Cat Daddy

We don't do much around here these days. Sam works two jobs and is gone before the sun rises (actually not hard to do in Utah, since the sun doesn't rise til like 9am) until it sets in the frozen western sky. I work a few jobs, but all periodically. I can barely move so I don't go places all that often. And when we get to do things together, they are usually boring and involve staying home.

But! This past week we had our second anniversary, so we actually did get out of the house!

We went up to the Humane Society to look at and play with all the animals, then came home and had a frozen pizza (see? boring), then went out for dessert.

The HS was really fun. By the time we left, Sam wanted to adopt 2-3 dogs, 5 or so cats, and a ferret. And possibly some birds and a rabbit named "Biggie Smallz". We spent the most time with the cats, partly because there are the most of them, partly because they have awesome new interactive facilities, and partly because they were a lot calmer than the other animals (except the one that made a jail break and Sam had to chase through the hallways).

Random: apparently you can adopt mice at the shelter. Who would pay $5 for a "used" mouse??

Here are a couple of pictures of some of our favorite cats:

Oh, and I guess we got out one other time this month. I had my first ever legit office Christmas party a couple weeks ago! Fortunately, there are really only 4 or so of us at the company, so even with our spouses, it was an "intimate affair" (pinky up). We met at the Nickelcade and had a ton of greasy pizza, chatted for a while, then were each given two big bags of nickels and released onto the game floor with the direction to get the highest score of some game, or as many tickets as you could (for people like me, who won only at Fruit Ninja, and only because no one else played it). There were prizes for everyone (of course). I won a $25 Visa gift card, and Sam won a $25 Fandango gift card. When I asked him why he didn't pick a gift card for a restaurant, he said he forgot we were about to have a newborn. Go figure. Oh well, he is still the Hero of Guitar Hero.

There was also unlimited laser tag, but by the time we got to it, it was 10pm, and we are all adults with bedtimes after all, plus I didn't fancy getting knocked down by a crazy pre-teen in the name of lasers, so we went home. Deadbeats.

We had a really good time though, even if I didn't get any pictures.

Aside from those things, nothing really interesting has happened around here lately. Sam is currently searching avenues for a different/better job, and there have been a few prospects, but so far nothing has come of it. Oh well.

Maybe next time I will have all kinds of awesome news! (Baby? New job? Lottery winnings??)

The End is Near

The part that comforts me at this point is that I know that within 5 weeks and 3 days, I will have an ACTUAL BABY. Although I'm hoping it's way sooner (because who wants to go to 42 weeks 3 days?). Ahem. Knock on wood.

It has become difficult to do basically everything. Like even typing this is hard because my hands are all tingly and numb and my wrists hurt (pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel...so cool). Putting on my shoes takes about 1,000,005 years because my feet are swollen and I have to wear thick socks because it's cold and I can't bend over to tie my shoes. Moving in general is a Herculean task because at this point whatever SPD I had is like a bazillion times worse. Although I read yesterday that it goes away almost immediately after birth and I am so very much looking forward to not feeling like I'm 85 years old. Until I'm 85. Actually not even then.

Anyway. If you add in pregnancy rhinitis, hormones upon hormones, being kicked internally by a small (but huge?) human who is apparently wearing pointy shoes (even when the baby has hiccups now it's a big deal), and the ever-increasing BH contractions (will I ever get the real thing?), along with every other awesome symptom, I make for one big party animal. Seriously, if they talked a little more about what *really* happens to you when you get pregnant, we might have fewer teen moms.

But aside from all that, I am very ready to be done because everything is ready! Well, mostly. But they are things that can wait. 

We finished our Bradley class last Monday. It was pretty fun over all, and very educational. On the last day we did a "labor rehearsal" where we simulated labor by holding ice cubes and having very loud drum tracks playing (which actually had the unintended effect of making everybody all giggly). Then we used the time to practice a bunch of different methods of relaxation/comfort (which is how Bradley teaches you to deal with labor, unlike Lamaze, where it's all in your breathing). It was, like I said, rather fun. And Sam is now a card-carrying "person qualified to coach a woman in labor"! 

Because everyone is going to ask for proof if Sam tries to coach me...

Something I find a little funny is that people have started asking me if/when I'm going to be induced. The top two reasons I've gotten for this when I ask "why would I?" Are:

1. It's the holidays

2. Everybody gets induced

People have even thrown around the whole tax-benefit-for-the-year thing. Personally, I'm a little perplexed as to why I would want to be induced (I have a long list of reasons why it sounds like a horrible idea to me), but what confuses me even more is that people seem to be disregarding the baby's actual gestational age here...like shouldn't we only be induced out of medical necessity? My midwife (down to just the one, the second has taken an indeterminately long sabbatical and the new-hire midwife doesn't come on until February, when things slow down at the birth center) doesn't even consider induction until you are over 42 weeks. And I guess "they" (scientists?) are in the process of redefining the length of human gestation, since average is actually 41 weeks and 1 day (kill me now). So...just because a baby is "full term" and it's the holidays...? I am feeling I may be getting some people riled up now, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. But, in any case, I personally will not be inducing unless the baby stays cooking until the aforementioned time, which maybe people think is weird, but I don't. I shall abide myself in patience (meaning complaining but not doing anything other than that).

People also think it's weird that I'm not planning on getting an epidural or giving birth in a hospital, but I think I'll save that rant for post-birth just in case something happens and I need a hospital transfer.

Anywho. Babies. Having babies. Let's have a baby. Soon. (Please)

Here's a picture of my (seemingly...I'm unconvinced if I'm actually as big as I think I am) land mass of a self: