So Many Things...

wow, it's been a long time, dudes. there are SO MANY THINGS i have wanted to blog about lately, but i just have not had the time since i went back to work. well, since i started going back to the lab, anyway. max goes to the lab with me on thursdays and fridays, and that's working out really well - he's pretty much been a perfect little angel while i do what i have to do, and i've even avoided any screaming fits during diaper changes while we're there. actually, he's never pitched a screaming fit when i've changed him in public - ever. i know, i'm as surprised as you are.

since i don't have time for details, here are the highlights of what i've wanted to blog about for the past few weeks:

• while he has not actually outgrown anything yet, max is probably going to outgrow one of his sleepers and two pairs of his newborn size pants soon
• max is getting huge - he is hovering somewhere near 11 lbs now - i'll know exactly how much he weighs next wednesday when i take him for his 2 month checkup.
  
• here's a picture of him napping in his swing, taken about 5 minutes ago.
  

• see? i told you so - huge.
• ignore the fact that both those pants and that t-shirt are size newborn.
• i am about to stop buying newborn diapers, although they do still fit him
• i am afraid that if i go buy two more weeks worth of newborn diapers, he will outgrow them suddenly, and i will be stuck with 80-160 newborn diapers
• plus, size 1 diapers don't completely swallow him anymore
• and we have 3 packs of size 1 diapers that we've had since before he was born
• but we haven't used any yet because until now they've been massively huge on him
• and pee cannot be contained in a massively huge diaper

some more stuff, not directly related to max (but still sort of in the max ballpark), that i've also been dying to vent about:

• my MIL loves max to death
• but she kind of makes me crazy
• because she doesn't listen
• i don't want other people to 'clean' my house
• especially when 'cleaning' just involves taking some stuff from one place and putting it in another place
• then i can't find anything
• because it's not where i put it
• eat my food, watch my tv, read my books, play with my baby, feed my baby, change my baby, put my baby down for a nap or two (on his back, NOT his tummy)
  
• that's what i want you to do when you're alone in my house watching my kid
  
• closed doors = don't go in there
• right?
• you know that, don't you?
• then why do some people think that just because they're alone in your house watching your kid (which is much appreciated) they can go into rooms and do things that they wouldn't do if you were home?
• rooms with closed doors
• the road to hell is paved with good intentions
• and good intentions are driving me crazy
• my MIL brings MORE STUFF for max EVERY WEEK when she comes over to baby-sit
• our house is not that big
• max is too young to know what the stuff is or to appreciate that it is for him, and he's rapidly accumulating more stuffed animals than i know what to do with
• i should never have told her i like monkeys
• she's really gone overboard with the monkeys
• she will buy anything if it has a monkey on it, regardless of whether we need it or already have two of them
• i don't like things whose sole purpose is taking up space and looking cute
• if my kid is going to wear a special holiday outfit, i want to be the one to pick it out
• she had her kid, and therefore her chance to dress him in special outfits
  
• max is NOT her kid
• he is MINE
• and i am a possessive bee-otch
• i like things a CERTAIN WAY
• and i don't take it well when that certain way is messed with
• babies need naps
• sometimes they don't want to take naps
• and they get cranky
• so sometimes you just have to hold and rock a baby for forever to make him take a nap
• because staying awake ALL DAY?
• does NOT help him sleep at night
• it actually makes the sleeping thing harder for him
• and i'm the one who gets to deal with the cranky baby who can't stay asleep
• so when i say the baby needs to take naps during the day or go to bed around 9:00, he really does need to
• he will be cranky at 9:00 because he's had a long day with someone in his face talking all day, and he needs to wind down
• so you have to walk around with him and talk to him in a soft and soothing voice until he falls asleep
• letting him stay awake until 11:00 because playing with him keeps him happier than putting him to sleep doesn't make the putting him to sleep any easier
• it actually just makes it that much harder because it's two hours later, and now mommy can barely hold her eyes open and doesn't really have the patience or the energy to put the cranky baby to sleep - and it means that mommy gets less sleep than she otherwise would
• and mommy needs every minute of sleep she can possibly manage
  
• so the baby? he needs to go to bed around 9:00. or even 8:00 if he seems sleepy then.
• i really do know what i'm talking about
• because i do this EVERY DAY
  

One Month

this little guy is one month old today! isn't he a doll?






















thanks to ross and kristen, max has pacifiers with his name on them.

Allergies?

dudes. when you have a baby, there is constantly something for you to worry about. and you are obsessed with poop. for instance, baby poo at this stage (and up until he starts eating solids) is supposed to be mustardy yellow. max's poo was yellow for about a week and a half or so. and then it turned green. and then he started to get little bumps on his face. at first i thought it was no big deal. babies usually get a little bit of infant acne, and it clears up on its own. but then the bumps started to spread. all over his little face. and then under his chin and jaw. and then to the back of his neck and shoulders. holy crap. and then there's the stuffy nose and his red little bottom. i called the doctor about his stuffy nose a week ago when it first appeared. they told me that as long he's not running a fever and he's eating well, it's nothing to worry about. i just have to keep suctioning the snot out when it starts to bother him. but wait. it gets better. last week there were days when no matter i did, i could not make max stop crying. i just had to hold him and rock him while he cried until he finally fell asleep. he was extremely fussy for two days, and i had no idea why. he's usually so chill about everything. but for a few days i could not put him down because the instant i did he started howling.

so i started reading everything i could get my hands on to explain the rash. and the fussing. and the green poop. and i found my answer in the nursing mother's companion. an answer that encompassed ALL of max's symptoms - the poop, the rash, the fussing, and even the stuffy nose and red bottom. a food sensitivity or allergy causing lower belly discomfort. meaning something i'm eating is seriously disagreeing with him. the most common culprits? chocolate, dairy products, citrus fruits, and certain vegetables. tomatoes, nuts, and acidic fruits also upset some babies' tummies. so i started to think about what i've eaten over the last week or two that i did not eat for the first week or two of max's life. only two things come to mind - chocolate and nuts/peanut butter. so on friday i decided to stop eating these things. max is still very rashy and his poop is still very green. but he is slightly less fussy (he's fallen asleep on his own in his bouncer twice this morning, and he is sleeping there right now). so maybe there is improvement.

i called his doctor's office this morning and spoke to a nurse anyway. i told her of my suspicion that it might be a food allergy. she asked lots of questions to rule out other causes for the rash and asked me about other symptoms max may have (are his eyes crusty - yes, a little. has he been coughing a lot - occasionally). i told her the foods i've been avoiding for a couple of days. she said that if he starts to cough a lot (this could mean that the allergen is itching his throat and possibly causing it to swell) or if his face and/or eyes start to swell, i need to bring him in to see the doctor that day. if he pretty much stays the same, i can wait until his regular check-up appointment on friday. so we'll see how it goes, and hopefully the little guy will get better. it looks to me like the bumps on his forehead are clearing up, but they're still pretty prominent everywhere else.

here's hoping my kid doesn't develop serious food allergies.

