Happy Birthday to Me!

Oh another birthday! I was kind of hoping I'd have a baby by my birthday this year, but oh well! I am now 29 years old. This is my last 20 something birthday and that is kind of scary. I feel like I just turned 21 yesterday! Time does fly. I thought I would post some of the cool presents I got!


This is a P. Buckley Moss print that Uncle David and Linda got me for my birthday! How sweet, it says "For Ruby Noel." Notice the cat paw in the pic, that's pretty sweet too! Thanks Uncle David and Linda! (For the print, not the cat paw! haha)

This is a nite lite my Aunt Joy, Uncle Maury, Cora, Alicia, and Helen sent me. It was to put somewhere so I could see when I get up to see whats a matter with the baby! haha Actually, it's use right now is to light the way for the kitties in the new room Noel built in the basement. (We are trying to get the litter boxes in the basement and out of my bathroom, but will post about all that later because the room is so cool it deserves its own post.) Thanks to the Domskys!

This loot was given to me by my parents! Thank goodness for another pack and play and another car seat base! The diaper will also be put to good use! Now, the purse, YAY! Very cool! I love the patch work but would not have spent the money for myself. Anything you love but would not have bought for yourself is a great present I think! It's perfect! They also brought me a birthday cake and Noel and Mom insisted on putting 29 candles on it. Noel burnt his 'ittle finger lighting the candles and we had to hear about that all night ;) I blew out all the candles in one breath but my wish did not come true or I would have had this baby by now! Thanks Mom and Dad!

And finally, though there are no pictures of the gifts my husband got me, I will tell you about them! He got me several pillows for the bed, because I dream of the perfect labor where I can actually spend most of it at home, lounging in my own bed, watching Murder She Wrote. He got me a nice bath pillow, since I'm the queen of baths. He stocked the fridge with drinks and food I can have while in labor at home. He got me a back massager and a back scratcher and the massager has already been put to use! He also got odds and ends that I will need either while in labor or right after I get home! And I cannot forget about the Glider we purchased for when the baby gets here! It's very comfortable and I think will be instrumental in rocking the baby to sleep! Thanks honey for the sweet and considerate gifts!

Rock-a-Bye Baby

My parents came to visit this weekend and brought us this awesome cradle. Dad made it with Mom's assistance (the assistant role is very important). Believe it or not, this cradle started out as Walnut trees in the front yard of my parents' house. Mom and Dad took the trees from the yard to this finished product by themselves. What I mean is, no sending away to have the wood planed or anything like that. Mom made the pad in the crib from scratch too. It is firm foam with a waterproof cover then covered with fabric that velcroes at the end so it can be taken off to wash. I was very particular in telling her the fabric had to be taught and the foam firm and she sure did a good job! They even made a wooden wheel on the back behind the hood so the cradle can be moved easily from one room to another (Dad used a trick he learned from Norm on the Old Yankee Workshop). This is a family heirloom for sure and Noel thinks our kids will be fighting over who gets to keep it. Noel thinks Mom and Dad should make one for each child! haha That's a tall order, good luck. Oh yeah, and the wood is not stained, that's its natural color! Ruby is one lucky baby!

37 Weeks and a Dr. Visit!

How your baby's growing:Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

So my visit to the Dr. on Wednesday went well. Turns out the baby's head is not abnormally large like I thought it was last week. I have not dilated further, so I guess the pains are just part of my lot in life. Oh the humanity! I've been extremely tired recently but that's to be expected.

Merely an Update

This morning I was walking into work and I'm looking down at my belly, as I most always do these days, and see that it is severely lopsided! Ha! The baby has taken to mostly laying on the right side and you sure could tell it this morning. And did I mention, this baby has dropped. My stomach looks so different now. It used to be that my chest rested right on my belly but there is a considerable gap now.

I have been trying to get everything ready at work in case the big day comes early. It's hard preparing everything so other people can know what's going on with your cases when you're gone. Thankfully, my boss has been very understanding and has worked with me so I don't have that many to leave half done.

This past weekend I think something was going on. I had back pain (which is a new one), abdominal cramps, indigestion, nausea, and the feeling like I had to go to the bathroom (#2) all the time (I know, I know--too much info). Oh yeah, and the Braxton Hicks kicked up a notch. All of these symptoms were mild to moderate and I didn't feel sick like I had an illness so I was not concerned about health or anything. I would love it if the baby would come sooner rather than later, especially since the doc thinks she is 7 lbs. I've been working on the home remedies, such as spicy food, pineapple, and walking. I tried some Cesar salad this weekend but unfortunately got sick, and I need to try some eggplant parmesan. I guess I'll know tomorrow whether or not I've dilated further!

