Particularly Short-Fused

My body has been a little off since last night.  I've been having some abdominal discomfort.  Part of it is an increase in the number of contractions and part of it is I think Mila has begun using her head as a battering ram against my lower abdomen.  I say discomfort because it's not painful like a cut or full blown contractions, but it's definitely not pleasant.  I've been timing my contractions since last night.  I knew they weren't regularly spaced or timed, but I have an OB appointment today and I know the doctor will ask about that.  Now I can give her a more definite answer. 

This morning I got REALLY hot while I was getting ready for work.  I also keep getting extremely short-breathed and I feel nauseous or dizzy when I stand up.  I was sitting on the toilet when Travis walked in this morning and I said I wished there was a mirror in front of this toilet so I could do my hair from here.  Travis proceeded to find a mirror and prop it up on the shelf towards me.  Granted, it was 4 feet away.  I didn't care though.  I used it.

Because of this added discomfort, I am feeling more than cranky today.  I am normally very friendly, so I'm actually feeling some guilt over my actions.  Here are a few of the things that have rubbed me wrong this morning:

• I noticed when the neighbor mowed his lawn (on the riding mower) he left a patch of long grass between our yard and his.  What the hell?
• When I got to Aiden's daycare, the lunch lady stopped to chat with me like she does occasionally.  Normally I like to talk to with her, but today I just barrelled past mumbling about being really tired today.
• Honestly, I'm not up for smiling, so anyone that tries to chat with me about the belly makes want to punch them in the face.
• Aiden got his daycare pictures back this week (this is the first year he smiled for them!) so I stopped at the front desk to pay for the photos.  That's when the director asked me why Aiden wasn't going to his dance recital in a couple weeks.  Mostly, it's because we are short on cash these days and I'm irritated that we have to spend $45 on ugly shorts and a t-shirt with the dance company's name on it.  But it's also because the recital is the week after I'm due.  I didn't feel like paying money for something we might not get a chance to use if I'm in the hospital giving birth to a baby.  I was so annoyed that I had to defend myself because she kept trying to find ways for us to work around it.  UGH.
• Then when I got to work today, I had to walk up two flights of stairs.  Of course a contraction started before I got to the stairs, but I decided to try to walk through it.  The damn contraction lasted almost three minutes - the entire duration of climbing the stairs. 

I wish my dad was here.  If he was, I would totally have the doctor strip the membranes at my appointment this afternoon.  It doesn't sound particularly awesome, but at this point I don't care.  Since we are relying on my dad to watch Aiden while we go into the hospital, I'm going to wait until next week.  At the moment, he is planning to come Wednesday.  I CAN'T WAIT.

Last night I convinced Travis to give me a foot rub.  It was the most fabulous thing I have experienced EVER.  I'm fairly certain of that. 

9-16 Days Left

The irritability continues.  My hands and feet have been swelling a lot worse lately, though nothing as horrible as when I was pregnant with Aiden.  That makes my irritation more palpable.  The one thing currently keeping me going through the day is the Jack Johnson station on Pandora.  It helps calm me and there aren't any annoying random songs to give me an eye twitch. 

I haven't been AS busy at work lately.  I finally got access to the area I've been doing work in, so I don't have to go when it's convenient for other people.  I can go when it fits into my schedule.  I have to wear special head wear in that area and it's wreaking havoc on my neck.  I have a bad neck anyway.  Add five pounds on top of my head and all hell breaks loose.  (Read: added irritability.)  I'm looking forward to the maternity break from that thing. 

Things have been getting behind at the house lately.  I drank a serious cup of coffee yesterday afternoon and then spent the evening clearing that list.  That means tonight I get to SIT.  Just sit.  I even made a giant casserole yesterday so we can eat leftovers again tonight.  I think it might just be a TV night...

TRYING to Relax

I tried to keep this weekend laid back.  I think I did so-so.  Friday night we took it easy at home.  Travis and Aiden put together Mila's crib.  Aiden was really excited about sharing the space with his baby sister.  I REALLY hope he keeps up that attitude after the crying baby is here.  We'll see.

Saturday morning we needed to go grocery shopping, so Travis went with to help me out. He's not very good about finding the deals like I am. That's why he doesn't usually go by himself.  That evening, we headed over to my boss' house for a crawfish boil.  It was the only day the majority of us were available - not directly related to Cinco de Mayo.  Though Travis did drink Dos Equis in honor of the day.  We have hung out with one of my co-workers a few times now and his kids just happen to go to the same daycare as Aiden.  We got to meet another co-worker's two boys as well.  They all got along pretty well - only a few tifts over the tricycles that some of us brought along. 

