Year 2 Day 68: Take a Number

My weekly midwife appointment went smoothly but resulted in an unexpected trip to Russell's Hall to have some bloodwork done. I'm pretty proud that I am getting quite good at this 'human pincushion' thing and I can finally take a small needle in the arm without anxiety that causes me to nearly burst into tears. Yeah, I'm pretty badass if I do say so myself. Can I have a lolly now?

Basically, when I mentioned to the midwife that I had a bit of itching in my hands and feet over the weekend she asked how the movements were with the baby. Since I haven't noticed any change, she said she still wanted me to go down today and have some bloods taken to rule out a condition called Obstetric Cholestasis -- which causes a build up of bile acids in the bloodstream. Since symptoms usually occur in the later stages of pregnancy, this can also be caused by a simple increase in hormones so that is why a blood test was necessary.

I'm told I'll be contacted Wednesday with the results anyway, and follow-ups may be required -- so we will see how things go.

In the meantime, I wanted to include a second photo tonight, completely unrelated, but totally worth a little look-see. Since about October, Matt has been having chicken and cheese sandwiches for his dinner at work...mainly because it's cheap and quick and saves him paying £30/week or more on store-bought sandwiches at Greggs. In the past couple of weeks, Matt's appetite for these meals made with love has decreased significantly as I'm sure chicken is getting a bit redundant...so tomorrow, when he pulls his foil-wrapped treat from the fridge he will appreciate my attempt at the following subliminal message...

I hope it works! If not, it will at least get a laugh.

Year 2 Day 67: Nesting - The Second String

The clock is ticking away and tonight I got a massive second wind that resulted in me tidying the entire bedroom. It was very much in need of a tidy, to be fair. I emptied the bookshelf on my side (which contained lots of rubbish and random bits) and moved it over to Matt's side to make room for the Moses basket in its place. (Huge kudos to Em & Josie for nabbing such a cute bedding set for it, by the way.) Then I reorganized all of Matt's books by author...Feist, Brooks, Pratchett, Tolkien. After that I hung all of Matt's t-shirts neatly in the wardrobe and packed away some things that just didn't need to be out.

When Matt peeked upstairs to see my progress I think he was pretty shocked. We were both pretty bad about letting things just accumulate on the floor and I thought now would be as good a time as any to just get it all sorted and out of the way -- especially since I'm not making any promises on domestic duties immediately after bunny is here.

Not only can you see the (hideous pink) carpet, but the duffel and Jeep diaper bag in the photo are officially packed and ready for any unexpected trips to the hospital in the next couple of days/weeks.

Ah, I feel so much better.

Year 2 Day 66: The Stockings Were Hung...

Matt and I had some shopping success tonight when we took a little gander to Merry Hill to look for a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament. We looked in a few card shops and quickly realised Hallmark was not one located within the mall thus making a separate trip to Brierley Hill High Street necessary. After a bit we popped in to see Josie while she was working at the Tourist Information Centre. She was able to remind us of Webb's Christmas Shop, however, they still didn't have anything personal enough. Disappointed, we decided to call it a night and head back home empty-handed.

Just as we were on our way out, we passed by Birthdays (yet another card shop) and Matt suggested we pop in to have a quick look around. We found a cute display with personalised tiny rubber, gummy-type stockings and several choices of mini-hearths to hang them from. Immediately we started to search for our own names as well as bunny's (his real name, of course, unpixelated). Surprised we found all three within seconds, we were a bit let down by the look of the boring mini-fireplace that had 3 hooks...until we noticed the one that had four, as well as a cat sleeping in the front. MYST! Of course! We looked for a generic 'no-name' stocking and lucked out finding one that said 'The Cat,' and we were SOLD!

After paying a reasonable amount for this personalised Christmas decoration, we noticed on the way out the front another spinning display of mini-snow-globe ornaments. Hanging alone on a hook was a snow-globe with a red Santa hat that read "Baby's First Christmas." SCORE!! The fact they were a mere £2.99 was enough for me and Matt agreed it would be suitable for our darling bunny.

Home again, home again we traveled with our new purchases and our mini-fire is now resting proudly on the mantle of our own fire. Next to that is Baby's First Christmas ornament waiting patiently to be hung on our tree upon his arrival in the next week or so.

Year 2 Day 65: She's a Brick House!

While I'm not "letting it all hang out" I don't think I have much of an option now as I stand before you all (and our Christmas tree) at a grand ole whopping 39 weeks and 1 day. Bunny is due in less than a week now, but we'll see how punctual he decides he wants to be. Let me just apologise in advance on his behalf if he can't be born on the date you may have requested.

It's not the best photo, but my batteries died shortly after taking this shot, so it will have to do for tonight's blog.

