My colleagues at the Texas Department of Agriculture are awesome.  They rolled with the punches when I was on bed rest for months; they didn't get antsy when I took my full three months of maternity leave, and they welcomed me back with open arms.  Good stuff.

Yesterday afternoon, they had a baby shower/welcome Jack party in the office.  It was fantastic.  It also featured queso, my favorite cheesy treat, courtesy of Jess.  She stoically made it in her office and therefore, blogged about it because that's fantastic.  Read about that here:  Jess's Office Queso

Here's a picture of Jack charming the diapers off of everyone in my office.  He wore his "I Need a Vacation" onesie for the occasion:

More pictures to come.  There were a lot of camera phones out yesterday!

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Update: I'm Free to Waddle!

Yesterday, we had our 36 week check-up with the doctor.  She said that everything looks good and gave me permission to "return to normal activity."  (Durel wisely avoided making any jokes about how I'm never really normal.) 

I'll be returning to work full time next week and can take a vacation from my home for the past few months, the recliner in the living room!  However, I also sincerely appreciate the fact that Monday is a state holiday.  (Presidents' Day.  It's even a real one.)  A four day work week to get back into the swing of things is divine.  Of course, we have no idea how long this return to normalcy will last -- the doctor also confirmed that Cheeseburger could come at any time. 

In light of my return to the working world, I decided to honor some of the "home-schooling" I've done in the past few months:

For those of you who know me well, you know that I start every project with a little research.  Well, growing a baby is a big project, so...I did a lot of research.  And, all jokes aside, Pregnancy for Dummies is a great book.  I highly recommend it.

(This does not include, of course, the books I've acquired about taking care of your baby once it arrives, developing healthy sleep habits, feeding, and all that crucial baby jazz.  I am segueing into that stack of reading material soon...)


Hope this finds everyone well.
--Heather

Week 33 Update

How far along are we? 33 weeks.  We'll hit the magical 34 week mark on Monday!  I am still seeing the doctor every week because of the preterm labor, but things seem to be going well.

How are those maternity clothes? Best invention ever.  And all of the tops that, at 12 weeks, I could not imagine myself ever being big enough to wear?  Now my favorites.

Highlight of the week:  Returning to work for 2 hours a day, 3 days a week, after one month of bedrest (and house arrest).  My average ratio is 2 hours of work; 3 hour nap when I get home to recover.  A month of bedrest takes it out of a girl!

What's Cheeseburger doing these days?  Kicking me in the ribs and growing.  Most importantly, not making his or her debut yet!

Any odd cravings?  J'adore chocolate, still.  And today I rediscovered root beer.  Who knew?

Any feelings about the gender? Not to be glib, but it's either a boy or a girl.

What do you really miss?  Mobility, running, sushi, my toes.

What are you excited about?  My baby showers!; decorating the nursery; hitting the (even more magical) 36 week mark.  A refill on my root beer.

What are you not excited about?  My ankles. 

Have you had any deep thoughts this week?  Making life is magical.  And uncomfortable.  But truly magical.

Hooray goes to:  Durel.  For a million reasons, but the current reason is that he's upstairs assembling the crib right now, and let's just say that putting together furniture is not his favorite pastime.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of HEB

For those of you who are not in Texas, HEB is the grocery store.  It's ubiquitous.  It's easy.  It's great.  We happen to have an HEB very close to our house, which has a treacherous parking lot, but also a fresh sushi bar.

This week, I returned to HEB for the first time in a month.  In the wake of what's happening in Haiti, it is mind-boggling to consider the extravagant amounts of food that we have available to us.  In the wake of bedrest for a month, it is mind-boggling to be in a fully-stocked grocery store.

First, it's huge.  And I got tired.  Granted, my belly is a lot bigger now than it was a month ago.  I also just sort of ran out of steam.  I was incredulous that the frozen food aisle was just the mid-point -- how could dairy still be so far away?  But seriously, these stores are big.

