On Your Marks...

Been awake half the night with contractions which have since stopped. Now just waiting for the rhythm to kick back in so we can get this show on the road. Is October 1st just wishful thinking??

How Long is a Piece of String?

Back from the doctor's office...

He says I could go into labor any time, possibly tomorrow but almost certainly by the weekend. If not, he is happy to schedule an induction any time

The baby has descended just a little further (now about -2.5cm). I'm 90 per cent effaced just as last week. Beginning to dilate but not yet at a measurable point. He says that once labor kicks in that will happen pretty quickly though in my case.

He says the bottom line is that my situation is the most favorable for a first time mother that he's seen this month.A+ for me!

Now just waiting and trying to squeeze in some extra tasks in the meantime.

By Popular Request...

39 weeks! Take a look now because this belly will not be around much longer...

This may well have been our last Sunday at church pre-parenthood...

37 weeks with no need for a dinner tray--the belly serves a dual purpose although there's no guarantee of staying crumb free...

36 weeks

September 2009 Update

The procrastination ends here--I'm finally writing.

The first news is that our baby is due in just two weeks! All seems to be going well. I’m not hating the third trimester as much as I could be… I’m still in pretty good health and the baby seems to be doing well too. She’s pretty active and those lungs seem to be developing—as evidenced by her daily hiccoughs. I wonder if she’ll be as hiccoughy when she reaches the outside...

I’m down to weekly doc appointments now. Got my first ever flu shot. Last appointment the doc did an impromptu sonogram to check the baby’s position; her head is down but her body is a bit oblique. Her butt is sticking out towards my left hip and her feet are pointing over to my right hip. Doc says it’s nothing to worry about, but we’ll keep an eye on it. Also, I’ve been pretty steadily gaining weight at about three pounds per week for the past month. That’s probably more than expected (by me), but I’m still within normal ranges. Last of all, I’ve been having some pre-labor contractions for the past four days or so. So far it doesn’t hurt, but it seems to wake me up in the morning and happens several times a day for maybe thirty seconds at a time. My belly just tightens up and gets uncomfortable for a bit, makes me a little out of breath, and then it slips away again. I’m pretty sure this is the “dropping” phase since the baby seems to be sinking down a bit lower.

Oh, here comes another little contraction…

In other less exciting news, our renters in our San Antonio house have been having trouble paying their rent. This hasn’t been a very fun situation for any of us, least of all for them I’m sure. We’ve prayed for them every day this month I think. We’re feeling bad for them but learning that we need to be a bit tougher so we can avoid falling into their situation. Paying rent here and mortgage there isn’t sustainable for too long. Still, I consider this month’s mortgage payment like tuition in a real estate class. It’s just like Grandpa Walch says “Well then, that’s your thousand dollar education!” Shucks. Also, I think I’ve gained a better understanding of the gospel concepts of justice and mercy. I sure wish some savior would come to give our renters mercy, and to satisfy the justice our bank account demands. Still, the more time goes on and the more we hear about their financial woes, the more it becomes apparent that mercy for them might be to have them move into a cheaper place. As for us, we’re grateful to be feeling the peace and protective power of paying tithing.

Lastly, just to mention a little something of our life in Fort Worth this month, we finally tried out Uncle Julio’s, a Mexican restaurant close by that always has a full parking lot. After a beautiful walk in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, we went to Uncle Julio’s and pulled out all the stops with a lobster and fajita platter and they gave us a complimentary plate of sopa pillas. So delish. I think that’s about the most we’ve ever spent on a meal, so it’s lucky our grocery bill came in well under budget this week. You know, if it weren’t for our usual diet of rice, beans, cereal and PB&Js, I think I’d feel guilty. Instead I’ll just settle for feeling grateful.

Occasion to Laugh

A few weeks back, Joe had just gotten back from a run and was finishing up with some pushups. Meanwhile, I got a little ambitious and decided to drop and do a few myself. This immediately triggered my laughter because from this stance, a minute bend to the elbows caused my belly to be on the floor. Shucks... No pushups for me.

32 Down, 8 To Go

Today we took a tour of the Andrews Women's Hospital which is part of the Baylor Medical Center in Fort Worth. I came to find out that I'm going to deliver this baby in the poshest hospital I've ever seen, with all private rooms, private bathroom with some kind of jetted shower, TV, DVD, personal mini fridge, a plush sitting area and bed for Joe. It's like a fancy hotel room minus the carpet. If I weren't nervous, I might actually be looking forward to it.

The doc says I'm measuring exactly right -- 32 inches at 32 weeks. So far this looks like an average sized baby and I've gained 21 pounds to date. Sorry to bore my readers with the details (which I mainly write for my own benefit).

Horror Stories Please

I had to receive my dreaded Rogan shot today because I have A negative blood.

Well, it wasn't so bad after all. I went in thinking that "Intra Muscular" was a polite way of saying they'd have to give me a big needle stick to the butt. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised that it was only a smallish needle in the arm. Hopefully labor will be the same way. Just tell me the horror stories so I can prepare for the worst and then... hopefully... be pleasantly surprised.

PS At 30 weeks I've gained 20.5lbs, which is only a fraction of a pound more than I weighed two weeks ago. Apparently that big growth spurt has leveled out for a moment.

PPS The baby has the hiccups right now, and Joe felt it for the first time last night. It's intriguing, but also a bit distracting.

