Before and After

What Jane looked like last Tuesday:

 What Jane looked like on Saturday:

Welcome to the world!

Week 41: Preggplant Parmesan

Last week the midwife mentioned that eggplant parmesan has some anecdotal effects on jumpstarting labor.  So what the heck--we went for a late lunch on Friday.  Tasty, but not in labor yet!  The only thing the internet had to offer was that maybe it was the oregano and basil present in the dish, but I think that if basil had anything to do with it, it would have happened earlier in the week when we had caprese salad twice.

Last pregnancy portrait?

After last week's midwife visit they scheduled an induction date, in case I need it: Monday July 29th.  She was optimistic that I wouldn't need it, but it's there if I do.  If I get to next Sunday afternoon without any change, I might start trying all kinds of wacky things.

There's also an ultrasound and a nonstress test on the calendar for next week, if I get that far.  We went to the grocery store this morning to make sure things were well-stocked in the event we have to leave in a hurry.

It seems like the heat has broken, finally.  It's still in the 80s and we still have our downstairs closed up (and dehumidifying constantly), but it's not 100!

Brisco trying to stay cool and avoid moving:

I'll either check back in after Tuesday's ultrasound, or I'll be distracted by other things.  :-)

40 Weeks and one day

No, she's not late.  No, I'm not "done" with pregnancy.  No, I will not ride in your truck with you down bumpy roads to induce labor.

People say weird things and take due dates very seriously.

Andy's mom sent us these lanterns that were originally purchased for our rehearsal dinner five(!) years ago.

 We made BBQ chicken last night, corn, and grilled pineapple w/cheese, which was one of my favorite food discoveries from Ecuador.  Even Andy liked it.  When I asked if he'd eat it again, say, once a year or so, he said he would.  Victory.

 Andy built himself a microscope stand since the cinder block he'd been using was causing his desk to warp. It looks nicer and he can now store stuff underneath.  If only if would ever get reasonable enough outside to allow him to get back to work down here.

 "Due date."  Pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen, with a Jurassic Park t-shirt.

We spent Saturday afternoon in Amherst.  We walked through the craft fair on the common (not knowing it was happening), then got some dinner at a gumbo place and watched American Ninja Warrior which was on in the restaurant.  We also stopped for ice cream.  Not a fancy maybe-last-date-for-a-while, but nice regardless.  Of course, the BBQ chicken dinner wins, complete with the Fraass baby-que sauce.

Exciting updates to come in the next few weeks!

Today's Episode: Due Date, or Don't Bother Asking

I suppose there are still a few hours in the day, but the due date has come and mostly gone without incident (as I expected).  I plan on being at work tomorrow morning as usual.

It was hot today but I still managed to bake cookies to take to the labor and delivery nurses for whenever the day comes.  If we don't eat them first.  Again.

There will be pictures tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

At this point...

"At this point, when you're this pregnant, it's kind of like Senior spring.  The other day, I spit my gum out on the carpet."

-Pam Halpert, The Office

Week 39: Business as Usual

Me?  I'm just carrying some boxes at work.

There has been some excitement the last few days,  most of it of the not-good variety.  Again the important takeaway here is that Jane's fine, and I'm fine.

Last Friday was my now-weekly midwife appointment.  It was and has been quite hot out.  Once we got to the part where they listen to her heartbeat, the midwife thought it was a little high (160 when 'normal' is 130).  They sent me to the hospital, across the street, for a non-stress test, where they put two monitors on my belly to get a baseline and make sure she calmed down.  She did, but they kept us there two hours.  Not that I'm complaining--it was cool in there and they brought me juice and crackers.

Saturday we did very little, because Andy was concerned about Jane's well-being.  But then came Sunday.

Our carpeting downstairs is dark brown, and Brisco's hair shows up very well on it.  It'd been a while since we'd vacuumed, and one of us mentioned it should be done that day.  Somehow I noticed a white patch (not unlike his hair) but I determined it was mold.  Once we noticed that, we started noticing more of it on the carpeting, as well as a few patches on the linoleum that had shown up with the extended period of humidity we're having.  The linoleum just needs a Clorox wipe, but what do you do about carpet?

