Progress!

Well the evidence that there will soon be three people in our home continues to grow! Today we assembled the crib and rearranged the furniture in her room, and we assembled her bouncer. This converts to a toddler rocking chair (up to 40 lbs); so she should be able to use this for a few years. Tomorrow we are going to finish assembling the mobile, attach the contour changing pad to the dresser, and hang the letters of her name on the wall.

49 Days!!!

Well I'm 33 weeks today, which means her EDD is now less than 50 days away! Woohoo! I hope the next few weeks just fly by as I have to say I am VERY ready to hold Nadia in my arms!!! I am very glad to be on the Rx for the UTI. It's a case of "live and learn" just like in November when I went to school with the stomach flu because I thought it was morning sickness and so I thought I needed to just tough it out. I learned the difference between the stomach flu and morning sickness, and now I have learned that what I was just chalking up to pgcy symptoms were actually UTI symptoms. I am also learning to EAT whenever I don't feel that great and to try to eat protein or at least something low in sugar. Eating a hardboiled egg or peanut butter crackers for example definitely helps. I still haven't fully figured out how to keep my blood sugar level, but I am definitely eating more protein than I usually eat that's for sure! I also definitely haven't figured out how to keep my intestinal system regulated. Oh well...just a few more weeks!

I am glad to be back home from the conference. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for one thing! I am also very glad that my dad was able to come home from the hospital last night. They are waiting for the biopsy results to determine whether or not he will also need radiation. Hopefully he won't. We're also praying he'll have a smooth and speedy recovery!

PTL!

Well I am very happy to report that my dad's surgery went well. It took a little longer than expected (I think about 4 hours). Hopefully he will be released from the hospital this evening. Please keep praying for a smooth recovery. Thanks! I am also happy to report that class went well last night. I lasted the full 3 hours. I brought lots of snacks with me and kept eating throughout the class, and I sat almost the whole time. What a relief to have a good experience in contrast to my experiences last week. Whew... Now I won't be so nervous about class on Monday night. Well I must sign off as I need to leave for the conference at Penn State by 6:55am. Hope each of you has a great day! :-)

Father's Day gift

Yesterday I bought Paul his 2nd Father's Day card (I gave him one in 2005 when I was pg). I also bought a Giants hoodie on eBay yesterday for Nadia (size 6-12 months) as his Father's Day gift. I admit that part of me ONLY wants to deck her out in Steelers' stuff (when it comes to the NFL - I don't mind her wearing Duke NCAA stuff), but I figure that's not really fair since her Daddy is just as die hard of a Giants fan as her Mommy is a Pgh fan. So she now owns hoodies for both teams, LOL. Hopefully Paul will like this gift! :-)

I would also appreciate prayer that I will be able to teach all 3 hours tonight (without feeling like I am going to faint). I have been eating more protein in case that was the probem.

UTI

Well a nurse from the OB's office called me this afternoon to say that my last urine sample (given at my appt ELEVEN days ago) showed I have a UTI, and they were going tocalling in an RX of Macrobid (actually I was given the generic instead). First of all, I was surprised as I've had 2 UTI's before (first was in 2001), and I was in a LOT of pain with those. I know one symptom of a UTI is frequent urination, but I've been peeing a million times a day (and night) the whole pgcy and the other samples didn't show a UTI so I am surprised that I don't seem to have any symptoms. Second, I am upset with my OB's office that it took them 11 days to let me know!!! I think that's downright absurd and doesn't make me feel good about this office, but since I am so late in the pgcy I don't see the point of switching now. I am to take 1 capsule 2 times a day for 7 days. I also wonder if this had anything to do with why I felt so awful last week when teaching?? Well I hope the fact it went untreated for this long didn't have any effect on Nadia!!!

Nesting!

Well I think I have been "nesting" lately. :-) Saturday I took everything out of the linen closet and reorganized it. That day I also removed all the contents the shelf of the coffee table (it's a large one) and then after sorting through her book collection (in various locations at the moment) I put back only board books. The picture books and puzzles that had been there the last few months (for my niece and nephews) I moved elsewhere. I also removed most of my "stuff" that had been there. Once she becomes mobile I'll have to remove the last few things (my Bible, a book I am reading, etc.), but there are still a few months where I can enjoy easy access to my stuff while I'm on the couch before it needs to be totally baby proofed. I sorted through her board book collection and picked about 10-15 books to take to my office for when she's there along with a big (very soft) Steeler blanket that will work well to put on my office floor for her "tummy times" and a boppy for work (since I now own two I figure I'll keep one at work and one at home as I do plan to nurse her at work).

Today I organized the contents of the two bedroom closets by removing everything that isn't for Nadia from her closet (Christmas decorations, my wedding dress, etc. used to be stored in there) and moving the stuff that IS for her from the other bedroom closet. I also started opening some boxes of things - some of which I purchased over 3 years ago when we started pursuing adoption so I'd be ready for a last minute match. I took all the bottles and sippy cups etc to the kitchen and washed them in the dishwasher, and I put her bibs in one kitchen drawer (moved the cloth napkins that we use maybe once a year up to the linen closet to make room for the bibs which will be used frequently!). I also set up her hamper. It is GORGEOUS. I just love it!!! I also ironed the valence and stuffed it with tissue paper and hung it up. I also like it very much! Those are both from BRU's Gossamer Wings collection. I registered for a mix of butterfly items because some of the GW collection items are VERY expensive IMHO. So some things (mobile and lamp for example) I registered for were from another butterfly collection (that Walmart sells) that's far cheaper. Other items were comparable in price, and in many cases I thought the GW options were much more attractive (such as the wallpaper border and window valence). I registered for the sheer drapes from the GW collection, and that was my one splurge as far as an expensive item from that collection, but they are really pretty, and I couldn't find anything similar elsewhere, so I will use my gift card for BRU to buy them if no one buys them off the registry. It is SO much fun to be setting up her nursery that is for sure! I think this evening I will install the light switch and outlet covers also. I have to say the GW collection looks really nice in that room which has light purple walls and darker purple carpet. I'll take photos in the near future.

Paul has several things to assemble in the next few weeks. First will be the crib and then probably the bouncer (it came in a million pieces!). The high chair also came in a million pieces but she won't be needing that for a few months so there's no rush on that one. Hopefully we'll move before she needs her high chair. The contour changing pad also needs to be screwed to the back of the dresser. That will be a quick project.

Yesterday when we were going for our daily walk, we crossed paths with one of our neighbors. It was the first time we had chatted with her in a long time (years I think!). Anyhow she immediately recognized that I am pg. She was walking with her daugther and 3 month old grandaughter. I was glad to have someone who didn't know I was pg figure it out by looking at me after that comment I got last week that I didn't look pg. I want to look pg as otherwise I guess I just look fat, LOL!

