Another Update

Okay, I've not totally dropped off the face of the earth, I promise! I just haven't had much to post about the last week or so. I started having some more powerful contractions yesterday, but they seem to have stopped entirely, so I guess they're still just the Braxton Hicks variety. Today marks the point in pregnancy at which Morgan was born, which means that I have 20 days left till my due date. My blood pressure and glucose are holding pretty steady, which is good, although I did overdo it a bit on Friday.

Nick absolutely hates to grocery shop, so I made up a menu and a grocery list and headed out to do it myself once he got home to watch Morgan (I definitely know better than to attempt shopping with an 8 year old in my condition!). It was a pretty big shopping trip, meant to cover enough meals till next payday (14 days), plus I had to pick up a few small things at Wal-Mart. Toward the end of the grocery store I got really shaky and nauseated, so I think my pressure probably got pretty high. I made it through the line and home, and Nick and Morgan did the unloading and putting away for me while I lay down. But other than that I've done pretty well.

I go back to the doctor tomorrow, so we'll see if I've dilated any farther. We've pretty much got everything ready for the baby to come, although there are still some hand-me-down clothes I've got to wash (or rather have washed for me). I do have a baby shower coming next weekend (Oct 10th), and I hope to get either a crib and mattress or enough gift cards to go get one. She will probably be here by then, but she'll be sleeping in a bassinet for the first few weeks anyway, so we can do without one for a little while.

One thing I would really appreciate is your prayers on is my job situation. We still feel strongly that God's plan for us is for me to be a stay at home mom, and right now we both love the way that's working, even with me being on bed rest. I'm able to pick Morgan up right after school, be here to help her with her homework without being worn out from work, take care of all the bill paying online (which I've always done, but it was always a struggle to get it done during business hours while working), and plan menus for the week and make out the grocery lists (which saves us money, even if I don't need to do the actual shopping right now). It's also been wonderful as far as Morgan's school schedule - for instance there's a teacher's inservice this Thursday and Friday, and now we don't have to worry about finding a sitter while we both work. A side benefit is that Nick has been taking her in the mornings, which gives them some quality time together, and also gets him out the door in time to miss all the school traffic on the way to work, actually making his commute easier! And once I'm off bed rest I'll be able to actually spend time doing housework and have dinner ready for Nick when he gets home!

All of this is working wonderfully, but right now I still have a pay check coming in. When that stops and Nick's job goes into the inevitable winter slump, things will get more difficult unless God really steps in and provides. Now He has promised to do just that, so long as we are doing His will - I just need your prayers that we will have clarity and peace as to whether or not His will is for me to leave my job! I truly believe that it is, but I also badly want it to be, and I don't want my desires to drown out His voice. I guess one big sign will be whether or not He provides the money we needed from the refinance that didn't happen due to the flood insurance issue. Anyway, your prayers will be very much appreciated. Hope you guys have a great week!

Yikes!

So my other paddles came yesterday, and all I can say is yikes! Even Nick thought they were a little heavy! Not that we've tried them out yet - right now we're being super careful because of the whole bed rest thing. But I'm sure that once the baby comes and I've had some time to recover we'll give them a test run.

Speaking of paddles...

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but Nick does pin striping as a hobby. He's actually quite good, and has done a number of pieces for people, both simple art pieces and even a few vehicles. Anyway, lexan makes an excellent surface for doing signs on, or even just for practicing on; one of his friends was given basically a pallet full of lexan sheets, and he have 30 or so of them to Nick, between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Sooooo...he's going to try his hand at making lexan paddles. There's probably enough there to turn out between 60 and 80 paddles, depending on size and shape. He's going to make one or two for us to see how they turn out, and if it goes well we may offer them for sale. I've never had a burning (heh) desire to be spanked with lexan, but I suppose I could offer my butt up in the name of industry.

Things are going well baby-wise. I was supposed to have an appointment today, but I ended up going in yesterday instead. I hadn't felt any real movement from her all day, so they told me to come in for an ultrasound. She was just fine, apparently just having a lazy day. We had an ultrasound last Monday and she was weighing in at six pounds and three ounces. As of today I'm six days away from the point at which I had Morgan, so I don't think it will be too much longer. Hope you guys have a great week!

