Benjamin meets the Transformers

Thursday night Jeff & I did something spontaneous. Some friends of ours had free tickets to an advance showing of Transformers and offered to share. So we drove 1.5 hours to Greenville (ok, mostly to see these friends, not so much because we were dying to see T, though who could pass up a free movie?) It was a great time, we ended up seeing several people there we knew, and I even got some nice maternity clothes out of the bargain (thank you Michelle!). The movie was pretty intense. There were lots of blurred machine parts flying around, like a cyclone hitting your local Grease Monkey.
But the funny part was Benjamin's reaction to the sound--jumping at the loud parts and curling himself into a ball on my right side. I found myself covering my side with my arms trying to protect his sensitive little ears. But the woman with the 3-month-old being passed down the aisle from friend to friend made me feel like a better mom. Her little guy seemed perfectly oblivious and content in all the noise!
It is funny how protective you start to feel even before you MEET your little person!
It's been fun lately to share Benjamin's hiccups with Jeff (happens when they swallow too much amniotic fluid too quickly) and his bigger movements. He's not a punch-punch kick-kick kind of baby, but he's constantly in motion. Last night he did an all-over body wriggle. But usually it's just constant gentle movement. It feels like he's hammocked with his head on my left side and feet up under my right ribs.

Silly picture

Nobody was around except us and Benjamin said he didn't know how to take the picture. :)

Day off

Yesterday Jeff took off work and we toured Gwinnett Hospital and puttered around the house. The tour lady was awesome and gave us an honest, clear picture of how the hospital works and what to expect. The main thing we brought away from the tour was "be assertive." You can have the birth experience you want, but you have to keep reminding your caretakers exactly what you want or don't want.

We got our complimentary gallon of paint from the builder and picked a rich rust-red for the dining room. And finished painting the nursery. :)

Three more months!

It's hard to believe. It's kind of crept up on me. I've been thinking pregnancy is the "new normal" but it's starting to dawn on me that this baby will be COMING OUT one of these days. (Hopefully not too soon!)

I've decided to change care from my current OB. It's a large clinic that was recommended to me by others I know, but I think they now have more patients than they can give attention to...the waiting room is always full. I hardly know any of my 5 OBs, and each time I go I meet another nurse. I just need more personal attention and need to feel less like a number instead of a person. Because I'm healthy, have no complications, and am not the pushy type, I think I'm just getting rushed through the system.

I think I will stay with the hospital I'm with (Gwinnett Hospital). Rooms are homelike, there's a jacuzzi in each room, and they say they are open to working with your individual birth plan. I take the maternity ward tour tomorrow, so that should give me a better idea.

I've also decided to hire a duola (labor companion). If I'm going to make it with a natural birth I'll need someone besides Jeff to be there with me. My mom willl most likely not be able to be there until after the birth (it would have to work out perfectly so that Aunt Mattie could fly down to care for Grandma). I found a wonderful duola service and they are going to allow me to phone interview a couple of them to decide who I click with. That is a huge weight off my mind, knowing I'll have a knowledgable and caring person there who will support me in my decisions.

So anyways... :) here is my latest belly shot, at 28 weeks. As I write this Benjamin's little hands are tickling my ribs!

Settling In

With a lighter teaching schedule, I have had a little more time to get things straight. Last weekend was the second wkend we had since moving to actually devote our attention to "house stuff..." Of course, I'm home a lot more than Jeff, but I need him to move things & hang hardware. We're taking it one room at a time, but we got a lot done last weekend. Pictures below!!

Loft/study, where Jeff will spend a lot of his time working or reading. We're still waiting on his desk legs that are on backorder. I made the curtains...don't look too close. :) I want to add decorative fringe to the top part of the curtain that hangs over.














Guest room. We got this put together pretty early on. Jeff was busy so I did it all myself. Even used the power drill to put up the curtain hangers (which are a little off center...oops). That mirror was heavy!














Guest bathroom & simple curtains I made. They didn't make blinds that size.
















Living room. The couches, chair you saw in the loft, and coffee tables were Craig's List finds. We got the whole set for a great price, but the couches smell like curry! It's slowly fading with the help of daily doses of green tea spray. I haven't made curtains yet b/c can't decide on the color I want to go with.














Music room. It has no furniture except a shelf and the piano, but I got the idea of hanging the instruments on the wall. I'm looking for an antique-ish chair to put in there. These curtains were my first attempt. I like the loft curtains better, but this blood-red color is just amazing, and added some much-needed punch to the room.









Music room curtains.


















