Week 30: Poop in the Hallway

 

Ed riding on Mike's shoulders, showing a little plumber's butt.

Yes, you read that title correctly.  This week there was a piece, albeit small, of poop in the hallway.  My nephew Ed is pretty much potty-trained, but if he goes number 2 he still needs some help in the wiping department.  After one particular morning pooping session, Ed was a little over-eager to start his day.  No one noticed that he had disappeared into the bathroom, so when he came wandering out, naked, we thought maybe he had just gone number 1.  A few minutes later, Alisha walks down the hallway and I hear her say in a slightly alarmed tone….”Mike…there is a piece of POOP on the floor!!”  At first I thought I’d perhaps heard her incorrectly, but nope…definitely poop.  

 

This week Ed has also been pretty fascinated with which people have female anatomy and which people have male anatomy.  He refers to the male anatomy as ‘dogs’ and the female anatomy as ‘pooey’s.’  No one is quite sure where he picked up his word for the female form, but it seems to have stuck and he uses it regularly.  I’ve been feeling a little sore in my hips lately, so I’d decided to take a bath the other day.  I walked in to turn the water on and Ed asked what I was doing.  I told him I was going to take a bath and that he needed to leave.  Ed asked why he had to leave the bathroom and I told him that I had to get naked to get in the bathtub and that he couldn’t see me naked.  At which point Ed responded…”Do you have a pooey??”  I said that I did have a pooey and he said that he wanted to see it.  Ahhh, kids…. I had to forcibly remove his curious self from the bathroom.

Yesterday, Ed and I were  in the car when he looked over at a man driving a truck and asked me if that guy in that truck had a dog.  I told him that he did…Ed asked again if I had a pooey, I told him that I did…and then he responded by saying, ‘awww…that’s disgusting.”  Then he wanted to know why I had a pooey and he had a dog.  I told him that’s just how each of us were made, but I don’t think he really understands it yet.  I do think it’s funny that he tries to pick out who has a pooey and who has a dog, though.

I finally got my downstairs bedroom all set up.  Mike put up shelves for me so that I could hang all my clothes up and I set out all of my baby supplies…lotions and wipes, wipe solution and baby bubble bath, powders and balms…even my collection of cute cloth diapers.  Mike is thinking that I won’t last very long with the cloth diapers, but I’m hoping it goes well.  I guess we’ll find out fairly soon.

I’ve still been feeling pretty good, but I’ve been more sore in my hips lately.  It actually feels like my leg joints are coming out of the hip sockets, which feels a little painful but gives me more of an unstable feeling.  It’s just another sign of my bones loosening up to allow passage for the weeha, but it’s sore nonetheless and not particularly pleasant.  Another lovely physical change I noticed this week is that I’ve definitely developed cankles.  If there’s anyone out there who doesn’t know what cankles are, it describes a person who has no noticeable definition between their ankle and their calf…the leg just has a club-like appearance.  I saw this new development during one of my many baths this week, and while I may look back on it as some humorous memory in the very distant future, it was not so funny to me at the time.

I’m a little paranoid about the fact that Alan comes home from deployments in a much sleeker form, while I may not be nearly as sleek when he comes home from this one.  I was telling my brother that if Alan has to stay the full six months in the middle east, then that gives me a full three months to lose the weight I’ve gained during this pregnancy.  Mike warned me that I’ll still look pregnant when I come home from the hospital and not to set my goals too high on this one, but I’m really hoping to lose it before he gets back.  I just don’t like feeling bigger and just slower in general.  It will be nice to feel normal again and I’m hoping it won’t take too long.  I’m still exercising right now, but it mainly consists of a fairly slow stroll on the treadmill.  I stay on for at least 40 minutes, although sometimes it’s cut a little short depending upon the hip pain.

