due date!

Today is my due date and unless I have a fast and furious labor and delivery, it looks like I'll be passing it. Clearly I need to practice paint ... maybe that will be my activity for tomorrow.

Day 564

Haha, no it is not day 564 ... just two days before my due date and it is not looking like baby Hartley is coming any time in the imminent future. That's ok...we'll definitely have a baby by Jan. 14th (that's when my midwife will induce). So far, I've done a pretty good job not doing too many natural induction methods. It is up to you to decide what I've done and what I haven't done. hehe

Other than that, we have enjoyed two glorious weeks off. We've worked a bit (R more than myself), but for the most part, it has been a great break. R has played a lot of rock band and I have done a lot of sleeping, reading, and cooking/nesting.

We had multiple wonderful Christmases. R and I celebrated on Christmas Eve, we then celebrated with R's parents and siblings on Christmas day, and finally, we celebrated with my family on the 30th. You may not know this, but my bro, A, is the golden boy of the fam. Since he wasn't here for Christmas, it was OK to postpone celebrations (this may also be related to the fact that my mother thinks he walks on water and well, what would Christmas be without the J man). Anyway ... neither here nor there ... or at least for another time.

New Year's Eve was nothing exciting, but we were lucky enough to have friends come over to be lame with us. Although a bit quiet, the food was excellent. We made appetizers, which included bruschetta, wings, baked brie, and 7 layer dip. Cheesecake was up for dessert, but we were too stuffed so we saved it for the next day.

So with that being said, happy 2011!!

I will not do anything to induce labor ...

I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor .... I will not do anything to induce labor ....

(unless we've passed our due date and the p word (pitocin) is introduced in a conversation)

This is what I have learned from MODG.

Things I am thankful for ...

At the tail end of this pregnancy, I feel pretty good EXCEPT I managed to pinch a nerve in my back and it's totally dreadful. Yes, that sounds a bit dramatic, but after months of being active, I am hobbling around like a 90 year old lady. I take that back - my 90 year old gma walked better than this. Anyway, I think I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself, so I decided I need to write about the things I am thankful for in regards to this pregnancy ...

5. Kiehl's lotion, body pillow, sinus rinses, foot baths - all amazing

4. The hormones do make for some great hair :)

3. A great hubs who has done a wonderful job helping out (even after I've had a total breakdown and told him he isn't helping at all ... this has happened more than once, so he's actually a super star for 1. putting up with it and 2. continuing to help)

2. Friends' and family members' generosity - this baby has had nearly everything bought for him/her

1. R and I were able to get pregnant - it's an amazing experience

The "duest"

In my prenatal yoga class, the instructors never say anything about who is the biggest or the person who looks the most likely to "pop" (all clever sayings people love to say to pregnant people that really are kinda awful). Instead, in their hippie like ways, they say "who is the duest?" Being the "duest" is a great honor because you get to choose some of the poses. Well, my day has come. At least once a week, I am usually "in the front of the line" as R likes to say. When the instructor says "Who is the duest?" it is often either me or one other woman due two days before me. She can only make class on Saturdays, so tomorrow evening, it is very likely I will be "the duest" and will definitely be choosing some side triangle and half moon.

Thoughts on being pregnant

I've had friends say they "love being pregnant" and while I think pregnancy is amazing, I can't say I LOVE it. I mean, it is absolutely the coolest sensation to feel the baby move, hear its heart beat, and see it on the ultrasound machine. It's also crazy to think you're growing something that will hopefully grow up to be a good, happy, thoughtful individual that is a blend of you and your partner.

BUT, if you were athletic before your pregnancy, your activity level totally changes. Not that I was a super athlete by any means, but I enjoyed being active. Don't get me wrong, adjusting from running to walking was fun at first, but now, I just crave a run. However, I don't dare do it because I have a low lying placenta and don't want to disturb anything. Also, to be honest, I really enjoy my deep water exercise (no, it's not for old ladies ... well, there might be older people in the class, but they're super stars hehe). I've always done yoga, but last week I noticed some pretty major movement restrictions and have decided I need to go to the pregnant lady yoga class. These are all fine changes, they're just different. With only 11 weeks until this baby is full term, I know this is all coming to a close soon and the REAL changes are about to begin. My pregnancy has flown by and I'm grateful I've had a healthy one. I just wish I could go for a run.

