Friday, October 29, 2004

Twenty- twenty- twenty-four hours to go...I wanna be sedated! I'm gonna be somebody's mommy tomorrow. Oh my heavens. Wish us luck, dear readers. If all goes well, our happy little family will be home from the hospital Tuesday. I make no promises about my ability to blog for the next, oh, say, 18 years.
And I can not say it enough: thank you to all for the love, support, and encouragement you have given us for the past nine months.
Hope to have good news for you soon.

p.s. Purple Scare is five months old now. I am as stunned as you are.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

The good news is that the sonogram came out just fine. The less thrilling news is that it looks as though we're going the C-section route anyway. I am tremendously relieved to know that Wee Bizzleburp is still okay in there, and I'm not choking him/her on a bad placenta. Still, the doc says that in terms of the timetable, we're at a yellow light and shouldn't wait for the red. The inexactness of the timing cuts both ways: for all we know, we aren't really that late, but for all we know, we're coming up on The Ineffable One's deadline. In the end, I'd rather have a surgical birth and a definitely healthy baby than wait around for nature to take its course and possibly put baby at some sort of risk. (I'm saying this as someone who was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck three times.)

I'm glad I trusted my instincts enough to ask the Doc to go back for one more look before heading to the operating room. And yo, Mad Props to all my homegirls who wrote in with advice. Girlfriends rock. Is this a decision that I'm absolutely thrilled about? No. But it's one that I feel was made with the best available information and with all appropriate avenues considered. Therefore, I am satisfied with it.

And besides, Bizzleburp could surprise us all yet with a sudden appearance Friday afternoon. Now that the World Series is over and we've peeled Daddy off the ceiling, I think we're about ready. Last night I had a wicked vindaloo; today I guzzled rasberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil, and spent lots of time reassuring Biz that we are not going to name it Manny Ramirez even if it is a boy.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Let's hear it for small victories! The doctor agreed to a sonogram Thursday morning. Meanwhile, I'm guzzling raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil, which are said to help bring labor about. Thank heaven for girlfriends and the Internet.
Also, my homeboy Rich tells me that his Indian friends all swear by vindaloo to assist in these situations. Mom might not like the way my car smells when I meet her at the airport tonight.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Well, here's a fine situation. According to my OB, the baby hasn't even descended into the pelvis yet. This means that inducing labor is not really an option. Either this kid comes out the way nature intended, on nature's schedule, or I get to have a C-section later this week. All in favor of Mother Nature, raise your hands. Thought so. Me, too.
We did the usual battery of checks today, plus what's called a Non-Stress Test. The NST came out just fine along with everything else. Unfortunately, since I'm past my "due date," the clock starts ticking on the expiration of the placenta. That's why nobody likes to wait more than two weeks after due date to bring the baby out.
The problem for me is that "due date" is like that other bastard of pregnancy nomenclature, "morning sickness". Morning sickness can be a 24-7 ordeal, as I have experienced. If I thought that my "due date" were calculated with the accuracy of an atomic clock, okay, I'd be worried too about how long it's been since we passed that day. But guess what? For all I know, my OB in Eastern Europe was using a due date pinwheel calculator for the friggin' Gregorian calendar.
So I'm going to ask the doc to do another sonogram. If placenta, amniotic fluid, or baby appear to be in the slightest jeopardy, carve away. Otherwise, I'd just as soon wait a while.
Of course, this has not stopped my mother from re-booking her tickets to get out here as soon as the laws of time and space will permit. She's coming from the other coast, so that still gives us a head start. But Mom, for pity's sake, you had to arrange to land in the middle of Game Four of the World Series? When the Sox have a 3-0 lead?

Monday, October 25, 2004

Another day with no new developments. I no longer feel pregnant: I'm just fat and tired with bladder issues. I'm having wicked sciatica but that's really my only major complaint (as long as I'm within 30 seconds of a bathroom, that is). It's once more to the OB tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, with the usual weight/blood pressure/any swelling? and position check. One way or another, I will be unpregnant by the end of this week, says the doc. If all is well tomorrow and they don't want to induce, my next appointment would be booked for Friday. And of course, Bizzleburp could show up any time between now and then.