Figuring Things Out

i think the sleep situation may improving around here, folks. well, as much as it can with a 3 week old baby in the house. last night i got 6 hours. woo hoo! and i got those 6 hours between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. while actually sleeping in the same bed with my husband. max chose to cooperate last night and sleep in his crib (!) for a few solid 2 or 3 hour blocks. the fact that i am now a pro at both ignoring random baby sounds that aren't crying when they're magnified by the baby monitor (though even the tiniest and briefest of cries wakes me instantly) and at falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow (or sometimes in the rocking chair while i'm trying to get max to go back to sleep after a feeding) also helps in the sleeping more department. so now i can get 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night before chad has to get up to go work instead of 2 or 3 hours. that is seriously how much sleep i've been operating on... and i usually only get those few hours of z's if i completely give up and just hold max in my bed or on the couch so i can sleep for a couple of hours. he usually falls asleep in either his swing or his bouncer for an hour or so at a time during the day, but i find it incredibly difficult to take naps during the day for some reason. i always feel like i need to be cleaning up or doing something else while he's sleeping. i've been taking a nap after chad gets home from work, though. it's amazing how a few months ago i was a total zombie after a few nights of less than 7 hours of sleep, and now i feel amazingly good after one night with 6 hours. 6 interrupted hours.

i am also figuring out a few things about max. like how to avoid the death screams when it's time to change a diaper or take a bath. it's not always possible, but sometimes it is. if max is awake and fairly calm when you strip him down, he takes being naked pretty well (thank god he was awake when i took him for his weight check at the doctor's office last week - i had to change his diaper and then strip all his clothes off to weigh him, and he didn't make a peep). he gets a little fussy toward the end of a sponge bath, but it's not the same as the usual ear-splitting wail that persists for the entire bath. he's definitely getting better at getting changed and bathed.

oh, and if you wondering about max's first doctor visit, it went well. he weighed 7 lbs 12 oz, and the nurse said he looked really good (so we avoided the jaundice thing). did i tell you about the jaundice thing? i don't remember. well, max and i have different blood types, he's a boy, and he's breast fed, which all increase his chances of becoming jaundiced. so they were sticking needles in his heels every few hours in the hospital to check his bilirubin levels. i felt so sorry for him. anyway, his pediatrician told us about max's increased risk for jaundice while we were still in the hospital and told us to keep an eye out for any yellowing of his skin or eyes when we came home. his bilirubin levels were slightly elevated in the hospital, but they weren't high enough for him to be considered jaundiced. the doc just told us to put him in front of a window with lots of sunlight for a little while and to call if he started to look yellow. so i was always freaking out and asking myself whether max was turning yellow and inspecting him in different rooms with different lighting. i never thought he looked yellow. just that sweet peachy-pink that babies are supposed to be. anyway, he never got jaundice, which is good. basically, he's pretty much perfect. he's gaining weight like a champ, and i can definitely tell that he's bigger now than when we brought him home. the vast majority of his clothes are still way huge on him, but he's working on growing into them. we have 5 newborn size sleepers that fit him really well and a whole bunch that are too big but he wears anyway. the onesies are kind of big but not too bad, but his pants totally look like m.c. hammer pants. so i had to go and buy him a few pairs of newborn size pants to go with the onesies (because it's been too chilly for him to go without pants, yo). they're still a little big on him. 5-8 lbs my ass. [newborn size clothes are supposed to fit babies 5-8 lbs, and max is over 8 lbs now]

ok, that's my update for now. more to come later.

I Made This...

and now i am completely exhausted and sleep deprived. i have no idea how i'm going to find the energy to go back to work. at least he's cute.

Things About Max

• today he is 11 days old
  
• he pees on me at least twice a day
• sometimes he poops on me, too
• strangely, i don't really mind. chad and i just laugh about it like crazy people.
• he refuses to sleep in his crib
• he doesn't like to sleep alone
• he loves it when i put in him bed with me
• he will sleep in his bouncer, sometimes in his swing, and most recently in his play pen - but never in his crib. even if he was impossible to wake up five minutes before, as soon as i put him down in the crib, he wakes up and usually starts crying.
• he only likes the soothie pacifier from the hospital, not the other pacifiers that we have
• he likes to fall asleep with his pacifier, but once he's really sleeping he spits it out
• he hates to be naked
• he really hates diaper changes and sponge baths
• i can't stand to hear him cry
  
• today his umbilical cord fell off
• today he tried to talk to me with baby noises that weren't cries or grunts
• he smiles right before he poops
• he purses his lips when i run a finger from his nose down to his chin
  
• he always sleeps with his hands by his face
• the sound of the microwave door closing startles him (but the microwave dinging doesn't, and neither do most other loud noises)
• his tiny head makes my tiny child hands look huge (my little sister's hands have been bigger than mine for over 4 years, ever since she was 10)
  
• he is pretty much the cutest baby ever
• he is pretty much a peeing machine
• he spits up a lot
• he makes me worry about him constantly (is he eating enough? too much? is he pooping enough? is he gaining weight? is he spitting up too much? am i completely screwing him up?)
  
• i am hopelessly in love with him
  

Epidural = Best Invention EVER

i'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting a post about me and max, but i've been so completely consumed by him for the past 9 days that i haven't found any time until now (he's napping in his bouncer and probably won't wake up until around 11:30). isn't he cute? i love that he still likes his hands up by his face, just like in all the ultrasounds.


















first off, i highly recommend getting an epidural to anyone who gives birth. i spent about an hour and a half feeling the pain get worse before asking for it. well, that's not really true. my nurse told me they could give me something through my IV before the pain got really bad, then we could call the anesthesiologist for my epidural. well, i took the pain meds through the IV, and all it did was make me sleepy - and the contractions still hurt way too bad for me to sleep through them. which sucked. really, i think the pain would have been more bearable if the contractions were more than 2 minutes apart right from the start. as soon as dr. g. broke my water, things started moving FAST. so anyway, i asked for the epidural, which i got around 9:45, and i felt absolutely no pain after that. i got a walking epidural instead of the regular variety (basically just a lower dose of the drugs), so i could still feel and move my legs, though my left one was a little tingly. by the time i got the epidural my contractions were coming every minute. this was probably because of the pitocin that was used to induce my labor, which they ended up cutting off completely after about another hour (it was making the contractions too intense). so basically, all the pitocin did was get things moving. it was started at about 6:30 a.m., dr. g. broke my water at 7:30 a.m., and max arrived in the world screaming his bloody head off at 1:32 p.m. after exactly 3 contractions worth of pushing (about 5-10 minutes).

chad was really freaked out by how fast things went. dr. g. came in to check my progress about 1:15, then all of a sudden they were moving in a delivery table and taking apart my bed to prep for max's arrival. then we were pushing (but not for very long), and i didn't feel a thing. and suddenly we had a baby. i'm pretty sure chad was in shock. he said he needed a little more warning. i mean, we were fully expecting not to have a baby until late into the night, but things just went so quickly. then dr. g. stitched me up and took care of me while chad went over to the other side of the room where they were cleaning max up and weighing and measuring him (7 lbs, 7 oz, 20.5 inches). then the baby nurse handed max over to his daddy, who held him while dr. g. was finishing up with me. then chad handed max over to me once my bed was all in order, and we had a nice little family moment. we spent about an hour, just the three of us, learning how to breast feed, and just marveling at this little person we made. then chad started making phone calls and we let his parents come in to meet their grandson. deva and vanessa were also there to greet max on his first day in the world. then they whisked max off to the nursery for an hour or so for tests. but they brought him back right away. both days we were in the hospital, max was pretty much chillin' in my room, which i loved. every time they took him off to the nursery for something, they brought him right back.

my mom, sister, aunt, and brother arrived later on that afternoon (my sis had a CAT scan that day in preparation for her tonsilectomy) to spend some time with us. then we brought max home last wednesday. i'm not gonna lie, it hasn't been easy, what with having to feed him every 2-3 hours and figure out to sleep somehow at the same time. the past few nights, chad and i have been doing shift sleeping. i've been pumping bottles for chad to feed max while i sleep for a few hours, then i stay up with max and chad goes to sleep. max refuses to sleep in his crib. he does pretty well in his bouncer, though, so i think we're just going to try letting him sleep in the bouncer in our room. this shift sleeping thing isn't going to work for us next week when chad has to go back to work. we're trying to gradually get max used to sleeping in his crib, but so far he's only lasted about half an hour at a time in there. hopefully moving the bouncer into our room and letting him sleep there will work out for us.

ok, the little guy is waking up now, and he needs a diaper. i have so much more to say about him, and hopefully i'll find some time soon.

