37 Weeks

I had another doctor's appointment today. Everything is good. I had to do another non-stress test (NST) to measure Ellie's heartbeat and contractions. No contractions :) Ellie kept moving around so Jason had to press down on the heart monitor which made Ellie move more. Finally, the doctor came in and we were able to quit the torture machine.

The doctor asked me if I was dilated. I said, "Uh...I think you are supposed to tell me that." So, he measured and said that I was 2 cm and that the head was down. He said that he thinks that we won't make it to Jan. 17th. He predicted the 38th week or early in the 39th. I asked him if he thought this would happen naturally, and he said, "Of course." Since he was so cavalier about his prediction, I figured that he meant that he would "create the date."

That's it for now...just hanging on...not getting much LENGTHY sleep. I guess this is nature's revenge ;)

Almost 36 Weeks

Sorry for the lack of updates. We are trying to make it to the Winter Break. We both finished up classes at UM and MSCC last week. The week before we went to a technology conference here in Memphis for two days, and we presented a session that we had prepared with a fellow librarian. We are also trying to get our yearly book orders finished before the break. Jason sang during the holiday concert that was held at his school. Of course, we had the baby shower in there as well. So now that all of that scrambling is behind us, we can focus on the upcoming rest and relaxation :)

On the Ellie front:

• On Monday, December 17th, I was scheduled for another glucose test. However, once I got to the doctor's office, they realized that this was a mistake. So, instead of 4 sticks, I got to lay all cramped up on the "table" for 30 minutes for a NON-Stress Test. Basically, they measured the baby's heartbeat and looked for contractions. I almost ripped that monitor off of me because it was very uncomfortable sitting up on the exam table. :) Anyway, I suffered through, and the doctor said that everything looked fine.
• We are in the process of filling out paperwork for childcare once I have to go back to work.
• I spoke with the doula and I have an appointment with her this week.
• My next appt. is Thursday, December 20th.

Bitty Baby Going for a Ride

Well...we had to test out the new car seat. And since Ellie is not here yet, the closest thing we had that resembled a kid was Ellie's new baby doll that she received from Cailen. Thanks Cailen...and we hope that Bitty Baby's cousin Bitty Baby gets her arm fixed real soon.

After the Baby Shower...

Jason unloaded the car once we got home from the shower. This is a shot of the nursery with all the new stuff.

Then, he started to install the new car seat that we received from my co-workers at school. At the childbirthing class, we were told to allow several hours for this task. Well...you know...we had to time it. It took Jason about 15 or 20 minutes to remove it from the box, read the instructions, and install it in the car.

He also assembled the matching stroller. We are still sorting through the gifts that we received and are trying to find a place for all this new gear to live.

Baby Shower

Ellie's baby shower was held on December 8th at Cindy Halupnik's house. She had the house all decorated for Christmas...she even had her entire dining room transformed into a Christmas village. It was overwhelming...the family and friends, good wishes, and great baby gear. Thanks to everyone for a memorable event...but to say thank you is really an insufficient gesture when faced with the generosity of all the people in my life. So, I guess we will just have to let you babysit as our "thank you." When can I start passing around the sign-up sheet? :)

Here are some of the pictures...

Good grief..now I am "colonized"

A while back, I found that I am Rh negative and I got a shot for that...and I will need to get another one once labor begins.

Now, I have this too...Group B Strep. Here is what I found out about it...

• Since the early 1970's, the bacteria Group B Streptococcus (GBS) has been identified as the number one cause of life threatening infections in newborn babies.
• This bacteria is normally found in the vagina and/or lower intestine of 15% to 40% of all healthy, adult women. Those women who test positive for GBS are said to be colonized.
  Group B Streptococcus should not be confused with Group A Streptococcus which causes strep throat.
• The vast majority of GBS infections are acquired during childbirth when the baby comes into direct contact with the bacteria carried by the mother.
• An estimated 12,000 infants in the United States will become infected with GBS each year. This bacteria will result in the death of an estimated 2,000 infants yearly, while leaving many others mentally and/or physically handicapped.

