10 Weeks to Go

I can't believe that I'm 3/4 of the way there! (Possibly closer if I get my wish and the baby comes early.) This summer has really flown by - how is it possible that August is already half gone?

My friend Carrie came over this week and took some pictures of me. She wanted to try out a couple new things, and I was her gineau pig. Check out all of the photos here. They are really very good.

If I'm really honest, my belly isn't that big. I feel huge, but I think that's because I "popped" so quickly - which is normal on a second pregnancy. Also, Paul pointed out (or at least agreed with me when I mentioned it) that part of it is that my back is swaying forward a lot, which makes my stomach pull out further. I'm surprised I haven't had more back problems - the constant pain I had in my lower back a few months ago is gone now. Thankfully! I'm also sleeping better, at least this week.

I'm still working on shaking this cold.... I feel good, and then have a coughing spell where I feel like I hack up half a lung. Not to mention the nose-blowing. But at least I can breathe now.

I canned 7 pints of green beans yesterday. My spring planting just keeps on plugging along - I keep thinking they're about done, but then they put on new growth and bloom again. I have been getting about a half a mop bucket a week. My fall beans looks GREAT! Hopefully they'll produce better. And my fall peas are putting on... Once I weeded out the grass, the stand didn't look nearly as good, but they're still better than this spring's. I'm going to try to get them picked this weekend.

I have zucchini to freeze today - we've been given some, and Paul doesn't care for it cooked (as if we could eat 4 large zucchinis anyways!). So I'm going to shred it and freeze to use in bread this winter. I also have kitchen recovery to do (from canning yesterday), and a massive pile of laundry that's been sitting here all week.... I'm tired of digging for socks. Since It's only 10 AM and I already want a nap, I think I'm going to have to put on a pot of coffee.

Paul has worked 6 days this week (60+ hours). They don't have air conditioning on the packing floor, so a day in that heat is pretty tiring (though his office and the break room have a/c). He has tomorrow off, then starts 30 straight days of production. He said they will probably get days off in there, but he doesn't know when or how many. So by the time I get my husband back, it will be time for baby! (Not quite, but a whole lot closer!)

Only 10 weeks! I can't believe it's coming up so soon!

AND MAY I JUST SAY......

Childrens' videos that have previews on the beginning that don't allow you to fast-forward through them or skip to the Main Menu are ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. There is nothing worse than needing a little Mommy time, and having your son lose interest in the movie he's picked out before it even starts.

Along these lines - DVD boxes that have the little tabs on the side are one of my favorite inventions. Nathan still hasn't figured out how to get into these, which makes my job much easier.

I Just May Die Before I'm Well.

I don't know how someone (Paul) who has mild sinus symptoms can pass on to me a full-blown cold.
There is nothing more miserable than a summer cold, in my opinion. Not only do you have the misery of being congested, but in Kansas, when you step outside you have the added symptom of humidity to deal with. It is virtually impossible to breathe.
Now add to that, I'm 7 months pregnant and not supposed to take any cold medications. Nothing is approved to take, but there is a very short list of medicines with "no known complications" or something like that.
I described trying to breathe to Paul yesterday as "trying to breathe through a straw". (What I have is probably bronchitis.) I can still breathe, but it feels like I can't get the air in fast enough. Then add to that a stuffed up nose (most of the time, and always when I lay down), and near panic can set in - especially in that time just between awake and asleep. Add to that being pregnant, not sleeping well anyways, and waking up at least twice to pee every night....... Oh - and this hernia area that pooches every time I cough (I have to press my hand over it or else I regret it). If it wasn't for the baby in my belly, I'd say just to shoot me.
I did give in and take some Robitussin Saturday night (which is on the probably-okay-but-we-can't-really-say-for-sure list). It did help me sleep and start to cough stuff up. But then Baby didn't move as much Sunday, which freaked me out. Although I got to thinking about it..... That's probably not because of the medicine; if I'm struggling to breathe and feel like I'm not getting enough oxygen, I'm sure baby is too - so he's probably sleeping it off. Still - I decided to forego medication last night.
I did remember a home remedy Paul's mom told me about when she has sinus issues. We did this last winter when we all had colds, but I'd forgotten about it. She uses a candle warmer - the kind where you burn a tea light in the bottom and melt the wax chips or scented oil in the top - and puts water in the top with several drops of tea tree oil. I tried that last night, and by the time we went to bed, it did seem that I was breathing better. It got worse again overnight, but this morning I started the tea tree oil again and my chest and nose seem to be more open - I could actually taste my breakfast! (Which was blackberry cobbler... Mmmm....)
So... It worked for me! I got this tea tree oil from an online company, but I noticed that our Walgreens has started carrying it recently (a different brand) in their little "natural" section (natural shampoo, lotions, toothpaste, etc). I'd recommend giving it a try. I'm not anti-medicine, but I do think that our bodies do best when we allow them to heal themselves (builds up immunities). And I don't think medicine (like Robitussin, Benadryl, etc) or herbal treatments really help us get well any faster - they just make us feel less miserable.
Munchkin is calling. So I'll end here.

Hairy Baby?