This Is So Not Right

dudes (and dudettes), i live in the south. the extremely deep south. which means that once in a blue moon in january we will have low temperatures in the 20's and highs in the 40's (as opposed to our usual lows in the 40's and highs in the upper 50's to low 60's or warmer). but we should NEVER experience a high temperature of 39 degrees. if i wanted to live in a climate with high temperatures barely above freezing, i would move up north (to like, tennessee or virginia). but i LIKE it warm. and i don't like the fact that is currently 37 degrees and raining, and it's not getting any warmer today. blah.

The End Is Near

so i just got back from the doctor (well, i made a few phone calls before i logged on here), and max's birthday is all set to be monday (martin luther king day)! yay! i'm so stoked about it, in case you can't tell. i am so ready to have him be on the outside, it's not even funny.

today's ultrasound looked really good. max decided to let us have a look at his cute little baby cheeks today instead of just his cute little baby back, and he looks suitably plump and cute, even on a fuzzy ultrasound. he weighs approximately 7 pounds 12 ounces, though the sonographer did say that ultrasounds tend to overestimate the weight a wee bit. but dr. g. says that 7 lbs 12 oz is just about perfect. sounds ok to me. i would be worried if he were over 8.5 lbs, but 7.5 to 8 lbs is fine with me. he's still measuring a few days behind where i actually am in my pregnancy (he measured 38 weeks 4 days today, but i am actually 39 weeks 0 days), but he's a good weight, he moves a lot, and he appears to be just fine. and he's going to be born on monday! unless i go into labor before then, which dr. g. says is definitely a possibility.

as it stands, i have to go to the hospital sunday night at 7:30, when they will give me something to help dilate my cervix and possibly start some contractions, though i am assured that any contractions at that point will be very mild, and i should be able to sleep through them. then first thing monday morning (6 a.m.), a nurse will wake me up, and i can get up and shower and stuff (thank god, because not showering makes me feel really icky). then around 8:00 a.m. dr. g. will come in and check on me and probably go ahead and break my water and start me on oxytocin to get the contractions going. so we will have a baby sometime on monday. once again, yay!

Stupid Blood Pressure...

as you may know, i went back to dr. g. yesterday so she could check on my progress with this whole baby thing. the news was pretty much the same - 1 cm dilated, but this time i'm about 50% effaced (i.e., my cervix is halfway thinned out), so i am making some progress, however slow it may be. my blood pressure was 158/90, which is bad, and i'm getting headaches pretty frequently (a symptom of high blood pressure - up until the last few days, i haven't had any symptoms). i'm also swelling up a lot, especially when i go to the lab.

so, taking all of that into account, dr. g. doesn't want to let me go the usual two weeks past my due date before they induce labor. she wants to see me in her office again on friday, and she wants me to have another ultrasound to get a biophysical profile of the baby. then we're going to schedule a day to induce next week. when i left her office yesterday, dr. g. and one of her nurses were checking her calendar for a day for me to deliver next week. we will schedule it on friday.

dr. g. actually said that if i'd been 2 or 3 cm dilated, she would have brought me back in yesterday, and we would most likely have had a baby by now. but alas, i was not. dr. g. definitely wants me to deliver soon (so do i, duh), and neither of us wants me to have a c-section (the very thought scares the crap out of me). since i'm still not very dilated (the first 3 cm of dilation can take two to three weeks and go largely unnoticed except by a doctor or midwife), dr. g. also decided to strip the membranes on my cervix to try to speed things along. i must say, that was a little painful (though i'm sure it's nothing compared to actual labor), and so far nothing has happened. i don't think dr. g. expected me to go into labor between yesterday and friday, though. i think she mainly stripped the membranes to try to get me dilated a little more before we induce next week. the point is, no matter what, max will arrive before his due date (which is next friday).

chad's a little bit concerned about this scheduled induction thing, mostly because of my strong desire for privacy. he's sure that as soon as we tell his parents when we're scheduled to induce, they'll rush right over to the hospital, never mind that they will most likely be sitting there in the waiting room for anywhere from 8-24 hours or more. and of course, they'll want to see me. i absolutely refuse to have anyone in the delivery room except chad, and i'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of visitors while i'm in the middle of painful contractions... or while i'm drowsy from the epidural and just want to nap. i've had this discussion with my mom, and she is not surprised by my desire for privacy (she's had 25 years to figure me out, after all). i want to have our families there shortly after the baby arrives, but i don't want them rushing in right after the baby's born. i'd like to have at least a few minutes with max before a flock of family members rushes in and snatches him away. and it's basically going to be up to chad to make sure i get what i want in this situation. he thinks it would be much easier to keep people out of the room if he could just call them when we get to the hospital (at which time, i would theoretically be a few hours into labor, and it would take 1.5 to 2 hours for our people to make it to the hospital). and he's probably right. but i don't know why we can't just tell them what time we're scheduled to induce and then have them come to the hospital 6-8 hours later. we can always keep them updated with phone calls. so i'm not sure how this is going to work. i guess if they're ok with potentially spending the night in a hospital waiting room, i'm ok with it too, as long as i don't have to keep being bitchy and kicking people out of the room. i guess some people want a whole herd of supporters around while they're in labor, but i am SO NOT one of those people. just so you know. i want my family and friends to be there to see our baby, but i really DO NOT want them around for the messy and uncomfortable parts.

Dear Max...

dear max,

please come a little earlier than your EDD (that's estimated date of delivery in pregnancy-speak). you see, you really need to be here before january 28 because that's going to be a pretty hectic week in the family. your lovely aunt sammi (your mom's baby sister) is having surgery that day. see, she's been staying really sick lately, and the specialist is not willing to wait until her spring break to take her tonsils out. so your nana will be a little preoccupied that week feeding sammi ice cream and popsicles.

also, your grandpa has to go for jury duty on january 28, and i know he really wants to be here to greet you after you come into the world.

so, do your relatives (and your parents) a favor, and arrive ASAP, ok?

love,
your mom

Waiting Game

and i'm so not good at waiting. at my doctor's appointment last week, i was informed that at this point we're pretty much just waiting for me to go into labor. max has reached full term (though my due date is still 2.5 weeks away) and would be perfectly healthy if he were born right this minute. he probably weighs about 7-7.5 pounds right now (he was 6 lbs. 12 oz. at my ultrasound last week), and i am SO READY for him to come out of my uterus and into the world. however, dr. g. was not so encouraging as far as telling us that max will arrive any minute. her exact words were "you still have a lot of work to do on your cervix." she used those same words at my appointment yesterday, though she did say that i'm 1 cm dilated. which is pretty much nothing, but it's better than last week. she also gave me copies of my medical history sheets to give to the labor and delivery nurse when we finally do have to go to the hospital.

i'm considering cutting back my hours at work a little sooner than i'd planned. i had originally planned to work my 20 hours per week at DISL and still do HPLC on my own stuff two days per week right up until max is born. however, i am now thinking that might not be such a good idea. my blood pressure is staying pretty high these days, and my feet and ankles are now pretty much swollen all the time - but the swelling somehow manages to get even worse when i go to the lab, despite my sitting around with my feet up on a stool while i pick samples and stare into a microscope. sounds like a pretty low-key job, right? you'd think so, but i am the queen of finding ways to injure myself, and yesterday was a doozy in that department. i pretty much tried to cut off a finger or two when capping a little teeny glass sample vial. that takes a special kind of talent, right?

