~Nothing new~

So I went to the doctor yesterday for my 38 week appointment and the door is still only 1cm and the curtain is still at 80%. Oh well..better than going backwards I suppose which I hear has been known to happen from time to time. Oh and I lost 2 pounds, which was interesting, but I am thinking it was water that I lost because I can see my ankle bones again.

We will be taking our last childbirth class tonight which will consist of infant CPR and the tour of the Family BirthPlace. Let's hope it's interesting seeing this class is slated to last until like 10:30PM or something obnoxious like that.

I need to remember to ask the instructor about those personalized free samples we were all supposed to be able to pick out from pampers.com. I signed up and whatever and then I was told there would be a link to get free samples..yeah..no dice. Odd. Must ask!

~If at first you don't succeed...~

Try, try again!

After weeks of trying every method known to woman; Vaseline, ice, Windex, baby powder, etc etc etc..the trick that finally worked was 5 days spent in the air conditioning. I few good twists and *POP* off came the wedding ring. I am so relived. Visions of it having to be cut off..oh GOD..that would have been terrible.

&@%$!* USA Baby/Child Space

OMG! So we ordered our furniture in April and we were told a 10-12 week lead time which gave us anywhere between July 5 and July 19.

Let's just say I am due the same day the furniture is due. August 8th?! Are you bloody serious?!

At the rate I am going I will have a baby before I have the furniture. Thank goodness for the pack-n-play so she at least has somewhere to sleep if God forbid the stuff is any later.

The only things that are in are the mattress and the side/end table. So I went and picked up the mattress today so we at least can figure out where we are putting the crib when it finally fucking arrives.

There goes my pipe dream of taking my time with her room in an unstressful manner. Grr...

What really annoys me is the dresser. Like, I need a friggin' place to store shit! Right now it looks like her room puked in the guest room! Arg!!!!!!!!

~Progress...~

I went in today for my 37 week exam and lo-and-behold..in one week we went from 0cm dilation and 0% effaced to; 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. 80%! I was told to "pack my bag" and that "if you called me later tonight or tomorrow and said you were in labor or your water broke, I'd not be surprised." When the doctor said that Scott looked as if he was going to throw up..lol!

Also the doctor told us he'd not be doing another ultrasound unless I go past my due date..which he also says is unlikely at this point. However, from his best guess I am carrying around a "7 pounder in there". So does that mean she'll gain another 2 pounds before she comes out seeing I have 2.5 weeks left at this point? Holy moley....

~I just got myself some cortisone~

Just came home from getting 2 cortisone shots.; one in each wrist. I have to say that was quite painful! Although the first shot was much more painful than the second, probably because I knew what to expect the second time. He said it would take 24-36 hours to feel any difference however I'd feel worse before I got better. He also agreed with me that it is the swelling of tissue that is putting pressure on the nerve, therefore resulting in the carpel tunnel.

Might head to Margaritaville tonight to use out coupon before it expires..nothing cures the soul more than a "Cheeseburger in Paradise". However, one glitch is that Stone Temple Pilots is playing in the same venue as the restaurant and as it was we were debating wether or not to get tickets...hmm...maybe tickets will be an order seeing I hear there are still some available..so much fun that would be. I do love them..

~Back from the Doctor~

So I went in today to the doc for routine stuff..no biggie. Well, ok ..*I'm* biggie..210 lbs to be exact. Yipes! That's a lot of me to love! Oh well, it is what it is and the doc didn't seem to care so guess what...NEITHER DO I!

On a nicer note I came back Strep-B negative...yay...so that is good news to me.

I also got a referral to a hand specialist who I am going to go see on Friday for this God awful Carpel Tunnel Syndrome that has been keeping me up at night. Last night between that and my hips I probably got all of 3 hours of sleep. As soon as the Tylenol wears off and the BioFreeze wears off it's pain central. Poor Scott..I wonder if he gets as much sleep as I do right now? I did get some advice on how to help stretch my hips a bit, so I will try that later on today and see how that works.

I still need a belly support belt, but I am thinking maybe I can use Scott's lifting belt while I am around the house. He bought one when him and his brother were building our bluestone patio..same concept, right?