Nadia Renee

Well the first thing I ordered for her once we picked her name hasn't come in yet (the letters to spell her first name on the wall), but since then she's received two other things with her name on them! Yvonne did the beautiful cross stitching that includes her name as well as the meaning of her name. All I need to do is add the month and day to her birthdate (the year is already done) and get it framed! It's going to look beautiful on her bedroom wall!! This work of art was my bday gift. :-) Then a clock came in today that I ordered on eBay that was designed to go with the Gossamer Wings collection. The outlet covers I ordered on eBay for her room came in yesterday. We figured out that the woman who made them used the wallpaper border (same kind I got at my shower) to cover the outlet covers and safety protectors so although those aren't officially made by Kids Line, they definitely match 100%!


I am getting even more anxious to set up her nursery!!! However we did make progress on that today as Joe helped Paul carry up the crib box from the dining room to the nursery, switch the nightstands and dressers from one bedroom to the other, and move the bed from the purple bedroom to the blue bedroom where now we have bunk beds. We'll wait one more week before we actually assemble the crib and such. I can't wait! We also then need to go shopping for a rocking chair (Christmas present from my parents) as I definitely want to have one at home before she's born!
Since my sisters can't attend one of my baby showers (since they'll be in Chicago and Turkey), I received the gift from them yesterday that they would have given me at a shower if they could have come. It's a really nice playgym! I am sure she'll get a lot of good use out of it. I've had quite a few games for adults in my house for years (Taboo, Guesstures, Boggle, etc.), but now we are just beginning to have a few toys for infants. I am sure that collection will grow a lot in the next year! Right now she definitely has FAR, FAR more books than toys which frankly doesn't bother me, LOL!

Paul got summoned again for jury duty. His excused absence from a couple of weeks ago turned into just a postponement. Now he's supposed to report July 15, three days before my EDD. Hmmmm.....

Amusement Park!

Yesterday I hit the 32 week mark! That means as of today her EDD is 7 weeks (plus 6 days) away!!! My day began at 7:15 when my niece, Jenna, woke up. I had a wonderful day playing with my niece and nephews, chatting with my parents, sister and bil, and of course going to Knoebels! We paid $20 total for two four-hour handstamps for Jenna and Drew (and actually they were valid for 4 1/2 hours). My parents were up here from 9am to 6pm on Friday. Yvonne and her family were here from 11 pm on Thursday night until 1pm on Saturday. We had a great time. Probably we won't see them again for about one year so we wanted to make the most of our time together! Yvonne is also pg (due the end of November) so there were will be 5 children age 6 and under the next time our two families get together.

Rough Night

Well I thought I had a plan in place so that I would feel fine at the end of class last night. I brought a snack, two bottles of water, and planned to sit most of the time. My plan didn't work. In fact I felt much worse. On Monday night I made it 2 1/2 hours before I started to feel awful, and I was able to go about 20 more minutes that night and let them go at 7:50. Last night I felt like I was very close to passing out much sooner in the class period. I tried sitting on the floor in the hallway while they were working on a group assignment (it was cooler out there). Then I tried teaching a little more, but the room was spinning on me. The students were telling me that I had lost all color from my face and looked like I was going to faint. I said everyone gets a 5 minute break, and I put my head down. A few students brought food up to me, I ate some animal crackers (gave one student his chocolate bar back although it was very sweet of him to offer it to me). It helped a little but not too much. I felt very weak, dizzy, and nauseous and mostly felt like if I kept talking I would pass out. I knew I'd have to let them out early, but I still had a goal in mind as to how much I wanted to cover before I let them out. I couldn't make it though. I finally just gave up and told them I would have to let them out early as I wasn't up to teaching another minute. Of course I am sure they didn't mind being let out early. :-) They were very concerned though and offering to take me home. I said I'd call my hubby, and some offered to stay with me until he came and others offered me their cell phones so I could call him from class. I thanked them but said I'd be okay. I was just going to sit there a few minutes until I felt well enough to go up to my office and call Paul.

Someone must have told the professor teaching in the room next to me as then he came in with one of his students (whom I had in class last semester). He insisted on me using his cell phone to call Paul so I did, and he insisted that Oceanna would stay with me until Paul arrived. After calling Paul and asking him to come get me (I didn't feel it would be safe for me to drive), I went up and called the ER to speak with the OB on call (that's what we're supposed to do when the OB's office is closed). She said that if I actually fainted or my heart was racing that I needed to come in, but otherwise she said I should just go home, prop my feet up, and eat some protein. She guessed that the possible causes of how I was feeling were either my blood sugar was too low (she felt my dinner was too high in sugar as I had a PB sandwich on rye bread, apple, and granola bar), the baby was in a position where she was lying on an artery or something that would make me feel faint, I was dehydrated, or I am still anemic. I can rule out the dehydration as from how often I have to pee (and I always check the color) I really don't think that was the problem. That dinner was a very common one for me on a day when I am eating dinner in my office prior to teaching a night class, but maybe that was the problem?

As for the anemia, I did learn something in my conversation with the OB. She asked me how often I was taking the iron and also asked if I was making sure not to take it with dairy products. What?!?! Neither the OB nurse or the hematologist nurse had told me this! She said it cancels it out. I've been taking my morning iron pill with a yogurt. So last night Paul made me a toasted cheese sandwich and I waited an hour before taking my evening iron pill. Normally I've been taking my evening iron pill 2-4 hours after dinner so I think that pill has been absorbed, but I guess the morning ones have been a waste.

Well I feel fine this morning, thankfully. We're going to go pick up my car this morning before Paul heads to school. It's not exactly "on his way," but we don't want to leave my car there any longer than necessary. I really felt confident that I would feel fine in class last night. I didn't swell up -that was one improvement, but I'd take swelling over feeling like I'm just about to pass out any day of the week! The good news is that there are only 9 more nights of class. The next class isn't until next Wed as we have off on Monday for Memorial Day. The topics we are covering that night are challenging for the students (validity, reliability, etc.) so I really need to feel up to teaching a full 3 hours that night. I had no problem teaching 3 hours a day in the spring semester. I guess that was about 4 weeks ago as we had a week off for "reading days" and then final exams for a week and then last week we had the break in between semesters.

This evening (after I am in bed), my sister and her family will be arriving at our house. Tomorrow my parents will also arrive so we can all go to Knoebels amusement park together. According to the forecast the weather is supposed to be great tomorrow so I hope that is correct! I am really looking forward to this time with my niece and nephews especially as likely I won't see them again for another year or so.

I can't believe it

I will be 32w pg on Friday, and I am still getting comments from some folks that I "don't look pg." Unbelievable! I am carrying around a 4 lb. baby and still don't look pg?!?!? Yesterday I was chatting with a lady prior to the mtg who asked me what I was doing this summer, and I was telling her I was teaching now but was taking July and August off. She asked me why, and I said because I am having a baby in July and her jaw dropped. She looked at me and said, "You look great; you don't even look pg!" I think she meant it as a compliment. I told her I had gained a little over 20 lbs so far, and she said she gained 45 with her first pgcy and 50 with her second. Oh well, if I am still not looking obviously pg at 32 weeks I don't think I ever will! I was wearing a maternity top no less. The upside is that so far I don't have any stretch marks (although that might be from using the almond oil twice a day), and my belly button hasn't popped out yet either.

