Frustrated

I **want** my baby belly to look like this!  Big, round, healthy, cause there is a big, healthy baby inside.  I am ready for the glowing, healthy part to start, however, it seems I will be out-of-luck.  How can someone who LOVES babies so much, and has the perfect hips to deliver babies, be so bad at keeping them where they are supposed to be without extra medical attention?

Somehow, for some reason, I failed my FFN test again.

I am starting to get really worried.  I have no desire to deliver a preemie in April or May.  She is not due until JULY!  She needs to stay where she is supposed to stay until at the very earliest JUNE!

I almost burst into tears when my CNP called to tell me.  My doctor is out-of-town, but one of the other doctors gave her a list of things he wanted me to do.  She was so unhappy at having to tell me, but I reassured her it was certainly not her fault!  My body is just continuing to thwart me at every chance.

I was looking up the signs of preterm labor (again).  Not overly helpful.  Also, checked to see how big the average baby is at 29 weeks.  2.5 pounds.  Also not helpful.

So I go in Monday, where they check my cervix via ultrasound again.  Until then, I am on restricted activity.  I can be up for 20-30 minutes at a time.  I can drive.  No housework, no lifting anything heavier than my purse. When resting, especially sleeping, I need to rest on my side (which I already do.)  Any signs of problems, I call in asap.  I suck at resting. =(

This week my Bri turns 15, and there is a party on Saturday, and Easter is tomorrow, and hubby works with idiots, so all of his after work stuff seems to take forever.  There should be bedrest robots, who can do basic housework, it would make life easier for everyone.

Dishwasher love

My dishwasher!  It is back!  <3 <3 <3  My dishwasher has been having issues since we got home from Thanksgiving.  It was supposedly repaired by the HSP program that I pay for with my gas bill.  I think they did more harm than good, as they took off parts that did not need to be removed to switch out pumps, and they broke my water gasket and line.  Argh!

Well, after trying to wash dishes by hand for months, the baby has finally decided to throw in her $.02.  She has done this by getting big enough that I can't really reach things deep in the sink or at the back of the sink.  I think you can see how this could be a problem when trying to wash things.  My Bri has been helping, but she is pretty busy.  My hubby has been helping, but he has eczema on his hands, so it is very painful for him at times.  We all agreed getting it fixed asap was the best plan.  So we called a certified Bosch repair person to fix it (the picture above is not my actual dishwasher.)  He came out and checked it out and fixed it this week.

I have to say, if you have Bosch appliances, it might be best to get a certified repair person to fix them.  He was quick, knowledgeable, and friendly.

My dishwasher is happily humming away, scrubbing my dishes to a pretty shiny state of happiness.  I have rubbed it gently with a cloth and cooed at it while it was working, just to make sure it knew how much it was loved.  We also had some intense light time.  The lights are so shiny and bright!  Rawr!  I have missed them so! 

Most importantly, you know what this means right?  I can make homemade cookies again now!  I was not doing much baking because of all the dishes it dirties up and washing them was exhausting and often made me queasy.  There will be oatmeal cookies tomorrow if all goes well! <3

Dipping

So, you can dip your dogs and your cats to prevent fleas and ticks, but my question is can you dip your CHILD to prevent the spread of germs?

It seems that bath-time is insufficient.  The little guy has a really bad habit of "forgetting" to flush and wash his hands after trips to the bathroom.  I am saying it ALL the time, and it is making me crazy.  Today we had to have a nasty conversation about "poop germs" and how spreading them all over the house can make EVERYONE sick. (He currently has a tummy ache and is spending extra time forgetting to flush/wash.)  He used to LOVE washing his hands.  I would find him playing with soap and water while singing in the bathroom.  Did that switch get stuck in the OFF position when he turned 7?

So, after discussing this 3 times today, and he forgot AGAIN, I asked him to go wipe down the light switches, sink handles and toilet handle(to be done last) with a disinfectant wipe.  Then I made him wash his hands AFTER that too.  He keeps getting sick, and bringing germs home, and I am at a loss as to what to do next!  I figure this was significantly less extreme than soaking him in a tub full of soap for a few hours. ;-P I would really like him to get back into this practice before we have a new baby in the house.

For now, he is clean, fed, and I can demand some rest time for all of us!  Sick kid days are rough!

Whale with feet

I feel like a whale with feet.  It was the most accurate description in one of my pregnancy updates for this week.  I am envious of the women who look all cute and adorable when they are this pregnant.  I wonder, do they feel cute and adorable, or are they just putting a happy face on for photos and such?

Allergies are kicking my butt, and messing with my no throwing up record.

