I bid you adieu

So yeah. We're off to France today. The week started with a virus for Jack, fever and throat, but he's fine today. Can't wait for Mommy to get sick next!

In my absence, I urge you to check out my blogroll. If you do that normally, then keep checking it. If not, enjoy some fine writing and blathering on about various things.

See you in October...

This ship is battle-ready

Today was the big cervix-measuring appointment before we leave for France next week. If anything goes wrong, it would start now and that would mean leaving the country would not be such a hot idea. Although getting stuck in Paris would not be all that bad, oh wait, no drinking or unpasteurized cheeses, so yeah that would suck.

But fortunately, everything looks great! Cervix is measuring 3.2 cm on u/s, with a slight loss of length above the stitch (2.0 cm down to 1.5 cm) and a slight bit of funneling at the very top, near the uterus. But the ultrasound tech said I have a lot of length between the funnel and the stitch. My high-risk doc checked my cervix afterward, a two-for-one special for me at this appointment apparently, and he said it is rock hard and looks great.

So we leave for our trip next week. He said knowing my personality, he could see me trying to spend 16 hours a day walking around, so he said to try and take it somewhat easy, but said everything will be fine.

Baby looked great as well, sucking her thumb and literally somersaulting around. Like I haven't been feeling that for the last few weeks. I thought Jack was active, but this one, even more so.

I can honestly tell you, I really never believed 100 percent that I would be taking this trip. All of our planning was done with "what ifs" in mind and almost everything was refundable in case I was placed on injured reserve at the last minute. So it was a pleasure to hear that I have a full blessing to travel.

I know there are people out there who think this is taking an unnecessary risk (my MOTHER) and think traveling at this stage of an incompetent cervix pregnancy is crazy. But for me, and my family, this was a good decision. I feel comfortable leaving and will not think about the "what ifs" on the trip.

This pregnancy has been awesome compared to my last; I think I deserved a good one after the shit the first time around. So the moral of the story is: preventative cerclages rock!

Head over heels

Jack learned how to do somersaults yesterday. I had Josh demonstrate it once for him, and he immediately starting doing it himself. He's so winning the gold medal in the toddler Olympics.

Let bygones be, well, gone

Today my attorney told me he received my severance check in the mail.

I thank you, kind people of MLB.com, for sending it and living up to your end of the bargain. I heart you. OK, I don't heart you at all. But I am pleased to have this behind us. Kumbaya and all that.

Unfortunately, my dear readers, this means no tales from the trenches. It's OK though. It would have turned into a bitter former employee blog and nobody wants to read that. You know you all come here for the cervix talk and the boob discussion anyway, which, by the way, are HUGE again with this pregnancy. The boobs, not the cervix.

So, um, yeah. That's all I got for ya. Still working feverishly on The Next Big Thing. But since I have fulltime nanny help now (aka Grandmas) it makes it easier to work. Josh is so worried about my cervix shortening before we leave next week that he has pretty much banned me from the park and any long walks. I am allowed one Jack activity per day, and then I am supposed to be resting. So might as well try to eke out a living for this little family of ours whilst I loll around in bed.

We heart the environment

Recently, The Sarcastic Journalist changed her blog focus to more environmental-friendly loving. On her new site, The Simple Family, she talks about things like giving away toys her kids don't play with in an effort to simplify and declutter. She also talks about trying to eat healthier and surround herself with good foods, so she's not tempted to eat the bad stuff.

I really like SJ and always have loved her site. We've been pregnant at the same time and she's gone through some of the same bizarre postpartum things that I have -- like dreaming the baby is buried under the covers and waking up searching for him.

So when I saw her new focus, I realized we once again have something in common.

Josh and I made the decision early on that Jack would eat organic food. It's rare -- only when we eat out at a restaurant, and we usually end up bringing food for him from home -- that what he's consuming is not organic. We just think it's the best thing we can do for his little body. The less pesticides and hormones he ingests, the better it will be for him in the long run.

