Today is my birthday. I have no special plans (other than having chicken noodle soup with dumplings for dinner - a childhood favorite). Sometimes I am asked how I feel about having a December birthday, especially now that there is a very good chance my daughter will also have a December birthday (please, oh please have a December and not a January birthday)! Well, my answer is this: I LOVE it! Christmas is my absolute "favoritest" holiday of them all! I can not think of another month in which I would rather celebrate my birthday. The snow (when there is any), the decorations, the music, the cheer in the air; they all make one's birthday just that much more magical. Of course, what would make my birthday truly magical is if my birthday wish came true. What is it you ask? Well...allow me to discard all the "don't tell or it won't come true" advice and reveal it.

I want my baby!

Do I think I'll get said birthday wish? Um, no. I seriously doubt my baby is going to arrive 19 days before her due date. But a gal can dream right? "It's my party and I can be delusional if I want to"...(aren't those the lyrics?).

Now, don't think I'm getting antsy because I'm miserable. I'm not. In fact...other than being tired (which I have been this whole pregnancy) and feeling like my hips are falling apart on occasion (which I have also been dealing with for much of this pregnancy) I feel pretty dang good! I don't want my baby because I'm sick of being pregnant. I want my baby because I want my baby! Adam and I both are just very excited.

Yesterday I had a really great appointment at the Maternity Clinic (I know, hard to believe isn't it?). In the past Loree had recommended I try to get an appointment with Dr. Correia. She said she was one of the "good" ones at the clinic. So I did. And I did NOT like her. Well, this most recent appointment I did not have the luxery of choosing my doctor because it was a matter of "just give me whatever you've got." When I checked in I was told I would be seeing Dr. Correia. "Oh well," I thought. "At least it isn't Dr. G." *shudder*

Well, who should walk into the room but a woman who is most certainly not the same woman I saw last time. Apparently the Mat Clinic pulled a fast one on me and gave me a Dr. Correia imposter a few months back. Turns out that I love Dr. Correia! I was quite disappointed when she told me she wasn't currently accepting patients for her family practice (disappointed but not at all surprised).

After my appointment (at which I was informed that Lovey has good heart valves and is at a wonderful size...despite the numerous comments I have received along the lines of: *person looks at my belly then says* "Wow! You're gonna have a big baby!" - something every pregnant woman wants to hear...not)...anyway, after my appointment Adam and I got to tour Labor & Delivery and the Maternity wing. We're impressed. Previously I had been planning on getting out of the hospital and home as soon as possible after Lovey's arrival. But upon having the tour (and being informed that I will only have to share a room if absolutely necessary and that Adam can stay with me overnight) I think I might just stay for the typical 2-3 days. Of course, I may change my mind one or two (or twelve) times.

Anyhow, the appointment and tour (and the fact that I was having a bunch of Braxton-Hicks contractions last night) has got us quite excited for the real deal. Lovey is "officially" fully baked. So technically she could come at any time. Statistically she'll probably come after the due date. But like I said before: "It's my party and I can be delusional if I want to."

As my little progress bar to the right will show you, I'm currently at 15,452 words of 50,000, almost a third of the way done. I'm actually ahead of the game, despite not having written yesterday. As of today I'm supposed to be at 10,000 to finish on time. I like being farther than I need to be. I'm finding 50,000 words to be a LOT less than it sounds like.

As for what my book is about? Eh...I'd rather not say. I'm not writing this for publication or anything. I'm writing it because I've always wanted to write a book, because I've previously dreamed about doing NaNoWriMo, and just because I want to be able to say "I did it!" I'll tell you this much; it's realistic fiction, and the main character has a cat named Voldemort (a fact which amuses me to no end...who names a cat after "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"). It's mostly literary rubbish, which is kind of the point. NaNoWriMo is about word count, about just doing it and ignoring your inner editor. If you try to right a best seller, or if you even try to write cohesively your chances of reaching 50,000 words grows smaller and smaller. It's actually *fun* to be able to write utter fluff with no expecations and no plans to do anything with it once I'm done.