So...now you are in the know as well... ;)

I will get IV antibiotics for this once labor begins...nice, huh? Other than finding out this, the doctor's visit on Wednesday was fine. Heartbeat was 133, and I've lost a few more pounds. He didn't seem real concerned about this, but I think I really should be going in the other direction. :)

I'm an Aunt x's 2...

and Brandon got his 2007 tax break. All kidding aside...right now Stephanie and the boys are stable and things look good. All this one day after his 31st birthday :)

Go check out the babies: http://www.brandonwebb.com/canyousaytwo/

Everything is fine here...just weird arm/leg itching. We went to the childbirthing class on Saturday. All I can say is...nope, no way, no how are they sticking that epidural beam/tree trunk in my back. Who do I need to talk to see if I can just skip this whole labor and delivery part? Does Santa listen to these requests? Maybe there is a librarian fairy that I can plead my case to? Yep...I need her number!

Here's a glimpse of that day...

Quickie...

Dr. appt. on Wednesday was short. I saw the nurse practitioner. All is well...weight good, BP good, blood sugar good, heartbeat good, belly size good. She did the Group B Strep test, and they should have those results by next week's appt.

On Saturday, we are going to the hospital for the childbirthing class. That should be fun!
Next Saturday is the baby shower at Cindy's house. More fun!

Room Update...

We finished the letters and the stenciling near the letters. Currently, we are working on stenciling over near the door. When we get finished, I'll post those.

Here are some pictures of the room so far. At work, we couldn't view the ones that I put in the slide show a few posts back. So, I posted some general pictures because the folks at work were asking me about colors and such.

Weekly Doctor's Appt.

All is well. Dr. said I could ease up on the 4 daily sticks because the numbers look good. He measured the heartbeat (135) and the belly. I have lost a pound :) That's it...it was quick. I go back next Wednesday.

Well..I am off to dream of chicken and dressing...YUM!!

60 Days To Go!

Dr. appt on Nov. 15 went well.

• Blood sugar is fine...just keep doing what I am doing to keep the numbers low.
• Ellie's heartbeat was 130...this is good.
• Belly size is good...whatever that means! :)
• Dr. told us that Ellie would be one of the last babies that he delivers as he is planning to retire from the OB stuff in January.
• Next appt. - this Wednesday, Nov. 21

Let's see...what else?...

• We were lazy this weekend...so nothing new accomplished in Ellie's room. However, I did get 2 pieces of school work done at UMemphis on Saturday.
• Only 2 work days this coming week :)
• Last week, Jason started tutoring in math after school. On the pre-test that he gave, this was one of the questions: 7 groups of 10 equal ______. One of the kids answered "book." Ahhh...Jason is perfecting the art of banging his head against a brick wall.

• Just a few more weeks until UMemphis wraps up...Yeah
• Childbirthing class at the hospital on Dec. 1st. Yikes...this is getting close, huh?
• Baby shower is coming up on Saturday, Dec. 8th.

That's it for now...

Click on the picture!

Current Project

Here's what we have been working on...



The dragonfly matches the design on the quilt and the rug. I made the stencil, and Jason has been painting it. My painting contribution was the blue swirly line. :)

I got the suga-betes!

Well..the 3 hr GTT results weren't great which means that I have gestational diabetes. All 4 of the numbers were high...not very high, but still over the limit. So, I have to go Monday and pick up a glucometer. In retrospect, I guess those Oreo McFlurries weren't all that great :) Now, I'll have to test my blood sugar 4 times a day and try to regulate it with diet. Jason asked the doctor to explain the ramifications of gestational diabetes. Mostly, it leads to big babies and shoulder dystocia. He said that one time he delivered a 13 pounder. So far, my measurements do not suggest this "situation." And now that I have the "food police, " also known as Sargeant Jason, patrolling what I put in my mouth, hopefully this won't happen.

I also got a flu shot on Thursday. So, I've been sick since Thursday, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I told them (doctor, nurse, and JASON) that this would happen; however, they all poo-pooed my comments, stating that flu shots don't make you sick. Hmmm...I was fine before the shot and about 2 hours later I was sneezing and my throat was hurting. I will NEVER get another flu shot...this has happened every time I have received one.