So I Googled heartburn and pregnancy (I've been having a lot of it this time). I found more "old wives tales" - these say that if you have heartburn your whole pregnancy, your baby will be born with a lot of hair.
It turns out this one is true! At least in one study: In a 2007 study at Johns Hopkins, 64 women were surveyed throughout pregnancy. Of the 28 that reported moderate to severe heartburn, 23 of the women had babies with "above average hair thickness."
I wouldn't call what I've had severe heartburn, but Rolaids have definitely become my friend. When I was pregnant with Nathan, pretty much the only thing that gave me heartburn was pepperoni. But it seems like several times a week something will give me an uncomfortable feeling, and it's usually not even anything spicy. So we'll see about this baby.

Paul and I were talking last night.... Sometimes not even genetics make sense in how your baby turns out. Dark hair is a dominant trait/gene. Paul and I both have dark hair - 3 of 4 of our parents have dark hair. Nathan ended up with light hair. Brown eyes are the dominant trait - if one parent has blue eyes (me), and one parent has brown eyes (Paul), the child is supposed to have brown eyes. Nathan's are blue. (Although, in this case, 3 of 4 of his grandparents have blue eyes, so I wasn't surprised.) Paul and I both have freckles, which is su - 3 of 4 of our parents have fair skin and at least some freckling. Nathan appears he's going to have dark skin like Paul's dad. (I know it's probably too early to tell on that for sure, though.) We did call it on him being hairy, though - Nathan didn't have a lot of hair when he was born, but now his little legs are very fuzzy. I call him a hobbit (I'm mean). So far, no evidence of flat-footedness, either (something Paul and I both have) - I'm glad of that.
I think each child is a wonder and totally unique. I am amazed at what God can put together. I can't wait to find out how this one hidden inside me turns out.

Boy or Girl?

I have no regrets about not finding out the gender of our baby, but the anticipation is killing me! (I don't do well with surprises of any kind.) I've been trying to determine based on "symptoms" - but according to wives tales, I could be having either one. I had read something about fetal heart rates - boys hearts beat faster, I thought. This baby's heart rate has been in the 140s; Nathan's was always in the 150s. This seemed a little more scientific than the "dangle your wedding ring" trick. But I looked it up, and the articles I read said that this is not true - there is no difference except during labor (when girls' hearts beat faster).
As I've said before, I think it's a boy just based on how much he moves - ALL. THE. TIME. But Paul's mom pointed out it could be a "red-headed girl with a temper" - something she'd know about (Paul's sister is a redhead).
We have a girls name settled on. We're still working on a boy's name. Paul has one that he likes, and I like the sound of the name, and any possible nicknames, but have two problems with it: the meaning (I'm big on meanings - probably because my name means "a ewe"), and the fact that it's been in the top 10 most popular baby names for the last 5 years (another hang up of mine, probably because no matter where I went, there was another "Rachel"). Although I don't think I've met any little ones with this name. I don't know - I may go with it, because Paul is so dang stubborn he's probably not going to let go. And I've been researching some alternate meanings, and when you look at it that way, the meaning doesn't sound so bad.
Sorry to say all this and not tell you what the actual name is. I want to have it settled first. We told people we were considering "Quinn" for a boy's name with Nathan, and so many people blurted out "But that's a girls name!" Umm... Actually it's not. It's been a boys name a lot longer than it's been a girls name! (It's Paul's middle name.) So we used it as Nathan's middle name as well. I just don't want people's opinions this time (although I have mentioned it to some friends and family).
Anyhow. That's today's dilemma. The doctor's appointment went well this morning. She's happy with how everything's going. I'm still not happy with how much weight I've gained. I'm trying to eat healthy, but some days it's just too dang hard.
I'm sick with a cold (thank you, dear husband and son), and it's 100 degrees out. That makes for a bit of misery/wanting to sleep. Not to mention how wonderful it feels to cough when you have a the beginnings of a hernia - being afraid that your guts might pop out the weak spot in your belly. Also, I fell off the stage at church this morning and twisted both ankles - well, twisted one, banged the other (the one that already is permanently purple). So that makes for even more wanting to be lazy.
After wallowing in all this self-pity, I am now completely unmotivated to clean the kichen, and feel fully justified in going to take a nap.

Pillow

Nice to know my belly is good for something other than balancing a plate on when I'm snacking.

Tragedy

Last Thursday morning, Nathan wanted to go out to play. I wrestled with the door (our front door sticks) as he pleaded, "'Side?" As I looked out the front door, I noticed something dead and furry at the end of our sidewalk in the driveway. I thought, That dang dog drug something dead up into the yard again! He's always finding possums or rats or other gross things.

I picked Nathan up and went out to investigate. As I got closer, he pointed and said, "Cat!" Sure enough, it was what was left of our Mama Kitty - a head and front foot. Totally graphic (luckily no blood). But it didn't disturb Nathan.

We have no idea what killed her. We're 99% positive it wasn't our dog... They've lived together for four years with no problem. We're thinking she got killed by a wild animal (coyote or bobcat), and Hercules either found what was left of her, or he scared off whatever killed her and brought back what was left to let us know. He had woken me up barking his head off and howling about 5 o'clock that morning.

So that leaves us with orphan kittens. We have found a home for one of them, but would really like to get rid of at least most of the rest. One or two cats is all this farm needs - we don't want to turn into a cat farm! If you want one, or know anyone who might - PLEASE let us know!

Clockwise from bottom left: Pinky (boy), Tippy (girl), Orangey (boy), Cucumber (girl - has a new home!), Callie (girl), and Mozerella (girl).