The Good, The Bad, and The Bizarre

I know this looks like a novel, but if you can make it through to the end there is an story worth reading......

THE GOOD-So we finally received the offer from the job in Kalamazoo and it sounds wonderful and Keith has accepted it. We will be moving back to our home state of Michigan.....YAY!!! Closer to family and friends, back into the house that never sold in Battle Creek. I am soooo excited to be home again. It is a huge relief to be closer to my mom and friends. I will be spending a week in Midland before I get to Battle Creek because of the situation so that I will be around people in case something happens with the pregnancy I wont be alone for that week out here in New York.

THE BAD- On the same note, we have to do this very quickly. He received the offer last Thursday and he has to start on August 29th. The reason for this is because the insurance starts the first of the month after he starts which means he has to start in August to get the insurance to start in September (which is necessary because.....I'm PREGNANT) So we have 2 weeks to figure everything out. Plus he will have to drive back out the next weekend to meet the movers in New York, (that is if we can get the movers scheduled for the days we need) On top of everything else, I am 81/2 months pregnant and there is that looming possibility that I will go into pre-mature labor especially with all the issues we have been having. But we have to do what we have to do.

THE BIZARRE- Ok, the story we have all been waiting for. Last night came a knock on our front door. Keith answered and followed the knockers outside. After about 20 mins or so I finally looked outside and saw him and our neighbors from across the street staring at the side of the house and talking intently. I went out to the porch and sat down and they walked around to explain what was going on. The neighbor, Brian, had been parking his vehicle in our next door neighbors driveway and noticed an odd plant in our yard. This plant always seemed large but never seemed to be a cause of concern to us before. But as a worker for the fire department Brian had recognized the plant that, though very rare, had its picture posted like a wanted ad all around his office. It is called the Giant Hogweed and can be 10-15ft tall. Brian called the USDA because this plant is considered very toxic and dangerous. APPARENTLY if you get the sap on your skin and expose it to sunlight, it causes 3rd degree burns and boils. Just what we needed when we just put our house on the market on Thursday. Why don't we use that to advertise huh? "COME BUY THE HOUSE WITH THE NOXIOUS TOXIC PLANT" Now we have to wait for the government to come and inspect the plant and possibly excavate a large portion of our yard so it doesn't re-grow. Who would be expecting something like that???

32 weeks!

Let's see, what do we have to update on....? Well we had a doctor's appointment yesterday. My cervix was looking good, still about 2.3cm. Not great, but it has been worse. The doc called me "the woman with the ever changing cervix" lol. We had a growth ultrasound. It was the first time I had gotten to see my baby in almost 10 weeks. It was one of the most magical moments ever! He was facing us and opening and closing his mouth. He had this little button nose and big fat lips! He is the most precious thing in the entire world. What a miracle! The best anniversary present imaginable (as yesterday was Keith and my 2nd anniversary) Also when she was moving the wand around he kicked it, and you could see his entire little foot! So perfect, she measured it and it was 6.6cm! What a big foot! He measured in the 70th percentile and weighs approximately 4lbs13oz. If I can get Keith to scan the ultrasound pics at work I will post them, they are beyond amazing. Enough gushing huh?
My doc also said that he is letting me take 2 weeks off "for good behavior" LOL Basically I don't have to come back for 2 weeks because I have been doing so well. That will be a break since I have been going in weekly since I was 22wks. By then I will be 34wks and hopefully they will lift the restrictions on my bedrest!!! Keith and I have come to the conclusion that because we were all so worried about going so early that I will end up being a week overdue and they will have to induce. HA!

Keith is playing a bit of phone tag with the company that he interviewed with. Hopefully it all goes in our favor! We could use some good news right now! Keep your fingers crossed. I forgot to take a belly pic this week but if I feel up to getting dressed any time I will try to take one soon. Ta Ta for now!

More Fun Pictures

Ok so I finally got up the courage to take a bare belly shot so no snide comments about my abysmal stretch marks! I love the picture at the top. I was sitting there watching my boy kick around and Keith snuck a picture of it. These are about 30 wks 3 days. I am starting to feel a bit whalish. As I said in the previous post, sleep is getting harder and the pains are slightly increasing but not completely unmanagable yet, as I am sure they will be in the weeks to come! 34 weeks, here we come!!! I am really starting to get anxious about him being here. I want to meet him and see him, but I also feel like I still have so much yet to do! And I can't do any of it yet. Keith found these little wooden toys at Wal-mart: an airplane, a helicopter, a train, a birdhouse and a car, and I have been painting them for the nursery to give myself something to do. When I am done I will take a picture and post it. Well I guess thats it, life is pretty uneventful right now.

