Celebrating 10 months of Pregnancy

Whoever said that pregnancy is 9 months long lied. Lied or couldn't do math. Every month has 4 weeks in it. Currently, I have been pregnant 40 weeks which equals 10 months. And it currently doesn't look like the situation is going to be changing anytime soon. I'm feeling great and sleeping well. The pesky items like not having shirts long enough to cover the belly, not being able to reach my toes, or not being able to easily pick William up anymore are just inconvenient. See? Still hanging onto my zen. As a special treat, I thought I would share this:

This is the most pregnant I've ever been: 40 Weeks.
From the front. The shirt says: babyonboard. I'm trying to get some good use out of it before it isn't true anymore.

Warning: Bare Belly Ahead

Last night I noticed I had a really crooked belly. The picture didn't turn out great because I didn't want to wake John, but let me assure you my belly button is usually in the center of my belly. Also note, I cannot see my toes.

In other news, my parents and sister will be arriving this afternoon. My dad and sister will depart Sunday-ish and grandma is here for the long haul. We're glad to have them, although sorry we won't have a new baby to show off just yet.

Turn the Prayers Off

First of all, there isn't a baby and it isn't looking like today is the day right now. I know things can change in the blink of an eye, but I'm not feeling it right now. Which is okay. Zen, remember?
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It occurred to me yesterday that after our car accident at the end of last year, a lot of people called and e mailed to tell me they were praying for our family and more specifically that NewBaby would stay put. If you all could do me a favor and quit praying for that, I would appreciate it very much!


However, there are some family of ours that need our prayers. The Red River on the border of MN and ND floods every year, some years more than others. This year is a "more" year and we have aunts/uncles in John's family living very close to the river in Fargo. For more on this, go here. We have heard recently from both sets of relatives, but the situation isn't good based on the weather, flood predictions, and locations of the family homes. We also have my family north of Fargo in Grand Forks and although they appear to be in better shape right now, a little happy thoughts wouldn't hurt.

Baby Watch 2009

First of all, there is nothing to watch. Not really anything to talk about either. Just more of the same. And seeing how I still have my zen on, is fine by me. I secretly (not anymore) am holding out until the 26th. That would make William's birthday 1/26, mine 2/26 and Newbaby's 3/26. John's would still have to be 6/10, but still. It would be cool. The other thing greatly assisting my zen-ness is the doctor telling me that by the end of next week I would want an induction. Now, this may have been true otherwise. However, now I can guarentee I am going to be working my hardest to sunshine and flowers at my next appointment. Plus, not wanting an induction. Because who is HE to tell ME what I want (for the record, this is a long standing issue I have with anyone about any topic. I have problems with other people telling me what I should/need/want to do. One of the top reasons I am a teacher: I like being the boss).

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In other news, I had a dream earlier this week. I went into the bathroom to use it and came out with a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L baby boy. In the dream, I was trying to wake John or get his attention away from whatever he was doing. His response? Oh good! Now we can name him Pepipito Taco after the Taco John's mascot. Ummmm.....WHAT? Even in dreamland, I had no response for him regarding this name suggestion.

The best part about this dream? When I woke up, I remembered this dream and was still mad at John. Seriously. He wanted to name our kid Pepipito. After a fast food restaurant.

By the way...

I've gotten a lot of comments about my bathroom post :) I do have to confess that this isn't the first time William has figured out the stall lock. I thought I was safe in this restroom because the locks were different than the last bathroom he had figured out.

Although, I was smarter this time. Last time I was in the handicapped stall figuring we needed the extra space. Turns out the extra space isn't helpful because you can't reach the door to shut it. In this case, the door stays 100% of the way open as your toddler cackles and waves to the other women in the restroom.

Well,

it isn't looking good for today. Today (39w 3 days) is when William was born. This one appears like it might make us wait a little longer. Which, is okay with me. This pregnancy has been easier for me to keep the zen. This baby will come when it is ready. This baby will be born when it is supposed to be born. And so on. From the beginning, I've felt like my due date was maybe a little on the earlyish side and this one might come late. From the pregnancy tests that refused to turn positive until later than they should have to our first dating ultrasound, I felt like this one might be a little late. Which is okay....ommmmmmm.

This was further confirmed by my OB appointment today which revealed nothing had changed in the four days since my last appointment. This OB (not my regular dr) felt pretty strongly that I should start working on scheduling my induction for next week. This Induction Talk interferred with my Pregnancy Zen and left me crabby for part of the day. I'll get over it eventually...or not.

As much as I'm looking forward to meeting this new little one, I'm also enjoying the last few moments of peace with our quiet family of three. Well, as quiet as it gets when you are living with a very pregnant, very hormonal, and very determined (read: stubborn) woman. I am running out of rooms to organize, purge, and clean which leaves me with a very good feeling. Our house is still not approaching Magazine Camera Ready, but it is way cleaner, more organized with a lot less stuff in it than before. Not to worry though, there are still items I need to check off my list.

