt her little bottom...guessing that she about 6lbs give or take an ounce...which could put her anywhere from 8 - 9 lbs in a few weeks. hmmmmmm.....i knew it....she has basically outgrown half her wardrobe. lovely. oh well...

Monday, January 19, 2009

party all the time, party all the time...

the title of this blog is an inside joke.

but my parties this week, yes plural, were anything but a joke.

they were spectacular surprises of perfection.

party #1. Thursday after school, the faculty of my school had hidden a gift in the closet of the classroom we were having a meeting in...and to my surprise, p.j. got her fabulous jumperoo exersaucer...and to top it off she was given her first piggy bank with a pretty solid beginning. it was really sweet of everyone at school. they have all been very patient with my hormones.

party #2. SURPRISE MRS. LYNCH! i guess my scent was thrown by the day before...so on Friday, during my break, two of my students ran to find me saying "please, mrs. lynch, come see our dance we made up in music...mrs. keith thinks you will love it, and you always see our dances...please come..." How do you say no to that? so i let them drag me down three flights, then across the building, then through the tunnel, then up two flights...and by the time i got to the parish hall- i could not breathe. and SURPRISE! the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade were screaming my name - and my mom, sister and nephews were there too. a table of gifts (from money donated by the kids) and book filled with student's advice, name choices, and nursery/clothes depictions was waiting for me. There was even cake! too too cute. i of course apologized for being so nasty to them recently...

party #3. Baby shower! My mom-in-law Jane, my sisters-in-law Chris & Kelly, and greg's cousin, karen threw me an adorably themed shower on Saturday. Everything was black, yellow and white! there were little lambs everywhere, and delicious food to top it off. Jane had made the cutest desserts, cookies and cupcakes meticulously iced to perfection! (thanks in part to my father in law who did the piping! ) there was also the most delicious punch...i couldn't stop myself... there was the "baby" pin game, and then a hide and seek game... and of course a ton of new clothes for p.j.

so i think she is set on clothing, this child will be wearing something new every ten minutes for the first month. it was suggested that everytime i change her i snap a photo...cause i have so many outfits it might not get worn again. get ready camera...

i am just feeling like this little girl is the luckiest little thing around. she has a lot of people waiting for her, and a lot of clothes to wear to do just that...



ahhhh pregnancy bliss - my hips are burning - i can no longer sleep at all in bed...it just hurts too much. we are entering into a four-week stand-off between me and birth...somehow i get the feeling i have NO ABILITY TO WIN - we are on p.j.'s terms starting now...and i get the feeling that won't change for a very very long time.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

i'd like to introduce...


my adorable new nephew...
benjamin august schneider!


35 and done...

35 weeks, 5 weeks away, 34 days...and feeling done.
don't get me wrong...i still know that i am unbelievably lucky to be pregnant.

especially after all we did to make this happen...

and while i always say to my students "a cake is done, you are finished" conjuring up my grandmother and mother's corrective standards on a daily basis...

i am officially a baked good...done.

my hip sockets are killing me, every time i stand up i have to go to the bathroom, my lower back is permanently curved at such an angle that i cannot sit straight, i don't fit in booths, i can't sleep without medicine, i wake up with terrifying nightmares, i can't put socks on without grunting, my kids are picking up everything i drop, i have students tying my shoes, and i waddle like a wibble wabble.

i know, i know, shut up meg, pregnancy is a beautiful gift, cherish every minute of it, believe me, i really am trying to appreciate the swelling - i guess it will make me fall in love with my body all over again when this is over.

until then...call me a kettle donut...cause i am done.


mmmmm...kettle donuts.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

welcome baby schneider

so i have a new nephew!

9lbs even...born today, tuesday, jan. 13th at 1:00pm chicago time...

and i couldn't be more excited or happy for my brother and sister-in-law!

i also could not be more jealous - she was induced, and it was a quick push, then wham, bouncing baby boy.

the name is still up for debate - so i will post as soon as i hear...

congrats to you guys, i cannot wait to see him, even though i know it will be a while before i am holding him!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

40 days...40 nights...40 weeks....

sorry...it was a big day in religion class...we built Solomon's Temple...not that it has anything to do with the number 40...in fact it took him 11 years...but 40 days makes me think of the poor Israelites...

i'm 40 days away from Feb. 18, 2009.

...and well, right now I am thinking that this baby's birth is about as far away as the promised Land of Canaan was to those Israelites in the desert.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

34, 6, 41, 28, 20

so my life is measured in numbers lately...

34 weeks today

6 weeks left

41 days left

28 days of school

20 things on my list of to-do's

not that i am counting down...okay, i am. can you blame me? i mean, they are already selling valentine cards....soooo.

my appointments are now weekly, and i got to see my favorite midwife this last time - she is sensational, hysterical, and i just wish with everything i have that she will be there that day for me.

at this last appointment we discussed what labor will really feel like, how soon i can get the epidural, what really happens when water breaks, and what things i should be looking for as far as clues that she is on her way. they aren't going to check to see if i am dilated - just that i should wait for pj to tell me when she is ready.
she said it would feel like a flu - crampy and headache-y...and i will just have the intuition to know what is happening.

intuition. hmmm....i wonder if i have any of that. i hope i am not too tired to notice.

one of the teachers at school was talking yesterday about a teacher she'd heard of that had her baby under her desk at school.

this immediately caused me to add another thing to my list of to-do's. #21. do not have baby at desk.

midwife checkup update - she is fine, strong heartbeat, she has spun around and dropped pushing her head directly on my bladder. also, stacy (my midwife) said that she just keeps wiggling her butt from one side to the other and kicking upwards on my ribs. stacy found her little bottom right away during the heartbeat check...absolutely amazing. i just keep thinking how painful that must be to be upside down for 6 weeks. but what do i know? little pj is in charge for now.

Monday, January 5, 2009

43 days left...

so i have this running count on my teacher website for school. it counts down days to an event to get the kids excited...

i counted down to her due date.

today says 43 days left.

i vividly remember when it said 103 days left. i just cannot believe she will be here so soon.

it feels like there is so much to do before she gets here, yet, i figure, she decides the when part and i get to just hope my things get crossed off my list of to-dos.

my list...if you are at all curious...

to-dos before the big to-do:
1. find a pediatrician
2. go to birthing class
3. renew my car registration
4. pack a bag
5. send in her daycare deposit
6. plan out two weeks of lesson plans in detail
7. do laundry
8. go grocery shopping/make meals and freeze them
9. get my hair and nails done
10. shave my legs
11. finish planning the student trip to australia
12. hold a month long fundraiser for my service club at school
13. teach global warming
14. teach linear equations
15. teach King Solomon's reign
16. pick up my new glasses
17. have two baby showers
18. go to the doctor like 5 or 6 more times
19. clean my desk at school for the sub
20. sleep

what is scary is that for a lot of this...i don't have a choice...they have to happen. i guess if i don't shave my legs it wouldn't be the end of the world. i mean - i do have a midwife. they are used to the weirdo-hippie-no-medication-people. hmmmmm.

any suggestions for time management?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

2009

and the countdown begins in a whole new way.

happy new year to all of you. i wish you lots of happy changes this year.

and i wish myself a painless one coming soon.

and just for greg...go bearcats...