Laying Low

K's been fighting off a cold for what feels like a month, off and on. And now it looks like I have the start of a cold, which feels like horrible timing. But perhaps I can shake it before the baby arrives and be cold-free for a good stretch of time, so who knows about timing. I woke up this morning at about 7:30 and realized I had no voice, which freaked me out. I had this image of me in labor trying to communicate with nurses and the doctor and K and having to either sign everything out or write stuff down in between contractions because I wouldn't be able to talk. I was imagining the horror of my bout with tonsillitis about 12 years ago, which had me on three different antibiotics and in a lot of pain for about 4 weeks, no kidding. But then I calmed myself down, which I am starting to get the hang of, and told myself that I am not going to give into it and be proactive. I took a hot shower, and the warm moisture was divine. I rubbed down with some Vicks and sipped some hot water with lemon, wrapped myself up in a scarf and went back to sleep. And sure enough, at noon, I was feeling much better - I could talk again and it didn't hurt to swallow and my chest congestion was breaking up. I am going to lay low for the rest of the day, stay in bed, which will give me time to really make some headway in the baby blanket I've been knitting all month, and to catch up on my reading - Happiest Baby On The Block.

Five

Five is the number of:

senses

digits on one hand or one foot

Chinese elements

players on a basketball team on the court

vowels in the English alphabet (and sometimes "y")

traditional ingredients in punch (which means "five" in Hindi)

letters in my husband's first name

times a day of worship facing Mecca in Islam

rings in the Olympic symbol

Platonic Solids

petals on a wild rose

days left until my due date!


Photo and many facts retrieved from the website of Richard Phillips

Pregnant and Barefoot in the Kitchen

I actually am pregnant and I am barefoot and I am in the kitchen - how about that?! Just finished making a delicious dinner - well, we have yet to eat it, but I think it is going to be delicious! And this is a bit monumental for me because, as I've mentioned in a previous post, I don't cook that often. But I baked a few things for Thanksgiving and it really isn't that hard or time consuming, if you just prep properly (say that fast 3 times). At any rate, I think the baking may have started a little buzz and so I baked some more muffins this morning, because I was craving them. And now dinner. Just waiting for K to return from walking Brooklyn so we can chow down - I am starving.

Turns out that the iTunes mix I made for the hospital is working pretty well for me in these final days. I have used the mix in the past few days to listen to as I breathe quietly and chant in my new safe haven, the baby's closet (well, it's everyone's closet, but he's clearly taken over). I wish all pregnant women in the world a pregnancy free from the mental anxiety that I have voluntarily subjected myself to. I think I should have been just more diligent about making myself meditate. I am realizing that while I always think my compulsive worrying is out of my control, I do have a choice to actively stay positive and not worry. Hindsight is 20/20. I found a new mantra that's been working for me - "Be vigilant; protect your mind against negative thoughts" - Buddha. I found this quote in a picture book of cats with quotes on each page next to photos of adorable felines. When Cats Meditate is the name of the book and I bought it originally in NY, but Brooklyn chewed it up here in Vegas. I looked online to get another one and it is out of print. However, much to my delight, there it was right in the pet store last week (random!) and I think it was used. I bought it right away. And then I found the quote - so it's all kismet!

Joy Ride

K and I went to get our infant car seat installed, as is required by any hospital before taking a newborn home. And technically, the car seat is installed, so we are good. However, it is installed on K's side which forces the driver's seat to sit pushed way up. And with K's long legs, it's just not going to be comfortable. It's ridiculous, even a bit humorous. And it is installed on K's side because we discovered, as the technician was trying do his installation, that the seat belt for the seat behind the passenger's seat doesn't work! And this sounds familiar to me now, I remember discovering this some months back - how, I don't remember - and thinking to myself, "We've GOT TO get that fixed!" Well, no kidding! So now we have an early morning appointment on Monday to get the seat belt fixed, and then we will install the car seat, following the technician's directions, behind the passenger's seat. I just hope the baby can wait until everything is all set!!

Six

Six is the number of:

strings on a guitar

points on a Star of David

points received in a touchdown

degrees of separation

faces on a cube

legs on a fly, a moth, an ant, a beetle, or a wasp

feet in a fathom

players on a volleyball or ice hockey team

wives of King Henry VIII

days until my due date!!

Seven

Seven is the number of:

ancient wonders of the world

deadly sins

days in a week

Sister schools

dwarves in the story of Snow White

ingredients in 7UP

players on a water polo team

Gods of Luck in Japanese Mythology

years it takes for the body to regenerate its cells

colors in a rainbow

days left until my due date!!


