Week 32 and 33!

I even wore heels!

Leighton and Tanya cutting a rug.

I'm a little behind, but only because we've been so busy.  We went to my school's auction on 4/16 (where we somehow didn't win anything...)  We got all dressed up and even went out dancing afterwards.  Leighton had a blast dancing with anyone who was willing, especially during my mandatory rest sessions.

The next day was the Welcome Home Yuki BBQ!  We're so happy to have her back and it seemed like a good excuse for a party.  Cousin JoYi was quite intrigued by my belly (as the younger sister, she never got to see mom pregnant).  She kept poking my belly button, maybe hoping it would do something.

Roasty is currently the size of a large jicama.  The baby weighs almost 4 pounds and is now in the crazy growth phase.  He will start gaining about a half a pound a week!  I'm now weighing in at...198 pounds!  Take your guesses as to when I'll cross over to the 200 pound mark.

JoYi and Thai playing with their new cousin in utero.

Other exciting news is that I have been ordained by the Universal Life Church so that I can marry sweet Yuki to my adoring brother.  Watch out for wedding invitations soon!

Week 31!

It's non-alcoholic, people.

This was an exciting week because two of my childhood best friends flew into town to help celebrate Roasty. I got a few of my best girls together to decorate onesies, eat and play silly games. All together we made over 20 onesies with lots of fun one-of-a-kind messages. Charity and Yolanda made delicious brunch and Eleanor graciously hosted at her house. Thanks, ladies!

The sweater Sarah knitted for Roasty.

Brunch on a beautiful day!

Naima begs for help while Asher attacks her pacifier

Finished onesies drying.

I'm pretty proud of my Jamaican flag.

Yo and Mac talk designs.

My latest pregnancy side affect has been middle of the night charley horses. I wake up screaming with my calf totally seized up. Of course Leighton jumps out of bed, panicked, and then ignores me when I tell him it's just a cramp. The one I had this week left me limping for days. I felt like I had run a marathon, that's how sore my poor calf was.

The quilt Yolanda made for Roasty

The artists at work.
(Alexis carved a jicama stamp!) 

I got to hangout with a midwife at Lucy and Mackenzie's house. She poked and prodded and determined that Roasty's head is way down in my pelvis (right on my bladder, as a matter of fact) and his butt is right up against the center of my rib cage. She said this is a great position for him to be in for birth. He's already a good boy. I feel most of his movements on both sides of my belly which makes sense--that's him waving his arms.

I also stepped on a scale for the frist time in a while...196 pounds! Leighton's happy though because he says my butt is getting bigger...

Karl found a pretty awesome name idea.  Well, the name is a little weird, but the meaning is too perfect.  According to Jainism, one of the three primary spiritual traditions of India (along with Hinduism and Buddhism), "Tirthankaras which literally means “maker of a ford” and refers to a human being who achieves omniscience and then teaches the path to liberation to others, thereby establishing a ford across the river of rebirth"


Per my last post, there is an online petition to bring Postum back.  Help a sister out and sign here:   http://www.PetitionOnline.com/postum/

Week 30!

Roasty is the size of a cabbage, about 3 pounds.

I'm posing in the "baby room" in front of our crib (thanks Bob and Joanne!)

My mother's favorite pregnant drink was Postum. It was created as a coffee substitute and enjoyed a rise in popularity during WWII when coffee was rationed. Why is it so appealing to pregnant women? Well, it's caffeine free and non-acidic. Since we live in a cold, drafty house, we tend to require a lot of hot drinks. Tea, my usual standard, has been wholly uninteresting, in part due to the acidic aftermath. I want Postum. The sad news is that it was discontinued a few years ago. I am now stuck trying alternatives--Inka, Pero--but neither have the rich molasses flavor of my dear Postum. I even found a jar of Postum on sale on Ebay for only $70!! Honestly, I'm tempted.

Back to my mother. As a child I envied my mother's fingernails. They were so long and feminine, mine were always short (plus I bit them). I used to come home and put on my Lee Press-on Nails, which fulfilled my long-nailed fantasies as long as I didn't touch anything or move much. Lame. My mother could touch her fingernails together without the pads of her fingers touching. That was my goal in life. Which brings me to my favorite pregnancy side affect--long and strong fingernails! My dream come true.

We got to visit my cousin Nate's new baby, Zoe Isabelle. She's adorable and I got to get in my baby time. I can't wait to have my own!

Karl and Leighton have been working on our bomb shelter *ahem* bike shed. It's HUGE! They have designed and carried out all of the building on their own (how cute) except for the cement pad which required buying and hauling 85 bags of cement that weigh 80 pounds each. Cousin John helped Leighton make the 5 trips to Home Depot, load the bags into the cart, unload them into the van, unload them at Hillegass, then carry them to the backyard. The 10 by 12 foot pad is impressive, and impecable minus Momo's footprints walking across one corner.

Leighton won't let me drink. I don't want to drink much, just a Red Stripe for lunch in Jamaica, a pint with my colleagues on Friday, a glass of wine at a birthday party, but he is a stickler. I found a NYTimes article that explained that, 1. We have no idea what moderate drinking does to a fetus, 2. in Europe pregnant women are told to keep their drinking down to 14 servings a week (as in two drinks per day!!) This was verified when I watched the Swedish film, "The Girl who Played with Fire". The reporter, Bloomkvist, convinces his pregnant lawyer sister to represent Lisbeth and clear her name. The sister meets up with Lisbeth at a bar and in the entire scene she is drinking red wine, totally casual, no funny looks from other patrons. Unheard of in American films. Apparently, the way a pregnant woman gets crooked looks in Europe is by eating raw vegetables--the bacteria, the horror!