In utero, the weeha has been shedding some of the baby fur he’s been accumulating to keep him warm over the past months.  His rapidly developing brain is now capable of regulating his own temperature so he doesn’t need all of that fuzziness covering him anymore, although some babies still have a light layer on them at birth.  He’s also changing his active period…he used to move around the most in the mornings but now I notice him more in the afternoons and then again around 10 pm or so.  The 10 pm activity has been interesting lately because he is moving so much at that time.  I can see little waves go across my belly…I’m pretty sure that his butt is lying right underneath my belly button and when he wiggles it it feels like a big hard ball sticking up out of my tummy.  Sometimes I feel him rolling his butt around, kicking his legs and moving his arms all at the same time.  He already feels long to me and I wonder how big he actually is.

The weeha continues to also move a lot when I’m talking with Alan on skype.  I think he must miss his dad…even though he hasn’t even met him yet.  When it happens that I’m talking with Alan and the weeha begins to stir, I just give my belly a little pat and tell him I miss him too.  

I’ll have another ultrasound this coming week so we’ll see what the weeha is up to in there and I’ll keep you all posted in my next blog of any new developments.

Thanks for reading and I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Week 29: From Ohio to Florida and Back Again

This past Tuesday I flew back to Ohio from Florida; both Alan and I flew out on the same day, but he went to the Middle East while I came back to middle America.  It was hard to see him go, but we had a really good week in Florida and it was nice to see him relaxed and caught up on his sleep for once.  I hate that he has to be deployed, but I wonder if it might be good for him to get a break from the constant 12 hour work days of Misawa.  He never complains, but I can see the toll it takes on him after awhile.  

While in Florida, we got to meet up with Kim, an old friend of mine.  We went out to dinner with Kim and her husband one night and went to a deuling piano bar with them on another.  Both nights were fun, but I really enjoyed the piano bar.  I did have to be a little careful with the crowd because the bar was just so packed.  Alan walked me to and from the bathroom a couple of times in an attempt to ward off anyone who might accidentally bump into the belly.  It was pretty difficult to squeeze myself in between people when I can’t really suck in my tummy to make it any smaller so I’m glad Alan’s a big guy and could help me out.

Since Alan’s been gone, I’ve noticed a definite decrease in activity from the weeha.  Our little guy moves the most when he can hear both of us talking and although I still feel him quite a bit, it’s not nearly as much as when Alan is here with me.  I had my first appointment with the midwife who will be delivering our baby here in Ohio.  Both her office and the hospital I’ll deliver at are about 50 minutes away from my brother’s house, which makes Mike a little nervous I’ll deliver in his car but the midwife says it really shouldn’t be a problem.  We’ll just keep our fingers crossed.  The midwife checked for the weeha’s heartbeat and pushed around on my belly to determine how he’s lying in there.  Right now, he’s in the launch position which is a good sign but she said babies still turn quite a bit so he might switch his position a few more times before it’s time for his arrival.  This past week, the weeha’s eyes have been continuing to develop although even at birth, he’ll only be able to see objects a few inches from his face.  His vision will keep improving in the days and weeks after delivery.

Since returning to Ohio, I’ve had a little lesson in Ohio pride…more specifically, the pride that Ohio has in it’s Ohio State football team.  I was telling Alan that I actually think Ohio fans may be more fanatical than Texas fans, which is saying quite a bit.  We went to two football parties today to see Ohio State beat Michigan.  I was just expecting a small gathering of people munching on hotdogs and hamburgers, but we pulled up to a pretty big house with an even bigger front yard filled with about 25 cars parked in the driveway and in the lawn.  I think I was the only person there not wearing red.  There was a garage/barn in the back with a big screen TV playing the game, and a fairly elaborate stereo system with a microphone set up to play the Ohio State song during half time and some commercials.  At first I thought the music was just coming from the giant TV but then I realized that, no, someone had actually turned on the stereo to play it…pretty entertaining.