You'd think I'd know better...

Last week when I bought the Spencer paddle on eBay, I also bid on another set of paddles (with Nick's permission). I really didn't give it much thought because the bid for both paddles was only $9.99, and there were about 5 days left on it. Well, you guessed it...I won the auction. Sigh...so these should be arriving sometime next week.

Look what came today...

Eeep! I may have to put this away until I'm feeling braver...



(Sorry for the blurry pic - I took it with my phone).

Why bed rest and ebay shouldn't mix...

Should be here later this week...but I did ask before buying!

By the way, it was only $12.95 plus very reasonable shipping...and they have 5 more!

Yuck!

I HATE this! Bed rest sucks! My brother is getting married next weekend, so Nick spent the night at my brother-in-law's house with the guys for bachelor party weekend. Morgan spent last night with a friend, so it was just me and the dog all night and most of the day. He's a good dog, but not much of a conversationalist. I know in my head that it's important to actually follow doctor's orders here, but it's driving me crazy on more than one level. Beyond just being bored and lonely, I'm also feeling pretty guilty about being unable to help anyone with anything. Nick has tried hard to be understanding about it, but I think maybe he can't help feeling a little put out at having everything left to do dumped on him. Not that he's said anything along those lines - maybe I'm just projecting. Being home alone wouldn't be so bad if I could get up and do something, but right now I feel pretty useless. Blah! Okay, hopefully my next post will be a little more upbeat - sorry for the rant...

Grounded!

And not by Nick! As of this afternoon, I'm officially on bed rest. Tuesday my blood pressure was kind of high, so I called my doctor and she doubled my daily dosage of bp meds. Yesterday it was much better, and at my visit she said everything looked good. Today it was even higher than on was on Tuesday, so I gave them a call. I expected to be told to take it easy tonight, or to take an extra dose of my medicine, or maybe even to come in and see them. What I was told was to tell my boss I was officially on bed rest and unable to work for the rest of the pregnancy. This was a little unnerving for me, because it means that I may have just clocked out for the last time ever today. We're still praying heavily about it, but our plans since we found out I was pregnant have been for me to not go back. I've not made that announcement officially because A) I'd like to get paid for my maternity leave, and B) we're still waiting for God to make provisions for it to happen financially. It was strange though to say goodbye to people I've worked with for almost 10 years, knowing that it may very well be a more permanent goodbye than they realize.

I would very much appreciate all your prayers, not just for me and the baby, but for Nick as well as he picks up the slack around here. I was scheduled to take vacation next week with plans to get the house completely cleaned and in order in preparation for the baby, but the doctor has told me that's just not an option now. In fact, if things don't look relatively good when I go in for my next visit on Monday, I won't even be able to go to my brother's wedding next weekend.

I guess the good news is, I'll get to really catch up on my blog reading!

Ouch

Well I got spanked last night, and it friggin' hurt! Okay, I know it's supposed to hurt, but this hurt way more than I expected for this implement. Nick decided to try out our never before used silicone scraper from Art & Cook.

This thing is VERY HEAVY DUTY. As in it feels like getting hit with a one inch dowel. Compared to other spankings I've had, this one was relatively short and not even all that hard, but I'm bruised today, and very sore. I think it might work better when I'm able to actually bend over and he has a better shot at my sit spots rather than me having to just stand, grab onto something and brace myself. We might give it a try again sometime, but for now we're not a huge fan of it as an implement. I think it's too heavy, and Nick thinks it's not long enough. Anyway, I'm glad the spanking's over with, and that it happened. It feels good to be back in it.

We got our shower present from Nick's sister in Texas yesterday. She sent us a Graco Pack N Play, which is something we really wanted. She had one for her baby when we visited her in June, and I absolutely fell in love with it. We looked around and found one like it at a discount store, although it wasn't in the colors we were using. Still, it was cheaper than we found it anywhere else, and we were really hoping to be able to save up for it, or maybe even get enough in gift cards as baby gifts to get it. The one his sister sent actually matches the nursery, and I'm thrilled with it! Now that the carpet is clean and the walls are painted we're starting to really put the nursery together, and I'm so excited!