The little girl that was there (who is also in his daycare class) brought her pink Dora the Explorer helmet.  She took it off at some point and Aiden put it on.  He was obsessed.  He wouldn't even take it off to go in the house to use the restroom.  It was so cute.  Travis didn't flinch too much at the color. 

Aiden has been asking for a helmet for a few weeks now, I guess ever since we bought his motorcycle.  He noticed a lot of people wearing helmets as they rode their motorcycles on the Interstate, so of course Aiden had to have one.  And hey!  Who am I to inhibit safety??  Last night we stopped at Target and found a Spiderman helmet.

It matches his Spiderman sunglasses and "Spiderman" motorcycle.  It's not actually a Spiderman motorcycle, but Spiderman drives a red motorcycle, so I can see the relation for him. 

The funny thing about Aiden's Spiderman obsession?  He has been talking about how much he wants a Batman birthday.  Not Spiderman.  Batman.  Funny.

Sunday we didn't do anything in the morning except for a few things around the house.  That afternoon we went to see The Avengers with Aiden and a couple girls from my work.  Aiden LOVED it.  He did cover his ears through most of it.  I guess it was too loud for him, but he never took his eyes off the screen.  Before we saw the movie, if you asked him what The Hulk says, he would say, "HULK SMASH" and smash his fists together.  Since he saw the movie, he puts his fists in the air and says, "ARRRRGGGHHH!!!"  Ha!

After the movie we met Ariel and Robert for dinner at a fried shrimp place in Galveston.  I was having a craving and everyone obliged.  We sat on the back patio and Auntie Ariel tickled Aiden almost the entire time.  It's always nice to hang out with other people so they entertain Aiden a bit for me.  Takes some of the pressure off, which I wholeheartedly appreciate. 

We did a lot of things this weekend, but none of it was very stressful.  I'm hoping to relive that this weekend as well.

Marvel

While I know this is iffy for a 2-year-old (rated PG-13), I CANNOT wait to take Aiden to see The Avengers this weekend. Three of his favorite characters in one film.  I've been trying to rent Thor for months now, but it's never available at Redbox.  I had to drive out of my way to find a Redbox that had it yesterday.  At least I found it!  Aiden was nervous for the first 10 minutes, which has me a little worried about seeing the Avengers in a loud theater.  I guess if we have to take breaks, we can.  I'm still excited!

Pregnancy Pet Peeves

There are a lot of things I have heard pregnant women complain about when it comes to dealing with society their interest in a woman's pregnancy.  Up until this past month, not much bothered me.  But lately, there have been several things that just hit a nerve.  It could be partially that I have a sudden irrational short fuse these days.  Or it could just be that I'm tired of hearing the SAME thing over and over again.  Here's the list of things Nikki is less tolerant of:

1. "You're having a boy, aren't you?"  Nope.  Despite originally thinking I was going to have a boy, the doctor says with 99% certainty that this is a girl.  I don't care what you know about how when it's a boy, the belly goes out front and when it's a girl, the belly goes all around like a tire.  I think every woman carries child the way her body is equipped to do so.  I do not thing the shape of the baby's genitalia has anything to do with the mother's body.
2. "You're going to pop any day now, huh?"  Nope.  People have been telling me that for a month and I still have 2-3 weeks left.  When I tell them that, they usually say one of the following: "Are you having twins?!" or "You're going to have the baby early!"  Again, nope.  Just one baby.  All three ultrasounds agree on that one.  And again, nope.  If my first delivery is any indication, this baby is going to hold on as long as possible.  Premature babies do not run in my family.  If anything, well developed, large babies run in the family.  Honestly, the reason I'm so big is because I have a lot of amniotic fluid.  Tell me random-person-on-the-elevator, do you really want to discuss how much fluid is in my sac?
3. Getting the stink-eye while carrying a coffee.  My doctor said one cup of joe per day is fine.  Besides, what if it's decaf (which sometimes it is)??  I shouldn't have to defend myself.  The end.

Beyond these three bullet points, I have hadn't too many issues.  No stranger has tried to touch my belly.  Only friends.  And I'm okay with that.  Oh and no one has tried to kiss my belly.  Thank goodness for THAT.  I had a stranger do that to me on the beach while I was in a bikini last year.  That means a random hippie chick kissed my bare skin while I was all hot and covered in sunscreen.  NOT OK LADY.

