So at some point every year, I experience the need for change. Generally, I find a relatively safe way to get my fix is to have my hair cut and styled in a new way. While I know pregnancy itself creates within the body a microcosm of constant change, I needed to do something that had nothing to do with my sweet little body hijacker.
Here's the before:
And (drum rolllllll) after:
Now that I was rocking a sleek new graduated bob, I felt energized and ready to go back to Houston and be reunited with my hubby. I knew he'd be amazed at how much my baby bump grew! But first, a farewell to my little brother and his lovely long-time girlfriend Ashley:
For those of you who haven't yet experienced pregnancy's gravitational pull, it really does make people want to address you. Sometimes it comes in a sudden random conversation, sometimes it happens through an unexpected touch or sometimes by another violation of your personal and/or mental bubble. Fortunately, it doesn't bother me. I love being pregnant, and I don't hate people. Some people I actually really like and therefore am happy to let them pose with the belly. Two such people are my mom and Zach (congrats, you two):
Here is a belly pic from week 27:
Mom and I were driving back to Houston with Nestle, so we had a few things to do before leaving. While running some errands, we spotted two strange freaks of nature in the form of squirrels. They were both in the same yard, which, in my opinion, is a geographical cause for concern. I'm glad my baby wasn't born on that street.
First, I present to you Bunny Squirrel:
Ok, look more closely. It is definitely a squirrel, but it definitely does not have a tail. Not at all. Check it out:
And to further intrigue you, marvel, if you will, at Ghost Squirrel:
Mom and I made great time back to Houston, and luckily, we made it in time to see our friends the Haddens before they ventured back to Virginia. When they lived in Houston, Jon and I spent a lot of time with Darren and Kerry, and not long before they moved, they were blessed with their twin girls Brooke and Audrey. Brooke is Kerry's look-alike baby, and Audrey is Darren's. What a beautiful family; we miss them so!
I decided to take advantage of mom's presence and put her to work helping with the nursery. I'm super anal about paint, so I refused to have someone else do it altogether, and mom gracefully agreed to do the cutting in around the room so I could fulfill my need to control paint application on the general wall areas. Despite the use of latex paint, between mom's vocalization of concerns and the disturbing warning label on the can about California's medical findings, I went ahead and purchased a little accessory to protect the baby from potentially harmful fumes. Honestly, I think the scariest thing about the whole event was the way I looked in the mask, especially while wearing my high-prescription, eye-shrinking glasses; I could have made a convincing appearance in a slasher movie or maybe even science fiction ... behold Darth Mom:
Even I had to break character and laugh at myself:
Here's the work zone with mom, so focused, not even stopping to say cheese:
Here's my belly pic for week 28; wow, it's getting a sheen:
Aaaah! The baby has abducted my toes! I can't find them anywhere!
During week 29, Jon and I went for another perinatal appointment. Seeing a high-risk doctor in addition to my O.B. has its advantages, like more ultrasounds! So, time for another look at my precious little tenant. Again, we asked that they not reveal the sex, so we got some head shots. Up until now, I'd been thinking how cute this baby appeared, but I must admit that these shots got me worried ... what am I growing? Anyone remember the game Abe's Oddessey?
Here's a yawn, which somehow makes even the alien-like appearance more endearing:
I'm glad we had this appointment and saw the baby's doing well (although I'm still having a lot of contractions, the brain cyst is gone, and test results continue to come back looking good!), because that evening I had a severe dysautonomic episode. I've been doing so markedly well throughout the pregnancy, so it came as a bit of a shock. Fortunately, I was able to lie down right away, so falling wasn't an issue. The main concern, though, is that if I have an episode, that means my brain has had some degree of blood-oxygen loss, which puts the baby at risk for hypoxemia. Obviously, that's a very scary concept. But there's nothing to be done in repairing any results from these episodes, and I'm doing all I can to prevent them without drugs. Plus, I did feel the baby moving, so barring any repeats, I decided just to take the wait-and-see approach and discuss it with my O.B. at my next upcoming appointment.