We also try to make a large portion of our own diet organic. We eat organic produce, meats and dairy. We do eat out more than we should, which means we are wasting money and eating less-than-stellar ingredients, but we do make an effort. We do 90 percent of our shopping at Whole Foods, but that could also be because it's a mere three blocks away. It's pretty easy to run over there to pick up anything we need.

Just this month, we started recycling. Our neighborhood doesn't offer the special pickup or bins for recyclables, but we bag them separately and place them next to the garbage bin. We figure the people who go through the trash looking for recyclables appreciate us leaving them out, they get some much-needed cash when they turn them in and we feel we're making the world a little cleaner. We also thought maybe if we appease the people with the cans and bottles, they will stop ripping the copper piping off the back of the house. It's the little things, really.

Our other big advancement is cutting down our use of paper towels. When you have a toddler, one who insists on feeding himself, there's a hell of a lot of mess. It's easy to just grab a paper towel or two and clean his face and hands after a meal. It's also easy to wipe up spills on the floor. And clean the counters. And wipe your hands. But after we realized we were going through a big roll every two or three days, we invested in a set of absorbant dish towels. Now, we use one or two a day for Jack duty and throw them in the wash at the end of the night. I think we're down to a paper towel roll every two weeks now, just with that minor change.

I would love to cloth diaper with this next baby, but I am not sure I am there yet. I have started a little research, but we'll see. After reading the average child contributes 6,000 diapers to landfills in his lifetime, I started feeling a little guilty about the world I am leaving to my children. But I am really not a huge fan of doing anything more with poop than immediately wrapping it up and putting it in the Diaper Genie, so adding an extra step might not be in the cards. We'll see.

I tell you all this not for a pat on the back, but to make you think about the impact you have on the planet. Maybe someday I can make a documentary just like Al Gore and win both am Emmy and an Oscar. Then I can be BFFs with all the Hollywood peeps too!

Off the dole

I received my last unemployment check in the mail today. Sniff, sniff.

It's been a great six months, living off the hand of the government. Well, not really. I mean technically, I paid for it through payroll deductions for all those years. Plus the former company had to kick in some, so it was like sticking it to the man in a way.

But now that I actually have to start pulling my weight in this family -- because clearly, gestating this child is not paying the rent -- I am working on the Next Big Thing.

As in, working eight hours a day on said Next Big Thing. And that leaves precious little time for things like my blog. But never fear! I am going to power through it and get 'er done. I am committed to providing mindless pregnancy and parenting chatter for the masses in spite of my workload.

Now please excuse me while I go look in the mailbox for my severance check. WHICH HAS STILL NOT ARRIVED SIX MONTHS AFTER THE COMPANY AND I PARTED WAYS. No really, dick me around a little more why dontchya?

I am not allowed to "disparage" them as part of the severance agreement, but if they don't send me the damn money, there could well be some disparaging coming right up. We could start with some IM transcripts of chats with my old boss, where she belittles a chatroom full of her subordinates in realtime.

On being pregnant

I belong to an online mom's group of all women who gave birth in February 2006. There's about 75 of us that have maintained almost daily contact since we conceived those children and it's a great group of women. I have learned things from them I would never have known otherwise and have even met some of them in real life.

Today, someone asked about how we feel when pregnant. A lot of women will have you believe that pregnancy is sunshine and rainbows shooting out of your ass for nine months.

Before I really get into this, I would first like to preface this by saying I am sorry if I offend anyone struggling with infertility. After my sister went through this for three years, I assure you, I have seen the pain it causes. I know I am lucky to have gotten pregnant twice.

But for me, being pregnant is definitely not sunshine and rainbows and puppy dogs and fields of clover. It's stressful and hard.