We met with our doula, Loree, again last night. Have I mentioned how awesome I think she is? I highly recommend a doula for anyone planning on having a baby, and especially recommend Loree for anyone having a baby in the area. She was going to bring along a doula-in-training but apparently, of the three doulas-in-training in Medicine Hat not one of them wanted to get training in on a mom with a December 24th due date! Ha ha! I can't blame them...but at the same time they're going to have to get over that some day. Babies arrive when babies arrive. And you can't be a success in the birthing industry if you're too picky about timing. Of course, we don't mind not having a doula-in-training. We had agreed to one as a way to "pay forward" Loree's generosity (she's working for us pro-bono). Anyhow, we'll meet with Loree one more time (in early December). Then we'll see her when I go into labor! It's coming up so soon!

Loree checked the position of Lovey. She's almost in the perfect position for birth. She just needs to move her butt over to the left. Something I can help her do by sitting correctly and spending a little time each day in some funny looking, but not uncomfortable, poses. Baby's position is important for a myriad of reasons (one of which is avoiding painful back labor like the kind I gave my mom). For example, if baby doesn't present right they may try to come forhead first. The problem with that is that the forehead isn't meant to mold like other parts of the head. So you're trying to fit an unflexible larger diameter through...which can be problematic. And, unfortunately, most doctors are not trained in how to get baby to turn, or "spin" into the right position during labor. Then they blame the problem on the mom's body being somehow inadequate.

Yesterday Adam was able to come home to eat his lunch before having to head to a different work site. It was clear he was having a stressful day. So after he left I decided it was about time I made "Cookie Monster's Famous Cookies." It's a recipe for sugar cookies from "The Shumate Family Cookbook." He'd been wanting sugar cookies for some time...but there are so many easier cookies to make so they had remained un-made. But I wanted to do something to cheer him up and sugar cookies seemed like just the thing.

Here's the thing you need to know about "The Shumate Family Cookbook:" the recipes are designed to feed a family with 8 kids. Adam and I do not have 8 kids. But did I halve the recipe? No.

By the time I finished the first 3 DOZEN sugar cookies (in Halloween shapes) I was completely wiped out (granted...that isn't just because sugar cookies can be hard work, there's the fact that I'm 7 months pregnant to take into consideration). So there's a bowl of sugar cookie dough in my fridge right now, waiting to be dealt with (we'll probably just freeze it for later); because I was just too tired, and too achy (back and feet) to finish making the cookies.

Adam was thrilled though. So it was worth it. Now I'm just trying to make sure the cookies don't disappear too quickly. "Good luck," Adam says.

Girla snores when she naps. She's such a small creature (though large compared to others of her species). But you can hear her snores from across the room. And it's funny. Really. Truly. Funny.

Adam and I managed to register to vote in the nick of time. The state in which our votes will be counted is so red as to render our votes moot. But darn it we're going to do it anyways!

Loree (my doula) came by for a visit last week. She brought a couple of books with her for me to borrow. I'm going to have to declare "Ina May's Guide To Childbirth" THE BEST pregnancy/labor book EVER. I mean it. There is no better book on the topic. If you are pregnant, think you may someday become pregnant, know someone who is pregnant, or just want some really fascinating material to read then go find a copy at your library, bookstore, paperback swap, or where-ever.

And now I'm too tired to remember what else I was going to write about.

Another belly picture! Actually it's well past time for another (about 5 weeks since the last one). So without further ado here I am at 22 weeks 4 days.
I don't feel like I look much bigger. But I feel bigger! My belly feels tighter, like it's barely containing all the baby and organs and stuff in there. And my bladder is definitely feeling a change lately. I'm constantly running upstairs to use the bathroom. But that's good. Exercise is good for ya! And our little Lovey is getting stronger too! Some of her kicks are getting almost uncomfortable. But I still love it whenever she wiggles. I don't think I could ever complain about that particular aspect of pregnancy. Of course, I try not to whine about things at all. I've pretty much had the perfect pregnancy (no morning sickness at all)! Besides, what are a few minor discomforts compared to the joy of having a little babe? Man, can you believe I'm going to be a mama in about 4 months?