here's what happened - i spent all day picking the little critters out of a sample of benthic material from the delta and sorting them into vials of alcohol. i labeled all the vials and was putting caps on them when one decided that instead of getting a lid put on it, it wanted to shatter into zillions of pieces right as i was pressing the cap down on it. so, picture my fingers holding a little plastic cap about a centimeter in diameter and pressing down onto a little glass vial as it shatters. then picture shards of glass slicing into the side of my right hand ring finger to the left of the fingernail and gouging out a chunk of skin while a different shard of glass slices up my thumb. now imagine all my lab mates freaking out a tad as a i drip blood down the hall on the way to the bathroom to rinse the cuts out (can't have little pieces of glass stuck in there, you know). in their defense, i was bleeding pretty profusely, so some of their freaking out was justified. so katy and susan came into the bathroom to check on me, and i sent katy off for neosporin, gauze, and medical tape (believe me, band-aids just wouldn't suffice at that point) while susan volunteered to clean up the blood i'd dripped down the hall. i wrapped my cut and bleeding fingers in paper towels, and charlie went for ice. then katy came back and bandaged up my finger and thumb with neosporin-covered gauze, and i propped my arm up on the counter with my hand pointing up and tried to simultaneously keep ice and pressure on the bleeding wounds. a fair amount of blood managed to soak through the gauze on my finger, and katy changed the bandage for me before i left work for my doctor's appointment. i sat there with ice and pressure on the cuts for about 40 minutes before i had to leave for the doctor's office, and i was still bleeding when we changed the bandages before i left. it was pretty gross. the bleeding had stopped by the time i got home from my doctor's appointment and exchanged the gauze for regular band-aids. i did make my finger bleed again last night when i cleaned it out with peroxide before changing the band-aids again. and now it hurts pretty bad. and i'm sure it will for a long time. i think i'll have to go out later to by more band-aids, since i'm almost down to the really tiny and oddly-shaped ones in my variety box.

on a less bloody and gruesome subject, chad and i finished the nursery last week. i would have posted pictures then, but as you are aware, my internet was not working. so you can look at them now and get all those bloody images out of your head.


standing in the doorway of the nursery















the crib/changing table with the sweet wall decorations
















the crib bedding and mobile
















the corner behind the changing table with the diaper stacker, bookshelf, diaper champ, and laundry basket (it's full of new clothes that need to be washed before max wears them)




















the changing table has convenient drawers and shelves for storing clothes, burp cloths, and extra diapers and wipes




















the corner with my sweet rocking chair




















the nursery is all ready to go. now we just need the baby to put in it. you hear that, max?

Philadelphia goaltender stops 54 shots in victory

so, why doesn't antero niittymaki get more starts in net for the flyers when he has games like this? i'm sure you all know how i feel about this guy (i pretty much love him), but for some reason martin biron has been getting all the love this season, even after playing rather poorly in several consecutive games at times. with the two absolutely phenomenal games niitty has played in his last two starts, i'm wondering if he'll be playing in atlanta on tuesday. after all, his career stats against the thrashers are leaps and bounds better than biron's, and he's playing amazing hockey these days. i guess we shall see.

AT&T Sucks

first things first, i will wish everyone a happy new year (belatedly) and vanessa a happy birthday (it was yesterday). i would have done this much sooner, but at&t conspired against me. bastards. see, our phone (and thus our dsl) went out monday night (new year's eve) and was just repaired this morning. i also had issues with it last friday, if you recall, but they fixed it when i called that time. but when i reported the problem on new year's day, nothing was done and my report was ignored. i didn't really expect it to get fixed on new year's day, but i thought that surely someone would check it out on wednesday. however, i was mistaken. despite my leaving contact information, no one ever called to let me know what was wrong with our phone line or tell me if and when someone would come to our house to check it out. so on thursday i called AGAIN to see what was up - and those bastards told me the problem was with our equipment (not true, btw) not their system. which means that they just don't do anything? that's nuts. especially since the automated reporting system just tells you that if they send a technician out and the problem is with your system only they'll charge you $85 to fix it. they also ask for contact information just in case this is true so that the technician can get in touch with you. so i was expecting a phone call at the very least but got nothing.

anyway, we unplugged absolutely everything in our house from the phone lines and then chad disconnected our house from the line outside. and we called our phone number. and got a busy signal. on a line that was not in any way connected to anything in our house. obviously, the problem was NOT with our equipment. so chad called them back this time and told them that they'd better send someone over to fix it ASAP and credit our bill for the 5 days of service they didn't deliver or they'd be losing a customer. so they told him they would send someone out this morning. we never saw or talked to anyone (which we should have only had to do if they had to come inside the house), but our phone line and dsl are working once again. but at&t and their shitty customer service still suck.

The World Is Full of Surprises

wow. this has been a very surprising weekend, hockey-wise. first, the ice pilots really made a game of it against the league-leading texas wildcatters friday night (though the 4-1 loss wouldn't suggest that), managed to pull out an overtime win against florida last night in a very exciting game, and lost by just one goal tonight, taking a really crappy game after two periods and making it exciting in the end. overall, this weekend was the best i've seen them play all year (we missed their most phenomenal game of the season wednesday night against mississippi)... and this crappy team has won 3 of their last 5 games. impressive for them. and i'm really digging the new guy, jason bloomingburg. and the not-so-new-anymore guy, bryan esner. i was really stoked when we got him from south carolina, and that trade seems to be paying off. both of these guys are very small in stature (don't let that 5' 11" claim by bloomingburg fool you - he might be 5' 8"... but boy did he kick dan collins's much larger ass in their fight tonight), but they have really great energy.

so after spending much of the weekend in pensacola, i came home tonight to this headline on at&t's hockey page. i never thought i would see 'hatcher leads flyers past' anyone. he is SO NOT a scorer (as his diminutive 80 goals in 1,022 career games will attest)... and he's not that awesome a defenseman, either, if you ask me. but i am quite glad that the flyers pulled out the win over florida. i am also happy to see antero niittymaki finally getting some love - and that he posted a shutout. he should really get more playing time than he does, even if martin biron has established himself as the no. 1 goalie in philadelphia.

Christmas Photos

the christmas tree with all the gifts at my aunt jo's house















chad and i are chillin' on the couch before the gift-opening madness begins















my little sis opening her big, huge present...




















a sparkly pink electric guitar!




















sammi's dog tinkerbell likes to snuggle up with mom















unfortunately, i don't have any cute baby pics, since dylan didn't arrive until after 9:00 p.m. on christmas day, after chad and i had gone home (we had to work, yo). :(

but just you wait. next year, there will be ALL KINDS of cute baby pics. damien will have dylan christmas morning (he'll be 3 by then, so not exactly a baby, but he'll still be adorable), plus we'll have max (hopefully, we'll have max really soon 'cause i'm REALLY tired of being pregnant)! yay babies!

Craft-y Books

i have had this book for a while now, but i just now felt the need to express to the internet how much i love it - mostly because i haven't had a whole lot of time lately to do anything crafty. it has great illustrated instructions for different knitting techniques, and the patterns included in it are really cute. i am currently working on the crib blanket from this book, and i think it's going to turn out really well. there's also a pattern for a really cute wrap cardigan that i want to try (whenever i get a chance).














winter always makes me want to knit up a storm, and i am also in the process of teaching myself to crochet using this book. i find knitting much easier, but i plan to continue with the crochet thing as well. so far, the only thing i've managed to crochet is a sock for my camera. it turned out pretty well. maybe someday soon i'll master something other than single chain crochet (which i really still haven't mastered). hopefully, this book (which i have ordered from amazon but haven't yet received) will help with that. i've heard good things about it.
















another book that i've been wanting for a long time but just now bought is one skein wonders. i have a ton of leftover balls of yarn from other projects, and i'm lacking ideas for how to use them. you can only make so many scarves, you know?

on a different note, i do plan to post a few christmas photos, but my phone line is being bitchy today, and i'll have to wait until my connection is more reliable to upload photos. for some reason, we are only getting a dial tone intermittently, and that is screwing with my dsl something fierce. so not only is my dsl not working right half the time, but i can't even use the back-up dial-up service. i have put in a call to at&t, and hopefully they will resolve the issue soon.

