I did laundry and a cat update!!
I did my first batch of baby laundry. First, I think I might have shrunk stuff. It just looks so small! I don't think I can picture this baby as a newborn...I think I'm having troubles now picturing having a baby altogether! Only about 3-4 weeks left.

I still have 2 more weeks of work. Everyone there keeps wondering if I'm going to pop him out early and they ask me all the time if I am alright. It's pretty annoying. I know they mean well, but it's still annoying.

Oh, so last night, James and I were talking about baby cries...because I really don't know what to expect as far as a baby crying (I know that sounds weird, but it's the truth). So he went online and found some audio files of babies crying. So he played some and the cats went sort of cuckoo! First, Kiki ran up to the speakers and first rubbed them with her cheeks. We thought this was a good sign...she seemed like she wanted to nurture the crying! Well then she turned into the demon cat she is, and started trying to bite the speakers! Woo came by the computer and just sat there and looked stupid. He started crying like he thought something was wrong. After about 5 minutes, they got bored and went about their merry kitty way.

It's almost 5 am
So this is the first night that I had trouble sleeping. I do not know why. I did not have to go to the bathroom. I just woke up around 3 am and decided I wasn't tired anymore.

Well being that it is St. Patrick's Day, I'm going to do what every good Irish wife should do - cook corned beef and cabbage! Though I may look Irish, I am not. I am Irish by marriage.

Last Saturday I went to Cate's shower in West Hartford. It was a grand time! I drove down with Christine. Good times to be had by all! I must admit that I had to fib to one lady...she came up to me, noticing that I was pregnant. We got to talking and she asked what names the grandparents were taking. I just smiled and said "I think we're just going with the standard 'grandma and grandpa." I wanted to spare the Haugh/Lesko name of any embarrassment of saying "well my mother is going to be Beautiful Grandmama. My father is going to be Happy Pappy Gary. Then there is evil step-grandmother Sue (ha ha!)...And that is just my side..." Luckily James' side is more normal (I think). This poor child is going to be confused on so many different levels!!

After Cate's shower, James picked me up and we drove to Woodbury CT where there was a surprise little gathering for us! James knew about it and I was not. I am mad James didn't tell me! Isn't that what a good marriage is about? Good communication and not keeping secrets??? ha ha ha! Well it was surprising and very thoughtful of everyone to think of us. We got a lot of good baby stuff (which we are very thankful for!) and Pappy Gary even made a lot of good food...James was very happy that he got to eat his chili again.

Just another update for your pleasure....
We had another one of our fetal monitoring appointments on Tuesday. It was pretty interesting. James got to go this time which was better because I had someone to talk to during it! The male doctor we saw was really goofy. I'm glad he's not my normal doctor. It made me wonder why a man would want to be an OBGYN! I'm glad I have Usha to guide me through this!

Well on to the important things: The good news is that I’m not having the contractions anymore so that is good. I am not causing stress to the little one!! He's doing good too...heartbeat is fine, he has his kidneys, & doing his little practice breathing exercises. His little hands were together so I'm thinking he was praying. He will be the future St. Fritzy of Boston. So everything is back to normal and boring…that is the way we like it. Oh, & I have decided that ultrasounds just make me feel dumb. I can never see what the nurse is pointing out.

They also estimated that St. Fritzy is a little on the small side…they estimated his weight right now at 5 lbs 8 oz. I think it’s suppose to be closer to 6 pounds (I’m not really sure), but that is okay with me! I am not looking forward to pushing out a 9 or 10 pound watermelon…a 7 pound one is fine by me. James still insists he’ll be bigger…I am not a fan of James’ predictions.

A sore neck and some little things they call contractions...
Hello!

I wasn't going to post this, but I figured, maybe one day my son may read this and understand the pain and suffering I am going through to give birth to him! ha ha!!!

Well last Friday I was at work and all of the sudden I had a sharp pain in my neck and my right arm was all tingly. It was weird. So I did the smart thing (for once!) and called the doctor. They told me to go to the emergency room.

So I jumped on the E line (I figured it couldn't be too serious if I was still up for taking the subway to the hospital!). I went to Beth Israel and my nurse was Bernie Haugh! It was a male nurse! And his last name was Haugh! They had to put me in the hall because they were full and I wasn't a really "serious" case. I was laughing at the drunks in there at 11 am.

So they thought I had preclampsia because I had really high blood pressure. I tested negative for that. Then they checked me out to see if I had a stroke and I didn't. I didn't like the MRI. They gave me tylenol and determined I must have just pinched a nerve or something. By this time it was about 6 pm and James had joined me. They transferred me to the other building (in an ambulance, fully strapped down to a stretcher as if I was some invalid) so they could check out the baby. It was fun to talk to the EMTs.

When I got there, they strapped me up and started the fetal monitoring. James and I were both pretty hungry. We were sad that we couldn't eat but figured we be out soon. Well the nurses came in and so did the doctor and said I was having contractions and they wanted to monitor me more! All I wanted to do was eat a hamburger, but I had to lay there some more. Now keep in mind, I still had this neck pain and my arm felt all weird. Because I am pregnant, they couldn't give me any "good stuff." Well after some more time, they just gave me a shot of something. It was a muscle relaxer to stop the contractions. I couldn't tell the difference between having contractions or not, but that medicine sure helped with my neck pain!

The contractions went away within 20 minutes, they checked me out to make sure I wasn't going to pop him out anytime soon and we were on our way at 11 pm to get hamburgers. It is a good thing Applebee's is open until midnight on weekends!

