Weekly Update Week #37

OK, I did not think I looked that bad until I saw this photo. Geeeezzzzz! I am huge and big! I was at the fax machine at work today and Donna thought it was cute and took my pic. They all seem to giggle when I am at the fax or the file cabinet and can not get really close. Oh well, they are right, it is funny to look at.

Doc visit went well, blood pressure at 120 over 70, only gained one pound (can not believe that after all the sweet corn I have eaten lately!!) baby measures in at 37 cm and the it's heart rate was 144. Little higher than before, but good. My bood test (hemoglobin) was fine and they did some other test- will know later on that one. For some infection that can hurt the baby....but is only treated during labor. Seems weird. Still swelling, but it does go down at night. Here is the kicker I did not want to hear at all: Doc says my cervix is closed up tight like a clam, soft, but shut! Serious. So, I say- what does that mean? Yeah, don't think you will go any sooner than those last 3 remaining weeks, and maybe even 4. You might be looking at induced labor if you don't get rolling soon. Walk more...and well, another suggestion I won't share- but some of you may know what she said. Walk more....ug. I see her this coming Friday again...so we'll just see what I can come up with by then.

Carolyn (mother n law) has completed the painting on the garage...I did get to help some this Saturday...what I could reach....it looks so much better now. Now she is on a roll to finish up the landscaping that she and I started last summer and that Kent added to this summer. She got Kent to move dirt Sunday and so the process begins. I think she will be here diggin' in the dirt tomorrow while I am at work. Wish I could help more, but I just can not.

Funny story- here I was this morning, working on the computer to get John's FAFSA completed that was held up due to my pin #- anyway- here I am trying to work on this, my senior in college, the night before was helping Jesse get books on line for her second year- all the while counting down weeks to my baby.....good God what was I thinking!!!???? I had to laugh. The lady on the other end of the live chat was nice, and I told her that doing this was not on my To- DO list this week, since I was having a baby in three weeks....she sorta disappeared.....think I shocked her or something?

I got to go, it is too hot up here and the feet are swelling in this sitting position after standing in the kitchen doing dishes for supper....ug. Will post any fun stuff or pics....and will keep you informed on the doc visit. Take care ya'll!

36th week- 4 more to go (July 28th)

This is too funny. I asked Kent to take my picture outside tonight for the pregnancy journal and blog. I guess Bullet was feeling a little left out and wondering what we were doing.....Kent did not notice that last picture there where Bullet was making sure I was not hiding anymore sweet corn under my shirt!

That silly dog loves sweet corn as much as I do. Got to watch him while you shuck it or he will be gone in a flash with it. Oh, this is so funny, I am still laughing. I think that last picture has to go into the pregnancy journal.

Great UnExpected Visit

Suddenly last Wednesday I got a text from Laura, they were coming up for an equipment sale in Aurelia- and were going to stay in Cherokee for the night...could I suggest a place and would I be around for a visit. YEAH! So, I booked them a room....and we went in for supper to hang out with her and Craig. She finally got to meet Kent and he and Craig talked about farming all night long. It was super. Except for that issue at the hotel! (wink wink to Laura) Kent was running the camera.....he needs more practise...this was the only pic that we were both looking at him and not talking.

Lovely Ladies

Here is the gal that keeps me in check while pregnant and not, Jane Schmellon, my hair care professional! She is a blast. I tell her that I can not be walkin around with white hair running wild all over when I am about to have a baby for cryin out loud....she takes care of it as you can see. She is fun. She has even flown out and done hair for people on the Amerian Idol show...... wow- next time I better just tell her to give me the "Idol Treatment"!

At the end of June I traveled back south for a Bain side family reunion. It was fun. I got to see lots of family...not as much as I wanted, but it was great. It was even a cool weekend. I did not however see Lisa's kids....they were up here in Sioux City while I was down there...that stunk. I got to see my friend Steph too, that was fun...I even made it to see fireworks in Riverton, something I have not done before- even in those 40 years of livin' in southwest Iowa. Ha! You can see me and my sisters in the pic, and I met little Hunter Jones for the first time. He is so little and I thought he looked like his grandpa Jon. I can tell you tho, he is going places with those big eyes. He is my cousin Trudy's daughter's baby. Trudy, God rest your soul, I know you are smiling huge up there when you look down upon this handsome little one. My baby started kicking when Hunter was sittin there on the 'baby shelf"- that was funny. I also got to hang out some with Natalie and Nicole as you can see in the other pic. Those twins are just still growing- and busy! They wore me out just telling me all the things they had going for the summer. Holy cow. I hope that Shannon is gearing up for when the boys come knocking at his door- at double the pace! Ha Ha.....I best go back and find that picture of Denise's grandson...oh he is a cutie pie too....I will find that and add it in. Big huge brown eyes....heartbreaker in the makin'. I hear we are going to plan this reunion for every other year! Good. I am glad, it is good to see family.

