Don't Drink the Orange Stuff

I had my glucose test on Thursday and will find out in about a week if I have the diabetes or not. Provided my test results are even readable since I managed to show up for my appointment 5 minutes early but somehow was 10 minutes late for the blood test. Plus I drank some water after drink the nasty, nasty orange drink so that may have also wrecked my test. I should really have read the directions for this because I DO NOT want to have to drink the glucose again. It is disgusting. Truly gross. It is certainly the sweetest thing I have ever had in my life. I would say it is comparable to liquid orange jello made with corn syrup. I had my whole office watching me drink this stuff because I was apparently making hysterical faces while doing it.

In other news, my weight gain is back on a good track. I now weigh 173lbs. That seems like so damn much. It feels almost impossible to lose that all after the kid is born.

The baby's movement has picked up considerably; it also can be felt from the the outside now. Sometimes when I am just laying around it feels like I have a tiny screen playing Fists of Fury inside my tum. It's very odd but not so distracting that I can't sleep or anything. Then again, there is very little on earth that makes it so I can't sleep.

The Go, Go (Red) Sox

Week: 24
Fetus: about 12 in., over 1 lb.
Waist: Post dinner, not gonna bother. Mmmm, meatloaf.

Wow, this is one lucky baby. For his first Red Sox games he got to see, well hear maybe, the Sox pound the White Sox over three games for a total of 35 or so runs. Plus there was another ass beating today. It's a shame I didn't have tickets for this game because the day was absolutely beautiful. I don't think my butt could handle another three hours in a stadium seat however. In all, I spent 14.5 hours at US Cellular Field spread over three days. I think I am done attending games for a while. One problem I had with going to so many games in a row was that none of my Red Sox gear currently fits me other than the ratty t-shirt that I sleep in and the other one with bleach spots and holes. Considering I was watching one of the games with a group from work (including the head of my department and the company's CFO) I needed something that was in a little better shape. I looked around the interwebs for maternity Sox tees and found a few for around 25 bucks but with the overnight shipping needed to get the shirt on time for the games it would probably cost me closer to 40 dollars. Not for one damn shirt. I am cheap. Very Cheap. Cary, the genius that she is suggested I make my own which is frickin brilliant. So on Wednesday night Bruce and went to Target and grabbed two men's t-shirts for 5 bucks each and the on to JoAnn Fabrics for some paint (poor Bruce. I think that store gives him hives) and I made my own Red Sox maternity shirts, one of which I am modeling above.

Here is a better look at the design (and my giant breasts). I did that myself! Total cost for two shirts came in at 20 dollars so it was an even better deal than straight up buying one. They didn't even take that long to make once the stencil was drawn and cut out. I am quite pleased with myself and have kept the stencil and plan on maybe using it to decorate other stuff for the baby.

In other news I am due for another appointment this Thursday. This one is the big glucose screening test for the gestational diabetes. I am hoping to pass, clearly, but with the good luck I have been having with the pregnancy so far, I keep expecting the bottom to fall out soon. Every time my rings get too tight all of a sudden I am like, "Arrrrgh! preeclampsia!!! Oh Noes!" and then I realize that I am being a freak and calm myself down. But damn, I can't feel totally fine the entire nine months right? That can't possibly be normal.

Baby's First Red Sox Game...

... was supposed to be on Thursday night but after sitting at US Cellular Field for almost 3 hours, they finally called the game at 9:30.

The game was rescheduled on Friday as the first half of a double header to which I also had a ticket for the night game. Due to work hating my department, we had a half day already planned so it was no problem to hop over to the Cell to take in two fantastic ball games. Red Sox won both, 11-3 and 10-1. In total, I spent 9 hours at the ball park yesterday. Bruce lucked out and only got around 4 hours logged. That may seem like a lot but I am hoping to hit 15 for the week by attending the Saturday game as well. With my luck, this one will go into extras.

For the record, you do tend to get strange looks when you are trying to explain the concept of "Jason Varitek" to your stomach.

