DUE DATE

That's right today is my due date and, SURPRISE, the monster isn't interested. So, if he's going to take his sweet time i might as well take a breather and update this poor abandoned page. My excuse for not writing; it was bumped down under new apartment, in-laws moving in, husbands new job, doctors appointments, finishing work, collecting essential baby items, the bathroom, the fridge and social time. Sorry blogger but human interaction still wins over a keyboard and screen.

The last few weeks have been the usual rib tickling, tummy rumbling, all night pee-a-thon that is to be expected. Thankfully my body seems to be taking it very well, still no swelling, hemorrhoids, vericose veins or major pains. My doctors appointments have been a breeze, except for the usual run around during the heart beat monitoring, my blood pressure and all have been perfect. I have officially reached the "hurry up and wait" phase. At times I don't feel that pregnant and at others my hips popping, minor mood swings and my inability to sit forward for more than a few minuets with out feeling like i have to pee, make me feel like a geriatric. It should all be over soon right?

For the last month the fetal movements have been equally as entertaining as before and have nurtured in my mind the bizarre illusion that i already know my child and that maybe, he knows me. I realize we have a connection on some level, beyond the obvious physical one, but sometimes i start to think I'm going crazy. Occasionally, thru out the day, I'll realize it's been a while since i heard form him and give a small rub to my right ribs, where he permanently curled up, and he will respond with a slow small push against my fingers and then stillness again. My assumption is that he knows all i need is a small "hello" and that he feels more comfortable curled up under my dominant arm but maybe it's just my movement patterns or the placenta location that's doing it. As my husband proved a few weeks ago, while i was asleep, the lil monster is very interactive. He informed me one morning last week that he had stayed up after i had passed out and "played" with the kid. Turns out it was a lil game of poke the belly and wait for it to respond before poking at again. I, of course, slept right thru this. Good to know he likes daddy. I was aware that he squirmed most of the night away but didn't think he needed the company or encouragement. Most mornings he will sleep while i get my things done, formerly work now laundry and cleaning, and than i demand an audience from him at some point in the evening if i haven't already spurred him with some ice water or a light rub. It also turns out he doesn't like the bus, whether it be the squished quarters, the noise or the turns and bumps I'm not sure but i know the more i ride the bus in one day the more antsy he gets. He will have to learn to deal with it at some point tho my suspicion is that once he's out and realizes how easy he had it all those fond uterine memories of bus rides will come back to him and knock him out... we'll see.

::sigh:: Yes day zero and i have ZERO signs of oncoming labor. No aches or pains, no 'water', no plug, no feeling of dropping and defiantly no decrease in movement, tho i am feeling increasingly exhausted. Exhausted and yet calm and prepared, unlike him. :) Though part of me is ready to get the big bloody show over with, another part of me is thinking of the convenience of an induced labor. Due to my proximity, or rather distance, from the hospital and lack of wheels of my own, sudden labor is most likely going to require a call for an ambulance, which is free but seems a lil weird. i don't think I've ever actually needed an ambulance before and labor almost doesn't seem like an 'emergency' situation. i did say free tho.

So with the electronic counter on the side of the page at zero and looking rather lifeless in my eyes, for some reason, my mind wanders back to the concept of "building a boat in the basement". The advantage of the human equivalent is that when you are finally forced to remove said boat form the basement, at least you don't have undo all your hard work before you can enjoy your reward.

hopefully i can update more soon.

Just an update

Due to my writers block I seem to be having (surprise, surprise) I'm just throwing a quickie update on here.

Weight gain since day one: 12lbs

Swelling of hands and feet: imperceivable.

Stretch marks (oh those wonderful mommy battle scars): A few (despite nightly cocoa butterings.)

Hair loss: falling behind me as I sweep.

Hemorrhoid/ varicose veins: Not a stitch.

Fetal movement: Oh the funnest part of all... Such an amazing and fascinating occurrence during the beginning of the second trimester has turned into the slug match I've dreaded for so long. For the last week or so my torso has become a the site of a turf war, with my ribs in constant peril and my intestines running for the hills. Those precious little feet have turned into a battering ram that, instead of a quick boot, now forces my abdominal muscles to their max and holds for several seconds, stirring images of B rated horror and sci-fi flicks (this is beyond Alien people.) His cute little behind seems to be "comfortably" wedged up under my right lower rib. The plus side is to all this, other than never having to wonder, is that anytime I'm actually sitting upright, and not lying down, my back is straight as an arrow. Amongst this barrage of beatings I've also been dealing with a tiny stomach and an astronomical appetite. Thankfully the light at the end of the tunnel is roughly 52 days away... people have survived longer than that right?