July 2009 Update

I've been in and out a lot this month. Just five days after moving into our new apartment, I was off to Detroit for the annual NFB national convention. I felt the baby hiccup for the first time on the night of July 4th while in Detroit. I didn't feel it again for a long time, but for the last few days those hiccups have returned like a little pulse in my belly. As for Detroit, the city was pretty shabby in my opinion, although the Detroit Riverwalk was a pleasant surprise. I stayed in the Marriott Renaissance Center Hotel (a.k.a. the GM Building) and my room had a view of Canada across the river. Had fun with friends and got some work done including administering the braille exam yet again. Here are a few pictures from the week, although I wish I had more:

This is the Detroit Renaissance Center on the Riverwalk where we stayed.

This is me with my Cambodian/Californian friend Terri Rupp who is due to have a baby a few weeks after me. She's married to a fire-fighter and they live in Vegas but we were once neighbors at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.

This is me at lunch with my buddies Heath, the country boy from Louisiana, and Deja my old friend from Utah. I was feeling under-dressed.

Just a day after arriving home from Detroit, we drove back to San Antonio for Amanda Taylor's wedding. Amanda is Joe's littlest step sister. The wedding was beautiful and it was nice to see so many friends. I stayed a few extra days to hang out with the family. My sister-in-law Ashley and my friend Lori were nice enough to throw me a baby shower. Here are some pictures that Ashley put together to remember the event:

Thanks girls! I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful family members and friends.

Back in Fort Worth, Joe was able to take me out on a Saturday night in "Cow Town". He drove me past where he works in the city and he took me to see the new Harry Potter movie. We found out that Fort Worth is a pretty happening place at night. All the trees are lit up with lights and there are plenty of people and live music around. We're looking forward to spending a few more Saturday nights out.

We also took a second trip back to San Antonio this past weekend because Joe had to give a presentation at an MD/PhD retreat. Now we're back "home" in Fort Worth for a good while I hope. I say "home" because with so much coming and going it's been a slow transition into feeling like it's actually home, but I think I'm getting there.

Speed Blogging

Just got back from Maryland. Joe and I went to our friends' wedding (Mary Jo and Jesse) and visited Joe's sister, Kristen and her family who just moved out there. Now we're back and madly packing boxes for our move to Fort Worth. Definitely in a crazy phase, so this post will be brief.

It seems like over the past few weeks I've gone from looking possibly pregnant to unmistakeably pregnant. I weighed in at the doc's office this morning at 17.5lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight (8 or so of that appeared over the past five weeks). I'm at 25 weeks right now, and almost done with the second trimester. Also, for the first time today I noticed that I can actually tell where the baby is generally positioned after the doc pointed out that I am bulging out on the right side today. Never really noticed that before... maybe I'm a bit of a dummy. There's about a pound and a half of real baby inside me by now. Other observations are that for the past two weeks I've had a sore belly button where the skin is stretching -- weird -- and this week I've had those small (fake) contractions -- weirder. Overall, still feeling pretty good though.

25 weeks down.

23 Weeks

My friends were noticing my belly about a month ago, but now their husbands are actually noticing too. I guess I've reached a milestone.

Oink, Oink!

I'm finally full; Just ate two half bagels with ham, cheese, avocado, and salsa, two banana chocolate chip muffins, two glasses of milk... and a popsicle.

House Rented: Prayers Answered

God ALWAYS answers our prayers. More than that, it seems like he typically answers in the way we want him to. We must be asking for the right things at the right times (at least 93 percent of the time).

Memorial Day weekend just passed and our house is now rented. A family from Virginia found us on the rental website. He works in construction and his brother-in-law, an airforce guy, lives in the neighborhood behind ours. Together they are particularly handy and there's no doubt they are going to look after the house even better than we would ourselves. They want to be the man-power behind all the little projects (like installing gutters, fixing the bathroom leak, and landscaping the backyard) like we've been meaning to do for a long time. We couldn't be happier to know that our house will be in the hands of people who will care for it. They also have a plan to move at the same time as us, so no worries about inconveniencing family or storing furniture. Now maybe I can sleep (so long as this baby stops squishing my insides -- Not a chance).

Baby Gymnast

If this baby kicks as much when she's bigger than 12 oz., then I'm really in for it! Well, maybe I exaggerate a little, but she does seem to be cbouncing off the walls in there lately, and this can only be a good thing I suppose. Joe felt it for the first time last night.

THINK PINK!

The 20 week ultrasound revealed that IT'S A GIRL! I'll post her little portrait soon, but for now, here's the long-awaited picture of my growing self: I've gained 9 lbs so far (which I'm told is about right), and according to the ultrasound, 12 oz. of that belong to the baby (but don't ask me how that was calculated).

When I called to tell Joe's mom the news, she asked if we had to stock up on "ribbons or band-aids?" This was somewhat reminiscent of Joe's call to announce our engagement; He was calling to answer her previous question of which picture to use in the family Christmas letter, "the one with or without Louise?".

Goldfish?

People have told me that when you feel your baby kick for the first time, it feels like butterflies. I'm not so sure. Here's how I think it feels:

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was to buy a new goldfish for my pond and each fish always came home from the petstore tied up in a plastic bag. It was such a funny feeling when I felt the fish bumping the bag. That's what my baby feels like to me.