Okay, Here Is The Deal.

Last week, when I went to my doctors appointment, they set a scheduled induction date for me--Wednesday the 15th. I just didn't publish it here because I didn't want to jinx it. Today, I went to the doctor again and it seems like the time is right for that induction. So here it is, The Official Word: I will be reporting to the hospital I work at tomorrow, at around seven pm to give this girl the ole' heave ho. So, if you don't see anything for a few days, you know I am in a state of shock and awe and haven't had time to blog my experience. I will return though. To be sure.

At least you all didn't have to see my mucous plug.

A Pregnant Lady in All Her Pregnant Glory

Here are pictures of me huge, taken for posterity at my baby shower. The shower was given to me by my sister in law Renee, and my mom, Cindy. It was a great day, and I am very thankful to the both of them for doing something so special.

BTW, people, I go to the doctor tomorrow (after yet another pedicure) I guess we will see if the walking I have been doing has helped me out any.

36 week frontal view-

Looks can be deceiving....
36 week side view-

Woo Hoo! Whale on the beach!

Ugh.

Today has really sucked over here on the pregnancy front. My back, is KILLING me. I have been uncomfortable all day. The baby is trying to kick her way out of me, Alien style. I was pretty concerned earlier this evening, so I had my girlfriend check with L and D at our hospital. They told me to, and I am serious here, take two Tylenol and call them later. They also wanted me to drink 32 oz of water, just in case what I am experiencing is dehydration. So I did this. The nurse also told me that if the contractions come 3-4 minutes apart for one hour to come on in. This whole pregnancy is very different than with Ayman. I don't know what to make of it. Oh well, I will do as I am told, and see what happens. I will keep every one posted to be sure.

Also today, at Amrs job they gave him a surprise baby shower. They all chipped in and gave him a 200 dollar gift card and a cake. I thought that was soooo nice. He said that his boss told him that she needed to speak to him in the conference room when he came back from his afternoon break. Everyone was in there with the cake and they all said "Surprise!" Amr still didn't get that it was a surprise for him, they had to tell him, "No, Amr, it is for you, the surprise is for you." So he really was surprised. Cool.

So I am Huge, You Got A Problem With That?

Tomorrow morning I go for an ultrasound to establish an EFW, or estimated fetal weight. Apparently they are concerned that this baby will be too big to squeeze out. Hey, I am concerned too! I did the last one at 9 lbs and that was no joke, people! But hey, he came out ok, with only a minimal conehead. I am concerned that his one will be too big to get out the regular way and may require surgery. I am hoping not. I would rather not break her little collarbone on the way out either. So, ultrasound it is, tomorrow morning bright and early. Thank goodness I don't have to drink the standard 32 ounces of water, because I can barely drink 2 ounces of water at this point. Wish me luck, and I will keep y'all posted.

Thirty days to go!

My due date is in 30 days. I can't believe this pregnancy is drawing to a close. I keep thinking, "Oh, I can't wait until this baby is born, so I can get some quality sleep."
HA HA! (Nelson from the Simpsons laugh)
Then I remember: if the pregnancy is over, I will have a little creature to nurse every 3 hours. Crap! Breastfeeding is totally efficient though, so I should be able to stay lazy for a couple of days before I go back to chasing a toddler as well. I hope the baby comes before the due date. She is huge already, and very assertive with her feet and elbows. All I know is the epidural will be happening, because I am not stupid. I wanna have the baby, I don't need to be a hero. Bring on the spinal drugs!
My baby shower is on Saturday, and it will be given by my mom and sister-in law Renee. (I have the greatest sis-in-law, people! Seriously. Mom too, for that matter.) The RSVP action has been sluggish, so I don't know how many people are really coming but it will be cool no matter what.
Tomorrow is pregnant lady beautification day. I will be going for my facial/neck waxing and pedicure. Super sweet! Maybe I should forget about the pedicure and get a Brazilian wax YEEEOOOOOOOWCHHH! But, hey I would be super smooth! I could even get a kooky hair configuration. You know, like a heart, mohawk or smurf (just kidding about the last one.)I think I am going to look into that. Maybe I could get a pedicure next week. I think I may be going insane to even entertain that thought.
Stay tuned folks for more disgusting pregnancy observations, and I will make sure to let you know when we see the good ole' mucus plug (hahahahahahah that is just gross, but I promise I won't take a picture of it. Ok, I won't make a promise I can't keep, but I am relatively sure I won't photograph it and post it on this site.)
Having a blog when you are pregnant sure is cool (the internet shudders....)