Today at lunch I walked to the Post Office. Shoo. It's not very far away but that's all I had in me. My pubic bone was aching terribly when I got back to the office and I couldn't wait to sit down and eat some lunch. Of course I had to pee first thing. I won't miss the constant peeing that's for sure.

Also, I plan to host Thanksgiving again this year. People think I am crazy but honestly I love to do it. Here's a picture from Christmas dinner a couple of years ago (I think). Notice Felix, he had his own chair throughout the entire meal. Man, I love that cat.

36 Weeks! (9 Months) and Dr. Appointment

How your baby's growing:Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

At the doctor today, I got to see my regular doctor's partner. She is an awesome lady but both times I've seen her I've had to wait on the exam table for over an hour. So today I wait for about an hour and then I can't help it, I start crying in the exam room. Gees, but I was so uncomfortable and frustrated. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the room I was in is also the house for all of the computer equipment so it was hot as heck in there? So then the nurse comes in and tells me it will only be a little longer. When the doctor arrived she remarked that wow my face was red, well no kidding I was crying. She then says oh you are swollen and pokes on my ankles, well no kidding my feet have been hanging over the edge of the exam table for and hour and fifteen minutes. Then she does a pelvic exam and tells me that I am a fingertip dilated. Then she does an exam on the outside and makes an astonished face when she's feeling the head. I'm like OMG what's wrong! She then says that the baby has a ginormous head. Oh gees, not what I wanted to hear. She also estimated the baby at 7 pounds. So anyway, she tells me to start walking to bring on labor, so Noel and I went for a walk this evening. And I'm also trying some remedies I read online too, such as spicy food, I had HOT wings for dinner, and pineapple, got one at the store tonight. I think I'll skip the Castor oil, it'd probably just give me diarrhea.

Picture of me at 35 weeks

Bathing Beauty

Here's Daddy modeling the latest in swim wear. He's going to work out all winter to get in shape. I anticipate some serious wedgies!

35 Weeks!

How your baby's growing:Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

34 Weeks! (Tell 'em Large Marge sent ya)

How your baby's growing:Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Rod the Bod

On August 24, 2008, Noel and I went to our last concert of the summer and probably our last concert for a long, long time. We decided to make a weekend of it since it is our last outing as we are not leaving town again before the arrival of the baby. Friday we traveled to White Sulphur Springs to drop off the mutts with my parents. Then we got up bright and early on Saturday morning and headed of to Charlottesville. Man what a cool place! We went to Monitcello and toured around and then we headed to downtown Charlottesville. There were so many eclectic shops and if I wasn't eight months pregnant I would have spent all day looking through them! That evening we ate at C & O for our mandatory nice dinner out. I had to change seats 3 times to get happy, gees what a brat, but seating is important to me. The food was spectacular and the ambiance was cool too! We shared a cheese plate and some hoisin shrimp for an appetizer and then I had a Caesar salad. Next for the entree I had some awesome trout and Noel had his usual lamb. It was so delicious he only wished there had been more of it! For desert we shared a creme brulee. I like to take advantage of it when I can get one of those somewhere and this place did not disappoint! A definite 5 star experience!

After dinner, we hopped in the car to head to Gainsville, VA (just outside of DC and close to the concert venue). When we arrived in Gainsville, we headed to the room and I put my feet up. My ankles were swollen like I had never seen before. I think it was the car ride, the heat, and the walking.

The next morning we got up and went to Mt. Vernon. Very cool. We ate lunch at the Mt. Vernon Inn and even got to see a real set of George Washington's dentures!

That night it was time for the concert. I had read some bad things about the parking at the Nissan Pavilion so we decided to walk from our room. It was about 1.5 miles. I did really well on the walk there but did have to rest once. My pelvic region was bothering me some on the walk home though. But nonetheless it was kind of nice to walk after the concert rather than get in a car and sit!

The concert was super! Rod Stewart still has it. He is a real performer and sang all his hits. His band was great and his backup singers were fabulous. Some of the women in his band are the hottest women I've seen in any band. The sax player had hotpants and high heels on and had legs a mile long! Ol' Rod's surrounding himself with the ladies still! Between the opening act and Rod's show, in walks a huge band of bagpipers! They played while the roadies set up Rod's stage. I've never seen anything like that before. Furthermore, Rod is a very gracious performer and really put on a show for the audience. He must of kicked 30 soccer balls into the crowd!

Our last trip was a blast but we don't mind that it's the last for a while. I expect the trip we're about to take with Ruby will be more spectacular than any we've ever taken!