We had a beautiful baby boy on Aug. 17th. He weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz and was 21 inches long. He has red hair like his sister and appears to be perfect!

Everyone is happy and healthy. Woo Hoo!

Clearly, I have not had the inspiration to write. Basically – these are the things on my mind:

June 15th – my sister has been dead for 8 years and I can’t wrap my head around that much time.

June 21st – my first father’s day without my dad. Suckville. Last year dad got his dx the day after father’s day so it’s just a bad weekend in general.

June 27th – would have been dad’s 85th birthday. I missed attending his 84th and still am not over that.

July 13th – will be one year since my dad died. Also suckville.

I am really not depressed. I would say 98% of the time I am actually very, very happy. But when I sit down to write all I feel like writing about is my dad, my sister, or the pregnancy. Is there anything really new to say about any of those things?

The general pregnancy update is that I am as big and as healthy as a horse.  I really don’t mind being huge, as much as I joke about it. The baby is healthy so that is all that matters. I have a midwife and doula I just love and am planning for a VBAC. My “drop dead” date is September 4th. In other words, if I haven’t had the baby by then, they will cut me open. My due date is Aug 20th, so this gives me a pretty big window. Of course, the baby’s health comes first so if anything changes I would be more than willing to have  a c-section earlier. I would really like to have a VBAC, but not at the risk of anyones health.

The Girl appears to be VERY excited about the baby. So far, so good.

The baby is moving like crazy and I am fairly sure it is trying to kick a hole through my belly – just to the right of my bellybutton.  We do not know the gender this time, but my gut is saying boy; daddy’s is saying girl. I am kind of hoping for a girl, just because I think it would be nice to have sisters – I have such a great relationship with my sister that I want that for The Girl. But I also know it doesn’t matter at all. Whatever comes out I am sure to fall in love with it in no time at all.

So that’s really it. Maybe I’ll get the mojo back to write and maybe I won’t – who knows. But I do appreciate all of you taking the time to read.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Amazingly, the morning/all day sickness that I had with The Girl is not plaguing me this time. I was sick as a dog 24/7 for about the first 14 weeks, but now I am feeling pretty good. A tiny bit queasy in the morning, but otherwise all is well.

Do you remember my first amnio with The Girl? It was extraordinarily painful, and resulted in a bloody tap. I had a second one that was less painful, but it was no picnic. Well, I had one yesterday for baby #2 (who needs a nick-name … suggestions?) and it was NOTHING. I couldn’t believe it. On a scale from 1 to 10 it was maybe a 2 on the pain scale, and only for a few seconds. I guess this guy has done over 4,000 amnios. Apparently, he has it down.

The Girl has decided that nap time is officially over, which totally sucks. I have fought with her for about 2 weeks, but you just can’t force someone to sleep. Apparently we will have to change to “quiet time” instead.

That’s about all from here. What’s new with you? And don’t forget I need nickname suggestions for Baby #2.

“It’s late in the evening”

Why is it late in the evening?

Because it is night-time.

“she’s wondering what clothes to wear”

The Girl hears “closed to where” – long discussion follows.

“She puts on her make-up”

Why does she put on make up?

Some people feel better when they wear make-up.

“and brushes her long red hair.”

Who brushes her hair?

The women in the song.

“And then she asks me, ‘Do I look all right?’”

Who does she ask?

The man in the song.

Who is the man?

Eric Claptoin

“And I say, ‘Yes, you look wonderful tonight.’”

Who says that?

The man in the song.

Eric Clapton?

Yes, Eric Clapton.

Who looks wonderful?

The woman in the song.

Who is the woman in the song?

I don’t know.

AND THERE ARE TWO MORE VERSES AND A CHORUS BEFORE THE SONG ENDS!! HOLY FREAKEN CRAP!!!!!

I am 11 weeks 2 days today.

A dish that was always there was a rather bland mixture of hamburger, macaroni noodles, and tomato sauce. My mother, actually my whole family, hated it; I loved it.

I have been in search of this recipe for years. Some people called the hotdish goulash, but it was nothing like the goulash recipes I looked at. Friends would tell me their mother had the recipe, but I never actually got it from anyone.

Anyway, my desire for this comfort food kind of went up and down. But with this pregnancy, I decided I MUST HAVE THIS HOTDISH. NOW!

So, back to the Internet I went. I searched and searched and finally came across the Goddess at A Fridge Full of Food. I e-mailed her and she got back to me with lightening speed … AND the recipe.

Schwing!

I’m thinking of leaving Norman for her.

Anyway … I couldn’t make it right away, becauses there were sautéed onions involved and I thought I might barf at the smell of those. (See previous post about hating all smells.) But the other day I finally made it and …

IT.WAS.HEAVEN!

Just liked I remembered it from years before.

It was almost as good as the pint of vanilla swiss almond Häagen-Dazs ice-cream that I hid in the back of the freezer and selfishly ate all by myself.

Oh, like you wouldn’t do it.

Every smell on the planet is bothering me. I baked bread and almost hurled from the smell. A smell I normally love.

Pregnancy does weird thigs to a persons body. I know smells definitely bothered me last time, but this time,  holy cow, every single smell in the world makes me sick.

I have dog nose!

And how are you today?

For at least a year, maybe closer to two, I have not had my comments coming to my e-mail. I’ve tried in vain to fix it. I’ve changed e-mail accounts, I’ve sent e-mails to wordpress, to no avail.

On the post where I made The Announcement, suddenly all the comments went to my e-mail and I was soooo happy. It makes responding to comments about a hundred times easier for me.

But, alas, the cosmic forces have aligned against me again and the comments are no longer coming through e-mail.

Damn it.

And thus concludes my bitch for today.

The lovely thing about The Suckiest Insurance Ever is it’s lovely choice in doctors. I am currently at You Are Only A Number clinic, and it is just lovely.

I know that in most parts of the country it is really common for a doctor to only see you at 12 weeks, but let me tell you I HATE IT. Last time around I saw a doc immediately (the day I called with a positive HPT) and then 4 weeks after that.

I’m just saying that it would be nice to hear a heart beat, that’s all. My theory is that I wouldn’t feel like absolute shit unless everything was going well. Would you like to agree with me even if it is not true? I could use a little reassurance.

I see Dr. You’re So Lucky To Have Me on February 12th, at which time I should be 13 weeks and one day pregnant. Is it just me, or does that seem like a long time to wait for a first appointment?