My Glass House

So who said the 26th?

2008-07-25T18:13:42Z

So they got ridiculously high numbers at the doctor again. (170/100 and 148/96) AND she pointed out that my numbers at home were still elevated (too many over 80), so she's basically insisting now. I argued for tomorrow, got it, but then she backed out and said tonight, and I agreed to compromise and go tonight after dinner. Since we're not showing up at the hospital till 8 or 9pm, the odds are Finn will be born on the 26th. (At least it's even...but my least favorite even. Humph.)

Right now, we're finishing up the chores; fortunately, we didn't have much to do this weekend. In an hour or two, we're going to go shopping for room-darkening blinds (something on our to-do list that kind of got lost), mostly because it's an excuse for me to do some walking, which will hopefully move things along. Then we'll come home, take Will to Mom's, go out for dinner one last time, and then go into the hospital. The doctor I've never actually seen is the one on duty this weekend, but I've heard good things about him, so I'm okay with it.

She examined me and I'm 3cm dilated and about 50% effaced. The baby is still at +2, I think. They'll go directly to pitocin. Send LOTS of vibes that this works, because I'm going to be PISSED if I end up with a cesarean. Humph.

On the bright side, it's nice and convenient to have him born on the weekend. :)

Dilemma.

2008-07-24T15:01:07Z

To sit or to do?

On the sit side, my legs have re-poofed now, and I have a pretty bad headache.

On the do side, if I move around, I'm more likely to get/keep things moving. Just put away the dishes and got nice and crampy doing it.

Sitting doesn't include the internet, because I have no way to put my feet up, so I'm stuck with trying to read or watch TV. Or attempting to sleep.
Doing would include prepping those grapes, maybe switching the laundry (towels) to the dryer (and eventually out of the dryer), maybe going to the store for the toilet paper we'll need before the end of the weekend. I already took care of the dishwasher. There'd definitely be the option to lay down after that...

What do you think?

Any time now...

2008-07-24T12:51:11Z

NOTE: My world is pretty much one long TMI from now on, so be prepared. I have absolutely no manners about these things. :P

I started to lose my mucus plug last night. Most of it is still in, but I've now had 4 big globs, 3 last night and 1 this morning, so we may be entering the home stretch. I think I was already in labor with Will when I lost my mucus plug. (Unfortunately, I didn't record it in my LJ, so I can't be sure. *pout*) I've had some very mild contractions, too, although very irregular yet.
I'm thinking I'm probably not going to make it through the weekend.

Today is going to be a little weird regardless because Tom has a work thing that he has to do after 6pm, so he's going to come home early this afternoon, and then go back out at 6 for three or so hours. (Fortunately, the thing he needs to do is local, actually at the place he used to work.)
Unless something changes, which he said was possible. So. Awkward and weird. (And not the best thing in the world; I'm not looking forward to putting Will to bed by myself. Mostly 'cause I'll probably have to rock him and he's awfully heavy to be hauling from the living room to his bedroom when I'm due any day now.) On the bright side, Will will enjoy some "middle of the day" time with Daddy.

BP was fine again last night. My feet kind of ballooned up, but they're back to normal now, so that's good.

Gonna do what I can do today, and otherwise wait and see. Send giving birth vibes; today is my day of choice if I can't make it to the 28th. :P

Awesome!

2008-07-23T20:05:39Z

I totally forgot I had this order from Sears coming (we had a gift card to use up), and so it's doubly nice that it came today. We got two very nifty orange Hot Wheels car pillows, one for each kid. They are BIG! (At least 15" long, and proportionally wide!) I feel much better about spending $15 each on them (especially since $25 wasn't even my money! ;)) I also got a really adorable set of 2 rompers for the baby; I'd debated whether to get 0-3 or 3-6, and I'm glad I went with the small size as these seem to run a bit big. Less than 2.50 each on those! And then I got Will an AWESOME space-themed raincoat and matching umbrella. The coat will easily fit him through fall and probably next spring, unless he hits a huge growth spurt before then. He was SO HAPPY to have a new umbrella, as we finally had to trash his destroyed old one a few weeks ago. I've warned and warned him already to take care with this one, so hopefully it won't meet a similar fate!

