Doodling as a Child Might be a Sign of Artistic Aptitude and a Promising Career

Y'all, it has been super cold outside for the last week, coldest of all today so, of course, our heat went out last night.  It was 60 degrees in the house when we got up this morning.  Supposedly, someone is going to come and fix it this afternoon, and I hope they do.  Also, y'all, I am the worst with the camera:  it has no batteries AGAIN, and I have been unable to remember to put new ones in, or I would put up another pregnancy pic and also a pic from our latest ultrasound.  Speaking of, I must give a shout-out to my awesome doctor, Dr. Leflar, and the awesome ultrasound tech, Elizabeth, because they really went the extra mile for Alan and me at our ultrasound last week and helped both of us avoid a full-fledged meltdown.  So, here's the story:  I scheduled the ultrasound for 3:00 last Wednesday.  On Friday, I got a phone message from Millard Henry confirming my appointment for 3:30 on Wednesday.  So, based on that phone call, I showed up at 3:15/3:20 on Wednesday (thinking I was all responsible and early), Alan took off of work early and arrived then as well, whereupon we were told that we had missed our appointment and would have to reschedule, but I could meet with Dr. Leflar.  Dr. Leflar took one look at me and was like, "Okay, you're about to cry, don't cry, hang on" and ran and grabbed Elizabeth, who stayed later than she had planned to do the ultrasound and took the time to get us a good 4-D shot of Baby Ward's face.  So, in short:  awesomeness.  Parenthetically, she and Dr. Leflar both told me that I am not the only one to have this issue with the automated phone calling, so I don't feel just too terribly bad about that (I blame Millard Henry).  Lesson learned:  always go off of the appointment time that you set up, not the one on the automated call.  Anyway, everything looked good, it's definitely a boy, and we're (two days away from being) in the third trimester.

Pregnancy Update

How far along? 27 weeks, 5 days

Total weight gain:  Unknown; I really was going to try and find out at the doctor's last week, but I was so discombobulated by the ultrasound mixup, I didn't even think to ask.  Maybe next week ...

 

Maternity clothes? Maternity jeans are FABULOUS.  I love them.  I can't believe I waited this long to start wearing them.  I still wear my regular non-maternity dresses and my work pants with the Bella Band (the work pants are a roomier cut, I guess), but now that I've got the maternity jeans, I'm not going back.  Seriously:  love them.  And I know Baby Ward appreciates it ... he's been moving around more to show his appreciation at not being squished, I think.

 

Sleep:  Sleeping fine, doing well with the sleeping on my side thing.

 

Best moment this week: Technically it was last week, and that would be the ultrasound and getting to see his little face.  He looks more like a baby now and less like an alien.

 

Movement: Stronger and more frequent; Baby Ward weighs just over 2 pounds, so when he moves, you can feel it.  He's still a night owl, but he's starting to move more frequently at all times now ... maybe I'll be able to figure out a pattern pretty soon, and Alan and I are both hoping that Alan will get to feel him soon (he hasn't been able to so far because the movements are unpredictable - Baby Ward still has enough room to move from side to side, up and down, so I can't always pinpoint where Alan should put his hand to try and feel it ... What to Expect When You're Expecting says that the third trimester is when the movements become more regular and predictible, and your partner should be able to feel it, since the baby stops having so much room to roam in the uterus).

 

Gender:  It's definitely a boy!  Aside:  my mom and I went shopping for baby furniture a couple of weeks ago, and we were in this fun store in Little Rock, Pickles & Ice Cream, and I was trying out all of their rockers/gliders, and they had this one that was quite large and BRIGHT pink - like, BRIGHT fuschia.  They told me that there was a funny story behind the chair:  it had been ordered for a little girl's room (obvs) but when the baby was born it was a boy!  So the store took the chair back and let the parents reorder a more appropriate one, but they said it was quite the ordeal for these people, who had decorated a little girl's room, custom bedding, all of that, tons of girl stuff, girl name, etc., and then it was a boy (apparently the ultrasound wasn't clear but instead of just telling them that they couldn't tell, the ultrasound tech just sort of ... I guess he/she guessed ... and he/she got it wrong)!  I would've croaked (from an expense standpoint).  Anyway, that's why at my ultrasound I had Elizabeth definitely confirm it was a boy, before we painted everything blue and went the route of boy stuff - she said there was no doubt :o).

Labor Signs: None, thankfully.

Belly Button in or out? In, but getting more shallow. 

Cravings: None to speak of, really ... still have a thing for sweeter treats than savory ones, which is so weird to me.

 

Symptoms:  Snoring, my hands/fingers are swelling (I refer to them as my "sausage fingers") and I have self-diagnosed myself with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (which, in all fairness, What to Expect When You're Expecting lists as a legitimate symptom of pregnancy).

What I miss: Getting in and out of cars easily/getting up and down from our couch easily/getting in and out of bed easily.  I mean, it's not just incredibly hard (yet), but it requires a little more effort, especially when it comes to getting out of something that I've gotten nestled down in.

Weekly Wisdom:    The uncertainties of the present give way to the glorious possibilities of the future.

Milestones: 4-D ultrasound (I promise I'll put a pic up when my lazy self gets around to putting batteries in the camera).