Sleep Deprivation.........

So I was exhausted last night, I ended up going to sleep about 7:30pm. The only problem is I couldn't stay asleep. I woke up about every half hour and then it took me another 20 mins to fall back asleep (not including having to go to the bathroom) Finally about 4am I said screw it and just got up. If this is my body preparing me for when the baby comes, it's being very cruel about it.
I went to the doc's yesterday. Everything is still on track. 30 weeks down, 10 to go... 4 more weeks until I can start slowly moving again. I can smell the freedom! I took some pics but haven't had a chance to download them yet. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. We'll see what happens.
Our dog, Molly, seems to be having some issues lately so we have to take her to the vets on Monday. I think female labs are prone to ear infections or something because she gets at least one a year and her mother gets them all the time too. Strange.

Got to share a funny story. If you don't know, along with our dog we have 3 cats. Binx, Medea, and Freud. Well, Freud seems to be of the opinion that he is more dog than cat. He eats dog food, sleeps in the dog kennel, plays roughly with the dog, chases the other cats....etc. Most times he plays with Molly he just lets her eat him and wags his tail. The other day I was watching them and Molly laid on the floor and Freud got on her head and started attacking her neck and ears like a real dog would. I mean he isn't a small cat by any means but come on!! Molly is a full grown LAB. And she just submits to his torment!! Oh I will never understand the world of animals, but they are just so entertaining, right??

29 Weeks and going strong!!

So this picture is from Wednesday July 23rd. 29 Weeks!! This was right before the weekly dr. appt. which went well. Things are good still, if not a little better! I am very optomistic that I can make it. If not all the way then at least to 35 weeks. Thats only 6 weeks away now and I have already been on bedrest for over 7 weeks. That seems like a piece of cake now!! I asked the dr. if there came a point in the pregnancy that I will be able to start to get up and around again, maybe 36 or 37 weeks if I make it there and he was like "I would say more like 34 weeks!" So that is my goal now. Not that I will be able to move much but it would be nice to get out of the house a little.

Keith and I finally decided to break down and buy a shower chair for me, because having been in bed for 7 weeks, I have no muscle left and showers are extremely draining on me. I hate that we had to because it makes me feel even more like an invalid, but I know that the reality is that it only gets harder as I go along. Oh what a wonderful life, eh?

Keith had his interview in Kalamazoo and we are still waiting to hear an answer on that. I am not getting my hopes up but at the same time, if he does get the offer then I have so much more to worry about..... I just want to go home.....

Baby boy is great. Still looking good and kicking hard. I just can't wait to hold him in my arms. I have waited so long for him and wanted him so much that it is unbelievable. As much crap as I am going through for him, I would do it again and again just to have him healthy in my arms. Ok enough sentimental gush. Ta ta for now!

Nursery and update!

So I am soo excited to have the crib put together and most of the nursery done!! I swear I may be biased but I think my nursery is the cutest I have ever seen! The pic on the left is the stroller and carseat combo that Keith put together.

We had an appointment yesterday and little boy seems to be growing right on schedule if not a little ahead. Yay! As for my cervix, I am still stable and seem to be right on track to keep him in there for a while yet. I am 28 weeks today!! I am so excited to make it this far! My little baby has such a higher chance of survival if something terrible happens now.

I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately, between all the things that are running through my head and the pains I feel every time I move (which is a lot, tossing and turning and getting up to pee) I can't seem to get a good nights sleep. So even though I do absolutely nothing all day every day I still feel exhausted all the time. Only 12 weeks left at most right?

Weekly Appointment

The pic is my 26 week shot taken last Wednesday on my way to my endo appointment. My face is all flushed and I look a little out of it but what can you expect.

So I am a little disappointed at this appointment. Apparently when they gave me my measurements last week they gave me the wrong number. The 2.35 they gave me is the FULL length of my cervix including what is already opening. So my length hasn't really changed at all. It is still about 1.4cm which is good because it is stable but still... Next week they will do a growth measurement ultrasound to make sure baby boy is still growing properly.

They did re-confirm that he is a boy again, because I mentioned that I was having dreams about going into labor and poof out comes a girl! Not that I would be upset, but it would still be quite shocking. In my dream I was even trying to come up with a little poem to put on the announcements to say it's a girl not a boy. But thanks to the ultrasound lady today I am 100% sure that we are having a boy. Phew! Makes me feel better to know for sure. I am not feeling so good today so I think I am going to go lay down. Toodles!