After observing and thinking about this show of Ohio pride, I’ve come to the conclusion that while Ohio has the craziest football fans, Texas still has the proudest residents I’ve run across.  Alan even suggested I wear a Texas shirt to the Ohio game party.  Native Texans love every single thing about Texas, including but not limited to, football.  And while Texas is growing on me bit by bit, native Texans can love things about Texas that just aren’t worth the effort…like the entire western part of the state, for instance.

Alisha and I also attended a ‘girlfriend’s dinner’ yesterday.  We had been there for about 5 minutes when one of Alisha’s many relatives informed me that I didn’t know sh*t about babies…not me, specifically, but any woman having their first child.  I must have had a panicked look on my face because she quickly reassured me that I’d learn quickly.  I hope that’s true.

Well, it’s off to bed for me.  I hope you all are doing well and thanks for reading!

Week 28: Deep Thoughts by Kasey Haedge and a Trip with Ed

Kasey and America's Team Gnome

This week someone told me that they thought the most selfish choice you could make in life is the choice not to have any children.  While I fundamentally disagree with that statement, I stayed quiet about it at the time, not realizing how much it would bug me over the next week or so.

The only way that person’s theory holds any water is if you think our sole purpose on this earth is to breed and procreate.  While this may be true for some people, we are all made and think about things so differently that it can’t be true for us all.  There are just some things that are more important to people than spreading their genes out into the world…some would rather work, some would rather study, and some would rather just have the extra time to enjoy their own lives without the extra job of raising another.

This theory also implies that the only people capable of making up a family, are the people blood-related to you…which is another statement that’s just not true.  There are a lot of people who count their friends as family and their blood-related family, as family not at all.  Sometimes people draw an unlucky straw and are born into a family that doesn’t take care of them at all…and those are the individuals who have to be strong enough to find and gather their families elsewhere.

While I do not think it’s true that the ultimate selfishness comes in the decision to not have children,  I do think the most selfish thing a person can do is to have children and not take care of them…or to choose to have so many of them that you can’t give each the time they need to grow into a decent human being.  It seems like some people have kids because they just get to that point in their lives where it’s the next step and some have them to fill some void in themselves or their relationship.  Some like the idea of a baby…but don’t think much further down the line than that and those babies don’t stay that little for long.  It’s a sad thing when a child is just the newest toy for a person who isn’t adult enough to know that the little being they’ve created is completely dependent upon them to raise them into something worthwhile.

Some parents think it’s enough to just be there for a child; but I don’t think that just showing up is ever good enough for anything without actions behind it.  Kids realize, when they grow up, who it was that actually put in all the effort and who was just there…somewhere…in the background noise.

This week wasn’t all dominated by deep thoughts by Kasey Haedge.  I also took a trip back to Ohio with Alisha, Ed and Makena.  I think most of you know this, but if you don’t, Alisha is my brother’s wife, Ed is their 3 year old wild child…I mean son…and Makena is their 6 month old little girl.  Needless to say, I was a little leary of taking a four hour plane ride with Ed, who literally can’t sit still for more than a few minutes, unless what he’s sitting in front of happens to be the movie Shrek.

Our journey started at my dad’s house, where we loaded what must have been close to 200 pounds of luggage into Linda’s car and she began driving us to the airport.  On the way, Ed was full of questions about where his dad was, if his dad was going to be on the airplane, if his dad was going to pick us up from the airport and just how fast the airplane we were about to board could travel.  Once he was satisfied with these answers he began to chant something along the lines of “going to see daddy on the airplane” over and over again.  Remember this, because it comes into play later…

