A Very Germy Christmas

Christmas actually wasn't too germy. The sickness hit the day after. And prevailed by Sunday. Monday was miserable. But now that it's Tuesday we are finally on the mend, and I can see that eventually we will be healthy again.

There is nothing as pitiful as a 2-month-old with a cold.

Fiona's first Christmas was very nice, the aforementioned cold notwithstanding. We started our Christmas vacation on Saturday the 20th, with a drive up to Pennsylvania to see some family- Fiona met her great-grandparents, along with some great-aunts and great-uncles, and whatever you call your parents' cousins...second cousins I guess? We stayed with them for a few days, and everyone was so excited to have a baby in the house that I pretty much only saw her when she needed to be fed. It was a very good visit and we look forward to visiting them again.

Fiona with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Troutman

The day before Christmas Eve we continued our vacation with a drive further north, all the way to Massachusetts. We've had quite the busy week. Activities included-
- decorating the Christmas tree
- attending Midnight Mass
- opening presents on Christmas morning
- going ice skating
- having our 19th annual Christmas caroling party
- playing many board games

It's been a full, fun week. Despite the miserable cold.

Pictures to follow.

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Well that was exciting...

Fiona's cord stump fell off several weeks ago, just as it should have. Everything seemed normal.

Then began to notice that there was this extra little red blobby thing on the end of what should have been an extremely cute belly button. Of course, my first action was to google "belly button not healing right" and "weird blobby red belly button", and through that research, I deduced that it must be an umbilical granuloma. But since google didn't attend medical school, I thought I'd better bring Fiona in to see the pediatrician.

At her appointment last Monday, I just told them that the belly button didn't appear to be healing right. I did NOT mention my googling, because I didn't want to be THAT PATIENT. You know, the one that walks in but has already decided on a diagnosis and treatment? So anyways, the doc looks at it, tells me "Oh, that's a granuloma, I'll get you the number for the surgeon."

At this point, I should now be thinking- What??!!? Surgeon!?!?!? That means surgery!!!

Good thing I'd done that googling. I knew it wasn't a huge deal, and that it could be taken care of easily. So we call the surgeon, get an appointment. We went in last Friday to see him, and I really wouldn't even call what he did surgery. It was a treatment. He took a stick with silver nitrate on the tip and touched it to all the pink areas of the little extra blob of tissue that was hanging on the end of Fiona's belly button. He told us that the skin around it might turn a little grey or brownish-black, and that that was okay. Then he gave us a few of the silver nitrate sticks in case any of the pink tissue came back, and sent us on our merry way.

On Saturday morning, I saw that the little red blob (which turned into a little blackish-brown blob when he touched it with the silver nitrate stick) had fallen off and was sticking inside Fiona's onesie. I also noticed that the area around her belly button was a bit red, and that there was this area of skin that had kind of sloughed off and was now also all pink. It looked like a burn. But she didn't seem to be in any pain, and was in good spirits, so I assumed it was just part of the process of the whole thing healing up.

Sunday morning the area seemed to be a bit redder, but it still didn't really look infected or anything, and she wasn't super fussy or running a fever, so I figured we could wait it out till Monday and then call the doctor. Which is what I did this morning, called and told them what it looked like- they said to come in to the office so they could check it out. We did.

At the office, the pediatrician looked at it and said "Ooh. Let me get the other doctor and have her look at it."

And then the second doctor came in, and was just like "Yeah, I agree"

And then they both walked out of the room. Leaving me sitting there like "Ummm, hello? What?"
The first doctor came back in and told me that they wanted me to take Fiona to the hospital. She said to wait while she called the hospital to make sure they had a free bed. Which they didn't. And so she said I should go ahead and take Fiona in to the Emergency Room.

The doctor told me that her belly button looked infected, and that the red area looked like a 2nd degree burn. She said that they would probably hook Fiona up to an IV to give her antibiotics, and treat and dress the burn. She said we would probably be staying at least overnight, if not longer. She said not to worry, that Fiona would probably be fine, she just wanted to make sure that we got her in and taken care of before anything got really serious, like the infection getting into her bloodstream and traveling elsewhere in her body or anything like that. At this point I am totally playing it cool, like it doesn't phase me a bit to take my tiny little 6-week-old baby to the ER.Called Nate, he immediately left work to come meet me at the doctors office, and then we headed over to the hospital.

