I just wrote the following e-mail to my cousin and bestest friend telling her how our appointment lastnight went. So I thought I'd copy it here for the benefit of all to read:


Dear Jes,

Hi, hi. Sorry, I was gunna e-mail you as soon as i got in but my internet went down for some reason.

Everything is good. We got to listen to the heart beat which was super strong and loud, it was really wild. Mom and Dad came and got to hear the heart beat too.

Did I tell you that the birth center caters to all the amish families in that area? yep, amish, amish everywhere.

All my bloodwork came back good and strong. My iron levels are very high which is excellent, must be all that kukicha and cooking in cast iron skillets...

One minor thing: i do not have a definite imunity to the german measles so I've been instructed to avoid people with spotty deseases. But the midwife also said it's no big deal and that I probably am immune but that modern science can't be sure.

I've gained a whopping 9lbs! It sounds a bit high to me but the midwife said that it's great. We went over my 3 day food log that I was assigned to do and she kept exclaiming how well we eat. She said to just make sure I'm keeping it down to about one glass of juice a day and avoid the high fructose corn syrup things, which i normally do anyhow.

My Leukocyte levels are slightly high but I don't know what that means and she said it's nothing. But i'm gunna look it up today anyhow.

As she was setting up the doppler to listen to the heartbeat she felt my uterus and said, "Wow, the top of your Uterus is right about at your bellybutton." Earlier she said it should be a bout two finger widths below my belly button. I'm wondering if this baby is going to be big.

She said that my stomach muscles are very strong and because of that i haven't quite "popped out" yet. In around 3 weeks my uterus should come out more and allow more room for the baby so it's not all squished in there kicking at my pubic bone.

She also confirmed that I have been feeling the baby move and that even though it's not terribly common for first time mothers to feel the baby move at 14 weeks, it's not indicative of anything either and that I'm lucky and it's a good thing.

The lady that did our exam last time was not one of the midwives, she was the gyn/fertility expert and an RN. The lady we had this time was one of the midwives (of which there are two). She was super great. She's real soft and very funny, great sense of humor. She teased Ben and was very direct and open without being condescending. She was so cute. I told her about the yeast infections and she said, "I know it sounds weird but yogurt sex is an old midwives trick. It works really well and it can be a lot of fun, just make sure you use the plain kind." She kind of blushed when she said all this but was really cute about it.

So from now on we will have one or the other of the midwives to do our exams so we will get to know them both very well and who ever is on call when we go into labor we will have had plenty of contact with.

Dad absolutely LOVED the place, he loved that they catered to the amish population and all the way home was talking about buying bucksnort a little straw hat and suspenders.

Also the birthing center has just moved to their new location. The first time we went it was funny cause basically they were in a trailer in the middle of a corn field. But their new location is really nice, brand spankin' new and huge with a lot of windows. They have two birthing rooms both with their own jaccuzzi/hot tub, big beds, and a very homey feel. They have a kitchen/living room for the family to wait in with a vcr/dvd player and toys. They also have a big lending library of good birthing books they reccommend to their clients.

I love that place. I feel like i couldn't have picked a better place to have Bucksnort (which is what Mom and Dad have named their first grandchild). Everytime i leave there I'm so happy and excited to give birth. I feel like embracing the whole world. Nothing like feeling like you're in competent and loving hands for something that could be potentially scary and traumatizing.

At dinner Mom and Dad regaled us with stories of having Miah at GBMC and how awful everyone was to them and how they should have had us at the birthing center (which has been open since 1978), but how they didn't know about it and thank God for the internet...

Dad was on cloud 9 all night after our visit. He kept saying, "I'm so happy for you guys! I almost want to have another baby myself."

Oh, and the front desk lady (who i think is part amish???) always has her little baby with her, actually he's not so little he's maybe 8 months. Anyhow, mom walked right in and grabbed him from the desk lady and was instantly in love. Dad was crawling around on the floor with him and even Ben held his arms out to the wee one and wanted to play with him. Ben needs more baby time. I'm thinking of taking him down to Mary's to play with Tieggy, you should see his eyes light up when he holds a baby.

Did I tell you that the other night when we were babysitting for Brooke's boys that I couldn't get Grifffin to go down but Ben could?? I could get Griffin to fall asleep in my arms but I couldn't lay him in the crib without him waking up and freaking out. After I tried a couple times and got really frustrated I handed the sleeping kid off to Ben who had him in his crib and snoring away in no time. It was incredible. What a man, my man.

Anyhow, the visit was great and if you ever want to come with me sometime to meet everyone and watch and learn how to get there (since you'll be at the birth) just let me know! I'd love to have you along.

