Monday, July 30, 2007

23 weeks today




Here is the progression. 23 weeks (top picture), 19 weeks and 11 weeks, wearing the same outfit. I have gained 10 pounds so far, exactly. I'm right on target, and my blood sugar is holding steady. Fasting glucose was 82 this morning. Baby is kicking harder all the time. He loves to punch and kick my bladder when it's full. ;-)

Thursday, July 26, 2007

5 months/Summer success!

Today I am exactly 5 months pregnant. My due date is November 26th and today is July 26th. Woohoo!

I am particularly pleased with how well my 16-y-o is doing. He has made such a great leap forward in maturity and confidence. Before the summer, I recall that when I would talk to him about getting a summer job, he would whine, complain, cry and accuse me of pushing and nagging him. On one occasion, when we asked for an application to In-N-Out Burger at the drive through window, he threw a yelling fit from the back seat. Later when he heard that there were openings at Knotts, he got excited about applying for the job. That was step #1. Step #2, he filled out the application, interviewed and got the job. Step #3 was learning how to keep the job. He has done all of that. And yesterday he told me that he wants to find a job that pays better than minimum wage. He would prefer to work at an electronics store or something like that, but he is perfectly willing to work at In-N-Out (where the starting pay is 9.50 per hour) even though it is hard work on your feet all day. I told him that if he was feeling ambitious, that was great. I told him how to go about switching jobs. That he needs to keep the first job while he interviews, and he needs to tell the new employer that he would need to give 2 weeks notice to his present employer. I feel that we have come full circle. Another incentive for him to switch jobs is that he wants a job closer to home. There is a baby on the way and he might want to continue working on the weekends after school starts, and he knows that I won't be able to continue driving him to Knotts in the late Fall. I can't tell you how proud I am of him. He went from seeing himself as incompetent and immature. He told me originally that he was afraid to work at a place like Subway Sandwiches because "who would want some kid like me to make their sandwich for them". And now he has the confidence to apply and know that he would be an asset to any of the stores and businesses around here. And he feels that he is worth more than minimum wage and wants to try to earn more. I told him that that was good thinking. As a man, he would want to be the bread winner for his family, and that his earnings would be important. So keep up the good work, kiddo! Mom is SO proud!!!!!!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Everything is going fine

I have gained 9 pounds so far at 22 weeks. That leaves 18 weeks left and I have 21 pounds allotted for weight gain if I want to gain 30 pounds. That leaves me a nice, comfortable allowance of 1 pound per week. Yay! BRING ON THE FOOD!!!! It will be even better if I gain close to 25 pounds, which is still a good gain, but I usually gain quickly at the end and I have never gained less than 25 pounds, usually just on 30 pounds. I want enough food so the baby can grow properly and put on the right amount of fat. Most of my bubs are around 7 or 8 pounds, and that would be fine. I try to wait until I am hungry before I eat my next meal. That is my system. Not going hungry. And I get hungry a LOT!

I didn't feel like taking a pic yesterday so I don't have one at exactly 22 weeks. Too busy and tired, I guess. Today was pretty easy. DS8 is away with his dad for 3 weeks. And DD is off to her dad's for 2 days, so there is less shuttling and running. I don't even need to head out this evening to Knotts. Woohoo! I think I'll go to bed early.

My belly is undulating and jumping when I lay on my back. The kicks are very apparent. I love this stage.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

I finished reading Harry Potter book 7 tonight

Sorry I have been offline the past few days, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, book 7, came out Friday night, and I have been "hot bunking" with my kids reading the book when they were at work or asleep. I am the first to finish it (they work and sleep a lot, he he).

The following paragraph will discuss the book. I am typing it in white font, so please highlight with your cursor if you wish to read. I won't be giving things away in a big way, I hope, but the tone of my voice might possibly give you too many clues. So come back to this post maybe after you have finished the book if you are wary of inadvertent spoilers.