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Nope, still no baby. Had some wicked "false labor" cramps last night, enough to send me to my myriad of reference books, but nothing fell into a pattern, and so far Bizzleburp appears to want to stay put. If I don't go into labor by Tuesday afternoon, it's back to the OB again for another evaluation.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Remember a while back when I was explaining the reasons behind my sabbatical? Here's a handy, concise explanation. It's a little something to keep in mind when you head back to the office on Monday.
And then there's the added bonus of Bizzleburp. I asked for the leave of absence before we knew about the baby. But I'm really really glad that I will have lots of time to spend giving real thought to whether to return to work A.B. (After Baby), rather than being rushed into a decision.
OB report: Heaven forgive me for making this comparison, but my Bizzleburp is like the Bush administration: quite content with the status quo, and no discernable exit strategy.
Okay, okay. The sonogram showed that Biz is quite well (and over seven pounds, we estimate), as are the placenta and amniotic fluid. So there's no need to induce at this time (Thank The Maker!) If the baby hasn't shown up by Tuesday, it's back to the doctor again for another assessment.
My theory is that Biz knows about Daddy's passion for baseball. So Biz will either show up before the World Series kicks off on Saturday, or will wait till the Red Sox have either shattered our hearts or sent Daddy into low-earth orbit with joy. One way or another, I will have this baby delivered by the end of next week.
Sorry for the scare, folks, Blogger was acting goofy yesterday. Well, what news? Many of you know that Bizzleburp's Daddy is a huge Red Sox fan. Wednesday night's events had Daddy on quite a roller coaster. Imagine the man's joy to realize that his child will be born into a world where the Sox have the American League pennant, and at the expense of the dreaded Yankees, no less. But then... oh, ladies and gentlemen, the mood swings of a hormonally-crazed pregnant woman are penny-carnival sideshows compared to the nanoseconds between orbital euphoria and soul-crushing despair that a victorious Red Sox fan experiences. "Oh, God, they're just gonna break our hearts, I know it!" he shouts, after dancing around the room and trying to decide among Derek Lowe, David Ortiz, Curt Schilling and Johnny Damon as the namesake for our wee Bizzleburp. Me, I'm favoring "Damon" as a name right now, since it would be easier to make gender-neutral in case Biz is all X chromosomes. And the grand slam home run was pretty schweeeeeet.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

I'm going to start answering the phone with "Hi, it's me - just me." Nope, no baby yet. Which is okay by me today. I'm gonna be dealing with movers (I hope, for the last time in a long, long while) for most, if not all, of the day. Man, I am gonna be up to my stretch marks in boxes and burp cloths next week. Thank Heavens my mom is coming next weekend!
Nesting in the kitchen is almost complete. I spent the afternoon making casseroles to freeze. God knows, none of us is gonna be in the mood to do a lot of cooking once Bizzleburp arrives. The most popular/common advice I got from girlfriends, along with "sleep whenever the baby does," is "cook ahead of time." We are now ready to hibernate for the winter if necessary.
Now we just have to unpack the rest of our kitchen stuff tomorrow. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. I must be out of my mind.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Great News! Our stuff is here! Our stuff is here! Work called today to tell me that the shipping company finally has our stuff that got shipped from Europe. And whoo-hoo, they can deliver tomorrow! Now, I just have to be sure that I don't get the same idea. But Bizzleburp seems sympathetic to Daddy's need to watch baseball playoffs, so we just might hold out a bit longer.
So, to recap the remainder of my week ahead -- Wednesday: delivery and some unpacking of household effects. In the evening, watch baseball playoffs. Thursday: go to OB/GYN for sonogram. Depending on what they see on the sonogram, I can either go home or go to the hospital to be induced. Another option on Thursday, if the hospital is not required, is for me to go to the office/HQ again and try to straighten out some bureaucratic stuff with my maternity leave. I think I'd rather endure artificially enhanced labor pains than face paperwork, but the decision isn't totally mine here.
I'm not even gonna pretend that I can plan anything for Friday...or Saturday...or ever again.