Once we got there and checked in and did all that nonsense, the doctor came in to check Fiona out.

Babygirl was grinning away the whole time we were waiting.

The first ER doctor came in, looked at it, said she didn't think it looked infected. She said she wanted the other doctor to take a look at it and see what she thought. ER doc number 2 comes in, she agrees with ER doc number one. She said it looked like the belly button was NOT infected, and the burn looked only superficial, just a 1st degree. She just wanted to call the pediatrician to talk to her and hear her concerns, make sure all the doctors were all on the same page.

Came back awhile later. Told us that they were going to clean up the burned areas, dress them with bacitracin, and send us home.

I guess they normally take extra precautions with the little little babies, which is why the pediatrician thought they would admit her. But they told me that she really looked fine. Plus, they had no free private rooms in pediatrics, and that meant that if they did admit us that we'd end up either on a bed in the hallway or sharing a room with some sick kid...neither option is exactly ideal for a newborn's immune system.

So, they sent us home with a prescription for bacitracin and instructions to bring her to the pediatrician in a few days to make sure everything is healing up alright.

What. a. night.

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Absolutely in LOVE

Well, we're home from Thanksgiving vacation. Had a great time. Fiona did remarkably well on the drive up, and had a fantastic time meeting all the family. The drive home, however, was during her several hours of fussy time in the evening. That, combined with more traffic, made for a much longer ride south.

But honestly, we didn't even care. Because at our first stop to feed and change Fiona, she smiled.

Like, really smiled. Not because of gas. I'm talking real, at us, smiling with her eyes smiled. It was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. We seriously sat there in the McDonald's parking lot for a half hour just looking at her. And we did the same thing when we stopped again 2 hours later. Just sat, staring, making funny noises and talking to her to try and get some more of those smiles. And again at the next stop.

It's no wonder our drive home took so much longer.

But oh. my. goodness. I just fell in love with that smile. I cannot even begin to describe it. I had no idea that I would be so proud of her for just SMILING! And I apologize for sounding so new-parenty in this entry. It's just- she smiled! At me! And she is the most adorable thing EVER!!!!

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Back to real life. Sort of.

Well, we have gone back to semi-real life. Hopefully things will continue to normalize, because at this point I am still staying up waaaaay too late, and staying in bed in the mornings till an embarrassingly late hour. Nate's been back to work for a week, and he is much missed here at home.

Fiona and I are still adjusting to each other. Sometimes I feel like I am babysitting, and then I have to remind myself that no, she is actually mine for good. I can't believe how much bigger she is already. She's almost a month old already! Hard to believe, especially when you compare it to how friggin LONG the final month of being pregnant seemed.

Today babygirl is being a clingy little koala baby. Every time I try to set her down in her cradle she wakes up INSTANTLY. Which is not cool, cause I've been trying to get this place straightened up and finish folding all the laundry and get packed. We leave first thing tomorrow morning for Massachusetts. We are going up for Thanksgiving, and also for Emily's baptism.

And of course, a few new pictures.

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First Bath and Couch Potatoes.

Fiona is nearly 2 and a half weeks old. She already looks so different than she did when we were in the hospital. Her cord fell off yesterday, so she's finally got a belly button...which is insanely cute. Since she has lost the cord, we were able to give her her first real bath last night-

It was adorable. She was pretty mad when we first took off her bathrobe (which is way too friggin cute, thanks for that, Jada) but once we got her down into the water she seemed to like it.

We've had a busy first couple of weeks. Fiona has already done a ton of things and been a bunch of places, including-
- going to Mass with both grandmas and Aunt Emily when they were all visiting
- coming with us to vote on election day
- going out for coffee (woot finally can have my double tall latte guilt-free!)
- shopping at the outlet mall
- attending a tupperware party
- going to the ice rink to watch Daddy play hockey (ok, so she slept in her carseat underneath her Pittsburgh Penguins cover the entire time- but she went!)
- getting checked out at the pediatricians office twice already (she's growing well and doing great. By her 2-week checkup she was already weighing in at 7lb10oz, and was measuring above-average length-wise. So she's gaining weight which is excellent. But we already told her to enjoy that above-average height while she can, cause with a 5ft1in mother and a 5ft8in father there is no way she stays above-average height for long...)