Bizarre Dreams

i know they say that when you're pregnant you tend to have some bizarre dreams, but this is ridiculous. i'm pretty sure that pregnancy-induced dreams are supposed to be about the baby or childbirth. true, i have had some baby-related dreams, but they've all been normal - about what life will be like once the baby arrives. i've had no weird 'i'm going to give birth to a monster' dreams.

over the past couple of nights i've been having really strange dreams that have absolutely nothing to do with babies. the night before last i dreamed that chad was friends with tom brady and i was trying to get him to go on a date with vanessa on her birthday. that totally came out of the blue. vanessa's birthday is coming up pretty soon, and she is a fan of tom brady, but still. i have no idea where that came from.

then last night i dreamed that i was a gummi bear caught in a tale of espionage while the theme song from the disney cartoon played on a loop in my head. i don't remember the details, but there was definitely a scene in the dream in which i downed some gummiberry juice and barely escaped death by some weird plunger-like bomb by bouncing the hell out of there. i can't even tell you how long it's been since i've even thought about that show, which i did watch pretty fanatically when i was a kid.

bizarre, i say. bizarre.

Getting in the Mood...

for christmas! last night i decided to bake and decorate sugar cookies while i watched the holiday again (gotta love those post-thanksgiving $3.98 dvd's). this weekend i'm going to try a gingerbread cookie recipe that katy gave me... and probably also make more sugar cookies to take over to the 'rents when we head over there for the standard christmas festivities.
































after baking up a storm, i decided to take a photo of our wee tiny christmas tree with all the gifts under it. actually, a couple of gifts aren't there anymore, and one hasn't made its way under the tree yet, but you get the idea.





















some gifts have already made their way to their recipients. vanessa, deva, chad, and i had dinner at outback sunday night and exchanged christmas gifts there since we won't see each other again until after the holiday (well, we won't see deva or vanessa until after christmas - chad and i see each other all the time since we're, you know, married and all). here's what i scored:

from deva
















from vanessa















from chad.















this was not a gift i received at outback (we bought it at wal-mart earlier that day), and it was not a surprise, but it is what i wanted for christmas - a coffee pot that i cannot shatter into a thousand pieces while i am washing it in the kitchen sink. i think that makes it worth the $60.

Have I Mentioned Lately...

that i am SO OVER this whole being pregnant thing? because i am. i have gained a whopping 26 pounds so far, with most of those being concentrated in my middle. and it SUCKS. all the baby books have been talking about swelling and ways to deal with or avoid it for the past couple of months, and i've pretty much been like, "what are they talking about? my ankles are fine." but for the past couple of weeks? my feet and ankles look like freakin' balloons at the end of the day. not to mention the back strain that all that extra weight on the front causes. and bending over? not gonna happen. when i try it feels like all my guts are getting squeezed up where my lungs are supposed to be. and the baby is now big enough to simultaneously press against my hip bone and my rib cage when he feels like it. which is weird. but it's pretty cool (and reassuring) when he moves around in there.

my last doctor's appointment was friday morning, and my blood pressure was high again (156/80), but nothing else looks weird, so dr. g. has still pretty much concluded that as long as i don't have any other symptoms, my wacky bp isn't a big deal. my next appointment is new year's eve. we'll get another ultrasound then to get an idea of how big the baby is. the baby books say he should be between 5 and 5.5 pounds right now (and that in two more weeks he should weigh 6 - 6.5 pounds), but he's been a little smaller than the books' estimates every time they've measured him so far. we shall see, i guess. after new year's eve, i'll being seeing dr. g. every week until max is (finally) born. while i am a bit nervous about the actual labor and delivery part of this, i am looking forward to the moment all that is over, my body is once again my own, i can bend over comfortably, and we have a baby to show off.

Another Hurdle Jumped

so the last big obstacle to getting my ph.d. is officially behind me (well, aside from actually writing and defending my dissertation). today i took the oral portion of my comprehensive exams, and i must say, it could have been far more traumatic than it actually was. i will admit that i did not know everything my committee members asked me (but who really gives a damn about plant signaling pathways that you don't actually work on, anyway?), but overall it went pretty well. and at the end they pretty much sang my praises and told me i could pretty much start writing my dissertation because they're pretty darned pleased with my progress thus far. i still have a fair bit of chemical/data analysis to do before i'll really be ready to get down to business with the dissertation writing, but it's good to know that my committee is ready and willing to see this thing finished and hand me my doctorate.

now to plow through that freezer full of samples...

What the Hell Am I Going to Do With All This CRAP?

in my mind, i have reconciled the fact that at times i can be an unreasonable heinous bitch. although i have not outwardly expressed these feelings, i am feeling like one right about now. i just sometimes get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of STUFF that makes its way unbidden into my house. the intentions are good. i know that. which is why i feel like an unappreciative and horrible person. but my house is cluttered enough as it is with things that i actually need so that the mountains of extraneous crap that is absolutely non-functional make me crazy. but some people are compulsive shoppers, and they don't consider whether the person they're buying random crap (that will most likely never get used) for has either the space or the use for it. it is how some people show affection, buying things. but it is very hard for me to appreciate this fact when the THINGS in question have no purpose and come in jumbo-sized shopping bags full of small items and 30-gallon totes.

i enjoy a stuffed animal every now and then. but i do not require twelve of them at a time. that sort of makes it impossible to appreciate their individual cuteness. one would suffice, i promise. particularly considering that i just received four of them not three weeks ago. i don't even know what else is lurking in all those bags and boxes.

how exactly do you make someone understand that you love them and you know they love you so it is unnecessary to dump loads of random stuff on you at every visit - tactfully? is that even possible? can you simultaneously express love and affection and reject gifts that you neither need nor want? or do you just sit back and say nothing? believe me, over the years, plenty of unwanted junk has made its way to the local goodwill or been sold one way or another, but the current influx has reached titanic proportions that i lack the ability to deal with. is it feasible to reduce the number and increase the quality of gifts that people insist on buying for no discernible occasion? i mean, i like gifts as much as the next person, but one or two items are much more appreciated than fifteen or twenty.

Baby Items Inventory

well, i said i'd make a list, and here's what we've got so far. i'll keep updating this as we get new items, so i'll post a direct link to this on the sidebar and change the title to include the date of the latest update.

THINGS WE HAVE
Furniture - we're pretty much set
Crib
Crib mattress
Rocker w/ ottoman
Dresser
Changing table w/ pad
Bookshelf
Side table

Nursery Decor/Accessories - we're pretty much set
Musical crib mobile
Small plastic storage baskets (3)
Medium wicker storage basket
Large plastic toy storage tote
Laundry basket
Diaper champ disposal system
Floor lamp
Wooden tree w/ monkey wall hanging
Wooden letters – MAX
Diaper stacker/organizer (white)
Bedding
Crib bumper pad
Waterproof crib pad
Crib sheets – 5
Dust ruffle
Sleep positioner
Comforter/wall hanging
Quilts – 3
Fleece blankets – 4


Baby gear - we're pretty much set
Diaper bags – 2
Bottle cooler w/ ice packs
Winnie the Pooh suitcase
Play yard (Evenflo Baby Suite in Zoo Friends)
Play yard sheets - 2
Swing (Fisher-Price Rainforest Open-Top Cradle Swing)
Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker & Bouncer, Barnyard Friends
High chair (Evenflo Expressions Zoo Friends)
Stroller (Evenflo Journey Premier travel system in Zoo Friends)
Infant car seat (Evenflo Embrace)
Cosco Scenera infant to toddler convertible car seat
Sling carrier
Baby monitor