And then I suddenly realized something...I know my kid's song! Singing in the Rain is SO Will, in so many ways! I played it for him and he loved it! He even wanted to watch it twice. :)

I love unexpected happiness and my kid. ;)

Wavering and some amusement.

2008-07-23T13:32:48Z

I've ~~nearly~~ talked myself out of calling tomorrow; now I want to give the kiddo as long as his brother had (which was two days after his due date), so I want to wait till next Friday after all. I think, no matter what, I won't wait longer than that, but, right now, I'm wanting to wait till then and hope Finn decides on his own to make an appearance. *looks at clock, stops to take BP*
Here's what I've got so far on the BPs: 8pm Mon. 127/86, 8am Tues. 120/85, 9pm (oops) Tues. 117/81, 8am Wed. 122/84. Not exactly alarming numbers, folks.
Anyway, so, yeah, I think I'm going to just go to my appointment on Friday and tell her that I'll be willing to be induced in a week, unless, of course, Finn comes sooner. :P
I do think the sex is helping; the twinginess I had been feeling had gone away and now it's back. So there's hope! *hopes*

In the meantime, bkwrrm_tx has done her part to help induce with laughter by sharing this link: Cake Wrecks!

TMI Tuesday was yucky, but Weird Wednesday has taken up the flag this week, apparently. :P

1.) What material is your favorite for bed sheets?
Flannel, except for in the summer. Then, t-shirt or plain ol' cotton.

2.) How often do you masturbate?
It varies wildly depending on how much time I have, how high my sex drive is, and so forth and so on. Whenever I want and am able to as a general rule.

3.) What takes you the longest to do while showering? (IE shaving, washing hair, etc)
Shaving my legs.

4.) What do you think is the right amount of foreplay? Do you spend enough time readying your partner for sex?
The amount that gets everyone involved going. :P Well, since he's always ready when we get there, I'm gonna go with yes. :P

5.) Who tends to initiate sex more when you are in a relationship?
Depends on the relationship! Probably me most of the time, though, ever since we got out of the teenage years, anyway.

6.) What birth control do you use?
At the moment (and for a long time), just our own infertility/pregnancy. After Finn is born, it'll be (BLECH) condoms probably until we can get Tom a vasectomy. Last time I tried to go back on the pill, it did not go well. (To put it mildly.)

7.) What is one thing your partner could do in bed that would instantly turn you off?
Go cold. Say or do something that really pisses me off.

Got everything done yesterday except for paying the bills, so I'll do that today. Maybe do some more walking, either another store trip or just a walk around the block or something. Play with the child. That sort of thing. It's good to be ready, but a little awkward to not have much to do. :P

Savin' the world.

2008-07-22T19:36:43Z

A couple of things have come up on my flist, and I got into the mood to share, so here is a selection of charities/causes I support (that you may not have heard of; I left off the well-known ones like OxFam.)

First, the two things making appearances on my flist:
Little Alexis Goggins threw herself in front of her mother when she was being shot at. This article is from February, an update on her status. In the comments, I posted the information on where to contribute to a fund for her that was posted elsewhere on the web.

A sweet dog that survived a horrible early life needs help.

Second, the thing I found via my Good News Network mailing list (which I recommend, even though the site has gone to memberships just recently):
The Tariq Khamisa Foundation was founded by the father of 20-year-old who was killed by a 14-year-old gang member to stop violence among youth. He started by reaching out to the killer and his family. There's a lot more to the story, so please check it out.

Now, on to the general list:

Nonviolent Peaceforce; here are the "troops" I can support without reservation. It really bothers me that the Peaceforce is not more widely known about and supported, honestly.

As a supplement to the NP, check out Training for Change.

For making a difference on a small scale, Modest Needs is a perfect choice. I've watched it from its birth, which makes it kind of special to me. :)
Along similar but more global lines, check out Kiva.

We all love Make-a-Wish, but what about those 19-year-olds or when it's the parent with the terminal illness? The Fairy Godmother Foundation is your answer.

After the 2004 tsunami, I went looking for a charity that was really active on the ground. I found AMURT, "one of the few private voluntary organizations of Third World origin, being founded in India in 1965."

For high performing charities, Direct Relief International is hard to beat. Forbes Magazine keeps rating them 100% efficient at fundraising year after year. In the last year, administrative expenses amounted to less than one percent. They concentrate on health care.