Sundays ...

Sundays are for football ... unless you don't have a TV connection, which we don't and have for the most part survived.

Sundays are also for lounging around, unless you have to run a $$ Target errand for nothing really all that fun and catch up on reading (not the fun kind, the hard to read journal kind).

It turns out my Sunday was also for helping my poor husband administer cortisone cream to hard to reach areas after a biting caterpillar decided to "ride" with him while backpacking and when irritated, bite him approximately 30 times!! (I would have added a picture, but thought twice about asking R to pose for it).

So yes, my Sunday was spent, running a not so fun Target errand, reading not so fun reading, and being a nurse (which I don't mind doing, but did laugh out loud while doing it). I did however also get to enjoy glorious fall weather (yay for the 60s!), go out to lunch with R once he returned from backpacking, bake Harvest Muffins, take the dog for a long walk, and practice yoga. Overall, it was a pretty nice Sunday.

How was yours?

"Stupid Tired"

A co-worker/fellow student of mine is also pregnant and due just a few days before me. The other day she said, "Wow, I am stupid tired!" and I thought, gosh, that is something. Well, it turns out, I too have been "stupid tired" and the reason I know this is because I finally got a good night sleep and I feel great! Wahoo!

"Autumn" food

We had two glorious days of autumn like weather and all I wanted to eat was tasty fall flavors like apple and pumpkin. Luckily, we received a few butternut squashes in our CSA share this week, so that started the weekend off right with Lucy's butternut squash soup. Initially, R grumbled about having soup for dinner, but he added some red pepper flakes and loved it!

Saturday morning I woke up ready to tackle the kitchen! First, I sorted our spices and filled up our spice rack. Then, I searched high and low for a pumpkin muffin recipe and decided to go with Lucy's pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins. R was a great sport about these because 1. he doesn't really like pumpkin flavors and 2. we went to four stores looking for pumpkin! While we were out running errands, I "made" some applesauce from the apples we received in our CSA share.

This is a crockpot recipe my mom found and I totally love it ...
Ingredients:
4 lbs. apples (we like to have a mix of red and green apples)
1/3 - 1/2 c. sugar
2 cinnamon sticks

Directions:
1. peel and chop apples
2. Place the apples, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in the crockpot
3. Cook on high for 3 - 4 hrs.
4. Remove cinnamon sticks
5. Mash with a potato masher

(The first time I made this, I thought the apples weren't cooking down and we were going to have apple mush, but lo and behold, around hour 2.5, they started to get really soft and I used the masher to help them along).

I don't have a picture, but trust me, this applesauce is super tasty.

Purse

My purse and pouch are nearly here! Meg gave me a "sneak peek" at my bags before she mails them and I am so excited! I love the eccentric look of the purse and how the inside of the pouch matches the inside of the purse. yay!

The Windy City part I - the food!

R and I went to Chicago this past weekend to visit my brother and meet up with some of R's friends from HS. Overall, we had a blast! Nothing beats the Windy city when you have nice weather and great company. Pretty much, our weekend revolved around walking and eating. Some of our food highlights included:

Tempo Cafe - a great breakfast/lunch place near Loyola University and close to shopping

Vermillion - a latin/indian fusion tapas restaurant ... yes, it was spicy (the chef has been on Iron Chef and will be appearing again in October!!)

Ghiradelli - no explanation needed

Yes, I know no one should ever spend $8 on a sundae, but doesn't it look amazing!

I decided it was a preganancy craving and here is our conversation about such things (it is very logical)...

K: I would really like a sundae.
R: ok, sounds good.
K: I think it is a pregnancy craving.
R: Really, a craving?
K: yes, I'm pregnant and I want it. I think that means it is a craving.