I called our landlord who lives in New York, and asked what he'd have us do.  He said he'd "probably" be in town the weekend of the 14th because his daughter was expecting a baby that day.  I said I was too, and we were not going to wait for him to possibly be in town to take some kind of action on the mold.  (Remember Andy's what-turned-out-to-be-yeast ordeal?)  He suggested a dehumidifier and I, in turn, suggested that it be deducted from our rent.  I also said Andy'd be willing to rent a steam cleaner but that the rental would also come off the rent.  Our landlord agreed, so Sunday was spent moving furniture, mopping (and drying) the kitchen floor, moving the couch to the kitchen, steam cleaning the couch, steam cleaning the carpets...

I helped out as much as I safely thought I could.  We both wore those surgical masks.  Brisco and I retreated to the air-conditioned bedroom several times.  The dehumidifier filled a few times (it's just a small one, as Home Depot only had TWO left, and it's an LG, which I knew my in-laws would not approve of) so it's doing its job.  We mentioned the mold to our neighbor and she said she'd found the same thing, though she doesn't have carpeting.  Her apartment is mirror-image of ours, so she mentioned a particular closet that had mold, so we knew we had to tackle that too.

Yesterday I found more mold in one of the kitchen cabinets.  Luckily it was just the one, and not all of them, but it needed cleaning out which meant Andy had more to do.  Everything in the cabinet went through the sanitize cycle on the dishwasher.  Then today we emptied out the utility closet and mopped it out, though we didn't find mold in there.  Andy found a bit behind the dryer but was able to clean it up too.

Basically it's not a safe place for either of us, but it's much, much better that we've found and dealt with it now than when Jane was here.  We thought she was coming last Saturday, so it's good that she didn't!

Pictures

So I mentioned we went to a drive-in.  Brisco loves the car.  Have I mentioned he's a tall dog?

 LOOK HOW HAPPY!!

 I am also pretty happy.  Real butter on popcorn!  A few people commented on my shirt.  As they do.

 So this picture was taken Sunday, before I think she dropped:

 And this was taken this morning (same shirt for easy comparison).  What do you think?  Can you see a difference?

What I Learned

I like to think I've read a lot about pregnancy.  I've been pretty well-prepared for the things that many women find surprising during these nine months.  Really the biggest surprises I've had are the things that haven't happened (what pregnancy heartburn?) but her dropping did indeed catch me off guard.

It HURT.  The only thing I knew about babies dropping was that it frees up more lung space for me, but that comes at the cost of her pressing her head into my pelvis and that did not feel great.  It's a lot better today than it was when it first happened, but now that I know of this phenomenon, Google has confirmed that plenty of women have discomfort from it.

She occasionally finds my sciatic nerve (I think) and presses on it, but only for a moment.  I slept much better last night than I did on Sunday, and took an afternoon nap as well.  I was even able to walk Brisco this morning.  Last night was the first time we turned the air on in our bedroom and corralled the dog in with us, and he was surprisingly tolerant of it.  Carla never had a problem being in a room with a shut door with us, but we'd never tried it with him.  I fully expected him to whine to be let out, especially when I got up to use the bathroom.  But no, he appreciated the cool.

Anyway, we took a picture on Sunday and I think we should take a picture today to see if there's a visible difference.  Andy says there is, but I wonder if it's as obvious to the casual observer.  Comparison pictures to come soon!

Up at 3 AM... totally normal

I hit 38 weeks today--woo hoo!  Tonight I got really uncomfortable and was wide awake at 1:30, so I've been downstairs watching TV and bothering the dog for a while.  Who knows if it means anything.  I might try to doze here or head back upstairs in a bit.

In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from Dick and Wendy's visit!

Andy and our pre-baby stand-in, Curious George

Me and Andy at the Night Kitchen for dinner on Father's Day

 Andy and his folks

 Me, Andy and Brisco.  Look how smiley we all are!

I don't know what to think right now.  I'm having a bit of pain/aches, but nothing I would call contractions.  I couldn't get comfortable in bed even with the help of my body pillow.  I woke Andy up just to tell him I was heading downstairs, so he wouldn't worry that I wasn't there.  That was two hours ago, and I guess he's not worried--I haven't seen him since!  :)  (One of us should be getting sleep, anyway!)

You'll either hear from me again soon, or not for a while.  Either way, home stretch!