Grooming and Hygiene of Pregnant Women

Well I got my hair highlighted yesterday,(I used my xmas present that my dad gave me-- a 100 dollar gift card for Regis hairstylists, totally expensive, man!) so I got that going for me. This week I will be going to get a pedicure and a waxing as well. I looked in the rear view mirror of my car last week and found some appalling hair sticking out of my chin and neck.... Hello! This took a while to happen, people! How come nobody told me? I mean, one of those billy goat hairs was like, an inch long! Holy crap! It just didn't pop out over night, it had to grow. That takes time. I guess it is my fault for A.) Not looking at my double chin (I guess if I don't look at it, it means it isn't' there) and 2.) Not checking those suspect areas in the first place. Speaking of suspect areas-- (and male relatives from Egypt, stop reading now please, I am about to talk about pregnant woman stuff you just don't need to read--) I finally took a look at my so-called "bikini area" (like I will ever wear a bikini again, for several reasons, fatness only being like the second one) I look like a Sasquatch. I actually envisioned that picture of Bigfoot, you know the one....

oh yeah, that's it.
I totally forgot about that area. Not now though. I am going to try to come up with some way I can prune some of that back. I am not very optimistic though, due to the fact I can barely put on my shoes and socks. This odyssey will be over soon though, and I will be in for a whole host of other things to bitch and moan about. Anyway, I will sign off now, and think about some more undesirable crap I can post on this blog. I'll get back to ya later.

Sane/Insane

What is it exactly that makes a woman decide to have another child? When I was pregnant, I was pretty miserable for most of it. I kept waiting for that pregnant woman "glow" I don't think that it happened; at least I didn't see it. I woke up in the morning went to work in the afternoon to wait tables and inevitably, barf. Out of no where. My favorite foods, nauseating. My feet, swollen. My desire to sleep on my stomach and not being able to. There was just no comfortable way to sleep. I had the genetic screening done as part of the normal prenatal workup and was told that I had a 1 in 97 chance of having a child with Downs Syndrome, but not to let that affect my outlook on the pregnancy or allow it to make me nervous. Thankfully, my son Ayman was born healthy, with all fingers and toes. He had to stay in the hospital for three days afterward because my water was broken for longer than 24 hours (I had decided that I absolutely had to find out who Melana would choose on Average Joes season finale, and ignored my water breaking at 8:30 in the evening. In my defense, it wasn't A LOT of water, and since I had been pretty much incontinent since 6 weeks prior I gave myself the benefit of the doubt.), but other than that he was great. Thanks god or ilhamdullilah as Muslims say. At first it was very hard to be a mom, my husband helped a lot, but he was more clueless than I was. When the baby was 5 weeks old we traveled to Egypt to intro duce the baby and I to my husbands family. Did I mention my little angel was completely psychotic the entire time we were there? (4 weeks!) Luckily, a few days after we got back his attitude started adjusting and he is a happy little guy, with a pleasant disposition and he just started crawling. In short (but not really short) he is now keeping me on my toes. The last 18 months have been hard.
So why do I want to have another now? I mean NOW. I want to be pregnant yesterday. I must be insane. What makes me think that I can take care of two infants, change two sets of diapers, breastfeed again, and get to know another little person? Am I nuts? Where do you find the love for two babies? I mean, I know we have it. It is just hard to imagine loving anyone more than the little guy who rests his head on my chest when he is tired, or grunts so loud you can hear him from across the house when he is about to load his diaper.
Here I am though, ready and rarin' to go. Of course my husband looooves making the baby. I don't mind it much myself either. I am excited at the prospect. I have a feeling that I am going to remember A LOT of things that I forgot I didn't like about the whole process. I think that is called pregnancy amnesia. (and if it isn't it needs to be.) So wish me luck, because I think I am going to be a mom again soon.