No Rest for the Preggo

What is the deal with people that expect pregnant woman to relax, pamper themselves, take a load off, etc.? What preggo has time to relax? And if you happen to find her, please ask if I can borrow her personal assistant for a week or two.

For example, my typical visit with Mari usually ends with the instructions to "Lay off the salt and keep your feet up," followed by my well-intentioned but totally bogus response of, "I'll try." I know good and well that the only time my feet will be up is when I'm asleep. There's too much to do! I've been more active since I got pregnant than I was before, what with rooms to decorate, a house to clean, baby showers to attend, baby stuff to buy, baby stuff to return - the list could continue ad infinitum. Not that I would have it any other way. Despite enumerable urgings from friends and family who insist I take complete advantage of anyone willing to help out, I really hate to be catered to and would prefer to do things myself. Yes, I'm one of those. Which is ironic because, as a kid, I was a (self-appointed) spoiled brat who loved nothing more than getting people to do things for me. I guess I've outgrown those tendencies - or maybe I just enjoyed the challenge and subsequent victory that went with bossing people around and actually getting my way. Now it's too easy - people are volunteering to be bossed around by me. What's the fun in that?

Anyway, point being, until my fat, swollen ankles cause me to be confined to bed rest (it looks like I'm baking bread in my shoes), I will probably continue to run around like a (pregnant) chicken with her head cut off.

Drumroll Please...

Despite the many views to the contrary, Alex has yet to officially drop. I had an appointment with Mari this morning, and after being weighed (up 1 pound since last time) and having my blood pressure taken, Mari arrived with a nursing student. Mari's first comment to me was "My, you look pretty today" - this woman has obviously spent a lot of time around emotionally charged and body conscious preggos. After the nurse measured my uterus (37cm) and listened to Alex's heartbeat (beating), Mari had to perform a strep test, the details of which I will not divulge except to say that it created conditions conducive to me being "checked". As expected, I have not dilated at all yet, and she was able to tell that Alex was head down, but that he was not yet engaged (i.e. locked and loaded in standard birthing position). Hopefully he continues to head in the right direction over the next few weeks!

Of all the things to be worried about at this point, my only real concern is that Timothy will not make it down from KC in time to participate in the fun-filled experience of early labor and possibly the delivery itself. So I talked to Mari about the option of inducing before the due date to better predict when Timothy would need to be here so as to not miss the birth of his first child. As much as I hate the thought of having to be induced, it does ease my mind to know that I may be able to ensure that Timothy will be here when I want (need) him to be.

Mari will be out of town for the rest of the week, so fingers (and legs) crossed, Alex will not decide to make an appearance four weeks early!

Nine Months: The Final Countdown

Timothy came home this weekend (yay!!) just in time to take my nine month picture. Lord willing, there won't be a ten month picture, so I figured now is the time to post all six pictures to illustrate my progression over the last six months. Prepare to be amazed...

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had many people inform me that I have "dropped" - I will be interested in knowing whether that is still the majority opinion based on the last couple of pics posted above because I personally don't see much of a difference. I do, however, have a gut feeling (pun intended) that I may go earlier than the projected due date. Don't know why. Just motherly instincts kicking in, I suppose. Hopefully my appointment with Mari tomorrow will include an ultrasound to set the record straight on this whole head engagement thing. I will be sure to let you all know when the official verdict comes in...

Preggo Shout-Out: Amanda Simpson

This preggo-shout out goes to Amanda Simpson representing Fayetteville, AR. Timothy clerked with Amanda's husband Brian at Friday, Eldredge and Clark in Little Rock last summer and Tim would always come home with stories about the awesome friends he had made, including this "Brimpson" character. I don't know how much actual work they got done while they were there, but they sure seemed to have taken advantage of the opportunity to "network". Fortunately for me, I also got a new friend out of the deal!

Amanda and I have had lots of fun bonding over the whole "my husband's in law school and doesn't that stink" situation, and now we get to bond over being preggo! Amanda is due on August 14 and they are also having a little boy, yet to be named. Timothy suggested Seamus McCaffery Simpson (we think they're gonna go with it, but they haven't made the official announcement yet). Brian just graduated from law school this year and will be working in Fort Smith, so they'll have a lot of big changes in the near future.

Congratulations and good luck Simpsons!!

Trippin'

So I went to see my baby daddy in Kansas City this weekend. Tim's family drove up from Eldo on Friday night and we headed up north Saturday morning. About four hours and six potty stops later, Bill, Vicki, Leah, Cinder, Elle Mae, Murphy, Alex, and I arrived on Timothy's doorstep just in time for lunch. We checked the doggies into their hotel room and headed to Arthur Bryant's BBQ - a KC must-do for anyone who visits.


After consuming approximately six large barnyard animals worth of barbecue, we waddled to the car and headed to Timothy's office, which is just a stone's throw from KC's swanky Country Club Plaza as illustrated by this shot of the view from the lobby.


We got the grand tour, that included the lobby, all ten thousand conference rooms, the fully equipped lunchroom (complete with wall 'o microwaves that requires user to don a radiation suit before operating), and Timothy's office.


Although only a lowly clerk, he is special enough to have his very own nameplate (which he had requested to display the name "Big Sexy", but due to a clerical error, ended up with "Tim Evans" on it instead. He decided not to cause a fuss this early on and will respond to either "Tim" or "Big Sexy" for the duration of his clerkship). Despite the nameplate debacle, we were all quite impressed with Timothy's fancy private office and with Blackwell's facilities in general. It's no wonder they're the best firm in Missouri...



