I managed to get out this weekend for a couple of hours. My Darling was working OT on Sat. (as has become usual) and I went with a friend to a local radio show end of summer prize draw party. I was a finalist having filled out one of those �pick me� forms at a local street fair with the same friend who was kind enough to transport me to the final draw. I was hesitant to sign up in the first place and was encouraged to do so by my friend only to have my name drawn as a finalist while she was left out in the cold. We were treated to sandwiches and soda and some really terrible �entertainment� followed by another name draw for the Grand Prize which I didn�t win. At least I got out of the house. My Darling picked me up and brought me home running a few errands on the way (picked up frozen mice for the snake, dinner for ourselves and a couple of movies). I was out and about for a total of 2 � hours which required me to nap for nearly the same amount of time. Pregnancy is not for the weak. Mine wasn�t a difficult or �complicated� pregnancy. All of my symptoms fall into the normal range and I have been lucky enough to be spared some of the more nasty side effects like hemorrhoids, stretch marks, varicose veins and such but still I am uncomfortable, I have difficulty breathing due to his pushing up on my lungs, and my vision is poor which is what traps me in my home. I may still make a foray to the local strip mall (a mere two minute drive from here) to return the movies which my darling dutifully laid out last night to take with him this morning but somehow forgot.. Maybe I will indulge in ice cream for lunch. I have had only one real �craving� during my pregnancy and that has been ice cream, specifically coconut ice cream. Our local creamery will custom mix and I have become enamored with a mixture I call �almond joy�. Cream ice cream with chocolate chips, coconut, almonds and fudge sauce (to help it mix better). Absolutely yummy.

Today is another lovely day which I must spend trapped on my couch answering phones and providing support. I wish I could take the last week before the baby comes off (I could, I�m allowed 2 weeks before the due date) but I am afraid that it will get so crazy at my work that they will replace me. Maybe next week I will suggest part time rather than full disability (half my paycheck is better than my benefits and it wouldn�t stress me out as much).

Last night I was so upset I could stop crying. Between the wait for the baby, the wait for the house and the fear of the unknown (the genetic thing is making me crazy at the moment. Maybe I should have tested after all but a positive would have created its own gigantic mess and emotional turmoil.) Crap! Like everything thing else in this process there are few �right� answers and a whole lot of �it�s up to you� decisions. I keep waiting for the pain. The other night I woke up with sharp pains low and distinctly NOT Braxton-hicks but it turned out to be a bad gas. For now all I have are the pains of a still growing baby moving in a limited space. It can take your breath away. Nothing even remotely like the labor pains I have had described to me. The Doc says they will induce before I get to 41 weeks so worst case scenario I have 16 days left. Never seemed like such a long time before. Even the last few days before summer vacation or the last two weeks before Christmas don�t compare with the last couple of weeks before your baby arrives. It�s at this point I envy my SIL whose daughter was born two weeks early on the last day she worked before going on maternity. Yes she did miss out on the two weeks off before her due date but she also didn�t have to wait those two weeks all fat and uncomfortable.

He is sleeping for now. It�s not bad when he is sleeping, and it�s funny when he has the hiccups but when he gets active it�s just plain uncomfortable to be in any position but standing or laying down. I am glad that a lot of the installs I do are second nature so I can walk around while I do them (or even lay down on the living room floor).

Time to move around again (my feet go to sleep really easy now).

Take care.

I wish you Peace

~alison~

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