The doctor also measured the heartbeat; it was 138. Everything else is fine...just a lot more tired at the end of the day. And, I bought some bigger pants at Wal-Mart today. So, I've almost graduated out of my regular ones. I've gained about 12 pounds. I guess I'll try to be brave and take a picture and post it. If Stephanie can, then I guess I can :)

I finally called and talked to Human Resources and our supplemental insurance folks. I've got a stack of paperwork to fill out regarding my leave of absence. Because I have a lot of sick time saved up, I will get 30 days of leave with full salary. And after a week or so into my leave, my supplemental insurance will also kick in. So, if all goes according to schedule, I should return to work around the first of March. I would like to stretch it out until after Spring Break which starts on March 17th. This would put me back at work around March 25th.

We talked to our neighbor across the street today. She has a little boy that is 2 or so. Jason asked her about childcare, and she said that they have been on the waiting list at the 2 good places (First Baptist and WM Christian) for a year. Uh-oh...we aren't on a "list." Gotta start working on that next, huh?

___________________________________________________

Next appt.: Nov. 15...every 2 weeks now...

Ellie's First Pumpkin--Happy Halloween Everybody!!!

Headline: Local Fatty Attempts Century Bike Ride--Fails By Half-Century

Well, I only rode 50 miles...but still, I rode 50 miles yesterday!!!

I didn't start out trying to ride this long. I was only going to try to better the Tour de Heart distance (32 miles) by three so that I could say I did 35 miles. But when you've done 35 miles, your whacked out brain asks, "So why not try for 36?" I think you get the idea.

I eventually rode out to Crawfordsville and made a big loop until I returned to my original route and then I rode it home. Except for the area near the Hino plant (where big trucks forced me off the road into the gravel twice!!!--no breakdown lanes!!!) there was not too much traffic to speak of. Of course the weather looked good when I left home at noon--bright and sunny. But when I got to Marion--home of the Patriots, who apparently had cut down every tree for miles around--my old nemesis, the wind, made a roaring reappearance. This week however, it managed to just blow from the northeast without whipping around too badly.

I only ran out of water twice and had to sneak up to a building and get some out of their outdoor faucet. As desolate as it is out there, I almost thought I heard the banjo music from Deliverance playing somewhere in the distance. Wouldn't have mattered though, my rear end was already numb anyway.

In riding 50 miles, the first 40 are not too bad. It's the last excruciating 10 that make you wish you had never been born and long for the sweet, sweet release of death. When I finally made it home at 5:00, I managed to slump off of my bike, take a shower, and crawl into bed where I laid in the fetal position shivering until 9:00. I was then able to move long enough to get a bite to eat, watch some TV with Carmen and then go to bed for real. As I type this now, I actually don't feel too bad or stiff. Let's just hope it stays that way--I have to work tomorrow.

For those of you who love statistics:

• Distance: 50.24 miles
• Time: 4 hrs, 58 mins, 48 secs
• Avg. Speed: 10.0 mph
• Butt Numbness: Off the chart--maybe now I can go back to where I heard that banjo tune?

By the way . . . if anyone is interested, I finally broke out of the 280s. I weighed in at 275.6 lbs. yesterday. :) Pretty soon I'll be able to sing this song with Justin Timberlake.

Well that sucked!

Since I failed the 1 hour glucose tolerance test (GTT) at my last doctor's appt, I had to go today and be subjected to a 3 hour GTT. Well, now you can just call me "Sticky." The nurse drew blood four times, and I had to sit in the waiting room from 8:00 am until 11:30 am. After witnessing all the waiting room drama, 4 patient's rooms, and 2 different nurses, I came home...traumatized. I HATE NEEDLES. Only good thing: the nurses are competent and I only had to pretend to be a pin cushion 4 times. At least they found the veins on the first tries. Oh...and did I mention that they drew blood FOUR times? :) Just wait until the end of this "game," I am sure that there will be lots of tears and lots of yelling about "NO NEEDLES!" Just wait...you won't want to be there...cause it won't be pretty! :P

Jason has already discussed his 32 mile trek on bike this past weekend. While he was peddlin' away, I walked in the "Making STRIDES for Breast Cancer Awareness" walk at AutoZone Park. Some of my co-workers and I walked in this; however, we didn't make it all the way :) We turned around once we got the Amtrak station. Then Jason, Momma, and I went to the flea market at the Fairgrounds. We bought a rug and some Steelers stuff.