Second, it's full of stuff.  I read recently that the average grocery store has 50,000 products for sale.  I dismissed it when I read it, finding it either unfathomable or irrelevant to me, perhaps both.  Not so, this time.  I saw more of these thousands of items than I had ever seen before.  In fact, I saw them to the exclusion of the things I was looking for, as I rapidly tired in this mega mart of high-fructose corn syrup consumption.  Dazzled, I trudged on.  In fact, I waddled on.  I think I am waddling at this point.

Needless to day, I am talking about a simple trip to the grocery store and I did manage to make it out in one piece.  I also made it out, and to my car, with assistance.  With my new "restricted activity" status, I gratefully accepted the bagger's offer of "help out with that," and found that it is, quite simply, the best thing ever. 

It goes without saying that when I got home, it was naptime.

Hope this finds you well.  Here's to naps and reaching week 33!

-- Heather

A Glimmer of Freedom

The doctor says that Cheeseburger and I are doing well -- yay for week 32!  In fact, it seems as if CB has settled in for a little while longer, which is just what we want.  Because of this, my doctor has told me that I can start doing a few things!

Today marks the 28th day of bedrest.  From today moving forward, rather than being confined to my trusty recliner for 12 hours a day, I can now run errands, do little things around the house, and gently, ever so gently, ease back into normal life!  Woo hoo!  No lifting, no exercise, nothing crazy, of course, but this is more freedom than I've had since ... December 18th.  Awesome!

Next week, I will road test returning to the office for a couple of hours a day, a couple days a week.  My coworkers have been so supportive, and I will be glad to get back to work, even if it's in bite-sized doses.

Exciting news of the day!  Yay for Cheeseburger, and double yay for a glimmer of freedom!

My Bedrest Buddies

A lot of you are checking in on me lately to make sure bedrest is going okay.  Thanks for thinking of me!  I am doing fine, but bedrest is definitely an adjustment. My days of 5:30 AM walks and runs with Lucy and Pablo are on indefinite hold...and when they resume, they will be with Cheeseburger!

The dogs are adjusting remarkably well, though.  In fact, they might be my best role models for how to reeeeally relax and take advantage of this time. 

Pablo is happy to demonstrate:

In fact, is that a little doggie smile I see on his face?

He also posed for a still life for his napping portfolio:

Lucy is also a professional relaxer, but she was a bit more excited at the prospect of being included in the blog, so she wanted to make sure I got a close-up:

She is, by the way, cozying up to my brand new leather recliner, which has been dubbed Mission Control.  Mission: Bedrest, that is.  Pics of that to come; I'll need someone with opposable thumbs to help me document this part of the experience.

Ta ta for now!

-- Heather

Honing in on Nursery Decor

Sometimes, when you are on bedrest, you don't do much all day.  Today was one of those days.  I did watch part of a Millionaire Matchmaker marathon (say that three times fast), but that's it. 

That said, let me share a bit more of our eclectic, tree-inspired, nursery decor.  Here are the cute, jute curtains that we found at World Market:

I am looking forward to getting the nursery put together over the next few weeks as we anticipate Cheeseburger's arrival!

Bed Rest Update: One More Week

So, the doctor has prescribed another week of bedrest.  We'll re-evaluate next Thursday and see where things stand.  She has confirmed that I am allowed up to:  use the restroom, shower, and get food and beverages.  That's it. 

I told her that I occasionally start a load of laundry and was cautioned not to do too big or heavy of a load.  That's bed rest for you, people.

So, in addition to catching up on Martha Stewart and Oprah on the DVR, I did manage to do something productive today.  I bought a mobile for the nursery!  Here it is, from Land of Nod:

Our nursery is an exercise in gender-neutral.  The theme is, loosely, trees and cute little animals.  The colors are, loosely, grass green and ochre.  Mobiles are pricey and all tangled up in elaborate nursery themes.  This one is cute, simple, colorful, and on its way to us as as I type.  Hooray!

I'm off to see what other projects I can accomplish from Mission Control (aka, my recliner with my laptop).  Who knows, from here, Cheeseburger and I could take over the world!

-- Heather