We had several things we still had to pick up from Babies 'R' Us, so we gave Maggie (aka the Magellan Road Mate GPS system) the address tried to find the closest one. However, we ended up at a Furniture Deals that used to be a Babies 'R' Us. Fortunately, Furniture Deals was next door to a Krispy Kreme Donuts that we just knew would have a phonebook or a knowledgeable staff member that could point us in the direction of another Babies 'R' Us. We left with addresses and free donuts, so we decided that our journey was not a total loss.

We finally made it to the BRU and found our travel system (generously purchased by Auntie Leah), baby carrier, and pack 'n' play.

It was about 9 when we realized how hungry we were and so we decided to meet some Eldo friends at California Pizza Kitchen for a late night supper.

Sunday was just as eventful. Timothy, Murphy, and I stayed at Timothy's apartment (which I could kick myself for not taking pictures of) so we met up with the rest of the crew at the hotel for a quick breakfast before heading to the Farmer's Market with the dogs. Unfortunately dogs were not allowed at the Farmer's Market (which is a change in policy since the last time we were there). So we took the dogs to the plaza instead, where we pretended to be hoity-toity celebrity dog owners and bought them things like gourmet doggie-safe carrot cakes and "puppermints" at the Three Dog Bakery.


We took the spoiled pups back home and went to Cabela's, a very popular destination for your hunting and fishing types. In other words, the exact opposite of a place you would ever expect to see me. But I've gotta admit, it was pretty cool. There was an aquarium with catfish bigger than my car and lots of fashion faux pas to giggle and gawk at - Stacey and Clinton would have enough material for the next ten seasons if they ever stopped by. Oh, and they had to-die-for kettlecorn that alone was worth the trip.




We worked up quite the appetite and decided the only thing that could satisfy our hunger was an all-you-can-eat buffet. Fortunately we had gotten some bogo coupons for the buffet at a nearby casino. After gorging ourselves on a veritable feast of, well, every type of food known to man, we decided we could not leave the casino without trying our luck at a game or two. Timothy, Leah and I got our gambling ID cards and headed to the nearest row of video poker machines, where we collectively proceeded to lose $10 of Leah's hard earned money. Despite feeling a little skanky hanging out at a poker machine ten feet from the bar in a smoky casino while nine months pregnant, we had tons of fun.

After a busy and productive day, we retreated to the hotel to get some much needed R&R before starting phase 2 of our evening. There was a big fireworks show at Union Station, so we decided to head towards downtown to try to catch it. Instead of fighting through the crowds, we stopped in the parking lot of a McDonald's where we got a perfect view of the show. The scent of french fry grease and filet o' fishes whetted our appetites once more, so we ended the evening with yet another late supper at The Cheesecake Factory.

We headed back to Fayetteville Monday morning and discovered that Xzibit had in fact come by to pimp my ride. Check out what was in my driveway when we got back:

Okay, okay, so Xzibit didn't hook me up. But Auntie Leah did - this is her Pathfinder that she is letting me borrow for the next couple of weeks while Timothy has my car. She will be borrowing Vicki's car, Vicki will be borrowing Bill's car, and Bill will be riding his motorcycle to the office everyday - just to make my life easier. Do I have the best in-laws or what? Eat your hearts out, people...

Thank You, Thank You Very Much

I mailed out a grand total of 110 thank you notes today. That means I bought, wrote, labeled, licked, and stamped 110 thank you notes over the last couple of weeks. And as tedious as that process was, it was completely dwarfed by the realization that at least 110 people already care about and love our baby so much before he has even shown his face. How cool is that? He is going to be so lucky to have all of you in his life. Thanks so much to everyone who has sent thoughts and prayers (and "stuff") our way to help make Alex's life the best it can be.

p.s. Sorry for the sappy entry - I realize it is a little out of character for me. Blame it on the hormones...

Cryin' and Cruisin'

I had yet another appointment with Mari today. It was my very first visit to the clinic without Timothy. Here's how I felt about that:

But the appointment went really well. I actually lost a pound since last time I was there, which didn't concern Mari one bit because it just solidified the fact that I have the capacity to carry several gallons of water in my body at a time. Kinda like a camel, only I keep water in my ankles instead of on my back. She mentioned that I seem to have "blossomed" since the last time I was there. I took it to mean that I look humongous, but she reassured me that I was just the size I should be at this stage. As she put it, my uterus was measuring "beautifully". Way to grow, uterus!!

She asked if I would rather hear or see the baby, and since I figured he sounds pretty much the same as he did the last two times I heard him, I opted for the ultrasound. I even scored a couple of pics for Timothy to check out this weekend. I thought about posting them, but since he's so cramped in there, it's near impossible to decipher them in real life, let alone after scanning, shrinking, and uploading. Sorry to disappoint - y'all will just have to wait for the real thing!

As thankful as I am that things seem to be going well with me and the baby, I was especially thankful that I even made it to my appointment today consider my mode of transportation. I neglected to mention that Timothy "borrowed" the Altima this week so he would have reliable transportation to and from KC. I will be carpooling for most of this week, but due to today's appointment, I had to drive myself to and from Rogers in:

Boys and girls, can you say"ghetto"? Yes indeedy, that's duct tape holding that headlight in. I keep expecting Xzibit to show up and pimp my ride, but it hasn't happened yet...