Totally on Purpose

Dear Baby TOP,

Today is Thursday, January 5, 2012. You are 26 weeks and 2 days cooked. Just about 14 weeks to go!

Before I go into anything else, let me share with you one thing I can attribute to you which I noticed last night: my thighs touch now. I know I know I know I know.... most people's thighs touch. Most people are not waif-ish supermodels. And neither am I. But on an ordinary day, my thighs don't touch. Not because I am rail thin - though by today's standards I'm certainly no Chunky Monkey - but because I am bow-legged to the point of comedy. Standing with my legs together and straight I can literally stick my fist between my knees. College marching bands could use the space to practice formations. I was once accused to housing the entire DMZ there....

My true calling?

I've never taken full advantage of this physical trait. Mostly because I have no idea how one would actually take advantage, beyond stupid human tricks at a party. So, I was a little surprised last night when I noticed that my thighs were touching. I'm not freaking out on you here, TOP. I know that I can't expect all the weight to be in my belly and chest. I have concluded that the extra volume in and around my boom boom is just nature's way of handling the physics of a ballooning uterus and ta-tas that, for a brief time, anyway, won't be confused for those of 13-year-old boy. So, thanks, Nature, for giving me a solid base upon which to carry Boy Child #3.

I had an appointment with Mary, my midwife, today. Your buddies Reid (age 2) and Ethan (age 8 months) were with me and were, once again, just AWESOME. All is well with you and me. She reassured me, in fact, that although I have "officially" gained 6 pounds in the last 4 weeks, I have gained 14 pounds total so I'm not at too big a risk for getting out-of-control with the baby weight. For the first time today they gave me a print out of my "Clinical Visit Summary" which was kind of cool and kind of not cool: cool because I have a written record of my blood pressure (110/68) and pulse rate (70 BPM) as well as my weight (none of your business); NOT cool because they also included my BMI. Seems like a mean trick to play on a pregnant lady, doesn't it? It's not scary-high, but I know it will get to a place that makes me feel yicky and I'll just have to put on my Big Girl Pants and ignore it. Yes, I'm trying to teach you early that it's important to ignore what the doctor tells you.

We are now at the point of appointments every 2 weeks. Good thing the car knows the way to the doctor's office and I can just nap on the way. In fact, the next appointment is the dreaded glucose test. This means I have to drink about 10 ounces of the most horrible orange flavored juice and then get my blood tested to see how I handle the sugar. Now, your mama knows how to handle her sugar. I consume at least 6,000 times the recommended daily allowance of sugar. Yet, somehow with both of your brothers, I failed this preliminary test and had to do the follow up test which involves such fun things as fasting and getting blood drawn and then drinking icky stuff and getting more blood drawn and then drinking more icky stuff and getting more blood drawn... It's a three hour process and it is way un-fun. In fact, when I had Elliott cookin', I decided it would be a good idea to bring Tommy (age 2) with me for this appointment (actually, I think he had an ear infection and couldn't go to daycare that day...) and I was a MESS. No food. Totally whacked out blood sugar. Bored toddler. It was a very, very hard morning! So, anyway, I'm almost certain I will fail the first test and be forced to endure the 3 hour version. But this time, at least, I'm wise enough to not have any small children tagging along.

They don't give you these kind of instructions with Baby #3!

Oddly enough, the day that started with the midwife ended with the dentist. Nothing too surprising there: no cavities, I need to floss more, dentists and hygienists love to start interesting conversations when they have sharp implements in your mouth. But, good to know that the next time I am in the office you will be out of me! Yay!

Okay, bedtime for Mama. Going to try to get up and walk/jog the track tomorrow. Love you, Baby TOP!

- Mom

P.S. G.G. and Poppa sent several newborn outfits for you... Oh.My.Adorableness. Kind of making me more and more excited to get you out of there and into them!

