Dear Lentil

Ok, this may or may not be the first of many complaints I will have to direct to Little Lentil.

On Friday, Mr. M and I went to my monthly check-up at the OB's office. For the past few weeks, I've noticed that my hands go numb. That's it. Just NUMB. My arms feel fine, my shoulders, back and neck....fine.

Just my hands. Like when I sleep, I wake up to go pee (which is like four times in a night), and my hand is more asleep than I am.

So...we mentioned that little fact to the doctor. He goes "ahhh, so you're experiencing pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome."

WHAT!?!??!

So this means that for the next twenty weeks, my hands are going to be numb!?!?

Seriously.

It's the oddest feeling - you know when you fall asleep on your arm, and you wake up to feel like your arm is dead? It feels like that, except it's ONLY my hands.

Apparently, my circulation is getting cut off at my wrists because my ligaments, veins and arteries are swollen. From heat.

Yes. From heat.

It hit 80 degrees one day last week.

I'm totally screwed this summer. I guess this means that my ankles are going to turn into cankles, and my hands are going to look like baseball mitts.

Lovely.

Oh. On a positive note, I have my "big" ultrasound in four weeks...! Not that we changed our minds with regard to finding out Lentil's sex...but we'll find out if Lentil's growing properly! Oh...and speaking of tests. I have to make an appointment with the Vampires for my AFP test.

Yuck.

Week 18!

Eeeek! I can't believe that in two weeks, I will reach the half-way mark of my pregnancy!

I also can't believe that in six weeks, I will reach Viability. This means that in the unfortunate and unlikely event that I go into early labour, Lentil has a 50% chance of surviving outside my womb, and each day that passes, the probability of survival just goes up.

KNOCK ON WOOD.

We want Lentil to bake until he/she's at a very nicely, well done point...at least 38 weeks.

I unfortunately don't have any photos for this week because we haven't finished moving and organizing, so I have no mirrors...and by the time Mr. M gets home from work, I'm normally already in PJ pants.

Shit. We don't even have our wireless router set up yet! This means that we are functioning on ONE laptop at a time, and we're sitting on the floor right in front of the tellie, which is where the modem was installed. Not very comfy.

This weekend, we'll be officially out of the old apartment, too! Yay for getting out of there. This new place is HEAVEN. It's quiet, Apollo Puppy is relaxed, and our kitchen is HUGE!

Pregnancy-wise, though, I've been very lucky. I've had very little in the way of pregnancy "side effects". Asides from some lethal gas, occasional heartburn, and the fact that my skin is really breaking out, I've never felt better!

Ok. I lie. Lentil's head is sitting (or was at week 15) smack on top of my cervix, which causes some pretty nasty shooting pains in my lower abdomen.

But, I can't wait to meet this little Lentil growing inside of me. Every day that passes, I have a fear that something terrible is going to happen. I guess it's normal to have these fears. Now that I'm out of the so-called danger zone of the first trimestre, and right in the middle of my second trimestre, my main fears are things like early labour, leaking fluids, or something like that. Especially since I'm doing so much physical activity now, with the move and all.

The other day, I felt a little pop in my tummy - like a flutter. So I'm pretty sure it was Lentil, beginning to explore "kicking mummie's ass". But I haven't felt anything since then...which I'm assuming may be due to the fact that I'm moving around so much, Lentil is lulled.

Anyway...I must get a move on...there are some more things that I can put away...first, though I need to shower. I stink.

The Mess of Moving

Ok...so it's really only when you move that you realize how much shit you've accumulated in whatever time you've lived in a specific place.

Not only that, but yours truly forgot to call the electric company to have them turn on the power - a move that requires some technician to actually COME to your home in order to flip a switch.

And guess what? Unlike the cable guys, electric company techs don't work on weekends. GASP!!!

So, we did move everything except the bed and a few items we need/use on a daily basis to the new house. Well, most of it. We got the couch up the stairs to the second floor apartment we will now begin considering home, only to realize that we couldn't get it in unless we sawed it in half.

So, back around the boys go, back down the stairs, back to the moving truck with the couch.

Shit. Now we have to buy a new couch - and fast. My mum's coming to town in a few weeks, and she'll need somewhere to sleep!

Those who helped us move were my father and step-mum-in-law, my BFF's hubby, my step-MIL's son and his girlfriend, and Mr. M's friend, Ant. And they ALL had better and more important things to do, like write papers for school, get ready for a trip (leaving at 3:30AM this morning), prepare for today's baptism, sleep.

Absolutely fabulous, those people. Love them to pieces. We bought them lunch and beer, and then dinner and beer. After step-MIL and I ditched the boys and went to Marshalls' in search of a bathing suit for her upcoming vaction...we had a blast even though we were exhausted, and probably smelled from a mile away.

ANYWAY....

ENOUGH.

Here's last week's tummy photo.


I think I really need to start having Mr. M take the tummy photos. It's tough to take a good pic when in front of a tiny mirror.

Anyway...the move went well. Not done yet, as I stated...and yup. 'Twas my fault. LOL Oh well...

Oh...by the way. I am SORE. Sore and tired. But...

