This won't affect my freedom, will it?
Today I went to the dentist because my porcelain crown broke. They filed it down for me (to keep it from acting as a razor sharp knife against my tongue) and will fit me for a new crown after the baby arrives. I was at the front counter making the appointment for the crown fitting, and the lady was asking what time worked for me, and I was saying anytime worked because I'd be on maternity leave so morning, noon, night... whatever. Then I realized, I'm gonna have a baby with me. So I said, Can I bring the baby with me to my appointment? And they said, sure, but it's a two-hour appointment. Then I realized that wouldn't work. So I said, go ahead and make it whenever, and I'll get someone to watch him. And THEN i realized, this is the first time I've had to worry about someone watching him! I mean, this is the first time I realize I am not free to come and go as I please. This is no longer just a matter of sending a note to my boss letting him know I must go to the dentist and I'll make up my time later. I can't just send a note to little Evan and ask him to, like, take care of himself at home for a couple hours while I go do my thing.
Of course, I already knew these things, but it just feels different now.
It feels weird that I have to find a sitter and he's not even here yet.

Why do I keep dropping everything???
Ok, I am starting to feel really klutzy. I keep dropping things! According to my prego books, this is a normal part of pregnancy (I can blame almost everything inconvenient on the pregnancy now). Something about the swelling in the hands, my larger size, and my tummy putting me off balance all contribute to general klutziness. It is driving me crazy.

I was brushing my hair yesterday and somehow threw the brush across the room. Later I was drying dishes and dropped the towel. At another point, I dropped a baby carrot on the floor while I was eating/studying. I still haven't dropped the soap in the shower, though I hear that's a common pregnancy dilemma. Every time I realize I have dropped something, I look down, sigh, and try to decide if it's worth picking up.

Lately I've been deciding to not pick it up. It's too awkward to bend over. So I'm leaving things on the floor. Since our house is a little messy, Jerry hasn't noticed yet. Yesterday I was making the bed and in my haste to get the fitted sheet over the corner, I somehow knocked a glass off my nightstand, flinging water all over the mattress and causing the glass to roll under the bed. (The glass is still there.)

I'm not even going to mention the amount of pens I have under my desk at work.

update
Had my 7 month pre-natal appointment today. Blood pressure was low, prego pee was normal, tummy measurement was normal, baby's heartbeat was "excellent" (yes, she actually said excellent). I won't get the results back from the glucose screening test (for gestational diabetes) for awhile -- they'll call me in a few days if the news is bad.
81 days to go!

28 weeks / Month 7
This week the baby weighs a little more than 2 pounds and measures 10" crown to rump. He measures about 15" head to toe!
So his length is about 75% there, but he's got a lot of fattening up to do. No problem.
Tomorrow I do the glucose screening test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. Standard procedure. I get to drink a sugary liquid and then do a blood test, I think.

My friend Karen says I look like I'm hiding a globe in my shirt. :)

New link to 20 Week Ultrasounds and I added a new picture of Miss Andrea.

Third trimester
We're in the last and final trimester! As of Sunday, we are 27 weeks along (the beginning of the 7th month).
Predictably, I have new symptoms this week. Instead of back pain, I now have heart burn and am extremely tired. I feel as tired as I did in the first trimester (i.e., I get to work at 8:00, and at 8:10 I feel like Vaseline is rubbed all over my eyelides and inside my eyes, my head feels like it weighs 50 pounds and my neck is about as strong as a blade of grass.) I am trying different things like a cup of fresh hot chocolate, or a decaf latte with an inch of caffeinated coffee thrown in for good measure. I've even tried eating an apple, which I heard is supposed to be good for waking up the senses. I've tried going for a walk. I've tried doing my work. I've tried extra large breakfasts. Nothing works!
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The baby is moving around a lot. This is supposed to be the month when the baby's movements are felt the most... he is big and strong enough to have a powerful baby punch, but not so big that he is cramped within the uterus and can't move. I feel little movements all day, but mostly early morning and late at night. I still can't identify exactly which body part is jabbing me. I assume they are elbows and little fists. Some of it just feels like movement, though, like he is changing position. It's all very cute.
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Someone at work asked me the other day if I was having twins. I said no. She asked if I was sure I wasn't having twins. Someone else remarked that i looked big, then asked how much weight I had gained (HA!). I love how the rules of etiquette change when someone is pregnant.

Saddam's 'Love Shack' Discovered
"Upstairs was a television room with bright blue, pink and yellow throw pillows. The bathroom included a whirlpool bath. The kingsize bed was fitted into an alcove with mirrors on two sides and a fantasy painting on the third."

Much like our place.

The benefit of pregnancy
This morning after getting my teeth scrupulously cleaned, I decided to reward myself with a tall, sweet hot chocolate. On my way out of the cafe I saw parked behind my car the very familiar fluorescent yellow go cart, otherwise known as Sacramento parking authority. A big guy was in the process of writing me a ticket. I approached him from behind and asked why I was getting a ticket. In a rough voice, he said it was because I did not read the sign I was parked right in front of. I said, Two hour parking? I was only in there for a couple minutes. He said No, The other sign. So I read the other sign, which said something about street cleaning on Thursday mornings. I replied that he didn't have to be mean about it, to which he said he was only giving me a hard time because he was going to tear up my ticket, and he voided it right there in front of me.
Now, I have received many tickets in my life, and I specialize in parking tickets (sorry mom, dad). I have begged officers/meter maids (whatever they are called) in the past to change their minds and give me a break. It has never worked. I have tried acting nice, acting sorry, acting cute, faking a tear... nothing works. Even when I was 16 and got my first ticket and was dressed all trendy and cute I couldn't get out of it. I'm not getting any cuter.
So as I got back into my car, I noticed everyone sitting outside the cafe was looking at me with what appeared to be disgust. One of the ladies said, "Good job... mama."

The prego belly
Today a girl I work with had her baby shower... she is due in just 4 weeks, and she is TEN (10) weeks ahead of me. We played a shower game where the soon-to-be mama measured her pregnant belly with a string and then everyone had their own string and they tried to cut it to be the same measurement as soon-to-be-mama's tummy. She is very petite, but still, she is 10 weeks ahead of me, so I thought I would measure my own tummy and then add 4 inches and cut the string. So I did that. My friend Kelley was sitting next to me and said, "no, I think you are the same size right now." Meaning, she thinks I am the same size as someone TEN WEEKS AHEAD OF ME! So Kelley cut her string to match my tummy. Guess who won? Neither of us... Kelley's string (which represented my tummy) was 4-5 inches longer than soon-to-be mama's!

As I write this I am eating chocolate cake and it is good.