Our foursome gets to the airport, Alisha and I check all the bags and we begin the journey through the airport.  Makena is in her carseat, which is in the stroller so I was pushing her.  Ed, meanwhile, takes off at a mad dash, darting in and out of people and heading in just whatever direction he feels the urge to go.  Alisha darts off after him and grabs his hand in an effort to both calm him down and prevent him from being kidnapped by anyone.  Once her hand hits his, the little angel throws himself on the floor and begins to throw the tantrum of all tantrums…keep in mind that Alisha is also carrying his huge carseat.  At this point, with Ed screaming like a teenage girl, she straps the carseat on her back, picks up this screaming misfit and starts out at a pace that my pregnant butt has a hard time keeping up with.  I have to admit, I was glad to be about 15-20 feet behind them as Ed’s wailing was attracting all kinds of attention.  At one point, she darted into a bathroom to give Ed a quick spanking and then we were on our way again.  We continued like this more or less until we reached our gate.  I went to get us some food and Ed was occupied for awhile with chicken nuggets.

It came time for us to board, so we hopped in line.  Ed looked relatively calm at this point so I wasn’t expecting it when he took off at full speed, past the ticketing agent and down the ramp to the plane yelling like a hooligan on fire.  While Alisha took off after him, I was left alone to endure the stares of everyone else we had to travel with kicking themselves for picking this flight, with Ed, to travel on.  Alisha eventually brought him back, we handed our boarding passes over and then moved our traveling circus down the ramp.  Once we reached the plane, I was the one who had issues because I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to get Makena out of the stroller and carry her in her car seat while simultaneously holding my purse, folding up the stroller and keeping my drink from spilling.  At some point the man behind me asked if I needed some help, to which I replied, “yes, I probably do but I just don’t know what that would be at this point.”  Alisha thought this response was just about the funniest thing she’d ever heard.  She more or less took over, getting Makena out for me and dealing with the stroller contraption while making sure Ed didn’t throw himself out a window or something.

We eventually got everyone seated; we picked two rows right across from each other…the kids have to have the window seat.  Once everyone was seated and relatively happy once again, an anal flight attendant made a beeline for Makena and I, pointedly asking me if I would have put Makena in a car the same way that she was seated in the plane seat.  (She was facing forward in her seat instead of backward).  I really had had just about enough at this point, so I looked at her and replied, “I don’t know if this is the way I’d put her in my own car because she’s not my kid, I don’t have any kids yet and I’m just HELPING!!”  At this point, she promptly turned around, pointed to Makena and asked “whose child is this??”

Once we landed, Ed immediately expected to see Mike appear on the airplane…hence his earlier chant in the car.  Once he realized we’d have to wait both to get off the plane, since we were near the rear, and wait to see his dad he began attempting to crawl under the seats.  When this didn’t work he loudly informed the rest of the passengers that he was trapped and needed out…right. this. second.  We eventually began the trek through the Columbus airport to the baggage claim which was eerily reminiscent of Ed’s earlier trek through the Phoenix airport.  Alisha once again pulled him into a bathroom for a spanking, at which point I called Mike and told him that his ass had better be at the curb waiting for this train wreck to arrive.  Mike’s ass was, in fact, waiting at the curb.  Once Ed saw his dad it was like an entirely different child took over his body.  He became completely happy and calm…until Mike had to leave with me just to grab the bags.  Then you can imagine the wailing that, once again, began.

That was a long trip, but it’s another funny memory I’ll have with Alisha.  I did tell her, though, that if I had taken that trip with her before getting pregnant, I think I would have waited another five years to have our first…

The weeha is doing well, continuing to put on weight.  This week his head is getting bigger because his brain is growing.  He should be right around three pounds and almost 16 inches long.  I’m pretty sure that I’m feeling his feet up near my right ribcage.  Every once in a while it feels tight in that area, so I’ll put some pressure there to try to move him down, but he usually just kicks back at me and stays put.  He must be comfy there.  I’ll have my first midwife appointment at my doctor’s office in Columbus this week.  I’ll let you all know how that goes on my next blog.

See you soon!

Mid-Week Update #2

Unfortunately, plans have changed again.  Alan is for sure forward-deploying so I’ll be staying in Ohio for the birth.  I’m flying to Tampa tomorrow to hang out with Alan before he leaves, so I’m glad I’ll at least get to see him for a bit.

