in the ear

i've been intending to write for a few days now, but time is getting away from me really bad!

last monday i had another doctor's appointment that went well. baby's heart sounds good, my uterus growth is right on schedule and my blood pressure is a-ok. only bummer is my weight gain is a bit high (where it should be in total, not 2/3rds of the way there), so i decided then to make some changes. since then, i've been more diligent about working out in the morning and i think its working. i knew i was in trouble when, over the weekend, i tried on a pair of jeans that were comfy/baggy a few months in. sure, i expected to not be able to close them (duh, big belly happening!) but i could barely get them over my thighs. that confirmed my fear that i've been gaining too much me-weight, thinking it was baby-weight. so i'm hoping that a little extra exercise first thing in the morning (when i still have the energy) will help out both me and baby be in the best position come november. it's been about a week and a half and so far so good. let's see what the scale has to say for itself, since i'm supposed to put on about a pound a week from here on out! yipes!

one of these days i have to schedule my glucose screening, where i'll have the delightful experience of being at the lab for an hour. maybe this weekend? i hope my doctor wasn't expecting me to get it done before my next appointment, which is tuesday. yep, i'm down to every 2 weeks now!

friday night was quite monumental, and i'm still excited. adam came to bed after i did (because i'm ready to sleep come 9:30, but i try to hold out till 10:00) and i rolled over to say hi. turns out he was listening for the baby, but with his ear to my butt instead of my belly. it was dark, both are round and expansive, but still kinda funny that neither one of us noticed. it worked out well though, because as soon as he was listening from the right end, baby punched him right in the ear. this was the first time adam's actually felt the baby move and it was awesome. he finally got a little taste of my daily reminder of the little alien writhing in my abdomen. he's felt a little bit since then, but nothing quite so enthusiastic. ironically, any previous attempts of mine to get adam to feel the baby move were thwarted by his calming aura: an active, wiggly baby is instantly brought to stillness by the touch of his hand on my belly. it's even gotten to the point where if the baby's just moving like crazy (and getting a bit uncomfortable) adam offers to calm him down for me. as baby gets bigger (and bones more calcified) adam will have a harder time avoiding the action.

saturday morning, however, proved a bit intimidating for us. i got up and made my usual trip to the bathroom, but upon returning to the bedroom, i felt a small but noticeable leak down below. i've sneezed before and leaked some urine, but this didn't feel the same (not to mention i just left the bathroom). a quick investigation didn't yield anything, but i took it easy and focused on the baby moving for the next few hours. nothing else leaked that day or since, so i'm hoping it was just a random urine leakage. my belly has been no less taught and the baby no less active, so i'm trusting those 2 factors in hoping i'll, no we'll, be just fine.

i think the scare carried over to the rest of the day somewhat, because i remained hot (and unable to truly cool off) and crabby for the better part of the day. that included shopping for a shower gift for our friends, where my awesome plan was foiled when my intended registry gift was purchased by another in the time it took me to shower. we found an acceptable (though less awesome) alternate gift and made it out to yorkville in a mere 2.5 hours in the most hot-and-humid day so far this year, sans air conditioning. though we arrived before the scheduled end time (to a location that neither mapquest nor google maps knows about), the event was over and we arrived in time to help clean up and move gifts to the car. we still had a nice relaxing visit before the return trip, so the adventure was not for naught.

work has been a nightmare lately, so it's been taking everything i've got to not let it get to me. i know how stress can throw my health and mental well being for a loop (thanks, CHL from ISMS!) and i refuse to duplicate the experience ever again, much less while being with child. last week i scrambled (essentially on my own) to jot down directions for database prep for non-technical folks, while preparing a detailed training manual for presentation come monday. it is frustrating beyond belief to work several hours on something intended to be helpful, only to have people not so much as glance at it before dismissing it as "too much" or "not possible". i don't know how my work is going to get done while i'm out. i really don't. but come monday, with my boss' help, i had a training manual done and my first training session under my belt. a few tweaks and notes later helped me sail right through 2 days of two 3-hour sessions of standing and talking. maybe i'm out of practice, maybe i'm pregnant, but i completely forgot how tiring training can be. but i've survived and that's all that matters. that, and the fact that the folks i trained now have some experience under their belt. my personal amusement came from starting each session with "my name is rachel, and yes, i am 6 months pregnant". it has a bit of an AA vibe to it, but it helped get the sessions started off right, so it worked. the real test will be how well the info stuck with folks, as they move forward.

i'm looking forward to this weekend, but it'll be busy. i'll be helping make the invitations to the shower, for one thing. sure, it's weird to make the invites to my own shower, but i enjoy it and it annoys me when people i know have events, know that i make invitations (and do a darn good job, if i do say so myself) and go to other people to get their invitations made. after invitations, i'll be getting ready to go camping!! can't wait for that. been looking forward to it all summer. it'll be gibson's first trip, so that will prove interesting to be sure. i'm also going to try to squeeze in some house cleaning, because the house sorely needs it and i need it too.

i'm proud to say i'm almost done with my knit sleep-sack project for the baby. it's kind of a long tube of a sweater that i'm working on out of peacock blue wool, so i'm hoping it'll make a good home coming outfit. i recently ordered some additional yarn to make another, since it has gone so well. it's an awesome way to pass the time on the commute to and from work and rewarding to make something i know my baby will use and appreciate to some extent (he'll appreciate being warm!). i might try some coordinating mittens and/or a hat out of left over yarn, but we'll see.

school starts again on monday and i hope i'm pregnant-looking enough to earn a seat on the crowded bus. it's been rough putting on the excess weight, because i appear to be in an awkward middle ground of being potentially pregnant or just fat. i know a few times last week i came home later than usual and had to stand on the el the whole ride. once a generous man offered me his seat, but not everyone shares his generosity. the train isn't bad, but the bus would be rough, so maybe i should go shopping this weekend too? :D