Starting to Mean Business

Phrases I hate to hear – “Let’s schedule you for an ultrasound at your next appointment since the baby seems to be measuring big’

This weekend was all about Coach’s birthday (saw 'Leatherheads', don't bother, two affable guys don't make a right), and unpacking, unpacking, unpacking. I finished setting up the Nursery, Guest Bedroom, and my room. The Office is done. I destroyed the kitchen sink (decided to be a smarty and change out the faucet, so now everything is in pieces spread all over the floor because I bought the wrong connector tubes. Who needs water in the kitchen anyhow?), the Living Room is mostly done without the further addition of shelves or magical cabinets or a free flat screen, the Dining Room just needs the tools cleaned out of it since it’s workbench central right now, the Garage is done thanks to Coach’s manual labor breaking down boxes, and, well, that’s about it! Bathrooms are as done as they’re gonna get without being painted, and I bought some flower seeds to start for the front yard. If I can just get the faucet finished off and the dimmer switches installed I’ll have completed my little compulsive move-in checklist, huzzah!

The best part was that I got to play with the car seat/stroller. I had purchased the Graco travel system from Craigslist (it was brand-new in the box, before you yell at me for buying something so important second-hand). It was one of the things I hadn’t let myself open, as a treat for unpacking, and it was worth the wait. The stroller is really light-weight, and the wheel swivel radius is awesome. Everything folds and locks and opens etc. like butter. I put the car seat base in the car backwards immediately, but got it figured out and all fixed up so Junior has less of a chance of going splat. My Vibe has the LATCH system (really cool, marked on little tags sewn right into the backseat!), which believe it or not was a consideration when I bought the car five years ago (hey, I’m a planner, what can I say). It is WEIRD to drive around with even just the car seat base in the car. But I like to be prepared.

I had my new practice appointment this morning where I had to sit through all the same questions I answered at UNC when I first got pregnant, which made me crazy. And, uh, the nurse pissed me off so I got really defensive and blotchy. Basically she was just really confused when I said I had self-inseminated; I explained I did it myself, at home, with a known donor. She was like, ‘You mean this was a UNC-assisted program?’ I said, no, I did it with a cup and a sterile pipette tube all by my little ol’ self. She then blew me away by asking, ‘Oh, so there’s a special kit you can buy?’ *sigh* I guess that it isn’t that common, but this was a medical professional - I felt like saying, ‘Why, yes, actually, I just walked into CVS and got the Knock Yourself Up In a Box! It was a snap!’ So apparently I am still a little sensitive about the whole thing. The doctor was decent, a nice young female blonde. I got tape-measured for the first time and she felt like Junior was a little further ahead/bigger than she should be (plus UNC didn’t actually send any of the labs or ultrasound results) so she ordered an ultrasound for my next visit. YES! I know that my sister N. would be scandalized, but I am thrilled. I’ll get to see Junior at 36 weeks. Don’t convert that to months or you’ll barf like I just did. They better not be setting me to up be induced or schedule a c-section, because I’m not falling for it, I don't care if they do tell me she's like 10 pounds. She is growing like a weed though – I’ve hit 30 lbs gained. So much for managing that. I startled the nurse because I laughed out loud when I got on the scale and saw the number. That means no more delicious and heartburn-y fried chicken for Little Heifer, I mean baby.