who, who... he?

I had an appointment yesterday, and everything is going well with me and Max. Although, I dropped my urine sample in the toilet. Does that make me unwell? Nice one.

People keep telling me that I look small for being 32 weeks pregnant, and I just tell them, "I don't feel small." I think it's because I carry Max "inside" as my mom calls it. She and my sister both looked smaller than average while pregnant. If I do indeed look smaller than the average pregnant woman, it does not reflect the size of the baby. I can assure you that Max is definitely bulkier than before and growing every day. I guess I'm supposed to be gaining a pound a week, and most of that is a result of Max plumping up, not me. I must have small organs for him to fit so snuggly "inside" of me. So what people really should be telling me is, "Wow, you have a really small pancreas." And for the record, I honestly don't think I look small.

I had been having hip discomfort while sleeping on my sides, and I knew it was my extra weight pushing on my sciatic nerve while my hips were stretching. Oh, pregnancy. I went in for an hour and a half massage, and Heather beat me up so good. I haven't had pain the last two nights. But back to the beating... While Heather was digging her knuckle into my glutes and hip joint, I was practicing relaxing like I'll need to do while giving birth. Despite the pressure and the pain, I tried to keep my muscles calm. I have to say that I did really well, and if that's any indication of how I'll deal with the pain of birth, then it'll be a cinch. Bwahahaha! I'm not serious. It took all my will power and concentration to stay relaxed, and that was probably a tenth of the pain I have coming my way.

Speaking of empowerment... My sister told me that her doctor once told her that she should just get drugs for pain because she didn't need to prove anything to herself, or something like that. He was referring to the "empowerment" that comes with giving birth without meds. Well, I'm not ashamed to say that part of the reason I want to give birth without meds is for empowerment. I am woman; hear me roar. And roar I will...right through each contraction.

In the meantime, I need to get a grip and quit acting like a fool by fishing urine samples out of the toilet. I don't want to be dropping Max on his big dome after I screamed him into this world.

proof

I just went to dinner with a friend and had Nate take a picture before I left... because I've only taken one or two profile shots since being pregnant. I'm at 31 weeks, which means in about 8 weeks I'll be a mom.

It still seems surreal.

feliz cumpleanos a mi

I celebrated another year of life today! The big 29.

I slept in after a long night with a headache. I didn't want to take any medicine, so I tried to get a dose of caffeine from about 10 chocolate chips. Worked like a charm. The only problem is that I dream about cakes and brownies and cookies almost every night now, so it added fuel to the fire. The first thing I did upon rising this morning was make chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. I had a good excuse.

Actually, before I even got out of bed I listened to a voice message from Nash and Haven singing me Happy Birthday and telling me they loved me. Best little runts ever.

Nate told me to go shopping and buy myself some new clothes last week, so I was a good wife and obeyed him. My two favorite purchases:



Nate and I went to see Warrior before heading to dinner, and we were both really impressed. The story, the acting, the directing, the music... all very well done. I knew it was supposed to be good, but I didn't expect to get emotional during a fighting movie. Nick Nolte (of all people) tugged at my heart strings.

We went to Pepin in Scottsdale for dinner. I had the cheese tortellini with chicken in a manchego cheese sauce with diced tomatoes and fresh basil. Nate had braised veal shank in a chorizo, tomato, garlic, onion, mushroom, and red wine sauce. Both meals came with a side of Spanish rice and steamed vegetables. Ah! It was DELICIOUS! Xavier, our waiter, is from Spain and chatted us up about the culture and cuisine. And then he took our picture. I promise that's not tortellini in my belly. There's a baby in there.

In the car on the way home, I belched (so womanly) and said, "Mmmmm..." to which Nate replied something like, "You know the food is good when you savor the burp afterward." Very true.

I think I love a good movie and good food more than almost anything. In other words, it was a really good birthday. Thanks, Nate.

sshhwooooshhh

Nate has been sick for a few days, but he decided to play a double-header last night with his law school buddies anyway. Their team is really good, so good that they had to end the first game early because they had 25 runs and the other team only had 3. I took my own chair to save my tailbone the anguish I would have experienced sitting on the bleachers for 3 hours, so I had a good view of the home plate and snapped a shot with my phone of Nate smashing the ball.



I was impressed that he ran the bases without fainting. Although, I did have to go to a nearby gas station to get him some Gatorade, so I guess you could say that I'm the wind beneath his wings.

the flip side

I remember looking at pregnant ladies and judging them before I knew what it was like being in their shoes. Frumpy dresses, pants that needed to be pulled up, not-so-cute patterns... And now, in a way, I've surrendered and become one of those ladies. I have more style than I seem to have these days. Sure, I'm still put together alright, but peasant skirts aren't really my thing, and this dress was bought yesterday... not in 1992 like it appears.