I am sooo anxious to set up her nursery. I think since my bil, Joe, will be here in a couple of days that I am going to ask him to help Paul do some rearranging. I want to switch the dresser that's in the blue/yellow room with the one in the purple room as it's of the height it could be used as a changing table whereas the one in the purple bedroom is very tall. Also I figure he can help Paul carry the crib box upstairs, and we can still wait another week to actually assemble it (just in case we get an offer on the house in the next week). It seems to me we won't be moving until after she's born since our house hasn't even been shown the last 3 1/2 weeks. It's a great time to be a buyer, but not a good time to be a seller. I have purchased two more items on eBay that are handmade to match the Gossamer Wings collection - a clock personalized with her name and 4 outlet covers. We received a matching light switch cover (Kidsline does make those) at the shower. I wish we could just move into the house we like in June. Then she'd have a pink bedroom, but we really don't want to own two homes. So I think she'll be starting off in the purple bedroom. I will not use the wallpaper border in this room, but I can use everything else!

59 more days!

There will be only 5 more times (at the most) that I will celebrate the first digit changing in the countdown toward Nadia's EDD! I love being able to refer to her by name. It seems soooo much more personal. I've never had a Nadia as a student the past 16 years I've been in education, and considering that lately I've had 250-400 students a year, I think that shows it's not a super common name. However it turns out I have known ONE other Nadia besides the gymnast. There is a woman in the church (whom I knew but didn't know her first name) named Nadia. The Pastor said he thinks she'll adopt our Nadia as a granddaughter. :-)

Three hours is a long time to teach at this stage of the pregnancy. I will definitely do things differently on Wednesday night as by about 7:30pm I could feel the color draining from my face as well as my legs, ankles, hands, etc. all swelling up. Even my knees got huge (temporarily). I sat down and that helped a little, but I couldn't wait for class to be over although I really enjoy teaching this particular class and the students seem really nice. I had brought one bottle of water but had finished that off maybe 1/2 way through the class. On Wednesday I plan to bring 2 bottles of water, something to eat (I think that was part of the problem), and also will sit more during the class period to try to avoid all the swelling. Usually it's only my fingers that are swollen; I can still wear my wedding band, but that's it, and that's only because it's a 6 and my fingers are usually a 4 1/2. However my ankles, feet, legs, etc are usually not swollen (yet anyhow!). My shoes actually felt painful by the end of class. Thankfully it all went away once I got home and propped my legs up. I hope I make it to the last class - June 25. I think it will be more difficult than I imagined it would be. If I don't teach in the summer then I go 12 weeks w/o pay, so I really wanted to teach at least 1 class. Last summer I taught 3 classes. Thankfully I will get paid for 2 classes this summer as I'm getting a grant stipend as well. Today I get to stay home aside from a mtg at 2pm at the public library for a committee I am on. I finished one accreditation report yesterday morning and plan to finish the second today.

Back to Work

Well I have to say I really did treat last week as a vacation. I did very little school work. Tonight is the first session of an assessment class I am teaching for 6 weeks. Class will be held from 5-8pm on M/W, and we get Memorial Day off so really it's only 11 class periods altogether. The only other time I taught this class was last summer. My dept chair usually teaches this class in the fall/spring semesters. As of this morning there are 26 students enrolled in the class - 17 undergraduates and 9 graduate students. Looking at the class roster, I have had at least 11 of the students before in at least one other class (which is good as it means fewer new names to learn as that's not my forte). In addition to my class resuming, I also need to get back to work on other projects on my to do list. I think the one I will start tackling today will be 2 accreditation reports (I am a reviewer of other universities) that are due by 6-1.

Last night I finished the thank you notes. I am used to typing and not used to handwriting that my hand kept cramping up so I was only doing a few at a time, LOL. Speaking of aches and pains, sleeping has been rather difficult since the beginning of the 3rd trimester. In the beginning of the 2nd tri I started getting hip pains when I laid on either side. Then I got the total body pregnancy pillow and was able to sleep comfortably for the rest of the 2nd tri. Well sadly the "nest" doesn't do the trick any more. It still helps a little, but my hips really, really hurt part way through the night. Thankfully I can usually sleep at least 6 hours before the pain keeps me awake. I learned the hard way that if I take a nap during the day then that means fewer hours I can sleep before the hip pain keeps me awake. So I am avoiding naps. Yesterday when I felt like I was going to nod off, Paul and I went for a walk instead (that woke me up!). We walked much farther I am happy to say! Of course I am thrilled to pieces to be pregnant, but I am ready to give birth and be done being pg (but in reality I want her to stay inside til July). Although I know she's going to keep me up a lot at night (especially at first), I think at least when I lie down after having her I won't be greeted by intense hip pain. The Pepcid is doing a pretty good job with the heartburn lately as long as I take it every 12 hours w/o fail. I will definitely be popping fewer pills once she's born as right now every day I'm taking 1 prenatal vitamin (that will continue), 2 softeners, 3 iron pills, and 2 Pepcids. Of course popping pills is far easier than having 3 shots a day in the butt like I did at the beginning of the pgcy! :-)

Two Months!

Well I am very conscious every time we hit the 18th of the month since Nadia's EDD is 7-18. That date is exactly TWO months from today which means starting tomorrow it's less than 2 months away! WOOHOO! And if any of my efforts to bring on labor early are successful, then maybe she'll be in our arms in about 6 weeks!!!

Last night I was working on thank you notes. It reminded me of 7 years ago when I was doing them after bridal showers and after our wedding. I guess those are the two times in your life when you receive the most gifts and write the most thank you notes. :-) There were 7 people who gave an individual gift yesterday, and I did those first. I wasn't sure how to handle the rest at first as 42 individuals or couples had signed the card. Linda Sue, the choir director's wife, had taken contributions from those 42 people and purchased all the other gifts. So most of the gifts weren't labeled as being from a particular person. Last year there was a baby shower for another member of the choir, and Linda Sue did all the shopping that time as well. That woman just wrote one thank you note which was read to everyone and then posted on a bulletin board in the choir room. I thought about doing it that way as well, but then decided to write individual thank you notes to everyone who signed the card. Two who gave individual gifts also had signed the card, so I have 47 thank you notes to write. I am so, so grateful for their generosity! We certainly received some necessary items like a crib mattress and high chair. I was thinking about the 2nd boppy, and it hit me that presuming I do find them useful, it would be nice to have one in my office since I plan to nurse her there as well. So I don't plan to return one of them unless I end up being like Lynn and don't find them that helpful.

BABY SHOWER!!!

Today the senior choir (in which I sing alto) and the handbell choir (which I am also a member of) had a breakfast together. This is an annual tradition for the senior choir, and in light of the fact they were also turning it into a baby shower for me, they also invited the handbell choir this year. I was afraid I'd bawl my eyes out. I am happy to say that although I did get choked up and shed a few tears while I was thanking everyone for the gifts and also for their prayers (some have been praying for 4 years) - I never totally "lost it." I can think of the baby showers I have avoided as well as the ones I've attended where I felt like crying as I sat there wondering - will I ever be a mom? I can't believe it was MY turn today for a baby shower. Sometimes I still can't truly believe I am actually having a baby girl. I really had given up hope. Anyhow when we walked in there were three long rows of tables. I am not sure how many people were there, but I'd say at least 60. On each table there were balloons (two purple, one pink, and three mylar). The weights to hold the balloons down were gifts - a little toy (a peacock), a roll of wallpaper border for the nursery, etc. At each person's place setting was a Baby Ruth candy bar with a butterfly attached. How appropriate! :-) My mom used to send me with small Baby Ruth candy bars to give to my classmates on my bday when I was in elementary school so that brought back memories to see those candy bars.

