Potatoes in the Mist

At dinner (vegan asparagus quiche and vegan raspberry thumbprint cookie), I walked over to the restroom and saw a man pulling a little girl away. She was wearing a CELEBRITY T-shirt and some pink glitter on her face. "I think someone gets priority," he said. "Why?" she pouted. "She has a baby in her belly," he said. Then she beamed. She seemed really delighted by the concept. Later, we ran into an old man in our lobby who said (predictably), "I hope you're having twins!" (I told you, every day.) I managed a barely civil "No," and then he said, "Well, I come from twins," which was kind of cool. Then a lady in the elevator said, "You look ready." I am. In other news, I got an advance reviewer's copy of Jane Green's The Beach House at the Strand. Half price, and it's a big relief because it doesn't really come out until my due date. So now I can read it!

D and I tried to see Sex and the City tonight, but it was all sold out. Maybe tomorrow night. We saw Chloe Sevigny with a couple of other girls. She was wearing a jumper, similar to her Big Love outfits, and she looked at me sideways with hooded eyes, also like she does on the show. It was cool. She seems fun and weird. (I mean weird as a compliment.) We lucked out and got further baby gifts, from Bdogg ! I should mention that Liz got me a very cute downward dog T-shirt for E a while back. Definitely picture-worthy. The problem is, it's in a drawer that's hard for me to reach now, along with some other baby stuff. I'm going to transfer it all to my blue Target fabric folding bins as soon as I can bend again :) From Bdogg : On the right is a bath set with hooded towels and washcloths. The duck has a special bottom that will say HOT when the bath water is too hot for the baby. Also, I got these pawprint slippers from the Animal Rescue Site (I think it's theanimalrescuesi...

So I had my doctor's appointment today. Gained 2 lbs...ugh...but I did go to the doctor's office right after breakfast, and I lost 1 lb last time, so whatever. I got one of the other doctors in the practice. I'm still at 4 cm, but she seemed to find this impressive. "A lot of people go through 3 or more hours of labor to get where you are," she told me, "so it should be faster than average." She seconded my doctor's advice to get to the hospital quickly. I am starting to get nervous about his weight. This doctor doesn't like to give weight estimates because she feels they are off by 10-20%, but she did say he would be a big baby. "So am I gonna have to get a C-section?" I asked. She gave me a nuanced answer that boiled down to, "We try to avoid that," but said I probably shouldn't go past my due date. Gah. So of course I started thinking, "Am I going to have to induce?" Then she said, "So when you see ___ ne...

D is helping his mother with computer problems (over the phone). He is the most patient person I know. But even he is starting to lose it, so I removed myself from the scene and enjoyed some watermelon in the kitchen. There is also a container of fresh pineapple in the fridge, in honor of Liz . It has not been desecrated yet. I've been keeping track of the "twins" inquiry. Three cashiers converged on me at the grocery store and pelted me with: Any day now? One or two? You're big! I also got accosted by a pre-op trannie in the elevator yesterday who said, "Twins?" "No." "That's a big boy! I can tell! Hahaha!" "You look pretty freakin' weird yourself." (I didn't say this, just thought it). Anyway, it turns out that people have asked me if I'm having twins EVERY DAY this week except one day. I think it was Tuesday. Sometimes I get asked twice in one day. That happened on two days. I never want to hear the word ...

Well, of course I put the letter from my insurance company at the bottom of the heap, but I opened Lisa's gift promptly. Beautiful, hand-knitted hat: Cute, fun bib: AND my due date is two weeks from today.

So tonight I had the perfect meal. My enthusiasm was a little dampened by the passage of time, but at the time, it was perfect. cranberry juice 1/2 grapefruit strawberry shortcake (shared with D) Exactly what I wanted. We also met a Wheaton named Miles. I was sitting on a park bench and he snuggled against my legs. He also planted a paw on my right foot. I think it's their trick for making sure you don't leave. His owner even offered me the leash. "He's in love with you now," she said. Wheatons are one of my favorite breeds. (Of course, the list is extensive.) D and I were discussing the prevalence of "fire" in song lyrics - we heard "Dancing in the Dark" at the diner. I told him it's really common and they always rhyme it with "desire". Then he asked, "Do they rhyme 'cry' with 'belie'?" "No," I told him. He was also chagrined to find that I have never seen "Happy Days", though he conc...

So I went to the doctor's office today. I dilated a centimeter more and got 10% more effaced, bringing me to 4 cm, 80% effaced. Also, I lost a pound...shallow or not, it was a thrill to see the little black bar move in the "right" direction. Of course I checked with the doctor to make sure this is ok. She assured me that the baby will continue to gain weight, about half a pound a week, and my weight will just indicate how much water I'm retaining. I asked the doc to estimate how much he weighs now and she said he's about 7 lbs, 4 oz, "which is big." Didn't sound big to me, but I realized she meant "big for 37 weeks," especially since I may have 3 weeks to go. Her guess is that he will weigh in the "high eights" when he comes out. I found a chart online and saw that the average fetal weight for 37 weeks is 6 lbs, 3 oz. So he's about 1 lb, 1 ounce above average. Not bad...

So I am often a slacker about checking the mail, because let's face it, it's usually bills and I often have an armful of watermelon (E's favorite fruit). But today I did check the mail, and I was glad, because here's what I got: A fun card from Liz (you open it up and it plays that Salt 'n' Pepa song that begins with "Ooh, baby baby" - my music for labor ;) and "sneaker socks" for little feet (from my mom). Tonight we went out with a couple of friends, one of whom is addicted to this French patisserie in the neighborhood. I am strangely immune to it so I just sat there while they got chocolate mousse and a chocolate "dome". (For the record, I don't really like solid chocolate desserts. Chocolate accents, fine. Chocolate chip cookies and brownies, especially with walnuts, are good, but huge mounds of chocolate just remind me of...well, never mind.) The service was very French, too. One of our friends had to bug the woman behind ...

