Thanksgiving at The Eriksson's

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Matt's cousins, The Eriksson's. We had great (truly moist) turkey (Jack says the secret is soaking it overnight in brine), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (or yams?), butternut squash soup, salad, cranberry compote and two different kinds of dressings (regular and oyster!). The meal was delicious!! We had the greatest time afterwards eating dessert and listening to vinyl records! Do you remember Squeeze, Talking Heads, The Jam, The The and Elvis Costello?

Names, names, names.........

My creativity is being tested as Laura sets a deadline to choose names. She has a lot of rules which kind of take all of the fun out of it. We have had some help with this while complying with the rules, (three syllables, has to have a flow, can't be too funny,...etc.), so that leaves out great names like Erik's suggestion of Banana (which meets most of the criteria). Personally I prefer something that would make any given grade school teacher blush while trying to figure out the proper pronunciation, but Laura has another rule that the name has to be easy enough for the child to pronounce at an early age (thus, the old Irish suggestions). But in all reality, the kid will learn how to pronounce his/her name long before they learn to spell it anyway, so what's the difference there? Any votes for Amhlaoibh (Olaf), Beibhinn (Bayvin), Meadhbh (Maeve), or Proinsias (Francis), with my personal favorite being Caoilfhionn (Kaylin). Please don't limit your suggestions to those on the voting slate, but they have to be creative and have some significance.

5 lbs. in 3 wks!

I saw the doctor again. I gained 5 pounds in the last 3 weeks - Yikes! Matt thinks it's all between my ears, which I think is a compliment. The 4 weeks before that I gained no weight so I guess the baby is playing 'catch up.'

The whole time I was at the doctor they referenced the baby as a BOY! He this...he that...His... It was driving me crazy. I'd prefer to call it "the baby" or "it." Matt says that it's a boy because it has to balance out the girl energy from our dogs...but I quickly remind him that our dogs are fixed and there's no doggy-girl energy around! Duchess wears the ugliest green collar (that Matt seems attached to) and Penny looks and acts like a boy dog all the time. I'm not going to mention the kinds of things she chews up and eats!

the calm before the ...holidays!

It's really quiet and peaceful this weekend, but the fun of the holidays is about to begin!

more blood

The nurse called today and my glucose was normal - Yeah! Unfortunately, the lab people put my blood in the wrong tube so my hemoglobin could not be tested. BAD LAB PEOPLE! They know it took me 3 tries to give the blood...and now I have to do it again! Last time my hemoglobin level was 11.8 but it needs to be 12. I'm going to eat lots of meat this weekend to get my level up for the blood withdraw on Monday. Yuck!

I'm in the process of getting help for this needle/blood phobia. The psychology department has a desensitization program. At the intake, the director told me that there is a genetic component to blood withdraw. I didn't really understand it, but it seems that there is a physiologic reason for people to fear giving blood. It really does make you feel different and lowers your blood pressure. I guess it's good to know that it's a typical phobia. I do get special attention because I'm pregnant - it's not like I'm suddenly afraid of spiders - eek!

Turkey Time!

We had some fun over coffee this morning! My Tuesday morning friends (they are friends all the time, not just Tuesdays) helped me to get ready for the holiday next week. Don't worry - it's paint that is made for pregnant people - all non-toxic, washable and not itchy.

child care

46. We're number 46 on a waiting list for 9 newborn spots at the Child Care Center. The odds aren't so good, especially since their are 9+ siblings waiting for those precious spots. Siblings of children already at the child care center get first priority, then UH students, then staff, then faculty...and you guessed it, I'm faculty. It's a great, safe, warm, loving child care center that almost all faculty use (obviously lots of students use it too). It's across the street from my building so it's so easy to walk over and breastfeed, which is highly encouraged. We'll find out if we're definitely in or out in April when enrollment forms go out to those that are higher on the list. In the meantime, I've called around and no one (except the child care centers that misspell their names - e.g. Dimples Acatame or Kiddie Kollage) has a place available. I'm sure we'll find something or someone, but any suggestions are welcome!

Oh! The glucose test went well (I don't have results yet) but I made it through. Matt and I found the nursery, but could only see 2 babies. It's a small hospital and the nurses around seemed very nice. My parents came down to meet us for dinner to celebrate the test being finished! Thanks for celebrating with us!

3rd times a charm

Tomorrow I'm going for my third attempt at finishing the glucose test. I tried Tuesday. Then Wednesday I actually got closer to doing it (saw the drink, talked more about the blood withdraw). The last chance is tomorrow. I'm fearful of the needles and blood removal! There's nothing worse than knowing that I have 5 minutes to drink a nasty tasting drink then ONE HOUR to wait until blood is drawn...and knowing that I can't freak out because they have to get the blood within a 5 minute window. Anxiety is the worst! Matt's coming with me and we scheduled it at 4 pm so everyone will move quickly to get the weekend started. During the hour wait we'll walk around the hospital and see if we can find the nursery.

In the meantime, I've signed up for some desensitization therapy with the psychology department at UH. My department shares half a building with psychology so I walked over (with a friend) to ask whether they had some sort of program to help with anxiety over needles, IVs and shots. Lucky for me, they do! I'll keep you updated.

Sunday afternoon

Matt was home alone this weekend and finished lots of projects! He did laundry and dishes, trimmed the bougainvillea (with scars to prove it), caught up with old friends AND finished the rollers on the bookshelf! We now can empty all the boxes of books and place them back in the bookcase. Wanna see what it was like?

last trip til baby

I went to the lake house to visit Dan, Sandy, Carol and Tiffany this weekend. It was my last trip until the baby arrives. It was a good, relaxing visit, as always. Good food and good times. We even fed the Jacksonville carp dog food so that they won't starve to death (they already ate all the hydrilla).

not here or there, not anywhere!

We received disappointing news today: We can't travel to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. My doctor says that I can't travel starting at 28 weeks...and the week of Thanksgiving is the beginning of that time for us. It's quite a bummer since we were all looking forward to the visit.

I'm a bit perplexed about my doctor's recommendation. He's not very conservative with other things (although he did make me stop bowling!) but it's best to be safe than sorry...and delivering a premature baby in the backwoods of Louisiana (no offense to those from Louisiana) does seem very daunting to say the least. Dr. P says that flight attendants aren't allowed to fly starting at 28 weeks so I can't either. He says driving is just as dangerous because of the risk of an accident (which he admits could happen in Houston as well) in which the trauma could separate the placenta from my uterus.

Already bored...

The Tin Man

Marc told Matt that once the baby arrives that Matt will grow a heart. It'll beat out of his chest when he sees and holds the baby. Marc's not saying that Matt is heartless now; just saying that having a baby changes you and makes your heart grow. I can't wait! Will Matt love the baby as much as he loves Duchess? ...that remains to be seen.

a moose in the forest...with a proud papa

Here's a snapshot from our Halloween weekend. We went camping and Duchess played her role as the moose in the forest. She wore the costume all day!

We had a great time with Kathy, Patrick, John and Ashley. The weather was perfect for camping!