After we ate and honored Bob & Carol (the directors) and gave them gifts as well as our accompaniests and had a short devotional and time of prayer, then Paul and I were showered with gifts. Usually hubbies don't get to participate, but spouses are always invited to this event. So Paul sat beside me and together we opened LOTS of presents!!! She got so much stuff such as a high chair, rocker, mobile, crib sheets, clothing, etc. We are so, so very thankful for the generosity shown to us!!! Carol (handbell director) made her a quilt and Cindy (sings alto and also is a substitute in the handbells) made her a bib. It's so pretty; it will be hard to use it and let it get dirty! The only item which was a duplicate of something I have already received is I got another nursing pillow (very similar to a boppy). So I need some expert opinion from you moms out there. Should I exchange this pillow for something else (this one came from Walmart) or would it be helpful to own two of these??? Inside the card which everyone signed and wrote little messages in (definite keeper!) there was also some cash and a gift card from Walmart. Wow! A few of the clothing items I got today were newborn size. I didn't own anything that size yet so now I have something that she can wear right away!!!

I have to say I wish right now I knew for sure that we were not going to move prior to her birth as I feel the urge to start setting up her nursery today! I'd love to put up the new valance in the window, set up the crib and put the dust ruffle, sheet, and mobile on it, etc. I will restrain myself and wait 2 more weeks though. If I set up a nursery in this house it will be in a purple bedroom. If we are able to buy the house we really like, her bedroom walls are pink. Either way it will go with the Gossamer Wings items.

Anyhow I am grateful to the Lord for this miracle of life that He has created within me that we could celebrate today, and I am also very grateful to the people at my church - for their prayers for months (and in some cases years) and also for all the lovely presents which they gave us today. They made today a very special day for Paul & I!!!

She has a name!

Our little girl's name is Nadia Renee! Paul came up with Nadia, and Renee is my middle name. I think the name is pretty, and I like that it is unique yet not difficult to spell. Surprisingly it was #198 on the Social Security list for girl names in 2007. I say surprising as aside from the famous gymnast, I have never known of another Nadia so I didn't expect it to be that "high" on the list. I love the meaning of her name. Nadia means "hope" and Renee means "reborn," and this little girl definitely represents hope reborn. I had given up hope awhile ago of ever giving birth to a baby, and about this time last year my hope of ever becoming a mom through adoption was almost gone as well. I can't wait to hold Nadia in my arms! I ordered these letters for the wall in her bedroom today. The pattern will be blue butterfly, yellow butterfly, yellow flower, pink butterfly, and yellow butterfly. I think it will go well with the other butterfly things I registered for (mostly from the Gossamer Wings collection). She already has a butterfly lamp in her room! If we ever have or adopt another baby, the name selection process will be MUCH easier as we already have a boy's name picked out (Ian Alexander), and we have agreed on what the first name will be if we have another girl (keeping that a surprise). So all we'd have to do is come up with another middle name! Big sigh of relief! :-)

31 Weeks!

Today I had an appt with my regular OB. I believe he's the only one I'll see for the next 2 months as I am done seeing the high-risk OB and the hematologist. The medical student found her h/b immediately. Her heartrate has always been in the high 140's (147 on Tuesday for example), and my uterus is also still measuring exactly as it should for how far along I am. My b/p was still good, and I had lost 1/2 lb since Tuesday. I don't think I changed my eating habits at all; I attribute the slight weight loss to my increase of physical activity. The doctor said I should come back in 2 weeks, but 2 weeks from today I'll be speaking at a conference in State College. They didn't have any appts for the next Monday or Tuesday so my next appt will be June 4 (19 days from now) at which point I'll be 33w5d. I don't mind that the appts will be a little farther apart as they don't really seem to be that big of a deal. I know that shortly after that appt they'll start having me come in once a week.

The dinner last night was really nice. I took most of my appetizer home (quesedillas) as well as half of my dessert. Normally I only order an entree. We never order appetizers, and I very rarely order a dessert or a drink (Paul always has a soda). The dessert was the best part. I highly recommend their "Apple Sizzler." YUMMMY!

The b/f class last night reaffirmed my desire to try to go without an epidural. I also plan to ask for them to let her nurse asap after birth - before they bathe her, etc. Oh and the class was free after all - the insurance will pay. :-) The most interesting thing I learned though had to do with having the baby self-attach. I was impressed by the video clips showing newborn babies crawling to the correct spot and latching on all by themselves! I don't associate crawling with a baby less than 1 hour old, but in fact they can get to where they need to go to be able to eat. I plan to try it although the nurse warned that it can be like watching paint dry. So if I get impatient, I'll help her get in the right position. :-) I have looked forward to nursing a baby for years - that day isn't far away now!!!

Last Class

Yesterday I took another short walk, and then when we got back I trimmed 3 bushes/trees for 30 minutes (I saved the top part which requires standing on a ladder for Paul). So I got even more exercise than I did on Tuesday. :-) Earlier in the day my friend Cheri stopped by for a short visit, and she gave me a box of (used) girl clothing. Most of the outfits are size 24 months (summer clothing). Someone she knew was giving away a lot of baby clothes, and Cheri passed some on to me and some on to her niece (who is also pg). So our daughter owns a lot more clothing now than she did a day ago, but of course these won't fit her for about 2 years. :-)

Today I am going to have lunch with a friend from where we used to live. She'll be at my university for a conference today. I am really looking forward to seeing her. We worked together for 7 years, and I miss her! Tonight Paul and I are going to dinner at Bennigan's as we have gift cards for that restaurant and they're having a special where you get an appetizer, entree, and dessert for $10.99. I'll have a salad as my entree. :-)

Today will end with a class on nursing for me from 7-9pm at the hospital. When we got the brochure of all the childbirth classes, we signed up for three, and we've already done the other two (tour of L&D and infant/child CPR). The other two were free, and this one only costs $10. Hopefully it will be helpful!

Exercise!

Well yesterday I went on a walk for the first time since I think October. Of course I am way out of shape compared to last summer when I could jog our 3.4 mile route in about 50 minutes. I get out of breath rather easily these days! Paul and I used to do our route together, but he's been doing it alone lately and had told me several times that he missed doing it together. Yesterday we did the first part together and then I turned around and he kept going. I think after that experience he probably won't tell me that he misses me any more since I walked soooooo slowly, LOL! Hopefully I can gradually increase the pace and the duration. It felt great to be outside on such a pretty day (in the 70's yesterday)!

