Quit Pressuring Me!

So as you may all know: my due date is September 29. I don’t think I’m gonna make it. Yesterday and today have been jam-packed full of Braxton-Hicks contractions regular enough so that I have to go to the loo every ten to fifteen minutes, and strong enough that walking is, well… Interesting.

I’m not losing any fluids, and there’s no blood and no plug, but based on the direction of Nugget’s movements now compared to movements on Monday at our OB appointment, I feel it’s safe to suggest that the baby has flipped over so he/she’s vertex (head-down). Based on the ridiculous amount of pressure in my pelvis, I’m thinking that she/he has engaged.

And so begins the process of slow and steady cervical dilation and effacement. Be prepared, people. Dr. Colorful says that the most recent birth experience is generally the best indicator as to what to expect for the upcoming one. That said, I remind you that Tempest was almost exactly six hours from that telltale *BANG* between my hips, and delivery. This one will likely not last even that long.

Wearing Thin.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are no longer denizens of the Capitol City. I’ve finally decided, after living there for 31 out of 35 years, that it’s time to try something else. Our new place is quite a lot bigger than the old one, and much nicer.

On Friday the state observed Bennington Battle Day (which is actually August 16^th) and Husbeast didn’t have to work so we rented a truck, loaded it up with the help of three marvelous friends and headed to the new place. It took us another five car-loads total, but by 3:30 pm on Sunday, the old place was empty and immaculate, and the keys were locked properly inside. Thanks, once again to Mama, Mama’s Youngest, BAMF and Mr. Sama; as well as Husbeast and Pooka, of course.

Sunday afternoon Pooka and I got to attend a concert given by the lovely and talented wife of one of my favorite uncles in a very old local church. She only does it once a year and it’s a major highlight of my summers. We also got to see my fantastic cousin, her magnificent wife and their adorable son. Pooka joined him in checking out the cows behind the church, and found a tiny toad for him to look at, which seemed to please him greatly.

Monday I worked a little more than half a day and scooted homeward for my OB appointment. Mum and Dad got to feel Nugget kick for real this time, and Dr. Colorful seemed pleased with our progress. It does sound like I’ll probably go into labor a week or two, maybe even three weeks early (based on my most recent experience). Mum’s voting for three. Ha! She’s so excited to meet her baby. Not that I blame her, of course, but her enthusiastic impatience is pretty funny.

Yesterday I took the day off to sleep in. I’ve been pushing myself way too hard lately, and just needed to rest a little longer than usual. That’s not to say I’ve been doing a ton of heavy lifting or anything (that’s absolutely forbidden anyway). I’ve just been waking up early every morning and “going” nonstop until 11:00 or midnight every night; then getting back up and doing it over again. So yesterday I slept till 11:30.

I did make a ridiculous amount of progress on the new apartment, but I took a bunch of little breaks between, and sometimes in the middle of, tasks. So as of now, we have a working kitchen, fully arranged dining room and a working living room. I’ve got a couple projects to do, but otherwise my house is, by-and-large, presentable.

Happy Tummies and Big News

Seltzer - particularly lime-flavored seltzer - is the most wonderful thing human beings ever created. It’s fizzy and makes me burp (but then again, breathing makes me burp these days), but it’s not the unpleasant kind of “oh my god, PREGNANCY” burps, and even the first sip settles my angry stomach.

I can’t eat within three hours of going to bed or I wake up with screaming acid reflux and have to sit up every fifteen to thirty minutes to belch. I can’t eat large portions unless I plan to be on my feet and walking for twenty minutes at a minimum. I could eat an egg, cheese and bacon breakfast sandwich or a mixed green salad with fruit in it and some light vinaigrette dressing – its’ all the same to my body right now. The only thing that seems to “do it” for me, is sipping seltzer between bites.

Nugget has also concluded that somersaults are super fun and must be performed at the most awkward moments for his/her incubator. S/he’s taken to doing it while I lay on my side, as if using the mattress as a springboard. Catbutt seems to find these abdominal acrobatics exceptionally amusing, and like to flick my belly with his tail, hard enough to get a reaction out of Nugget… While I’m trying to sleep. This game generally takes place around 4:00 am, daily.

Last Monday’s OB appointment was par for the course. Nugget’s heartbeat is normal, and Mum got to hear it over the phone. She and Dad decided to skip the appointment due to illness on Mum’s part. She didn’t want to get me and Nugget sick too. I appreciated that. Dr. Colorful threw me a curve-ball on Nugget’s gender too, so now I have no theories at all as to his/her sex! Blargh! Oh well; we’ll find out in seven weeks, give or take.

In other news: We’re moving to the greater Queen City area next weekend. We put the deposit and first month’s rent down on our new place right before our OB appointment. The new place has two floors and is quite a bit larger than our current place, with much more storage; one and a half baths; in-apartment laundry facilities and a DISHWASHER! I cannot tell you how much those last two please me. We actually have our own tiny little laundry room with full-sized washer and dryer.

There are a couple very minor cosmetic issues, but I can fix those easily and cheaply. The tension rod in the upstairs (full) bathroom is rusty and needs replacing, but I have two of those already, so I don’t even need to spend money on that repair; and the vanity light covers in both bathrooms need either a good scrub or replacing. No big deal; I suspect that a short soak in hot water with a little bit of “Barkeeper’s Friend” and some elbow grease will brighten those babies right up. There’s also a tiny chip in the laminate counter top in the kitchen, but we have a marble cutting board that will probably live on top of it anyway, so no harm done.

Anyway, we still have our current kitchen and a few loose items to pack, but by Friday we should be good to go. I’ll report more once our stuff is all safely ensconced in the new apartment! Whee!