Announcing Colin Alexander!

Finally!!! Got a chance to get onto the blog and finally type up the birth story of our newest, precious little boy.

I decided that Thursday, March 24th was pretty much my last day at school. I was so tired. We had just finished a unit on the Renaissance and I had taken them through a week of drawing single-point perspective drawings. My next doctor's appt was on Friday anyway and I wasn't going to be able to take a partial day since my appointment was in the middle of the day. I called my long term sub, told her to plan on coming in on Monday and told the secretary I was going to keep my keys for the weekend so I could come in and get some things taken care of and some housekeeping done. I went home. After dinner and putting Liam to bed, we popped the cork on another bottle of champagne. Awww. Jon discusses with me what kind of induction I'd be willing to have if it comes to that.

Friday, Jon and I both had showers (never go to the Lady Doc without a shower; that's just rude!). We made a list of all the things that should just get packed into the car for our stay in the hospital and for Liam's stay with Nana and Granny. There was a "last minute list" too. I decided to take the Durango down and told him I'd go shopping while I was down there for some odds and ends like cheap magazines and diapers for Yam.

I get to the doc's office and my BP is beautiful 112/79. My weight 208.5 (with clothes on). Doc checks my cervix and says 4cms!!! The heartbeat was a lot stronger than the last visit. She says she wants me to get an induction since we live far away. "How about tomorrow morning? I'm the OB at L&D tomorrow." Wow, okay...ummm...(secretly it would be nice for her to deliver me since she's been my doctor for 2 decades now) but I don't want another pitocin induction. Well, it turns out that L&D had too much scheduled for Saturday morning, but they want me to come in at 8pm that night!!! Okay. I call Jon and my mom to tell them that tonight is the night. Then I did that shopping I was going to do. Liam and Jon arrive around 4pm. We had Chinese food for dinner (just like the night Liam was induced). We wish them good luck with our little Yamster and Jon has me drive to the hospital because he needs to call family and let them know we're on our way.

Checked in at 8. I ask for the midwife side. Got an awesome sassy black momma for my first nurse (with 6 kids of her own). They broke my bag at 9. It took awhile for them to get a good baseline on baby's heartbeat - about an hour. I wasn't having any painful contractions. But then they let me get up and we took a couple laps around the delivery floor and I start having actual contractions; next I sat on the yoga ball for an hour or leaned over it during my contractions. Pain level 3-4. Back in bed for monitoring but baby's shifted so I have to get on my side; this causes the contraction monitor to not pick up anything, but they were a comin'. Within 20 minutes I was spiking pain levels to 7-8 and I could feel those contractions were working on dilating and spreading. Got my epidural at 1am and of course it DIDN'T WORK ON THE RIGHT SIDE just like last time. Ugh. And then they gave me the pit. The nurse anesthetist knew my dad, she used to work with him at Morse Avenue.

After the epidural, they decided to check my progress. "You're at 9cm, and fully stretchy in your cervix, but baby's still at -1 so we're gonna have you labor down. Try to sleep." We turned out the lights, Jon unfolded the reclining bench, and we tried to sleep (of course, they checked me every 30 minutes). Not too much time goes by and then the nurse comes in to check my progress. By the way, the epidural has fully kicked in and I felt like a weeble people from the hips down. "Let's check to see what station you're at." She lifts the blankets and . . . "oh my, we're having a baby."

The midwife slammed her cuppa joe, the nurses barely had enough time to get the table set up and get my legs in the stirrups. I had one spot in my abdomen that I could feel my contractions. I absolutely didn't push at all!!! He came out with the contractions. The midwife kept thanking me for such an easy delivery after the week she'd had even though he did pee on her (I did get a 2nd degree tear because he came out with one hand up at his shoulder). They scrubbed him off and put him on my chest and he crawled right up to the breast! He nursed perfectly for 30 minutes on each side. The nurses did his vaccinations and his heel stick and eye goop while he nursed; he never cried, just winced and went right on nursing. The nurse said she'd never had a baby do the breast crawl or never cry in the 15 years she's been in L&D. Let me just say that compared to Liam's birth, this was so much more of what I wanted, stress free, a little productive pain, medication, easy delivery (I didn't even sweat).

After over an hour, they took him for his vitals and he pooped just before his first bath. Smart guy. Born 1 day early on March 26th 2011 @ 4:29am, weighing in at 7lbs 11oz, stretching 20.5" long, and a head circ. of 14",

here he is . . . Colin Alexander Rogers!!!

last monthly prenatal

Yesterday I went to the doc's office for my last monthly scheduled appointment. After this, I go in another 2 weeks and then 10 days after that.

Weight (doc official): up 6.5lbs woah!
BP: 138/79 - a little high for me on the diastolic, but my systolic was still nice and low. If it was over 100, then I'd be in the hospital delivering this baby or at least on bedrest today.
Had to do a Group B Strep test - yuck!
Guess my fundal height was fine because the NP didn't say anything about it. Heartbeat was nice and strong. I got her to confirm that the lump in my upper-right abdomen is definitely butt, so B's in the appropriate head down position. Of course he's still a little lopsided. Another good idea: mirena IUD is now approved to be inserted immediately after delivering the placenta so I can start birth control right away. woo-hoo.

After the appointment, I went to Mimi's Cafefor dinner and since it was senior citizen early, I got really focused service. That was nice. Then I went to Babies-R-Us to check on the size of the cones I need for my breast pump. Wouldn't you know, they didn't have MY size (but they had plenty of XL 30mm shields...I need 21mm). Oh well. I got a 3-pack of swaddling blankets because we do like our baby burritos around here and 2 pairs of jeans on clearance for $2 each (1 for Liam and 1 for B). Then, on my way to my dad's house, I stopped by Ross since I realized I want to wear some stuff other than the hospital gear while recovering. So I went in to get some big-bottom panties and a robe/nighty combo that should keep me pretty and stylish and I won't care if they get bloody and I throw them away.

Holy cow! That reminds me that I don't have any bags packed yet. Eek!

for the baby minded

I've decided to steal this format from Lindsey in Texas. She's 10 weeks behind me in our second pregnancies and she uses this set-up every week; it's just so easy to read and catch up on everything. She never seems to forget pieces. Yeah Lindsey, you know you're good. She's been posting photos every week too folks, while you'll be lucky if you see another of me before Baby B is born because I'm lazy like that (as proof, I'd photograph my eyebrows for you, but that would mean getting out the camera).

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 35 weeks

Name: still none. Although I did solicit many suggestion last weekend from Facebook. The WORST submission which I got from many many idiots (I apologize if you were one of those aforementioned idiots) was William. Ummm, Liam & William. Should I name my next Bill or my girl Wilhelmina?

Size of baby: A honeydew melon (I like how much more specific this is than "squash" because I know how big a honeydew is. Squash was so vague.)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 1.5 lbs. At this rate I'll be back to my ultimate goal weight when I walk outta the hospital ;)

Maternity Clothes: Well, this week I have to figure out how to make a t-tunic for my medieval feast that will accommodate a big 9 month preggo belly. That should be interesting especially as I've only got 3 more nights to do the fam's garb for this feast. Last week in union negotiations, my coworker and also the superintendent said I looked like I had dropped!!! Aww hell no! Too soon! Turns out it was just my maternity sweater givign an optical illusion. Is that the super's way of saying she wants me gone sooner?

Gender: Well, "B" still better be a boy since I haven't seen a pick of him since November (and also because I got his chromosomes tested at 10 weeks and genetically he was Xy).

Movement: he feels pretty lateral recently. Definitely a big lump in the right-rib cage side that's been traveling toward my waist. Hope that doesn't mean he's trying to go breach. Kick counts are almost always 10-12 minutes. Last week in the car, it took 30 minutes for 10 counts and then he seemed to kick me 30x in 10 minutes. Go figure. Also, I can definitely say my placenta must be on the left anterior side (near the stomach) because I almost never feel any movement in that area (anterior placentas dampen the feel of the kicks). Hey, he's also been kicking me in the intestines too - woohoooo!