This morning I have a meeting at a restaurant in Lewisburg that serves a very nice breakfast buffet. I am carpooling with another prof. The funny thing is the last time I was at this restaurant was last May for the annual choir breakfast, and the choir is having breakfast there again this Saturday. So I haven't been there in a year but will be there twice this week. :-) This year the handbell choir is also coming. Spouses are always invited so Paul will be with me on Saturday. I have to say I have really been enjoying a relaxing pace this week. I've watched one movie with Paul each day, read a novel, etc. I haven't done any schoolwork (except for a few work emails) since Saturday!

Sixth ultrasound

Our little girl now weighs 3 lbs 11 oz, which is in the 50th percentile for 30w. Everything looked good - even the placenta! It is no longer on or even near the cervix. PTL the placenta previa has been resolved. :-) The only measurement that was toward one of the upper/lower limits of normal was the amount of amniotic fluid (on the high side). I knew that too little fluid could be a problem; I didn't know there was such a thing as too much fluid. What was different with this u/s compared to the last 5 was that part of the time it was a 4D one. Her head was tilted back so that made the top of her head cut off from our view. It looks like she's smiling in this photo! Her hand was right in front of her face. Doesn't she have such cute little chubby cheeks? :-) I am glad that at this point there is no longer a reason why I should have to have a c-section. So in early July I plan to start doing activities that might bring on labor; so if she cooperates, maybe in 8 weeks she'll be in our arms!

I wasn't happy with my weight gain though as I gained 5 lbs in the last 2 weeks. UGH!!! However since I hadn't gained weight the previous 2 weeks before that it means I gained 6 lbs in 5 weeks. Altogether I've gained 22 lbs in the last 17 weeks. I was hoping not to gain any more than 30 lbs, and I think that's still possible if I can stay close to 1 lb a week weight gain. Well the most important thing is that she's doing well!!! My diastolic b/p was lower than usual. Normally that # is between 60-70; today it was only 50. They didn't say anything so I guess it's okay to be that low? My systolic was 100 which is very normal for me (100-110 is my norm). Well now that the placenta previa restrictions have been lifted, I can start doing some exercise again. That should help me keep my weight in check. I am sure I cannot do what used to be my usual 3.4 mile route (especially since there is a VERY steep hill involved), but I think I can do a little walking outside in this gorgeous weather (70's today after a very chilly day yesterday). :-)

Today Paul's parents are celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! Last year Millie threw a big party for them for their anniversary. With the divorce rate being so high these days, I think it's pretty special that both of our parents are still married (mine will celebrate their 39th anniversary in 4 months).

Finally, for any classical music lovers out there, my sister will be performing in a baroque chamber music concert which will be broadcast live on wfmt from 1:15-2:00 EST tomorrow. The wonders of technology that I can listen live to my sister's concert being held in Chicago! ;-)

Names

The photos are from the faculty luncheon at Perkins last Saturday.

The SS releases the list of the popularity of baby names on Mother's Day weekend every year, so the 2007 list was recently released. Sophia was still very popular (#6) although not as popular as Emily which has been the #1 name for 12 years straight (similar to Jacob which has been #1 for 9 years straight). Interestingly, "Nevaeh" was #31 for girls last year and is "heaven" spelled backwards. "Elvis" moved from 761 to 676. Renee was #709, and the two first names we are trying to decide between were in the late 100's and late 700's, which is fine by me. The surprising thing to me is I've never known someone who has the name in the late 100's whereas I know several who have the name in the late 700's. My sister is making something with her name on it, and so Paul has agreed that we can finalize her name in the next week. So stay tuned! :-)

Motherhood

When does a woman become a mother? Is it from the moment she conceives a child or when she gives birth? I believe life begins at conception. The medical profession seems to define pregnancy as beginning at implantation not conception. Normally most people wouldn't know that they had conceived unless implantation had also taken place. The exception is with IVF. Interestingly enough I looked up the definition of "pregnant" in the dictionary, and it said

"containing a developing embryo, fetus, or unborn offspring within the body." So by this definition I was pregnant in August as there were 3 embryos within my body. I considered myself to be pregnant, and when the test was negative 11 days later, I felt as if I had a miscarriage even though in the eyes of the medical profession I had never been pregnant. As a side note, at every OB appt when they go through the list of questions they either ask for confirmation or state that this is my 2nd pgcy. I wish they wouldn't. I don't like to be reminded of it every single time. In fact it even says it on my kick count chart - they filled in that this is my 2nd pgcy.

Anyhow, back to when does a woman become a mother. I looked "mother" up in the dictionary, and it said "a woman who conceives, gives birth to, or raises and nurtures a child." So this definition does seem to say that motherhood starts at conception. In which case this was my 3rd Mother's Day as a little life was conceived within me in June 2005. I remember TameraRae making that comment last year on the blog that I was indeed a mother already even though there were no children in my home at that time. Since I believe life begins at conception, I do agree on some level that I have been a mother since June 2005, but of course since I've never held a child of my own in my arms, I haven't really felt like a mother. For whatever reason, I feel differently at this point. That time I never even saw my little one on u/s - only b/w and hpts proved his/her existence. This little one I have seen on u/s 5 times so far, and I have felt her move many, many times. It feels more "real."

The reason for my analysis is I could tell that people were defining when someone becomes a mother in different ways at church this morning. Some said to me "Happy Mother-to-be Day," some said "Happy Mother's Day" and specifically commented on how I am a mother NOW (not going to become one in 2 months), and one said "I know I shouldn't say this, but Happy Mother's Day." I felt like she was saying you're not a mother yet, but I want to wish you a happy Mother's Day anyhow. Well I think I am a mother now, and in reality I have been a mother for almost 3 years. This feels like my first Mother's Day. Other moms (like Jo) consider their first Mother's Day to be the first one they celebrate after having given birth even if they were pregnant during the previous year's Mother's Day. Well either way, I had a lovely Mother's Day this year as my daughter kicked within me. Paul's parents gave me a card at our lunch yesterday so I have 3 cards to treasure for years to come.

Speaking of definitions, I was reading on Dani's blog about a contest NBC's "The Today Show" has been running in which they had five categories of "moms." One was called "Non-mom Mom" and was defined as "Grandparent, stepmom, or mom to adopted children, each one raising and loving a child." WHAT?!?!?! I think this is incredibly insulting to those who become REAL moms by adopting a child. How are they ANY less a mom than one who gives birth??? Unbelievable. If we ever adopt, I hope no one ever asks me about my child's "real mom." If I adopt, I am the REAL mom. Since when does the term "real" equal "biological"????

Prior to having lunch, we did a little shopping as Paul had told me on my bday that my other gift was a stock pot (to replace ours which has seen better days). He had shopped for one at the mall near our house, but they only sold them in sets with other pots/pans not individually. So we went to the Boscov's down where we used to live and got a stock pot. While we were there I had to see if they had any bargains on infant clothing. I must admit I feel a little delinquent as currently I own very little clothing for our girl who is due in just 9 weeks, and some of what I own is for the future like 2 Christmas dresses for example. I have been told not to buy clothing until after my baby showers as I'll get a lot of clothing then and after the showers then I'll know what I still need to purchase. I agree this makes sense, but as one who usually plans ahead, it feels hard to wait until what feels like the "last minute." But I restrained myself and only bought two items - a short sleeved onesie for this summer (the message on it cracked me up!) and a long sleeve OshKosh shirt for the winter (6 months). The total for the 2 items was $5.98 (original prices totaled $29). When I walk around the store and see all the adorable clothing, I feel like a kid in a candy factory. It's going to be a LOT of fun to go shopping once it is time to do so! I think my two favorite things to purchase right now are clothes for my daughter and books for my daughter. Right now she owns FAR more books than clothing, LOL!!!

