Last Week

Last week flew by in a blur, didn't it?  It did for us.

On tuesday, I went down the street to vote in the VA primary.  Our local voting place is a fire and rescue station just down the road.  It was a misty-rain morning and I was one of about 5 people that were there at that time.  They said it was quite busy before.  The 2 ladies and 1 man that were handling everything were so friendly and they wished me and my baby well and to have a nice day.  I guess I must really be showing if it's so obvious while wearing a big heavy coat and scarf.  After doing my civic duty, I went on home to do a few thing around the house.  There's always something that needs to be done around here.

The next day, I went shopping and to lunch with Anna and her baby, Lucas who is 8 months old.  They live in our neighborhood and her husband works with Dan.  She took me to a couple of incredible second hand stores specializing in baby stuff:  "Kid to Kid" and "Once Upon A Child."  They each had clothes, toys, gear like high chairs, swings, you name it.  I found some great things for next to nothing.  Dan and l have to go back and look at the high chairs and swings later on - they looked brand new but for so much less.  I treated Anna to lunch at Applebee's since she was SO kind, generous and helpful to me by loaning me a pile of her own maternity clothes, books and CDs on the subject of pregnancy and new motherhood.  I need ALL the help I can get!  She's great company and I hope we can get together more often.  (I am afraid that she and her husband will be moving within the next year though.)

Thursday was Valentine's Day.  We got up and thought we might head down to the old Waffle House for a greasy spoon kind of breakfast.  However, it was too smokey in there for us, so we went over to smoke-free IHOP across the street.  Either our breakfast was exceptionally good or I was just starved for a hearty steak and eggs meal.  I nearly licked the plate clean.  My appetite is all or nothing lately.  When I'm hungry - LOOK OUT.  Then there are times I nearly forget a meal altogether.  We then went to Wal-Mart for groceries and actually found it to be a pleasant experience - not the hectic nightmare we often experienced in Albuquerque.  We spent a quiet afternoon together and that evening exchanged the little gifts we got for each other at dinnertime.  Dan got me a very nice card and a little teddy bear (baby sized) with a black and red heart sweater.  I got Dan a card and a onesie for the baby that says:  "I love Daddy" on the front with a red heart.

Friday morning presented itself with 2 doctors' appointments:  my usual bi-weekly visit to my OB for a routine check-up.  (All's well...baby's heart rate was 145 bpm, my blood pressure, weight and measurements were all right on target.)  I go back again on Feb. 29.  Dan had an appointment with a doctor regarding his stomach problems so he can get his much needed prescription and start feeling better soon.  He's already feeling better which is very good. 

Later on Friday, we went out to dinner with our friends Thomas and Sylvia - also here from ABQ that we went through the whole King's Charter nightmare with and then relocated to the nicer Marriott with.  They met us at our house and then we all went to The Outback for dinner.  After a long wait, spent with good conversation, we had a nice long meal.  It's nice to spend an evening with friends - we have so few near us out here.

Saturday afternoon was spent at the first of a two part class called "Confident Childbirth."  It covered just about every aspect you can face during the childbirth process:  relaxation techniques, how the partner can help, medication options and how and when they are done, the biology what is happening inside a pregnant woman's body over the course of the pregnancy, different situations that may arise that we should be aware of, what to expect on D-day, what to bring, how to handle the baby right after the birth.  We got lots of reading material to go over.  Next week, will be the second half of the class and we'll take a tour of the facility (a second time for us).  After class, we went to "Nacho Mama's" for dinner...not quite like New Mexico food but good enough for here.

Sunday, we went to Virginia Center Commons, better known as The VCC.  This is a big shopping area with a big mall and tons of other large retail stores all clustered there together.  We went to  Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, Circuit City then back to Best Buy again.  Dan really needed to replace his old computer and he got a really good deal on one at Best Buy.  We also got a digital video recorder, an item we feel we'll get plenty of use out of in the coming years!  We'll have to start posting little videos of the baby later on.

I also got a teeny tiny little iPod player from the cheap pile of "open items" or returned items.  I didn't expect it to sound so great!  I just plug in my existing iPod and it plays like a tiny radio.  This will be great in the labor room with some soothing music...which our instructor highly recommended to help in relaxing.  Don't know how that will go, but we'll see.  Otherwise, it's just the right size for the nursery room.  I also got a much needed full body pillow since sleep seems to be impossible without tons of support from head to foot.  It helped me a lot last night!  Fell right to sleep - then got up 3 times for the bathroom.  Oh well.

That was our week overall.  We are now in the midst of the 31st week with just a couple more months to go.  Each day brings new grunts and groans to my discomfort vocabulary, but Dan is a great support to me and I'm sure he'll help see me through this process the best he can.  Here is a little cartoon to help describe how I feel.  I'm somewhere between the 3rd and 4th stage, though not sick, thank goodness.