For anyone interested...a follow-up from a very sad example of what happens when ignorance, hate, and extremism meet. It was a case I was following and I stumbled across this update...

Unitarian Universalist Congregation shooting in Tennessee

And finally....an update

I have become a terrible blogger...I can't believe that it's been a month since I have updated this blog. So much has been going on. Our Brian has picked up every cold and flu in a 10 mile radius since he started preschool. Being the sensitive, giving child he is- he decided to "share" the flu with his mommy. Ironically the one person who did NOT get the flu shot in this household, was spared the flu. Steve never gets sick. So unfair. After I started feeling better, about 4 days after I got sick, I got a upper respiratory infection/bronchitis, and right at the end- a stomach bug. It was a lovely week (well almost 2 really)...But now Brian and I are feeling much better.
The baby is getting huge! I am now 32 and a 1/2 weeks pregnant. I'm starting to have some ligament and pelvic pain and pressure and honest to God thought I was going to have to deliver her in the bathroom at the office on Monday. That would have been awkward. And messy. My doctor assured me it's totally normal and will increase more until I deliver her. In her words..."it's all misery from here." Grrrreat! Though I had already assumed that given the sciatic nerve pain, charley horses, stiffness, exhaustion, and inability to sleep for longer than 2-3 hours at a time....
We are getting so excited to meet her!!! And I say her because we still have not settled on a name yet. I have this sneaking suspicion she will be born and we will be looking at her trying to figure out what name she looks like....
And that's what is new in a nutshell. Exciting I know. Like I said, I am stinking at blogging right now.

Show and Tell

Brian has his first show and tell at school on Friday. The note from his teacher said that each child should bring in "a few things" to share. Not real descriptive, doesn't really help much. I was thinking of sending an ultrasound picture of his baby sister on the way (the 3D one where you can tell you are looking at a head and a face), a picture of his family-as he is obsessed with talking about everyone who is his family, and a favorite book. I mean what does one send with a 3 year old for their first show and tell? If I ask Brian without some ideas to give him, he will go in with his Handy Manny talking toybox (loud and obnoxious and sure to drive his teachers mad), his Little Einstein rocket (again, volume/sanity factor), or something loud and absolutely inconvenient and unrealistic to take (like the television). Tonight I asked him an open-ended question re: what he would like to bring and he said the Christmas tree. So that kind of questioning is clearly not going to work.

Hormonal vent, feel free to skip

I know that I have officially entered my third trimester. I am back to being tired, and I am over-analyzing everything in the way only a hormone over-producing, 25 pounds in 27 weeks gaining, awful skin possessing, and charley horse afflicting, woman can. I am growing terrified at the prospect of having an infant in the house again, and this time with a toddler who has his own schedule and expectations of how much energy mom and dad need to have for him. I am panicked that we won't be able to figure it out...we have our nice little routine and are what I believe to be great parents, to an only child, but do we have enough to share with a new baby? My to-do list before the baby gets here, at home, at work, keeps growing and the deadlines keep getting closer. I barely have the energy to stick to my routine in the day, including getting Brian ready and to school, getting to work, functioning through the day, coming home, figuring out dinner, play, bath, and bedtime. Occasionally I can fit some cleaning in there somewhere....My patience and fuse grow shorter, my effective parenting weaker. I know my energy will only continue to dissipate the closer I get to my due date. And working full-time with 2? How on earth am I going to do this? Am I crazy? And I hate to admit it, but I really feel alone in all of this. Don't get me wrong, Steve is an awesome father, he really is. He is hands-on, recognizes that we both work full-time and have to equally share parenting duties, and is incredibly patient and caring with Brian. He is absolutely everything I could have asked for in the father of my children...and more. It's just this working opposite schedules thing...We have been together nearly 10 years now and have always had opposite schedules. Which makes it a little easier, because we're both used to it. But every once in a while, I get really bitter about it. Enter hormones. Hello bitter (oh and you brought your friend irrational!), nice to see you again...We get two nights a week, one half day, and one full day together. It just starts to wear on you, more of the time you are together seems to be spent coordinating the day/week vs. appreciating the time you have together. It seems you stop expressing your thoughts, fears, daily struggles and triumphs with them, because it's more important to figure out who is taking the kids to school tomorrow, how much we owe for childcare, and what chores need to be completed when. And you don't think about it...until you do, and realize how much you miss them.
And now it's nearly midnight. I have a sink full of dishes (and no dishwasher- curse this historic house), and I need to get everything together for my day tomorrow so I am ready to get up at 6a and out of the house by 7 to sit in a training in Richmond allllllllllllllllllllll day and then a brief meeting following it, meaning I won't get home until after 8p. Thank God it's nearly the weekend....

He definitely has roots in Texas...

In a nutshell

I bit the bullet last week and changed obstetricians. Actually I made the decision almost 2 weeks ago, after feeling like I was not being monitored very well (no urine samples every appointment like I did with my first pregnancy, and concerns generally disregarded), waiting a week for an antibiotic for a UTI, numerous unreturned phone calls, and the last straw...making me wait on hold for a half an hour until 5:01p when the "after-hours" on-call system picked up. Because my insurance changed on January 1st, I realized that I could go back to the doctor that delivered Brian. I called the office, fearful that they wouldn't take me on at 26 weeks (after all I am over half way through my pregnancy!) but they did and I had my first appointment last Monday. If that wasn't sign enough that I was making the right decision, the day after I scheduled my appointment, my friend called me and made me certain that fate had intervened and shown me a different path for a reason. This dear friend of mine has a dear friend who has, quite literally, the WORST labor story every. So bad that it really involves malpractice. Without going into great detail as to protect her privacy, it involved a resident delivering more than the afterbirth and pulling out something that shouldn't be pulled out of ones body. Fortunately she was saved in emergency surgery. Guess who her doctor was? Mmmmhmmm, that's right, my doctor, at the practice I just left. That completely sealed the deal for me. I am so relieved to be back with my old OB, she is wonderful and it is a HUGE weight lifted off of my shoulders. I know that I am now in great hands (after all she has delivered like 2,000 babies) and she made me laugh with her first statement to me..."Well Claire, it wouldn't be a pregnancy of yours without a little bit of drama, would it?" She provided more reassurance around the earlier test results by stating that it by no means equates chromosomal abnormalities, but that it does mean that I should be monitored closely for potential problems that may lead to pre-term birth, so they can treat them ASAP and keep our baby "cooking" for as long as possible...I see her again on Friday and have my 28 week ultrasound next week to ensure her growth is still on target and my placenta isn't starting to work overtime. Overall I am feeling good though! I have moments when I get a little nervous. I am after all, only 2 weeks away from when I began developing the first symptoms of preeclampisa with Brian. I am less than 6 weeks from when I delivered Brian. I am not focusing on these little facts, but I would be lying if I were to say it's not in the back of my mind.
But, focusing on the positive- my little peanut is extremely active, kicking and dancing and making her presence known. She also must be huge (or I am...but I prefer to go with she is) because I was measuring 31 cm at 26 weeks!!! My doctor isn't concerned yet though, saying she may have had a growth spurt. But wow! I have cut back on the snacks since then...

His other learning experience...

I have SUCH a boy. Brian discovered tonight the hilarity of blowing bubbles in the bathtub. And yes I mean THOSE bubbles. He let out a little toot, and hysterically laughed at the result as well as at the three more that followed. At least he said excuse me.