My next visit is set for June 13th. And sometime next month or the month after we will schedule our ultra sound (no, we're not finding out if it's a boy or a girl) i'm just excited to see our little Bucksnort.

love you!
-L

Baby Check-up this Evening

BEST WEBSITE EVER

This is the greatest thing ever. You should all register now!!

https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

What a Rotten Morning!

I wake up 1/2 hr late and run around like a mad woman and then can't find my wallet which I finally find in my car anyway.

Traffic absolutely sucks and I end up at work late

I get to work and there are a whole slew of post-it notes from stupid Copier salesmen who want to sell us a new copier.

The giant rubber ball i use for an office chair has a hole in it cause I ran over a staple and now i don't know if it's patchable. It's pretty new too... And now I have to sit in a chair all day.

Dear Gerbil Baby Growing in my Belly,

You put the "us" back in Uterus.

Love,
Your Mama

PS: Can you start craving things like raisins instead of icecream please?

The Fatty Blues

If someone says to you:
By having sex there is a good chance you will end up having to spend the better part of a year

-gaining loads of weight
-being REALLY gassy
-eating everything you come in contact with
-crying at the drop of a hat
-Laughing hysterically at inappropriate movies
-either completely uninterested in sex, or overly interested in sex
-swollen feet, ankles and sinuses
-avoiding alcohol, smokey rooms, loud music, and anything that requires you to stay up late
(which just happens to be where all your friends are)
-having to pass up your favorite foods
-getting stretch marks
-getting vericose veins
-worrying that you'll never be sexy again
-getting nose bleeds
-interminable headaches (for which you shouldn't take pain killers)
-shortness of breath
-aching back, neck, and every other part of your body
-long sleepless nights
-general discomfort
-being woozy
-being mean
-being either way hotter or way colder than everyone else in the room
-not fitting between the driver seat and the steering wheel of your car
-looking like a hippo
-having strangers touch you
-getting unwanted advice from complete morons and strangers and strange morons
-and worrying that you're doing it all wrong

Then all that will end with an episode of more pain than you could possibly ever imagine. You will be ripped in half starting with your vagina just to allow this little tyrant out into the world and then for the next six months you're going to have cracked, chapped, sore nipples and feel like a dairy cow and at any given point in the day be covered in shit, piss, sour milk, vomit, or otherwise... and then you will spend the rest of your life scared shitless for this little being...

Do you think it'd make a difference? You're right...probably not...

Ivillage Idiots

According to my "Pregnancy Calendar" on Ivillage.com my baby is the size of a gerbil.

WHY WOULD THEY COMPARE MY BABY TO A GERBIL?????!!!!!!!!

Tids and Bits

-As Jen reminded me it was Administrative Professionals Day or what was previously known as Secretarys' Day. Did you hug your secretary or personal assistant yesterday? You'd better do it now (make sure they aren't armed first). My boss, after i reminded her, bought be a gift certificate to target.

-Unique-Stephen (complete stranger) brought this to my attention which is absolutely marvelous and darned funny. Thank you US, and who are you and how did you find me?

-If anyone is interested this is where we're going to be having the baby. I know, I know having the being born in Pennsylvania does hinder the kid's coolness and good dental hygiene future, but at least I don't have to be afraid that they will cut off the kid's foreskin without my permission. Our next check-up is May 9th, I'll let you know if anything interesting happens.

-For all those of you who read this who may have to make the trek to come to our Wedding reception/ Baby shower/ Housewarming/ Welcome Home/ Stuff yourself stupid and give us a hug-shindig-- the plan is to go for late August to accomodate (see how much i love you) those who aren't able to make it in early and mid August (perhaps the 26th,27th)

-For all those of you who i have not formally invited or mentioned this to, consider yourselves all formally invited and informed. I will keep you posted.

-The Fairie Festival at Spoutwood Farms in Glenrock, PA is May 6&7 for those of you who would like to come and visit me, or hide behind the nearest tree and point and laugh.

-Our newest baby name choice for a boy is Aiden, any comments?

Hello Gas, Goodbye Savings

So I leave for work this morning, get to the gas station where it's a whopping $3.09/gallon and I think to myself oh, well the other day it was $3.01 at the gas station near work, I'll just go there. I get to the gas station by work and it's at $3.11. Meanwhile i'm on empty in my inherited stupid green sedan. I decide to bite the bullet and pay for at least some gas so I can at least get home and I realize I don't have my wallet.

(don't worry i'm not stranded, i borrowed some $ from a co-worker who i'll pay back tomorrow)

However, this little saga got me to thinking: How did gas prices go up 10 cents in less than two days. So i looked it up.