Shopping when you are pregnant is a drag. Not only do they not make very many cute clothes for maternity, they continue to make cute clothes for those who are not pregnant. I was once not pregnant, and I was once a person who bought cute clothes. I don't consider myself very materialistic, but when I am going to spend money on something, I make sure I darn well like or love it. Unfortunately, I am now confined to "maternity" and find myself making purchases more out of necessity than excitement, and there is always compromise. At least I won't have to do as much shopping for the next pregnancy. It's just that 1992 will be even more long ago than it is now... Some styles come back around, though, right?

an update

In the last few months, I've been reading about natural birth and have realized how little I knew. And I've realized there are options. I've chosen to have a midwife oversee my care, and today was my first visit with her. It was such a relief. I feel like everything I now know I want is what she promotes, unlike my previous doctor. She kept telling me I was healthy and young and had nothing to worry about. She even hugged me goodbye. I have never hugged a medical care provider in my life... except my grandma who is a retired nurse.

Max is doing well. He's been getting hiccups daily, kicking, and turning. I've been feeling relatively normal aside from an occasional sore back and insomnia.

My nanny job has ended, and I now work 25 hours at my other job. So far, so good. I spend most of my days there chatting with the therapists - all unique. Maria, with her German accent, likes to tell me about her three poodles. Liz, "Puma," reads the Bible every morning and teaches karate on the side. Richie is Italian and doesn't eat bread. Wah? Donna's workouts involve car tires. Heather grew up LDS and now makes her own flavored beers. Jenn has a husband and two kids and loves to bake. Koco, "Ninja," wears squeaky tennis shoes and is Susan's favorite. Susan, the office manager, is a former hippie with a pet-sitting business. And Dr. Jason, the boss man, collects sports memorabilia, the most recent purchase being a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth. I basically get paid to hear their stories.

Nate was accepted to the externship in D.C. which means we'll be moving back east in January. I'm beyond excited. It seems surreal at the moment. Although, the other day at work the AC was turned down real low and the sky seen through the glass doors was dark and cloudy as I munched on an apple... and the combination made me think of Fall back east, something I haven't experienced in a long time. But the point is - I've experienced it. It is real. It exists. Weather other than "HOT" exists, and I will be in it soon enough.

And that's the update, folks. Let Art sing us out. This song was in my head as I awoke this morning. Pregnancy does strange things to my brain.

Wallets & Wishes

This is Nate. I think I need to be better about posting.

So this week was pretty eventful. Two Fridays ago I lost (or at least thought) that I lost my wallet. I had it at work and then could not remember having it with me after that. It seems I get more absentminded when school starts - meaning I have a hard time with keys, bus passes, my phone, and my wallet. I inherited this wonderful trait from my Dad. I remember him offering us a dollar to the first of his kids who could find his keys/wallet/other random item.

On Saturday night we drove up to Snowflake to see Aaron and Jasmine's baby boy, Isaac. He looks like a Dunford. I thought that I had simply left my wallet at home in my gym bag after working out on Friday. We got home on Sunday night and it was later, so I didn't even bother looking for it. The next day I went to school like normal but couldn't get into the library because I didn't have my wallet. That night I looked and looked for it but it was nowhere to be found (in my gym bag, school pack, briefcase, etc.). I emailed my coworkers to see if it was on my desk or in a drawer. I called the New York Pizza Department to see if I had left my wallet there during lunch (it is great getting a free lunch - I could be an intern forever). It wasn't there either, nor was it in or on my desk. Wednesday my law school buddies usually play basketball and the student center but I couldn't play because I still had not found my wallet.

I had come close to consigning myself to cancelling credit and debit cards, getting a new license, student ID, costco card, temple recommend, etc. when I decided to say a prayer with Em on Wednesday night when I got home. So we did, and Em asked me, "Could it be in any other bag?" I responded in the negative. As she was making dinner, Em started humming a song from Aladdin (I think it was the Prince Ali Ababuah song). Remembering that I had a DVD copy from the Dunford family library of Aladdin, I asked her if she wanted to watch it. She replied in the affirmative. So I went to our spare room that we keep closed (to save on the AC bill) to get the case with my not-so-legal DVDs. The first thing I saw when I opened the door was my softball bag and I remembered that on Saturday I had gone to hit some softballs with some friends and had left my walled in the side pocket. There it was! Crisis averted! Seems I owe Em $1.

What are the chances that Em just happened to be humming a song from Aladdin? A movie that isn't on our shelf but is only in our back room - the only place I keep my softball bag. So it is good to know that Em is in tune with the Spirit and that he can manifest himself through Disney. It is also good to know that I will soon have one more person that I can promise a dollar to in order to help me find whatever item I have most recently lost. Maybe with inflation I will be generous and promise him $5 once he gets old enough to help out his forgetful father.

trend me some of that

You can't see me, but I have a HUGE grin across my face.

It's almost over.