Finally, back to nonviolence, alternative solutions and an eye on the long game with The Elders, some of the world's greatest elders reaching out to the global community.

Please feel free to share your own links, either in comments or in your own LJ. :)

New plan?

2008-07-22T14:57:56Z

So, I looked at the calendar, and I'm thinking I may call on Thursday and say I'm ready to induce. Tom has Friday off, and so we'd be getting the most time before he has to go back to work that way. The next best time would be the following Friday, which is three days past my due date. I don't know that it will be safe or viable to wait that long; pre-eclampsia can get worse so quickly...
We're making use of the old wives' tales for getting things started that are easy for us to do in the meantime.
My blood pressure continues to be a little high for me, but not over the acceptable limit when I check it.

Dishes are taken care of. Working on laundry. Have to make a trip to the store for tissues (and yogurt and a couple of other things that occurred to me as time went on.) Want to pay some bills. Will probably take a little nap this morning, 'cause the sleepy is hitting me as I type. Nothing too exciting, but I'm hoping a little activity will be a good thing.

Technically pre-eclamptic.

2008-07-21T21:12:04Z

The nurse got 144/88 today, so that's technically two elevated pressures (never mind all the perfect ones at the hospital (which she dismissed with "you were lying down and resting") and the only slightly less perfect ones I am getting at home), so, combined with the protein in the urine, I technically have mild preeclampsia.
I got the "if you don't want to induce, I can't make you, but it's your liability, not mine" speech. She's "here to be my support", so, you know, okay. I'm to take my blood pressure twice a day (12 hours apart) every day and record it, and I have an appointment on Friday because she wants to make sure I'm okay before the weekend. Okeydoke.
I asked how she would approach induction; she said she'd use Cervodil if I was 2cm or less dilated and go directly to Pitocin if I was 3 or more. (She's going to do an exam on Friday.) So she's not a terribly creative thinker. Humph.
The main reason I want to avoid induction if at all possible is that it ups one's odds of getting a cesarean considerably and I DO NOT WANT a cesarean. I don't want to be stuck alone in a recovery room for an hour afterward, which is policy at my hospital, and I DON'T want to have to deal with recovering from that at home with a new baby and a preschooler. I don't want to not be able to properly hold my newborn (I had to wait something like 15 minutes to hold Will, because of the meconium thing); I want my immediately-after-birth moment. And, you know, no scar would be nice, but that's totally a side point.
So here's hoping Finn decides to make an appearance sooner rather than later, because this is my last shot.

Hit Toy

2008-07-21T16:53:02Z

Okay, this is pretty much a must have toy, I think. It comes mostly assembled (just fit the back into the slots on the base), mostly all you are doing is taking everything out of the bags and putting it onto/into the base, pausing to add batteries (AAAs and 3 LR44s for the light) as you go. It has a nice small footprint and you get a LOT of bang for your buck. He can take the engine apart into three parts (after the initial putting together of it, which you can do or leave for him), you can take the wheels off of and engine out of the toy car that comes with it, plus play with screws and tools galore. The tools are all lightweight plastic, but highly realistic. Will LOVES it, and it's a great toy to interact together with, too. (I'm sure Tom and Will will have fun playing together with it, in other words. :))

The worst part for me was trying to get Will to move his SmartCycle out of the way so I could put the thing down, because Will decided to be utterly unable to see the thing right in front of his face. Gah. :P But it's done now.

Pretty much just killin' time till the appointment now.

OMG!WTH?

2008-07-21T12:42:04Z

We had a HORRIBLE night. Will was up...and up and up and up and...OMG. Everyone is exhausted. (He is currently sleeping. I had to eat something or I'd've gone back to bed after my shower.)
I have to call the doctor this morning and try to get in to see her today. (I'm hoping she's booked and I'll go in tomorrow.) Send most of your vibes to Tom, please, because he's the one who needs them most.

Heh. I just thought of the irony of the perfume I wore yesterday. :P All Night Long is nice, but just an imp-emptying nice.

Now, I rest for a while.

Edit: I got half an hour. My appointment is 2:10 this afternoon. Will's new workbench has arrived and he is absolutely ape for me to open it, so I'm about to do that.

Yay!