Prenatal Exercise

As I have mentioned before, I am ready to have this baby.  I thought I would make an attempt to get things moving with a walk Monday night.  Aiden has been asking to go for a walk a lot recently, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. 

Aiden and I ate dinner while Travis dealt with the fraudulent bank activity.  It worked out that we were done eating around the same time Travis got off the phone with the bank. Aiden chose his new motorcycle to take on the walk.  At first, I was thinking the motorcycle was a good idea.  He wasn't very good on it, so he was really slow.  When I walk, I get contractions.  I was hoping to take it easy on the walk. 

But then, Aiden warmed up to the bike and got going fast.  I decided this might be a good way to push myself, so I tried to keep up.  There were a few times I had to have him wait for me, but for the most part I kept up.  It was a little rough because that meant I walked for 20 minutes with one long, rock hard contraction.  YOUCH.

When we got home, I sat on the patio while Aiden played in the yard.  I refused to get up until the contraction went away.  I sat there long enough to realize my potted plants needed watering.  When the giant cramp ended, I watered the plants, which inevitably brought the contractions back. 

Still no baby.  This exercise may not bring on a baby, but maybe it will strengthen my uterus so I'm more efficient in the delivery room.  Pft.

WoW Attack

Thank goodness for fraud monitoring.  Yesterday after work, I got on the Interstate before I realized how low on gas I was.  My car had determined I had 20 miles left on the tank, so I figured I would be fine until I reached our exit.  I stopped at the gas station, put my debit card in and the screen told me to go see the cashier.  I was really annoyed because that means I have to get Aiden out of the car seat, lock the car, deal with the guy waiting in line behind me giving me the stink eye, etc.  I threw my card back in the machine.  I'm pregnant, I'm tired, maybe I just entered the wrong pin.  Nope.  Same thing again.  I tried a third time, just for good measure.  No luck.

I unload Aiden and head in to see if the cashier can reset the process or whatever.  Nope, she can't.  I have to give her my card in the store.  Problem with using my card in the store is I have to tell her how much to put on my card.  With the fluctuating gas prices lately, I never know if it's going to take $35, $40 or $45 to fill up my tank.  And I hate stopping for gas more frequently than I have to.  But!  I have no choice.  Put $30 on my card and be done with it.

It wouldn't go through inside either.  By this time I am SO frustrated.

"Do you know why it's not going through? Does it tell you that?"

"Insufficient funds?"  She shrugs her shoulders.

What?!  There should be plenty of money in there!  No reason I shouldn't be able to spend $30.  She didn't seem confident that this was the reason.  So, why would she take a stab in the dark as to why it wasn't working?  FINE.  Give me my card back.  I ran out to the car and used my credit card.  I HATE using my credit card.  I think I will feel better about it after Travis and I have paid off the rest of our credit card debt.  Til then, I like to avoid using The Card.

While I was waiting for my gas to pump, I asked Travis to check our account (he has easy access on his phone).  He called me back two minutes later and asked if I had spent $140 online today.  What?  No!  I don't make purchases over $50 without talking to Travis first.  Plus, even if I had spent $140, there should still be plenty of money in the account. 

After some more digging, Travis found something like 15 unexplained transactions adding up to $820.  All done yesterday at some video game website (most notably used for World of Warcraft, WoW).  Apparently, the bank noticed this unusual activity and cancelled my card.  That's why it wouldn't work.  They were already in the process of reversing the transactions and had it down to $140 left to fix by closing time last night. 

THANK GOD.  That is so much more doable.  The bank said if they are unable to stop the transactions before they go through, we will have to call back and dispute the charges.  Hopefully it doesn't come to that.  It's not a huge deal, just an annoying use of our time.  Travis called the website to see if he could find out who had made the transactions.  He was unable to find that out since they didn't do it on a specific account. 

They did say this sort of thing happens ALL THE TIME.  Ironically, it happened to a friend of mine from work yesterday as well.  I told my dad about this and he said the same thing happened to my brother a few years ago.  I guess those gaming folks know a thing or two about computers and the interwebz and such.  HA.

I'm hoping the rest of it gets taken care of without a hitch.  Both the bank and the WoW website people seemed to think we would be taken care of, no problem.  Here's hoping!