Shower and Nursery Pics

So, now that I'm home all day, I'm a little bored. Here are the pics from our LAST shower.

These are half of the tables that Nancy had set up for us.









Close up of the tables. I think the little floating ducks are pretty cute. (We now have a TON of small floaty ducks.....)












MMMMMMM......dessert buffet.........














We FINALLY got everything moved into Parker's room, so here are a couple of views. Notice the cat by the chair still being ticked off that we moved the bed from this room. (He liked to sleep under it and hasn't figured out that it is just next door!)









The clothes on the changing table really just need washed. They aren't part of the decoration! :)

Update

Finally, after that last, lengthy, whiny post, I have some decent news! :)

My doctor has taken me off work until I have been in physical therapy for a week. I start tomorrow, so I definitely won't be going back until at least Sept. 4th. Yea! Now, I am just a little bored literally sitting around the house all day since moving hurts. But, it's so much better than excruciating pain!

The nurse did mention when I was talking to her yesterday, that the doctor is going to want to talk with us about a c-section. I'm also hoping that she talks with us about induction as well. Generally, I don't want a c-section, but I want the back pain to go away and I'm not excited about birthing a 12 pound baby (with a head in the 98th percentile), so I'm torn. I'm also extremely worried that all this back pain I have been having is indicating that I will have back labor, which I have heard is horrible! At the same time, I really want the whole birthing experience (or at least I say that now) and I know Alicia does.

So, I guess (before having even talked to the doctor) what I would like from you, my loyal readers, is some input on the c-section thing. If you have had one - what was it like? Was the recovery horrible? Did you feel slightly gypped in the whole birthing department? Just general thoughts and opinions would be great as well.

OW!!!!!!!!

If labor is worse than this, I seriously think that I am going to die.

I thought these pills would make it better.  Here are the problems.  

1) They do an okay job, but the pain still comes full force if I move around.  

2) I can't take them at school because they make me REALLY drowsy and fairly out of it.  So, basically, they are helping me sleep, but that's about it.

Here are the things that make my back hurt: 

 1) nothing, sometimes it's just a random horrible pain provoked by nothing.  This happens about once an hour, sometimes more, sometimes less.  

2) Driving.  This is the single most painful thing I can do right now.  

3) Walking, particularly up ramps or stairs, or moving with any amount of speed at all.  

4) Bending or heaven forbid, kneeling. 

5) Sitting in chairs where my legs can't be spread apart so that there is room for my stomach, also prohibiting me from leaning forward slightly (basically any chair with arms) 

6) Standing for a period longer than about 5 minutes

Here is what I have to do in my job: 

 1) Drive 30 minutes to work  

2) Walk to the building (which is farther away now that I get there later and can't get a close parking space) 

3) Walk (okay, really waddle) to the office to sign in. 

4) Begin office type work in a seriously non-ergonomic space.  My chair is about a million years old with arms and no rollers.  My "office" is really a workroom with countertops and no desks.  So, my laptop sits on the counter, I sit in the low, uncomfortable chair and try to not think about the horrifying pain in my back from the driving and the walking 

4) Teach - sit, stand, walk to board, move quickly between workroom and classroom as many children forget things like their cubby numbers, reeds etc - repeat multiple times for multiple children.  Walk around the tiered room trying to individually assess children.  Break into sectionals and try to get children to play instruments for the first time. Lots of bending over, walking and individual manipulation of the instrument in their mouths.  

5) More secretarial things - ie - making copies, cutting music and placing in folders (all while standing since I feel it's unsafe to use a paper cutter that is above your head!)

6) More teaching

7) Lunch (or rather, more typing etc while attempting to eat lunch).  My 'colleague' leaves because he needs time to "refuel and am I going to have that music copied by this afternoon?"

8) more teaching

9) Drive home, pretty much crying all the way because I have never been in so much pain - ever.  (I know, just wait until labor - but then I can have really good drugs, right?)

I really am trying to not be a wimp, but I don't feel like if this back pain is going to continue in this manner (and based on this weekend, I don't think it's getting any better), that I can keep working.  I'm not doing a good job with the kids and it's really, really, really painful.  The last time I saw the doctor, she prescribed the meds; I presumed things would get better.  She still has me working until Sept. 17th.  That is not going to work for me, but I'm not sure I can get her to change it.  I want out NOW!  I don't think I'm going to work on Monday and I'm going to call the doctor.  We'll see what happens.  I start physical therapy on Wednesday, but that's still 3 days of work away.  I just can't do it.

Enough complaining.  But those of you who believe in the 'think system' can start using it at anytime to get this moosette (she is a girl) out of me!

13 Reasons Alicia is great

I meant to do this post yesterday because I have been so appreciative of Alicia during this whole baby/pregnancy thing.  Things got a little crazy with the giant baby bit and my awful back pain, but I figure better late than never.  So, here goes.

1.  She makes my lunch.  Every day.  It's awesome.

2. She has come to every doctor's appointment - everything from follicle measuring to sperm holding to belly measuring.  She has been there.  Every single time.  

3. She lets me just writhe in pain on the couch.  Even though she is often tired and not feeling well, she will do whatever household things need done and let me lay on the couch.

4. I wake her up in the middle of the night to rub my back and she does it.  She's not sleeping much more than I am, but when she is, I am sometimes mean and wake her up because my back hurts and she rubs it.