Well today is the start of my one week off before the summer session starts. Saturday I did a lot of work on preparing for the course this summer and also started working on the syllabi for my fall courses. I have decided though that I want to make this a relaxing week. I am sure I will get more work done. I'd have to go away somewhere to really take the whole week off, but I want to not feel as "driven" to cross things off my to do list as I usually am. Nothing has to be completed this week. I checked out 2 books from the church library yesterday (novels), and I hadn't read the one I checked out last Sunday. So that is an example of how I want to spend my time this week - reading fiction. :-) I have a Christian Education board mtg at 4:30 at church and then handbells at 6:30, but I plan to stay home up until that point. Paul will also probably be at home this week as his advisor is on vacation in NC. He plans to work on starting to write his thesis as well as studying for his comps which he will take in 2 weeks. So it will be nice to have more time with my hubby this week. :-)

I will close with the words of Annie, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow. You're only a day away." I wonder what I might be looking forward to tomorrow? LOL!

Happy Mother's Day!

The words "happy" and "Mother's Day" have not gone together for me for more than 10 years. This year is very different! My daughter is kicking within me and will be in my arms in a few weeks! I have received my first 3 Mother's Day cards. The first came from Millie (sil), the second was an e-card from Donna (friend from church), and the third was from Paul. The first two were for an expectant mother. Paul's was for a mother. I made a comment about the card saying I'm a wonderful (wife and) mother, and Paul said something like I'm taking good care of my daughter now while she's inside me. I guess some might say next Mother's Day will be my first, but I agree with Paul that I already feel like a mother now. :-) Today we are going to have lunch with Paul's parents, grandmother, brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew as we celebrate Mother's Day and Millie's bday. I have often skipped church on Mother's Day the last several years, but those days are now behind me. :-) I was supposed to play the piano in the 10:45 service today, but I found a replacement as it's a 1 hour drive from church to where we're having lunch with Paul's family. I am going to the 8:00 service instead. I will say my church is more sensitive than most as they honor all women on Mother's Day, not just mothers. Kudos to them for that! Well to all you moms out there - Happy Mother's Day!

Surprise!

Today as I was driving to Perkins to have lunch with my department, I didn't know I was driving to my first baby shower!! The undergraduate commencement is this afternoon, and most of our department is participating. I opted not to as I didn't think I could make it through the ceremony without going to the bathroom. We had scheduled our end of the year luncheon for 12:30 prior to graduation. When I got to Perkins, I saw there was a baby balloon at the table. :-) I was the 4th person to arrive. When the other 9 arrived (they came together by van), Charles (my dept chair) presented me with a card which was signed by 12 profs and 2 secretaries and included a $100 gift card to Babies R Us! Part way through the meal the waitress brought out a cake. They sang to me when the cake was brought out (using the Happy Birthday tune, LOL). They teased me a little that I ordered such a cheap meal ($5.01 including tax) as that was part of the surprise - they were paying for my lunch. We had a cold front go through so I was wearing a long sleeve (non-maternity) shirt with maternity pants as it's only in the 50's today. Hopefully I looked okay in the photos. I'd have dressed differently had I known the luncheon was also a baby shower! It will be fun to shop using this gift card! :-)

One bittersweet thing about this card (which is definitely a "keeper!") is that one professor who signed the card passed away last night. It's kind of strange to receive a card signed by someone who is no longer alive. Her office was right beside mine. The last time I saw her was last week when we were conducting interviews. She died from a blood clot. I think she was about 65 years old. She was the one who wrote my tenure report (at the dept level) a few months ago.

30 Weeks!

As of tomorrow I'll be in single digits in terms of how many weeks left until the EDD as it's 10 weeks today which means it will be 9 weeks (+ 6 days) tomorrow! YAHOOO! If she comes "on time" we're 3/4 of the way there! I am hoping she'll come a little early so I am hoping there are maybe only say 8 weeks left til her grand arrival. :-) I am very excited about the u/s in only 4 days as I've gone 6 weeks w/o seeing her! Of course it's been MUCH easier to go these 6 weeks than it was from the 10w to 20w u/s because I feel her moving so many times a day. I bought some almond oil last night and plan to apply it twice a day (have done so twice thus far). I figure if Lucia managed to carry twins w/o any stretch marks that is a very strong endorsement IMHO! Hopefully I will also escape having any of those red lines on my belly.

Last night at 10pm I finished grading all the exams, papers, and projects from my four classes (119 students). Today I plan to finish grading everything from my one grad student who did 3 independent studies with me. I already finished one this morning, but then I had to go on campus for an unexpected meeting with a student (my Dean called me last night at home to set this up). It turns out I'll be doing an independent study during summer session 2 (while I am at home with our little girl), but I think it will work out okay as it won't be too much to grade the papers, quizzes, and exams for just ONE student in ONE class those 6 weeks. Anyhow, it will be a great feeling when all the grading is done! I've already entered the final semester grades for 6 of the 8 courses.

As far as earning tenure (since Jo asked), it seems to be only used in academic settings although there are other positions which have just as much job security (such as Supreme Court justices). Public school teachers (K-12) work towards earning tenure within usually the first 3-5 years of their employment. At the university level some positions are tenure track and others are not. The trend is that universities are moving towards a smaller percentage of positions being tenure track. If you enter a tenure track position and do not earn tenure (typically the probationary period is 5-7 years at the university level), then you are fired. This is in part where the expression "publish or perish" comes into play. At some universities tenure is fairly automatic if you have decent student and peer evaluations. At other schools many are denied tenure for a variety of reasons, particularly inadequate scholarship (which primarily refers to publications and procuring grant funding). If I hadn't earned tenure, then this next year would have been my last at this university. Three of the profs Paul has had in the last 2 years are going up for tenure in the fall, and so he was recently contacted by the administration to write an evaluation of each of them as a part of their tenure review process. Now that I am tenured it means it would be very, very hard to fire me (not that I've ever been fired from any job and I've never had tenure before). Hopefully soon I'll get the letter from the President which says I am also being promoted to Associate Professor!

Yesterday a student brought me a baby gift! How sweet was that! I have to say this is the second gift I have received from a college student (not counting from a GA) in the past 5 1/2 years I've been a professor. The first was the cake a couple of weeks ago. When I taught grades 5-8 it was very common to receive gifts especially at Christmas but also some around my birthday and/or at the end of the school year. The most common gifts were coffee mugs (which was ironic since I don't drink tea or coffee), candles, and body lotion. I still got some gifts each year as a principal, but not as many as when I was a teacher. However I went 5 years w/o any as a professor; I have received maybe about 2 cards on average. I do not mean to sound like I am complaining. I never gave a gift or card to any of my college professors! I am just saying that receiving baby gifts if I had been pg while a middle school teacher or a principal would have been more "expected" but receiving one as a college professor totally caught me by surprise! ;-) The pjs she gave me have little lady bugs on them and are size 3 months.