Bread update

Rule of thumb -- it is probably best to take baby steps....


Sunday I worked on the Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon bread and although the cinnamon/sugar deliciousness was just as great as she said, the bread was ... well, a little bit more like soda bread. Next time I am going to work harder at creating a "warm hospitable environment" so the bread can rise a bit more than it did this go round.



R said it was a bit like tofu ... "tastes great, but a bit weird"

wah wah.

Busy weekend

Wew, it was a busy weekend!

Friday: long day writing reports for work followed by a pot-luck for R's company (which was subsequently followed by ditching such pot-luck a little early to hang out with work friends)

Saturday: relaxing morning and then R participated in a fencing tournament. I took some neat videos on his phone, but forgot the camera. Pretty much, all bouts look something like this (but in a large, well lit gymnasium with about 10 other bouts going on at the same time). It is actually pretty exciting to watch. The tournament ran long, so we'll be heading back there (date TBD) to finish the brackets!

Saturday cont.: We had hoped to see some good friends after the tournament, but since it ran so long, we missed them. We did get to see some other friends though, which was nice and a great shopping experience. Yes, you read that correctly ... I went shopping at my friend's house. She just had her second baby and gave me a ton of maternity casual shirts and a winter coat! yahoo!! R especially appreciates this since the last time I went shopping he texted me to let me know that "we have spent over $400 at Gap the past two months and by we I mean you." Oh, R. :) So, here's a picture of my loot ... some stuff for now, some stuff for later!

R has been diligently working on the baby's dresser the past couple of weeks. Shaina found it at a garage sale for us and now R is sanding it and will eventually refinish it. My job is to buy the knobs (being pregnant is great!)

I meanwhile, am making the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon bread and will let you know how it turns out!

Tomorrow starts the fall semester -- wish me luck (because I haven't started my reading for Monday yet)!

Purses and Diaper Bags

A friend of mine has a stupendously creative sister in law who designs her own purses. She has started a neat design blog and in the top right corner, features her 'Meg James Design' purses and bags. Long story short, she's going to make me a diaper bag and I am super duper excited (thanks Laura for thinking of the idea!!)! I've actually fallen in love with her designs, so she's going to make me a purse and pouch too. Today she sent me a photo of the three fabrics she's thinking of using in the purse and I am overwhelmed with excitement! I mean, how cool is it that a professional designer emails you and asks what you want?! Here is a sneak peak at the potential fabric for "my" purse.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday was HOT, I mean hot hot hot (and not in a good way). 95 degrees + high humidity = heat index of 115 degrees. To say the least, my pregnancy moodiness may have hit an all time high. So, what did I do to combat this? Well, I made cookies!

I have a secret though - I am known to not be a good cookie maker. I can cook and I can bake most things, but cookies, well, I love to eat them, but just can't seem to bake them. For the past two years though, I have been on a mission to improve my cookie making abilities. I sought advice from a family friend who is an amazing baker (she gave me baking lessons and I learned how to make some terrific pies and cakes ... cookies were next, then we moved). This past year, I practiced. I was definitely improving, but my cookies still weren't top notch. Then I found this chocolate chip cookie recipe and let me tell you, it is amazing.

Through my lessons, I realized that in order to bake well, you have to be very careful with your measurements and keep fresh ingredients. Two things I probably was not doing very well. So yesterday I put on some good baking music (Allman Brothers, Counting Crows, Van Morrison) and my most focused baking face. To my surprise, they were fantastic! I apologize for the photo - it was taken with my phone in a moment of utter glee!

Dear Baby

Please listen to me ....

Dear baby,

We're nearly half way (18 weeks)! I think it is pretty cool that you are growing so big and people are now fairly certain I am pregnant, not just gaining some summer pounds; HOWEVER, can we keep this growing to an average amount? The midwife is cool with your size so far, but let's not scare her (really I mean me) by growing at 1000% over the next 20 weeks. It's cool if you want to be tall like your pops, but let's not be broad shouldered like your uncle (he broke his collar bone being delivered ... that doesn't sound fun for anyone). Remember, the goal here is a natural delivery ...

