Lots of stuff about baby

We found out we're having a girl!  Now someone please help me come up with names because we're seriously struggling.  We've been talking about boy names for weeks and now we have to switch gears, and nothing sounds good.  I don't want anything too trendy or too bland, I like old-fashioned but not fuddy-duddy, and uncommon but not made-up sounding.  So far the only name that's securely on our list is Mari Joy, and we'd call her Joy.  (Mari is pronounced the same as Mary, but it's the spelling of my grandmother's name.  And see?  That's already too complicated because everyone is going to pronounce it "MAH-ree" when they read it, and being "Kitty, not Katie" and answering "How did you get Kitty from Mary?" my whole life makes me want to avoid any names requiring explanation.)  Okay, so... GO!

I told my new employer early this week that I'm expecting, and they were extremely cool about it.  RELIEF!  The job is going well.  It's just enough of a challenge that I'm not bored, I'm learning a lot of new things which is great, and I really like everyone in my little department (there are four of us).  Emotionally I'm feeling a lot better these days too and the job is a big part of that.  I feel like I'm contributing to the household again (which makes sense because I am), not feeling nearly as anxious all the time, and I have a bit of confidence back.  Thank goodness!

As for baby bump pics, I've been really bad about taking them.  I think the last one we took was around 15 weeks, and now I'm at 26.  I'm just lazy!  So much for creating a flip book of my burgeoining belly.  (Just kidding, I wasn't really going to make a flip book.)  But I suppose I can take a second to provide you with a shot, just because you're so nice.

You're probably wondering how my boss didn't already know I'm pregnant!  Well, basically I wore as concealing of clothing as possible for a couple of days and avoided giving anyone a profile view.  Like I said before, I'm sure she suspected.  Plus I swear I popped out a little bit more just over the past few days.

I'm almost in the third trimester and it still feels weird to have a belly sticking out in front of me.  Also, really weird to have something moving around inside said belly.  She's still feet-down, and I get a lot of shots to the cervix which is definitely the weirdest.  Last night I was almost asleep when all of a sudden I got hit there with what felt like both feet and I jumped!  Ugh.  I'm definitely going to start doing the exercises my doctor gave me to try to get her to turn.  As she gets bigger the kicks are obviously more intense and uncomfortable, plus I really, really, REALLY want to do whatever I possibly can to try to avoid a c-section just in case she has no intentions of turning herself.

So three months to go and I haven't begun to start working on the baby's room, which is now the office.  And what a tornado of an office it is.  And that's why I'm procrastinating - it is such a daunting clean-up project.  I already decided I'm not painting any walls.  They're a nice sandy color that will go with just about anything and painting sucks.  I did find some crib bedding I like - ladybugs!  So we're going with a red color scheme.  But I can't do any of the fun stuff until the room is clean... I'll get to it eventually.

Okay lots to do today and I'm procrastinating again, as usual.  So peace out!

New year, new news

So I got me a job.  It's temp but with an open-ended contract so it's potentially long-term and could lead to full-time.  My that's a lot of hyphens for one sentence!  It happened really fast - I had an interview on Thursday morning, they offered me the job that afternoon, and I started working on Friday.  It's with a vendor for B of A, basically working in Excel all day long.  But it seems pretty low-pressure, the environment is business casual (I actually get to wear jeans to work!  That alone is worth the huge pay cut), plus it's just a hop and skip away from where Hubs works and I have the exact same hours as he does so we'll be able to commute together.  I haven't told them yet that I'm pregnant, I figure I will sometime next week.  I think it's pretty obvious and I'd be surprised if they didn't suspect, but I wore some loose-fitting tops both days I was there so they might be totally clueless.  At any rate I don't want them to think I'm trying to pull something over on them, plus I'm about out of tops that camouflage my belly (however poorly), so I figure honesty is best.

In the meantime, the wedding business is booming.  Well, in a manner of speaking anyway.  I have three weddings booked for this year so far, and the organizer of the same bridal show I went to over the summer offered me free table space in exchange for some balloons at their January show next week.  I am so getting the sweet end of that deal!  I'm still working weekends with the DJ too, so I think life is about to get ridiculously busy.  I'm trying not to worry about how everything is going to work out this summer with a baby, a business, and a full time job.  It's hard to think too far past my due date anyway though; one thing at a time!