Turns out for the last three days the price of crude has reached increasing record highs and they predict it'll go up to $80 per barrel before the end of June!! (It's currently at $72, i think)

Also: Bush has halted the environmental law that was passed forcing gas refineries to mix gasoline with ethanol to reduce air and water pollution to try and reduce gas prices.

Also: The average retail price of gasoline nationwide is $2.80 a gallon, though stations are charging more than $3 a gallon in many parts of the country.

Excerpt from MSNBC article:

The biggest factor underpinning higher gasoline prices is the roughly 38 percent rise in crude oil costs over the past year. On an inflation-adjusted basis, oil prices would have to rise above $90 to exceed the all-time highs set a quarter century ago when supplies became tight in the aftermath of a revolution in Iran and a war between Iraq and Iran.
Analysts said the market psychology would likely remain bullish until there is either a significant dropoff in demand or resolution to a variety of geopolitical uncertainties, particularly the West’s nuclear dispute with Iran and output disruptions in Nigeria.
“The worries of Iran won’t go away any time soon, and in that sort of environment very few people are willing to be short on oil,” said Tobin Gorey, a commodities analyst with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

Read more here

Knocked up update

14 weeks and 4 days knocked up.

Feeling good for the most part. The last two weeks I've felt like i'm getting bigger everyday, except no one but me can tell. I weighed myself at my grandmother's house (we don't have a scale) and I've gained 4.5 lbs so far.

I've had to borrow pants because my own are very tight these days. I did end up buying a few maternity things we'll see how far they get me.

This inbetween stage is the hardest I think. Feeling fat but not looking pregnant quite yet (at least not to strangers) and anticipating the rest of the pregnancy. I feel like it must get more fun somewhere along the way.

Shopaphobia

So it seems i have a severe fear of shopping. The only kind of shopping I actually enjoy is food shopping. Dont get me wrong. I am indeed in love with shoes and there's something about new clothes (new or new to me) that makes me excited to actually put on clothes in the morning, however, for the most part it is hell trying to get myself to go into a store.

Luckily enough (actually that's debatable since it makes it so easy) for me and those like me INTERNET SHOPPING exists.

So for the last couple of weeks, as i find my pants becoming tighter and tighter, I've been internet window shopping for maternity clothes. Unfortunately, I recently bought myself some new clothes for my office job (seeing as how all my college clothes were holey, dirty, stained, smudgy, a little too small, and weird). So, now comes the dilema (I also bought myself a giant rubber ball earlier this week to sit on at work) do I spend even MORE money on clothes (clothes that I will only end up wearing for the next few months) or do I stick it out for as long as i can and hope that my local Good Will has a few passable shirts?

(Basically i'm pleading for someone to help me justify a $73.00 purchase of a bella band, a long sleeve shirt, a polo shirt, a cute fancy shirt, and a bra which if it still fits when my milk comes in can be used as a nursing bra. I'm hoping the Bella Band will help me stay in my regular pants at least a couple more months)

My Belly and Boobs are Growing out of my clothes Wishlish

Not necessarily in order of appearance:

1. The Bella Band - for those of us who are too small for maternity clothes but too big for our own pants, and too cheap to go out and buy bigger pants.
2. Various t-shirts from American Apparel that seem as though they would work well for this inbetween phase and later for nursing etc.
3. a not so ugly hippo-suit. (I'm anticipating going to the ocean as much as possible this summer. I hear it's good for the baby, okay not true, but being in landlocked Arizona has made me ocean sick and after Sunday's brief romp on the sand I realized what i had been missing all these years)

Diary of a Pod

14 weeks. Feeling fat.

Post-Graduate Wasteland

If you go HERE you can see my hot and incredibly cool friends whom i don't deserve living it up.

I miss them.

I miss them so much i'm going to crawl under my desk and weep until lunch time at which point i will eat a burrito.

You think one New Castle would hurt the little one? just kidding.

Happy Easter Everyone

Things that Have Happened recently

1) My truck is up for sale (without the cap) on old York Rd in front of a friend's house.
2) i'm driving Ben's brother's stupid green dodge sedan that he sold to us for $100.00 when he left for the army a week and a half ago. I hate it.
3) We have cleaned out, and de-sided the Little House. It looks almost as bad as it ever will and we continue to find problems that will make this project that much more difficult and continue to be depressed about it while trying to make some leeway.
4) I am definitely getting fatter. I've officially gained 2.5 lbs and i'm all soft and doughy around the middle.
5) I contributed quite a bit to the RFP (request for funding proposal, ie: grant) that the company i work for has to do every eight years to get funding from the county to continue their noble work. And to say the least i'm damn glad it's over. We had three weeks to write a three inch proposal. :P
6) The weather is finally warming up more consistently, however, it's still fickle as all hell and was incredibly rainy and cold on saturday.
7) I am officially 12 weeks pregnant. Come this weekend it'll be goodbye first trimester!


