Pregnancy Update: 39 Weeks

Today will definitely be my last pregnancy update. I decided to do one more, but I'm not waiting until 40 weeks, because I won't be pregnant at 40 weeks! I am 39 weeks today, and will deliver tomorrow at 8 a.m. I had my mother-in-law take a picture of me after our dinner. I feel absolutely huge, but the end is near. This post is all about being pregnant, so if you aren't interested in that kind of thing, just skip this post.

The doctor said I'm not dialated or effaced at all yet, though it doesn't really matter, since I'll be a scheduled c-section. They're going to completely knock me out during the procedure with a general anesthetic, because spinals don't work on me. When I was having Nick, they tried seven different needles, and none of them would take. I could always feel everything. The anesthesiologist said that I had lots of calcifiction on my spine, and should never have spinal medication. They ended up knocking me out then, too. This time, I think it'll be much better to be knocked out without first having seven needles inserted into my spine!

Weight: (From starting weight) +32 pounds. Sigh. My doctor told me yesterday, though, that some of it is definitely water weight. I am quite swollen, and 97 degree temperatures don't help, especially when I work in a school with no air conditioning. Tuesday was my last day of school, but man, was it sweltering. My hands are so swollen that a size 9 ring was tight on my (usually size 7) ring finger.

Plus, my feet are absolutely huge! This definitely didn't happen with Nick. I actually have cankles. Ick. They'd better go away once I have this baby! My feet are bigger now than they were when I was very overweight, before my bariatric surgery. I've always had rather slim ankles, but they're gone, and my toes have been replaced by chubby little sausages. I'm only posting this picture so I can feel good about my feet once the swelling goes back down. Please tell me I'm not the only person whose feet did this at nine months along!

Movement: He's moving more now, or maybe he just ran out of room. I don't have an ultrasound picture, but I do have this. Maybe it's silly, but I wanted to remember what it felt like to be pregnant, so I videotaped the baby moving in my stomach. I have a big scar down the center of my tummy from RNY Gastric Bypass Surgery, so that is what you see there.

Doesn't it seem like he's trying to push his way out? That was a pretty violent kick!

Exercise: Actually, way more in the last few months than at any point since before I was pregnant. I've gotten my energy back, though I'm pretty sure it's nesting-related. I've been running around doing errands and shopping, and I spent three hours gardening on Monday. For some reason, I got it into my head that my plants were suffering and needed more space, so I repotted more of the ones from my classroom.

I will say, though, that I am definitely waddling. I've had several people comment on it, including a first grader who asked, "Why are you walking like that?" My response? "The baby inside me got bigger, and that makes it hard to walk." I didn't tell her that someone's head was pressing on my cervix. I figured that was TMI for a 1st grader.  ; )

Cravings: Still with the iced tea and Panera, actually. Nothing new, though I'm finding I need to eat my dinner in two or three stages. My uterus, you see, is taking up all of the room in my abdomen.

Sleep: I haven't had a good night's sleep in months. My neck, back, and sides hurt quite a lot, and it's been difficult to get comfortable. However, I'm pretty sure that I won't be sleeping too much once the baby comes, though it may be more comfortable to actually do so.

Today is my wedding anniversary, but I'll be spending most of it getting Nick up to my mom's house and getting our stuff ready for the hospital. Greg and I are going out for a nice dinner tonight, though, to celebrate. I wanted some quality food, because I'll be on hospital food for a few days.

I have to be at the hospital tomorrow at 6 a.m., and it's 45 minutes away, so that means waking up at an insanely early hour. I'm excited to meet my new son, but a little nervous, too. Wish me luck!

Anniversary Trip 2010 Part IV: Carmine's, Old Town, and Reminiscing

Back to our Chicago Trip. . .

Wednesday night Greg and I walked to one of his favorite restaurants, and Italian place called Carmine's. It's on Rush Street and the food was delicious, if overly plentiful. It was a bit pricy, but the grilled calamari/octopus/shrimp was perfectly cooked, and the lasagna had an amazing sauce. I'd definitely recommend this place, especially if you like classic Italian food.

