Will has now lost 50 pounds since starting “the Plan.”
For his efforts, he received a totally bizarre retro magnet that proclaims his success. You’ll have to stop by our fridge to see it.
Archive for June, 2006
I’m sure you’re all dying to know about the doctor’s appointment today. Not much news. Other than:
1. They’re going to induce me on July 5th if I haven’t had the baby yet. (Just to be precise, that is 8 DAYS FROM NOW.)
2. Before that, they’ll do some tests to make sure the baby is okay (probably on Friday or Monday).
3. My doctor is going to be unavailable to deliver the baby this Thursday and Friday because she’ll be teaching a seminar on O.B lifesaving. (Will and I are both encouraged that she is the person teaching this seminar.)
Being post-due (by 5 days now, for those who are counting) is kind of like being relegated to some circle of hell where you’re only allowed to have the same conversation, over and over, with everyone you meet. With neighbors out in their yards, people at the grocery store and coffeeshop, people at church, at restaurants, etc. And of course all of these people are exceedingly well-meaning, thoughtful, encouraging, etc. But gosh dang it, if I have to keep having this same conversation for much longer, I might scream.
Will suggested that we print up some card stock with the following information, and then we could just hand a copy over to potential conversers at the first sign of interest and be on our merry way:
Yes, Andrea is: still pregnant.
The due date was: June 22nd.
We are having a: boy.
We are going to name him: William Thomas, and we’ll call him Thomas to avoid confusion with his father.
Andrea is feeling: very well, thank you.
Regarding the recent cooler weather, Andrea is: very pleased indeed.
Yes, we have: taken long walks, eaten spicy food, etc. to try to get things started.
Andrea was dilated: 1 cm as of a week ago. (Why do strangers ask this question? It seems awfully personal.)
The longer this takes, the more I’m going to have to just stay at home. At least there I still have basically the same conversation, but it’s with friends and family whom I actually know and love.
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Other than the never-ending conversation, however, I must say that (as I indicated above) I’m actually feeling really good. I have another doctor’s appointment this afternoon, so perhaps there will be more news then…
(He is late.)
We’ll keep you posted.
A word of advice: If your friend is leaving the coffee shop before you, and you want to accompany her to the door and continue your conversation, there is no need to hold the door wide open for fifteen minutes, turning the pleasant, air-conditioned shop into a drafty space dominated by the sound of passing vehicles. I promise that if you are so brave as to let the door close while you stand outside chatting, it will re-open to let you back inside when your friend finally leaves.
There are four fire trucks, one police car, and one SUV marked “Command 31″ parked next to our house. Something crazy is going on over at the house of our least favorite neighbor, you know, the one who lives across the street and three houses down, the one who is always mowing his lawn and revving his truck up and down the street. (This is the neighbor who has been in trouble with the law several times in the past.)
There was smoke coming from the house before, but the firemen aren’t spraying any water on it. But they did come out, put on oxygen tanks, grab a whole bunch of gear, and head back in. It’s hard to tell what’s going on, and the law enforcement people seem to be ushering everyone inside their houses.
Weird. I’ll keep you posted.
UPDATE:
Well. It’s been about an hour. About 45 minutes ago, one of the four fire trucks left, and then the owner of the house in question pulled up in his truck. He has been standing next to his truck, talking with the policemen, since then. They haven’t let him go into the house.
Soon after, a fire truck marked “HAZMAT SUPPORT” pulled up. If I were a fireman, I think I’d like to be assigned to the Hazmat support truck. Their job seemed to entail swapping out new oxygen tanks for the ones the firemen had used when they went in the house, and then also handing out gatorade to all the other firemen. They had this section of the truck with a huge fridge and a bunch of gatorade. After handing out the gatorade and standing around talking for a while, they left, along with one of the other fire trucks.
After a lot more standing around and occasional coming and going from the house, the other two fire trucks left. Some more police arrived, and an unmarked van with some more firemen (or fire marshals?). They’re still hanging out, going in and out of the house, and talking with the owner who is still standing outside with the police.
I sent Will across the street to get the scoop from the group of neighbors who had assembled. But they didn’t really know anything, except that there had indeed been smoke coming from the house. Will says it smells like burned plastic out there.
UPDATE #2:
Whoa. The policemen just handcuffed the neighbor and dragged him over to the police car. He was yelling “No! No! No!” They had a really hard time getting him into the car.