We also like to chill out at home. When Dad's lying on the couch with Fiona they usually play X-box. When I'm on the couch with her we watch as much Law&Order as TNT, USA, and NBC will give me. Since this week has been pretty miserable weather-wise, we've been hardcore couch potatoes.

Sometimes I fall asleep mid-episode. As happened here.

Nate goes back to work tomorrow (boo), so I'm planning and hoping to make a list of things I need to get done, and get back into a more normal schedule. Maybe I'll even get dressed and go somewhere exciting like the grocery store. Or maybe we'll even venture as far as Target! Wouldn't that be an accomplishment.

All things considered, we are are doing pretty well thus far, with minimal hysterical hormonal crying breakdowns on my part. Which is always good.

(amanda)

One more photo to close it out-

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Update for Auntie Kelsie

Fiona is sleeping at the moment, so I'm hoping I can get this thing updated a bit... Kelsie's really been getting on me about it. Sorry Kel. I've been a little busy.

I can't believe it's already been a week. Time is flying by in a ridiculous manner, especially when you compare to how EXCRUCIATINGLY long the week before that was.

I'm not gonna write out the entire birth story right now... I've actually got it started, in draft form, but it's going to be harder to write than I had originally expected. I will, however, give you a brief overview.

Wednesday, October 29th- Woke up to some mild, regular-ish contractions, and just felt kind of weird and different. Told Nate that I didn't want to get his hopes up, but to keep his phone with him just in case. I continued with my plans for the day, which included making a big pot of chili in the slowcooker, and baking some oatmeal chocolate chip craisin cookies, and taking a looooong (just over 3 miles) walk... things picked up, contraction-wise, a little before midnight. We called the doctor, he said to call him back when the contractions were 5 minutes apart for 2 hours. Around 3:00am we called, and headed to the hospital. Long story short- they sent us home. However, the nurse said she was pretty sure we'd be back within a day.

Thursday, October 30th- Came home from the hospital, feeling kind of stupid for going in at only 1cm with contractions that slowed up once they hooked me to the monitors. Everyone assured me that I shouldn't feel stupid. It didn't really make me feel better.
I had a doctor appointment scheduled for Thursday at 10:15, they wanted to hook me up to the monitors for a non-stress test and check the baby's movement to make sure she was still doing ok in there even though I was, at this point, 9 days overdue by their count.

By the time I got to the doctors office, I had been having increasingly strong contractions, at fairly regular intervals, since about 8:00am. I got all hooked up to the monitors, had to lie there on the table, and press a little button every time I felt the baby move. She was pretty quiet, but the contractions were not. Eventually the doctor came in and checked me- I was at 4cm, the baby's head was at zero station, and I was definitely in active labor at this point. So he sent us off to the hospital.

We got to the hospital around noon, got me up to the room and all situated, annnnd fast forward about 5 and a half hours of crazy, intense, pain that I won't go into now...and they're putting this baby on my chest and telling me that "It's a girl!"

It's a what? A girl? Really? A girl?!?! I was so sure it was gonna be a boy! A girl? Ohmygod Nate, we have a girl! It's a girl!

And so Fiona Jeanne entered the world. Nate cut the cord, and went over and watched as they cleaned her up and weighed her and put that goop in her eyes and all that good stuff.

And now its a week later. It's also now about 6 hours, a billion feedings, bout 5 diaper changes, 2 naps, and 1 momma meltdown after I started writing this entry. I think I'll quit while I'm ahead and post what I've got, rather than try and get into the amazing cuteness that has been the past week. I'll just throw a few pictures up here and call it a day.