Last night, I participated in the pregnancy Olympics. It was a triathlon and very challenging. I completed the following tasks without assistance in under 2 hours: cutting my toenails, painting my toenails and shaving my legs. Why? I don't know, but I will tell you it was hard work. I also decided that I absolutely could not have a baby without getting my hair cut first. So, I called around today and found both an appointment and someone to watch the Big Kid while I got my hairs cut. Who knows what I will decide tomorrow.

Picture with my Big Kid on Saturday (39 weeks, 1 day)
And no, carrying him around (all 31ish pounds of him) on top of my belly isn't doing anything to put me into labor.

And finally I tried to catch a little nap today in the chair while John played with William on the floor nearby. William didn't want me to feel left out, so he drove his cars on my head and gave me kisses to wake me up. Wonderful...

For Nicole

I've been writing this post for my friend Nicole for a long time in my head now. See, Nicole is doing something both incredible and difficult at the same time. Nicole has decided to start running - and I am so excited for her. Although I've not had the pleasure of meeting Nicole in person, our stories are so similar that it is amazing our paths haven't ever crossed.

Her story has gotten me thinking back to when I first started running and how much hard work it was. So, as a little encouragement, I thought I would share the short version of my own running story here. So here it is!

I started running the summer after I graduated from high school. Previously, I was not not anywhere near athletic. I did not participate in sports and my motto was (I know someone else famously said this, I'm shamelessly stealing it) "Why run when you can walk, why walk when you can stand, why stand when you can sit, why sit when you can lay down, in fact why get up if you don't have to." To sum up, totally uninterested in athletics and not a participant in any way if I could help it at all.

I'm not sure why I started running the day after graduation. And really, using the word "running" is a stretch. In the beginning I struggled to run for any stretch over 1/4 of a mile. And honestly, that might be a stretch. But, I started and I kept it up even though I felt stupid chugging away on the streets in my neighborhood. In the fall, I started my freshman year of college.

Here I am with my fabulous roommate and best friend Jessica on the first day of school. (posted without permission from her). As a note, I am currently about 10 pounds heavier 9 months pregnant than I am in this picture*.

Throughout that year, I worked really hard and I achieved one of my first goals just before Halloween: I ran my first mile without stopping. It took me four months to accomplish, but I was so SO proud of myself when I finally did it. By May, Jessica and I registered and ran in a 5K run. In a little over a year, I went from being totally nonathletic to being able to run 3.2ish miles in a row without stopping. (Please note: still completely uninterested in sports)

Jessica and I post 5K run

It goes without saying that running increased my confidence in myself and pushed me to take on new challenges. It changed how I viewed my body and took care of it. It also really made me see how taking time for myself and only me made me a more giving and happy person. Taking up running was a monumental, life changing decision.


After my first year of college, I kept up the running, although my dedication came and went as my class schedule and other life commitments changed. I do want to point out that I've never been anywhere never the competitive level of running. I am neither graceful nor swift as I jog around the track. However, I've never run for anyone but me. And I'm proud of that. Running is hard. It requires work. I'm not naturally good at it and I do it anyways. While writing this post, I've also realized that I've now been a "runner" for over 10 years. That is a major accomplishment.

After William was born, I renewed my dedication and hit the track at our local Y hard. It was hard to start over. I had to work again to run that one mile without stopping. But I did it and grew stronger. I made it my goal to train and run another 5K. Again, so proud to have accomplished that goal. After NewBaby makes his/her appearance, I'm sure you'll find me back at the track again.

Ready to run 5K, March 2008

*Although I'm sure running helped, I also am an incredibly picky eater. So picky that I went on the all cereal diet part way through my freshman year. I gave up on the cafeteria food because I didn't like it and ate only cereal.

The Awww....didn't last

I have to tell you the rest of the story from our music class last week. Just because it shows you exactly what I've been dealing with over the last few weeks. We left music class without major incident and I was feeling all warm and fuzzy about how cute our kid is. Before leaving any building lately, I require a pit stop. So, William and I went into the ladies locker room. I picked a stall and pulled William inside with me, quickly locking the door. William was instantly fascinated. I tried to distract him, but I was also reaching emergency stage of bathroom needs*. So, I proceeded...and I'm sure you can see where this is all going.

Yes, he figured out the lock within 1.212 seconds and yes there was both a swim class, cycle class and aerobics class filling the locker room at that very moment to view my very pregnant self. And, yes I had to go to the bathroom so badly that I just did my best to keep the door more than 50% shut while I took care of business.

*If you talk to my mother about this, she will laugh and tell you that I have more than earned this moment based on my own childhood behavior.