TENURED!

I wasn't on campus yesterday, but evidently if I had been I would have received a letter from the President stating that I had earned tenure. I say this because last night I received an email from the Dean congratulating me on earning tenure. :-) I was fully expecting this result ever since I started the application process last fall, but still it's really nice knowing it's now official! I've actually only been here for 4 years, but I was allowed to count one year of my time at Kutztown towards my probationary period. Since my experience from 1992-2002 was all in private schools who don't give tenure, this is actually my first time ever earning tenure. There's no pay raise involved with tenure; it just means I don't have to be evaluated so often (the past 5 years I've had to do student evaluations in every class, an evaluation by my dept chair once a year, and peer evaluations twice a semester), and I don't have to submit another performance review for 5 years (whereas I've done 6 since 2003). It also means my job is very secure - maybe too secure. I say that because people joke that unless you commit murder you can't be fired. I think that's tenure gone too far!

Yesterday I finished grading those projects I had been grading for 8 days. What a relief! I also graded 16 of the exams from Tuesday night which means I've now graded 83 exams this week. This morning I have a meeting at a school district at 8:30 and then am giving my last final exam for the semester at 10:30. Including the exams that will be taken then, I have 36 left to grade. I really feel I can grade those today. I also hope to grade the projects and exams from a grad student who was taking 9 credits of independent study coursework with me. She sent me most of her work over the past week. Once I grade her work, I will be done grading (at least until the summer class starts in 11 days, LOL). I have to admit grading papers is not my favorite part of my job, but I must say I am also very grateful that I have a Graduate Assistant who helps me with grading so I usually don't do it all on my own (although I have been on my own last week and this week).

Paul turned in his paper yesterday, and his grade for Inorganic (in which he had his final exam on Monday) was already posted (another A for my dh). He also scheduled his comprehensive exam with his advisor yesterday (last week of May). Now he needs to start writing his thesis! I was thinking about his PhD applications, and we never heard one way or the other from Duquesne or Carnegie Mellon. I guess some schools only send acceptance letters and not also rejection letters? I am proud of him though that he was accepted at 4 of the 6 places he applied! The other ironic thing is that of the 6 schools, the 2 that are ranked the lowest nationally (as in not even in the top 100) are Duquesne and Lehigh. I think it's rather odd that he would be accepted at schools ranked rather high on the list (Pitt and PSU for example) and not accepted by those not even ON the list. PSU was our first choice; so we are just very grateful that he was accepted there. Now if we could only have someone make an offer on our house so we could move somewhat closer!

I think that the iron supplements must be raising my iron level as I have definitely noticed an improvement in my energy level the last few days. The bloodwork which showed I was anemic was drawn on 3/31, and I wasn't told about the anemia until 4/28. I wish they had told me sooner. I now am only needing 8 hours of sleep at night and haven't had a nap in a few days either. Better late than never I guess! Only 5 more days til we get to see our little sweetheart again! Yesterday she was quite the little gymnast. It felt like she was moving nonstop All Day Long. She's definitely positioned parallel with my spine. As of tomorrow, I'll be officially 3/4 of the way through this pgcy! I hope the last few weeks just fly right by!

Easy come, easy go

Well it turns out that box of 35 books that came to my office last week wasn't really for me. My name was on the address label, and there wasn't any paperwork inside the box. It turns out it was for a student organization (of which I am the advisor). So I guess the adage of too good to be true applies here. Well I still have quite the growing collection for her thanks to cheap (but not free) books from Ollies and such.

I got a lot of grading done yesterday so as of right now I think I am down to only 12 more projects to grade. WOOHOO! I plan to finish grading those and also grade the essay exams from last night. One student took over 2 hours so I didn't get home until after 9pm last night. Thankfully I don't have to go anywhere today. I will spend most of the day on my couch grading papers. Paul didn't end up going to school yesterday because for a couple of hours his paper vanished. He had finished it and asked me to edit it (for run-ons and such). I finished and clicked save. Then he noticed that my editing had separated a diagram from its caption. So I resized the diagram and then clicked save again and when I did it disappeared. He had been working on it for a week and had only saved it to his flash drive, but there was no sign of it on his flash drive. We spent 2 hours trying to recover it, and thankfully we were successful in recovering the version that was just before I had proofread it. So I proofread it again, and we saved it multiple places. That was a very stressful 2 hours for Paul as he said there was no way he could have rewritten it by today (when it's due). Thankfully he didn't have to rewrite it!!!

This morning Paul felt her kick, and he was surprised at how much stronger her movements are than when he first felt her kick a few weeks ago. She has been really active this week. In about two months she might be in my arms!! If the placenta previa situation has been resolved, then I plan on trying to bring on labor once we enter July. I would love it if she'd come about 2 weeks early so that I could have more time at home with her before the fall semester starts the end of August. If the previa still is an issue, I am hoping they'll agree to schedule the c-section early as well. I figure 37 weeks is considered full term. I'll be at 37w on June 27 so I figure early July would be wonderful. We shall see if she cooperates, LOL. Plus I figure if I have her a couple of weeks early she might be a little smaller (and thus easier to deliver!).

Yesterday I got a article rejection letter, but it actually was very encouraging. That sounds like an oxymoron, but truly it was the nicest rejection letter I ever received. The 3 reviewers had 6 options for recommendations from #1 definitely accept to #6 innapropriate for JECTE (the journal). One picked #2 (accept with minor revisions), one picked #4 revise and resubmit, and one at first marked #3 and then changed to #4. All three had VERY positive comments such as "this is a professional research article," "easy to read and interesting," and "rich presentation of research base." The editor said that the "quality of your scholarship was high," and "we feel that is very close to being publishable in our journal." So I will add revising and resubmitting this manuscript to my "to do" list of things I'd like to accomplish prior to her arrival. I am quite encouraged that this will likely become my 7th refereed article in 4 years!!! There is one other manuscript that has been under review for several months that I haven't heard about yet. Now I just would like to receive the letters from the President regarding tenure and promotion. It seems I am already getting off to a good start towards the publications that will be needed if I ever decide to go up for Full Professor (highest rank). :-)

First Card!

Today I received my very first Mother's Day card! I had given Paul a Father's Day card in 2005, but that pgcy didn't begin until after Mother's Day so I had never received one before. Anyhow, in the mail today I received a beautiful card for a "mother-to-be" from my sister-in-law. I am going to be keeping this card for a very long time. Mother's Day has been a very difficult day for me emotionally for quite awhile - long before we started ttc 6 years ago. This year it will be a very happy day for me! I am sure it will seem even more real to me next year when I have a daughter I can hold in my arms on Mother's Day, but what a thrill to have a little girl kicking inside me this year! At this time last year I was very, very, very discouraged. We had been contracted with Lifetime for 2 1/2 years to no avail, and our dossiers were in Ukraine, but we started to realize they would likely expire before they were submitted to the SDA. We weren't pursuing any fertility treatments at that time. This year I am very, very, very excited to be counting down the weeks and days until I get to hold my child in my arms and give her lots of hugs and kisses.