(amanda)

41 weeks pregnant and on the way out the door to the hospital-

And introducing...
Fiona Jeanne LaMartina!
born at 5:25pm on October 30th, 2008
weighing in at 7lb2oz, and 19.5 inches long

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Touchdown

Amanda is in bed right now resting up some more, but I wanted to take a moment to share the news. Fiona Jeanne LaMartina was born at 5:25pm, on this October 30th. She is 7 pounds, 2 ounces, and 19.5 inches long.

Fiona is also resting, and not hiccuping for once. She definitely gets that from me...

(Nate/Dad)

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Plus Five

That's right. Five days past my (later) due date, and still baby chooses to remain in the cozy womb. They've got a few more days to play with, and then... Monday the eviction notice is being served.

But seriously, come on.

This morning, while sipping on my cup of decaffeinated Lady Grey Tea, I made a list of things to do. Cleaning, and errands, and such. Did some cleaning up this morning, then at lunchtime Nate came home (I love that his office is only like 5 minutes from the house and he's able to come home for lunch sometimes), and we went to go pick out pumpkins to carve. We both got pretty big ones, I think they were both in the 20-25lb range. We were going to carve them tonight, but by the time we finished dinner I didn't feel like making a huge pumpkin-y mess, so we're planning on carving 'em tomorrow evening.

The after-dinner cleanup spurred on a desire to do some more cleaning, so I spent the past hour or so sweeping, and vacuuming, and scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees. I also put up the new shower curtain liner that I bought the other day, and finished washing and folding and putting away all the laundry.

So the house is pretty clean.

But there is more on the list. Tomorrow I'll tackle the closets...

(amanda)

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Day 4

Doctor appointment this morning. Not much to report. Baby's moving down, things are thinning out, but nothings opening up. (That's not too graphic for you people, is it?) So my next appointment is on Thursday, they'll do a non-stress test to make sure that the baby is still doing fine, and if nothing happens by Monday of next week I've got an induction scheduled for first thing Monday morning. REALLLLLLLY hoping I don't go until next Monday. That's NOVEMBER!

So...Don't take it personally if I am not answering when you call my phone, or not replying when you text. I'm very much in a hibernation state, and pretty much don't feel like talking to anybody these days.

It's not you, it's me.

(amanda)

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Still Here

Due date plus three.
Still pregnant.

Yesterday I ate kung pao chicken for dinner, PLUS Nate and I walked like 1 mile and a half once it finally stopped raining. Spicy food, walking... I had some pretty regular contractions as I was trying to fall asleep, but I did eventually fall asleep, so they obviously weren't anything too intense. And today's been pretty much a big fat nothing.

At this point I feel like every night when I go to sleep, it's Christmas Eve. And I am a little kid, and I am so excited for it to be Christmas so I can open my presents and get the stuff out of my stocking, and then I wake up in the morning, and....it's still Christmas Eve. And I still have to wait.

This waiting is exhausting.

Today we finally installed the carseat. We've been hearing from everyone about how hard it is, and how you better make sure you bring it to an inspection station before the baby is born to make sure it's installed right, and how they actually offer a half-hour class at some fire stations in the area so you can learn how to properly install your carseat. So we head out there, instructions in hand, ready to tackle the CAR SEAT INSTALLATION OF DEATH and...it was wicked easy. With the whole LATCH system thing that they require in cars these days, it was even easier than the old way of buckling it in with the seatbelt. Just take the strap and snap it onto the little anchor on either side of the seat and then look to make sure the little level thing on the side is level. Bam. Done. So easy. Now I'm wondering if maybe we did it wrong, cause it was so easy...

(amanda)

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Date Night

It's Friday night. We're going out, and trying to forget about the fact that I'm a day past the big day and no babay in sight...

We're gonna go walk around the mall and buy me a new nosering and maybe get ice cream. What excitement!

(amanda)

40 weeks, 1 day.
What's taking so long, baby?

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D-day

Today.

The baby is due today.

But seeing as it's already nearly 9pm, it's looking like there will be no action today, and this baby is going to take after it's momma and enjoy being late.

I went and walked all around the outlet mall today. Didn't buy a ton of stuff, just walked around, looked at baby clothes, got a pedicure... made sure to park pretty far from the entrance, so I also had a nice long parking lot walk. But all that walking was to no avail.

