Keir is sleeping soundly, and my back is killing me. Glad one of us is relaxed. I’ll catch up on sleep when I am dead. Oh, and my sister is still….the way she has always been, to put it lightly. It seems my parents are possibly beginning to actually take notice. Guess we’ll see how that turns out.
Sleeping through the night
Well, our little one has been consistently sleeping through the night. And as of the last two nights, he’s been sleeping for at least 8 hours. Tickled about this? I must say I am. We are so blessed to have such a laid back little boy. Though, he does have quite a temper at times! I love him so much, it’s amazing to see him grow and develop. I am excited to discover the person he is going to become. Every day, he becomes more inquisitive, and learns more about the world, and at the same time, he’s teaching me new things as well. It’s wonderful. We took him on his first cross-country trip two weeks ago, and he did great! Slept through all four plane rides. We did have a couple of hiccups on the part of the airline (namely their booking our three month old boy on a separate flight to Chicago while our tickets were headed to Denver), but everything was quickly and efficiently sorted out, and we were on our way in no time. I also met the family of my husband’s ex-fiancee, which..was interesting. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I must it did bring up some immature feelings (aka the green eyed monster), but they were more than welcoming to me, and I liked them all very much.
New Additions
Well, I have not updated in ages, as I’ve had my hands full to say the least. I gave birth on May 9th, after being induced 3 weeks early. I made it to 3 centimeters dilated before they decided they were going to have to do a c-section. Keir was born at 6:42 pm, weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz.
He’s now more than two months old, and we have both learned so much! Despite being a preemie, he seems to be advanced developmentally. He’s cuter than I ever could have imagined. Kevin has actually been helping me quite a bit, though he’s not perfect (who is?). Keir now weighs almost double what he did at birth. He’s been sleeping through the night fairly consistently (around 10-11pm. to about 6am.), so we are doubly blessed to have such a laid back baby.
I’ve started jobhunting a little bit, but not putting much effort into it yet. While I really want to work, it’s going to be very difficult to leave him. I’m still learning to cope with everything that comes at me, and I sometimes feel overwhelmed. But I’m pretty sure that feeling is normal. And I’m fortunate to have my parents living nearby to take care of him when I need a break on the weekends. It’s hard to stay out late, though. I get wiped out quickly.
All in all, life is pretty good. I am looking forward to finding my first post-grad job, but Life has decided that I probably need to wait a bit before that happens.
Equine Escape Artists
I got a call from Animal Control this morning, to see if our horses were out. They’ve gotten out before, which is why they have our number. The last time, they enjoyed a good romp up and down the road, and some said they even chased a car or two. I was thinking about all this when I went out to do a headcount. Fortunately for me and my super pregnant body, the boys were out grazing, and Sadie was enjoying the shade of the barn. I think they were hoping I’d come out to feed them early today. I still think it is possible they snuck back in. They would totally pull something like that.
On the baby scene, I’ve been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. It may have had something to do with my sweet tooth and my allowing it go nuts during this whole thing. Not that I’m admitting to anything. O:) Actually, it probably has more to do with the fact that I am over 25 and have a LONG history of diabetes on both sides of my family. Genetics definitely failed me this time. So the sweet tooth thing was probably just the last nail in the coffin of my love of chocolate. Only 7 more weeks, I hope. I am now considered “high risk” and will be seeing a specialist for it tomorrow. Hopefully we can manage it through diet, though I will probably have to start monitoring my blood sugar with a glucose meter (that means stabbing myself several times a day with a tiny needle). Not looking forward to it, but I don’t want it to last past the pregnancy. It all kind of explains why my belly’s been so big. Bigger babies are just one result of the condition. Hard to say for sure if that’s why he’s big, but I’m suspicious.
Spilled Milk
So my 3D ultrasound is coming up this Wednesday. I am a bit excited. I am hoping the Belly Dweller will be cooperative. Belly is continuing to grow and grow. I feel absolutely ginormous. I may get around to actually taking some pictures of it at some point. I’m due on May 31st, so we’re currently at week 30. Only 10 more to go!
Kevin and I have been getting along fairly well. He still has his aspie moments, and I do not particularly enjoy them. Yesterday, he got angry and yelled at me to put the milk away (which I wasn’t done with). When I refused due to his tone, he grabbed it, and threw it out in the field, wasting approximately half a gallon. It wasn’t the worst meltdown he’s had, but it reminds me that while things have been going smoothly, we still have issues. I really hope that he will go to a personal counselor. Maybe one who is familiar with Asperger Syndrome, and has experience treating it. They also have a local support group for people with it, and I think it would do him some good to attend and meet other people with it.
My back still hurts… but on the bright side, this picture is adorable:
Vehicular Manslaughter
Well, we are buying a car today. I managed to talk him into going used finally. So now we can continue to feed ourselves, and the baby when he gets here. We are set to sign the papers today. It’s huge, so it is going to take some getting used to. I’m used to a tiny little 2 door coupe, and Kevin wanted nothing but a full sized SUV. I do think I can learn to drive it, but I do wish we’d gone for something a bit smaller and more fuel efficient. It will be quite nice for hauling things, and we will even be able to tow a small horse trailer with it when we can afford one.