The book was fabulous. It was her best. J. K. Rowling, toward the end, had me swearing at her, but the plot pulled together at the end. It was also the best book action-wise. Some of her books have long, slow parts, but this one was action packed from almost the first page to the last. She really did justice to all of the other 6 novels in the series. She tied everything together in a wonderful way. It was much better than I expected.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Busy Wednesdays

I think Wednesday is my busiest day of the week. Here is a sampling:
6am, woke up, showered, dressed and ate
6:30am, emptied and refilled dishwasher.
7am, 3 youngest boys woke up, I got them dressed, fed, and packed lunch for the 8-yo.
7:30am, put brisket and potatoes into crock pot.
7:45am, drove 8-yo to bus drop off for camp.
8:45am, drove 4-yo to preschool.
9:00am, woke sleepy 16-yo and reminded him that his SAT prep class was starting, and he needed to get up, get dressed and eat.
9:15am, made scrambled eggs and bagels for 16-yo.
9:30am, drove 16-yo to SAT prep class.
9:45am, drove 2-yo to Preschool Practice mommy and me class and stayed there from 10 to 11.
11:30am, picked up 4-yo from preschool.
11:45am, picked up 16-yo from SAT class.
12noon, picked up burgers for all kids, including DD who had woken up, was working out on the Stairmaster, and showering.
12:30pm, put 2 youngest down for nap after reading stories.
1pm, went to grocery store to restock depleted shelves.
1:45pm, dropped DD off at train station so she could visit father on her one day off.
3:30pm, drove 16-yo to Knotts for work shift.
4:45pm, picked up 8-yo from camp bus drop off.
5:30pm, cooked vegetable to go with dinner.
6pm, ate dinner with boys
6:30pm, bath time for 3 youngest boys.
8pm, bedtime/storytime
10pm, back to Knotts to pick up 16-yo from work shift.
11pm, collapse :-D

Monday, July 16, 2007

21 weeks



Here is my belly this afternoon. You are really getting a tour of my maternity wardrobe. :-)

The kids have been having normal days at work. Things have calmed down and they feel comfortable there. DS is hoping that he can continue working on weekends through the school year. It sounds like a good idea because otherwise, when he visits from his dad's house, he just sits around most of the time. Only thing that worries me is the driving after the baby comes. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Maybe DH will have to pitch in.

DD and I are starting to think about back-to-school stuff. She will need furniture and kitchen utensils for her new apartment. Lots to think about.

DD also asked if I would get her a car, so I don't have to drive so much this summer. I told her that I didn't want to buy a car to save me from 5 more weeks of driving, as she will be on vacation with her dad for 1 week in August anyway. I said that if I could rent a car for her I would, but I thought most places want you to be over 25 years old. She said that some places rent to 18 year olds. I told her to price it on the internet and she found a rental place in Los Angeles that will give her a car with insurance for $2,700.00 for 4 weeks. YIKES! Not happening!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Tiny earthquakes, Knott's stories

About 5 minutes ago there was another little earthquake. I felt the shuddering and heard the house moving. It reminded me that another one struck during the night last night. I'm pretty sensitive to the signs. During the super mild ones, it sounds like the entire house is whispering. I heard that sound and jerked awake suddenly to see if it would get worse. It went away. But I had disturbing dreams after that. With my kids in danger, of course.

My oldest 2 are coming home with some interesting work stories from Knotts. My DS-16 almost got punched by a guest a few days ago. He was working in a game booth with another coworker and some young men were hanging out at the booth joking around with them. One of the kids was joking with my son and may have said some insulting things. My son at one point said "You idiot..." to the kid, at which point the kid went ballistic, jumped into the booth, grabbed my son and said, "What did you say, BITCH???? SAY IT AGAIN!!! SAY IT AGAIN!!!!" DS apologized over and over and his coworker convinced the kids to leave. DS talked to his supervisor about it and his supervisor told him that he shouldn't have called the kid an idiot. DS told me that he was only "joking", and that he had not expected the kid to "go all 'gang'" on him. I told him that these kids are not the suburban kids that he grew up with, and that some of them do indeed belong to gangs. Also, he insulted the kid in front of his friends. And in addition, I spoke at length about how he had the responsibility to act professionally because he was the one wearing the uniform for Knotts. Overall, this is exactly the kind of lesson DS needed to learn. I'm so glad he wasn't hurt in the process. But he really *does* have a big mouth, and even at home with my he can say the most hurtful things, saying afterwards that he was joking. I have told him over and over that it's not a joke when *he* is the only one laughing. And that hurting people is not funny. But maybe he needed somebody to get in his face like that to learn how to control his mouth. And 16 is a much better age to learn this than later in his 20s. He is essentially taking a crash course in human communication and interaction this summer, and he is getting paid for it. I expect he will be able to get along better with classmates in the future, and he will certainly know how to act more professionally in the workplace, interacting with customers, coworkers and supervisors. My whole idea was that even if he ended up getting fired from his job this summer, it would still be a positive experience because he would have learned something. It looks like he won't be fired over this incident, though, he just got his hours for next week and he has a full schedule. Also, he tends to earn about three times what the average worker earns in any booth he works. I think partly because he has ADHD and he loves games, and he has a lot of energy and enthusiasm, which is infectious.