Chocolate

I have been without dark chocolate chips in the house since Saturday. It's KILLING me. Mind you, I have not been without chocolate. I had a glass of chocolate milk yesterday. And there's still a bunch of mini candy bars left over from the Candor trip in April..... So I've been destroying those.

And yet, I feel so out of sorts without these dark chocolate chips. I eat them every morning in my oatmeal. I eat them throughout the day when I need to do something other than bang my head against the wall or scream at small children. I eat them with sun butter. I eat them in cold cereal. I eat them in every way imaginable. They are - at times - my best friend.

I am constantly hungry. I am constantly cranky. I am constantly trying to think of what will fill the void.

My normal diet of 9.000 lbs of chocolate chips a week does not seem to have a negative effect on my physical fitness/well being. I weigh about a buck twenty pretty consistently. In the last 3 days without chocolate chips I've actually GAINED weight, probably due to searching for a substitute for my dear, precious, dark chocolate chips.

So, you say, why would I deny myself? And I'll tell you: Love.

Scott can't stay away from them either. He's been in the habit of eating them every night with peanut butter. His life-of-service does not allow him to selfishly get up at scary o'clock to workout. Therefore, when HE eats the chocolate chips, they really add up. And so, last Friday night as we were discussing the shopping list, he said "How 'bout NOT getting more chocolate chips."

I thought it was kidding.

He wasn't.

And so, for My Love.... I suffer.

At last... a long run!

Had rehearsal until about 9:30 last night and then came home and was (of course) completely wired. Despite that, I got a nice early start this morning (5:45). It was already so very very humid but the temperature wasn't too bad yet. I ran into Wolfeboro where I KNEW I could get water and a bathroom break around mile 5 at the old train station.

(The old train station.. whose bathrooms open up SOMEtime... but apparently I have no idea when!)

NOPE! Okay, maybe it doesn't open until 7:00?? Anyway, not a pleasant surprise. So I hoofed it along the Cotton Valley Trail to Fernald Station. (Met up with one guy who was just about my pace and another guy who was going so fast I wasn't sure if there was a tsunami coming!) That's just over 3 miles on lovely, scenic, flat ground.


(Fernald Station on the Cotton Valley Trail. I cleaned the house of a Fernald family back in 2002 and at that time a guy named Mark Fernald ran for Governor... I never knew if he was any relation to this Fernald.)

I took a left for short bit on Rte 109 and crossed over to (Angel choir here: AAAHHHHH!) the 7-11 where a very nice kid let me fill my water bottle.

("Just a little water for an Old Lady, Young Man?")

Then, the work began.

I had what I'm guessing to be 2 miles straight up North Line Road. That meets up with Beach Pond Road (the road of my former residence) upon which I took a right for, yes, more killer hills. Then, a left on Brown Road where, just for fun, there are some breath taking (yes....) HILLS! Finally it comes to Federal Corner Road where I can relax because it is just one final: HILL!

William Lawrence Camp... it "rocks".

All told it was about 14.5 miles. It took my 2:17 to finish, which is pretty slow but I feel GREAT because I felt pretty great the whole time. And, let's face it, there were one or two... hills.

When I got to camp I looked like I had jumped in the lake. Ate a LOT of breakfast (scrambled eggs, English muffin, sun butter, potatoes, tea, milk...) and came home. The only reason I mention that is because I was completely hydrated (or so I think/thought) and I had that big meal. And yet.... I stepped on the scale and it was 5 pounds lighter than the night before. Weird. My weight tends to fluctuate those 5 pounds over the course of a month but I thought it was interesting that there was such a difference after 1 long run - consider all the things I did to refuel and hydrate.

Anyway... I feel great and therefore I'm not going to worry about it.

P.S. Just remembered... drank a LOT of water last night during rehearsal so that I could be well-hydrated today. AND, I got up to pee literally 4 times in the night. I think, perhaps, I just weighed a lot more before bed because of the increase in water and maybe I didn't really lose that much during the run. Huh.