As is often the case, the highlight of my meal was dessert, which was a chocolate mousse cake that just melted in my mouth. I wish I'd saved more room, because this cake was phenomenal. The chocolate just melted in my mouth. It's funny, but ten years from now this trip will be a fuzzy memory, but I do believe I'll remember this cake. That's how my memory works. Our waitress took this picture of us, but unfortunately the cake wasn't in the picture.  ; )

After dinner we walked down to Old Town to see Second City's mainstage performance. I've been a few times, but Greg had never gone to see Second City. The show was called: "Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies in the End." It was pretty funny, though some skits were better than others. I think my favorite one was about a lady trying to keep squirrels off of her bird feeder. There was a lot of physical comedy, and I loved when the actors pretended to be office supplies, like a stapler, a water fountain, etc. Also, it was so nice to be able to drink and not worry about who was going to drive. I had several mugs of coffee with Bailey's, and that probably made me laugh even more. We weren't allowed to take any pictures at the show, but I had Greg snap this shot of me near one of the Old Town signs. This part of town was not as upscale as the Gold Coast, but there were a lot of neat looking shops and quaint bars and restaurants. I'd like to explore this area again, because even though we were very early, Greg wouldn't let me go into any of the stores. (Deep sigh.)

After the show, we decided to walk to the El Station, but discovered (after walking a mile in the opposite direction) that it was closed. By the time we'd walked back to the hotel, we probably worked off all of our dinner and dessert. I was glad I'd worn my comfy flip flops. It was a great evening--it's nice to go on dates with my husband. Evenings like this one take me back five years and make me reminisce back to when Greg and I were first dating. Our first "real" date was on the Gold Coast, in downtown Chicago.

***Flashback*** You know how in a movie, the screen will go all fuzzy for a second so you know there's a flashback? Well, I don't know quite how to do that in a blog, so I'm just going to tell you.  ***Flashback***

Greg and I met online, at Yahoo Personals, to be exact. Both of us were looking for a long term relationship. I was 27, and Greg was 31. We chatted via email for a good month before deciding to meet. Greg was living in Oak Park at the time, and we met at a coffee shop and talked for several hours. While waiting for me to arrive, he was reading a book--"The Wine Bible." That made me giggle, but was kind of a relief after dating guys who wanted to do shots of Jagermeister and chug countless beers. Greg was obviously a little more refined than that, though I was also a little amused by the little earring he wore in one ear. It didn't seem to match with the rest of his personality.

I remember what I was thinking of that first evening. Greg was very polite and gentlemanly. I liked that Greg was older than me, mature, and well-educated (Greg has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kentucky). I remember we talked about Europe, because I had been and he'd always wanted to go.  He asked (very politely, I might add), if he could take me out the following Saturday, and I accepted. During the following week, he called me and told me we'd be going downtown for dinner and that I should wear something nice. I was flabbergasted when he showed up in a suit, with a bouquet of flowers. Very nice presentation.

My jaw dropped when I saw where he was taking me--on a horse drawn carriage ride through the city. The funny thing is that the carriage ride took off right by the Water Tower, which is very near where the Whitehall Hotel is located. Our driver even took a picture of us, though it was a Poloroid and has kind of faded.

I think Greg wins for most romantic first date ever. He was trying to impress and he did. We even went up to the Signature Room up in the Hancock Building for dinner. Does it make sense now why going downtown reminds me of our first date? One of the secrets to a good marriage, I think, is planning adventures to go on together. Hopefully we'll have lots more adventures this year.

***Flashback over, pardon my digression***

Anniversary Trip 2010 Part I: Hotel and Dinner Cruise

After two years of being married, I finally feel, well, married. You see, I finally have tan lines on my left ring finger. I just noticed them when I took my rings off last night. I guess this means I'm really married.  ; )

Seriously, though, Greg and I have done pretty well for two years of marriage. One of the ways we stay sane is to go on dates as often as we can, just the two of us. So, to celebrate our second anniversary, we planned a trip to Downtown Chicago. Nick stayed with his Aunt Sarah and Grandma Toni (Thank you!), and Sarah took us to the Metra Station so that we wouldn't have to pay for parking. We stayed for two nights and three days (Tuesday-Thursday), and we just got back last night. I'm going to have to talk about this trip in several posts, because we did so many things while in the city. Greg only gets twelve days off every year (that's vacation and sick days combined), so he wanted to make the most of his time off, and we did a lot.

