Baby's Room

I actually have quite a bit to write about, but have been pretty busy. Last weekend, some of my friends threw me a surprise baby shower! Mostly a surprise anyway. I knew they were planning it, since they asked me who I wanted to come, and what I wanted to do, but I didn't know when or where it was going to be. It turns out it was at Jessie's house, and SO MANY people came, I was really surprised! I wouldn't have thought that so many people were available the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun, and repeating myself, we received lots (way too many) gifts for the baby.

This weekend, Shawn and I have been getting the room ready. He painted it a while back, and I've been slowly accumulating baby paraphrenalia that's been piling up in the empty room. I took parts of last weekend and most of this one so far, and cleaned it out and started setting things up. It's not finished; I'm waiting on a few small things, and one piece of furniture, but it's looking fairly good! Luckily, we're planning on having the baby sleep in our room for the first few weeks, so it actually doesn't need to be completely set up for a while. I'd just rather have it all set up and taken care of.

Unsettling

Imagine that feeling you get when you're hungry - stomach grumbling, maybe even audibly. But I'm talking about the growly FEELING you get in your stomach when you are to the point of being very hungry. Now, try to imagine where that feels...somewhere in the middle, for lack of better language. Is that feeling supposed to occur and inch or so beneath your breastbone? NO, it is not. This brings home to me that my internal organs are not at all in their homes, but have been shoved into whatever cubby hole is available. Creepy.

A Baby Shower!

My mom and my sister hosted a baby shower for me yesterday for my "extended" family. My grandma was there, but so were all the women who are my mom's friends, but seem to have invested some energy in caring about me too. It was really nice to get to see all the Springfield women, and they had plenty of advice for me. : ) Highlights included an adorable ducky cake, and finding out that most of these women had senses of humor nearly as wicked as mine can be. Shawn and I received lots of gifts (way too many) for the baby, and we're definitely getting closer to having the ridiculous amount of stuff you need to take care of a new person. I can't seem to get the pictures up that my mom emailed, but it was very cute, with many ducks (even on the gifts!), and some pretty damn good spinach dip. My poor dad and brother hightailed it out, but we even got gifts from my 15 year old brother. (Redskins related, natch)

Above: 30 weeks

Scary Phone Call

Two weeks ago, I went in for a normal, BORING doctor's appointment. The usual: pee in cup, weigh on scale, listen to baby's heartbeat. I also had to chug a lug the nasty glucose drink in 4 minutes, and then have blood drawn for the gestational diabetes screening. The drink itself was not so bad tasting, it was having to down this liquid sugar in 4 minutes that was difficult. I got through it, and asked when they would have my results. They said it would be a week. Well, I knew we were leaving for St John the following Friday. So, last Thursday, when I got off work, I called to ask about my results. I called 7 minutes after they closed, apparently. I went on vacation and forgot about it. However, after having severe headaches and a LOT of dizziness for the first three days of our trip, I was somehow not surprised to receive a phone message as I got off the plane last night asking me to call the doctor's office at my "earliest convenience." When I got the message, it was after 8 pm, so I couldn't call. Instead, I spent all night worrying about having to go for the follow up glucose screening. If you fail the first test, they make you come in, drink the nasty thing again, and then take your blood every hour for THREE HOURS. This is terrible. To say nothing of the implications that I might actually have GD. I called the office as soon as my assistant got into the classroom this morning, and the receptionist actually asked me to call back after 1:30!!!!! She said there was only one nurse on at that time, and she was totally swamped. GRRR. Anyway, I called back, and the short answer is I am fine. I am anemic, and the doctor wants me to take iron supplements. Aha. Not a huge surprise, actually. Red meat is expensive, and we have been doing a crap job cooking lately, since we've both been so very busy. Apparently, beef, broccoli, spinach and perhaps Cream of Wheat are in my future. On a side note, I love that the only thing the nurse told me to do was to take an iron supplement. I have no problem doing so, but there was no discussion of foods that are high in iron that might also help. I just know them from a lifetime of anemia. Geez.

In other news, after spending a week in the tropics with a rather large growth, I have determined that I will do anything in my power to avoid being pregnant in the DC summer heat. Sorry Jessica. But honestly, I was miserable, and seemed to make Shawn miserable with my miserablosity. Never again. Of course, as Shawn pointed out when I made this comment to him, since we seem to be SO GOOD at timing our pregnancies up to now...HA. Obviously, you can't plan everything out in advance, but good Lord, do I not want to be hugely pregnant during the summer.

Hoping to take a belly picture this weekend, during our ten minutes of down time, so look for that post soon!