Monday, October 18, 2004

Well, hmph. Copycat!!!!
Nope, still not in labor. Sorry to disappoint. I think that Bizzleburp might take pity on Daddy and hold out until the American League Championship Series is wrapped up. (Hey, on the Russian calendar, Biz isn't due for a few more days.) Though, if I had given birth last night, I suspect our little one would have gotten named David Ortiz - even if she were a girl.

Sunday, October 17, 2004

The baby's room is ready. Or about as ready as I can make it at this point, I guess. We assembled the crib, I've washed everything that Bizzleburp's delicate skin is likely to come into contact with, and we have multiple mobiles on standby to lull him or her to sleep.
Earlier in the blog I said I was not planning a theme for the baby's room for several reasons: we didn't know where we'd be living or how much space we'd have, we don't know the baby's sex, blah blah blah. Well, now we have a place to live and the baby has its own room, and I still didn't want to go all-out on a nursery theme because it seemed, well, kinda silly. The baby's not really gonna notice - at least for the first few months - and why spend an absurd amount of money on stuff that's mostly going to get pooped and spit up on?
Well, friends, I have caved in. Baby's crib now has a full set of the John Lennon "Real Love Collection" (or, as my husband calls it, the "Spinning in His Grave Collection") linens. Why? Because I adored John Lennon, because the little animals are cute and the color scheme is gender-neutral, and because the mobile plays "Imagine." I have exercised, I think, a great deal of restraint by limiting myself to bedding and a mobile, considering what else is out there. The diaper stacker and "Diaper Genie" cover seem just a bit over the top - though if I ever get truly ambitious I could see myself getting the wall borders...oh, stop me now!

Saturday, October 16, 2004

Bizzleburp Lives! Or I should say, the namesake does. I am so happy, my baby will be born into a GtheB-positive world.
Scared you for a bit there, didn't I? No, no, we have not joined the ranks of the five percent of all people who actually deliver on the "due date." In fact, I spent yesterday in a variety of pursuits.

First of all, I had a very nice lunch with a friend at a neighborhood joint I'd been meaning to try out since I first drove by it. Good coffee and tasty leafy green food, plus good conversation with a kindred spirit, what more can one ask for on a rainy day?

Second, lo and behold, the crib got delivered! Whoo hoo! Baby's room is looking less like a storage closet every day.

Third, I went into the city and visited HQ. Yeah, I know, going to work on a Friday afternoon when I'm supposed to be on vacation, and on my due date, no less. Sheesh, what was I thinking? Yeah, I got asked that a lot, right after, "Is it a boy or a girl?" and "When are you due? Today?!?!?!?!" C'mon people, it's not as though I expect my water to break right here in your cubicles... Anyway, it was fun to visit with co-workers and to walk around the office in blue jeans with total impunity.

In other very happy news, we now have a new monitor *and* our DSL connection up and running, so I can actually use the computer during the day. Now my only excuse for not blogging several days in a row will be labor, delivery and recovery. Which could happen any day now, so I will just have to enjoy it while I can.

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Baby Update: As I suspected, we got the usual checkup today. Bizzleburp's heartbeat is at 140 bpm (dude, you can totally trance to it, get me a smart drink...) My blood pressure and weight are fine, nothing is swelling up, and still no sign that Biz is ready to come out of his/her cozy little home.
So, if nothing happens between now and next Thursday morning, we go back to the doc again and have a sonogram, just to be sure that there's still plenty of amniotic fluid to go around and that the placenta is still in good shape. Meanwhile, we're stocking the freezer and packing a bag for the hospital, just in case. Yep, baby's not even out yet and I'm doing laundry. But it's all good.
My sister-in-common-law (or sister-out-law, depending on what term one prefers) has coined a word to describe the as-yet-mystery-gendered Biz's relationship to her and my brother: "nie-phew." I think it's adorable. Is it a niece or a nephew? We'll find out whenever the Ineffable One finds the comic timing appropriate, I'm sure.