Bath - could use some more/different bath toys and a bathwater thermometer/ hot water indicator
Hooded towels – 9
Washcloths – 25-30
Infant bathtub/ toddler tub seat
Rubber ducks - 3

Feeding - bottle warmer might be nice (but not necessary)
Playtex drop-ins nursing system – two 4 oz., three 8 oz. bottles w/ nipples and caps; box of 4 oz. liners
Breastflow bottles – two 5 oz., two 9 oz. w/ nipples and storage caps
One Avent 4 oz. bottle
Bottle/nipple brush
Medela Harmony manual breast pump
Playtex breast milk storage system
Lasinoh breast milk storage bags (box of 50)
Bottle and nipple drying rack
Clear plastic bin for storing sterilized feeding accessories
Bibs – 20
Burp cloths – 4
Cloth diapers – 12
Nursing pillow

Keepsakes
Baby memory book
Baby’s 1^st year calendar
Baby’s 1^st piggy bank set
Baby hand/footprint kit
Precious moments keepsake box
Care bears pillow
Picture frames - 3

Toys/soothers
Pacifiers – 5
Pacifier attachers – 3
Pacifier cases – 2
Ocean wonders portable mobile
Teethers – 3
Rattles – 3
Stuffed toys – 10 (1 large monkey, 1 small monkey, 6 small bears, 1 large noise-making lion, Winnie the Pooh)
Ocean wonders aquarium gym/play mat
Baby’s 1^st Laptop
Ball
Puppy Puppet
Leapfrog Colors and Tunes Octopus
Vtech move and crawl ball

Books - would like more
Winnie the Pooh – Stripes
Sassy Baby’s 1^st Books set
Animal Babies in Deserts
Seek and Slide Shapes
Baby Einstein Numbers!
Sweet Dreams (soft bedtime book)
Scooby Doo and the Mystery of the Sticky Money (w/ audio tape)

Clothes
Newborn/ 0-3 months - no need for more of this size clothing
Onesies –6 short-sleeve, 2 long-sleeve
Side-snap t-shirts - 3
Pants – 4 pair sweatpants, 1 pair blue corduroy
Pants outfits (w/ top and maybe hat/booties) - 3
Footed sleepers – 17
Shortalls - 2
Infant gowns – 4
Hats/caps – 7
No-scratch mittens – 6 pair
Socks (0-6 mos.) – 16 pair
Booties (0-6 mos.) – 3 pair
Shoes (0-6 mos.) – 1 pair

3-6 months - no need for more of this size clothing
Light jacket
Sun hat
Heavy jacket
Onesies – 8 short-sleeve, 1 long-sleeve
Jeans – 2 pair
Pants – 5 pair
Shorts outfits (w/ matching top) – 3
Pants outfits (w/ top and maybe jacket) – 3 short-sleeve, 2 long-sleeve
Footed sleepers – 8
Infant gowns/sleepers - 1
T-shirts – 5
Short overalls – 1
Shortalls – 4
Socks (0-6 mos.) – 16 pair
Booties (0-6 mos.) – 3 pair
Shoes (0-6 mos.) – 1 pair

6-9 months - no need for more of this size clothing
Light jacket/hoodie
Footed sleepers - 6
Onesies – 12 short-sleeve, 0 long-sleeve
T-shirts - 4
Pants outfits (w/ top) – 3
Shorts outfits (w/ top) – 1
Short overalls - 1
Shorts – 2 pair
Pants – 4 pair
Socks - 12 pair

9-12 months
Onesies – 8 short-sleeve
Pants/shorts outfits (w/ pants, shorts, and top) – 2
Sweatsuit (w/ pants and jacket) - 1
Shorts - 2 pair
Jeans -0 pair need this
Polo shirts - 1
T-shirts - 1
Socks - 12 pair

12-18 months
T-shirts - 3 short-sleeve need more shirts
Onesies - 1 short-sleeve
Pants outfits - 0 short-sleeve need this
Shorts - 1 pair
Jeans - 0 pair need this
Socks – 6 pair

18-24 months - need pants, shirts
Onesies - 2 short-sleeve
Pants/shorts outfits - 1
Socks - 6 pair

Other - need baby-proofing items (outlet covers, cabinet and drawer locks, etc.)
Receiving blankets – 8
Changing pad covers – 2
Diapers – 1 pack newborn Huggies, 2 packs size 1 diapers (Huggies and Pampers)
Wipes – 1 tub w/ 5-pack of refills, 2 travel packs
Diaper rash prevention – 3 tubes rash ointment, one tube petroleum jelly
Hand sanitizer – 2 large bottles for nursery use, two small bottles for diaper bags
Diaper disposal bags – 2 boxes (50 each)
Baby shampoo
Baby body wash
Mylicon gas drops
Infant Tylenol
Infant Motrin
Johnson's Vapor Bath
Medicine dispensers – syringe and spoon
Nail clippers
Emery boards - 12
Nasal aspirator - 2
Digital ear thermometer
Hair brush
Comb
Toothbrush
Tweezers
Rounded-tip scissors
Bathroom space saver

Baby Inventory?

thanks to holly, who did something similar on her baby blog, i'm thinking of making a baby inventory list here on my own blog. this probably would have been most helpful a few weeks ago before my baby shower (and my mini baby shower, or baby shower part deux, which is happening later today), but if nothing else it should help me keep track of things we have. i'm pretty sure there isn't a whole heck of a lot that we still need, but i'm sure there are things that would be nice to have. so later today i may take stock of all the baby things we currently have and start a post dedicated to that.

as i mentioned, i will be having baby shower part deux today. i'm excited about it. since there were a few people who couldn't make it to the big baby shower a couple of weeks ago, they decided they wanted to throw me a sort of mini shower today. so we're planning on having dinner at chili's and getting more baby stuff. yay! and this time chad has to go, since both kelly and carly are bringing their significant others. i think he's ok with it since it's pretty much just dinner at chili's with some baby gifts thrown in. but it is very sweet of kelly, carly, and ali to do this for us. riiikka will also be there to join in the fun even though she was at the first baby shower as well. the more the merrier, i guess. plus, she's never been to chili's, so i'm contributing to her quest to experience as many american restaurants as possible while she's here (riikka is a student from finland who is getting her masters degree here, so she'll be in the states for about two years).

Kind of Over This Whole Pregnancy Thing

so today was a pretty laid-back day for me. i had a doctor's appointment this morning, and i was planning to work at DISL for a few hours afterwards, but i didn't get out of there until almost 12:30, so i didn't think it was worth the drive down to the island. what did i do instead? i shopped.

actually, i went shopping at target this morning, too. i bought a bunch of baby stuff, and some other random things. then i went to the doctor, and my blood pressure is pretty much just nuts. it's all over the place. today it was 128/92. so my systolic pressure is pretty much fine but now the diastolic pressure is high. geez. but all else still appears ok, so dr. g. isn't too worried about it. i have, however, gained a LOT of weight over the past 2.5 weeks. i knew that before i went and got weighed. i could feel it. i have gained 6 pounds since my last appointment. wow. that puts my total weight gain so far at 21 lbs, which is still at the low end of what all the baby books say i should have gained by now (your pregnancy week by week says that my total weight gain so far should be 21-27 lbs. - i've been running a bit lower than their recommended weight gain, so i guess i just caught up).

with an extra 21 lbs. riding on a short girl (and with additional pounds accumulating every day), i am really starting to feel... uncomfortable. all the extra weight right in front is making my back hurt, and those extra pounds are just making life difficult in general. so i'm pretty much over this whole pregnancy thing. i'm ready for the bundle of pooping, screaming joy that is the end point of all this.

