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December 13, 2003
December 13, 2003
Collin is 2 years, 5 months old.
I’m 38 weeks pg.
Monday, late morning, Mark called me from work and told me that his group (he works with 4 other ladies) threw him a little baby shower. I thought that was so sweet and kind of them. Mark had just been expressing how no one really ever throws a party or celebration for the dad, only for the mom’s and the babies. I told him that the kind of buddies he had, he should consider himself lucky his pals DIDN’T want to throw him a party. Most of Mark’s friends are unmarried with no children. I laugh just thinking about the kind of shindig they’d throw.
The ladies in Mark’s group made banana cake, Rice Krispy bars and lemon squares and all pitched in and gave him a large bag full of cute baby items. We got some outfits, some onesies, an infant bathrobe and an adorable homemade fleece blanket. Made Mark feel special and it was nice to know that he got a special day for himself, even if the presents were for the baby. Of course I had to write the thank you note, you know how men are with that task. Dear gals: thanks so much for the baby stuff. I loved the cake. Signed, Mark. HA!
Monday afternoon I nested BIG TIME and had a huge burst of energy. I kid you not when I say I vacuumed for 2.5 hours. I took a few breaks here and there but mainly I was vacuuming like a man woman. I started out vacuuming the floor in our bedroom, which led to moving all the furniture, which led me to vacuuming the lampshades, the ceiling fans, the walls and the ceilings. That led me into the hallway so I had to vacuuming the walls and ceilings there, and then that led me into the living room and kitchen. It’s nutty but hey, at least our ceilings are spic and span clean! The remainder of the day was spent dusting, moping, scrubbing, picking up, doing laundry and organizing anything I could get my hands on.
That night I had my Blessing way. Everyone was to arrive around 7pm so when Mark got off work, he came home, picked up Collin and they went to his mom’s house until the party was over. What a wonderful night it was! Khristina and her sister, Noisha, came up early to help set up and get things ready for all the guests. Around 6:45pm everyone started showing up with goodies and gifts and filling the house with laughter and girl talk. The house was warm and lit only with the lights of the Christmas tree and the holiday décor. A hot pot of coffee was brewing in the kitchen and the table was laid out with lots of sweet treats and goodies. There were 10 of us total and while everyone made themselves comfortable, talked amongst themselves and met my two doulas, we all indulged in some delicious sweets. There were chocolate brownies with thick chocolate icing, chocolate chip cookies, breads, cakes, fudge dipped Oreos, German chocolate brownies, apple crisp and crackers. We had coffee, Ginger ale, 7up, milk, and water for drinks. We started off by everyone introducing themselves and telling everyone how they knew me. As we were doing this we lit floating tea candles that floated in water in a pretty crystal bowl. That took awhile so after that was finished it was time for everyone to take potty breaks, load up on more sweets and get coffee refills. When we got situated, I opened my gifts while everyone read their words of encouragement to me (the invitation had asked everyone to write a little something for me to put in my journal, something that would encourage me for labor). I received things like lotion, lip balm, pregnancy and lactation teas, chocolates, candles, journals, books, a 2004 Ireland calendar so we would always be reminded of our daughter when we looked at it, shower gel, body spray, and even a very beautiful hand made blanket set with Ireland’s name embroidered on it. My wonderful friends all were so generous with not only their selection of gifts but also their words of encouragement and support. The things they said aloud were so inspiring and empowering and each one almost had me in tears. Next we passed around the string and everyone placed their beads on while they said aloud why they picked out their particular beads. One was for me and one was for Ireland. Again, the things they said brought me to tears. The words that flowed from their hearts meant so much to me. I will forever remember what everyone said and now I have a beautiful necklace with 45 beads on it. Most everyone brought two, but a few brought more, plus I added some from my dad’s bead collection I found (from him and my mom) plus Mark added four, two from him, two from Collin. As soon as I have enough energy to update Collin’s website, I’ll post a picture.
We ended the night with Heather painting my big jolly belly into a happy Santa Claus face. It turned out so cute and each time I’d laugh (which was a lot given the fact I ate so much darned chocolate that night!) Santa would jiggle around and look so cute. I didn’t get any pictures with my digital so I’m waiting for a couple people to send me copies of their pictures so I can also post those as well. Around 9pm everyone headed out. We took a few group photos; I thanked everyone profusely and hugged them on the way out. Khristina, her sister and myself were trying to clean up when Mark and Collin came home. Collin took one look at my belly and yelled, “SHUT IT!” I started laughing and asked him to come over and look at Santa. He wanted to, yet I think it really freaked him out to see my belly all painted up. He would look, look away, look again, and then try to grab my shirt while saying, “Shut it please!”
It was a beautiful evening full of the best company ever, yummy treats and heartfelt words of wisdom and encouragement. I would suggest to any pregnant mommy, that she have a blessing way celebration. It’s so empowering and magical and I shall never forget how special and strong it made me feel. Hopefully strong enough to hold up this 95-pound necklace I now have!