I caught some of the Bush/Kerry debate tonight. The highlight for me was actually afterwards, when Wolf Blitzer was doing commentary with some dude standing behind him holding a sign that said, "Kerry Eats Babies." No doubt, with ketchup. Snark.

Off to the OB/GYN Thursday morning. Hopefully it will be a repeat of last week: everything looks fine, I don't think you're about to drop, call me if you go into labor; otherwise, see you next time, same bat time, same bat channel.

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

We got our phone switched on during the holiday weekend. This evening we've had two telemarketing calls already. Whom do I kill?

Monday, October 11, 2004

I almost feel ready for this gig. Today I bought a crib (thanks Grandpa and Grandma) and finally ordered a glider I had been coveting. The glider was a bit on the spendy side but it's a piece of real furniture, it's not just a baby expense, the way I look at it. It will take anywhere from two to four weeks to get to us, that's the only catch. I may have to start nursing without it.
The last stage of the move, now that we are officially out of the temp apartment, is to get the stuff we had shipped from Europe. It got to the port last Wednesday, and we were told it could take two weeks (or maybe more) to clear Customs and get trucked over to our new home.
So the race is on - what will get delivered first: our household effects, the glider, or Bizzleburp? Place your bets at purplescareblog@yahoo.com.

Sunday, October 10, 2004

More on Bizzleburp: I've realized now as we're approaching Due Date that if I don't blog for a few days, people will call me wondering whether I've gone into labor. No, no, just been busy with the house (as you see below).
I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday. As I suspected, my weight and blood pressure were deemed good, the baby's heart rate was excellent, still no sign that it's "dropped", so I'm unlikely to go into labor for a week or so. I'm back to the doctor's office on Thursday this week for more of the same -- probably. Now that I've written this, no doubt SomeOne Up There With a Sense of Humor will decide to prove me wrong.
Yo yo yo, we are in da house!!! Saturday was a busy day: the bed that was supposed to show up on Wednesday got delivered, and the phone guy who was supposed to be there on Friday came by to activate our phone. Never underestimate the power of pregnancy when dealing with commercial screw-ups: the bed store guy hadn't called and we had no idea when to expect them, so I showed up at the store in person on Thursday(they're only about two miles from our house). Sitting in the manager's office, looking heavy and tired, I explained to him that we needed this bed soon because it's costing us 100 bucks a night to stay in temporary housing and we'd really like to get settled in the new house because the baby's due date is next week. Dude called up the supplier, got us on the delivery roster for Saturday, and refunded us 200 bucks for all the trouble. I love being on this side of the Atlantic!!!
Friday was also abuzz with activity. A guy came over to assemble the Ikea "wall unit" - actually just three bookcases that sit next to each other, but which served as an entertainment center in a past life - which the geniuses at the moving company had completely disassembled two years ago. This poor SOB had to try to put the thing back together with half the hardware and all of the written instructions missing.
Yeah, the moving and storage company from our transfer to Europe really screwed up. Those Ikea units can be a bugger to assemble even with the instructions. I told the carpenter he could use duct tape to hold it together for all I cared. I'm just glad we finally have the bookcases together; I spent most of the day today emptying boxes of books that were cluttering up the living room. Hooray!
I've also been playing with baby gear. Saturday, in between deliveries and service calls, I assembled the swing, the playpen, and the stroller. I also figured out the car seat and carrier contraption. Yep, the nesting instinct is in full effect. Tomorrow, the nursery. Maybe. I might have to do something work-related (ugh) that I should wrap up before Bizzleburp arrives - because once the baby is here, I am probably going to completely forget about anything else.

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

We had to scuttle our plans to spend our anniversary in our new home. The bed we ordered last week hasn't arrived. Last night the store called to say they'd received defective merchandise from the warehouse; this morning they called for good measure, saying the truck had broken down. I can't help but wonder if they are just full of it.