Some women fly through all three trimesters with nary a complaint. But they don't know what it's like to check for spotting every time you use the restroom. Because I can tell you, there is no feeling like the half-second of dread as you get ready to check the TP and interpret what you see. Is that spotting? Is that normal? Oh shit, it IS spotting. Well how much spotting is it? Is it really there or are my eyes playing tricks?

Every twinge and muscle pain in the lower half of my abdomen sends me into panic mode. Is that a contraction? Shit, it WAS a contraction. Was that another one? How far apart are they? How much water did I drink today? Are my pants too tight? What could be causing contractions? Sweet mother of God, should I call the OB? I really don't want to go in and get monitored. They'll just send me home anyway.

I would say this pregnancy I am much more laid back, but at the same time, I also know the drill. If I start contracting, I drink water and lie on my side. If I feel pressure, I lie down. I know what "normal" Braxton Hicks contractions feel like vs. the crampy-contractions that can cause cervical change. I know what to look for. I know what I should not be feeling.

So for me, I really can't say I enoy pregnancy. It puts a strain on my family. My mom and my mother-in-law have to switch off weeks to come and stay with us, because I can't lift Jack in or out of his high chair and crib. Have you tried essentially living with your mother or mother-in-law for 40 weeks? It's not easy. But thank God for both of them. Without help, I don't know how we would do it.

I guess I am rambling and it's not all that amusing or funny, but it feels good to be able to say I have a problem enjoying my pregnancies.

Bear down

Hey look, it's mini Brian Urlacher!


I am the Monster of the Midway! Give me a cookie."

I hear this how Urlacher wears his Elmo hat too, kicked to the side, naturally.


There's football groupies? I'm there!

Pictures!

I forgot to post a picture from the ultrasound!



She even looks like a girl to me! I compared the picture from Jack's 20-week ultrasound and I don't really think they look alike. But I guess we'll find out in 20 more weeks.

Holy bejesus, can you believe I am halfway today? My God. Five months in the books.

Shirtless in Chicago

My son apparently is well on his way to sleeping in the nude.

His new thing, three nights running and at this afternoon's nap, is to remove his shirt. Well, kind of.

He somehow gets his arms up through the neck hole and then pulls it down around his chest and waist. While he is doing this, he is having so much fun, he won't go to sleep.

This afternoon, he was up there chattering and laughing for over and hour and a half. I go up to see what the issue is and there he is, sitting with his shirt around his waist, with a big, "HI!" and a smile.

It's back to the one-piece jammies tomorrow.

We should probably be thankful for small favors though. At least it's not his diaper he is removing.

Still thinking pink

The ultrasound was fabulous, no problems, and we have a very healthy little girl in my belly! Everything looked great and my cervix was back up to 3.7 cm.

We saw a very active baby in there. She was grabbing things and kicking and flipping and even spent a few minutes sucking her thumb. She's measuring a few days ahead, but by the looks of this stomach, you wouldn't know it. Seriously, I am halfway there now and you would think I just ate a few too many doughnuts. I should post a picture one of these days.

So I guess this high-risk pregnancy is really turning out to be rather normal. I won't have another ultrasound for three weeks, which is like an eternity. But my peri doesn't want to disturb the lovliness of the cervix with too much poking, so we'll have a quick check a few days before we leave for France at the end of the month.

I can't believe I have gotten to this point with these results. I surely expected shortening and funneling. I surely expected bedrest. I surely expected not to be going to France. Looks like I need a better crystal ball.

I didn't expect Jack to develop an end-of-summer cold. Stuffy nose, sneezing, coughing, the works. I can't wait until I get it. I feel the scratchy throat coming on now...

Don't need a repeat

Tomorrow is my big anatomy ultrasound. We all remember what happened at my last big anatomy ultrasound, so let's hope we avoid any and all drama.

Cervix should be in check, as it has been very well-behaved thus far.

I am just hoping we don't have a girl baby turn into a boy baby. I keep hearing stories about this and now it's frightening me. I have already ordered girl crib bedding and shopped. A lot.

Will report back manana.