5. She makes me dinner.  Every night (or at least every night that we cook.)  I never cook.

6. She's even been doing the dishes.  Usually, she cooks and I clean up, but lately she's just been doing it all.  

7. She brings me whatever I ask for.  I'm pretty needy to begin with and now with this whole pregnancy thing, she's pretty much at my beck and call.

8. She has assembled every piece of baby furniture.   I'm sure she has hated ever second of it, but it all looks amazing and it's done!

9. She managed to wade her way through tons of paperwork and jump through a million hoops to adopt Parker.  (This is still in progress, obviously, but the paperwork was ridiculous!)

10. She ties my shoes.  I normally wear slip on shoes for this very reason, but on the occasion when I have had to wear the kind with ties - she has tied them.

11. She has cleaned the cat box single handedly for 15 months.  It's her least favorite chore and it makes her gag, but she still does it.

12.  Speaking of gross things, she has cleaned up tons of cat puke lately.  I can't really go anywhere near it - even if I could, I'm quite sure I couldn't bend to get to it.

13. She just puts up with my moodiness.  That doesn't seem like a huge deal, but the number of times I have cried over nothing in the last few weeks cannot even be counted and every time she has been patient and wonderful even though I know I am driving her crazy.

So, there you have it.  Alicia is the greatest.  

Oh. My. Gosh.

This is going to be quick because apparently Vicatin is NOT the miracle drug and I am hunched over the office chair backward in an attempt to stop hurting. (It's not really working, FYI)

We had our ultrasound. Good news - she is healthy. We are still operating under the assumption that it is a girl. The tech said that she has never been wrong. We didn't get any new evidence today because things are REALLY cramped in there.

Here's why - Our 'little' Parker weighs 8lbs, and anywhere between 3 and 10 oz TODAY. 4 weeks before my due date. Yeah, I don't think we will be waiting that long. Oh, and her head is in the 98th percentile. I'm super excited. No wonder my friggin' back hurts.

Once, twice, three times....

I know I have complained about being done with this pregnancy before, but I think I finally lost it this week.  Sunday night, I was flipping out because she wasn't moving like I thought she should. Alicia convinced me to call the doctor (although I did call Monday morning instead of the middle of the night Sunday) and, of course, they wanted to bring me in.  So, even though I had JUST gotten to school, I turned around and drove to the doctor where they did a non-stress test.  Parker is just fine.  I'm the crazy one.

Monday night, I started having horrific back pain.  I hardly slept at all and nothing was making it any better.  I suffered through the day Tuesday, spent the evening on the couch and hunched backward over an office chair.  I would start to feel better and then I would move, either in place or to get up to go the bathroom, and the knife in my back would return.  After spending the entire night wandering from the bed to the couch to the office chair to the papasan chair to the floor and back again, without really ever sleeping or the pain going away, I decided to call the doctor (yet again).  This time I did not even  bother to go into work first.  I tried, but I was just moving too slowly because of the pain and thought it would be silly to drive to the south side if I was just going to have to go back to my north side doctor again.  Of course, I was not able to actually get through and had to leave a message, so at 8:40, I trekked off to school.  When the office called back (right as I got to school - what great timing!), we decided to move my regular appointment from Friday to today, so I left school early (again) to go to the doctor this afternoon.

Here is the good news from this afternoon's appointment.  The doctor gave me a pill for my back! YEA!  Here's to sleeping tonight!  She also set me up with some physical therapy people who will hopefully make the pill not necessary.  I don't really know what this entails since I haven't heard from them yet, but I'm hoping it just helps me feel better.  Also, the baby is fine.  Apparently, the baby is also potentially BIG.  So.......

We were asked to schedule an ultrasound, which of course will be....tomorrow.  I really don't think I was destined to go to school this week! :)  I'm kind of excited about seeing P baby again tomorrow.  I'm a little afraid that we will find out she is actually a boy and I'm definitely afraid of her being a giant baby.  I guess the good news on the giant baby front is that she might come earlier than 40 weeks (which I am all in favor for at this point!)  So, think good thoughts for us tomorrow as we double check that our baby is a girl and that she isn't some ginormous, monster baby.  I'll keep you posted.

61

Wow!  Yesterday was quite a whirlwind of a day.  The biggest event was baby shower #5.  We have been so lucky to have had so many people want to host showers and give us and the baby tons of love (and stuff.)  Yesterday's shower was completely over the top.  (All of our other showers have been wonderful as well and exactly perfect for the group of people attending.)

The entire lobby of the building was decked out with a duck theme.  Each table had a peace plant in the middle with little rubber ducks floating around it.  There was more dessert than you could ever imagine.  It looked like a wedding reception where the wedding colors were yellow and "duck."  It was really beautiful.  I haven't had a chance to look at the pictures Alicia's brother took for us, but when I do, I will post some.  It was pretty unbelievable.

Now, to the most amazing part.  There were soooooo many people there.  I would guess between 60 and 70 - which leads me to the title of this post. 61.  That's how many thank you cards I need to write from yesterday alone.  (I had better hop on this fast or they aren't going to get done before she gets here!)  I am completely in awe of ALL the people (from all of our various showers) who have come forward offering love, blessing (and gifts) to us and baby Parker.

When we entered this process, I did have some concerns about how the world would react to a baby with two mommies, but I think the past 3 months have clearly demonstrated that she is already one of the most loved babies on the planet and I am so grateful to every person who contributes to that.  So, I will happily buy more thank you cards and try to express my appreciation.  

PS - Extreme appreciation aside - it's a lot of STUFF!!!!!  Spoiled little girl! :)