Sheathing and Windows

Chubby Peanut

Recently, I've been trying to come up with ways to get my doctors to do another ultrasound on me. I mean, I'm not complaining that my pregnancy has been so nice and standard that they haven't felt the need to do one; I have just been feeling a little desperate to see how much my baby has grown, and to be reassured that her intestines hadn't started growing on the outside of her belly or something crazy. (I've been watching too much of that "Special Delivery" show on Discovery Health where all of the babies are taken by emergency c-section, weigh 2 1/2 lbs. at birth, and have to go directly onto a ventilator. Bad idea, I know, but I'm addicted.)

Fortunately, today I had an appointment with Connie the Nurse Practitioner. Unlike my doctors, Connie does an ultrasound if something sounds the least bit unusual. When I told her I had a few strong Braxton-Hicks contractions yesterday, she ordered an ultrasound, a non-stress test, and a pelvic, so I got the full work-up. It turns out that Peanut is looking perfect and beautiful, but bless Connie for letting me get a peek at her again anyway.

Now if only Peanut would have been cooperating ... She decided to play shy and held her arms in front of most of her face the entire time so the pictures aren't so great. We only got the side views of her little eyes, large head, and very cute chubby cheeks! She's measuring about 5 lbs. 3 oz. now which is about a week ahead of schedule still.

And Here Comes the Roof ...

Prepared Childbirth?

Last night, Adam and I began our four-week "Prepared Childbirth" class. Although I'm still really skeptical about anyone's ability to fully prepare me for the excruciating agony of labor and all that it entails, I'm glad so far that we're taking this class. Here's why:

1. Group therapy is good. I say this especially on Adam's behalf. I'm regularly around pregnant women in our very fertile ward and we all complain about the heartburn, the leg cramps, the constipation, the back pain, the nausea, etc., to each other. But last night, the fathers all crowded to one side of the room for part of the course and were encouraged to talk to each other about their fears about labor. Adam felt his masculinity reaffirmed when he heard that most of them were worried about all of the bodily fluids and needles that childbirth entails.

2. It is good to be around people worse off than you. One lone woman talked about how she either cries out of sadness or out of anger every day for the last month because her Baby Daddy isn't interested in being a part of her life anymore. Hearing about someone else's horrible rat-poop ex-boyfriend who abandoned her when she got pregnant sure makes me think twice about getting upset at Adam for forgetting to take the garbage out.

3. The BEST part: I got massaged. Our Lamaze-certified instructor Debra made Adam rub me down for the last half hour of class. If I would have known that this class would teach Adam how to massage me, I would have signed us up for it a long time ago!

Framing ... Already!

If you weren't impressed before, check out what our builders did in ONE DAY! (Notice that the last photo of our house below is dated 7/2/08.)

Our New Favorite Baby Store

Just to let you all know what little Charlotte will be wearing this season ... We just saw those lovely uni-browed ladies on TV and thought there could be nothing better for our little girl:

FLDSDress.com

Foundation

Yessssss! The Houston rain held out long enough for them to get the foundation underway today. So far so good!