Once we returned home on Saturday, we worked on Ellie's room. I still need to clean the closet out, and we want paint some letters to hang over the crib. Here are some pictures of our progress:

2 hours, 20 minutes / 13.6 mph avg

Well, I did it. I rode the Tour de Heart today and shaved almost 40 minutes off of my best time. Of course, the wind was impossibly harsh; I could have finished 15-20 minutes sooner if nature didn't hate me.

By the way, of those riding the 32 miles, I finished dead last. Oh well. I don't have a $4000 carbon fiber road racer from Italy, nor am I a greek god who has stepped down from Olympus to grace the world with my perfect body shape and 120 lb. weight. I dragged myself and at least a husky teenager around that 16 mile loop twice. I'd like to see those guys try that!

On the way around the first loop, the tour sponsors had made stations every four miles and people were posted there to clap and cheer you on. That was very nice and it gave me quite a lift to have someone say, "Way to go...hang in there (fatty)." Of course that last word was only on the tip of their tongues, but it was there. Fat people have a sixth sense about these things.

On the second loop, I was quite lonely. All of the greek gods and goddesses had finished (probably in an hour to an hour and a half) and were sipping ambrosia and listening to the bluegrass band under the pecan trees at the court square. Gone were the cheerers. For that matter, gone were the police who were stopping traffic for us. And the only clapping was the sound of my knees and occasionaly the now limply hanging flaps of arm skin slapping my sides. (I sure hope all this loose skin sloughs off soon.)

Even though I was abandoned, I had strange hopes that maybe at the finish line, I would witness a scene from one of those cheesy sports films. There would be the lone bicycle racing fan who had told himself that that morbidly obese loser couldn't finish a 32 mile bike race. And yet he had waited to witness the last of racers come home. I would cross in a kind of wierd slow motion, our eyes would meet, and he would give one of those head nods that said, "I sure was wrong about you." Then, he would start that slow clap, solitary at first of course, but loud and strong nonetheless. Then the bluegrass band would stop as the crowd turned to see that the last rider had given all of his last bit of strength. Then they too would begin clapping and cheering and gathering in a circle around me. Someone would begin chanting my name (how they would know it I never figured out, but anyway) until the courthouse square rang out with, "JA-SON, JA-SON." And then two strong men would attempt to lift me up on their shoulders to carry me to the bandstand where I could give a crowd stirring speech about grit and determination and heart and never giving up and giving it all you've got and going full-steam ahead and...

And even though this was my dream (brought about by the delirium of riding 32 miles against the wind THE WHOLE WAY) the guys would fall under my enormous weight and be crushed so that they would have to bring out an ambulance to take them home. To pay for this fiasco, all of the money raised by the race would have to pay their hospital bill. Then the people in the crowd would just kind of stare at me shake their heads and walk sadly away mumbling mean things about fat people and such. Strange dream.

But, needless to say, none of that transpired. No one...nope, no one was at the finish line to see me cross the orange stripe taped across the roadway. They were all listening to the bluegrass band and eating bar-b-cue. Some were packing up their bikes or taking off their shirts in slow motion in order to give the sun a glimpe of their thin good-lookingness.

So, to misquote Robert Frost, my big race ended not with a bang, but a whimper. But it did end and I can carry the personal pride of knowing that I set a goal and achieved something that would have been impossible for me only a couple of months ago. So like Green Day, I'll walk alone with my head held high with silent pride at my accomplishment knowing that I gave my all to at least finish what I started.

SCREW THAT...I WANT ONE OF THOSE CHEAP PLASTIC TROPHIES. WHAT? WERE THEY SO CHEAP THAT I COULDN'T HAVE EVEN GOTTEN A PARTICIPANT RIBBON OR SOMETHING??? I MEAN COME ON!!! 32 MILES...32 MMMMMIIIIILLLLLEEEEESSSSS!!!!! Aaaarrrggh.