anyway, after my doctor's appointment, i ate some lunch and hit up babies r us for some of those not-necessities i mentioned a few days ago. this time, they had all the letters in 'max' (the first time i looked, there was no x, and katy said when she looked there was no m), and they were far less expensive than the $7.99 letters they had before. these were only $4.99. yay! i also bought a few items of clearance baby clothing. i really enjoy baby shopping. i think chad kind of hates it. but i really love it. if we didn't already have pretty much everything we need, i could spend SO much money. but i'm exercising some restraint (mostly because i realize that if go too crazy with the buying, we'll have no place to put anything).

once i got home i went ahead and packed my bag for the hospital and a bag for the baby. not because i think i'll need them any time soon (my due date is still 10 weeks away), but it's always a good idea to be prepared. and i'm pretty sure i got an email from whattoexpect.com that said something about packing a bag a few weeks ago. so this time i won't have to call chad and tell him everything i need and where it is... and then have to call him back 5 minutes later because i forgot about something (which is what went down when i got stuck in the hospital a few weeks ago). now he just has to grab the bag.

tomorrow, i'm off to my mom's house to celebrate her birthday and my sister's. it should be fun... and there will be cake. and presents, though not for me. i really enjoy giving presents, though. i'm excited about what i got for them.

29 Weeks Photos +

it's been about a month since i last posted any pregnancy photos, so here are a couple of shots of me at 29 1/2 weeks (that's about a week shy of 7 months). i've been wearing the same t-shirt (i have two of the same shirt in different colors) so the photos will be comparable.











































in other news, deva and vanessa hosted a lovely baby shower for me on saturday, and we got TONS of great baby gifts (now i have to get copies of all the pictures from nessa). we're pretty much all set except for a few small necessities (diapers, wipes, baby powder, etc.) and a few small things that are unnecessary but that i just want (and currently have cash and gift cards for), such as a bottle drying rack, some nursery storage baskets, big wooden letters to spell MAX on on the nursery wall, etc.

after the shower, chad and his dad moved the bed out of the former guest room (now the nursery, yay!) and into the office (which is now our guest room/office/media room), which required the rearrangement of lots of furniture. then they put the crib together. yesterday i picked up the crib bedding set that i'd ordered and got that all set up (including a cute musical mobile with jungle animals). i also sorted through the millions of baby outfits that we got at the shower and came to the conclusion that we do not need anything (and by that i mean we need NOTHING) in the newborn, 0-3 month, or 3-6 month sizes. so if anyone out there has the urge to buy us baby clothes, keep it in the 9 month size and larger (we really need the larger stuff, or one day we'll realize that max can no longer wear anything we own and he'll have to go naked). oh, and don't buy warm clothes in the 6-9 month size, because that falls in the range of june to september, and it is HOT here in the summer, guys! so 6-9 month baby clothes should have short sleeves. if by some freak chance it turns a little cool then, i have one little hoodie that should do.

chad's parents generously told us to go out yesterday and buy the other couple of big ticket items on the registry (swing and high chair) and put it on their credit card (they put chad on their visa account when he was in high school, and he still has a card). so we did. we also took back a couple of things that we got two of at the shower and traded them in for a play yard, and we also bought a second car seat for chad's truck and a few general baby care items (medicine dispensers, thermometer, brush, baby nail clippers, etc. - it was all in a convenient kit), along with more baby socks (i just know that we'll end up losing a bunch of those) and a pack of cloth diapers to use as burp cloths and for general baby clean-up.

after all this gift-receiving and furniture rearranging, our house is once again a huge disaster area (it was absolutely spotless for about 6 hours on saturday, after we cleaned so our parents won't know we live like slobs and before we brought in tons of other stuff and started moving things around), so i'll post pictures of the nursery once the furniture in there is arranged to my satisfaction and it is free of empty boxes and plastic wrappings.

to conclude this post, i'd like to send out a general thank you to everyone who gave us baby gifts, as chad and i have had to spend very little money on baby things (and the money we have spent, we probably didn't have to, i just felt guilty about letting other people - read: our parents - buy everything. that same guilt led to me to buy a less expensive [but still high quality] high chair than the one we registered for - if it had been my money i would not have bought the one on the registry, either, though it is very cute).

Sugar is Good for My Blood Pressure, Yo

so here is what i have done today (because i know you just can't live without knowing). first, i got up and took a shower and did not eat breakfast. boo. that makes me cranky. but i was not allowed because of the glucose tolerance test i had to do today. then i worked on the powerpoint presentation that was my last written comps task. then i drank the surprisingly tolerable supersweet-sunkist-esque glucose drink and worked on the powerpoint some more (even though i was feeling a tiny bit queasy and head-achy from a combination of the supersweet glucose drink and the not eating anything since last night). then chad drove me to my doctor's appointment (because he's good like that) where they drew some blood (to test my glucose tolerance, you know), and then we went to my doctor's waiting area and well, we waited. and then the nurse called me in to check my weight and blood pressure. i've gained two pounds since last time, so no worries about not gaining weight like last time, and my blood pressure didn't entirely suck! woo hoo! it was only 136/72, which is still a lot higher than normal for me, but it's a far cry from the hypertensive madness it has been for a while. so i was pretty psyched. and the nurse who took my bp was like, "i guess all that sugar did you some good."

then we waited some more, but this time we did it in an exam room. then dr. g. came in and measured me and we listened to the baby's heartbeat and had a nice chat. she asked how much i weighed when i was born, and i told her (6 lbs, 8 ounces), and she said that's the best indicator of how big my baby will be when he is born. and then we talked about signing up for the various pre-baby classes offered by the hospital. surprisingly, i think chad really wants to take a couple of those. i think he's a bit freaked out about taking care of a baby with ZERO baby experience (which is his own fault - he's been around dylan before but never really took to the whole playing with the baby thing). so anyway, now i'm looking into the various baby prep classes. i'm leaning toward not taking a traditional childbirth preparation class because i think that it will freak me out instead of easing my mind. i REALLY do NOT want to see videos of actual births. i don't mind a little mystery. plus, i'm pretty sure they'll tell me what to do when the time comes, and i'm fine with that. we might take the newborn care class (mostly for chad - i'm pretty confident in my ability to take care of a baby) and the infant cpr class (again, for chad, since i'm already certified). dr. g. told us today that those classes are not really necessary, especially if you've had some baby experience. but like i said, i think chad really wants to take a couple.

so after the doctor (at which point i was pretty much starving), chad and i went for lunch at fazoli's and then went to target and bought zach's wedding present (our friend zach is getting married on saturday, did i forget to mention?). then we came home and i finally finished the powerpoint. which means that after a three day ordeal i am finally finished with my written comps! once again, woo hoo! i just hope i did ok and they don't kick me out of grad school. i wasn't really sure how to take it on monday when i got the questions from dr. v. and when i told him i was really nervous his reply was, "i don't know whether to be nervous for you." i think he said that because two of my committee members asked a bunch of questions about phenolic metabolism and plant signaling (which is heavily biochemistry-based) and seagrass internal anatomy (which i know pretty much nothing about - good thing that was open book), and we are heavily ecology-focused sorts of people (i.e., the big picture without all that pesky small-scale physiology).

now we have to figure out when i am going to do the oral component of my comps. hopefully, that won't be as traumatic as the written exam. and you know, hopefully i'll pass.

Props to Me

i found out a few days ago that my research has earned a spot in the new marine biology textbook. they don't do in-text citations, so my name isn't in it, but i know it's my work, and i'm sure that i'm listed in the bibliography (though i haven't actually seen the book, since it doesn't officially get released until next month - anne got a preview copy and told me about it).

so yeah, i'm awesome, and now marine biology students the world over will know it.

