We went on the tour of Methodist Hospital on Monday night for our class...first, we met in a conference room and learned some info on c-sections...I know there's always a possibility that I may have to have one (1 in 3 deliveries is a c-section...how's THAT for learning something?) but the thought of having one really freaks me out...more so than a regular delivery. Bleh.   Of course I'll do whatever it takes to get PIP here safely, so bring it on...I'll be fine.

Sidenote--the conference room was set up with a bunch of long tables forming a U-shape with one table in the center.  On that table in the center (where we couldn't get to it since we were on the outside of the U) was a platter of an assortment of cookies.  WHY would someone want to tease and torture a bunch of pregnant women like that?  I couldn't keep my eyes off of them!  I pictured myself hurdling the table to get to them... 

Ok, moving on...the tour was actually very interesting and helpful.  We had the opportunity to see a labor and delivery room, which was surprisingly homey.  We also saw a post-partum room where we'll stay til we get to go home.  Unfortunately, Dean is going to have to sleep on a chair.   I think he should bring a sleeping bag and stretch out on the ground.  Either way, it's not going to be too comfy for him...but it's also pretty likely that we won't be getting much sleep anyways those couple of days!  We were shown where everything we might need is located...cafeteria, bathrooms, nursery, etc.  It made us feel a little more prepared to kind of know what to expect once we arrive.

And now to a completely different subject...I've gotten some pretty strange comments from people (mainly at work) pertaining to my pregnancy.  I know most of the time people mean well, but when a simple "congratulations" or "when are you due?" would suffice, they instead, decide to take it five steps further and make an ass out of themselves (entirely MY opinion...they probably don't see anything wrong with what spilled out of their mouths).  SO, for your entertainment, here are a few of my favorites:

"I remember when you were skinny!"

"When did THIS happen?"  (Umm...hold on, let me grab my calendar...)

"Looks like you got into some trouble!"

"So, you're married, right?"

"Wow, the last time I saw you, you were thin! Er, uhh, I mean, you're still thin...umm..."

"What happened to YOU?"

"When are you due? Oh hmm...well, you don't look big enough to be THAT far along." (this is said in an accusatory tone...like they've decided that I'm starving myself and the baby for shits and giggles and that's why I'm not meeting their expectations of hugeness.)

Nice, huh?  I still have a couple months...I'm sure I'll have more to add to the list.  And I realize I look young for my age, which will be great as I continue to get older, but seriously, some people make poor assumptions and jump to conclusions when they know absolutely nothing about me.  I've gotten looks of pity and disparagement...I hear whispers as I walk by...annoying!  BOO on them!  I feel like I should wear a sandwich board that says "28, married, bachelor's degree, household income of..." so people will leave me alone!  It REALLY bothered me at first, but honestly, I've learned to ignore it...I have better things to worry about!

I had an ultrasound today to check and see if the placenta had moved from its low-lying position.  GOOD NEWS!!!  It moved!!!!   If it had still been low, I would have to have a c-section...not saying that I still won't but at least not for this reason.  Dean went with me today so we could both see PIP again and he asked the ultrasound tech if we would get any new pictures today...she said sure!

After she checked the placenta, we got to see PIP's face!  At first, she was just doing the regular pictures and it looked like she had some big lips!!  But then she switched over to the 3D pictures and we were able to see more clearly...no worries, not so huge.   I didn't think we'd get to see the 3D ones at all (I thought it was some special thing that you had to go in for) so it was a surprise!  I was a little worried at first...I don't know why.  Just didn't know what to expect, I guess!  But it ended up being really cool!  It was amazing to see more than just a fuzzy, flat, black and white picture.  She wouldn't move her arm away from her face, so the first picture looks like she's shaking her fist at us...like she's telling the world, "Don't mess with me!"  In the other two, you can see her face a little better...in one, she's starting to stick her tongue out.   We decided that she looks like me when I'm pissed off...uh-oh.   (I'll post the pictures.)  I just can't believe that she's in there...this cute little person with all her little features.  It's incredible. 

After the ultrasound, we went to my regular appointment...everything is still right on track...weight, blood pressure, baby's heartbeat and position (her head's down right on top of my bladder...feels good.)  She said my feet look a little swollen...I told her that they don't get too bad until the end of the day, so it's not too big of a deal.  All in all, we're doing well!  

One more random thing before I post this entry...last night I dreamed that I met Justin Timberlake (!!!) and I, somehow, got to be on stage right before he ended his show.  He decided to throw his shoes out to the crowd and before he threw the second one, I stepped in front of him and begged him to give me his shoe...he hesitated for a second and I pointed down at my belly and said, "For the baby!!"  I got the shoe.  Uh-huh, I totally used PIP to get Justin Timberlake's shoe...

We went to our third 'prepared childbirth' class last night and it was soooooooooo boooooooooooring.  This is so bad, but the only topics I can recall talking about are epidurals and the heart monitor that they stick on the baby's head.  Looks like I'll have to go back through our book and do some reviewing.  I was extremely distracted because of my stupid allergies.  I don't know what it is about those classrooms but pretty much as soon as I step into them, my nose gets all itchy and plugged up.  I was miserable! We ended up leaving a half an hour early because I was so frustrated and bothered by it. I don't think Dean was too disappointed about leaving.  Next week, we are going to the hospital for a tour...I'm actually looking forward to it!

The shelf in the nursery has been hung!!! YAY!!! (Thanks to Dean and his dad!) So now, everything is basically done...minus her name in wooden letters that will go on the right side of the shelf (once we figure out what her name is.)  I posted a few pictures...

I think my feet are continuing to expand...they're wide! I tried on a couple different pairs of shoes that I haven't worn in a while and they were pretty snug.  The good thing is, they don't tend to get puffy until later in the day/evening.  At that point, it kind of looks like my toes are being eaten by the rest of my feet...pretty.

So, on to the crazy day I had...allow me to vent for just a minute or four.  I just have to get it out of my system and I'll be much better.  Today, the freshmen up at the high school by our restaurant started classes, but only had a half-day.  The words "half-day" are like nails on a chalkboard when spoken in our restaurant.  The school is basically right across the street and since freshmen can't drive, they all stampede into our restaurant and torture us for a couple hours.  These craptastic little punks come in all at once and fill our entire dining room so that our regulars are either forced to get a to-go order or sit in the midst of chaos while dealing with the deafening decibels of mindless teenage chatter.  They're loud, they're messy, they don't tip, some don't even eat and just want to turn our restaurant into a hang-out, they're disrespectful, and they plain just don't care.  Honestly, really, truly, if I had to describe a personal hell, this would be it. Yes. It's THAT bad. I DESPISE half-days. I don't know to how many kids I had to say "knock it off!" One would think a 14 or 15 year old could act like a normal human being in public...but we could only be so lucky.  And add the August heat and being nearly 8-months pregnant to the mix...you get the picture.

SIGHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Dean sent me a text this morning that said:

"I just had a totally involuntary smile thinking about our little girl. "

How cute is that??

We compared our name lists last night before we went to bed...it was pretty interesting.  I was actually nervous before we compared them because I was afraid that we would be on completely opposite ends of the spectrum...and that was kind of the case!  We had ONE name that was the same...different spelling, but that's okay.  We each had a couple that the other liked, so we went from a total of 22 names down to 6.  Not bad for now...we're going to sit on these for a while and see how we like them and try to eliminate some more later on.  Picking a name is HARD!  What if we pick one and end up not liking it!?!?  What a decision!