Missing: 10 toes, last seen a couple of weeks ago:
This next pic is sort of random, but one day, after some strange sounds and heavy-tonka-truck traffic through our neck of the neighborhood, I stepped out on my back patio to hear a ominous hissing and see what had the appearance of a massive blowtorch burning through the trees of the nature reserve behind our back yard. Because the hurricane knocked down so much of the trees and brush, the thinned-out forest yielded this startling view, which turned out to be the flare off of a newly installed oil rig. In Texas, even suburbia is subject to the manipulative powers of black gold! So, I enjoyed this view over several weeks, as well as the muffled breaker-breaker p.a. system communications and screetching, wounded-animal sounds of the machinery at all hours of the night. Then, magically, with nature's gift apparently depleted from the site, it was gone. Farewell, fireball.
During week 30, Jon and I attended our first hospital class: Fast-Track Childbirth. It was the cram-session version from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Jon pointed out that it really could have been further condensed, or we could have just read the book. However, he was a good sport overall and realized that I love being a student and enjoy classes -- especially one focused on something that would alter the course of our lives forever. I also explained that since I am the one soley responsible for the physical carrying and delivering of this whole new human being, any additional opportunities for me to get in a little Q & A from professionals and gather info on expectations and options for the most demanding day ever required of me seemed like a reasonable investment and expenditure of our time and money. In the end, yes, much of it was common sense, especially for a geek like me who finds DiscoveryHealth fascinating, but it made me feel a little more prepared nonetheless, and we agreed it was nice to spend an entire day together dedicated especially to this exciting upcoming event.
Here's my toe check from this week ... I was feeling a bit depressed about the disappearance of my toes, so I cheated a little to see if I could at least still see them if I leaned over my bump ... oh, who am I kidding? It's no longer a baby bump; it's a baby ball. Or a baby planet. Ah well. I did prove if I contort myself a bit, I can still catch a glimpse of those piggies!
Ok, look more closely. It is definitely a squirrel, but it definitely does not have a tail. Not at all. Check it out:
And to further intrigue you, marvel, if you will, at Ghost Squirrel:
Uh-huh, it's for real. Feast your eyes again:
Now that we've seen some of Mother Nature's unusual sights, let's take a look at some mandmade art. Here are a couple of my favorite mixed-media 3-Dish pieces from First Friday, which I attended in KC with my mom and her husband Bill:
More art? Yes, please! I went with my dad to the Nelson Gallery, and in the modern art section, we saw the following. If you have children viewing, you may want to escort them out of the room before continuing. This thing is like the most offensive-looking pillow ever. A pillow that is wearing a dress. Or maybe it's a muppet reject ... anyone see that Alien movie with all the hideously deformed failed clonings of Ripley? I don't really know what else to say:
Ok, now rest your weary eyes. Here I am with dad in front of the gallery ... yes, that is a newly married couple at the top of the steps behind us:
Now that we've seen some of Mother Nature's unusual sights, let's take a look at some mandmade art. Here are a couple of my favorite mixed-media 3-Dish pieces from First Friday, which I attended in KC with my mom and her husband Bill:
More art? Yes, please! I went with my dad to the Nelson Gallery, and in the modern art section, we saw the following. If you have children viewing, you may want to escort them out of the room before continuing. This thing is like the most offensive-looking pillow ever. A pillow that is wearing a dress. Or maybe it's a muppet reject ... anyone see that Alien movie with all the hideously deformed failed clonings of Ripley? I don't really know what else to say:
Ok, now rest your weary eyes. Here I am with dad in front of the gallery ... yes, that is a newly married couple at the top of the steps behind us:
My last belly pic from this KC trip; it's the last time I'll be pregnant with this baby in my mom's house ... awwwww:
Mom and I made great time back to Houston, and luckily, we made it in time to see our friends the Haddens before they ventured back to Virginia. When they lived in Houston, Jon and I spent a lot of time with Darren and Kerry, and not long before they moved, they were blessed with their twin girls Brooke and Audrey. Brooke is Kerry's look-alike baby, and Audrey is Darren's. What a beautiful family; we miss them so!
