I was getting bored of the boring old brown blog theme so I did some construction work. I present to you a newly refreshed blog. I hope you like it.

From very early on in this pregnancy I have had very vivid dreams and I remember reading that these dreams were most likely a side effect of Progesterone which I think has a little to do with it but according to  Web MD. “Dream content changes as a woman’s body changes, her dreams echo her changing condition and both her hopes and her fears about the coming child.” It goes on to say that during the first trimester there are a lot of dreams containing “fertility imagery” as in flowers, gardens, fruit and water, water symbolizing the amniotic fluid.  Second trimester dreams start to reflect the change in the baby and the mother’s body. The Third trimester  dreams apparently become more telling, specific dreams about the baby, not being prepared, forgetting or dropping the baby or difficulties during labor.

I have had some very strange dreams throughout this pregnancy and yes I have had a few as the Web MD article has suggested, but not entirely. I know it’s not exciting hearing about other people’s dream, I know this because my wonderful DH told me so! I will spare you the details but so you get the gist of how weird my dreams have been during this last month I will share a little: One dream featured Cher, Asian prostitutes and our cleaning ladies in the old San Ramon house. Another one had an appearance by Alec Baldwin and a liquor tasting  festival located on a secluded beach. Last nights dream was about Paul Bunion and a dinosaur museum in the desert. So if third trimester dreams are supposed to be more telling, then what is my body trying to tell me?

* Please remember DH= Dear Husband not Dick Head 😉

I actually slept a total span of 3 1/2 hours without waking! I couldn’t believe it, usually I wake up every hour and a half to two hours. My body must have known to prepare for my big day out of the house.

I had my monthly appointment with the Pregnancy specialist this morning. Everything is looking  A-OK. My cervix is looking good, so these contractions that are still rearing their ugly head aren’t doing much to change it. That is a good thing. Baby is practicing her breathing, this is usually a 9 month milestone so she is ahead of the game. Oh and we saw her yawn which was by far the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I love her! Today she weighs 4 lbs. 1 oz.  From what I have read a baby gains about 1/2 lb. a week from 32 weeks on. If that is true and she doesn’t make her debut until May, I am looking a delivering an 8 lb or plus baby. Can you say OUCH?

After my appointment Gordon took me to the salon for a much-needed haircut. It really is nice to get out of the house, even on a wet and gloomy day. Now I am back to my regularly scheduled day on the couch , a bowl of yummy chili  that DH made and  hours of daytime TV with some computer time mixed in!

Pregnant women at a healthy weight should eat an extra 300 calories per day. This amount is roughly equivalent to a serving of yogurt and half of a bagel

The average woman’s uterus expands up to five hundred times its normal size during pregnancy. It only takes 6-8 weeks for it to return to its original size.

While not all pregnant women will crave pickles and ice cream specifically, pregnancy cravings are rooted in the body’s extra need for minerals and comfort-inducing serotonin.

May babies are, on average, 7 ounces heavier than babies born in other months.

When a woman is pregnant, her senses are all heightened.

While the feet do not actually get longer or wider during pregnancy, most women do gain up to half a shoe size, due to increased fluid volume in the foot.

Pregnancy messes with your growth pattern, causing you to have a fuller head of hair during pregnancy and experience increased hair loss afterward. Don’t worry, your hair returns to its normal growth pattern about six months after delivery.

Babies play with their umbilical in the womb. They also suck their thumb, cry, and dream!

Your first pregnancy tends to be longer than subsequent ones.

Some people drink the urine of pregnant women to build up their immune system.

The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.

Studies show that couples that smoke during the time of conception have a higher chance of having a girl compared to couples that do not smoke.

Only 25% of couples actively trying to conceive will experience pregnancy within the woman’s first cycle. However, 90% of couples will achieve pregnancy within the first 12 months of actively trying.

Approximately 10% of pregnancies will end in miscarriage. Many miscarriages often occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant.

The Pity Train has just derailed at the intersection of Suck It Up & Move On and crashed into We All Have Problems before coming to a complete stop at Get the Hell Over It. Reporting LIVE from Quitin my  Bitchin!

I have realized that little things like getting upset and or stressed out bring on contractions. I also found out today that spiders bring on contractions as well. How do I know this you ask? As I was basking in the sun today I felt something crawling on my leg. I swiped away what  I assumed was a fly when I saw a nice size black spider crawling up my shin. I panicked as any normal person would do, scrambled to roll up my magazine to flick it off me and then flatten the sucker ( sorry mom). As soon as I regained my composure and wiped the spider insides off my magazine I realized I was having a contraction, spiders do cause more than just a bite.