Speaking of Lifetime, I received a thick packet in the mail yesterday from the BBB that contained Lifetime's response to my complaint. The BBB has asked that I respond by 5-12. I do plan to respond, but this will be the last time I continue this process with the BBB. It just stirs up too much anxiety and frustration within me to think about it. I want to put it behind me and think about it as little as possible as it's not a pleasant topic by any stretch of the imagination. I can't think of any decision I've made in my entire life that I regret more than the one we made when we signed a contract with them in 2004. I'm dubious anything will come about as a result of my complaint, but I felt I needed to make at least some small attempt to try to help prevent someone else from going through what we have with them.

As for the grading, I now have 40 done and only 28 to go, and I plan to grade more before I head back to school to give my third exam at 6:30pm. I have graded 67 of 121 exams, but those were done by machine and the rest are essay exams that will take a lot longer to grade. Tomorrow I don't have any appts so I am hoping I can make a LOT more progress with grading. Paul is finishing writing a paper that is due tomorrow. I think he's going to submit it today. Then he's done with the requirements for the spring semester and "all" he has left between now and the end of July are to take his physical chemistry comprehensive exam and to write and defend his thesis. That will keep him very busy! He starts at PSU on August 4th. He'll probably get about one week off in between when he finishes his master's and starts his PhD. Well speaking of grading I should get back to that! :-)

8 more days

until the next ultrasound! I am looking forward to seeing her again. Paul hasn't seen her since 20w; he will be able to come to this 30w one. I am hoping that the placenta is no longer on or near the cervix. I had been encouraged that I have felt her move much higher up, but lately it seems like she's been lying parallel to my spine with her feet up high and her head down low. I say that because sometimes I feel movement down low and up high which I assume means I am feeling hands and feet at the same time. Sometimes though she does seem to be lying the other direction as I feel hands and feet simultaneously on each side of my belly. Yesterday she was SUPER active in the morning. She was kicking me almost nonstop during the 2 services when the choir performed the cantata as well as during Sunday School in between. A few times it hurt because she kicked a rib!

Paul is taking his inorganic final exam right now. I gave one exam this afternoon and will give two tomorrow and one on Thursday, and I am still grading the projects from last week. I think as of right now I have 32 done and 36 to go. In light of the grading and how tired I am, I am not going to handbells this evening. The choir cantata went really well; it was a real treat to see my mom out there in the congregation at both services. She left MD at 4:15am in order to come to the first service! I am sure she was very tired when she got home about 13 hours later. It was great to have lunch with her also. :-)

Belly Button

Well I haven't been able to see my belly button for awhile, but on Friday I happened to look in the mirror while I was getting dressed and noticed that it looks very stretched out. I told Paul it might be popping out sometime in the coming weeks, and he looked rather horrified at that possibility, LOL. I don't think he realized an "innie" can become an "outie" during pgcy! :-) I have noticed also that other women get these red stretch marks on their bellies during pgcy. I have some white ones since the 2nd tri, but no red ones yet and frankly I don't mind if I never get them. We shall see what happens these last 10 weeks. It's funny because now MOST people seem to be able to tell I am pg (surprisingly it's still not 100%), but pretty much everyone guesses I am not as far along as I am. They'll look at me and ask "are you due in Sept or Oct" or something like that, or when I tell them I'm due in July they'll say something like I don't look big enough to be due that soon. As badly as I wanted to be showing in the beginning of the pgcy, I have to say I have no desire to be "really big" at this point. I am fine with my belly being on the smaller side if it happens to stay that way. I think it's in part due to the fact I have a long torso. I am 5'7" but my height is in my torso not my legs (I can wear petite size pants). I'm content that I do "look pg." I am uncomfortable enough with this size belly and can imagine I'd only be more uncomfortable with a bigger belly. I am not trying to win any contests for the biggest pg belly. It's funny though bc most people I see each week know how far along I am so I haven't gotten that type of comment very often, but I was deluged with those comments on Thursday night at the CPR class, Friday during the day at the grant meeting, and Friday night at the faculty social.

On Friday night each table had one chair that had a red stone taped to it, and that person got to take home a small box of Godiva chocolates. I sat in one of those seats! :-) There was a chemistry prof (Eric) there whose wife is pg, and she also won the prize at her table. Someone made a comment that it was good that the pg women were winning the chocolate. :-) When we were chatting with them, Eric said how they had tried to have a baby due in May, but that didn't happen (this is their 2nd child - their firstborn is 2 years old). I didn't say a word. I didn't know what to say. Of course he has no idea we started trying for our baby 6 years ago. I have no clue how to respond to someone who is disappointed that the EDD is 3-4 months later than they "planned" when mine is 5+ years later.

My hectic schedule last week caught up with me yesterday. I came home from choir rehearsal and was set to start grading and I just couldn't keep my eyes open so I slept for an hour on the couch. I woke up and did some grading and about 3 hours later was back asleep again for another hour. Then I only managed to stay up for about 2 more hours and was in bed before 8pm. So I didn't get nearly as much grading done as I had hoped. I think I'm at 13 done and 55 to go or something like that. Hopefully this afternoon/evening I can make a LOT more progress. However, I must have needed the sleep. I am also not sure how long it takes for the iron supplements to "cure" the anemia. I've only been on them for about 3 days.

29 Weeks!

I am sooo happy that now we are down to only 11 more weeks til her EDD. YAHOO! Last night we went to a 2 hour adult/child/infant CPR class which also went over how to help someone when choking as well as how to use an AED. It made for a very, very long day for me, but I am glad we had this training *just in case* she ever needs us to use any of the techniques we learned last night. We both had CPR training in the past, but it had been a long time, and the guidelines had changed since we were last trained.

Today is another hectic day. I need to leave by 7:40am and won't get back until about 4:00pm. I'll be home about 2 hours before we head to the faculty social. Then tomorrow morning I need to leave at 8am for choir rehearsal, and Sunday morning I'll need to leave about 7:00am as we are doing the cantata in both services (8:00 and 10:45). My mom is coming up to the 2nd service which is soooo sweet of her. We're taking her to lunch at Perkins after the 2nd service before she heads back to MD (she's driving over 6 hours RT to come to my cantata!). The difficulty with this hectic schedule this week is that I received 68 BIG projects to grade on Monday. I had thought I'd have plenty of time to grade them this week, but when I made the syllabus for the semester I didn't know we'd be conducting interviews all day on Wed & Thurs and I'd be in a grant mtg all day on Fri (and picking a candidate up from the airport on Tues). I have only graded 7 so far. I really wanted to have all of them graded by Sunday night, but there is no way that's going to happen. Anyhow about every waking minute I have in between my other obligations is going to need to be used for grading over the next several days as starting on Monday I'll also have final exams to grade.