At least my toes look good as I sit here and watch The Office.

(amanda)

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I've done it.

I've finally done it.

What, you ask? Why, I have baked the perfect chocolate chip cookie.

I have been trying for years to not only find the perfect recipe, but to actually bake the perfect batch of cookies. As anyone that knows me can attest, I am not a good cook or baker. I tend to screw things up pretty badly. My family has a wealth of cooking/baking/candymaking mishaps of mine that I am sure they would be happy to recount to you upon request.

But I made cookies on Monday night, and let me tell you- I finally achieved perfection in a chocolate chip cookie. Heather, you would be so proud of me if you could taste these cookies.

While baking cookies I was feeling some (super mild) contractions, and as I was pulling the third tray of cookies out of the oven, I said, "you know, I think these contractions are all about 10 minutes apart, cause every time I go to pull a batch of cookies out of the oven I have a contraction." But sadly, those 10-minute-apart contractions did not increase in either intensity or frequency. So no real labor. At least at the end I had some amazing cookies to console my still-pregnant self with.

Tomorrow is the due date. Tomorrow the lease on this kid's current domicile is up. Time to move out. Time to move on to bigger and better things.

Come on out, baby. I'm ready to be a mom...

I can bake chocolate chip cookies now.

(amanda)

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Damn.

After all that.

Down 3-1 in the series. Losing 7-0 in the 7th of Game 5. Pushing it all the way to Game 7. Starting off the game with a homerun.

We lose? To TAMPA BAY?!?!?!?

Damn.

Now I'm REALLY depressed. Alright then, baby. Your time is up. You need to come now.

(amanda)

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What a game.

Wow. I'm surprised I didn't put myself into labor, getting so worked up and excited watching that game. I was actually jumping up and down on the couch at one point. I was also sitting on my birthing ball for part of the game, which was fun, cause I started bouncing up and down when things got exciting. Also, my throat hurts from the yelling and screaming.

Down 7-0 in the 7th and they come back to win it? Only the Red Sox.

I've decided that this baby NEEDS to be born while the Sox are still playing baseball. So in about the 4th inning this evening I said, "Okay, God. Either the Sox need to start winning, or... this kids got 5 innings in which to be born."

He chose to go with the Sox win. Which is great. The kid's lease is now extended to at least the end of Saturday night's game.

In non-baseball news, I have finished the baby's room. I added some pictures onto the pictures page, feel free to check em out. I think it came together nicely. It's not your typical pink or blue or minty green baby baby room, but I like it. Now all it needs is a baby. Even though, really, the baby won't be sleeping in there for awhile yet... we've got a cradle that will be in our room for when the baby first comes home. It's a very nice cradle. My dad made it for me when I was a baby. So that is pretty awesome, I think. I like having stuff that was mine when I was little. I'm sentimental like that.

(amanda)

Dad playing guitar to little me in the cradle.

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10 more days.

Ten more days. 10. Diez. Dix. Zehn. X. Ten.

At least, ten days until the due date. Who knows when we'll actually be seeing this kid. I've been having a few sporadic contractions, nothing painful, and the Braxton-Hicks have all but disappeared. So I feel like I've moved backwards. But I've got a doctor appointment tomorrow, so I'll get to find out how things are looking.

Sitting here watching Game 3 of the ALCS. We're only in the third and the Sox are down 5-0. Which is not the best way to begin a ballgame, but there's still plenty of game left to go. It's still totally winnable. If they would stop stranding runners in scoring postion...

I'm at home all week this week. Which on one hand- cool no work! I can get things done! But on the other hand- I've got to make sure I keep myself very very busy or I start thinking. And when I start thinking I start wondering. And when I start wondering, I start googling. And then next thing you know I've completely freaked myself out and read 5 different labor horror stories because I've googled "what do contractions feel like." Today I kept quite busy.

It's been a busy couple of days, really. Had a fantastic weekend. On Friday we went to a going-away party for a friend of ours that is leaving to do mission work in Honduras for a year. We'll really miss her, but she is wicked excited about the whole thing. It's a really cool opportunity for her.