Hyperventilating a Little

oh geez - comps are right around the corner, guys. like, monday and tuesday. i am SO NOT READY YET, and i am freaking out. i have successfully finished reading the two textbooks that one of my committee members assigned, and i have read maybe 25% of the huge stack of journal articles that various other committee members assigned. so for the next 5 days i will be doing nothing but reading and thinking and hoping like hell that i don't fail my comps. if i do i will look stupid, and they should kick me out of the ph.d. program. which they won't even if i do fail, but still.

i was talking to dr. v. about comps yesterday (i had to get his spare laptop to take the exam), and he's going to give me the questions one at a time so no one can say i went home and looked up stuff between days one and two of the exam. he doesn't have the questions from all my committee members yet, but he said that from those he has seen, they "will require a lot of thought, but they don't seem to be off topic. no one asked anything like, 'how do you do know that jesus christ exists?'" so yeah, i'm scared. and i told dr. v. that. he assured me that i will be fine. but i am still not so sure.

Woo Hoo!

so, my doctor's appointment went fairly well this week. my blood pressure still sucks (152/80), but it's slightly lower than last week. and the ultrasound looked really good - i have the right amount of amniotic fluid, and the baby is the right size. he measured at 25 weeks 4 days, and i am 25 weeks 5 days pregnant, so that's pretty much right on. he now weighs 1 pound 12 ounces. i still think it's crazy how they can tell that. oh, and he's still pretty much kicking like a maniac. the ultrasound tech was moving the little wand thing around, and the baby kicked (because they don't like to be pushed on, yo), and she was like, "i felt that." and i was like, "yeah, so did i." it kinda wigs chad out when i poke the baby to make him move. i'm always like, "he's in a cushy fluid bubble, it doesn't hurt him. the doctor presses on him." but chad still doesn't like it...

anyway, so i don't have to go to the doctor next week! woo hoo! instead, i have to go back in two weeks (on halloween). so that's an improvement over this whole weekly visit thing. i am slightly concerned, however, about my weight. i was a little wigged out about hitting the 150 pound mark, and now i seem to be stuck there. i've only gained a pound over the last three weeks (i weighed in at 150 lbs last week, and i weighed the same today... i weighed 149 two weeks before the last visit where i weighed 150 - i am supposed to be gaining a pound per week now). dr. g. didn't say anything about it, but i'm sure that if i don't gain any more weight when i see her in two weeks, she'll have something to say about it. oh well. for now, things seem ok. or at least the status quo is holding - take it easy at home (i.e., leave the housework to chad - though i am SO going to hockey games) and don't do anything strenuous at work.

now i just have to concentrate on studying for comps. those are less than two weeks away!

UPS Should REALLY Fire Whoever Delivers Packages to My House During the Day

mmkay, we've been through this before... several times. i really, REALLY HATE UPS! yes, my friends, they did it AGAIN. the other day i ordered a sweater and a jacket from target, and according to ups's website, the package was supposed to arrive monday. so i didn't think to leave a note on the door so the dumbass who delivers packages to my house during the day wouldn't drop it over the fence (who does that anway?) onto the side porch where krull the warrior king could rip it to shreds all over the yard. but they delivered the package early (something that should have made me happy)... and the dumbass ups driver dropped it over the fence, and krull ripped my lovely jacket (a cute blazer-type jacket, since you know, i cannot currently button any of my other cute jackets) to shreds and slobbered all over the sweater (though it is technically still wearable after a washing). once again, i am not mad at krull. somebody drops something over the fence, that's his territory. that's why we don't leave stuff we don't want chewed outside (and he doesn't really chew on the stuff that stays out there except for his toys).

i am, however, brimming with anger at the stupid ups driver. i've already called them twice about dropping packages over the fence, and i was assured that they were putting a note on our address that would apply to all future deliveries so that any packages arriving when no one is home would be left on the front porch. but i have started leaving a note on the door whenever i'm expecting a package anyway. only this one came early. and now target has to send replacements. chad handled that whole thing for me. i am actually still at the lab, and when i called to tell him i would be a little late he was like, "wanna hear a funny story?" and then he told me about the stupid ups guy... and also how he called ups to bitch them out for me and then called target to secure the replacement sweater and jacket for me. he said the guy from ups was a putz and was no help at all but that the lady from target was very nice and understanding and that my new sweater and jacket should arrive next week. i love my husband. i guess he figured getting all irate and screaming through the phone at somebody from ups wouldn't really help my blood pressure any. so he did it for me.

24 weeks Photos**

i know you've all been anxiously awaiting my next installment of pregnancy photos, so here they are. i'm getting pretty gigantic.




































**update 10:15 a.m. - i just got back from my doctor's appointment, and my blood pressure was even higher than last time (the systolic pressure anyway, my diastolic pressure was down a bit) at 160/78. this appears to me to be strictly a doctor's office phenomenon, as my bp at home has been fine, but dr. g. (my ob/gyn) doesn't seem to think so for some reason (i guess a high bp 3 weeks in a row when i've never had a high bp in her office before might have something to with that). she still didn't put me on bed rest, but she has forbidden me to do anything other than sit there when i'm at the lab and lay on the couch when i'm at home. i can still shower, make lunch for myself, etc., but i am supposed to be actually laying down at home, not sitting around or cleaning or going to the mall or wal-mart or whatever. i am, however, meeting a friend for lunch today (shh, don't tell). otherwise, i will be laying on my couch reading/studying for comps. i have to see the doc again next week and the week after that and so on for a long, long time. boo. and i am having another ultrasound next week just to make sure the baby is doing ok and growing like he should and to check the level of amniotic fluid. so, on the plus side, we get to see the baby again, but the only reason for this extra ultrasound is that my bp is crazy. which sucks (though it still seems that i do not have preeclampsia, which is good). and dr. g. keeps talking about the possibility of the baby being born early, which scares me a little. he really doesn't need to be born until january (maybe even on vanessa's bday, the day he officially reaches full term, though that is three weeks before my actual due date). i really don't like all this early delivery talk. dr. g. keeps saying things like, "you really don't need to deliver at 24 weeks, and i don't think that's necessary." but she evidently thinks that i might be having this baby early. but not for ten more weeks. that's what she said today - the baby needs 10 more weeks. which means that if things keep going the way they are, it might be better for me and max if he's born the week before christmas instead of a month after christmas. that scares the crap out of me.

I <3 Daniel Briere

he is SO my new hockey crush. i pretty much love him. he's worth the ridiculous amount of money the flyers are paying him. obviously i watched the flyers' game against calgary thursday night (the season opener for both teams), and daniel briere was pretty much amazing. which i sort of knew already, but now he's a flyer, so it's better. he scored the game's first goal (thanks to some fancy footwork in front of the net to help him control the puck) and the game's last goal (the game winner - a beauty of a goal off a sweet pass by simon gagne). so yeah, briere is pretty much my new favorite flyer. i am not at all ashamed to say that i like him much better between gagne and knuble than i ever liked forsberg. that's gonna be SUCH an awesome line this season.


overall, the flyers look about a zillion times better than they did last year, which is a good start. they sort of let the game get away from them in the second half, but thanks to my boy danny briere (with some help from the always impressive simon gagne) they pulled off the win. the team still has some work to do to achieve perfection (the penalty kill left much to be desired - who thinks it's a good idea to stand still and not even move their sticks when killing off a penalty?), but i was really pleased with their performance as a whole. i think this season will be much better for the flyers than the last one.

oh, and just a note - i've been keeping an eye on my blood pressure at home, and it's been absolutely fine. i actually thought i did something wrong in the measurement this morning because it was really low. but i took it again, and it was still low (111/67). the highest it's been since i've been home is 135/79, which was right after i got home from the lab. so things are looking good on that front. hopefully, it will still be ok when i go to the doctor on wednesday.