Sleep: Getting up to pee every once in awhile, but still not regularly. Have been really really HOT - darn estrogen. And I've been getting a nasty charlie horse in my calf frequently at night, painful enough to wake me and cause me to try to stretch. Friday night is was SO BAD that I woke up yelling "ouch ouch ouch" and throwing the covers off to grab at my leg. Then I felt bad because I was sure Jon would freak out and think I was in labor (bugger never had that thought cross his mind).

What I miss: Eating fruit until I can't and then eating more. Also I miss my emotional calm.

Cravings: Sweets, especially candy and ice cream. I've given in a few more times recently than I should have. Like the giant cookie I had with my lunch. My sugars were 168. Oops. Oh, and I've been craving tortillas too.

Symptoms: My boob was leaking a little last week which prompted having to go buy breast shields. The charlie horse in my leg makes me freak out and think I have a deep vein thrombosis and will throw a clot and stroke out and die during delivery (doc emailed and said "warm bath and stretch before bed," Dad, RN, said "possibly dehydrated or calcium deficient.") And the bladder control has been failing again because I've got allergies making me pee every time I cough.

Best Moment this week: sadly, I didn't have any preggo moments that I'd qualify as "best"

32 weeks

So here we are with 2 months left. I don't know which seems shorter or freaks me out more in terms of leaving my classroom unprepared. 8 weeks? 2 months? Either way, I'm still hoping to work up until I go into labor or my doctors refuse to let me work. And either way, it freaks me out because I'm so busy and focused just trying to get my lessons for the next month all squared away and pull off our school's first medieval festival that I haven't had time to put a schedule of lessons for long-term (and as yet undetermined) substitute. Things were so much easier when I knew I was having my baby in the summer. This not knowing thing is awful in the middle of the school year. I go to the doc on Wednesday.

So here's some updates:
Baby B still has no potential names.

He is now the size of a squash, but what does that mean? I know he's definitely bigger than any summer variety squash (like zucchini or crook neck). But does it mean he weighs the same as a squash or that he's the length of a squash? Acorn squash are small but dense. Is he a spaghetti squash? a butternut? (I love butternut squash). All this talk of squash is making me nostalgic - acorn squash puree was Liam's very first solid food!

Home scale says I'm only slightly up from my pre-preggo weight. Only about 1-2 lbs on avg. I made a specific point to ask my high-risk clinic nurse when she called a couple weeks ago for my blood sugar report. My doctor hasn't said anything about the weight. The nurse said that if I'm eating right (following my diabetic diet), snacking frequently, and not feeling hungry or deprived then it's okay to not gain weight. She said I was overweight to begin with (I know) and that the doctor would probably only want a 15lb gain overall. She also reminded me the fastest gain will be in the last 2 months, when I'll probably gain 1lb. week.

Speaking of diet . . . I've been bad lately. I've been sneaking in sugary snacks here and there and everywhere. So this last week I decided I needed to monitor my sugars more than my required 3x week. The worst thing is that my fasting glucose levels have been sneaking up. They're supposed to be <100 and preferably <90. Well, this week I've had several levels higher than 90 and the last two days were just over 100. I'm gonna get in trouble. I MUST have a late night snack of only protein!!!

Aches? The sciatica is easing. A lot in fact. At the beginning of last week it was so bad that I could barely stand. But I think I've finally gotten used to the new mattress (which is heavenly by the way). Since about Wednesday, the pain has just gone away. Ahhhh! I did get some stretching ideas from a coworker who is seeing a PT for his sciatica. They help when I do feel some twinging.

Weirdest moment this week was watching B spin somersaults around my belly. Jon got one of those weird-cool kicks out of it. I just liked watching him go-go-go. He's very active. Doctor said last time that this one might be our athlete...great.

Cravings? Many, but all things I really shouldn't have. Ice cream. Candy. The best was my idea was lays potato chips dipped in See's chocolate.

I guess we're more regal now

Well, we finally did it. We upped the size of our bed. Jon's been moaning about getting a king-sized bed for more than a year now. He claims we are really uncomfortable in it. At his birthday in April, I asked him if he would rather have an e-reader or a bigger bed. He voted for bigger bed. But he ended up with neither since we just couldn't swing it financially. Well, the New Years sales were our godsend. Thanks to mega sale at Sears and my mom having just opened a Sears charge, we were able to purchase our big new bed(s).