I had to go to a different doctor this past week to do the fetal monitoring again. I'm still having the contractions but I'm not feeling them. The baby is doing wonderfully and does not seem to be bothered by the contractions at all. They also gave me another ultrasound (see week 34!). We got another confirmation that it's a boy so that is a good! I'm going back again this coming Tuesday to do a more in depth ultrasound that should estimate his height and weight. I'm sure I will post the results here.

I'm not really sure what this all means as far as a delivery goes. I don't think the doctors do either. The baby is healthy and neither of us are in any pain so that is the most important part.

This week has been especially brutal for me!! I have never been so tired before. I feel like I am going to fall asleep at work most times (maybe it's just because I am bored though). I also have to use the ladies room about 25 times a day (but thankfully, I don't wake up in the middle of the night to go!). I am also sore in places I didn't think existed on my body.

So that is it. Nothing exciting. Just more doctor appointments than I originally thought. Some neat little fetal monitoring and a couple extra ultrasounds.

Hot Tamales and a Heart Beat
I went to the doctor's today. I was hungry before so James and I went to a mini-mart before. He got a Watchamacalit. I got Hot Tamales. It was a good snack. I'm using my consumption of Hot Tamales to justify my 5 pound weight gain! Actually it is probably my daily Shrimp Ramen noodles that are doing me in, but you can't go wrong with a 33 cent lunch!

Usha was very nice today. That is our doctor's first name. I think James has a crush on her but I'm not sure. The little one's heartbeat was 154 & the stomach measured 36 cm.

Well the Fox 25 News is coming on. I need to be informed.

We love the Yankees!
I forgot to mention, even though we live in Boston, our son is going to grow up a Yankees fan. He looks forward to watching the Yankees beat the Red Sox on May 1st. Only 41 days left until opening day!

Hospital Tour and Burritos
So last night was our hospital tour. It was just like every other hospital out there, so nothing too special. It was nice to walk through to see how things will go though (not like I will remember any of it!). The best (funniest) part of the tour was when we were there, a pregnant Chinese woman and her husband came in because she was ready to pop. That was funny to watch. I know it shouldn’t be funny to see someone in labor, but I thought it was amusing. She had a contraction and was squinting her eyes and grabbing onto the chair she was sitting in. Obviously she wasn’t good at her breathing exercises either! Ha ha! I hope there is a tour going on when I go into labor so I can scare all the ladies and tell them that I’m in so much pain! Ha ha! I am a mean one these days.

We saw two little babies in the nursery. I think the wee little ones made James shed a couple tears. He is very sensitive and emotional these days! Well one was 5lbs 9 oz and the other was 8lbs 3oz. The 8 lbs one was all crying (but he was really cute) and the 5 lbs one was all red. James told me to not even bother looking at the 5 lbs one because I’m going to be popping out a baby in the high 8s or 9s! I do not understand why he is wishing a big baby on me! He probably enjoys watching me in pain! Ha ha!

I found out that it’s MA state law for a lady to stay in the hospital for 48 hours after delivery. So if I pop out the little bean at 3 pm on a Monday, I get to leave at 3 pm on Wednesday. If I pop out the little bean at 11 pm on a Monday, I get to leave Thursday morning (8 pm – Midnight labor constitutes “delivery time” as the next day). The law is mostly for insurance purposes so if you’re feeling up to it, they’ll let you leave earlier and if you aren’t doing too hot, they’ll keep you longer. So in case you were wondering, that is how that goes. There are also refridgerators and microwaves in the rooms so if you are going to come visit feel free to bring myself and James lots of good food! James is a big fan of Chinese food…beef lo mein and egg rolls!

Let’s see…anything else? We talked about drugs and I am going to be drugged up to the max (or so I hope). James also wants to be drugged up to the max but I’m not sure if they will let him have any drugs. All of this typing is making me hungry and I wish I had a burrito. They opened a new place by our apartment called Boca Grande. They make big burritos and they are really cheap. I went there the other night with my friend Christine. We both had big burritos. It made me happy.

Appointment Results!
Hello! I just thought I would give an update about the baby and the doctor visit. Everything is good. I don’t have diabetes, my iron levels are good, & the baby’s head is down. His heartbeat was around 145 which is good. I’m up to 26 pounds gained (which is very good because James likes his women big! Ha ha!). The appointments are usually pretty quick. I wish I had something more interesting to write about them but I do not. Tonight we are going on the hospital tour so we are looking forward to that.

Sick and Curious...
I have been sick all week. I do not like being sick and it is really rough during pregnancy! I miss my NyQuil and Robitussin just isn't cutting it. I can say that most of the 30th/31st week has been a blur because I've just been a slug on the couch getting yelled at by James for not drinking enough water.

On a different note, it has come to my attention that someone is messing with my baby name poll! I'm not sure who it is, but the numbers change a lot! And all in favor of Chris! I'm not sure who you are, but I will find out! I am personally a fan of Ben, so this saddens me. Chris just seems a like a little brother name to me. I am also a fan of Stuart. I think it's because of Stuart Little. I think James looks like Fievel from American Tale so it would only be natural that his son look like a mouse as well! Ha ha ha!

2nd Baby Class
Last night was our second baby class. It was sort of boring. There were only 4 of us there! I asked some stupid questions just to break up the lecture and stuff. James decided he wants to cut the umbilical cord! ha ha! Only kidding! He thinks that's pretty gross. I'm glad because I think it's pretty gross too. I'll leave it to the people who went to school for that sort of thing. Since there were only the two couples there, I had to be more serious during the breathing exercises! I still thought they were pretty stupid and dumb. The other girl asked how these breathing techniques can actually help. It was funny because she asked it in a sarcastic sort of way. I tried to ask questions during the breathing exercises so the instructor would forget that we were doing them and go off on another topic. It kind of worked, but not really. It would be a lot more fun if there were more people in the class. Oh well.