We painted the first coat on the nursery last weekend. I love it when the sun hits the room. :) I have a few ideas...the letters of his name painted with baby chicks, light blue curtains, yellow and blue rug, plus the baby furniture. Not too sure yet, but I'll figure it out as we go!

A new nephew

There are more details and pictures on Laura's blog, but I thought I'd do a quick post to say how thankful and excited we all are about the newest addition to the family...Jonathan Laurance! He came 5 weeks earlier than his projected due date, but he's a healthy 6 lbs. 11 oz. and doing fine.

I had a long talk with my mom about the events of the weekend. She and Kimberly went to the mall for some mom-daughter time, and all the walking must have triggered the labor. They came back, both took a nap, and when Kimberly woke up she found her water had broken. She and Laurance had to go to the hospital in Manning to have the baby, since legally her midwife couldn't deliver (the baby was too early). Later that night when Mom got a call from Laurance, she told Dad, "We've got to go to the hospital and be there for them...we can't let them have this baby there all by themselves!" Dad was tired after a full day and at first didn't think they'd be of any use, but he is now so glad he went....and even rated it as one of the best experiences of his life. Mom & Dad waited outside (Mom was so worried for Kimberly, as she could hear her crying and screaming...it came so fast it probably seemed overwhelming). They were fully expecting to be at the hospital all night, but near midnight the nurse came out to say "you can come see your grandson now!" Mom said he was very red, and still covered with "cheesy stuff" but crying his little lungs out (no lung development problems!)

Kimberly wanted to head back home as soon as possible, but Jonathan needed to be monitored and treated for jaundice. Mom said they put him under a heat lamp and had to leave him unswaddled for the rays to be absorbed into his skin. He didn't like feeling like there was nothing around him, and thrashed around most of the night. He had to wear protective goggles to shield his eyes, and he kept knocking those off. Kimberly stayed up most of the night putting them into place and trying to quiet him. (How cute and pitiful is that...tiny newborn goggles...poor little guy!)

I'm so glad Laura & Will were there to offer their support! Kimberly's mom will be coming down as soon as she can get their plane tickets changed. I hope L&K get a crib for this little one soon.... :) I'm very glad they got their glider and...I'm sure...tons of other nice stuff at the shower. :)

God is so good! I can't wait to see my little nephew!

Is there a "Major Life Change Fairy" in our family??

It's just too bizarre. I have to believe there's something in the genes, which has waited until now to emerge, affecting spouses and cousins of our family. I do have a theory. I believe one of the homemade bombs my brothers made as teenagers caused a fluke in the genes (this also affected cousin Jim). It all started with that harmless little pipe bomb, forever setting in motion a chain of events that has just now, 15 years later, begun to disrupt all of our lives.

Don't tell me it's coincidence. I place the blame firmly on the Brothers and Cousin and their insane experiments.

Here are the events as I see them. They began almost exactly a year ago, to date.

#1. Charles, through a strange series of events, moves overseas to Guam with a 3-year teaching contract. Being younger and more susceptible, he was affected earliest.
#2. Emily and Jeff, homebodies and longtime residents of Greenville, get an urge to pick up and move to Atlanta. (Apparently those in any proximity were affected by this biological timebomb. I happened to be inside playing Chopin, yet we were some of the first targets.)
#3. Abbie discovers she is pregnant. This owing of course to the fact that Jim put the actual bomb together.
#4. Just weeks later, Kimberly is pregnant. It was Laurance that fired the fuse, and his proximity caused this major life change.
#5. Even in Thailand there is no escape. It's encapsulated in the genes. Erin is pregnant with TWINS.
#6. Emily is hit again with a second, more serious symptom. It's not a bladder infection, it's a BABY.
#7. Elizabeth and Kris, long content at their beautiful beach home, accept a job opening for her in Florence. In a whirlwind of events, they uproot and move.
#8. Willie and Laura do not escape. A better job offer in Florence has them even now preparing to sell their house, drop everything and move. (Somehow Will, Elizabeth, and Jim were affected magnetically. The magnetic field recently became stronger, causing them to converge together near Florence. Of course, their spouses were affected as well.)
#9. There is apparently a second magnetic field, affecting the birthdate of two babies (though this is unconfirmed...more details to come later!!)

We still do not know if these events are converging ONCE in a lifetime or if they will happen again. In any case, be forewarned that if one major life change begins with one of the family, prepare yourself for anything. It could be your spouse will announce a career change to NASA astronaut. Perhaps you will find yourself moving to Siberia. Or you may find you are expecting quintuplets. Forewarned is forearmed!