Baby flails 101

Every mother, even the 'veteran', is interested in fetal movement. Though we all go through it it's different for each one of us; ranging from aches, to flutters, to a popping bubble sensation and even the occasional mistaken gas bubble. This is my personal experience.

In only 2 months my little monster has gone from lightly tapping on my belly to feeling like an octopus having a seizure. It started out at 16 weeks feeling like a small, quick push on my abdominal wall. Similar to having a sore muscle gently poked. It was rare and minor for the most part making me question it a bit but then a huge rush at work confirmed that he was alive and kicking in there. The aches became slightly more pronounced for about 30 minutes especially when bent over the sherbet cooler. When mentioned to my doctors they all tell me that I wouldn't feel it at 16 weeks but on this one I'd have to go with mothers intuition. Shortly after the rush at work I experienced the dreaded 'days of silence' where all those fascinating little aches seemed to cease all together. But, as every pregnant woman knows the number one rule of pregnancy is "DON'T PANIC!" so I carried on and gave the fetus time to warm up again. The little guy must have taken some tae-bo classes while I wasn't paying attention. After a long week he came back like Bruce Willis in Die Hard 3 leaving no doubt in my mind that his development was going swimmingly. I'm sure the dose of Omega complex everyday helps, as well as helping mom to avoid those dreaded side affects of being prego.

From then on the kicking has been normal, steady and increasingly stronger. Though he seemed shy at first, going still when I would poke my belly or move about, he appears to be coming out of his figurative shell as of late with a light tap inspiring a flurry of activity within and no amount of walking slowing him down. Since kicking my hubby in the head one evening there hasn't been much head to belly interaction but that doesn't mean we haven't both been reveling in the activity. For just over a month now the kicks have been extremely visual conjuring up images of the Alien movies. As for how it feels, it's akin to an empty tummy bubble at times and a full length stretch by the little bugger at others. Causing a pressure on opposite sides of my abdomen elongating it into a bizarre oval shape and pushing my organs into unique, never felt before locations. I must say the weirdest kicks so far have landed on my diaphragm, just under my rib cage, and on my lower intestines, giving that opposite of a fart bubble feeling. All this activity does inspire the usual mental images of somersaults, marathon runs and flailing fits.

Though I know his arms are just as active as the rest of him I don't seem to feel them as distinctly most likely due to his proper positioning, which is yet to been seen. As of the last ultrasound, 2 months ago, he was still heads up but I think he figured it out. Almost all the activity has been just under my bust and above my belly button leading my to conclude that it's either his feet or the little bugger has figured out how punch above his head already. I'm going with feet.

The best confirmation of these weird sensations have been the doctors appointments. Starting with my very first ultra sound at 12 weeks revealing a crazy little worm that proceeded to spin front to back first showing his spine then his belly every few seconds giving the doc a run for her money. Come to find out this was going to be par for the course. At the following, 20 week ultrasound the whole thing was a little complicated with each measurement being 'to the best of their ability' due to the spasticity rivaling a 3 year old the day after Halloween. Same 'guesstimating' format at work for the sexing of the baby. Since then I haven't had another ultrasound but I did receive the usual fetal heart monitor check with unusual results. The heart beat was perfect, once she found it. After roughly 5 minutes of moving from one side to the other and cracking jokes about "of course the last one of the day would have to be the hardest" and "all the other one's were very cooperative" she finally found a spot where he was still for just long enough to properly assess before disappearing back into the static.

The best part of all this vigor is the irrelevance of doing kick counts. He's developed his schedule of a minor morning and after noon workout and then an all night party from about 6pm - 6am leaving no questions of wither or not he's still alive in there. In the end it's all been a lot of organ rearranging, entertaining doctors visits and highly amusing nights on the couch spent watching my little alien stretch and squirm. For now I'm enjoying the show before it turns into the cramped, rib cage jabbing slug fest of the final weeks when "get this thing out of me" becomes my personal motto just before the critter bursts out of me to wreak havoc on the rest of the world.