We got a Cal-king for us. Liam got a twin (but my mom paid for that mattress). Both new beds are actually the same model. Yeah sure it was the 2nd cheapest in the store, but aside from frugality, we both liked the feel. It was firm enough for support, but the euro-top makes it squishy. Liam loves his new bed, but he's also very wary of sleeping in it; it's rather big for a little guy.


So this morning I woke up with a marked increase in my sciatica pain (oh yeah, that symptom is back...on the other side than what I had during my first pregnancy). I know it was from sleeping in a strange bed and that I'll feel more comfortable in a few days. Jon said he felt like he was in a hotel bed or sleeping at Grandma's house. It just felt weird for all of us. Can you blame Liam for waking with whimpers just 2 minutes before my alarm went off?

It was tiring to work with my back/hip/leg pain all day. But not as bad as yesterday when I had a bout of contractions in the middle of an afternoon class. Not too much to worry about; I'm assuming they were braxton hicks. But I felt really low and slow before my class began and then about 30 min in I had definite tightening and discomfort in the abdomen. I realized I can't tell if it would be early contractions/labor as I never went into labor on my own with Liam. I walked around for 2 1/2 weeks being dilated to 3.5cm and 90% effaced on my cervix and still needed to have my water broken and pitocin.

Can't wait for this 3-day weekend of king-sized bed bliss.

sweet heart friend

I just have to say I have a most wonderful friend in WA. When I got home tonight, Jon said Kara had sent me a package. I thought it might be some of her maternity shirts since she gave me 2 while she was visiting over New Years. She's smaller than I am and definitely not as wide across the shoulders, but still...free clothes right?!

Well, I open the package and there's a shirt, a PINK sweater, and a cardigan all with tags still on. Oh man, stuff she never even wore? Jon found a gift receipt and said it must have been some stuff she was gifted at Christmas and didn't want. But NO! The receipt was dated 1/10/11. She literally just bought the shirts on Monday and sent them to me. Holy cow! What a friend! I feel like a little bit of stress has come off my shoulders - someone heard my woes and responded with a super surprise.

LOVED!!!

Pregnancy update: 28 w

This is probably gonna be more of a life update than a pregnancy update. Depending on who you talk to/what book or website you read, this is the week I got into the third trimester. I don't care if it was last week or this; it has become painfully obvious that I'm now in tri 3.

Yesterday afternoon was so so nice. We got to see our friends from Washington and their new little Baby Boy, my de-facto nephew, Aidric. I've known this couple for years. I went to high school with Kara and met Mark when the three of us started working in the cafe at Borders Books. I went off to college and Jon, Mark, and Kara followed me up to Chico the following semester. Kara only managed one semester before going home; Mark lived with Jon and me for the next 3 years. Mark would have been in my wedding as my "Man of Honor" if the US Navy had let his butt fly back home. Jon and I helped to break off Mark's ill-fated engagement to a true harpy of a woman just 1 week before the wedding and, within months he started dating his old friend Kara. Just a week before my due date with Liam, they called us from S. Carolina (where he was stationed and she was visiting) to say they were getting married that weekend. They've since been stationed in Bremerton, WA (across Puget Sound from Seattle). They called us first before their parents, to make the official announcement that Kara was pregnant. We visited them before our cruise this summer and our official start to trying to get pregnant with Baby B. Kara had Aidric on December 2; because her sister had to push her wedding up early, they made the stressful trip with a 4 week old on a plane in the holiday travel season to fly back home to Rocklin, CA. Hence, we got to see our little nephew and hold a tiny baby (and of course visit with our dear friends one more time before Mark goes on a year's worth of multiple deployments with his carrier).


Kara was kind enough to give me some maternity shirts that are long sleeved and I could possibly wear to work. One is a little too small in the shoulders (I'm broad like a swimmer and long waisted to boot so shirts any time of the year is next to impossible for me to feel comfortable in) but I'll make do. It was amazing holding a little baby again and knowing that I'll be holding my own in just a couple more months.