I decided to take advantage of mom's presence and put her to work helping with the nursery. I'm super anal about paint, so I refused to have someone else do it altogether, and mom gracefully agreed to do the cutting in around the room so I could fulfill my need to control paint application on the general wall areas. Despite the use of latex paint, between mom's vocalization of concerns and the disturbing warning label on the can about California's medical findings, I went ahead and purchased a little accessory to protect the baby from potentially harmful fumes. Honestly, I think the scariest thing about the whole event was the way I looked in the mask, especially while wearing my high-prescription, eye-shrinking glasses; I could have made a convincing appearance in a slasher movie or maybe even science fiction ... behold Darth Mom:
Even I had to break character and laugh at myself:Here's the work zone with mom, so focused, not even stopping to say cheese:Here's my belly pic for week 28; wow, it's getting a sheen:Aaaah! The baby has abducted my toes! I can't find them anywhere!During week 29, Jon and I went for another perinatal appointment. Seeing a high-risk doctor in addition to my O.B. has its advantages, like more ultrasounds! So, time for another look at my precious little tenant. Again, we asked that they not reveal the sex, so we got some head shots. Up until now, I'd been thinking how cute this baby appeared, but I must admit that these shots got me worried ... what am I growing? Anyone remember the game Abe's Oddessey?
Here's a yawn, which somehow makes even the alien-like appearance more endearing:I'm glad we had this appointment and saw the baby's doing well (although I'm still having a lot of contractions, the brain cyst is gone, and test results continue to come back looking good!), because that evening I had a severe dysautonomic episode. I've been doing so markedly well throughout the pregnancy, so it came as a bit of a shock. Fortunately, I was able to lie down right away, so falling wasn't an issue. The main concern, though, is that if I have an episode, that means my brain has had some degree of blood-oxygen loss, which puts the baby at risk for hypoxemia. Obviously, that's a very scary concept. But there's nothing to be done in repairing any results from these episodes, and I'm doing all I can to prevent them without drugs. Plus, I did feel the baby moving, so barring any repeats, I decided just to take the wait-and-see approach and discuss it with my O.B. at my next upcoming appointment.Here's my belly pic -- including a rare frontal -- from week 29; this week started my third trimester!
Missing: 10 toes, last seen a couple of weeks ago: This next pic is sort of random, but one day, after some strange sounds and heavy-tonka-truck traffic through our neck of the neighborhood, I stepped out on my back patio to hear a ominous hissing and see what had the appearance of a massive blowtorch burning through the trees of the nature reserve behind our back yard. Because the hurricane knocked down so much of the trees and brush, the thinned-out forest yielded this startling view, which turned out to be the flare off of a newly installed oil rig. In Texas, even suburbia is subject to the manipulative powers of black gold! So, I enjoyed this view over several weeks, as well as the muffled breaker-breaker p.a. system communications and screetching, wounded-animal sounds of the machinery at all hours of the night. Then, magically, with nature's gift apparently depleted from the site, it was gone. Farewell, fireball.During week 30, Jon and I attended our first hospital class: Fast-Track Childbirth. It was the cram-session version from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Jon pointed out that it really could have been further condensed, or we could have just read the book. However, he was a good sport overall and realized that I love being a student and enjoy classes -- especially one focused on something that would alter the course of our lives forever. I also explained that since I am the one soley responsible for the physical carrying and delivering of this whole new human being, any additional opportunities for me to get in a little Q & A from professionals and gather info on expectations and options for the most demanding day ever required of me seemed like a reasonable investment and expenditure of our time and money. In the end, yes, much of it was common sense, especially for a geek like me who finds DiscoveryHealth fascinating, but it made me feel a little more prepared nonetheless, and we agreed it was nice to spend an entire day together dedicated especially to this exciting upcoming event.
On another note, the last day of this week, I felt the baby have a big bout of hiccups! Jon and I had fun with this, though it did keep me up at night. It was worth it. Give those little lungs some practice, baby! Pregnancy is amazing, and taking that class made me realize it's going to end some day soon. I'm so thrilled to have a baby at the end of it -- that is the point, after all -- but the process has been so special, and I'm going to miss it.
Here is my belly pic from week 30:
Here's my toe check from this week ... I was feeling a bit depressed about the disappearance of my toes, so I cheated a little to see if I could at least still see them if I leaned over my bump ... oh, who am I kidding? It's no longer a baby bump; it's a baby ball. Or a baby planet. Ah well. I did prove if I contort myself a bit, I can still catch a glimpse of those piggies!
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