As mentioned in an earlier post, our bathroom is under construction (almost done now!). So, I have been showering at my Ma’s house. The other day I packed my bags for my weekly shower (I know. Gross), proud of myself for remembering my bra this time. I began to get ready for the shower and realized I forgot my underwear. Grrr. I toweled up, ran downstairs and asked my Ma if she had a pair of undies I could borrow. 
She looked at me, distraught and said “Oh Amie, I wear small, bikini style underwear. I don’t think I’ll have anything that will fit you”. Keep in mind that my mom is this hot, little number going on 60.
I proceeded to explain to her that I am still in the same underwear that I was in before I was pregnant.
As she came upstairs she exclaimed, “Oh Amie, I just don’t know, let’s look though, maybe we can find something.”
I said with a bit more excitement, “MOM! Didn’t you hear me. I am still in the same underwear. Anything will work.”
She digs through her drawer sighing and pulling out the biggest pair of panties she can find, “Hmmm, well, maybe these will work.”
Snatching them from her hand and huffing off, “Those will work. Of course they will work.”
I stomped back to her holding the pair of underwear that I had shown up in with two hands, “See? Same size. Same underwear as before.”
“Oh.” She asks, “What size are those?”
February 26, 2010
I went to the doctor yesterday. I am now 37 weeks. T minus 3 weeks until my due date. Laid down on the terribly uncomfortable doctor table. She felt my belly and said, “Oh! She feels like she is sideways now.” I thought, “no way, I feel her head in my pelvis.” So, she checked me and sure enough her head is where it should be, not sideways. So, basically the girth of this baby is comparable to a baby who is laying sideways. Awesome and ouch. Looking forward to delivery.
Things that must be done before I deliver: under construction bathroom must be finished, thousands of boxes full of baby paraphernalia must be organized and put away, baby furniture must be painted, two more showers, art auction to be hosted on Feb. 28th, documentary must be wrapped up. Whew! I think I can! I think I can!
Happy belated Valentines Day everyone. I would not be wishing you Happy Valentines Day if it weren’t for the awesome card my adorable husband made for me below that I want to show off. That’s Frankie on the left and Floyd on the right. Steve keeps asking me, “See the heart that their tails are making?” Do you see it? I think Floyd kinda looks like he wants to kick Frankie’s ass.
February 18, 2010
As unreal as it may seem to us, there is a baby coming, inevitably, this baby will be here sooner than later. Steve and I have talked a lot about preparations for the baby. We tend to do that; to talk about preparing more than we actually prepare. Whether the thing actually gets done is of varying importance.
One of the things we have been talking about preparing for is how to be sure that we have our 2, four year old dogs prepped for the best possible outcome of living with their new sister/master, Matilda. We have gotten them to go to their beds with pretty good ease. All we have to say is “bed!” and they both run frantically to one of their beds, sometimes knocking heads trying to figure out which bed they should each be on to get the best spot for the treat they know is coming. Sometimes they switch beds, sometimes they each get on the same bed, uncomfortably, but hoping that they will be the first to get the treat.
On our list of over 30 things that need to be done before Matilda is here, was to get a baby doll that will pose as Matilda. We spent a couple of evenings making over the doll, passing it back and forth, bouncing it and cooing at it–yes, it felt a little crazy.
Frankie could have given a rat’s ass. Floyd on the other hand thought the baby’s large head was a play toy. So, we worked with his boundaries. I didn’t think he got it. And then, the other day, we inadvertently left the doll on the couch. Next thing we know, the baby has two tennis balls and Floyd is sitting in front of it whining for her to throw them. Success! He thinks the baby is human and is treating her as such. I think it is going to be ok after all.
Yesterday was Steve’s birthday. He has made things so much easier for me throughout this pregnancy that I felt like I should have planned something super spectacular.
But, I failed to plan anything.
So, I got him sushi for lunch and a heart shaped cheesecake. In the evening we went to Steve’s favorite restaurant Pueblo Solis. The snow storm had just begun when we left for the restaurant.
Afterward, Steve wanted to go see Avatar. Steve insists that certain movies have to be seen in the theater. Avatar was one of them. When we left the restaurant, the snow had accumulated on our car to where it had to be wiped off again. I had assigned Steve a two drink minimum, so I was designated driver. Probably against our better judgement, off we went to the movie theater. Three hour movie + snow storm + 45 minute drive home = Amie scared shitless, moaning, whining and crying about how the car is sliding off of the highway and everyone else in the world needs to learn how to drive because they are all going to die if they don’t SLOW DOWN.
All out of love for the birthday boy. You are the greatest husband and daddy to be, honey. I hope you had a fabulous birthday and I look forward to preparing to prepare for the rest of our lives together.
February 9, 2010
I had my second ultrasound yesterday to check the size of the baby and to be sure that everything is looking ok. All looks well-maybe a little too well. This little girl is in the 98th percentile for weight and size. They are guesstimating between 9lb. and 11lb if I go full term. All I can say to myself is take it one step at a time and see if you can do it. See if you can get this very large girl who is going to come out talking and smoking and lifting weights out naturally. She’s gonna be like “Hi Mom, I’ve been waiting to meet you. It was quite cramped in your belly, now give me a steak. Medium rare.”
Here is the conversation that was had between myself, the ultrasound tech and my ma.
UT: What are you going to name this child?
Me: Matilda. My mom doesn’t like it but we don’t care.
