+ Bubbles +
What on earth are you doing in there?! I feel all these bubble-y feelings from top to bottom. I'm wearing tighter pants today and I can only guess you don't like them. My goodness!

Anyway, todays updates are: I ordered the breastpump yesterday afternon. Just $75! I got the confirmation in my email this morning, and we should have the Medela Pump-In-Style, Companion model by midweek next week. We had another childbirth class last night, this one was about breathing, massage, and basic non-medical intervention. I'm not so sure about the breathing, but I understand the purpose. Historically, I've been very good about being able to center myself and focus on my breathing and my physical relaxation in times of stress. I can only guess about whether I'll be able to do this in labor, but I don't think I'm any more likely with these forced ways of breathing. I'm going to work some more on meditation and focus in the next few weeks on my own time, because I think for me they will be more useful. That instructor is starting to drive me nuts. She tried to convince us that getting an epidural will cause our baby to be cranky, lethargic and unstable for the first 6 weeks of its life. I know that to not be medically true, except in rare or extreme cases. Whatever. Finally, your Grandma Laurie is on her way to San Francisco to march in protest of a war that scares all of us who will make up your family. This is not a typical Grandma thing to do, and I hope one day you'll be proud of her.

+ Boys +
My good online friend Angie just found out she and her husband are having a BOY! Most likely, you'll like boys someday, believe me. This one will come to join the world sometime about 3 months after you do! Yay!

+ Travel System +
&*($@)&*(#@&*(%)#^()*@#()_!@()*%&#(*&*(_^%$#@

The stupid travel system we're registered for disappeared AGAIN!?!?!?!?! Friggin' stupid registry. Now I have to drive to BFE to go to a physical Babies R US - they're both on opposite extremes of town and we live in the middle - to see if the darned thing is still showing up on the in-store registry or not. Come on, people!?!

+ Are you comfy down there? +
Dearest Ceili, I'd like to thank you for the moment of excitement last night. Daddy let me lie down on the couch last night, and after I'd been there a few minutes, you decided to move. Now, this wasn't your normal "movement" where you kick my right ribs and wiggle your head in my pelvis. No. This was MOVEMENT. You decided, for reasons known only to you, to change positions completely. I have no idea how you're lying now, but OH MY GOSH that was the weirdest feeling I've had in the last 8 months. It literally took my breath away. I gasped and I'm sure I had a look of horror on my face. Daddy was immediately concerned, and I smiled just a little to let him know I wasn't in labor, but I couldn't say anything for a few seconds. You wriggled about in your new position, settling in, and I think that's how you still are. I think what you've done is pull your head up and slide your butt down. You feel much more... sideways now. Lying on my side last night in bed, I felt you much more acutely where my side hit the bed than I used to. You haven't dropped, though, of that I'm sure, so that's good news I guess. You still feel fairly high up, just different. I'm drinking some soda right now and waiting for the neat rib shots I always get... But instead, I'm feeling all kinds of weird movements down low. I think it's going to take a while to get used to this.

+ Great developments +
So, I met with HR today. I'm not quite getting the benefits I thought I would, but they're still quite good. I'm going to take 3 weeks off before my due date, making my last day of work 2/21. I'm going to take 8 weeks off after the delivery as well. That will be nice. She gave me a number to call for some work/life resource program that we have as a company to get a new parents' pack of some sort with freebies. Well... Turns out it is a LOT more involved than that. Among other things, like having a registered lactation consultant available to me by phone 24/7 and having lots of wonderful freebies, resources and referral programs (like for daycare, which I'm going to look into next), but it turns out my employer subsidizes the breast pump I was going to buy!!! I can choose any model of the Medela Pump-In-Style, which runs around $300 (plus tax) and it will be shipped to me via 3-day UPS for $75! Period! No tax, no shipping, nothing! I was going to buy this anyway, so I'm glad I just haven't gotten it yet. I'll save about $250 when it's all said and done! The woman on the phone was sooooo nice, and so helpful, we talked for at least 1/2 hour. What a wonderful way to end my day.

I also talked to your Aunt Chelsie, who I found out follows along here sometimes (Say "HI" to Aunt Chelsie, Ceili!), and finalized the plans for the baby shower. Looks like we're planning Saturday, 2/8, in the afternoon. We're going to see her and Uncle CR on Saturday at Tom and Talmar's and give them the final guest list. Of course, we have a couple of addresses still to get before then, but that's mostly Daddy's job!

That's the big news. I feel like there's something else, but my frazzled pregnant brain can't remember it. You're kicking up a storm, and probably anxious for some food. Let's go see what we can find for you...