Kara is also getting pretty good at the mom thing, although I love how they've barely even gotten to hold their little guy while being home and visiting all the grandparents and greats. They were also ecstatic to leave their little guy at home while we all went out for lunch at Boudin Bakery - ahh it was so nice for me and Kara; she's been missing "real" sourdough bread and I've been missing bread in general. We got soup in breadbowls, yum!

Liam was charming and delightful. Us grownups had a wonderful gossipy time and of course the guys had to suffer through all the gorey details of a woman's body postpartum. Mark is also starting to get comfortable with his little boy. He didn't fall into the fatherhood role as easily as Jon did, but you can tell it's growing on him.

Update: So today, I've gained back some of the weight from being so sick on Thursday (and again blech on Sunday). I'm only up .2 lbs from my first appointment. My blood sugar levels have been really good for the last two weeks. I even felt really good during the first week of vacation and I attribute it to keeping my sugars under control. This week was a little weirder since I was trying to just keep food down for a couple days. Baby B is the size of an eggplant now: about 14.5"-15" long and a little over 2 lbs. He kicks the crud outta me at night, right at bedtime when I'm trying to read and get settled. I'm getting a twingy nerve pain in my lower left spine - praying it's not a return of my pregnancy sciatica. The belly itches. The boobs aren't growing much (but the ass is much smaller and my maternity jeans are slip-slip-slipping down to the point of distraction). Heartburn has shown up during bedtime or sleep a couple of nights this week, but it's been controllable with a single Tums (did you know I have to have sugar-free antacids? sheesh!). Still no name yet. My depression has been getting harder to deal with, but that's "a whole 'nuther" post. New development: I haven't worn my wedding rings all week! I had had to have the diamonds upsized for our anniversary last year because I was hovering around 200lbs and my finger was just too fat. Well I'm still right around 200lbs but I've lost so much due to the GD diet that my diamonds just spin around my finger and even my wedding ring is getting too big. Note that I'm wearing them in the pic below, but that's because we were going out in public. I don't even know if I'll be able to do even that much longer.

The Mathesons and the Rogerses with our little boys. Mark, Kara, Aidric (1m), Liam (29m), Jon, "Baby B" (28w in utero) and me!I also love how Aidric and B will be close enough in age to be pals if their parents can ever be in the same location at the same time again. Liam will be old enough to hate his tag-along brothers, but you know they will idolize him as younger siblings should.

update - Welcome to Tri 3

Today I'm into trimester 3. Wow, this makes baby "viable" in the outside world (and by that, Baby B would be barely able to have working lungs and would spend at least 3 months in the hospital NICU before going home) so we want him to cook for 13+ more weeks.

I've been measuring a little small based on fundal height but not enough to change my due date. Basically, at about midway through a pregnancy, you can measure the height of your belly from pubic bone to highest point (usually the belly button) and the measurement in centimeters = the number of weeks you are.

Finally got a maternity sweater from my friend at work (and it's in argyle - for the win!!!). I was hoping to get a maternity coat from Hubster or Santa, but I'll check the stores right after Christmas. Luckily I got a nice sized check from my Granny to be spent on things "just for me" and they'll go a large part to maternity tops so I stop looking slobby at work.

27 weeks - 3rd trimester
weight: 201.6 as of yesterday (gain of 1.6lbs)
fundal height: 10 1/8" (or 25 3/4 cm)
waist: 46 1/8" - belly button holding
Baby B: approx 2lbs and 14 1/2" long; kicking like crazy!!! Especially into my diaphragm and kidneys - woohoo!
Possible names: still haven't put much thought into it - I know we're being lazy.

Pregnancy update: 25/26 weeks

Yesterday was a loooooong long day. I had trouble sleeping. Then while I was completely awake at 3-something, Liam woke up screaming so I got up with him instead of making Jon do it. He only took 2o minutes to get back to full sleep but I was still totally awake and chose to read. I didn't turn off the light until 4:45 (the alarm goes off at 5:15 ugh). Luckily everything I'm teaching this week is for next quarter when we return in January, so I think "If I screw up teaching about the Norman Invasion of England in 1066, well at least I have time to reteach it." Surprise!!! Get to work at 7:45 and had an IEP (special ed) meeting I'd completely forgotten about.