Count Down is on

Hello all- I know the whole idea behind this was to keep posting more than I do- but what can I say- I am old and tired- and ready to have a baby. Some say it has gone fast....yeah those of which are not achy, swollen, tired, peeing every 5 minutes and hot all the time, or are having their bladder used as a trampoline! Those who sleep well all night can say my pregnancy has gone fast....and when I think of all thing I have yet to accomplish before B day- well you are right. But, when I am tossing & turning all night, up and down, in and out of the bathroom, sleeping on the couch for the most part- well, that is when I decide that is had drug on forever!

I go to see the doc on this coming Friday. Last visit, I was doing great still. Blood pressure was 110 over 70, my normal and my weight gained was about 12 pounds total at that point. I have started the swelling in the feet and ankles...sometimes it looks really ugly- today we not so bad. I have started going to the truck at lunch time and laying the back seat and popping my legs up and out the window to curb the swelling....I have created a few chuckles I am sure. I still go most days to the lake for a lap or two after work, I think that is the key to keeping the swelling down and pounds off...but it sure tuckers me out.

Kent has still been home most nights...working in Hinton over by Sx City. I love having him here-I just hate cooking each night.....I got kinda spoiled not doing that for some time. I got him to agree to going to one prenatal class with me....signed us up....he got off work early, cleaned up and met me in town.....ONLY to find out that they did not put us on the list, therefore we did not get the call that morning telling us that class was cancelled due to low participants.........UG! He was offered to see the maternity wing, which was going to be good, until we found out someone was in there in labor....so we kindly declined. The gal said, just have him read the book you got last time you were here......yeah right! If it can not be read in a bathroom visit- it ain't gonna get read!

Jesse is still working the pool and Hy Vee and being the typical home from college kid. Staying out late and doing things she should not....but what can I say.... John is well, and currently working two jobs until his time is up at Barnes & Noble- he took a different job over and Java House.. it is closer to his apt and I think he is going to like that better. He took his L-SAT, but he says he did not like his score...and will be taking it over in a few months, I think he told me September. I am sure it was not that bad- but with John, good it not enuf....which is ok....I just don't want him to kill himself off as an over achiever.

I have some pictures I wanted to add.....but just realized as I got my big self up here on the second floor with memory card in hand, that my transfer thingy ma jig is out side in my bag in the truck....and I am not going down, out and in and up tonight....stairs seem to do this gal in. So, I will do that tomorrow. Promise. I want to get a pic ea week for my journal....so I can load those are here too...I know the best part is the pictures...I think so too.

Alright....I would say it is past my bed time...and it is....but I won't sleep anyway- but I best get out of this chair and lay down. Sitting all day tends to lead to that swelling in the legs, ankles and feet....so I can tell I sat here too long already..... hope you like the new look of the blog- looks more summer like....not a lot of options, but something a bit brighter for the season.

OH- by the way- NO we do not know the sex of the baby yet and NO, doc has not scheduled that next ultra sound.....we'll see what happens this Friday.

Went for a check up a while ago- baby is 29 cm at 29 weeks...right where it should be. I only gained 2 pounds...but this baby feels like 10 in there. Blood pressure and heart rate is fine, and the baby's heartbeat was good too. I will go sooner this next visit. I go again July 3rd, and then again in 2 week intervals for a bit then down to the weekly visits. We will have an ultra sound again, but the doctor will not give me a date. So, yes when we get to have that we will find out the sex. Trying to start getting some of the things we will need right away here and done. I just still seem so tired at night, I don't feel like doing too much. Humidity found northern Iowa hard the last few days- and man, that has really drained me. So, I will have to try to work hard this coming weekend to get stuff done. Kent has been home each night, working over at the s Dakota border, but now working over at Hinton starting this week. He got to feel the baby with the hiccups the other night, he thought that was cool.

John got his L-SAT test taken just before his 21st birthday. Wow that was a long test, and he is relieved to have it done. And happy to be a 'legal". I wish I could have been with him to celebrate. He will find out his score on the test at the end of the month. Long wait for him. I will pass that on later when we find out. I can feel it in my heart, that he did just fine!

Kent has some new farm equipment- and I will share pictures of that later....it is late and hotter than you know what up here in this room. Time to put Bullet to bed and then me and the BUG!