On Saturday I got my hair cut, and I absolutely love love LOVE it. It's not super short or anything, but it now looks nice and healthy and there are some shorter pieces around my face...it just looks good. After the haircut I headed off to a baby shower that a friend threw for me. That was a good time. She had plenty of baby-related games, and there was loads of delish food, and of course great friends and cute gifts to ooh and ahh over. I had a really nice time. Then I headed home, where we had some people over to grill out and watch the Red Sox game. It was fun to hang out with two sets of our couple friends, and actually all three of us are expecting, so that was pretty cool. The guys stood around outside and grilled and drank beer, and us girls sat around inside and drank water and talked about buying maternity clothes. I'm really glad that Nate and I have friends who are also couples (and we both like both of them), who are ALSO going to have babies by next spring.

I'll end this uber long post here. I've got a game to watch. And some ice cream to eat. Catch you kids later.

(amanda)

38 weeks, 4 days.
wow. my hair looks really red in this picture.

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Soon.

Baby soon. It's really weird to think that it's almost that time. I actually feel very calm about the whole becoming a family part. It's just getting there that makes me nervous. I still don't have a definitive answer on what exactly my insurance will be covering for Amanda, and I wish that all of that could be easier. We've got enough put away on the chance that insurance covers none of it, but even then, there are dozens of factors that would determine the final bill. I like dealing with fixed components for a challenge. I'm not so much a fan of this open-ended stuff. I feel like I've woken up at 4am to finish packing for a great vacation; I still have a million things to do in between now and the flight there, but I know that the vacation is going to be great. I just gotta get through the last bit of turmoil.

When you strip all of that away though, I am truly looking forward to this. Sure, there are going to be changes, and yeah, I might have to play Gears of War with headphones on. But dangit, this is going to be something great. I'm going to be a father.

And here's where my wife smiles because I actually posted something!

(Nate)

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WOOHOO

Hurrah! Sox win the series and they advance to face Tampa Bay in the ALCS!!!

I needed that. I was kinda low today.

(amanda)

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Seriously?

Sitting here watching Game 3. Or, more accurately, trying to watch game 3 between trips to the ladies room. I am not even exaggerating, I have peed 6 different times in the last hour. Thats right. I am getting up to pee, on average, every ten minutes. Once I made it like 15 minutes, but then the next time I only lasted 7. This is getting ridiculous.

Been having crazy tons of what I assume are Braxton-Hicks contractions this afternoon/evening. So I've been relaxing, lying on my left side and all those things you're supposed to do. Oh, and downing water like its my job. Which is, of course, contributing to the constant peeing.

Okay. Just got back from the bathroom. Again. The game is heading into the 12th inning. Nate fell asleep on me. Poor guy worked his butt off in the yard today, mowing and edging and pulling weeds and trimming back unruly plantlife. But the yard DOES look fantastic.

I didn't do much today. Sewed a pillowcase. I was planning on sewing a bunch of pillowcases, for the daybed that is in the baby's room. But the first one took me so damn long that I gave up after one and took a nap. I'll try and do some more tomorrow.

I hope I actually get to sleep tonight. Last night? Not so much. Up a thousand times (to pee, of course), and then once I did get back into bed and manage to manouver myself into a somewhat comfortable position I would either lie there awake with no good reason, or be suddenly stricken with heartburn, or I'd fall asleep for a few precious minutes only to awaken moments later because of some weird dream involving me breaking into a clothing factory and breastfeeding a strangers baby, or of my belly button popping out of my belly entirely and leaving a gaping wound, or something else equally disturbing. I finally quit trying sometime shortly after the sun came up, and got up to eat eggos and watch old episodes of The Daily Show online. I feel a bit blah today.

On that happy note. I'm ending the post. The Angels just got a run in the 12th, making the current score 5-4. Also, I have to pee again. It has, after all, been 12 minutes.

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Game 2 of the ALDS

Game 2 tonight. Sox lead the series 1-0. Woohoo!

It's only the top of the second, but we're up 4-1 already. That merits two thumbs up from me in my awesome Red Sox maternity shirt that Nate bought for me.