Anyway…just wanted to keep you all in the loop!!

Midweek Update!!!

Kasey and the Weeha are headed to Florida!!!  Apparently, Alan may only forward-deploy to the Middle East for 46-60 days so we’ve decided to take a leap of faith that he’ll be there for the birth and head his way.

I’m still flying to Columbus today to help Alisha on the plane with Ed and Makena.  Mike had to go home early for work so she probably needs all the extra hands she can get….  I’ll fly onto Tampa this coming Wednesday.

I’ll post my regular blog towards the end of the week…just wanted to let you all know that we’re getting to go to Florida after all!!

Week 27: A Week of Good-bye’s

Alan and I arrived in Arizona on October 30th, and on Halloween we all received a phone call that my Uncle, my dad’s brother, had passed away during the night.  It is a very hard thing to lose two people in your family in such a short period of time…it makes you really think about the fact that there is no day in this life ever guaranteed to us; that today could always be our last.  My dad was taken very suddenly and his brother more slowly.  My Uncle was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer about five months ago and in that time he went from having a normal, functioning life to cancer spreading throughout his entire body, including his brain, and making daily activities basically impossible.  My Aunt said my Uncle called out for and saw my dad shortly before he died.  I’d like to believe that my dad came to get his brother, so that he wouldn’t be all alone on the journey to wherever it is we go after our lives end here.

While we were all sad to lose another family member, the real tragedy in these two deaths lies at the feet of my grandmother, their mother.  I have yet to have one child enter this world, so I cannot imagine what it is to see two of the three children you’ve birthed leave it in such tragic ways.  I wish there was more we could each do to help her through her grief…but I wonder if this type of grief is ever something that you do get through.

Mike, Linda and I all flew out to Iowa for the funeral this past Monday and home again on Tuesday.  It is sad, but I felt slightly numb to the entire experience having just walked these same steps a little over a year ago.  Like I said earlier, the hardest part for me was watching my grandma and knowing that there is nothing that any of us can really do to make her feel any better.

While everyone in our family said a more permanent goodbye to my Uncle, I said a much briefer one to Alan.  He is now in Florida and trying to find out when and where he is supposed to be going for the next six months.  We should have a better idea of that in the next week or so.  It’s always hard to be apart from him, but I know it’s not forever and that things will be back to normal fairly soon in the larger scheme of things.  Alan did take the camera with him so until I get to Ohio and can use my brother’s, there probably won’t be any pictures to accompany the blog.

The end of this 27th week of pregnancy marks the beginning of my seventh month and the start of the third trimester.  Right now, the weeha actually has more taste buds than he’ll have when he’s born.  My amniotic fluid has different flavors depending on what I’ve eaten and he can taste them, already developing specific likes and dislikes.  At close to three pounds and sixteen inches long, his movements are getting much stronger.  I always feel the most movement from him in the mornings before I’ve eaten anything.  It seems like if I sleep too late and he gets too hungry in there, that he starts rolling around and jabbing me to let me know it’s time to wake up and feed him…my own personal alarm clock.  Before leaving, Alan was able to push on my belly and have the weeha kick back at him.  I miss having him here to rub and pat my belly all the time.

This week Mikayla told me that, judging from the size of my belly, she thought the weeha was ready to come out.  While my belly is definitely big, it still has a lot of growing to do…approximately 80 days worth, before the weeha is ready for life on the outside.  It does seem, though, that I am growing in exponential form lately.  It is getting harder to be comfortable at any given time…but not unbearable yet.  I feel the most comfortable when I am only wearing my birthday suit…but there are only so many places you can wander around in the nude.  :D  Rolling over in bed has recently become an exercise in itself, with a lot of huffing and puffing involved.

By this time next week, I should be safely in Ohio…where I’m sure Ed, Makena and the rest of the Baer family will give me lots of material for my upcoming blogs. Take care, and thanks for reading.