Photo and many facts retrieved from the website of Richard Phillips.

A Little Cuckoo

I think nesting has begun in earnest - I was all prepped to take a nap yesterday, but instead I found it necessary to tackle tasks that I've been putting off. Paperwork and laundry, mostly, dishes, garbage control. Is it a sign that labor is close? We'll see...

Eight

Eight is the number of:

bits in a byte

vegetables in V8 juice

legs on a spider and scorpion

tentacles on an octopus

pawns on each side in Chess

ounces in a cup

planets in our Solar System (if you don't count Pluto)

known B vitamins

corners on a cube

white piano keys in an octave

days left until my due date!


Photo and many facts retrieved from the website of Richard Phillips.

Nine (My Favorite Number!!)

Nine is the number of:

letters in my first name

letters in my married surname

the date of the day on which I was born

the floor I grew up on

judges on the United States Supreme Court

innings in a baseball game

players in baseball batting lineup

members in the Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of The Rings)

monks in important Buddhist rituals

planets in the Solar System (if you still count Pluto)

lives a cat has

Beethoven symphonies

days until my due date!


Photo and many facts retrieved from the website of Richard Phillips.

Getting Ready

Went to doctor today and he checked my cervix and it is not dilated yet! I am wondering now if I am going to be early - I used to think I would be, but now I am thinking maybe not, maybe I'll be closer to my due date or even late. We'll see. Took Brooklyn to the vet for a final check up to make sure she's all set before we bring a baby home - Brooklyn is great, just had to get her ear hair clipped. Met with another pediatrician and I really liked her; I also liked the other pediatrician I met with, so now not sure who we will go with. At least it is a choice between two that I like. Went through my music on iTunes and set up a birthing playlist for when I am in the hospital. It was a suggestion, finding tunes that relax me, but I don't know that I'll be in the mood to be listening to music, I don't know. I also plan to get some DVDs together too, but again, I can't wrap my head around watching movies, I don't know. It may be comforting, the way it was during the first trimester. I am very excited!

Ten

Ten is the number of:

legs on a lobster, crab, or shrimp

fingers on two hands

toes on two feet

dimes in a dollar

pins in a bowling alley

commandments

years in a decade

players on a men's lacrosse team

souls a human possesses according to Chinese tradition

centimeters of a fully dilated cervix

days until my due date!


Photo and many facts retrieved from the website of Richard Phillips.

Eleven

Eleven is the number of:

players on a cricket, soccer or American football team on the field

years in a solar or sunspot cycle

years it took to build the World Trade Center

flowers on an English Easter cake

the most Oscar awards given to a film (Titanic and Ben-Hur)

letters in the name of my favorite city, New York City

times the hour and the minute hands on a clock cross each other in a 12-hour period

days left until my due date!

The birth is becoming more of a reality as we near the "due date" - although I am in the "any day now" period, which lasts for the next three weeks or so (depending on if the baby arrives early or late). I am really tired and could sleep for an enormous length of time if left to it. I am afraid of getting cabin fever if I stay in too much right now, especially knowing that I will be settled into the apartment for a while after the baby is here (but I will be busy, so I may not notice that much). I drag myself into work just for the social stimulation, but honestly, it is so tiring traveling. I do get out when I walk Brooklyn, but K's been good about walking her for me as well when I just don't want to move. Physically I am feeling good, no aches to really complain about, although sometimes it does feel like my pelvis is splitting and that aches. But nothing to write home about. Baby preparations are almost completed - I should get some bottles. And now it is time for a nap!

Twelve

Twelve is the number of:

people on a jury

apostles

months in a year

hours in the face of an analog clock

signs in the Zodiac

inches in a foot

old pennies in a shilling

eggs in a dozen

years I've known my dear friend Xing

days until my due date!!


Photo and many facts retrieved from the website of Richard Phillips.

Thirteen

Thirteen is the number of:

cards in a single suit of playing cards

loaves in a baker's dozen

players on a rugby team

people at the Last Supper

people ideally in a coven

months in a lunar calendar

letters in my first and middle names combined

years that I've known my husband K

days until my due date!


Photo and many facts retrieved from the website of Richard Phillips.