Thanks for all your compliments on the crib. We got the mattress and put a mattress pad and Winnie the Pooh sheet on it. It looks pretty cute. I feel like I'm in a holding pattern right now. I did a search for due date statistics and found a bell curve with the due date (40 weeks) at the peak. I guess that doesn't tell me much. We'll see if I've progressed any further, dilation-wise, at my Friday appointment. My SIL got me an awesome muumuu at Kmart. It has these brightly colored vertical stripes and is really kitschy. I love it. I'm wearing it right now because it's actually a little chilly (I've been hot for the entire pregnancy. I think pg women must be 5-10 degrees hotter than the rest of you). Also am digging the food mysteries of Joanne Fluke. Although there are so many recipes in each one, she should probably publish a cookbook in addition to fiction! Also liked Emily Giffin's newest book. That's all for now.

D finished putting together the crib. We're still waiting on the mattress, but it's otherwise complete.

So I went to the doctor yesterday (a different one, same practice) and I haven't dilated or effaced any further, so the sense of urgency seems to have lifted. Also, I'm strep B negative! Yay :) The crib arrived yesterday and the cherry-colored parts are lying around the living room. I told D he might not want to unpack it unless he was sure he wanted to put it together. He did unpack it in a fit of enthusiasm. Anyway, if he assembles it, I'll take a picture ;) And if that doesn't work out, our friend who offered to put it together will be back in town in a week or so.

Here's a pic of the stroller D and I put together (well, he put it together while I read the directions aloud): The crib has not arrived yet.

Liz pointed out that if I miss a day of blogging, people may think I'm in labor. She's right. That is, I'm not in labor but I can see why you would think so! After all, the doctor's parting words to me were, "I'm on call this weekend. I don't think you'll go this weekend, but I'm on call." I know, there's the "I don't think you'll go" part. But just telling me she's on call? Sprang me into action. I ordered nearly everything from the list I'd assembled. And, in a miracle of bad timing, my family started asking, "Did you get this? That?" because they wanted to get me that thing. I felt terrible...especially since my mom found my crib at a different vendor for about $70 cheaper. I couldn't cancel my order because it was already being prepared for shipping. (I called to confirm.) But at least both places offered free shipping. There's always that. You may ask, "Why don't you register, Beare...

So I went to the doctor today. I had the strep B swab, and you know, it wasn't bad at all. It just felt like a regular exam. Then she said I was already 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced. She explained that this was good and meant my labor would be fast and easy. She said I would be 6 cm dilated by the time I went to the hospital. She said to stay within 30 minutes of the hospital and that the only mistake I could make would be waiting too long...in other words, come in ASAP as soon as the contractions are either: 1) painful *or* 2) fairly close together. She said she tells everybody else to wait till the contractions are 5 minutes apart, but not me. I feel so special :) I hope she's right...fast and easy would be good! Oh, and the busybodies who said I've dropped were apparently right. The doctor said I've dropped a little.

Pregnancy appetite is embarrassing. An hour or two ago I had a grape popsicle (Edy's), and it was as if my brain were chanting, "POPSICLE. POPSICLE." It couldn't be resisted. Just now the voice started up again: "CHEESE STICK. CHEESE STICK." And I had that, too. We've been eating Horizon string cheese...quite tasty, and no rennet. (Not that I try to avoid rennet as a rule...probably too hard to do...but finding cheese that lacks it is a nice bonus.) Today two people said things to me (well, a third woman just looked at me and said, "Wow.") The first person hit upon every major cliche in my life recently (i.e., she managed to say ALL the things I hear on a regular basis). I'll let you pick out the recurring themes: Woman: Any day now? Me: June. Woman: Any day now? Me: June. Woman: Any day now? Me: J-U-N-E. Woman: Twins? Me: No, a boy. Woman: Wow! That's a big boy. You won't make it till June! Too big! God bless you! (disappears.) Wom...

...when you're pregnant. Someone in the elevator in my building told me I was starting to drop and would give birth this month (instead of June as expected). Also, some guy leaned out of a truck today and yelled, "Wow. That is pregnant." Um, yay. I'm curious whether I have really dropped...although the woman in our building is a caretaker for the elderly and probably has no medical training whatsoever. I'll have to ask my doctor when I see her on Friday. AND I filled out my form for my hospital admission. Yay, me...

D and I saw Harold & Kumar tonight. Everyone and their mother was going to see Iron Man, so it wasn't crowded. H&K was rude, silly and fun. It also featured the cutest math love poem. (The title of the post comes from it...)

Took a couple of belly shots for Caro . My mom is putting together a meet-the-baby gathering in MA for September. Of course, she'll be meeting him when he gets here. Am loving my Tide stain stick from Bed Bath & Beyond. I recommend it to all pregnant women and other people who drop stuff on their bellies (salad dressing, etc.)

D's putting up curtains as we speak. They are really rectangles of cloth...very cute, white with tiny purple turtles. It's because he doesn't want the people in the new building across the street to see him in his underwear. They don't have curtains, either. I ordered the new Madonna CD from Amazon. I was getting hooked on the smidgens of "Candy Shop" and "Heartbeat" over at iTunes. One song has a rhyme that cracks us both up: "shower/ours." She pronounces "ours" with two syllables to make it work. P.S. The curtain operation is stalled for now. We need a drill.