Same Ol', Same Ol'

Week: 22
Fetus: about 10.9 in., 16 oz.
Waist: 39 inches

My being pregnant is now a known fact in my office thanks to the day on the booze cruise a few weeks ago. Everyone knows and asks me about it regularly. I get asked how I'm doing at least five times a day if not more. I can tell it's not just idle chit chat "what's up" how you doing. It's "How Are you feeeeeling?" Every single time I reply, "Fine" because I have no idea what my answer should be and actually I do feel fine. I never had morning sickness, my energy is pretty good and I feel relatively normal. When you ask a pregnant woman how they feel, you can't possibly be expecting a positive answer right? The expectations are more along the lines of nausea, backaches and swollen feet. Do these people really want me to bitch? Because I will. I will bitch their ears off. Not about pregnancy related stuff of course, I like to complain about stuff and will use any opportunity to my advantage. Or are they looking for some positive attitude, perky answer? I am supposed to be all, "I feel great. I feel connected to mother earth and understand my role in the process of life an creation. I am at one with the universe?" Cause I don't. Mostly I just feel fat.

Speaking of. I should have mentioned earlier that not everyone at work had quite caught on yet to the whole baby situation. Last night I was informed of a conversation one of my co-workers, K., had with another woman in my office, C. Keep in mind that it is K. relating this story. So here, a short play in one act.

On the Boat in the past
K. & C.: talking amongst themselves
(Leah walks by)
K.: Wow. Leah sure has been packing on the pounds lately, hasn't she? She used to be so skinny you could see right through her.
C.: She's pregnant
K.: Oh

Softball Game in the present
K.: I wasn't going to tell you this because what I said originally was so awful.
Leah: All I heard was that you thought I was skinny

THE END

Oh and did I mention, K. is a VP in HR?

It's Gonna Be A...

BOY!

You can see how the ultrasound
-ologist helpfully highlighted the pertinent, um, parts that led to her conclusion.

Week: 21
Fetus: about 10.5 in., 12 oz.
Veggie Equivalent according to BabyCenter: I think we are done with this now
Waist: 38.5 inches

My visit today began with the ultrasound session which took about twice as long as it should have. Firstly, I had to get up and pee halfway through. They need your bladder to be full to take certain images and measurements and once she had completed those I begged to go relieve myself before my bladder exploded. Even the bathroom break took longer than necessary because laying on my back for that long had made me feel faint and I needed Bruce to escort me to the bathroom to make sure I didn't pass out in the hallway. When I got back we went back to work to get the last few images however, the little kiddo would not cooperate. The ultrasounder just needed to take one more measurement and we would be done but nooooooo. That was not going to happen. The baby, who apparently sleeps like me, just refused to wake up and move into a position that would allow her to get the measurement needed to estimate the weight. Of course in the process, I got light-headed again and kept having to roll over onto my side to prevent myself from fainting. By the time she finally finished getting what she needed, I was exhausted.

My visit with the doctor was much better, very short and sweet. Well, not so sweet. It seems I gained a bit too much weight this time around. Only a couple of pounds more than I should have and they are probably directly related to the weather. Since it has been mid-80s plus and humid for the last two weeks or so, I have not exercised one damn bit. Unless you consider sitting in front of the AC unit in my bedroom to be exercise. My doctor does not. Chastened, I did work out this evening to my newly arrived Denise Austin DVD for preggos. I will have a full review of that coming later.

So that is all for today. I need to get back to my busy schedule of sweating and cursing the lack of cold fronts in the area.

My Tummy

I have had several requests for pictures of my belly from people so here it is. Can you see all those veins? No? how about in this one?
Ready for something really disturbing? I am warning you, this is not a photo for the faint of heart.
Try not to get sucked into my belly button. I think it has it's own gravitational field. Like a black hole.

Welcome to Our Crazy-Ass Family...

Quentin Joseph Rupon
August 2, 2007
7 lbs., 10 oz.

Look at that big round head. He's definitely half Bard, that's for sure. Congrats, Keira and Jeremy. Now you just need to move out of Mom and Dad's house.

That's enough about people who are not me. Next Monday I am going back to the doctor for my regular visit and I will also be having an ultrasound. Unlike K&J, I do not wish to be surprised when the kid finally pops out so we are going to try and find out the baby's sex. If it will be cooperative that is. However, since this one will also be half Bard, cooperative is not very likely. Big round heads on the other hand, totally are. If anyone wants to be shocked in the big day mid-December, tell me now because I will surely be broadcasting it quite loudly and frequently once I find out.