~Waiting...~

Oh yes waiting..and ever so impatiently for the store to call us and tell us our furniture arrived. We ordered it back in April and were told 10-12 week lead time..so this puts us now in the 10th week. July 5-July 19 is the window..and man we are dying. Our dining room and guest bedroom are still being taken up by all her "stuff" and we can't move it out until the furniture gets here. So frustrating because my house looks SO cluttered. I know I know..this is nothing like the clutter is will be in a few months I am sure of that..but I'd like it to remain clean for as long as possible.

Two days ago I bought this bottle set I had been wanting (for many reasons) called Second Nature.

Of course you can't find it in any store and I had to buy it online. It arrived yesterday. Scott and I of course took it all apart and examined it..then he got the bright idea to put some water in it and see just how difficult it was to get the fluid out. He nearly blew his eyes out! But my reasoning is this: if the kid has enough suction power to take my nipple halfway down her throat then this should not be an issue. We then realized after further inspection I really should have bought the special bottle brush so I could clean the holes thoroughly and also the breast pump adapter with storage seals for the bottles. So I ordered those today. My only concern is this; there are no instructions on how to properly sterilize the bottles, necks, and nipples. I would assume you stick them in boiling water for 5 minutes just like every other one and there was no "use and care instruction" booklet enclosed nor were there care instructions online. So I guess I just have to call them and ask. Annoyed.

~Hands, feet & hips..oh my!~

My cankles are worse than ever it seems. I have rolls and creases on my ankles and my toes look like little sausages. Plus now the insides of my ankles are just as tender as can be.

My hands have been blessed with Carpel Tunnel (which is why I have been absent) and the fourth night it hit was undoubtedly the worst ever. Let's recap! On June 30th I got out of bed at (to make it easy I'll use even numbers) 7AM..showered, ate, got dressed and headed to the OB's office for the ever so much fun Strep-B test at 10AM. Saw the NP (Nurse Practitioner) and chatted with her a bit about CTS. Told her I have a brace and have been wearing it only at night, been doing the hand excersises, been elevating my hands whenever possible, and that Scott had been giving my nightly hand/forearm massages ~ nothing was helping and I was spending half my night on the couch..either sleeping or tossing. She suggested I wear the brace 24/7 and continue to do the things I was doing to see if tyhat helped.

That night I htought I had entered hell. I go to bed at 9PM..wake up at 12:30AM with shooting hot pains in my right hand..can't get rid of them..1:30AM..I decide to get out of bed because I do not want to wake up Scott. I do laps in the living room, hand movements, yoga, massage ~ anything I can think of to relive the pain. It's now 3AM and I am still awake. I start to cry and have a temper tantrum..kicking the ottomans across the room and swearing. It's 4:30AM..and I have reached the point of desperation..I pop 2 Advil (yeah yeah..later on I found out that wasn't so smart..it was all we had..but I was desperate and they didn't help anyways) and hope for the bst. Nothing. I decide to read. At 6:30AM Scott comes downstairs and finds me reading. I haven't slept all night. I called the OB that day and spoke to her about my ordeal..being the July 4th weekend there was no one available to see me..lovely..so I made the decision that if that night was like the last I was going to the ER and begging for a cortisone shot. I did not get to sleep until 9PM that night..I slept 4-5 hours and was happy with that at least. Then THursday I was coherent enough to drive so on a friend's suggestion I went to Walgreens and got Bio Freeze..holy crap..that stuff is great. I recommend it highly for CTS sufferers.

On another note..for the past week my round ligament (http://www.womenshealthcaretopics.com/roundligamentpain.htm) has just been smarting like no tommorrow. I have to agree with my yoga instructor on this one..she hadn't seen me for over a week, took one look at me last night and said, "You dropped". Cha-ching..explains the round ligament pain...and why my belly seems to now be resting on my thighs whenever I sit down.

I told Scott what she said (You dropped) and I though he was going to have a heart attack seeing we have not yet had a child birthing class with the exception of breast feeding. Oh well..shit happens! And besides, women have been doing this for millenia without anyone teaching them anything, my body can do this without any instruction, that is what it is made for.