Shane came home last night with a bunch of goodies from the baby shower his Ventura co-workers threw us. I was originally planning on going up with him this week to attend the shower and spend some time wandering Ventura but obviously that didn’t happen. They went above and beyond for being practically strangers. One of his co-workers made a bunch of delicious goodies: hummus, Tabbouleh, baklava and some sort of turnovers. Not only did she make these for the shower, she remade them for him to take home for me. I am stuffed full of all these goodies as I type. They also bought us a bunch of fun stuff: the pack n play, cute outfits, a super soft blanket, some onsies and wash cloths and a few binkies. Since we went ahead a cancelled my baby showers in OC and SD, I sort of felt like I got a taste of what it would have been like. It was fun getting gifts for baby K and fun putting her stuff in her room and fun eating all the goodies.

On the flip side it makes me sad knowing that I wont get my own baby shower experience. This pregnancy has just been so hard. I think the more someone wants a baby the harder it has to be to have one. I know canceling the showers was the best option since there is no way of knowing where I will be tomorrow but I want to be “showered” with food, family, friends and gifts too. Is it too much to ask? Shoot, I have spent most of last year at the Dr. office and most of this pregnancy on bed rest? I know when I hold my bundle of joy all of this will faint into a distant memory but for now I will have my own little pity party on the couch with the baklava.

Gordon put together the bookcase yesterday  and we almost had the crib skirt on but it needs to be ironed first. So when he gets back from his day off he will be put to work. I also have 2 shelves that I would like him or Shane to hang that will go over the bookcase. I thought that would be a good place for the baby monitor. Here are a few pictures of her unfinished room:

I have had a few people ask me if we will have another child after baby K arrives safe and sound. Shane and I have completely different answers to this question. We are paying to keep our embryos frozen because we were most definitely going to have more children, but since this pregnancy and the toll it has taken on me emotionally I don’t know if I definitely want to do this again anymore.

Then there is the “only child” stigma. I want our daughter to have a companion during her childhood and to learn that the world doesn’t revolve around her. I don’t want her clinging to my leg each morning when it’s time to say goodbye at school or when mom and dad want a night out. I believe separation anxiety is harder on children who don’t have siblings. And when she’s older I don’t want her to be lonely,  I want her to have that special bond with a sibling, experience the unconditional love that comes from family members. I want her to have someone she can share her secrets with and attach to on family vacations.

All I know right now is that my uterus is fried and done. Once baby K arrives the oven is closed, at least for a while. Who knows though, once I see her sweet face I may be ready to talk about baby number 2.

I had my Dr. appointment this morning and I have to say the highlight was the weigh-in. It has been hard watching the scale go up up and away at each appointment. I know I am supposed to gain weight but when you spend most of your adult life cautiously trying to keep it at a certain number, it gets a little frightening to see. With that said, I have gained the appropriate amount of weight so far, but after these last few weeks I was sure I was going to be horrified once I stepped on the scale this morning. These hospitals keep you well fed with the likes of club sandwiches, caeser salads, french toast, omelets and forget about the desserts.  I had cheesecake and a white cake at the OC hospital and pudding, ice cream and a miniature birthday cake at the SD hospital. Follow that up with our dinner party which boasted amazing desserts like tiramisu, cannoli’s, apple tart and orange olive oil cake. So imagine my surprise when the scale was exactly where is was at the last time I was in.  It definitely wasn’t from lack of trying.

The rest of the appointment went well. I wasn’t put on the monitors like I thought I would be. He just measured my belly, which has grown and we listened to baby’s heartbeat and that looked good. He told me to continue the Nifedipine, remain off my feet and come back in 2 weeks. I mentioned to him that I am still having some contractions but he assures that it’s fine and normal to have them as long as they’re not every few minutes or become painful.  He keeps reassuring me that even if baby comes now she will be fine but I see it like this. It’s like piece of chicken you order at a restaurant , you assume it will arrive cooked but when you cut off a piece of it the flesh has a pink tint to it. It’s not fully cooked and the skin isn’t crisp. You have the waiter take it back and they most likely throw it back in the oven to finish the cooking. My baby would be like that chicken, underdone but can continue to cook in the NICU. I prefer her to come to my table well done.

Next Monday is my 32 week ultrasound with the specialist. I am looking forward to seeing the little munchkin again.

I’ve been home for a few days and the memory of how hard bed rest was came flooding back. It’s the simple things that are the hardest. Refilling my water, feeding the cat, these simple tasks are now out of my control. I have two drill sergeants making sure I don’t lift a finger. I know this is a good thing but I actually think I had more freedom at the hospital. No I am not complaining, just making an observation 🙂

So far I have been feeling good. I had a few contractions on Friday but luckily they didn’t progress and eventually disappeared. My hospital bag is pretty much packed just in case I don’t come home from my Dr. appt. on Monday morning.

Tonight is our monthly dinner theme night, we all assumed it would be cancelled but luckily since I am home our friends are bringing the dinner to me. Shane is in the kitchen attempting to make caprese salad. Amazing how hard it is to delegate even an easy recipe from the couch. On the menu: roasted veggies, caprese salad, pickled veggies, ceviche, orecchiette with hazelnuts and goat cheese and an orange and olive oil cake.  Shane’s step dad is in for a treat, he doesn’t eat this sort of food. He called it “crazy California stuff.” LOL