Whatever you do, don't ask me how I'm feeling. Emotionally? I'm a lot more stable than in past weeks. Physically? Well, I could whine for hours. I def. feel my insides being compressed as little man gets bigger and takes up more room. Incidentally, my stomach has shrunk while my appetite has grown. Go figure! The heartburn is RIDICULOUS. When I describe it to Kyle he says, "That sounds like when I had an ulcer." My lower back HURTS, and sleeping is the worst part. Also, I can't lift simple things anymore like the laundry basket. Not only is it too heavy, but I no longer have a hip to rest it on! Add onto that all the schweaty hours I spend at work and well, I'm a little whiny. However, I believe in a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy so as long as you don't ask about how I'm feeling, I won't tell you!
On Saturday, Kyle and I went to an 8-hour birthing class at our hospital. The first part of the day focused on natural, intervention-free birth and breathing techniques. The second part discussed medical interventions and c-section. I knew about almost all the content since I had seen The Business of Being Born and read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Even though I knew the content, I was happy to be informed of the hospitals point-of-view. For instance, they are all about throwing the baby on your stomach after birth and getting right to breastfeeding. Our nurse also said that the bed moves so you can try a bunch of different birthing positions. Of course, the best part is that they will provide a mirror so I can see the baby being born! Sweet! It will be interesting to see how long I can watch that....
On Sunday, Kyle and I were total bums; even so, I managed to finish McBaby's Memory Book. I chose to make the baby book, rather than buy a pre-made one because I wanted to be able to personalize the pages. To make the book, I followed this template from Young House Love.
It's fun to think about all of the pictures we'll be taking of our little guy to fill the book. Ranging from "My First Day Home" to "My First Christmas" all the way to "My First Birthday." I love imagining what he's going to look like in all those pictures!
I had a visit to the nurse practitioner today, and asked a TON of questions! What's the baby's position in my stomach? (He's transverse, as I suspected from the jabs at both ends of my stomach!) At what point do we try to turn him? (He should turn on his own as his head gets heavier and gravity pulls it downwards, but if he doesn't we'll talk external turning around 36 weeks) Can I still be laying on my back when I sleep? Do I need more sleep? Why do I see so many bright floating spots when I look out a window? How will I know if I've overheated at work? What should I do if when I overheat? Are there any specific foods to avoid? Eat more of?
I was glad I asked the last question because she told me my iron level was slightly lower than it should have been when I last had my blood drawn. This was surprising as I religiously take my prenatal vitamin. However, now it makes sense because I was taking it with dinner and after reading the vitamin's 'directions' recently, I learned that taking it one hour before drinking dairy or two hours after having dairy could reduce the iron absorption. (I was downing my pill with milk every night at dinner!) The 'directions' also said to avoid taking the pill with an antacid, which can also reduce iron absorption. (I would take an antacid about every three nights at dinner time!) So basically, a lower iron count makes sense, and I've learned to read the fine print that comes along with medicine.
In fur-baby news, Buster is keeping us busy. On Wednesday night, Kyle and I had just finished dinner around 6 o'clock. He headed out to the garden with the dogs while I went to my room to get ready to meet some friends. When I came out of the room about twenty minutes later, all I could say was "What is that smell!?" "It smells like a moldy turd." "No, it's cat pee." "Someone's cooking a dirty diaper." This smell was AWFUL and yet so mysterious. I wish I could share it with you scratch and sniff style through this blog so you could know just how terrible it really was. After walking around our house for a while with a scrunched up face sniffing for the origin of the odor, I gave up and sat at the computer. Note: Kyle didn't smell it at all and thought I was making it all up. While sitting at the computer, I noticed Sissy sitting right next to Buster. Nothing out of the ordinary; those two cuddle all the time.
Before I knew it, Sissy was licking Buster's neck! She had NEVER done this before, and I freaked out because it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. All adorable doggy-times must come to an end, Sissy stopped licking Buster, and they got put into their kennels. Fast forward two hours, and we're back home. Kyle let the dogs out, and Buster jumped up onto my leg. I reached down to pet him and felt a huge patch of greasy fur on his neck. Then the smell hit me. My reflex was to yell for Kyle, who came and felt the greasy patch. He was then ordered to smell it, which he did, then promptly picked up the dog to give him a bath. The next morning, the stench was still in the air especially when you got close to Buster. I went about my day as usual (work at school, eat Jimmy Johns, go to the pool), got home around 4, and gave the dogs their second baths in 24 hours. There was a noticeable difference in the smell afterwards!
Fast forward to dinner time when Kyle and I were talking about this. I say, "It just smelled so....musky. What type of animal would musk?" Then Kyle decides to bring up a little anecdote about last night while he was in the garden, and Buster was in an overgrown corner of our backyard. Evidently, Kyle heard Buster scuffling with something, but like a good father, chose to ignore it. He tells me, "I thought it was probably just a snake so I went and looked around for a dead one after Buster got out of the corner. I didn't find a body, so I guess he just ate the whole thing." REALLY? REALLY! Up until that point I hadn't even considered Buster eating an animal; I assumed the something musked him and ran off. Now I have the visual of my him getting musked, tearing a snake apart, and eating it. Thanks, Kyle!
Today is my last official day of summer vacation! I can honestly say this have been one of my best summers, but can hardly wait till next summer when I'll have an 8 month-old boy to play with all day!