Countdown: 12 weeks (I'll put a nifty electronic one up soon)

Flap A connects with flap C? Are you sure? And what's this other bit of velcro for?

After staring at my first swaddle for several minutes I came to the conclusion that they would make more sense once I put a kid in it. My mother had this gem of advice 'If it makes the baby sleep it will make A LOT more since'. Tou-Sche Mom!

three point five

Imagine this: you're laying on the couch at roughly 9 at night enjoying feeling your little kick boxer go through his rounds when the sound of a truck going through your house occurs. BUT no glass shattering, no falling, no crunching no other noise then the rumble. We of course, in typical mammal style ran to the closest other life force who was staring at us in much the same manner. With no TV and our neighbors TV not providing any kind of news on said house shaking we were all left to wonder if it was just us. Being the resourceful lil geek my husband is he jumped on line and found THIS. Turns out old Haleakala, which we reside cozily on the north slope of, had too much jack in the box yesterday and let loose the geologic equivalent of one of grandpa's broccoli and brats fart. Only lasting for about 3 to 5 seconds but reaching a magnitude of 3.5 on the Richter scale and a depth of 19 miles. The report last night said it was over near Kaupo on the other side of the island but this morning it turns out it was right under our feet. After this news was revealed to us a thought occurred to me and I went to the window and opened it only to find what I expected, dead silence. Silence would be a normal night time thing on the main land but here in rural Makawao that never happens. Having dogs, chickens, roosters, goats, birds, cicada and geckos forever roving our house and neighborhood we can't hardly sleep more than a few hours without being woken by something. Needless to say my ears will be perked for the next moment of silence. My fears have been quelled since last night by the return of all those rowdy creatures and the array of knowledge of my dear counterpart informing me that 19 miles is deeper than the magma chamber and reaches the fault line under the Hawaiian islands and runs all the way to Japan, proven HERE by the 6 other earthquakes reported on the same fault line last night shortly following our report from the Maui region. So no worries to my friends and family on the mainland who may be concerned that I'm plopped on a 729 square mile time bomb, it was merely a seismic tummy rumble equivalent to my own internal activity. I slept just fine last night. :)

Drum roll please...

It's the long awaited belly picture!!!! Somewhere in the vicinity of 27 weeks. 2 pounds of baby plus existing chub equals this. I'm pretty sure he's working on making more space atleast that's what it feels like.

The human body

Two funny things have occurred to me in the last 6 months: 1) How loud is a stomach gurgle form the inside? 2) The thought that having a baby is akin to building a boat in a basement.

More to come soon!!

Some long awaited pics

Sunrise from the top of Haleakala. The sun is just peaking over the clouds.








North shore near Ho'okipa.









The inside of Haleakala crater.









Terminator baby!!!!!!! Second ultrasound.







First ultrasound.

Baby Registry!!

This be the Amazon Baby Registry.

Allow me to bring ya'll up to speed

As I carry the figurative torch in this long line of gene swapping mammals, I find myself walking a path of rather mediocre and mild happenings... thus far.

I faced the usual withdrawal-like symptoms usually reserved for inpatient rehab facilities; nausea, over all bodily discomfort, severe head cold, exhaustion; whilst my body went through the first 3 months of adjustment to hormones, cell division/ replication and such. As of late, thankfully and yet expectantly, I have come to a plateau only to be disrupted by a small violent creature that seems to have lodged itself on my intestines. Chris has felt the full force of the lil bugger one leisurely night on the couch.

Last months doctors visit was the momentous 20 week visit which followed much the same pattern as the first with comments of "did you eat right before you came in?" and "this is the most active baby I've seen in a while." from the doctor. Amidst the confusing blur of flailing arms and legs Chris and the Doc concurred that they both saw 'dangly bits' attached in an appropriate location. Thus making our name selections much easier. The fetus has kept up a similar pattern at home, work and just about anywhere. Not that I'm complaining, just entertained to have a constant passenger.

Now, with 24 weeks down and another, estimated, 16 weeks to go, everything is smooth sailing. Surely to be disrupted again shortly by the onset of the third trimester.

MORE TO COME!! Stay tuned!

Welcome to the farm

FINALLY I have returned to the precious Internet, and what do ya know they have it on computers now! I see everyone has become Facebook junkies rendering even my measly myspace page useless. So I say HA to you all and force you to come here, the true home of web journals; BLOGGER!