At least there's next year. :)

Punkin' Cuttin'

In a break from spooky ghoulies and ghosties, Jason has decided to show the neighborhood what is really important--NFL football. Here is a pumpkin sporting the Texans logo...the NFL underdogs!

Shopping...UGH!

Jason and I finally purchased a rocker/recliner for Ellie's room. Since the delivery fee was $95.00, we took it out of the box at the store and shoved it into the car in order to get it home.


Then we went to Target and used their little hand scanner to add things to the registry. Jason went a little crazy with scanner. He just wanted to scan ANYTHING!

Unfortunately, the stores no longer sell this tractor or doll. Maybe someone still has this stored in the attic? Just joking...I found this picture in some of my files and thought I would post it :) Must be cold...I'm all bundled up. However, I think that baby doll is naked...awww...look at my mothering skills in action!

Jason has been busy outside the house decorating for Halloween. He has added lights and ghosts to the tree. In the first picture, we have a witch that has crashed to the left of the tree. And, of course, we have a pumpkin standing guard.

Ellie Reese is on her way...

The doctor's appointment went well. I really should say nurse's appt. because I haven't seen the doctor in several months. I had to drink some nasty punch-flavored junk, and, then an hour later, the nurse drew blood. I should get the results back in several days. I also had to get a Rhogam shot because I am Rh negative. Ummm...still not a big fan of shots...especially 2 inch needle ones in the "hip" area.

While we were waiting, the nurse did an u/s and confirmed that the baby is a girl. This time she said it was definately a girl. She weighs about 2 pounds, and she is no longer in the breech position.

Next appt: Oct. 29th

Girl parts

Face shot

SECOND Garage Sale is Over!

Since Friday was Fall Break, we decided to start selling off our excess belongings (i.e crap) around noon. Jimmy came over and helped Jason load the the stuff onto the trailer, and then we moved it over to Momma's house.

Friday was the best yard sale day we have ever had, and it was probably a good thing because there were over 70 yard sales just in WM. We sold most of the big stuff on Friday, and we finished up on Saturday about 11:00 am. We didn't even have to haul off the left overs. There wasn't very much (one box of stuff), and a lady that lives down the street came and took the rest of it to her church members. And now we have enough $$ for a rocker/recliner for the baby's room.

Since the baby's room was finally cleaned out, we got started on the work that needed to be done in there. Jason installed the quarter round trim. He thought he that figured out since the last quarter round installation; however, he realized that he still needs to work on his nailing skillz :) Of course, my job was to paint the little nail holes. Well, I guess I need to work on my painting skillz and dragging my body around on the floor because I only made it about halfway around the room before I quit. Needless to say, this is the condition that it is still in.

Before Jason installed the trim, Momma and I cleaned a little bit. She vacuumed the cobwebs, and then we scrubbed on the furniture that we bought some time ago. It was a little dirty from being in storage, but it cleaned up nicely. After much cussing and hemming and hawing, we finally got the crib together once we realized that we were missing some pieces. I luckily found some instructions online, and we could see that we didn't have the rails. After we accused the people that we bought it from of ripping us off, we looked behind the bedroom door and "found" the missing parts :) So, I guess an apology is in order for those people...we're sorry...please forgive us of our stupidity.

So...the room is still in disarray, but some progress has been made. The furniture is clean, and the crib is in one piece :) We bought a mattress and changing table pad. We just need to finish painting the trim and painting the patches on the wall where we removed some pictures. Oh, and I need to purchase some new knobs and pulls for the dresser because the brass ones look kinda dated.

Here are some pictures:

Jason finishing the crib

The crib, mattress, and mobile

The dresser with the yucky pulls

I'll update again tomorrow once we get back from the doctor's office. Until later....

All is well...