DD also has had some interesting work politics going on at the Knotts restaurant where she works. There are or rather *were* 3 hostesses on staff there. One of the hostesses, let's call her M, was widely hated by the servers because she was a complete ditz. She sat customers all clumped on some stations and none in others and didn't seem to understand the concept of how to distribute groups in a restaurant, no matter how many times she was told. And she got punitive if any of the servers complained, purposefully not seating their stations. So DD comes in there 2 weeks ago and it took her a full 2 hours to learn the concept. She has been doing well there and has been given a *ton* of hours while M has had her hours cut, probably due to staff complaints. And M was also told not to seat anybody when DD was working, so all she did was wander around the restaurant straightening salt shakers. Things came to a head yesterday when M seated 7 people at a table meant for 4 and crammed them in front of an exit. All the servers wanted her fired, but DD came up with the idea of making the gal a bus person. This seemed a good idea because the gal likes to straighten things up, and she had been inquiring lately about how much the bus people make in tips, and how that wasn't fair because the hostesses get no tips. So she can be a bus person, make more money, get more hours, and stop making her coworkers miserable. They moved her to another restaurant too, which is probably good, so she can have a fresh start. The good thing is, that nobody knows it was DD's idea. She really didn't want to get in the middle of all the politics right after starting work. But she may have saved this gal from losing her job.

Less driving today than usual. Both of their work shifts end within a couple of hours of each other, so I asked the kids to wait around for each other. That means I only have to drive over there twice today. Yay! I'm heating the jacuzzi for the 2 youngest ones right now so they can get a little swimming in before lunch and nap. DS8 is off with his Dad this weekend.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Feeling sleepy lately


I think it's the pregnancy hormones. I swear I could sleep 20 hours a day, except I have so much going on. Eight hours a night is a drop in the bucket! Here is a pic of my daughter in her unflattering Knotts uniform. Luckily, she would look good even in a potato sac, so it's not a problem for her.

Harry Potter was fun. I liked the IMAX 3D thing. They turned on the 3D part only for the last 20 minutes, and I thought it was special. I know I will see the movie again, but I might not have the opportunity, or take the opportunity to see it in IMAX, so I was glad I did it. I thought it was well-acted and nicely done. I will have to see it again soon because I missed the first 15 minutes standing in line to get popcorn for my boy. He had just come off the bus from camp and he was starving. Ah well, it's a good excuse for me, right?

Monday, July 9, 2007

20 weeks today!


This is the halfway point. Though if you are splitting hairs, a lady doesn't even ovulate until she is already 2 weeks pregnant, according to the 40 week model. But close enough, right? Here is my pic from today. The ladies are starting to notice on their own. Folks are starting to tell my I "popped".

Harry Potter time is HERE!

You may have guessed that I love Harry Potter books and films. If you look near the bottom of the page, you will see that there is ONE day until the 5th movie comes out. {boing, boing}

My big plan is to see the movie with my kids (everyone 8 and over) at the IMAX theater near here. There is a showing Wednesday night with a 3D ending and we already have advance tickets to the show that has since sold out. I'm so EXCITED!!!!!!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Amnio Report