Sleepless in Las Vegas

For some reason, I cannot go to sleep. I haven't actually gone to bed and tried, but somehow I am just restless. I can feel that I am tired, but it is almost 5 AM and I just feel like I can't quiet my mind. And I couldn't even tell you what's on my mind - excitement, exhaustion. I wish I could focus enough to meditate or practice breathing exercises, but lately I haven't felt that I can settle enough to focus my mind on anything. Except Solitaire - I play it nightly on my cell phone and it is the only thing that quiets and focuses my mind. When I am up at these strange hours, I always find some obscure movie on cable. Tonight (or I guess technically, today) it is Niagra starring Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten. Marilyn really was quite stunning. I am watching Marilyn and everyone else is asleep - K is snoring on the couch while Brooklyn is asleep on the back of the couch. The baby just kicked, he's keeping me company!

Keeping Busy

K and I finally got the baby's dresser assembled - it was WAY MORE involved than I thought it was going to be, but I actually enjoy assembling furniture, so I enjoyed the process and felt complete gratification once the dresser was standing in its new home in our walk-in closet. I also assembled the bassinet (thanks TA, DS & SS!), and it is just precious. Just a little more to assemble and we are set. I put away all the baby clothes, and the closet is really starting to look like Baby Central. Bouncers are powered and ready to go, and Brooklyn is fascinated (or horrified, I can't tell) by the noise the bouncers make, so I have to make sure to play it at least once a day so she will be used to it. My Mother is obsessed with the name Etienne (while a pretty, French name, and in keeping with my love of French, we are not naming the baby Etienne). She cracks me up!

Coming Together

I've washed all the baby clothes we have received, and looking at the collection, I was overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and support - I feel like we are truly sharing this momentous event with everyone, which is just beautiful. THANK YOU!!! It's been very chilly at night, so I've been a little obsessed with making sure the baby will have warm digs for when he comes home and for his first months of life out of the womb. I started to hang up his collection of sweaters and outerwear, and it just looks so cute in the closet, so small. I am just beside myself! I also put together his Rainforest Bouncer; I love doing that stuff. It's really coming together. Today, however, I am really tired, so I am going to listen to my body and nap it out, leave the screwdriver for another day.

Home Stretch

9 months! I am so excited!

Puppy Love

A few weeks back, K and I returned home to be greeted enthusiastically by our dog, Brooklyn. As she was running to me, front paws wailing in the air, her hind legs slipped from underneath her and she managed to catch herself by sitting down like a little person and then hopping up to rest her front paws on my knees/thighs, now standing up like a little person. And I think she was a little startled by her slip and I comforted her and pet her and she stayed like this for about 2 minutes straight. She's needing all kinds of love these days; she may be sensing a change around the bend.

Love

Beautiful!

Yes We Can

My son will spend his very first years under a Black US president. This will be his "normal" and it won't occur to him to think that this is unusual. If he ever thinks to himself, "When I grow up, I want to be President," he will see the face of a Black man and know that being President of the USA is a completely viable aspiration for him. Tonight, as President-Elect Obama gave his speech, I couldn't help but think of all the people who gave their lives over the past century so that tonight could be a reality, a reality for all of us, a reality for our children; God bless them. God bless us all.

Winding Down (Or Up)

So, our pregnancy classes are officially over, and here we are in the month of November, which means that I have one month left until my due date. And I am ecstatic and still can't even believe it, it still feels a bit surreal. K's and my life (and Brooklyn's) is about to change enormously!! I've made some headway in my preparations around the house - still lots to do, but they don't feel as insurmountable as before. If we could find our Phillips Screwdriver, that would be sweet! Oh well, guess it's off to Target or CVS or somewhere. Anyway, we are going to have the baby sleep in our room (thanks TAS for the bassinet!) and I've made space in our huge walk-in closet that we barely enter for a dresser for his clothes and as a possible changing station (although it does occur to me that having the stench of dirty diapers lingering in the closet may not be ideal). I've been trying to neaten up the closet in my office/guest room, which looks like it may end up being the baby toy room - I don't know that we'll spend a lot of time actually in there, but for now, it's where the baby gear will live (bouncer, swing, books). I did have an image of me reading to the baby in there, maybe it can be our reading room.

I was planning to leave the artistic fun until I got the manual, physical work done, but I just couldn't help myself, so I bought balls of yarn and started practicing my knitting. I am going to knit the baby a blanket (pretty straight forward for a beginner). I still have to paint my belly cast. I have an idea for it, but perhaps if I don't get it done before the baby arrives, he will inspire a different design idea for it once he is here. And that's about it for now.