More sleeplessness

Wow, just when I thought it was getting better, sleeplessness strikes again. My new-mom friends had warned me: once you get up to go to the bathroom, don't count on getting right back to sleep. Now there are a hundred questions and worries: What kind of parents will we be? How will I deal with our spunky dogs once the baby is born? Will I ever see the outside world again after her birth? And fear of more sleeplessness. This week an extra bonus is a cold that still hasn't gone away. But the human body is amazing in its capacity to recuperate and deal with the demands of the day.

I have been feeling more connected to the baby lately. It's kind of hard not to when she takes giant leaps inside my womb. I think we've created the next Mia Hamm. Sometimes I get it on four corners, which I can only imagine is her flinging both arms and both legs all at the same time. We put the crib together with a lot of teamwork, and that makes the whole thing seem more real as well. It is so sweet, and CRAZY to imagine we're (God willing) bringing home a baby in about 2 months.

Sleeplessness

Okay, time to vent. I'm almost 27 weeks pregnant, and here come the sleepless nights. Not so bad, probably not nearly as bad as it will get. But when I have to wake up FOUR times a night to pee, something is not right. On top of that my dogs seem to think that we feed them at the crack of dawn (5:45 a.m.). So after a night of tossing and turning and peeing, I spent those last precious 45 minutes of the morning hearing the unmistakeable sound of dog toenails going click click all around the house.

One thing no one warned me about with pregnancy is the whole back issue. Besides the aches and pains of carrying all that weight around, you cannot lie or lean for long on your back because you'll press too hard on the aorta and cut off circulation! This is another reason for sleepless nights. You must shift around from one side to another, and even when you're not cutting off circulation in your back, you are inevitably cutting off circulation to one arm or the other. So that's been a fun component of sleep.

I know I sound whiny. Really things are going pretty well for me. Now that I'm working part time, I do have opportunities to take naps (which I don't often take advantage of), and time to get ready for the baby. Yesterday Armistead and I bought some fun curtains for the baby's room. With any luck we'll have it put together in roughly 3 months (in time for her to be born)!

Pets

Hooray for maternity clothes! Our dear friends John and Drina, who are expecting in November, have lovingly passed along BUNDLES of maternity clothes to me that really fit. I am set!

This morning the smell of pet store seems to hang in the air above the U of L campus. Why this smell? You know, the mixture of bird poop and dog food. I was walking down to the post office from the Education building (a good 8 minute walk) and I smelled it the entire time! What could this be? Is there a flock of seagulls relieving themselves over our campus? Did they use goose poop as manure in the flower beds? Are they really serving dog food in the cafeteria? Now the smell lingers in my hair, and I will have to walk back to the post office, as it does not open until 10.

Speaking of dogs, mine have been driving me crazy. I hesitate to even write about it, because I love them so much. But the fur, the barking, the waking up to pee at 5 a.m., the fur, the fur, the fur! All this seems all right (we did know what we were getting into, sort of, when we got the dogs), but with a baby coming, I am increasingly bewildered as to how to deal with this. Guess I'll surf the web for some good ideas of how to deal with babies and dogs.

Must go, boss is here.

23 Weeks

We had our ultrasound last week, and the baby is doing great, kicking away. It's so awesome feeling her kick, although sometimes she chooses some inconvenient (and uncomfortable) times and places to kick.

Last night Armistead and I went to the prenatal class on labor and delivery at our hospital. It actually wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, and it was reassuring to see the rooms where we will be when we have the baby. I'm still nervous, but maybe a little less freaked out than I was.

I'm at 23 weeks just about, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find anything to wear! Summer was pretty well covered, but now that it's getting to be fall and my belly is getting harder to stuff into my old clothes, it may be time to go shopping.

First entry

Okay, so I'm getting started on the blogging thing, at the urging of my friend Kate. I feel a little embarrassed or maybe conceited since I'm exposing my thoughts to everyone. But I guess it's the 21st century thing to do.

So now I guess I'm up to 5 months! So far the pregnancy has been somewhat of a breeze, discounting the one week of intense pain I had a few weeks ago. This pain prompted me to rethink teaching, since last year teaching was so anxiety-provoking and physically intense. So now I am working part time in the Education Dept. at the Univ. of Louisville. This is so much more relaxing and even mindless at times. I think it may be what I need right now.

Tomorrow we go in for our 21 week ultrasound, which seems sooo redundant since we've already had FOUR ultrasounds for various reasons. But this time they'll get a better view of her heart. I pray she is healthy, and have been doing a lot of thinking about what she will be like.