what grinds my gears

A woman in Saskatchewan gave birth to a baby in a Wal-Mart bathroom. Into the toilet. And left it there.

The store manager found the baby a few minutes after. The baby is now in serious condition in the hospital. In the coverage I read, authorities were debating whether or not this woman should be charged. A few months earlier in Saskatchewan, a woman abandoned a baby on someone’s doorstep in -40 degree temperatures. That woman was not charged.

What the fuck?

Are they telling us that these women should not be charged because they are so overwhelmed and scared that they don’t know what they are doing? That is total bullshit. These idiots got pregnant, decided to continue on with their pregnancies and did NOTHING to find a safe, appropriate place to leave their baby during the time they were pregnant.

Not only should these women be charged they should be fucking sterilized.

schtuff

I’m 34 weeks pregnant as of Tuesday. Avery seems to have dropped herself right on to my pelvic bones and bladder and it’s getting a little bit uncomfortable. I finished the nursery, got Charlie set up with doggy daycare, and have started to get my hospital bag packed. Let the countdown begin!

Oh yes, and happy birthday to Charlie, who turns 1 year old today! My little man is still a spaz but he’s growing up. We took him to the vet the other day and found out that he’s 95 pounds. That’s one big puppy.

I’ve been somewhat neglecting this blog because work has been absolutely crazy and, lets face it, I’m addicted to Facebook.

Nothing else to add. I’ll update after I see the Vagina Terrorist (a.k.a my OB) on Monday of next week.

pregnancy update: week 33

The miserable bitch whose desk is located near to mine, has infected me with one of the worst colds I have ever had in my life. This is not the sole reason that she is a miserable bitch, but it is now a contributing factor. She and most of the other women that sit in her area are constantly sick. She spent all last week hacking her face off as I squeezed my eyes against the invisible phlegm particles that spewed across the air because I knew they were headed for me. I was right.

Oh man am I sick. The only good thing to come of this, is that I have lost my voice, and even though I have returned to work today after a lovely 2 days off spent lying in bed moaning and trying to keep my hyper dog occupied (hubby at work all week), I don’t have to speak to anyone. I simply point to my throat and shake my head gravely to indicate my inability to communicate. I’m not even picking up the phone. Ha! Take that project managers! Screw you editors with deadlines! I cannot talk to you; therefore, you cannot bother me with anything.

Avery has been beating the crap out of me from the inside. I think she is still sideways, but it’s hard to tell. I am now in the sole care of my OB/GYN, after being transferred from shared care from my family doctor. As I’ve said before, I’m not really overly impressed with my OB. I called the office yesterday to book my 34 week appointment with him only to find out that they can’t squeeze me in until the next week. What the fuck? This office never has time for me. Why would they accept me as a patient then? You know what – note to self: next time we go with a midwife. First of all, with a midwife, you get like a half hour to forty-five minutes per appointment, unlike at the OB’s where you feel like you are really putting them out by asking questions as they try to get you out the door after 15 minutes. Secondly, a midwife isn’t a knife-wielding vagina terrorist (I am referring to the episiotomy-happy OBs out there). When I go in and see him for my next appointment, I’m going to ask him what the hell is up with all of this nonsense.

Alright, enough of that.

So I’m still feeling really good, other than the fact that I have Ebola. Avery is doing well too. I’m looking forward to finally having her on the outside of my body. I’m more curious about labour rather than fearful now, which is good I guess, although I guess that can change at any time.

Well, back to work. Its not long until I leave here for a year and I have a lot of prep to do. Hopefully this Ebola clears up soon.

damn you Facebook!

I am oh, so addicted now.

stuff

Tomorrow I am 32 weeks pregnant. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone by. I’m getting really excited now. I’ve been trying to psych myself up for the delivery. It helps having such a wonderful mother who has been so candid and supportive throughout my whole pregnancy. Mum came over yesterday and brought me loads of diapers and wipes, more outfits (for Avery when she is a bit older) and some really nice skin creams for me (I’m addicted to skin creams). My back hasn’t been hurting so I managed to clean all the bathrooms, do all the laundry and reorganize two closets on the weekend. I feel jittery if I’m not getting things done. There are a few more major things to take care of and then I will start to feel better.

Make arrangements for someone to take Charlie for a few days around my due date.
Book my breastfeeding class.
Sign up with the local mom’s group.
Pack hospital bag.
Pack bag for Charlie with food, toys, leash, instructions etc.
Buy dresser for nursery.
Give list of my friends to mother in law for baby shower.
Finish decorating nursery.
Buy “back-ups” for everything we could run out of in case of long recovery for me (pet food, non-perishable food staples, personal hygiene products etc.)
Buy breast pump and accessories
Get birth announcement cards and pre-address them now.