2008-07-20T17:08:23Z

Found the Teddy Toes blanket! Woot! And also a hefty chunk of the burp clothes, in a box of baby toys I was going through. There are, I know, more baby toys to go through somewhere down there, and maybe the rest of the burp clothes and good bibs are in with them. One can but hope!

Tom is doing a deep clean of the litter boxes, which is needed especially because Max has suddenly taken to pooping upstairs. Ugh. Otherwise, we have the rest of the laundry to put away, and we'll be set to do nothing but relax the rest of the day. The sun finally came out, so hopefully we'll go swimming later this afternoon.

BPAL has been being worn, btw. Megaera started out like it might be something, but went meh, powdery/generic. Today, I'm wearing All Night Long, and liking it...a subtle foodie/cinnamon scent so far, I think.
Tom wore Jolly Roger yesterday, but it seemed to disappear. He's going to wear it again today...this is part of ongoing testing to see if we want a bottle of it. :)

In other news...

2008-07-19T23:14:02Z

We got the DVR problem sorted, and got $15 back, which is good since I'm going to have to buy the stuff that didn't record.

On the down side, Tom got a HORRIBLE haircut. *sigh* Hair grows, but still. And Will didn't fare much better, but we're going with it's part of the process of fixing the errors made last time.
My hair is fine. *wry*

Gah.

2008-07-19T22:51:11Z

The protein in my urine is JUST over the normal limit (which is 300mg; mine is 304mg). Dr. S said inducing was up to me, so, of course, I said I wanted to wait. But he wants me to see Dr. R on Monday and I doubt she'll be willing to let me wait; she's very conservative on this topic, as we've seen.
I've done some research, and I'm going to get a calcium supplement and start taking it, as that might help, and I'm trying to get hold of my mother because I think she might still have a working BP cuff around that we could use to monitor my pressure at home so I can tell the doctor it continues to be fine.
Still, I'll be surprised if I make it through the week at this point. *sigh*

Baby stuff I forgot!

2008-07-19T13:41:43Z

We got home around 8ish last night, after picking up Will from Mom's. He was up late, but I went to bed around 9:30. (Tom rocks.)

I forgot to tell you that we got an ultrasound! WOW, is it hard to see much at this point! But we did learn that he's in the right place, he weighs 8lbs (give or take 1.2lbs. of error :P) which puts him at the 64th percentile, up from the 61st back when and his legs are measuring at 40 weeks. So he'll probably be just slightly smaller than Will, which means we won't have any clothing problems, yay! :)

Rather stuck this morning with the blech test I have to finish, but that's over at 2, and we didn't really have much planned this weekend. Haircuts probably not gonna happen; maybe I'll send Tom out for his, at least. He fusses the most anyway. :P Otherwise, quiet morning, active afternoon.

My DVR is screwing up and we lost Atlantis last night, but I think we can download it from Scifi and watch it on the computer, at least. GRR. Tom is going to call DirecTV this morning to get the problem FIXED.

Okay, nothing else of import to report, so I'm off. :)

P.S. Will slept till 8 this morning! We may manage a no nap day, which would be nice for some peaceful TV tonight. :P

False Alarm

2008-07-18T23:04:38Z

I'm typing from the hospital, which is not the most easy thing to do at the moment, so I'll be brief-ish. ;P
My blood pressure has been nothing less than fantastic since I got here; less than 120 over less than 70, mostly. The doctor is almost certainly sending me home, but wants to see me first and will be here "around seven", so Tom is out picking up dinner for us. Have to do a 24 hour urine test, though. Blech.
Thanks for the love and good wishes!

You might have to move up your date guesses...

2008-07-18T18:20:41Z

I put on three pounds, but my blood pressure was 150/102, so I'm off to the hospital. Today may end up being the day, or they could just monitor me for a while and send me home. I should have internet at the hospital, so hopefully I can update before I'm home next, but we all know that things can often not go as planned, so don't worry! I'll post when I can. Love you!

Betting Pool and whatever.