So, our phone situation has gotten worse rather than better. We are currently unable to make outgoing calls. Which is making getting a hold of customer service really stinkin' difficult. It's stressing me out to no end. I just want my phone to work properly! Is that so much to ask? If this weren't the only VOIP service in our price range I'd be moving on to a different company by now. But I'm making the best of what I've got.

We dined with another family from our ward tonight. Good meal! And good fun (we played Killer Bunnies)! And in addition to milk shakes we had waffle cookies/brownies. Yum! And we were sent home with a huge bag full of food for our freezer (elk steaks, elk roast, deer roast, deer sausage, banana bread, etc.). It's a big blessing because our food budget for the rest of August is all but gone. This stuff is not only going to get us through the next week but well, WELL into September! And Adam loves elk. Plus I feel a lot better eating game than eating farmed meat (yes...I'm "vegetarian" and eat meat...I'm human and weak, accept it and move on). After all, deer and elk lived a nice life in the wild right up until their death unlike factory farm animals. We're having the ward missionaries over for dinner on Wednesday. I felt bad knowing I was going to have to serve them just spaghetti or pancakes or something. But now I can serve them a roast instead!

The most exciting thing that happened this past week was interviewing and hiring my doula! I liked her immediately. And she's got a LOT of experience. She's already been a huge help (clueing me into things I could have never known on my own, like which doctors are the best). There are plenty of reasons to hire a doula. In addition to the normal services a doula provides our doula will be taking pictures for us, and will provide a written account of my labor and delivery to put in our baby book. Plus she'll be "on call" for me two weeks post-partum to help with breastfeeding or whatever. I really wanted a midwife and homebirth for this baby. But once we moved to Medicine Hat that just wasn't an option. I was really down about that for a long time. But now I'm feeling excited and happy again. Knowing I've got her on my support team has made me do a complete 180 in how I think about this birth. I'm actually looking forward to the experience now. I know it will be hard. I know it will be tiring. I know it will be unlike anything I've ever experienced. But I'm not afraid anymore. Plus she's just super nice. She's working with us on the cost and she's easy to talk to. She's got this vibe that's both professional and laid back at the same time. You can see her website here.

I have another prenatal appointment this week. My doula told me that the doc I'm seeing this time is one of the best ones at the clinic so I'm hoping this visit goes better than the rest have. I may not get to choose who delivers my baby but I can make appointments with whomever I'd like. So if I like this doc I'll keep seeing her. I'm also planning on brining a written list of questions along because I'm tired of feeling like I just pop in, give them my weight and pee and head out again. And this time I'm going to ask for a copy of my chart. Seeing as they never tell me anything (like what all they screened my blood for and what the results were, or if I'm gaining too much or too little weight) I'm just going to have to demand that knowledge. I guess I'm just usually too timid to speak up. But my doula encouraged me to go ahead and ask for what I want. She instills a lot of confidence.

I should have a picture to post of our family room this week (and hopefully I'll finish setting up the kitchen too). The family room was clean on Tuesday. But it's been very lived in since then and needs a little tidying.

Cats are funny creatures. At least, our two cats are. Sometimes they seem to meow and meow for no particular reason. You try to love on them and they don't seem interested. But they keep meowing like they want attention. After a bit you start to tune them out because nothing you do seems to satisfy them. It happens every so often. Then there are other times when you realize after 5 minutes of this strange behavior that you're an idiot and they want you to open the basement door so they can get to their food, water, and litter box. Of course...this is all hypothetical. I've certainly never done anything like that...

That's all folks.