Friend's Blog

A friend of mine has created a really really good blog: http://theswitchintime.blogspot.com/. Check it out if you have time. It mostly focuses on the upcoming election and politics in general. It has a lot of good insight.

Evie The Barfing Cat

on friday diana and I went out for a couple of hours in the late morning. we came home to find evie greeting us at the bottom of the stairs; as usual. diana immediately decided to take a nap and i did some work. evie curled up in the chair next to me and took a nap as well. a short while later evie dashed onto the floor and ran up the stairs at which point i heard a lound knocking sound (evie always makes a strange knocking sound when she throws up). i walked over to the stairs and found that evie had thrown up a small amount, no big deal, cats often throw up. the only problem was i went into our bedroom and realized while we were gone she had barfed everywhere. all over the bed, under the bed, on a comforter, on my shorts, on several pillows and even inside of a pillow case. i don't know how she managed to throw up into a pillow case, but she did. of course, being ever helpful she also managed to track the barf all over the bed and onto the floor. there was a nest in the center of things that remained untouched. from the look of it she must have woken up and instantenously begun projectile vomiting in all directions. when she was done she apparently had no way of escaping her puke-free island and stepped into one of the barf piles. very gross. she went to the vet that afternoon, and was placed on a strict baby food diet. she seems to be feeling better now.

38 weeks and counting

we're now into our 38th week and the baby has not decided to make her appearance yet. diana's contractions have been increasingly consistent, some are stronger than others. but, no real proof of her arrival anytime soon. both of us are extremely anxious to meet the little girl! we have moved out of the nervous/anxious phase and are kind of stuck in this weird waiting mode. although i should be working on my paper and diana always has plenty of work to do, neither of us are being very productive. it is strange to think she could be here today or not until the end of october.

p.s.: evie being ridiculous/scared and one thing i'll miss

evie decided to camp out on our dining table all day last monday because i set one of our cushions on the table momentarily. evie is also shown hiding from the evil vacuum. finally, one of the things i'll miss about pregnancy is being able to use my belly as a table -- here's some proof of how convenient it is to lounge on the couch without needing to bend forward.

Week 37 belly shots

we're now in the home stretch: full-term! from here on out, we'll probably post weekly updates (with and without photos). nothing too exciting has happened this week. we met with our doula to finalize our birth plan, and we're visiting the doctor weekly. i've started to feel more contractions now, but nothing too noteworthy as i'm pretty sure they're braxton-hicks. we have everything ready for the baby's arrival; she just needs to decide on her birthday :)
here are some belly shots from this week. we'll keep you posted on any major advancements...

evie.the.cat

evie takes after jeff in the sleep department. although she wakes up with me in the mornings and accompanies me while i work, she's usually curled up sleeping the entire time. this video was taken on wednesday, when i was teaching and jeff was home with her.

the beginnings

we went to the doctor yesterday and found out that i am 1 cm dilated and that the baby's head has now descended into my pelvis (for those not in the know, this is good news as she is in position and no longer transverse). we weren't really surprised since i'd been feeling some discomfort in the pelvic area lately and had been experiencing some new sensations, which i guess are contractions. but, the fact that i'm dilated doesn't really seem to mean much as many women go around for weeks being only 1 or 2 cm dilated. so, we're hoping she stays in there for a little while longer -- at least another two weeks just to ensure that she is full term.

i will finish teaching tomorrow and then i will be confined to the apartment, hopefully cranking out a draft of that dissertation proposal before the baby arrives. jeff has a paper he's trying to finish too before our lives change drastically. we're slowly getting there with baby preparations. the crib has been assembled and is now next to our bed; the mattress should be arriving sometime this week; the changing table/dresser is being delivered this afternoon; most of her clothes have been washed and are ready to be put away in the dresser once it arrives; the car seat is installed and ready to go; the baby's room is half way decorated (ran out of wall paper border); and our bags are packed. there's still a lot more to do though...