2008-07-18T13:22:50Z

It got informally started in the last thread, so I'll officially start the "when is Finn going to show up" betting pool now.
acelightning picked July 25. lotusbeans went for the 30th. kath8562 selected the 26th. I am currently leaning towards Aug. 1, myself. Make your guess in the comments; winner(s) get(s) all the excitement and prestige of making a lucky guess. ;P

Doctor at 11 today. Yesterday, I did the grocery shopping and a little cleaning/packing/organizing (a very little) and dropped off our pre-registration at the hospital. Late in the day, took Will for a swim. Today is payday, so I'm planning on paying a couple of bills and the dishwasher needs emptying. I also intend to finish the packing completely so we can literally grab and go when the time comes. This weekend we'll take it fairly easy. We're going for haircuts Saturday morning; it's a bit early, but we'll be busy soon so better to get it done now. Tom will probably have to mow something this weekend. :P And the turtle needs his tank cleaned; this will probably be the first time we do it with Will watching. And laundry, as always. Otherwise, I think it's basically looking around for any little thing that isn't ready yet and giving Will some quality/fun time as well as relaxing a bit ourselves.

Oh, I give up on a title. The usual bits and bobs of some interest.

2008-07-17T11:10:24Z

KATE! Look what's on sale at Amazon this week! (Hint: Uuuuuni!)

Tom has to go to China from Sept. 6-12. I am REALLY UPSET by this. The baby will barely be a month old. :( Any time anyone local can spare to come give me a hand while he's gone will be greatly appreciated. Anyone who wants to sic the laws of karma on his boss has my wholehearted support.
(Yes, I am nine months pregnant. Yes, this news made me cry. I am not happy at ALL. Please note that one of the things that was specifically discussed when he took the job was how there would be VERY LITTLE IF ANY travel.)

Anyway. I had twinges yesterday. Weird ones. Too high up to be any kind of contraction, almost like getting a stitch in my side, but both sides and every few hours or so. Odd. This morning, had some "cramping". So. We may not make it through this weekend after all, but it's WAY too early to say. Could easily still go all the way to or past the due date.

Went swimming yesterday, was pretty good. Will went to bed early. The Chinese place was out of my order, so we got Giordano's instead. Watched Project Runway. Happy with the start. More commentary may occur in comments, so be prepared for potential spoilers. :)

Gotta go take my shower!

P.S. Almost slept through the night last night. Woo!

Zombie

2008-07-16T12:52:56Z

Sleeeeeeeeep. *fall over*

Bad night. Gonna HAVE to nap. Hope the kid does not wreak havoc while I do. The full series of Stargate SG-1 is on sale on Amazon today, too good a price for us to pass up considering we have the thing on our wishlist and fully intended to acquire it asap. Literally falling asleep as I type. *sigh*

TMI Tuesday Double Edition

2008-07-15T17:11:48Z

I didn't do last week's, so I'm doing it now, plus this week's. :)

1. What were you known as in HS (Jock, Princess, Geek)
I wasn't. :P Okay, in the theater crowd, I was dubbed by some people as "the hippie chick". But mostly I flew under the radar (not on purpose.)

2. What were you really?
Me. Unique, lonely, a little wild, a little (okay, a lot) drama-prone, and sexually free (though I wouldn't actually have intercourse till I was 18!)

3. If you could go back and tell your 16 year old self one thing, what would it be?
I wouldn't want to risk changing the future, as it worked out really well for me. Maybe try to prevent Daddy's death, all other things being equal.

4. If you could erase one moment from your school days what would it be?
Again, not big on the future changing stuff. And there are far too many moments to choose from, anyway. School days were not good for me.

5. Who did you not date (or more) that you wish you did?
No changing the future, I said! No one, really. I wish I'd made a girlfriend, if it wouldn't have impacted the future, anyway.

Bonus (as in optional): If you went to prom, describe your outfit.
Pretty basic prom dress in a green-bordering-on-teal.

1. LUST: Besides your current Significant Other who do you lust for or have you lusted for?
Um, everyone I ever made out/had sex with, no? I mean, at least a little at some point, or I wouldn't have, now would I? :P Currently, the only person I lust after is Tom, except for random flashes when a stranger is particularly appealing or somesuch.

2. GLUTTONY: What food brings out your inner glutton?
Food I can eat a lot of includes fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies, Tollhouse pan cookies, brownies, pasta in a tasty sauce, potatoes in various forms, many fruits (green grapes and strawberries probably top the list)...my guacamole...