I got a copy of the amnio report from the doctor. I will transcribe most of it here, because I think it is really interesting.
The indications for this exam were advanced maternal age & positive first trimester screen.
Multiple longitudinal and transverse sections revealed a singleton intrauterine pregnancy with the fetus in transverse presentation. The amiotic fluid volume appears to be normal. The placenta is posterior in implantation, grade 0 in appearance and there is no placenta previa.
{then there are the same measurements shown in an earlier post}
The average gestational age is 17 weeks 2 days +/- 7 days.
The fetal cranium appeared normal in shape. The choroid plexus was well visualized, the lateral ventricles were not dilated and the midline structures were not deviated. The cerebellum and cisterna magna were visualized and appeared normal. The fetal face appears normal. Anatomy of the fetal thorax appeared within normal limits. The cardiac size and structures appeared sonographically normal at the four chamber view, and the cardiac rhythm was regular. The abdominal cavity appears normal. The fetal stomach appears normal. Both kidneys appear within normal limits. The fetal bladder appears normal. The abdominal wall appears intact. The spine was visualized from cervical to sacral region, within the resolution of the ultrasound equipment, without evidence of a neural tube defect. Active movement of the extremities was seen and fetal body motion was also observed during this examination. Normal male genitalia were observed during this examination. The placenta appears within normal limits. There is a 3 vessel cord with normal insertion site.
Within the cranium, the cavum septi pellucidi were visualized and the third and fourth ventricles are not dilated. The face appeared normal with the upper lip intact in multiple views, including the facial profile. There is no evidence for hypo/hypertelorism as well. No evidence for nuchal thickening was encountered. In addition to the reassuring four chamber view of the heart, the cardiac axis was within the normal range. The aortic and interatrial and interventricular septi appeared intact within the resolution of the untrasound equipment. Within the fetal chest, no evidence for a mass or effusion was noted. The diaphragm appears intact bilaterally. the bowel does not appear to be hyperechoic and the liver is unremakable as well. All 12 long bones were imaged without evidence for abnormal shape or position. Likewise the hands and feet were unremarkable and the middle phalanx of the fifth digit appeard of normal size. There was no evidence for polydactyly or syndactyly on either hand or foot. There was no evidence for "sandal toe" as well.
IMPRESSION:
Singleton IUP, intrauterine pregnancy
17 weeks 2 days by this ultrasound, EDC=Nov 26, 2007
Transervse presentation
Fetal growth appears normal
Normal anatomy survey
Posterior placenta
Successful amniocentesis

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Running, running

My schedule really got busy today. Here's how my day went.

6:00am woke up, ate and bathed.

7:30am made lunch and got swim clothes and towel ready for DS8 to go to camp.

7:45am drove DS to camp bus rendezvous.

8:00am fed and dressed both little boys.

8:40am drove with housekeeper to drop off DS4 to first day of preschool. Reminded her to pick him back up at 11:30. Asked her if she would mind, in the meantime, driving DS16 to Knotts by 10:15am for the start of his work shift. She said OK.

9:30am left for work after wolfing down some more food.

10 to 2:30 worked at office and cranked out 4 med-legal reports.

3:15pm went to get oil changed and tires rotated, after the men promised I could get out in time to pick up DS from his camp bus.

4:30pm relieved housekeeper of the kids and paid her 1/2 hour overtime plus gas.

4:45pm picked up DS at camp bus rendezvous.

5:15pm served chicken dinner to 3 youngest.

6:40pm still waiting for call from DS16 that he is done going on rides at Knotts. Today is his first day to actually play and ride the rides. He remembered to bring clothes to change into after his shift.

This is a typical summer day, and it doesn't even involve DD, who will probably have slightly different shift times than her brother. That will cause friction and complaining, of course, when they have to wait for the other so I can pick them both up at once. So things will be getting even busier when she is added to the mix.

I hope this gets easier. DS8 will go to spend 3 weeks with his dad in another 2.5 weeks and that might help the schedule. I'm glad the baby is waiting until November to be born. The school year is so much easier to deal with. :-D

Monday, July 2, 2007

19 Weeks



Here is a shot that includes my face. I have gained a total of 6 pounds so far, which is great. It turns out that whether I eat ice cream and milk shakes or not makes all the difference in terms of my weight gain. That is pretty powerful stuff. He he.

I can't believe in 1 more week I'll be halfway through the pregnancy already. It has been great not to have to worry anymore about the genetic complement of the baby. There is still a 2 to 3% chance of background birth defects, but that rate is true no matter the age of the mother. Certain other damage or syndromes can and does affect babies. But part of life is taking risks. No guts, no glory.