Tuesday we had a nice snowstorm that left us anywhere from 5-7”, depending on the area you’re in. What normally takes Mark 30 minutes on the Interstate to get home, took him 1.5 hours. The roads were snow and ice packed, the snow was still coming down heavy, and traffic was moving at 30 mph. I was so glad to see him pull up into the driveway. Collin and I stayed in all day (in fact, most of the week!) because it was just too darned cold and fridged to even go out and play.
I had an OB appointment Wednesday. I’m another cm dilated (bringing me to a definite 3, going on 4) and I measured 40 weeks. I tested negative again for Strep B, just like the first time, so I won’t have to receive antibiotics during labor. My urine was good and I think I gained 2 pounds but I attribute that to all the awful swelling I’ve been having, especially my fingers and wrists not to mention all the sweets from the blessing way. My blood pressure was high but that was because we had had that nice big snowstorm, I was nervous about driving and my MIL only gave me 10 minutes to get to my appointment. All in all, the appointment was routine. We went over our birth plan and talked a little about what to do when I go into labor. She said that even if I go into labor over the weekend and she’s not on call, she’d still come and deliver our baby. I was happy to hear about that. My next appointment is Thursday and I HOPE I don’t have to go and that I’ll be holding our beautiful baby by then. It’s getting so hard to get in and out of the car, especially with a big bulky winter coat. I probably looked pretty goofy going to the OB’s office in my fake-me-out Birkenstocks, but now a day those are the only things that fit me. I had socks on but it was still loads of fun trudging through a snow and ice packed parking lot. Thankfully my MIL has handicapped plates. I refuse to use the spots any other time but when I’m near exploding, I’m wearing sandals, the wind and snow are blowing in my face, and I see 10 other handicapped stalls open, you bet I swung right into one.
Friday afternoon my cramps really started getting intense to the point of PAIN, not just uncomfortable. At around 2pm I went in to pee and lost lots of mucus. All afternoon I lost more, LOTS more and some of it was even tinged with blood. That to me says it really won’t be long now. I called Mark at work and told him and he got really nervous. He played a show last night (and tonight!) so he’s worried he’ll be onstage when I go into labor. He’s also very uptight and worried about the flu epidemic hitting the country and is afraid of having our baby delivered in a hospital that is chuck full of sickies. All we can do is wash, wash, wash our hands, keep clear of people we know have a cold or the flu, stay away from places like the malls and Wal-Mart (!!) and just pray our family doesn’t get hit. Mark and I both got the flu shot but I’m almost wanting to shot myself in the foot for not getting Collin his. Now that our city is practically OUT and only giving it to the dire cases, we’ll just have to be careful. We’ve already warned most that to come into our house you must wash your hands. I’ve packed three bottles of Purell antibacterial lotion in our hospital bag. NO ONE is touching our baby unless they douse themselves heavily with that stuff!
Today, Saturday, I’m still losing mucus and it’s still a little pink and red. My cramping kept me up almost all night and a shower does little to relieve the pain. Mark is out grocery shopping right now, stocking up on a few essentials in case and I’m getting all the laundry caught up so I don’t have to worry about it. After tonight, Mark has two weeks off from the band (until New Year’s Eve) so I know if we make it past tonight, he’ll be a little more relaxed. His band mates and the place they are playing know that Mark might have to leave at a moments notice and everyone is excited for him. Two women who always frequent the band’s shows (I guess you could say groupies???) gave Mark a huge bag full of baby gifts last night. One girl is married and the other is her friend. They aren’t the type of “groupies” you might imagine when hearing that word, they know the band and love their music and have become regulars. In fact, the husband of the one lady is the manager at the local Golden Corral and has given us free coupons to eat at his restaurant before. Nice people, really! Anyway, the bag was full of cute things for the baby; an entire layette in a ducky theme, some cute little ducks for bath time, two duck bath puppets made from wash cloth material, a baby’s 1st photo album, a baby’s 1st doll, and a blue Bedtime Care Bear. As I’ve mentioned before, Collin is really into Care Bears and he doesn’t have the blue one…well, he does now! He swiped that up without even thinking. Anyway, the gift was such a nice gesture. I’ve never even met these two women, yet they spent their time and money going out and purchasing gifts for our baby. Guess those are the perks of a rock star, eh? **Roaring with laughter!**
Well, I’m still here and still pregnant as of today, Saturday. We’ll see what Sunday brings. I’ve contacted my doula and she is ready and waiting!
I’ve been trying to do updates on my TTM board so keep checking back. Also, Jennifer D. (mom to 4 darlings!) will post the BIG NEWS on my diary, the DWG and the TFY board when we have the baby. You’d have to be almost blind to miss the announcement, so don’t worry.
Keep us in your thoughts!
Happy Holidays to everyone and may you all be blessed with love, peace, joy and health.
~Jennifer
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