The pregnancy is still going smoothly, knock on wood.  I'm 25 weeks along now.  We have our second chance to find out the baby's sex on Monday.  On the one hand I'm excited to know what it is, but on the other I'm pretty used to not knowing so it won't be the end of the world if he/she decides to be difficult again.  I do think knowing would help us finally decide on some names at least, though!  I should have figured someone as indecisive as I am would have a particularly hard time picking out a name for my kid.  Next week we also start our birth classes, which I'm kind of excited about.  We're doing the Bradley Method.  Like so many women before me I'm hoping for a natural childbirth, but I'm not going to kid myself about how tough I am - my miscarriage was pretty excruciating and that was only 8 weeks along; I'm sure childbirth will be exponentially worse.  If it's more than I can handle I'm not going to hesitate to ask for the juice and no one is going to make me feel guilty about it.

Hubs has demanded that I talk more about how great he is on my blog.  I told him he's worse than me about fishing for compliments.  But I will close with this: He's been such an amazing provider while I've been unemployed these past many, many months.  On top of that, he never put pressure on me to find a job and has been super supportive of my starting a business that doesn't make much money.  I always knew he'd be an amazing dad, and he's always been an awesome husband, but he's been so impressive during this most recent struggle of ours that I'm finally learning to accept that I don't have to worry so much, and that no matter what happens we'll be okay.  So, thanks my love.  You're a better husband than I would've even thought to ask for!  

Kitties and Doggs and Babies

I didn't think it would happen this soon, but Atticus and Scout are actually getting to be buddies.  Not only are they playing and cuddling together more often, but Atticus is actually initiating grooming now too.  Who knew he was so maternal?  Another good sign is that he's getting back to his old self again - doing his evening laps around the house, playing with Hubs and me more, and snuggling with us too.  So it looks like we're probably going to be keeping the little one.  It's gonna be a full house come April!      But I think it will be good for Atticus to have a friend when the baby comes and he becomes second banana.

Hubby and I have been enjoying a particularly lovely weekend together.  Yesterday we got our tree and decorated the house for Christmas, and today we've been super ridiculously lazy.  I watched a terrible Lifetime movie from beginning to end while he played video games.  Tonight we have a hot date though, we're going to a -- wait for it -- Snoop Dogg concert!  LOL  Actually it's pretty cool, my friend's husband's band is opening for him and my other friend's husband works at the theater so we were able to score free tickets.  It should be entertaining.  I'm really excited for my friend, she gets to hang out backstage with Snoop.  I hope she has some awesome stories to tell me next time I see her!

I think I hit a milestone with the pregnancy the other day - I had my first stranger ask me if I'm pregnant.  I was so excited that strangers could actually tell I have a bump and not a beer gut that I overlooked the social faux pas.  (And he really should have known better too because he told me that just last week his brother congratulated a non-pregnant woman in line at the grocery store, and she was none too amused.)  Now, if any strangers attempt to touch my tummy that's going to be an entirely different story.  Just because I'm in a family way doesn't mean anyone not intimately connected with me is allowed to invade my bubble, and I won't hesitate to choke a bitch if need be.

The kid has been pretty active the past couple of days too. I think I have an anterior placenta because of something the ultrasound tech said, but my doctor never mentioned it so I'm just guessing.  It makes sense to me though because I haven't felt the kind of movement my friends describe - like popcorn or flutters - it's been more like an occasional squirming (and usually feels a lot like gas) until the past few days when I could feel some more obvious thumps and bumps.  Anyway I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I'm going to try to use the absence of movement to my advantage.  I'm going to tell her I'm anxious that I haven't felt very much and that I want another ultrasound to make sure everything's okay, and hopefully get another chance to find out the baby's sex.

And I need to know the sex because my PHENOMENAL friends J and B have offered to throw me a shower!  They're my two oldest friends in life - J I've known since we were a year old, and B since we were five.  I get a little choked up just thinking about how sweet they are to offer, especially since they've been there for me my entire life.  *Sniff*  It is just so awesome.  :)

Okay enough mush.  I have a concert to get ready for, so until next time!