That's about all i can come up with. Sorry it's not very witty or exciting. I'm feeling neither of those things right now mostly humdrum and a little anxious about the Little House... and antsy about living with my folks, most of the time it's pretty good, lately i've been feeling claustrophobic when it comes to the cabin and my folks... Maybe the time is coming to move to the Tee Pee...

Quick Update

I'm in the middle of writing a grant for work so I probably won't get a chance to actually update until tuesday or there abouts.

Church Mice

I found this article while in the process of checking my e-mail. This is very interesting.

All those who think that many Americans have a spending addiction raise your hand.

In anticipation of Ben, myself, and Lou all living off one meager income for 5+ years this article hits home. Now granted, I would sooner hurl myself into a pit of wrything crawly things than purchase pants for $117.00, however, what is it that i deem as a "necessity" that really isn't.

Honestly, how much can we do without? Will I die without q-tips? If Ben is forced to start buying Folgers instead of Avalon Organic will he eventually get used to it or will he hate me for not working every morning he pulls down that blue tin of sandy granules that turn his hot water slightly yellowish-brown?

Also to add my Idealism to the heap of random thoughts for the day:
Wouldn't it be nice if policy makers didn't HAVE to be the ones ensuring that our decisions as consumers were always environmentally, financially responsible purchases. Is it the government's job to save us from ourselves?

Despite the fact that i'm super excited about the Federal Government putting new gas mileage regulations on new cars, should they really have that power?? and if they do who's to say they can't keep us from choosing to have abortions, etc?

I realize those two things are very unrelated, but I guess i'm picking at that age old scab: If the government's job is to protect us, how far does it go? Should they be allowed to protect us from ourselves? Who are they to say what we need protecting from?

I really just don't know...

Heart of My Heart

So we went to Birth Care Midwife Center lastnight... oh it was awesome. It's a trailer in Pennsylvania... okay that's not quite true. And they're moving in the next month to a new location which is supposedly bigger AND they have birthing pools. But right now it looks like a trailer on a farm. But they are super awesome people. We got to hear the babys heart beat!!!

Here let me reenact the scene for you:

Jill the RN: now don't be dissapointed if we don't hear the heart beat, you're only 11 weeks along and it wouldn't be surprising if we didn't. okay?
Libby: Okay... But we're gunna try right.
Jill: Right
(Ben is sitting at the end of the table watching her squirt blue jelly on my tummy and feel around for the baby)

She takes the little sensor thinger and as soon as it touches my belly we hear *choo choo choo choo choo choo choo*

Jill: that's it that's the baby. Wow, that's a first. Usually we don't hear it right away. That is a good strong heart beat. Uh-oh, he's swimmin' away.
(we all hold our breath while she moves the sensor thing around a bit looking for the heart beat)

*choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo* and in the background * wooooooosh..................... woooooooooooosh..........* (that's my heart beat) it sounds like a little tiny train driving along the beach (my heart beat being the ocean and the baby being the little train).

well i'm crying by this point or leaking at the eyes at least. And Ben is squeezing my hand...and there it is our little baby with it's super strong heart beat....



So on the ride home (it's an hour and a half from mom and dads) we drive right into an amazing thunderstorm and we're watching the big fat rain drops splatter everywhere and dodging the frogs in the road... and every couple of minutes one of us turns to the other and says "choo choo choo choo choo"

And we decide to start calling the baby Lou so as to not genderize it yet cause we inadvertantly keep saying "he"

Monday-ne!

I'm being really horrible and drinking hot chocolate, but i blame it on daylight savings.
I agree with Jen, Daylight savings sucks. I had to pinch myself to stay awake on the beltway this morning.

We started on the little house this weekend. I took a few pictures that i promise to post when i get my act together and get over to my Fatherinlaws in order to get the camera cable. It was quite a lot of work, and let me tell you I am a lucky, lucky girl to have Ben-The-Machine for a husband... well when it comes to hard labor that is... the boy is unreal!

So saturday and sunday found us covered in fiberglass insulation grossness and squirrel crap. I had to call it quits around 3pm both days because i couldn't stay awake any longer.

Today at 7 is our first baby check up with the ladies at Birth Care in Quarryville. I'll let you know how it goes, i'm hoping we'll get to hear the baby's heart beat.