Mother's Day

Geez- I almost forgot! For Mother's Day Jess and I went to Denison and meet Mom, Trisa and Shyann. We had lunch and then went over to Bomgaar's shopping. I forgot to take a pic outside the restaurant, so we took over at Bomgaars in the parking lot. It was funny. So, we used the timer on the camera for the shot. That was so funny. People I am sure thought we were nuts, especially the people who wanted in their car while we used it for the backdrop! ha ha We all wish that Lisa could have made it...but she had important things to attend at church that day. So, hopefully we can all get together this month at the reunion for the Bain family. I plan to go unless something comes up. I want to see lots of people! Can just make a weekend out of it all.

BUG Update

I don't have any pictures, just info for the Bug in the oven. I saw the doctor on the 20th of May and did the glucose tolerance test. I passed with flying colors! My visit was during the 26th week of pregnancy and my belly measured 28 cm. So baby is slightly larger than the week count. Everything checked out well- blood pressure was good, I had not gained any weight and the baby's heartbeat was strong. I still have very little to no swelling, which is so surprising to me. I am starting to feel pressure in the rib cage and sides. I feel huge, but most say I look great. I think everyone is just being kind. The baby still does not enjoy my sitting down. It just kicks and moves all day while I am at work, sitting at my desk. It kicks while driving in the truck. I tried to set the seat back further, but I feel sorta stupid- like I am cruisin' the hood, and should be blastin' some rap music. Ha I am usually still worn out by 5pm, but still truck to the lake and do a lap or two for exercise during good weather. I really hate getting up in the morning. Seems like even early bedtimes do not help. I am forcing the water still, and eating lots of cool fruits and trying my hand at making smoothies here at home. I can not eat much at one time....not much room in there anymore. Jesselyn and I made it to the prenatal classes last month. She swears she is never going to have children after that first night. (birth videos!!) I was over come shortly before class with the thought of being the 'old woman' in the group- let alone being the only person who brings their 19 year child with them to class as a partner, rather than my husband! Well, I was the oldest for sure, I swear there was a 12 year old there! And I was the only "repeat offender" tagged by the teacher. I had more fun watching Jesselyn and hearing her reactions to the info presented to us. Most of it started to come back to me.....so I have been mentally preparing myself to know that I have done this before and I CAN DO IT AGAIN! I hope that maybe Kent will be close enough in July to attend at least the first night of class.....I can make it through again, he needs to learn about what will be taking place during labor, and what I will be needing of him. Well see how his schedule goes. He is working close by over at Westfield, which is an hour from the house, on the S Dakota border. He is actually be home each night, but plans on spending the rest of this week over there. So, just will be me and Jess here at the house. We can do mac and cheese and fruit for supper!!! yippee!

Me & My Men!

May 15th we went to Winnevegas again with Rick, Karma, Pandora and Dana to see Jake Owen in concert. That was fun, and afterward he did an autograph photo session. So, here I am with Jake, he is just too cute. Then May 23rd we went to Sanborn to Geoff Klump's graduation party and Aunt Ruby snapped a "pregnant" pic for us.... and well, Jake is cute, but check out daddy to be, now that is my man!!

A Little Weekend Fun

Well, this weekend was loaded with some more fun.....we had the Rodeo in Cherokee we went to on Friday, followed by a concert by Iowa native Shawn Mayer. She was the 3rd place winner on Nashville Star.

Sunday was full of sunshine and
fun over at Jerry and Carolyn's house. Barb,
Jeff and Jack were here along with Zach & Kristi, oh and we got to meet Edgar the dog this trip too. So, the whole family was there. Including the cutie pie above, Morgan. We celebrated some birthdays too with some ymmy ice cream cake. The kids played in the pool, it was in the 90's that day, but the wind was fierce! I was not going in that is for sure! It was fun to see the part of the family that lives so far away, but it was just one day on their way to more vacationing. Bullet needs to take some tips from Edgar, he knows lots of tricks, compared to Bullets 3!

I took advantage of time spent with Morgan and took a turn at a diaper! I did okay! Kent played with Morgan some, but won't hold her....afraid he might break her or she will spit on him. What a dope! What are we going to do with him!

Bullet Blog Time

Bullet has been doing good. He is pretty shaggy from the winter still. He has a favorite new toy from G-Ma Judy. He loves that thing and we have to play each night when I get home. I throw he retrieves...sorta. He also has discovered the 'sewer' outlet out in the back of acreage. Oh my, he loves to dig, and he loves to play in water. So, you can about imagine what he looks like when he 'digs' in that water! Oh.. brother! Out in front of his shed, I think he is trying to dig to China. And, he is quite the bird dog. He can chase them down like crazy. So far, he has not tried to kill himself off since Christmas. He is just a goofball, but we love him.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

I was taking my daily walk around Spring Lake Park today and there was some new little ducklings. Aren't they just the cutest! Spring has Sprung!