Also, I'm down with all the swimming (you were doing a lot of that at our last doc appointment), but let's keep the "pushing off the walls" to a minimum. I think I am starting to feel that and I'm pretty sure that's not going to feel so great once you weigh over 2 lbs.

Ok, glad we're on the same page.

Keep it real in there.

Have fun.

Lots of love and thanks for your consideration,

Mama

Am I growing a giant?

Question of the week: am I growing a giant in this belly of mine? And if so, can I write about this in an interesting self-qualitative study and call it my dissertation? (The answer to both questions is probably no).

Background info: I work at a research center with about 50 other people. Our office is an old dorm, so the set-up is less than stellar since we all have our own "rooms" and most people just shut their door. Every once in a while I will see someone. The likelihood of that person being pregnant is actually pretty high since 3 out 8 people on the floor are pregnant and all due within 2 weeks of one another (this includes me).

Story: Yesterday, I ran into one of the other pregnant ladies who noticed my belly is getting bigger. She exclaimed, "wow, that's a big baby in there" (she has already had a kid, so I think these types of comments are ok coming from her).

Me: "I know, what's going on? It's not cookies, well, it may be some, but it's not all cookies, I promise!"
Her: "Oh no, your face looks thinner (mental comment: I need to talk to her every day, she's sweet), it's just belly. I think it is just big. Are you sure there aren't two in there?"
Me: "I think so."

Mental thought: add this as a question for the hippie baby catcher ... am I growing two babies, is this one a giant, or am I eating too many cookies?

I guess this is what happens when you marry someone 6'3" who was born over 10 lbs, 23"
(and I really like cookies).

Thorns (i.e. nemeses) and Roses

I am not quite sure if I have the spelling correct for this one, but pretty much, I'd like to take a moment to make a list of things that are just not working with me lately ...

MOST WANTED (to disappear!)

1. ragweed. Where does this stuff NOT grow? If you live in a ragweed free area, I may become your neighbor for the rest of the summer. It hates me and my sinuses ...

2. garlic. I used to LOVE garlic. Now, it makes me puke. Literally. I think my neighbors have been roasting garlic and onion all day because I swear our kitchen smells like it and I haven't seen any garlic around here for a while (take that back - our CSA snuck it in with our basil and it sat in the fridge ... maybe I need to clean the fridge).

3. heat. Can it get any hotter outside? Oh wait, yes it can. Tomorrow it will be hotter and more humid.

But what kind of educator would I be if I didn't end on a positive note ...

1. I heart prenatal massages. Thanks Shaina for suggesting That's the Rub. Yes, it sounds dirty, but it wasn't ... I promise.

2. I heart my husband (even if he does say things like "How are those birthing hips coming along?" (as he pats my new extra weight on my thighs)

3. I heart when it is less than 90 degrees.

What were your thorns and roses for the day or week?

Baby Belly

This past weekend, hubs and I did a "15 week" photoshoot. Yes, a photoshoot. I didn't mean for this to happen, it just did. Here is what went down:

Me: Love, will you take a picture of my belly?

Hubs: Sure. We need to get a poster and ruler or something to measure.

Me: Um, well, I don't think I have a poster around. What if we just take it against the wall?

Hubs: Ok, but I think we need to see some measurements here.

Me: Um, let's just take the picture.

10 minutes and 20 pictures later (all deleted by me because I thought I looked heinous in every single one) ...

Hubs: You don't look heinous, you look pregnant.

What does that mean?!

P.S. Since this experience, I have totally googled pregnant lady photo poses to figure out how to make future pics NOT look like silly mug shots.

P.P.S. This is actually an improved photo from the one I mentioned above ... the other one was truly just too heinous. Hubs said he will not take any more (at least this week).

"Double Time!"

My younger brother has a sick sense of humor. For a little bro, he's pretty into me being pregnant, but this was just too much. I opened my email to find an email from him titled 'Double Time!' No words, just a picture ... Too much bro, too much!