So stoked for playoff baseball!

Got to get back to the game. I'll close out with another side view belly shot.
This is me at 37 weeks, 1 day-

That's it for now, folks. The baby daddy has promised to delight all of you with some words from him in the near future... so you have that to look forward to. In the meantime, GO SOX!!!

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37 week visit

Had another doctor visit this morning. I love getting the early morning appointments, because it means I have next to no wait. My appointment this morning was at 8:45. I was walking home by 9:05. Sweet.

The word from the doctor is- everything looks perfect. My total weight gain is still holding at 19lbs (which the doctor assured me is FINE, he actually told me he's proud of me in regards to my weight gain), blood pressure is perfect, baby is head down and the heartbeat is strong, belly is measuring the exact perfect size. He actually said that my belly was an optical illusion. When he looked at it, he thought it didn't look that big, but when he measured it, it was spot on. Sooo...cool.

I really like the doctor I had today. I go to a group practice, so for my appointments, I rotate through all 7 doctors. That way I know all of them,since there's no way of telling who will be on delivery duty when I go into labor. They're all pretty good, there is one doctor that I like less than the others- with my luck, I'll end up getting her...but I hope that I get one of the two guy doctors. They're my favorites. We'll just have to wait and see.

Anyways. I'm not going in to work today. I have a to-do list a mile long. I'm hoping to do all of it...

(amanda)

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36 weeks, the Red Sox, and The Office season premiere.

Thursdays on NBC, yo. It's the season premiere of that fantastic television show, The Office. Just watched it while chillin on the couch with Nate and puppydog, with baby kicking around in utero. You gotta know he/she is a fan of the show, too. I won't tell you what happened, in case you've tivoed it and not watched it yet...just be ready for some officey awesomeness.

So I'm 36 weeks pregnant now. That means there are a mere 4 weeks to my due date. Holy freakin crap. Seriously. According to the ladies at work, it looks like the baby has dropped. Or at least started to drop. They said today that my belly looks different this week. Lower. And kind of more out front. They also all decided that baby is a boy, because I'm carrying all in the front and don't even look like I'm pregnant from the back. We shall see.

I'm stil walking as much as possible... I found this group online, called See Mommy Run, it's basically a way to meet up with other women who run and who are moms. Right now I belong to two different groups within the site, one group consists of me and this one lady that lives in the next neighborhood over. We meet up a couple mornings a week and walk with our dogs. We meet before she goes to work, which means I have to drag my butt out of bed at the ungodly hour of 5:45 in order to meet with her at six... but we walk for an hour and then I come home and crawl back into bed, snuggle back up to Nate and go back to sleep for another hour and a half before I have to get up and shower and go to work. It's a pretty good system. I like it. Although after I got back from the walk yesterday I was pretty sore, and it sort of hurt to walk for the rest of the day, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep up with the one-hour morning walks. May have to start cutting back. But once baby is born- I plan on getting back into it hardcore. I'll start with walking, but I hope to start running again asap. I've got not one, but two bridesmaids dresses to fit into next summer, not to mention the marathon I want to run next fall... so it's back into shape asap for this momma.

Been having tons of Braxton-Hicks contractions, especially in the afternoons for some reason. Drinking water is supposed to help keep them from happening, or at least keep them painless, so I'm guzzling H2O like its going out of style. Seems to help, unfortunately it also keeps me having to pee like every 17 minutes or so...

I'm still a little concerned that I'm not eating enough, cause I really am just not hungry at all most of the time... but I try to make sure I at least have a decent breakfast, and also a decent dinner, with several snacks during the day. Hopefully thats good enough.

The Red Sox clinched a playoff berth the other night. Woohoo! So that was exciting. Now all that needs to happen is that they win all 3 games against the Yankees this weekend, and for Tampa Bay to lose their next three games, and they'll finish at the top of the division...yeah. But seriously- we aint too proud to take that Wild Card slot. They'll be playing in October, and that's all that matters. One step closer to back-to-back WS titles. I still believe.