Mom: I’m calling her Mattie.
Me: That is not her name.
UT: You should listen to your mother. This little girl is going to grow up and ask you why you named her Matilda.
Mom: That’s right, I told her that.
UT: You should listen to your mom. What is the child’s middle name?
Me: Parker
UT: Mmmm. I knew you all were a little different. Aren’t you.
Mom: They’re a couple of hippies.
UT: Maybe she will call herself Melanie, or Matte.
Mom: I’m calling her Mattie.
Me: Mattie is not her name. Her name is Matilda and we love the name and she will too.
And then the conversation turned to lecturing me about how many sweets I eat and how I made this baby this big and it’s not because I weighed 9 lb. 3 oz. and my husband weighed 10 lb. Nope, it’s because I ate too much. And also how crazy I am for trying to go natural and how it’s not going to be possible with a baby this size.
I take it all in stride. We shall see.
Anyone else deal with frowns and funny looks when they told the name they had picked? I know some people don’t tell until the baby is here, but I figured that it would give everyone time to get used to it. Looks like it is going to be an uphill battle. Once she is here she will be nothing but Matilda to everyone.
February 4, 2010
Last night was our last Lamaze class. It was more like a combo class: four classes of telling us what might go wrong in the birthing process, one class on how to breast feed, and last night was the class on how your baby will die if you do not follow ALL of their recommendations. Steve had a homework assignment this week to crawl around on the floor looking for hazards. He said he did it. But I do not recall him doing it, because had he, I would have been fully aware because of all of the little dust bunnies and dog hair on our floor that would have sent Steve into an allergy attack from hell. My mom is to the rescue as soon as we get all of the other crap in our house in order, she is going to come over and clean in her super sparkly, super anal, clean like I have never been able to clean before way.
That reminds me to tell you that our house is under construction. Good timing, I know. We had my uncle build a walk in/built in closet in our bedroom since Matilda’s room was my walk in closet before, and now he has completely gutted the upstairs bathroom and is going to make it nice and shiny and wonderful for Matilda.
Back to Lamaze, otherwise known as “how you can keep your baby from dying class”. There was a lot of potentially hazardous things to cover in the three hour class. I had a whole list in my head when I got home, but now can’t seem to remember any of them. All I know is that I have to completely change everything in the house. Otherwise Matilda is going to set the house on fire, fall in the toilet, fall down the steps, barge through large pieces of glass, hit her head on hard things, smother herself in soft things, die if she gets a fever, die if she gets a diaper rash. We need to worry about which side of the car the car seat (which I researched diligently and am now worried is not good enough) will go on. It should go on driver side because we have a tendency as humans to dodge away from oncoming objects/cars, but my husband is probably too tall to have a car seat behind the driver’s seat, so she will have to be unsafe on the passenger side. Not to mention my own patience and how I am going to lose it, which I don’t doubt. Must set baby down and call someone immediately if I feel like I am going to lose it. I think the biggest issue, and I am serious about this is where are we going to keep the dog water bowl. Babies can drown in just an inch of water, so how are my dogs going to be hydrated. Maybe I will get the a large gerbil feeder. But, then Matilda might poke her eye out on it.
Anyway, you get the picture. I could go on and on.
So, yeah, this was our last Lamaze class. The end of a six week period that I thought at the beginning of would be a milestone in this 40 week gestational cycle.
The end of an era.
Yesterday was the day of the ‘end of eras’. As some of you may know, I have been riding with a woman named PJ over in East St. Louis for the past year, filming for a documentary that we are making about our rescue work. I committed to making this film about a year ago. Very shortly into filming, I found out I was pregnant. The first three months consisted of me woozy and needing to vomit every morning due to all of the pot holes on the run down streets of East St. Louis. Second trimester was great. I was able to still help rescue, film and generally could keep up with PJ. Third trimester has been a little trying. I had to have an assistant come with to help in all of the precarious situations we are put in. It is very hard to deny a puppy who needs to be rescued. But, a lady in her third trimester really has no business doing some of the things I was doing. And now, 5 weeks before I am due, I have finally passed the cameras onto someone else. I am going to miss it. I am going to miss riding with PJ, knowing about each of the 40+ dogs we feed everyday, advocating to rescue the ones who need it. I am going to miss the adventure and thrill of rescuing random dogs that we have never seen before, but know we have to pull immediately because they will not make it another day on the streets. Every morning, on my way to meet PJ, I would say to Matilda, “You ready to go rescue some dogs!” I think it will be fun to tell her of all of my adventures while I was carrying her. She has been quite the trooper.
Showers have begun. Every weekend is full of baby related stuff, whether it is getting the house ready or going to a party someone is throwing for her. In the rush of it all I am trying to keep a clear brain about it. Trying to keep focus on what an amazing and sweet experience this journey is going to be. I want to document every step of the way. The end of eras and the beginning of new ones. I want to create, to document with creation and show Matilda through my art the emotional journey that this has been for me. The piece below is the Ultrasound Art (a.k.a. Fetus Art) I spoke about in an earlier post. It was a gift to Steve for Christmas. Making these types of things along the way is what keeps me sane. It gives me something to focus on rather than the unexpected paranoia that has come with this journey. I am so excited. I can’t wait to meet her.
To new journeys in life, creating new experiences and allowing the present and past to transform itself into what we want it to be. I am looking forward to it all.
February 3, 2010
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