+ 31w6d +
It's getting harder to get up and go to work. I just want to sleeeeeeeeep! On top of it all, I woke up at about 4:00 this morning, having trouble breathing, having heartburn and desperately thirsty. After using the restroom, chugging a glass of water and taking a Zantac, I sort of made it back to sleep for another hour or so. But I'm still having trouble breathing. I'm puzzled as to whether it's you, which seems to be the logical explanation, or something more sinister. It's actually almost painful to breathe, like pneumonia or something, but I don't have any other symptoms. I suppose I will have to keep an eye on it.

In other news... I finally took another belly picture, as I mentioned yesterday, and I uploaded it last night. Here it is. No big promises. Joe's still learning how to use the digital camera, so it's blurry. Grrrrrrr. Sorry about that. I feel much bigger than I look in the picture, too, so I'm wondering about that trick photography. :-)

+ Movement +
You're moving around a ridiculous amount today. I just stuck my hand on the spot you've been kicking for the last 3 months, and I keep feeling a clicking when you are particularly active. Now, that's either your knees knocking or it's my damned ribs, which are aching from all your calisthenics! Daddy tells me to stop when I yell at you to knock it off, so I won't tell you that anymore. But c'mon! I can't concentrate on what I'm doing!

+ Doctor, Doctor +
Another uneventful doctor's visit. I suppose that's a good thing and I should be grateful, but I keep waiting for some excitement. Don't worry; I'm fully aware that there will come a rather exciting time in the very near future and I shouldn't be in such a darned hurry for it. :-)

He says we're doing well! Your heartbeat is "very strong" and sounded that way to me. My bp was 122/62, and I measured right on for 31.5 weeks. Furthermore, he was thrilled to say the least about my weight gain. Now, if readers know me IRL, they'll know that I have gotten MUCH bigger in the last 4 weeks (since my last appointment). I do have a picture from yesterday which I'm going to upload tonight for everyone's amusement, so watch for that tonight or tomorrow. But how much weight have I gained in 4 weeks, while my waistline rapidly multiplied? A pound and a half! Yes, indeedy. That puts my total weight gain at 11 pounds. Now, I hate to say this, but I know that makes it sound like I'm a very large girl who could be pregnant without gaining anything (not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just saying...). But I'm not, I swear! I'm definitely not little, but I'm not that un-little. ;-) He said I'm exactly where he wants me to be, and that he's certain at this point that after the baby is delivered and I come back to "normal" that I will definitely weigh LESS than I did before I was pregnant, and even less than that if (when) I breastfeed. Groovy! That's what I like to hear. My running joke now is that pregnancy appears to be the perfect weight-loss program for me. Ha! Even daddy has commented on how my legs and arms look better than they did before. Weird.

Anyway, he did say we won't get another ultrasound unless something goes wrong. That's a bummer, but not that surprising. I asked him if you were head-down, and he said he thought so, but couldn't quite tell because you're still small (normal small, not abnormally small). He thinks he'll be able to tell better next time. So, my next appointment is in 2 weeks, then another in 2 weeks (on 2/10), and then we're on weekly appointments. That's good, because I'm hoping to go on leave 2/21, so it won't interfere too much with work after 2/17.

+ Due +
Our due date is exactly 2 months... I wonder what The Date will actually be...

+ Sneaky +
One of my co-workers (a particularly social one) just asked me when my last day was and where we're registered. Subtle. ;-) That means, "When is the last day we can plan your baby shower?" I am so lucky to work on a team of 100% women. That's been very helpful, as they've been excited and supportive of me throughout this pregnancy. And they always have baby and bridal showers, so I figured it was only a matter of time. What nice people!

+ Monday +
Well, a few interesting things happened over the weekend. Milestones of some sort, I suppose. Friday evening, daddy went out so we had some time alone. I played with your room, organizing and moving things around, and finished the cute liners for the baskets on your changing table. They turned out very well, and I had an absolute blast doing it. Go figure. Saturday morning, I noticed something new - stretch marks! Yippee. :-/ Not a lot, and I'm still considering myself lucky, but I see signs they won't stay so innocuous. I already had a couple on my hips, and now I have more, little ones from my hips onto the very sides of my belly. Grand. Then, Sunday morning as we were sitting in church, I noticed how swollen my hands were. I tried to pull my wedding ring off and almost couldn't. Mind you, I gave up on my diamond engagement ring a week or so ago. Not that it was smaller, but I figured one ring might be easier to bear tight than two. Nope. Enough was enough. So the rings are in their Helzberg ring box in the shadow box from our wedding in our bedroom for a while. I'm going to wait until after you're born and have them re-sized. They were tight before I was pregnant anyway. So last night I went out and bought a (very nice) sterling silver wedding band for about $10. It looks very nice, though it's actually a little big. When I bought it, my hands weren't swollen at all, so I figured a little big was good. I'm waiting for the swelling this morning to see how it fits.

Anyway, that's the update. Today is the first of our every-2-week appointments. I have a conflict with a work meeting, so that might have to be rescheduled but I'm hoping not.