For lack of anything else better to write...I give you a meme:

How far along?:
39 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain/loss:
Just under 30 lbs (and I'm really okay with that, to be honest).
Sleep:
I'm flip-flopping through the night with a pillow between my knees...some nights are better than others. I'm also finding cat-naps more necessary during the daytime again.

Best moment this week:
Getting bunny's gift in the post from Christine, hands down!

Movement:
More tickles down low and slower rolls up high. I think he's starting to run out of room though.

Food cravings:
Still a cereal addict -- I may turn into a shredded wheat biscuit. I'm also craving Taco Bell (which I obviously can't have) and peanut butter (which I shouldn't have).

Gender:
He's all boy!! (And better STILL be at delivery or we'll have a girl who's gonna have to like blue)
Labor Signs:
Lots of Braxton Hicks (the 'practice' ones) and a few light cramps sporadically, but nothing that leads me to believe anything will be happening in the immediate future. I may have to drop some hints to bunny by next Wednesday though.

Belly Button in or out?:
Still mostly in, but nearly flat now.

Symptoms?:
Acid Reflux, although it's mostly tolerable. Also a bit of swelling occasionally as well as sciatic/hip/joint pain -- but nothing I can't live through. Itching seems to be a new one...the soles of my feet and palms of my hands are itching for Britain at the moment. I even ended up with scratch marks across my bump and I DON'T have any nails!

What I miss:
Tying my own shoes and being able to comfortably dress myself below the waist.

What I am looking forward to:
Holding bunny in my arms and seeing the proud look on his daddy's face when he's finally here!

Weekly Wisdom:
People keep reminding me to get all the rest I can WHILE I still can -- so I'm doing my best!

Milestones:
Making it to full-term (37 weeks) and staying positive and in a generally good mood. Aside from little niggles here and there, I have no huge complaints. I feel very blessed.

Year 2 Day 64: Painting the Pigs

That's right...sit back and marvel at the feat I mastered on my feet tonight. The endurance it took to even prop my Barney Rubble up on the table alone was near unimaginable. Then of course there was the skill of painting each nail neatly before the sciatic pain crept down my entire leg. But I did it...not only to one, but to BOTH feet! Look at me go!

I figured there may be a small chance my feet will be seen by people other than Matt in the coming weeks and the chipped polish from the summer was not going to cut it -- so each little piggy got a fresh coat of my Rimmel London 60-second varnish.

It's fair to say that pregnancy has caused a bit of swelling, but the photo really isn't far off how my peds normally appear (with Vienna-sausage-like nubbs). I've learned to accept them.

Year 2 Day 63: Spin Cycle

Out of the three photos I took, I was able to capture Mr. Nosy wasting no time when the washing was getting done tonight. This wasn't the best quality as far as lighting...but the look on his face was just priceless. Matt had only just popped open the door after tossing the load in front on the floor and was in the middle of sorting the fabric softener and washing liquid when Myst literally jumped at his chance. I peeked into the kitchen to see why I could hear Matt laughing hysterically and soon realised why.

I don't think the dial has any settings suitable for cleansing genuine fluffy Mystical fur.

Year 2 Day 62: Made With Love

It arrived today! I was asleep on the sofa wrapped in my warm dressing-gown when the delivery man tapped on the window and I sprang from that sleep and greeted him with the biggest smile. The fabulous and multi-talented Christine has been working for several months on this most gorgeous gift for bunny and it's just an absolute shame that I've had to pixelate out his name, which is one of the BEST bits. It's his first personalised gift as well!! I'm censoring it, however, because we haven't made a formal announcement yet to people (other than family), really, on what his name will be. Just know that it looks absolutely fantastic underneath the PhotoShopping that I just hated having to do.

Here is a full look at the crafty-superiority that Christine possesses...

I just love it. Then, when Matt got home, he couldn't quit smiling at it while he read the story that flowed from panel to panel. He was well-impressed and couldn't believe the amount of time she put into it. We agreed the quilted piece should be used as a wall hanging, rather than in little one's cot, so we can keep it nice. Then, as a bonus, you can see she also made a baby-positioner with the same fabric/pattern that is on the back of the other piece -- I swear she's on a different plane of crafty-greatness. How clever!

It's great because although Christine and I have never met IRL (in real life), we have SO much in common. We're multi-cat-loving expats from America, married to a pair of Call of Duty-obsessed and witty British men...and we share a common appreciation for all things craft-related as well as Beatrix Potter (as you can see). We're also likely the most hilarious (and undoubtedly good-looking) Americans in Great Britain -- okay, perhaps I'm horn-tooting a bit much now. You gotta like how I'm so modest and humble about it though.

So yeah...Christine...fab. Her gift...fab. And bunny is so lucky to have an honorary auntie with such amazing talent! I feel like I can't sing her praises enough. I'm a sucker anyway for all things hand-made.

But still...LOVE IT!

And for those keeping track on the final countdown:
9 days remaining!!!

Roll on 10th of December!