After school, it's off to the doctor's office. I actually got a coworker to cover 10 minutes of the end of the day so I could leave early. My doc works in Roseville which is about 75 minutes from school if I speed. This time I got to my appt with a few minutes to spare which meant my blood pressure was way down (in November, I sprinted up the two flights of stairs while suffering from a head cold and congestion so I was very winded). No proteins in my pee so pre-eclampsia is still not a worry (not that I was concerned, look at my ankles, they're shapely and Michelangelo would beg to sculpt them in marble). Only 1.5lbs gained from my pre-pregnancy weight. Don't freak out about that now - A) my doctor has never been concerned with my weight gain in either pregnancy because I've never had any major problems (like too much or too fast), B) I started off 20lbs heavier with this one than with Liam and officially in the "overweight BMI category, C) I've been on my diabetic diet the whole pregnancy and have been losing weight all over whilst baby/body/uterus gains.

She chose to increase my anti-depressants a little. (I think they're the cause of my sleep trouble so I'm switching to morning doses). I explained that I understand that they don't work like valium to take my world away on a cloud; they have been taking the immediate edge off of my reaction to things. Unfortunately, I am not seeking out the stressors in my life and I can't avoid the ones that are happening to me - namely things like angry parents or lack of money. But, besides being a union negotiator in the midst of compromising on $250k in stimulus money we got, I'm not choosing stress. Social obligations of the holidays have been especially difficult to (if you read my last whiny post, you understand my feelings). There was no more talk about going on disability, but only because I've only been on the zoloft for 4 weeks. I'll see how things are going when I meet with her/psychologist during break. Speaking of psyche . . . still can't get in to see one; they're so booked (probably the holidays).

Made my doc swear there was only one baby in my belly since I feel huge and ugly and none of my clothes fit. She said, only one - I've had 3 ultrasounds, and I'm measuring about a week behind by fundal height. Baby B's heartbeat was super strong though and very loud. She joked this one might be our athlete.

Got home around 7. Ended up not feeling tired until about almost 11pm. Wha?!!! Didn't I wake up at 3 am?! Wow, who knows why I had that much energy still. Hope to get a belly pic sometime this week.

a pregnancy update

Before I start off on my woe-is-me sadsack tale, let me at least post this little tidbit. Today, I'm 25weeks pregnant and I realized on Friday that I'll only be pregnant for 4 months maximum (well less than now) because it was December 10th and April 10th will be my 2week overdue date. So I can't believe it; I'm almost into the 3rd trimester and now have less than 4 months of pregnancy left. Wow. We also finally got the battery replaced in the scale so I'm glad stepping on the scale at the doc's tomorrow won't be a surprise.

I also found a stray one of Liam's teeny-tiny infant socks that never fit his mega big feet. I hung it up with the other stockings right next to mine from when I was a girl. So now Baby B has a little stocking. Still no name though. The moose decoration is Liam's shoe outline with his handprints attached to make antlers. I covered them with scrapbooking paper to make it pretty. I plan on doing this every year now for both the boys to see how much they've grown.

My stocking is the ballet slipper obviously. I've had it since childhood. I also found my 1st Christmas stocking in the boxes this year. Awww.

we're sick

Compromised Immune System Volume 2:
Okay, the other day, my husband was looking for any out of the ordinary legions on his skin (because of the month of ringworm around here). He found what looked like a little patch of angry pimples on his lower abdomen. The next day, I guess they started hurting because he texts me while I'm at work. He thinks he's got shingles!!! WTF?!

Okay, this makes sense. The spots aren't itching him but he has radiating pain that is travelling around back toward his spine in a line from the patch of bumps to his back. Actually, he says the bumps don't hurt, just the back. He also never had chicken pox as a kid and got them when he was like 21 or 22 years old.

