Upcoming birthday

Mark just reminded me that my birthday's coming up on Sunday. I'd forgotten. The only birthday I've been concerned with is my baby's. We didn't do much on Mark's birthday other than leave the hospital, and I can't imagine what we can do for mine at our house. I guess maybe we can get some restaurant food in, but I don't even know what's around here. In Burbank we had about every single restaurant at our fingertips. And we're a hop, skip and a jump away from Sherman Oaks and Studio City, but I didn't have enough time driving around the neighborhood (before I got grounded) to know what's what.

It'd be so cool to go have some japanese shabu shabu at Koji's at Hollywood and Highland, but I'm probably on bedrest indefinitely. We'll find out tomorrow when the doctor gives her recommendation. I have another checkup. It's been 3 weeks, I've been a good girl, Myles has been a good boy and we have yet to see if my cervix has held steady.

I was at 1.5 cm when I was hospitalized and I just saw in a forum where a lady was 1.5cm at 31 weeks and held that way until 34 weeks and delivered at almost 36 weeks and got to take her baby home right away, no NICU time. Woohoo! That's what I'm talking about. I want to be able to stroll out of the hospital fairly immediately.

I already have to leave the house on Saturday for our birthing class, so I might have used up any leaving-the-house slack between the doctor's visit and that, so I'm not holding my breath about Sunday. We are going to an all-day birthing/childcare class at our hospital that they squeezed me into when we found out that he might sneak up on us sooner than later.

Monday I was as full as a tick. Stomach so tight, I felt like I was going to pop. When the baby grows, it's pretty immediately noticeable. There was some type of spurt that happened Sunday-Monday and I was uncomfy until yesterday when my skin gave a little. It's a cycle of stretch, relax, stretch, relax. It's been awhile since I've felt it - since he went lower, I've been fairly flexible and have ribcage room. I can still reach the ground - I might grunt a little doing it, but I can touch my feet. But it's really entering the time where he's supposed to mostly just be putting on weight. And it's pretty apparent. I've been starting to get hungry in between lunch and dinner a lot more, and I've been eating a little more sweet stuff than before, so I guess it's all according to schedule. Last time we checked, he was about 3 lbs, but I'm not seeing the perinatologist anytime soon and he's the only who can give me a weight. I think a book I read said that I might put on nearly a pound a week here on out - I don't know, that sounds iffy. But he's supposed to put on a third of a pound to a half a pound a week until the end, so maybe so.



I got a care package today from my friend Michelle and her family, all decorated by her two little boys. One of them wrote, "I love u Patryce's baby." It was so cute. I'll put a picture up in this post later when I get back to the other computer w/the card reader.



She sent me lots of stuff that the boys had grown out of and a pack of new onesies and baby hats as well, a few books, some changing pads, some homemade knit towels and a blankie, and a musical cradle hanging thingie. It was so sweet and heartfelt. Her kids are amazing anyhow. When I call, I often talk to them and they know who I am even though I only get to St. Louis about once every 3 years. She does such a good job with them - they have manners at such a young age. I guess I'm lucky that my only high school friend to have kids has boys!



When I first found out that I was having a boy first, I felt like somebody was teaching me to swim by knocking me in the water. I mean, what do I know about raising a boy - that's what I thought. But now that it's becoming a reality, I'm not that nervous. I don't think it's scarier being a boy or a girl, I think it's scary that it's a child period! But I'm getting so excited about meeting him and being able to hold him in my arms as opposed to just getting kicked in the stomach for 40 minutes per hour.

And I can't wait for my dogs to meet him. Minnie seemed to like my friend Jude's youngest daughter Makensie last weekend. Max likes big kids, but I'm not sure about him and little babies. They don't throw balls or anything. It might be an adjustment for him. He's the original baby and thinks that all cooing noises and all fuzzy toys are clearly meant for him. That's why we got Minnie 3 years back - to break Max in with the concept of sharing. After Buster died, he really started to get super entitled and pushy and I knew that with kids coming eventually, he'd need to know how to share again.
Today when I took a toy out of Michelle's care package, he immediately started jumping for it, thinking he got a new toy. It's going to be interesting trying to keep baby socks and toys out of Minnie's cage and Max's mouth.

Okay, in other world news, I watched the Obama stuff today and it was just ravishing. We have a black president, a truly black first lady (he didn't try to scrape by with one of those technically black chicks) and two dazzling kids. And the crowd was just SO happy. The crowd was twice the size of anything I've ever seen in person (Michel Polnareff's concert in Paris was 1 million folks - the size of the crowd up until reflecting pool #1). And reports from my sister, who was there with my niece just confirmed what I thought: people were thrilled out of their wits to have this president. She stood in front of a group of really spirited white 'kids' which in her progressing age means 20 year olds (don't worry Pam, I'm getting up there too). And she said that their comments were hilarious. People were booing Bush, of course and they just cheered anytime they saw anything exciting on the Jumbotron. Everyone I spoke with or Facebook'd or whatever was just afire about change in the air. It's been a very good day.