Last night's breastfeeding class was amusingly informative. Some guy asked if it was theoretically possible to nurse into adulthood. The lactation consultant handled the question gracefully. If I were the dude's wife I probably would have elbowed him in the solar plexus. The answer, incidentally was that it wouldn't be practical, as a developing child's nutritional needs change blah blah blah. But in some cultures there are grandmothers who can "relactate" when need arises. I continue to be amazed at how we in North America turn a fundamental biological function into a huge, complex academic exercise.

Meanwhile, I am nesting my little brains out. We built the baby's swing yesterday, we have a car seat, and I bought a package of diapers, so I suppose technically I'm ready for anything. I made the mistake of going to a home improvement store today for a shower curtain liner and a broom. I nearly walked out of there with 20 square yards of wallpaper and the makings of organizers for three closets. There really ought to be a law preventing women in their last two months of pregnancy from entering these places without an escort.

Tomorrow, it's off to the OB again. I'm hoping he'll say the same thing he always says: baby still hasn't descended, everything looks good, heartbeat sounds wonderful, call me if you think it's time but otherwise, we'll see you next week.

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Moving, Day Two: The good news is that there were no casualties today. In fact, we got a surprise: two guys showed up to finish the repair job on the front walk. Seems that the weather had been dragging their four-day job into a four-week ordeal. We got the air shipment with no problems, and the TV guys came to set up our satelitte dish. The house is starting to look like a home.
Today's hiccup (and there's always one): the bed store called up to tell us that they received damaged goods, so they can't deliver our bed tomorrow as promised. Bummer!
Tomorrow is our anniversary. I might not get around to the blog till Thursday.
Shower Pictures! My sis-in-law sent me pictures from the baby shower. They are very sweet. I'm just going to ignore that my old nemesis, the double chin, is sneaking back up on me. The camera adds ten pounds, right? Oh heck, I'm pregnant, who's gonna fault me for looking a wee bit porky?

Monday, October 04, 2004

Moving Day One: Not nearly as bad as past moving days. The only casualties so far: a crystal pitcher, a table lamp, and a completely disassembled wall unit that won't fit in the space we'd hoped for it. I had lots of fun taking digital photos of the packing crate with the stuff that fell over because it was so poorly stacked. I especially liked the way the guys put a computer monitor and CPU just wrapped in paper in a "wardrobe" box. How did I miss that two years ago?
Oh, and there's the fact that they sent the truck to our old address. My, what a rude wake-up for the current residents. Can you imagine, 8:00 in the morning, and there's a big-ol'tractor-trailer at your doorstep and a crew of strangers asking where you want all this stuff?
Tomorrow we get more stuff and the TV guy shows up to hook up our satellite dish. The hilarity ensues when the guys with the trucks try to find our house with our street sign AWOL. (Oh, did I mention that? Our street sign is gone.) Welcome to the neighborhood.

Sunday, October 03, 2004

Here's a look at my week. Yesterday: visit with in-laws; today: Pain Management in Childbirth class; Monday: delivery of our stuff that's been in storage for the past two years; Tuesday: delivery of the stuff that was shipped by air from Europe, plus an evening class on Preparing to Breastfeed; Wednesday: delivery of our new bed, also our wedding anniversary; Thursday: weekly visit to obstetrician. Friday will be one week away from Bizzleburp's ETA. I can handle this. One thing at a time, right?

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Helen was one of the names on my short list in case Bizzleburp is a girl. Now I'm not so sure.

Friday, October 01, 2004

Another Day Older And Deeper In Debt: We bought the house! We bought the house! Friday, October 1, a day that will live in infamy: we settled on the house today. It involved signing our names enough times to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, and handing over big fat checks. After all that, my husband had to run over to the office, so I wandered around our new empty home thinking two things. First, "This is ours. We own this. We just made a down payment bigger than our parents' mortgages were, and we own a friggin' house." Second, "Wow, I'll bet the joint will never be this clean again."