Come to think of it, I think that I am starting to look like them waddling around!

Meeting Morgan

Meeting Morgan at Easter was just the hightlight of our weekend. Jesselyn was home for awhile and joined us. Morgan is the newest baby in the family. She is just as beautiful as the day is long. Just so beautiful. Morgan is Nicole's first child, Nicole is LaRae's first child and LaRae is the first born to Carolyn. Now that is a chain of beautiful ladies.
This is Paulette, Carolyn's sister with Morgan. Easter was just full of beautiful ladies!

While at Ed and Patty's house on Sunday, Morgan and I had a lovely little snooze, right after her Easter Lunch and just before mine! She snuggled in so much that I could not help myself but to fall asleep too. It was absolutely wonderful.

ZZZZZZ

BUG in my Belly

Help- I have a BUG in my belly!!! A Baby of Unknown Gender that is!

This week marks the sixth month! Can you believe it! My last doc visit in April, my belly measured 22 cm at 22 weeks, right on target. The baby's heartbeat was about 150, and I only gained about 3 pounds, for a total of about 6 thus far. Not bad for an old woman. I have a few 'growing aches' here and there, but nothing drastic. I have heartburn most everyday. BUG is quite the mover and shaker. BUG is less that fond of my sitting position- which is required about 85% of my day at work. I am not sure if my bladder and other vital organs will last thru a few more months of constant kicking during the day! Better an active baby than not I am sure...and I welcome the movement. Kent has felt it, and he just grins. I can see it when it jumps around, but Kent is way too impatient to watch that long to see it. He can only see my breathing movements...he is too funny.

I apologize for these terrible pics. I took them of me by myself! That would have made the top 10 of America's Funniest Home Videos! Trust me! I will see about getting someone else to take the others from now on.

Baby's First Photos !

This shot is from the side, head to the left, belly to the right (kinda looks like mine now!) and you can see the spine along the bottom there. The round-ish area in the middle of all that, that is darkish, that is the baby's heart! So it looks like we have all the main parts!

Like I said, I see doctor tomorrow, so we'll see about that due date....moving it closer will not hurt my feelings at all, but that is closer to Jesselyn's birthday, and at this point she did not really want to share her one big day. Places it closer to Tyler Burns birthday though. That would be fun!

First Baby Photo

Well, here it is....the first photo of baby Smith! As you can see, it already found it's thumb! We had the ultra sound on the 19th. It weighs around 8 oz already, which according to the tech, means it is 5 days older than thought. I guess I will get official word from the doctor on that tomorrow when I go see Dr Harrison.

Kent went with me, you should have seen his face when he was watching the screen from behind the tech! It was fun just to watch him, 'cuz I could not see the screen. His head would slant to one side, then squint his eyes, then his head would move another direction, and he would move closer. It was like he was looking at an alien or something. Ha The tech, Mary who is Liz's mom, asked if we wanted to know the sex, and Kent shook his head no, so I told her no, not now anyhow. So for all the curious if we found out, we did not. We may later on, but for now it is any body's guess. So, boy or girl, which ever it is, it was moving in there and sucking on it's thumb....and I did not feel a thing!

Hip Business

Harrison's office called and asked me to come in to see her...in regard to hip. I swear I must look like a Weeble Wobble walking around! I walked around the plant today while the guys were at lunch- that helps keeping it mobile- which is rather hard at my job! Sit Sit Sit.

Still Some Sort of Hip

Well- I had to go see the Chiropractor again today- and my left hip is still out and seems to be as stubborn as I am and just won't go back in place. So, I get to ice it 4 times a day, use BioFreeze and try to walk as much as I can. Going to call doc tomorrow for suggestions as to what we might do to make this better. I can not sit too long, stand too long or lay down too long. Rather bothersome! Not sure at all how it came to be out of place, who could know. All I do know, it that I want to fix it as soon as we can, it hurts.

City Lights...Women's Night Feb 28th

RJ Thomas girls had a table reserved for the Ladies Night Out at Witt- we had 8 places, so I asked my friends Karma and Lisa to come. The speaker for the night was Pat McGill, "Where is my Tiara"- so yea, those are flashing tiaras on our heads! They were a hoot! There was a marketplace with local vendors, a fabulous supper and then the speaker. She was great. Christy Batien from KTIV news was the emcee for the evening. We had a great time and brought home a lot of information and new attitudes with us that night. I encourage anyone to go see this gal if she is anywhere close to you. She is a good self esteem builder. I am a princess!!!!!

Front row is Karma, Donna and Brenda Back row is Paula, me, Lisa and Karen. You can't see my tummy there very much I guess, but it is stickin' out some.