Ugh. That’s not even the whole list. I have another list at home. My mum was joking about the fact that I seem to have the nesting instinct kicking in early. I think it’s because I’m obsessive-compulsive about everything and if things are not done and planned ahead of time, I get really nervous. I seriously need to get on this list though.

I’ve been kind of tired, that’s the only thing really holding me back from getting all of this stuff done in a better time frame. I have a baby permanently lodged in my ribs too, which doesn’t help for comfort. Working full-time sucks a lot of my energy too.

The good news, besides my back feeling better, is that I have been sleeping better and my heartburn seems to have gone away. Now I just need to find a way to get rid of my constant cravings for everything sweet and junky.

31 weeks

Dear Avery,

Things seem to be getting pretty uncomfortable for me at times. The relentless heartburn and weird rib pain are preventing me from sleeping as well as I was in the second trimester. I find that I am tossing and turning for an hour or more in the middle of the night while daddy sleeps peacefully next to me. You and I are both healthy, and you are stronger now than ever before. Your new favourite place in my tummy is nestled right up against my ribs. I can’t tell if it’s your head or your bum, and the doctor couldn’t either, that you have wedged up against my ribs, but you seem to love it there – whatever part of you it is.

I can see a hand or a foot much more clearly now as it pokes my tummy out. Daddy was thrilled the other night when you gave him a “high five”, or so he thought. He sat with his hand on my tummy for the evening and marveled at how strong you have become. It was the most amazing feeling; I could feel your little body touching your dad’s hand, and we were all connected. It was wonderful.

Your nursery still isn’t done. I just don’t seem to have the energy at the end of a work day and weekends have been crazy busy. I am going to get you a dresser next weekend, I promise. Then I will finish decorating the walls and get all of your clothes put away. I’m getting a little nervous about the labour now; actually I’m more worried about you than me. I know we will be fine, but worrying is what mothers do, as I have found out.

I’m winding down at work now in preparation for my year-long maternity leave. I hope to have this all wrapped up as well as everything else so that when you are born we can just enjoy each other. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms while you sleep. I can’t imagine there is a better feeling in this entire world.

Keep growing strong and healthy and we’ll see each other soon.

Love,
Mum

xoxo

pregnancy update: week 31

So I went in for my gestational diabetes test. I made sure to get there first thing in the morning (8am) so that they could take my first sample right away and get the ball rolling. I fasted from 7pm the night before so I was not in the mood for waiting around. I told the nurse what I was there for and she told me to go and take a seat and they would call me.

I waited for 45 minutes while everyone else and their grandmother had blood taken before me.

Finally, I had my first sample taken, peed in a cup, and drank the orange fizzy stuff down as fast as I could. I waited an hour and had my second test. It was at this time that the nurse told me that I had to stay at the doctor’s office the entire time in case I fainted. I was not too bothered because I only had one more hour and one more blood test to go, so I read my Noam Chomsky book (bad choice; let just say it was a little dry) and glared at all the jerks who didn’t cover their mouths when they coughed (I’m a big time germophobe).

When I went in for the blood, the nurse informed me that she had made a mistake and that I had to do one more blood test in an hour and then I would be done. So I went for a walk outside of the building because it was a nice day and the time oozed by until finally I was done. The last test was like getting blood from a stone, but she got it.

A few days later, because I had not heard from the lab, I assumed that my test was negative because they only call when something is wrong. I was going in to see my doctor for a prenatal appointment that week anyway.

At the appointment, my doctor gets out the results and tells me that I am going to have to do the test over.

“What??” I ask.

“Your blood clotted in the vile. They ran the test anyway and all of your levels are normal to low, but because the blood clotted, they want you to do the test over again.” She looked apologetic.

“So I don’t have gestational diabetes, but I have to do the test again?” me.

“Pretty much.” Doctor.

I was kind of like, wtf, at this point. I really do not want to take another 4 hours off of work and have to starve me and the baby unnecessarily for 14 hours to do a test that I already know the results of. So I am now in the process of deciding whether I am going to do this test again. I am also wondering how competent the nurses are at the office to let my fucking blood sit around long enough to coagulate. Do they not have an anti-coagulant in the vile? Hello?!? Pregnant lady fasting…sitting around in a germ-infested doctor’s office for hours…maybe don’t fuck around with the test?!?

Anyways. My sciatica seems to have gotten a bit better. I’ve gained about 11 pounds now and still no sign of stretch marks (knock on wood), though my belly button looks pretty strained. I feel good. I can see body parts rolling under my skin and Avery still fits snugly in the old uterus. The odd time I feel her jam her head into my ribcage, but it’s not so bad.

Things are busy as usual. I need to get off my ass and sign up for the breastfeeding classes and book my hospital tour. I can’t believe I am 31 weeks pregnant already.