8 months and Rita

The big event of the last few weeks here in Houston was hurricane Rita. Yes, Tony and I evacuated. No, there was no damage to our house. We didn't even lose power. We flew to Nashville on Wednesday night, hung out at his parents' and grandparents' houses Thursday through Saturday, and flew out of Indianapolis on Sunday. Therefore, we were never in the horrible traffic jams or the crazy lines at the airport. Overall our evacuation was probably the quickest and cheapest of anybody in Texas. We evacuated because we weren't going to be able to get to and from work for Thursday and Friday anyway. Also, if we had lost electricity, I couldn't stand the idea of being this pregnant without air conditioning in Houston.
This pregnancy hit 32 weeks yesterday. I can hardly believe that I only have 8 more weeks of being pregnant. Preparations for this kid are finally getting started. After two baby showers, Maggie has enough clothes to last her through puberty if only she would stay in the 3-6 months size range. Nearly all of the tiny new outfits have been washed and are hung up in her closet awaiting her arrival. We still have no furniture in the nursery, but we have many gift cards which will be used to buy furniture.
My buddy Catherine gave me the car seat that her last child used. The trouble with this car seat was that it was in Clarksville, TN and I live in Houston. So she brought it to my mother-in-law's house for the first shower. My mother-in-law brought it to Indiana. And I flew it to Houston with me on Sunday. I got lots of weird looks and even concerned questions about the fact that I was carrying an empty baby seat. Then the people would see my stomach and look even more confused. But the well traveled car seat is now at our house, and that's one less thing we need to buy for this baby.
Life is starting to get more uncomfortable by the day. Eventually, I will get so uncomfortable that the horrendous pain of labor will be preferred to being pregnant any longer. Isn't that a cheerful thought? If you don't want to read the bitching and moaning about how I feel, skip to the next paragraph. First of all, my ribs ache all the time. There are tiny feet or a head or something constantly shoved into my rib cage. My feet and ankles swell up a lot, especially on planes. I'm simultaneously hungry and have a stomach ache most of the day. I'm tired most of the time. My back and feet hurt. And to top it all off, I look funny. It doesn't matter how many times my dear husband tells me I look beautiful and that I look like a pregnant lady is supposed to. I can look in the mirror, and I look funny.
Ok enough whining, the bright side is there are all kinds of symptoms that I have not yet suffered. There is a possiblilty of me experiencing insomnia, heartburn, hemroids, false labor, etc., etc. in the next eight weeks. So overall a little swelling and achiness aren't that bad. I've got a check up tomorrow, and I'll post new belly pictures soon.

Ramblings at 30 weeks

This pregnancy is really flying by. I only have ten weeks left. Overall I'm feeling great. I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable sometimes, but I'm sure I don't even know what uncomfortable means yet. I had a cold over the last week, but it has now subsided. I really missed my old buddy Nyquil.
I had my 30 week check up on Tuesday. I lost one pound from the last appointment. I think that my weight is always in flux depending on how much water I'm retaining. Official weight gain is 18 pounds. The doctor said that my weight was good, and I'm measuring perfect for 30 weeks. Blood pressure is still low. The blood work from two weeks ago showed that I'm still low in iron. I take these stupid iron supplements everyday, but most of that goes to the baby. I do not have gestational diabetes. This is a wonderful fact. One of my friends who recently had a little boy was diabetic, and she had to follow this strict diet to keep her sugar down. I guess I'll continue to eat what I want to, which is basically everything.
I had to have an Rh shot because Tony and I have conflicting blood types. To add to the joy of having a shot, my insurance did not pay for it. So I had to go to the pharmacy and pick up the $130 shot. Then I had to pay my doctor's office to administer it. They gave me some paperwork saying that it was medically necessary, so maybe I can get a refund from the insurance company. I can't remember the last time that I had a shot. I had forgotten how much it sucked. I feel sorry for my poor baby who will have to get so many and not even understand why she has to go through the pain.
Maggie is a quite a mover these days. She is very active while I'm at work and trying to sleep. She likes to rest whenever I want her daddy or anyone else to feel her moving. Tony has felt her quite a few times, but she has been shy around everyone else. I hope this is a sign that she will be calm and peaceful whenever Tony is around. And maybe she will learn to change her own diapers and help Mama fold clothes. Ahh, at least I can dream.
My flying days are drawing to a close. The doctor wants we to stop flying now, but I have three more weekend trips planned. I will take these trips so long as I don't have any bleeding. After I'm officially grounded, I'm going to add up how many miles I've flown during this pregnancy. She is one well traveled fetus.
My first baby shower was this past weekend. My friend Catherine and her mother Terry hosted the party, and it was held at my mother-in-law's house in Kentucky. Maggie received lots of adorable clothes. I no longer have to worry about this baby having nothing to wear but diapers. It's great that we got lots of clothes because we need them and they're easier to get onto an airplane than a crib. Refreshments included a cute cake and big tray of nuggets from Chick-fil-a. Maggie and I really loved the nuggets. Mmm nuggets.