Also, I was getting excited about spending more time outside.  It was nice, and sunny, with light winds.  Then it snowed.  BAH!  The snow has melted, but it is still chilly enough that my feet and hands get cold if I am outside for too long.  My body can't decide if it wants to be warm enough that I take my jacket off all the time, or cold enough I am shivering. So fun!

I am going to rest for a bit and then take a nice long shower and see if that helps with the cute and adorable feeling.  I am also scheduling a haircut/trim soon.  That should also help.  Right?

Finally! Sleep!

For the last few nights, I have slept extra crappy.  Tossing, turning, too hot, have to pee, baby kicking my bladder, hubby dealing with insomnia, wind storm, etc.

Who knew that lack of sleep + being 27 weeks pregnant can make you a cranky, cranky bitch?  (((Well...probably everyone.)))

Last night I was getting ready for bed and I was already too hot.  I found the thinnest nightgown I own, and laid in bed with no blankets.  Then I got water with ice and lemon.  Then I got some crackers.  Then I looked at my clock.  It was 75 degrees F in my bedroom.  Most of the winter it was 68-69, a temperature I loved cause I could cover up lightly and be comfy.  I whined at the poor hubby.  I went and checked the thermostat.  OMFG, it was claiming it was 72 upstairs.  The heater was not actively running, but still!  I cranked that baby down.  We all still have our comforters on our bed, so if we get chilly we can cover up.

I slept like a happy, swaddled baby! (Well, minus the 6-8 trips to pee)  I was able to lightly cover up and be comfy.  I was not up with heartburn, sweaty and uncomfortable, waiting to fall back to sleep for 2 hours.  It was heaven!  I feel so great today, I want to curl back up and repeat the experience.  The next step is to open windows when it is consistently warmer at night.  I can't wait!  If only you could have an open window and no noises, that would be perfect!

Push-ups?

Well, if it means I do not have to sound like a broken record until I am ready to pull out my hair, I will give it a try.  My kids may end up looking like Pop-eye at the end of the summer. =P

Last night Spud (7) went to a birthday party at a Martial Arts school.  The teacher was impressive in his ability to positively enforce the kids, and get them to listen.  He gave all of the parents a suggestion.  He said when you have to ask your children to do something more than once, each time after the first, make them do 5 push-ups.  He also encouraged the parents to take Hand Sanitizer places so the kids can do them ANYWHERE.  lol  He said it helps them build up strength, and something else (pregnancy brain strikes again!)  It seems like it could be a good learning tool.  They have that time for the 5 push-ups to think of what they were supposed to do and make a plan to do it.  So far this morning, Spud has had to do 10 push-ups.  One set for nagging me about something when I asked him to stop asking.  Another set for playing with his toys with his feet instead of sorting his laundry.  He is being a REALLY good sport about it.  He has also been practicing everything they learned at the party, all morning long.

I told B that since she is almost 15, she gets to do ***10*** each time she ignores me.  I also said she could keep track of them and enter them into http://teens.sparkpeople.com/indexteen.asp at the end of the day.  This plan may not work as well for her.  If she starts ignoring me just so she can do push-ups, we may have a problem. ;-P

Push-ups and squirt bottles!  What a perfect parenting style I have adapted to my liking!

Bored and lonely

Anyone else ever have this problem when pregnant?

I just want some other biped in the house with me.  I love my dogs, but it just isn't the same.  I do not even need to be actively interacting with the other biped, just having them around would be enough to make me happy.  It is odd, as I am usually not excessively needy when it comes to having other people around.

I have a doctor appointment in a few hours, so that will have me interacting with people, so that will be okay.

Maybe I will take this time to nap again.  Naps are good when you only slept 4 hours at night.

Spring Break is over....

Where is the earth shattering KABOOM?

I had a mini earth-shattering kaboom.  I had NO desire to sing that stupid-ass Rebecca Black "Friday" song.

The "high" points of my Friday: (hopefully you can read sarcasm)
-- Last day of spring break with my great kids
-- Officially 26 weeks pregnant with a baby girl
-- My dad would have been 65 if he was still alive
-- Started throwing up blood due to the amount of morning sickness I have had
-- accomplished nothing at all.

The rest of the weekend got a bit better.  The awesome CNP I saw gave me some excellent medicine to help with the nausea, and it seems to be working.  I got to hang out with my daughter and one of my honorary daughters.  My bestie http://musemama.blogspot.com/ came by for some homemade hot and sour soup.  We got stuff done in the garage.  I got naps!  Yay naps!

I will miss my kids going back to school.  I am actively looking forward to summer vacation!

Open Memo to the Upcoming Week:
-- Get your shit together and gift me with some awesome.  Do not make me end you!

First Blog Post

OMG....Baby Cow...I made a blog!

I have no idea what I am doing!

Bear with me while I figure this out and pick the brain of my friends for info as to how this works!