We stayed in a boutique hotel on the Gold Coast right across from the Hancock Building. It's called The Whitehall Hotel, and it is in a really old building with tiny elevators. It was a pretty good place to stay, especially considering the price. When I first went to price hotels, we were disappointed and thought we wouldn't be able to stay downtown, because hotel rooms are incredibly expensive in the summertime. We're talking $130-$200 a night, on average. However, when I checked out Hotwire, I found a listing for a boutique, 4-star hotel on the Gold Coast for $98 a night. I didn't find out the name of the hotel until after I'd paid, but I wasn't disappointed. The room was a "Superior King," and was very nicely decorated. The only thing we didn't like is that they put us on a smoking floor, so the hallway was kind of stinky. But our room was great, and we had a terrific view.

Speaking of great deals, I got an amazing one on a dinner cruise using Groupon. We paid $40 each for a two hour dinner cruise on a boat called Mystic Blue. We boarded at 6 p.m. and returned at 8:30 p.m. When I called to book our tickets, I was told that dress was formal. So Greg wore his suit and I put on a nice dress and heels. When we stood in line to get on the boat, though, I was surprised to see what the definition of "formal" is for some people. Besides the staff, I think Greg was the only guy there in a suit. Men wore polo shirts and shorts or jeans with sandals, women wore jean skirts and flip flops. Honestly, more people were wearing shorts and sneakers than slacks and dresses. Oh well, I suppose it was better to be overdressed than underdressed.

The food was plentiful and well-made; I think my favorites were an Aloha Beef dish and a potato filled with scallops and shrimp. Since neither of us had to drive, Greg drank margaritas and I had an appletini. The view from our table was gorgeous, and there was a huge spread for dessert, with fondue and everything.

The waitress even brought us out a special dessert for our anniversary. It was a delicious cheesecake, and it tasted even better after my appletini.

We spent most of our cruise up on the deck, though, because we wanted to take in the fresh air and the dazzling skyline. The splendid views of Chicago, after all, were the whole reason for the cruise.

It was relaxing, to say the least, sitting up on the deck, listening to a live guitar player and watching the sun slowly set behind the buildings. I would have to say that this was probably the most romantic part of our trip.

After the cruise, we walked along Navy Pier and drank coffee and took pictures. We stayed up until midnight and walked all the way back to the hotel. I brought flip flops in my purse just in case my feet started to hurt, and oh, boy, was I glad I had done that!

Two Years Already?

Today is our 2nd Wedding Anniversary. It's hard to believe that it's already been two years. It seems like it was just yesterday that Greg and I were nervously standing at the altar, dressed in expensive and incredibly uncomfortable clothing, praying that the rain would hold off until the ceremony was over. (It did, but just barely.) Two years later, I spent much of the evening cleaning up the spaghetti that Nick threw five feet across the kitchen.

So what are we going to do for our anniversary? Nothing, tonight. We decided to hold off on celebrating until Greg takes his vacation in a few weeks. I believe he's planning a nice trip downtown, and a stay in a hotel. For tonight, I cleaned up the spaghetti projectiles, and Greg did the dishes. I will say that I was dressed more comfortably than I was two years ago. . . I spent the evening in my comfy pajamas. Then, when it was time for The Daily Show, we shared a plate of homemade s'mores that Greg made in the microwave. I suppose any dessert is a celebration.  : )  The s'mores were pretty good, but not so good as our delicious chocolate ganache wedding cake.

Actually, that cake was one of the best parts of the wedding. If we could afford it, I think we would celebrate each anniversary with a cake like that. Not that I didn't like the s'mores.