Current news:

• Mostly everything is fine on this end: No sickness, no swelling
• About 5 lbs. gained
• A little back and neck pain, headache about once a week
• Lots of movement, ususally starts about 10:00 pm
• Waiting on next appt. on October 8th at 8:00 am - 1 hour glucose tolerance test and ultrasound to measure and determine sex (for the 3rd time!)
• A little mad that my two "fluff" classes at UM are turning out to be more work than I want to do at this point in my long educational journey (hmmm...maybe "slide" is a better word :)

We are gearing up for a second yard sale on October 6th. We need to finish cleaning out the old guest bedroom to make way for the baby furniture. The bedding arrived, but the stuff is still sitting in the boxes.

Here are a few pictures of some stuff we have so far:

Rug that came with bedding set

Diaper stacker and blanket that came with bedding set

A blanket that Judy bought for us from Kohl's

Two outfits that Judy and I found

Ya'll probably won't believe this, but I really only "like" frogs. I'm not in "love" with them, even though everything we've bought has frogs on it. I do like green alot, and for some reason, everything that is green is also froggy. Maybe at this next ultrasound, we will get a more definitive answer regarding the sex. Then we will know if we can proceed down the pink or the blue route.

Funny Video I Made

Click here to view!

Bedding is on the Way

We just bought this bedding/etc. online at Target.com. It should arrive next week. NOTICE: NO PINK!!! :)

The bedding...quilt, sheet, bumpers, dust ruffle

The hamper...

The wall hangings...

Umm..we also bought the mobile, the night light, the diaper stacker, the rug, and the fleece blanket. :)

Well...the official word is....

buy pink, but SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS. The ultrasound technician said that it looked like a girl, but that she had been wrong in the past. Momma and I asked if we could buy pink, and the technician still wouldn't confirm 100%. However, we still did not see any boy parts. So for now, we are cautiously Team Pink.

Everything else looked good. I finally found out my blood type. I am O, and I am Rh negative. So, the doctor said something about taking a shot for this before and after the baby is born. Nice...I LOVE shots!!!

Here are the u/s images that the tech printed:

This is a 2D face shot.

This is a 2D profile view.

Here is a 3D image of the face.

Here is another 3D image of the face.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love You, Tomorrow, You're Only A Day Away!

Well, we should have final confirmation that we are having a bouncing baby girl tomorrow! I'm betting we'll be having to find pink NFL apparel.

Well....

that was anticlimatic. We have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more. And we still have nothing totally confirmed.

Because of the baby's position, the nurse couldn't really get a good look. One or two times, the nurse was able to position the transducer so that it looked like we were looking up at the baby's bottom. And she said that it looked like girl....but DON'T TAKE IT TO THE BANK! Those were her words, and she said she had been wrong before. So, I guess we have no choice but to wait some more for a more definite answer.

Even though we didn't find out if it we're Team Pink or Team Blue, at least we got to see the baby move and hear the heartbeat. It was 140. I have been a "little" paranoid about that recently...so the entire appt. wasn't a total waste :)

I have an appt. for a level II u/s at UT next Monday. This will be a more detailed scan to document the anatomy of the fetus. They should look at the heart, spine, brain, and other organs. They should measure crown-to-rump length and femur length. They will also look for any abnormalities. Although the previous bloodwork came back in the normal ranges, I requested this scan to put my mind at ease about all of this. After all, in medical terminology, I am AMA (Advanced Maternal Age) or mature primigravida. Hehehe....

I have another regular appt. scheduled for October 4th. They will check my glucose, checking for gestational diabetes.

Here is one of the images from the u/s. I rotated it so that you could see "something." This is just a head shot. Right in the center you can see the skull. The nurse didn't print out any of shots with the area in question :(

AND SO THE BIG NEWS IS...

...we're still waiting.

So much for medical science! At least the baby and baby momma are physically healthy. As for mental health, the momma needs a little help. After all, she married me. :)

Oh well. Carmen goes for a Level II Ultra-Sound on Monday at 8:00 a.m. Maybe that machine can tell the difference between a boy and a girl.

Set your biological clocks everybody.

Oh, by the way...I rode 32 miles last Saturday at the lake. And that was in some tough hills that nearly killed me. The Tour de Heart will at least be FLAT, so here's hoping I can keep it up.