3. GREED: What are you greedy for?
Time with my spouse. I want it ALL!

4. SLOTH: What is your plan for an ideal day of sloth?
Lounge around. Order in tasty food. Have lots of sex. Watch TV/read/hang out on the computer when alone.

5. WRATH: Describe a time that you let out a can of whoop ass on someone.
Tom pushed me to the edge a time or two. There was a lot of screaming and yelling.

6. ENVY: Who or what do you envy? Why?
I don't REALLY envy anyone, but it sure would be nice to be magically independently wealthy.

7. PRIDE: Have you ever had to swallow your pride? What are you proud of?
Completely, once, to save my marriage. It worked.
I'm proud of my parenting skills, my spouse, my child, maybe my writing ability, my creativity.

Awesome father.

2008-07-15T14:30:18Z

Just watching an episode of Bringing Home Baby. It's a nice couple and the father reminds me a ton of Tom. I know I've said this stuff plenty of times, but, man, my husband rocks as a parent. He's gentle and strong and reliable. He loves his kid(s) and shows it easily and naturally. He's definitely the fun parent, but he takes his responsibilities seriously. He works really hard at being as good a parent as he can possibly be. I knew this was my thing (and I was right), but we really didn't know what it would be like for Tom, and I'm endlessly in awe of how well it's gone and continues to go.
It's just another one of the things that makes him the best spouse EVAR.

I love watching him be a great father almost as much as I love just, you know, being with him in general. (And, as I observed recently, there's not really anything better than that.)

Looking up.

2008-07-15T13:55:47Z

Apparently, my inadvertent primal scream therapy yesterday really helped; my patience level was normal all day yesterday and is still good this morning. I feel better, and Will is suddenly less of a nightmare. Amazing how that works. :P
Here's hoping it keeps up!

Nothing in particular to/that I can do, so it'll be a low key day. Visited Mom's yesterday but didn't swim; today, we may go for a swim, or we may wait till tomorrow. It's supposed to be very hot all week.

Today is two weeks to due date. Will is now obsessed with Finian's arrival because he knows it means a sleepover at Nana's house. :P I'm now feeling pretty sure that Finn won't get here till right about his due date. Waiting is boring, but I'll take it!

Each of you gets one from me.

2008-07-14T17:37:22Z

Thank you, zen_kitty, for posting this!

BPAL and Date Hopes.

2008-07-14T14:53:42Z

Before I forget, we wore Severin and Manhattan this weekend. Severin is nice. There was a bit of licorice at first but that went away (good, imo) and some coffee showed up later, which was a surprise. It's not really Tom...I'm thinking I might try it on myself, though. Manhattan was a huge disappointment; it turned out to be Generic BPAL Smell, after a really exciting description. Phooey.

I was looking at the calendar, and I'm going with still hoping for August 8th (yes, I know, it's late, but 8/8/08 would be SO AWESOME) as my number one hope, and August 1st (much more realistic) as my second; it's Lughnasa, which is nifty.

*sigh* Just used the Voice of Beyond Angry at Will; he had Max pinned down and was whacking a balloon around. So sick of not being listened to lately, or talked back to. He cooperated this time, of course, but that voice is not one that can or should be pulled out in anything other than last resort.

At least it was a little stress relief. *drained shrug*

Annnd down again.

2008-07-14T12:20:47Z

Yesterday mostly sucked. We went through a LOT of stored stuff and couldn't find my teddy toes blanket (which, admittedly, we don't need till it gets cold, but still) or all of our burp cloths (which we DO need.) I am constantly tired to exhausted, and I know that's not going to change for a long time. Will continued to be a disaster area. I even stopped at B&N to peek at Kazdin's book in hopes of some help. I did get some, so that's good. Hopefully, we can start getting back on track. The biggest problem is that I have to stop getting angry, and I have about thismuch control of my emotions right now. So. Blah.
We ARE ready enough now that there is no alarm if the pumpkin comes early. I am trying to focus on that. It's wild to look at all the baby stuff back again. And I have a lot of very cute clothes.

Right now, a whole two hours after I got up, all I want to do is sleep. Maybe a nap on the couch is doable, anyway.

Oh, one non-suck thing with Will; he played in his room for a pretty long time yesterday evening and Tom and I were able to watch Stargate while he did.