(amanda)

ps. I'm trying to use the excitement of playoff baseball to keep myself distracted from the fact that I'll be having a BABY (?!?!?!) in the next month. Cause if I don't keep myself distracted, it's nothing but A Baby Story on TLC, and pregnancy message boards, and rereading What to Expect When You're Expecting, and basically overanalyzing every little thing. It's seriously getting out of control. I need to keep my mind off it so that I can survive these last few weeks. Enter October baseball. It works at least for a few hours every night when there is a game going on...

And keep those birthdate/weight/sex guesses coming!

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35 weeks.

Just got home from my doctors office. This counted as my 35 week visit, although the doctors and I differ on when exactly I will hit 35 weeks. I say this Thursday, they say tomorrow. I continue to hold my own opinion of my due date... according to my NFP chart, the due date should be October 23rd. A date that was backed up by the ultrasound tech when we had that done what seems like a thousand years ago. The doctor just figured it from the date of my last period, which puts it at October 21st. I am well aware that the due date is just an approximation, and really, whats the difference in two days? I'll tell you. When its October 24th and this kid is still kicking around in my gut, I would much rather think I'm just a day past my due date rather than 3 days past. You get what I'm saying? It's a purely psychological thing. It's like how my dad used to always over-estimate how much longer we had to be in the car on road trips.

We'd be halfway to New Jersey, and you'd ask him "Dad? How much longer till we get there?" He'd look at the clock, and reply "hmm...I'd say at least another 4 hours" Except the WHOLE trip took us like 5, and we'd been on the road for 2 and a half hours, we were halfway through Connecticut already...even if we DID hit New York traffic we should be there in another 3 hours...but when we expected to be in the car for 4 more hours and instead we were arriving at my uncles house after only another 2, well hey! Those 2 hours seemed like nothing!

In any case. I'm approximately 35 weeks along this week, and everything is looking just fine and normal. The thing that surprised me was that I havent gained a single pound since my 30-week appointment. I'm still at a total of 19 lbs. heavier than I was pre-pregnant. I feel a hell of a lot bigger, so I don't know how that works out... but the nurse said its fine, so I'm not concerned. Guess there's something to this ice cream and cereal diet afterall...

Sox/Rays tonight! We're only a game behind, with a win we could pull into a first-place tie for the division! Its a biiiiiig series!!! I love the end of the season. I love the postseason. This baby is due during the week of the World Series. All I know is that it better not make me miss a game. If I go into labor during the World Series, you had better believe I will be watching the game from my hospital bed. And I think the baby's going home outfit should definitely be something Red Sox related. Hmm. Better get to work on that.

Oh, and since we're sort of entering the home stretch here, I am currently taking bets on the actual delivery date and size and gender of the child currently known as Baby LaMartina. Leave me your guesses in the comment box. Whoever guesses closest will totally win some sort of prize. So lets hear em.

(amanda)

Heres me. 35 weeks and 1 day.

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Welcome to the baby blog.

I'll do my best to keep this updated and interesting. I'm sure it will be much more interesting once the baby is actually here... right now we're pretty much just in the last-bit-of-pregnancy holding pattern. Got about 6 weeks to go.

I feel huge, but whenever I tell somebody that I'm 7.5 months pregnant, they say "Oh my God, you're so tiny!" So I don't know.

Right now, the baby's favorite thing to do is push up into my ribcage, which I'm sure it great fun. Unfortunately, that also makes it a bit difficult for me to breathe at times... but sometimes I can also feel its little bottom pushing up on the top of my stomach, and that is still pretty cool. Baby also seems to get hiccups quite regularly. Which is cute. I can feel those in the underside of my belly, so I guess the baby must be head down.

The staples in my diet continue to be ice cream and bowls of breakfast cereal, which I figure is healthy... I'm getting plenty of calcium and protein, plus I put blueberries on my Total and Cheerios, so there's fruit, and whole grains. I also drink a lot of V8Fusion, which is a whole serving of fruits and veggies in one cup of juice. Between all that and my vitamins, I think I'm doing pretty well, nutritionally.

The big news this week is that my mom had her baby, so our new baby has another aunt! Check out Emily's website here.

(amanda)

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