Jere took a picture of my bike odometer that I will post when she sends it. Carmen will scan and post the latest ultra-sound photos (worthless, lemme tell ya') when she posts later.

20 Weeks

Everything is going great. I am not sick anymore; however, I still haven't really gained any weight. At times, I feel the baby move. It feels kinda fluttery. We are impatiently waiting for Sept. 4th. Hopefully, we can still go to the doctor on this day; however, I have to call and see if I can get in somewhat earlier. My Tuesday night class starts at 5:00, and...well...she basically said that tardiness will not be tolerated.

Last weekend, we turned the whole house upside down. Jason rebuilt a frame for our bed because the existing one was crap. We moved a rug and table out of the kitchen, 2 bookcases out of the bedroom, and 1 bookcase and filing cabinet out of the computer room. Of course, all of the books are sitting on the floor in various rooms. The dining room is going to lose a TV stand, a TV, and a CD holder thingy. And the existing furniture in the guest bedroom is ready to go as well. Also, Jason started building a deck in the backyard. And on top of that, the shed needs cleaning out. So pretty much, the entire house is in disarray. And Tuesday and Wednesday night, I have had class until 8:30 pm. And I know ya'll think that taking classes is crazy, but I started this doc program in 1999. Some of those classes will start falling off in 2009 because there is a 10 year limit on them. So....I have to take these classes now!

Just FYI...
I have heard this several times now: Raising your arms above your head will strangle or wrap the baby’s umbilical cord around his or her neck. This is a MYTH! I hate having to nicely fend off this stuff in 2007 :)

With Brandon and Stephanie's 2 testosterone machines on their way, and Amy and Bubba with their 3 t-machines, we need an extra boost of estrogen. So until Sept. 4th, here's to hoping for a girl...but ya'll know I'm not a real pink dress and ruffle freak!

Three Hurdles This Week

This week was a big one for us.

It started when Judy saw an ad in the paper for a $1300 set of baby furniture for sale for $350. I called and found that the sellers lived close by on Belehr street. After looking at the furniture, which was in good shape, we decided that three pieces used was better than two pieces new at Wal-Mart. Also, the seller was willing to part with the pieces for $300 making it even better.

While the color is white-washed (we were wanting a darker stain), I liked what Carmen had to say. "Well, at least we're done!" Now all we have to do is set it up.

But wait, there's more. We can't set up at all until the room is cleaned out. With a futon, table, and cabinet already in there, we're having to wait until we have our next yard sale at Jere's in October. Oh well... goodbye guest bedroom, hello junk room for now. Here's a look at the room with Max as guardian:

On to the other hurdles...

These are actually mine. As of Saturday, August 25th, I weighed in at 296.2 lbs. I've finally crossed the 300 mark!!! And, to top it off, I rode my bike for 25 miles in 2 hrs 10 mins. Seven more miles and I'll be ready for the Tour de Heart in October--32 miles long. Even better, I hope to be able to finish the race in under three hours.

Wish me luck.

Phew!

Well, today, Sunday, August 19, I, Jason Carr, rode 20 miles on my bike (and put a lot of commas in this sentence).

It hasn't been easy getting up to this target, but I still have 12 more miles to go because I want to ride the Tour de Heart in October and it is 32 miles long!

So why am I doing this? Since Carmen found out the great news, I have made a decision to start seriously trying to lose weight. Now I know most people will say, "But, Jason, we hardly even noticed the extra lard you carry around," or, "You look great at 362 lbs.--who notices?", or, "Man, you really know how to prepare for a famine!" Even so, I notice and I don't want my baby to refer to me as my two dads.

When I left school in the spring, I weighed a grand total of 362 lbs. I decided then to try Atkins again. It had worked so well in the past, but after falling off the "meat" wagon, it was really hard to get back on track without a shred of carbs. Now, after hearing about Carmen's friend's success with Weight Watchers, I am now counting points and keeping up with my eating online. In three weeks I have come down from 331 lbs. to around 315 lbs.--not bad considering that I am not starving. It also helps that I sweat off the weight on my bike.