Baby is becoming more and more active with each day, and I’ll have my next appointment this coming Monday. He seems to be growing steadily, and other than frequent pains and strains, we are both healthy. Definitely beginning to feel the side affects of my weight gain, though. Back, ache, and hips are all starting to feel it. And if I walk around the store for too long, my legs begin cramping up. I hope this is worth it. He’s making me totally miserable some days. He better be really smart! 
I know he will be, though.
In other life areas, I have not spoken to my sister since Thanksgiving. I missed her at first, and still do occasionally. But I’ve come to realize what an unhealthy influence she has been on me all these years. I won’t go into great detail on here, but I’ve grown tired of living with and being a slave to her antics. It feels amazing to be free of it. I know my mother doesn’t understand, and that it hurts her that I have ended the relationship, but I’ve spoken with my therapist about it frequently, and I know this is the best thing for me. I’m beginning to feel the pressure from my mother though, to bend and allow my sister access to us when the baby gets here. “She wants to be an aunt” she says…but she certainly doesn’t act like it. They don’t expect anything of her because they are used to bending to her will, and expect me to do the same. But I’ve had quite enough of that. I am feeling good about this change. It’s not an easy one, but I know I must stand strong.
Cutting her off from me has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself.
Post Valentine’s Massacre (For the Chocolate)
Well, I just got up a few minutes ago after my date with my husband last night. He surprised me by going to Equestria, which I’d been wanting to try (being the horsey person that I am). I had a great time. Better than Kevin, I’d say. Everything I ordered we both loved, and I think he was a bit jealous of the duck I had. It was all so delicious. We were both pretty sleepy so we headed home right after dinner, and more or less passed out on the couch for a little while before we went to bed.
Got up this morning, and my dog still seems to be feeling poorly. She’s had congestive heart failure for more than two years now, and I have to say, it is a miracle that she has stayed with me this long. I really feel that her extension on life has been a much needed blessing from God. I’m not the most devout person around, but when I look at her, I know I’ve been given an amazing gift. It hurts to see her fade like this. I hope that I will know the right time to make things peaceful for her, without being selfish and making her suffer.
The Kicker
So he’s been kicking me like crazy lately. Including various internal organs. There’s a big sale going on at Target this week, so I ordered my crib, stroller and car seat (with owls on it! so cute), a bassinet for downstairs, and a set of pacifiers that I couldn’t resist. He is actually kicking me as I type. The newness has not quite worn off on this, and I could sometimes spend hours poking my belly and waiting for a reaction, which I sometimes get. I had another appointment on January 31st, and everything went really well. His heartbeat is strong, and all of my lab results were normal, and my weight gain was good as well. I am getting some stretch marks on my belly. Not really thrilled about that. But there’s apparently not much you can do to prevent them. I did get some lotion with cocoa butter to put on it, hopefully that will help them fade somewhat. No guarantee though. I woke up at 5 this morning with the dog asking to go out. I haven’t been able to go back to sleep yet. 
Hopefully I’ll get in a few more hours of rest at some point today.
Boy Trouble
So it is official, Kevin and I are having a boy. We are right at 22 weeks as of today. He is looking quite healthy, and I’m able to finally start picking things out on our baby registry. Kevin was absolutely thrilled. Everyone kept saying it was going to be a girl, and he was really really hoping for a boy (I never did get that about men, what is it about a boy?) Anyway, I will have an easier time now, because I was wanting to decorate the nursery more for a boy anyway (tomboy moms FTW). I’m looking forward to having him here, but I’m still a bit nervous. But I guess that’s natural.
I’ve been looking for a job, but I don’t have very high hopes. I met with my psychiatrist today, and he was glad to see that things had improved, but is a bit concerned about my risk of depression during and after the pregnancy. I’m currently off of my anti-depressants, so we are going to see how I am able to do without them. Going back on them could add some addition risk to our baby,l but it might pale in comparison to the impact of his mother being clinically depressed. He has suggested that I look into volunteering locally so that I can keep active. Good idea, considering I am beginning to get stir crazy staying home all the time.
I’m definitely not suited to be a housewife.
Post-Holiday Downtime, and figuring out the wii
Well, my husband and I returned early (and by early, I mean 2am) this morning after a brief series of mishaps on our trip home. Our plane from Spokane to Chicago arrived on time, but when we landed, we were delayed for more than half an hour, and many of the other passengers missed their connecting flights as a result. Kevin and I were lucky, we made it to our gate with some time, and found out that our connection was also to be delayed. While it was an annoyance, it gave us time to get some food. My appetite has been much stronger the last few days, but that’s not surprising, considering that I am now 18 weeks pregnant. Once we got to the Memphis airport, we got our luggage and headed to the car. We were both exhausted, and my parents were waiting up so that I could pick up my dog. Again, fate intervened for some reason, and our car would not start after sitting four days in the cold weather. It took us another half hour to contact security and wait for them to find us in the airport garage and give us a jump. Fortunately, it started right up and we were finally able to head home. I didn’t get to see my dog until later this morning. I gave up while we were waiting and just told my parents to go to bed. It wasn’t fair to make them wait up any longer. So they dropped her off on their way to work and I was greeted by an excited beagle/shepherd mix while I was still in bed. 
It is indeed good to be home. Now I have time and a quiet house to figure out the wii that we received for Christmas.