I must admit that when we first saw the fire trucks, we assumed that some of the neighbor’s illegal activities were to blame. But when he drove up and stood there voluntarily talking to the police for over an hour, I assumed that he must not be up to anything too questionable, or he wouldn’t have stuck around. But apparently he’s not that smart…
The police car just left, so the only ones left now are the firemen who are walking all around taking pictures. They have also been walking around asking neighbors if anyone has seen anyone poking around today. Nobody has.
What a very weird evening for our quiet little neighborhood. Uff.
Still Huge, but less Tired and Crazy.
Published by June 13th, 2006 in Otto, Pleasing and Pregnancy. 5 CommentsAfter three nights of relatively good sleep, things are looking up. I planted my tomatoes, herbs, and impatiens, cleaned up my bedroom (to make room for a cradle), set up some dog/baby gates, and did other similar things this weekend, all at a leisurely pace that allowed for plenty of napping and relaxing. Now if I can just get some writing done today, things will be in really good shape.
I have also used my powers of deduction to determine that Otto’s nighttime issues have less to do with allergies and more to do with being a spoiled brat who just wants to sleep in bed with Will and me. These last few nights he has been fine in his crate for the first four hours or so, but then precisely between 3:00 and 3:30a.m. he begins to get agitated. Last night it wasn’t licking and thumping, but instead quiet barking and growling. On and off for three hours. But I was resolute and didn’t let him into bed, and hopefully he has learned that his tactics no longer work. We’ll see…
That would about describe me these last few days. I can’t really complain about this pregnancy at all; I think that in general I’ve had probably the easiest pregnancy possible. At least for 8 months and 2 weeks. But these last couple of days haven’t been so good.
Case #1:
Wednesday could be summed up this way:
Over-tired, unable to sleep, and crying for no reason. Ask Will. Poor Will.
Case #2:
Thursday could be summed up this way:
Extreme frustration over non- and semi-functional inanimate objects. Probably the best way to exemplify this is to quote from an email I sent Will while trying to locate books I need to read for my diss on the library website:
From: Andrea XXXXXX
Subject: it’s a good thing I’m not in labor
Date: June 8, 2006 2:30 PM CDT
To: Will XXXXXX
______________________________because I just tried to call you and you (as usual) did not pick up your phone.
Also, I CAN NOT HANDLE the slowness of our internet connection. How much does it cost to go back to the faster speed? I am (successfully) doing a lot of praying and deep breathing in order to keep from smashing everything within reach.
grrrr.
grrrr.
Again, poor Will.
Case #3:
Last night’s course of events:
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11:00 pm: Go to bed
11:15 pm–1:30 am: Sleep fitfully and wake up often, waiting for Will to come to bed. (I learned later that he was lovingly and dutifully reading our natural childbirth book to brush up on his coaching skills, something I had asked him to do.)
1:30 am: Wake up when Will finally comes to bed
1:40–2:30 am: Sleep.
2:30 am: Wake up to the sound of Otto licking his paws (we suspect allergies) and scratching his neck. This combines for a surprisingly loud cacaphony of slurp, slurp, slurp, thump thump THUMP thump thump, jingle jingle jingle. [Interestingly, Otto only seems to suffer from these allergies when he's in his crate. If we let him into the bed with us, he sleeps perfectly soundly. But with a baby on the way, we need him to sleep in the crate so he "knows his place in the pack". If we let him into the bed, the terrorists have already won]
2:40–3:30 am: Sleep
3:30 am: Become enraged after waking up to another round of slurp, slurp, slurp, thump thump THUMP thump thump, jingle jingle jingle
3:35 am: Stomp to kitchen to get some water, thinking that perhaps the licking has something to do with thirst. Bring in water, offer to dog, watch as he ignores water and continues licking/thumping.
3:45 am: Stomp to livingroom to sleep on couch.
4:00-4:50 am: Sleep on couch
4:50 am: Wake up because of intense pain caused by trying to sleep on very small couch. Return to bed.
5:00–5:50 am: Sleep
5:50 am: Wake up to yet another round of slurp, slurp, slurp, thump thump THUMP thump thump, jingle jingle jingle. Imagine throttling dog but instead decide simply to scream “Otto, you stupid fucking dog! Stop licking! Stop scratching!”
6:00 am: Decide to give up and put dog in bed in the hopes of getting a little sleep
6:05–7:00 am: SLEEP!
7:00 am: Wake up to alarm. (Damn it!)
7:00–8:30 am: Doze while hitting snooze periodically.
8:30 am: Give up and get out of bed.
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At least it is cool and shady today. I went and bought some flowers to make myself feel better. Now I think I’ll go take a nap.