Worry time for me. I'm really susceptible to herpes zoster virus. I've had it twice as a child. My mother had it three times (once as a child and both times I got it). My dad's had chicken pox once as a child and then came down with shingles a couple summers ago. So, my family just doesn't do well with the chicken pox virus. Don't worry about Liam, he's already had the vaccine (lucky kid). But I'm pregnant. I'm only 22 weeks and coming down with shingles in the first 24w can cause congenital defects in the fetus. Also the risk of developing pneumonia is really high. And people with high stress in their lives are more likely to develop shingles. Eek! To tell the truth, I've been swinging between really stressed and really apathetic at work (not to mention I had a total beeyotch of a mom hassling me this week).

So, precautions: Jon is now required to wear a shirt at all times and sleep in a shirt to bed. We will be washing the sheets with 2 wash cycles (and the blankets are getting an extra wash too which may also help with our ringworm prob). Jon and I will be using separate soaps of a few weeks. Hopefully this will clear up quickly and his pain won't last too long.

4-day weekend (day 1)

Warning LONG!

Today is Veterans Day so we have a crazy holiday in the middle of the week. Too bad students, you have to be back tomorrow. I originally scheduled a prenatal appointment with my nurse practitioner for tomorrow morning and then decided I would take ALL of Friday off instead of just a half-day. The original plan was to pawn the spawn off on someone else and take a little extended weekend with the Hubster. Well money's tight, that didn't work out. Then yesterday, I finally get around to checking my voicemail and find out my appointment on Friday has been canceled and I need to reschedule. Eek!!!

Well, guess what. The doc's office is open on Veterans Day and my actual Ob/Gyn had an opening. So I saw her today instead. Took some pics of my 20w belly to post up on Facebook for everyone (sorry about the blurry one with Liam, it was too cute though).

There was a new nurse taking my BP and checking my weight (oh yeah, still 1 lb under my first weight for this pregnancy - nothing like a carb-starvation diet!). She was awesome. While wrapping my arm with the BP cuff, she stops and exclaims "you have the most beautiful face!" Awwwww. Love her, she's my new favorite nurse!

The rest of the day . . . not so awesome. Turned into an emotional, blubbering mess with my doctor and all this just managed to triple the amount of snot coming out of my already rhinopharyngitis-y face (common cold). Gonna try going on some meds to help me manage life. It was either that or consider going on medical disability and ummmmm, that's not gonna pay the bills. Her first response was "can you quit your job?" Don't I wish. We'll give this about 6 weeks and see how I'm doing. Basically, the risks of medication to Baby "B" are far outweighed by the risks of momma being overwhelmed emotionally and financially strapped and stressed out. Yup. I'm a mess.

Then tried to go to JoAnn's to see if anything caught my eye (not that I could afford it). It was mobbed because, oh yeah, it was a holiday. I had a coughing fit in the middle of the store that was so bad I was gagging. I had no more tissues because I blew through them all in the doc's office. I had to race out to the car where, yet again, I had no tissues. I spent 5 minutes in the parking lot coughing and blowing my nose on a flyer for Woodland Community College. Let's just add to all this embarrassment the fact that I'm basically incontinent because I've had one child and never bothered to do kegel exercises last time or this.

WARNING IT GETS RANT-Y HERE!!!
I stopped at Target to get a few items we needed (like COFFEE FILTERS) and bought a box of tissues for the car. What should have been 5 minutes in-and-out turned into an ordeal as the gal in front of me turned out to be buying with an EBT card. Ugh, and her foodstamps card didn't swipe. So they checker had to ring her through like 3x before he finally got a manager. All the while, I'm miserable and just want to drive the 75 minutes home (or at least blow my nose again) and I notice that she's got a new Blackberry, a new purse, and basically appears like she's abusing the government assistance. This just serves to make me more mad about the fact that we can't get on WIC or foodstamps because I make too damned much money in gross but no one ever pays attention to the fact that my share of health insurance is 1/3 or my monthly check. We never make it through the month and haven't for 18 months now. I friggin' use birthday money to buy groceries or pay for electricity. And to top it all off . . . SHE WAS A HAIR TWIRLER! ugh >:(

Oh, I stopped by Chic-fil-a for the first time on the way home. It was decent, but I still like Carl's Jr. burgers better.