Our little bundle of joy is due in January so my immediate goal is to get down to less than 280 lbs. by then--maybe even more, but I'm being conservative thanks to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Wish me luck!!!

362 - 315 = 47 lbs. What does that look like?

Apparently this 47 lb. fish some guy caught and

posted on the Internet. Imagine me wearing that

fish all these years.

Mainly, I don't have time to be sick...

Bring on the PINK....

...or bring on the blue! Hehehe...that was mean, wasn't it? Nope, we still don't know the sex so hold off on the pink spree! Thursday's doctor's appointment was low tech...so no ultrasound. I only saw the nurse. She used the fetal heart monitor and located the heartbeat. She also drew blood for the AFP screening. Oh yeah...I've also lost another 6 pounds :) I was out of there in about 30 minutes. It was the quickest appointment so far.

Here's a definition of the AFP test: An alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) blood test checks the level of AFP in a pregnant woman's blood. AFP is a substance made in the liver of a fetus. The amount of AFP in the blood of a pregnant woman can help see whether the baby may have such problems as spina bifida and anencephaly. An AFP test can also be done as part of a screening test to find other chromosomal problems, such as Down syndrome (trisomy 21) or Edward syndrome (trisomy 18). An AFP test can find an omphalocele, a congenital problem in which some of the baby's intestines stick out through the belly wall.

The nurse said that the results should be in by Monday or Tuesday. She said that they would call me if results were abnormal. The next step would then be a level II ultrasound at UT. I may ask for this to be done anyway. I've read online that most insurances will pay for it if you are 35. And...well...Monday I will be 35. Happy Birthday to me....almost!

The crushing reality of 190 days of work is looming. So, I'm off for now.

Be it ever so humble...There's no place like home

Well, we're back...and I see that Emma and Casey didn't manage to get out of the back yard. Of course it's probably due to Jimmy and Jere's regular feeding schedule. Now that we're back I actually feel sorry for the dogs. Makes me wonder how well we'll do taking care of a baby. Of course when I say we I really mean Carmen. After all, she's to blame for being in the family way.

We picked Max up from the spa...I mean, Betty and Judy's. He's in for a big shock too. He has to go back to being a dog.

We sure miss Brandon and Stephanie. Spending time with them was probably the best part of the whole trip. That week went way too fast.

On the baby front, Carmen still isn't showing; however, she's still losing weight. (As for me, I went hiking, swimming, climbing, and starving a couple of days on the way home and I lost a total of ONE WHOLE POUND from before we left on our trip. Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrggg!!!)

My before and after photo...sigh.

We tried Brandon and Stephanie's Doppler baby heart detector, but we never heard a sound--not even the placenta. Brandon on the other hand is a regular OBGYN with the thing. He found the twins in 5 seconds flat. It was really cool to hear those little babies in there puttering away. Poor Stephanie though. I'm convinced that she'll have her hands full when they come, seeing as they will appear right in the middle of the NFL playoffs.

Our baby's first onesie.

All of us are still waiting to know the sex. Brandon and Stephanie plan to paint their room according to the gender. That's so sweet. On the other hand, we plan to teach our child how to appreciate things the way they are...it's a good life lesson for the child and it saves money and back muscles in the long run.

We do plan to change the arrangement of the back two bedrooms, though. Seeing as Carmen hasn't approved of any of my ideas for letting the child sleep on the floor or in a clothes hamper, I guess we're going to have to buy some furniture for our bundle o' joy. This means that the "guest" bedroom will probably become the baby haven. If this happens, all future guests will have to sleep on air mattresses in the living room. Seeing as we have guests infrequently, this will not be too much of a problem. I just hope that she doesn't plan to get rid of the the TV in there. The baby and I will still need a place to play video games on the X-Box. (I still think we should always refer to the child's room as a "guest" bedroom. I don't want the kid(s) getting too comfortable around here, you know.)

But all of that can be decided later...but not too much later...I'm not moving all of that heavy stuff on my own and I don't want Carmen complaining about being too pregnant. After all, marriage is still a two-way street--with no HOV lane. And besides, I'm just too lazy.