After tomorrow, we will be 100% in our new (QUIET) home. We're so happy about that.

Seriously, put on your big girl panties

Everyone knows that kids are hard work. We all also know that every child is different.

But if you choose to be stay home and raise kids, keeping your home at least somewhat clean and tidy, is also your job. It might be an unpaid job, yes, but it is a job, and it should be done with pride.

If you choose to stay home, do nothing but sit on Facebook, take pictures of your 2 year old son, as well as yourself in some pretty provocative poses and clothing (when you're 7 months pregnant) to post on said Facebook; and these pictures show that your home looks like a pig-sty......don't fracken complain to the world on Facebook when your husband comes home from work and complains. When this is coming from a 19 year old girl, I swear to God, it really pisses me off.

Life is not so difficult for you. Yes, your family lives far away. Yes, you are stuck at home with no transportation to go outside. No, you probably don't have your own spending money, and you might have to account for anything and everything you spend of your husband's meager salary. You don't have ANY bills to worry about, because HE pays them for you. Seriously, his attitude may change if he can come home to a cleaner home that doesn't look like it belongs in a shantytown, with tin roof and all, and quite possibly also, if his 2 year old isn't running around in a diaper, looking as though he got into a Mud Well.

I think this is one reason why the divorce rate is so high among younger people.

I would divorce ME if I came home to that.

Although I admit there are times that I just want to curl up in bed doing absolutely nothing but pet Apollo, read a good book and listen to music.

But I can't do that. I have a child to take care of. Even though Lentil is in my tummy still, my [lack of] of activity could be detrimental not only to his/her health, but to my own health later on down the road.

Not working does hurt my self-esteem. But at least I try. Even if I won't be in the work force for much longer, having a child doesn't put me out for good. Maybe a few months, maybe a few years at a time. We're not sure.

Even though we're moving in less than two weeks, our home has never been cleaner since I've been unemployed.

Apollo has never been happier that his Mummie is home with him.

Yes, I do ask Mr. M if I can spend even $30 on something. That's just my own common decency. It's still my own money, but at one point this year, it will be OUR money, and a larger purchase would still require a discussion between us. He won't freak out if I spend $10 on something, but if I come home with a $200 coat, he has every single right to be pissed at me.

I guess what this entire post is about, is the sad fact that so many people underestimate the power of personal choice.

Your life is what you make of it.

Tummy Week 16

Here is my tummy this past Tuesday:


I love it that Lentil's making a physical appearance.

But apparently, the heartburn came back - with a vengeance. I have also noticed ridges in my nails, when I've never had them before. Again, Lentil's stealing my nutrition.

Asides from that, things are looking up. I may have a job - went on an interview on Thursday, was "test-driven" on Friday, and will be test-driven again on Monday. Hopefully, I won't need unemployment, for which I have a hearing on Wednesday.

Ahh..hold on. On Tuesday, I managed to pick up a Pack 'n Play and a Peg Perego stroller from two people...I paid $40 and $25, respectively. They were set up all week here at home, but I forgot to take pics.

Score one for me!

So, playing with Mrs. C and the girls. The Chicken, as I call her, is 3. She's a spitball of energy. The Egg is 5 months old, and is such a cool baby.

And Mrs. C...is well, Mrs. C. She's my best friend.

We had a blast. We went to Soup Alley (HEAVEN), went to the grocery store, all the time, Chicken is sitting in the cart, farting away. The Egg is sitting there, pooping. She had this super-duper concentrated expression on her face...that's how I know.

Afterwards, we just hung out. The Egg slept, and Mrs. C and I played outside with Chicken. She is such a goofball.

Last night, we went to visit some a childhood friend of Mr. M's, with his wife in their new home. We had so much fun, we had pizza, I drank lots of Clausthaler Non-alcoholic beer, and we laughed our asses off.

Mr. M and I spent the afternoon packing. I'm done. Gnight, y'all.

Good riddance!

Mr. M and I signed our new lease yesterday.

I had a job interview on Saturday. Part time job, but it was something to get me feeling as though I'm worth something. I'm sure I'll hear a yay or nay by the end of the week - hopefully. It does get quite boring sitting at home all day, especially since I have orders from the doctor to NOT do much walking and stuff.

It's fantastic. We can begin moving now - we have the keys. We're so excited to be moving into our second home together, and hopeful that this one will be our last until we buy a house.

We're actually more excited to be getting out of our current place than we care to describe. It's going to be a very nice, quiet change.

We did have a busy weekend. Yesterday, I almost died in the heat and humidity - but someone mentioned that I should just sit back and enjoy the belly in the summer; take advantage and drink lots of smoothies, eat lots of sorbets. Yummy!

Today, I started packing. I managed to pack away all the china, glassware, and some books. All of this before running out of boxes. Tomorrow, I'll take a break - Lentil's getting a little upset at at me for moving so much - feeling a lot of pressure in my tummy. I've got a plan to go to the dr.'s office in order to get a signature on some paperwork, and in the effort to take advantage of being in that area, I'm going to go visit my BFF, Mrs. C, and her two little girls. Yay!

On the tummy note: Lentil is going through a growth spurt, I think. I'll post some photos tomorrow.