Ham and 37 Week Check-Up

There is one person who has been trying to figure out the closely guarded secret of Baby Pohl's true name: Tom's mom. She frequently asks Patrick, hoping that the little one will be able to relay anything he may have overheard. This past time, Patrick happened to be eating a ham sandwhich when she asked, and the nearly-two-year-old's reponse was: "Ham". Now, when anyone asks P what the baby's name is, he replies "Ham". It seems to be sticking. My 37 week check-up was today, although my back was bothering me so much we couldn't get a good measurement because my doctor did not make lay down. He is sending me off for some physical therapy to try and get me back into shape before I happen to go into labor. I figure it can't hurt at this point, so Thursday I head off to meet with a woman at the nearby PT office who specializes in PT during pregnancy. Thursday seems so far off, but I know it will get here. I seem to be up to 198 for my weight (eek), but I am not concerned at this point-only three weeks left and my BP is great.

Downhill

Since my last post, my health has headed, well, down. I kicked the cough with the help of my inhaler, so my stomach quit aching, then my body decided to reward me me by developing a sinus infection. I literally blew my nose so much that I strained muscles in my back and along the sides of my ribs. As a result, I can't pick anything up, including P. Thank goodness it happened on the weekend you might be thinking, so Tom could be around. Wrong. This has probably been Tom's craziest work weekend to date since he started at the firm. He literally worked ALL weekend with the exception of going to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription. I am not sure which of us had it worse the past two days. I had some tears this morning as I laid on the couch with the dull ache in my back. I feel like I have been housebound ever since my friend departed town and I am ready to heal up so I can have this baby and not be in pain before I even begin to labor. Meanwhile, Baby Pohl has more access to drugs than the Jersey Shore cast. I feel horrible putting any of that in my body, but it is supposed to be "safe" at this point. Thank you, God, for blessing us with family so willing to step in to help out. Tom's mom helped Saturday and will be here tomorrow, my mom and dad were both here at various times today, and my sister was willing to take P today if only I had a car seat that I could have gotten out of my car without hassle. Thanks to my mom, the three days of dishes and laundry that were cluttering up my home are now history. I am heading off to bed (in our guest room so my poor husband can finally get some shut-eye. I hit the bathroom three times last night and with my sore back, I sense another restless night) and am praying for an improved back tomorrow. I have my weekly doctor's check-up tomorrow and it would be nice to drive myself. P.S. Still doing surprisingly well on the swelling and the occasional numbness in my hands at night has not gotten worse at all. I am considering myself fairly lucky still with this little guy.

A Little PG-13

Warning, the following photo has been rated PG-13 by Mommy. Parental guidance is suggested due to obscenities.
During my friend Elizabeth's visit to Pittsburgh a week and a half ago (at 36 weeks pregnant!), she snapped some much needed photos of Patrick, including this one. Even if we had been trying, we never could have gotten this pose, but we had a good laugh when we looked over the photos after-the-fact.

Elizabeth could have gone into labor anytime while she was here, so all parties involved (particularly her husband and mine) were happy this visit was contraction free. It had been almost a year since Patrick was able to see his godmother, so I was glad to have her here, due date looming or not.

This outside photo was one of my favorites-it was taken in the backyard. It is very senior-year-portrait, but I don't care.

Battle of the bellies :) I am so jealous of Elizabeth's shape!

On the Mend

Yes, we are still sick here in the Pohl household. Just when I thought I was feeling better, I felt completely wiped out and stuffy yesterday. Patrick seems to be managing to develop a second ear infection while still on antibiotics, but finally slept through the night after a consult with our "on-call" pediatrician who informed us the E.R. had prescribed P too low a dose. I on the other hand had to get up THREE times last night to use the restroom. Is there no other place to sit, Baby Pohl, than on my bladder?

So what does a primarily housebound mom in her 36th week do? Scrapbook! I started my task of putting all my photos I printed from Jan 2010 to present into albums. I am not a true scrapbooker. Occasionally I'll throw something here or there, but I mostly like to write a quick note about the date/event. I have now completed Jan-March and will try to tackle some of April later today.

Did I mention I'll be getting my new camera soon? A REAL camera! I can hardly wait.

Two Spoonfuls of Sugar

Yep, now I have the dreaded cold. As if being 36 weeks pregnant wasn't uncomfortable enough, I can't breath and Baby Pohl is not very happy about all the coughing. I confined myself to the guest room last night so both Tom and I could get the most out of a night's sleep, but I can't say I feel any better. The men are off to Lowes to pick up the ceiling fan for the nursery while I wait for the morning grogginess to wear off.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

With the help of of a visiting friend (post to come later due to the fact that she took all the photos during the trip!) I finally was able to get some pictures hung on the living room walls-it is almost as of we live here now. The living room furniture is in place, and our grown up room is nearly complete. Now I just need to hang art/pictures in the nursery, P's room, the family room, the upstairs hallway, our bedroom, and the bathroom. Sigh. I suspect all that will have to wait until after baby arrives.

A Spoonful of Sugar

This morning at 6AM, this family headed off to our friendly neighborhood emergency room for a suspected ear infection with P. It was a LONG night of crying and the first time since P's birth that we actually brought him into our bed (which still resulted in no sleep). Although our pediatrician's office opens at 9AM, I had hit my point of exhaustion

We headed home with this assortment of helpful meds...

...but our neighbor provided the real feel-good stuff-a whole box of popsicles.

Happy to report that as of 6:00 tonight, P is acting much more like his usual self. Please pray for a good night sleep for all of us!