The final countdown

So here we are, the day before d-day. Only a few hours to go.

Today is Labor Day, but we hardly did any labor around the house. I mostly took it easy. And remarkably, I haven't had any anxiety attacks. About the most stressful thing we did was head to IHOP this morning for breakfast. Other than that, I went and got my eyebrows waxed, my French manicure touched up and took a nap afterward.

And since baby's delivery means no more bad eating habits for me, I demanded Jon take me to a Cuban restaurant yesterday. We picked up my mom (of course) and headed over for a late lunch.

To prepare for surgery tomorrow, I've been instructed not to eat or drink anything after midnight tonight. At first, I was like, "How am I going to survive without food and water for 24 hours?!" Especially with Sjogrens, which makes you incredibly thirsty. But the more I think about it, the more I think I wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything anyway since I'll be a ball of nerves tomorrow. Woosah... That's all I keep telling myself.

It's silly. Seeing as how I've been through this before, you'd think I wouldn't have anything to be nervous about. But I was in a pretty extreme state of shock last time. You could've cut my arms off and I would've just laughed. This time around, I'm very much aware of what's going to happen. I just keep telling myself to look forward to the Demerol. And Baby B's arrival, of course.

Vanity is thine name

We have three more days before d-day. How appropriate that my delivery date is the day after Labor Day.

Yesterday, I went in for my pre-op. Normally, it's done the day before, but seeing as how my c-section is scheduled for the day following a holiday, it had to be done the Friday before. They took some blood, checked my vitals, took more blood, gave me instructions for the big day, and took even more blood. Did I mention they took blood?

As I was reading over the instructions, I noticed it said I couldn't wear contacts. Huh?! Here I am, the most vain person on earth, she who prepares for her delivery by getting her nails and hair done, and I'm told I can't wear contacts??? I've read online that they tell you not to wear contacts in case you have an emergency and your eyes roll back into your head or something stupid like that. Well, I can safely say I've been through an emergency where my eyes rolled into the back of my head and guess what? My eyes and contacts came out fine, thank you very much.

Not to mention the fact that I'm blind as a bat and I'd like to be able to see my baby when he's born.

So come d-day, I plan on rolling in, hair meticulously styled and nails carefully painted with nary a spectacle on my face.

38 weeks

Here we are at the 38th week marker. Normally, being 38 weeks pregnant doesn't mean anything significant, except in my case, it marks the week that I had Jordan. It also marks the week I had my seizure.

I've been petrified of reaching this milestone since I found out I was pregnant. It's crazy to think that next week, I'll be having this baby. Let's just hope history doesn't repeat itself.

Insomnia

Good morning. I've been awake since 3 a.m. And here it is 6 a.m. with nary a sleepy bone in my body.

Over the past week or so, I've had the worst bout of insomnia. Everyone says it's because my body is gearing itself up to be woken up every two hours when the baby comes, but I think it's because I have too much on my mind. I mean hello?! The date is set for Tues, Sept 6 and all I can think about is "I hope I can make it that long. Come on body, don't fail me now!"

I haven't been able to shut my brain off. Which leads me to the following...

Things I won't miss about being pregnant:

• Waking up at 3 a.m.
• The bloatedness
• The man hands (see bloatedness)
• Stuffy nose that never seems to clear
• Aching hips
• Not being able to walk for long periods of time
• Feeling like one of those morbidly obese 1,000-lb people that have to be unglued from their couch
  
• Hearing that I look great, when I feel miserable

This week, Jon is staying home with me to help me out in my final week of pregnancy. And of course, I'm taking full advantage of it by having him haul me everywhere. Yesterday, we went to Hobby Lobby to get a few decorative touches for the nursery and afterward went over to Macy's to pick up some stuff for me. I way overdid it. Not only was it 106 degrees outside, I haven't walked that much since I can remember. As soon as we got home, I collapsed onto the couch and didn't move for three hours. I hate being debilitated.

So here I am at 6 a.m., thinking about how my life will change in so many ways this time next week. For one, I'll actually be able to walk again. And secondly, well, that part is obvious.

The girl who cried preeclampsia

Here's the thing about having a high-risk pregnancy -- you're constantly filled with anxiety. Even if there's no reason to feel anxious, it's always there eating away at the back of your brain. Your thoughts always drift to the worst-case scenario or to memories of what got you into this high-risk category to begin with.

So it is with me. I haven't been able to relax throughout this whole pregnancy, try as I might. Which means, I've more than filled my frequent visitor card at my doctor's office. Anytime anything feels a little off, I'm there. The front desk and nurses know me by name.

First, there was the whole collapsing at the office incident. Well, this past Friday, I had yet another scare. It was a particularly stressful morning. I offered to take Jordan to school since I had to meet up with a coworker anyway to discuss some final wrap-up plans. The morning involved Jon and I scrambling about, trying to get ourselves and Jordan ready for school. Which means, I didn't eat anything, similar to the morning I had with the most recent incident.

At Jordan's school, I completely forgot the front door code. I sat there for a good minute or two just blankly staring at the keypad. "I should know this; I do it everyday," I thought. And I freaked.

Why? Because that's how my seizure started last time. Total confusion.

I told myself to calm down, and fortunately, a lady let us in. I told myself to just hold it together long enough to get Jordan into his classroom. As I walked down the hall toward his room, the walls started closing in and I felt really lightheaded. Fortunately, I dropped him off without incident.

Afterward, I headed over to Starbucks, where I was set to meet my coworker, and immediately ordered something to eat. Once I got all settled, I called my doc, who had me come in at 11 a.m. Sure enough, my blood pressure was at 140/88. I'm sure it was because of the stress of the morning and what I now call "symptom stress," or rather, stress over things you perceive as symptoms.

All in all, everything turned out ok, and my doc ordered me to stay away from work. No problem there since I'm taking the following week off anyway. Still, I'm sure I'll find something else to worry about. I always do.

Nursery? Done.

I have to thank my lucky stars sometimes for giving me the best friends.

Remember how I said I had nothing ready for the nursery? Well, Krista heard the call, and as a last minute trip, decided to come to Houston to help us paint. And by us, really I mean Jon. Poor Jon has been stretched so thin lately, taking care of me, Rocco and the monkey. So when Krista offered, we more than jumped at the offer.

Ultimately, we picked a blue shade that honestly, I would've never have gone with on my own. That's what I love about Krista; she really helps expand your creativity. She has such a visual eye. That same day, Jon and a friend of our's went to pick up this awesome modern crib I found on Craigslist for $200. Not only did we save $300, but we didn't have to wait a tortuously long three to four weeks to have it delivered.

While Krista and my former coworker and friend Kristina painted away, I lounged around like Cleopatra. Ha! Afterward, Jon made everyone a steak dinner. It was the least we could do to say thanks.

In the end, it all came together rather nicely. I can't believe we finally got it all together. Thanks, no doubt, to the fantastic friends we're so lucky to have.

Owls and deadlines

At 34 weeks, you'd think I'd have everything set. Nursery in perfect order, clothes thoughtfully put away... But no. In fact, we just came up with a nursery theme this past weekend.

I got the inspiration from HGTV's website. We're going with a retro modern owl/bird theme, as seen here. Now, I have to be careful with this theme since it could verge on creepy, so I've made it my mission to try to find all things woodsy yet modern.

We finally bought a dresser last weekend, a modern two-toned white and wood dresser from Ikea. We plan on ordering the crib shown in the picture.

As usual, I've proven to be deadline-oriented. And as such, I've found my latest obsession, albeit a little late--putting the nursery together.