Made in Richmond

Zapp loves to stick her nose into or on anything and everything she sees. Consequently, when I try to take a picture of her, I usually get three or four shots like the one above before I’m able to truly capture her beauty.

Ross and I were generously given a Baby Bjorn for free by a former coworker. This was very exciting for us because 1) dude, Bjorn’s are expensive 2) it’s not covered with flowers and cartoons so Ross will be much more willing to wear it, and 3) now we don’t have to cross our fingers and hope that someone buys it for us.

However, I also wanted to consider the sling route because while I know lots of people love the Bjorn, there’s a chance that it won’t work well for one or the both of us.

So I started looking, particularly for the “Hotsling” because I’d heard so many good things about them. And by looking I mean occasionally looking at BabiesRUs online and grumbling “$50! For a strip of fabric? What a racket! Forget it!” Not only was *I* not going to spend that much, there was no way I was going to ask any of my friends or family to.

Then this morning I became brilliant because I decided to look at the actual company’s website. Do you know what’s happening over there? A 50% off sale. So today I ordered this:

Originally priced at $50, I got it for $25. Because I’m a brilliant Internet champion.

Now I will search for coupons guaranteeing 50% off for your child’s college education. Or for $25. Come on, Internets. No whammies.

Things I said today:

I will take my keys and stab her in the eyeball. I’ll do it.

Have you *met* the Internet before?

They’re like Barbie but skanky.

We can’t be friends anymore.

No, he was at the douche bag convention yesterday, remember?

23 weeks tomorrow. That’s about 58% the way through this pregnancy. OMG.

Picture after the jump.

(more…)

This facial cleanser. It seems to be only thing keeping my angry, pregnant skin under control.

My new, luxurious diaper bag, graciously given to us by my wonderful mother-in-law. Now I will just stare at it for fourth months until I actually need it.

This blog. It actually makes me excited about moving (if that ever happens).

This short-lived TV show. I now understand what everyone was saying about James Franco this whole time.

This video, particularly the choice of song.

Friday: Home to rest. Homemade pesto pasta party! To bed late.

Saturday: Didn’t write a Zappturday post. Puttered around for a bit. Haircut. Stopped by the in-laws’ to see their new puppy. Back to the city for a nice lunch at Sine. Back to the in-laws’ for chatting and puppy snuggling. Home. Errands and picked up dinner. Watched Enchanted. To bed.

Sunday: Up to laze around for a while. Took a nap. Went to church. Dinner with friends at Joe’s. To the grocery store. Laundry and what not before bed.

Have a great week!

Remember back in February when I voluntarily had a giant needle stuck in my wrist to get rid of that bump? And then it went away and everything was fine?

It’s not fine anymore.

I can’t see the bump yet, but I know it’s coming. How do I know?  I can’t bend my wrist back farther than about 15 degrees.

There’s no way I’m going to deal with surgery right now, so I guess once it makes its appearance, I’ll get the bastard taken care of again. Because as of right now, lifting anything over 2 pounds hurts like holy hell.

(Yes, it’s true. You’re not supposed to have cold deli meat when you’re pregnant.)

Around 3pm yesterday afternoon, my throat started to get a little scratchy. By 10pm last night, it was burning. The culprit? A waterfall of congestion coming from my sinuses. That was a lovely picture, wasn’t it?

Last night was rough. There was much waking up to gargle with warm water and pound glasses of cold water. And general moping, let’s not forget that.

Turns out, it’s best to avoid over-the-counter antihistamines and decongestants while pregnant because there’s so much junk in them that could potentially hurt the baby.

So I guess it’s just me and my faux neti pot.

We went to the doctor today to follow up on things and to have my scheduled 22-week appointment. It was a wonderfully textbook, uneventful, and boring appointment. We did get to have another ultrasound though, just to get a good look at the wee one’s face:

That’s a pretty decent straight-on shot of the baby’s face. It didn’t want to cooperate so much (it would much rather lie on its back and play with its feet or cord which is OMG cute), but you can make out the shading of the eyes, nose, a bit of the mouth, and the chin.* Apparently it looked as if the baby was smirking at some point, which sounds about right.

Everything is looking great. I’m measuring a couple days ahead, and the baby is in the 56th percentile for size. I’ve gained 11 pounds so far which is right on schedule.

I get a little break from doctors until my 26-week (!) appointment August and my follow-up with the specialist in August. And then I’ll start going every two weeks. Cause you know, this kid will be here in 4 months. WTF.

Thanks for all of the kind words and thoughts. It takes an Internets, people. It takes an Internets.

(*It’s hard to say how much of this picture actually shows the face and how much is just convenient shading. Either way, I’m sure my baby is insanely cute.)

Friday: Lazed around. Cookout at 2. Good food and chats. Home for a quick rest. Another cookout at 7. Home around 10. Puttered. To bed late.

Saturday: Up around 7. Read a little. Actually took a nap at 10:30am. Shower. Off to lunch at Kitchen 64 with the in-laws. Drove around the Northside a bit. Home for a nap. Off to Costco. Stopped at Babies’R'Us to look at strollers. Home to make ravioli and watch Terms of Endearment. Read a little. To bed.

Sunday: Woke up at 4:30am. Couldn’t get back to sleep. Went downstairs to watch TV for a bit. Finally made it back to bed at around 6:30. Up again around 9:30. Ate lots of cereal and watched lots of TV for most of the afternoon. To church at 4. Took care of the babies during the service. Stopped to get dinner on the way home. Doing laundry. To bed soon, I hope.

Doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I’m a bit gun-shy at this point, so any good thoughts would be much appreciated.