High Hopes and Low Expectations

I had an ultrasound today to see how Baby is measuring and from what I could tell, she is just about right. Her head is about a week ahead, which is to be expected from my side of the family, and her leg is about a week behind, which is to be expected from Art's side of the family. We had high hopes for some good images from this ultrasound since Baby is much bigger than the last one at 19 weeks and we both ended up very disappointed. We got stuck with the same ultrasound technician as last time, who happens to be a kin to the Wicked Witch of the West, and she just breezed through the whole thing, showed us practically nothing of interest, and only printed out one picture with hardly any detail whatsoever.

I completely understand that 20 years ago women were lucky to have any ultrasounds at all, but knowing the technology we have these days and how accessible it is I just can't help but be disappointed with the image I got today. Art really wanted to see her face and get a better idea of what she looks like and I want to do everything I can to foster his interest in the baby since his interest has been especially lacking throughout this pregnancy. So, I gave in and made an appointment at a 3D ultrasound place for this Wednesday evening. I'll call it an anniversary present to myself. The prices in Fresno were double what they are in Modesto, so we will be driving to Modesto. I will be extremely disappointed- dare I say pissed- if I don't get any good images after driving 4 hours and paying 95 dollars so pray that it doesn't come to that.

It's still kind of early in the third trimester to be complaining, but this pregnancy is starting to kick my butt. I feel like I'm turning into a fire breathing dragon in more ways than one. First, there are the mood swings, and then there is the constant stomach acid. It seems like no matter what I eat and no matter what I take, my stomach is on fire around the clock. Which brings me to my next complaint which is waking up every hour or two all night, either to pee or because my stomach is on fire. Dairy products seem to help a little bit and I have set a personal record for milk consumption. I drank a whole gallon of milk by myself far before it expired. Normally we won't use up a half gallon between the two of us before it goes bad. My last complaint for now is that Baby has decided to take up residence in the right half of my rib cage. She has wedged her butt up in there and it seems to suit her just fine, but makes for some serious discomfort for me. I'm sure her encroachment into my upper abdomen has made significant contributions to my stomach issues. Oh, the joys of pregnancy. Just 7 weeks to go...

Though this weekend was disgustingly hot, it ended up being more or less productive. My mom, Lauren, and I worked on some things for the shower. We bought red gerbera daisies for the centerpieces and wrapped the bottoms in red mylar sheets and tied them with black and white polka dot ribbon. They are SO cute. I am definitely pleased with how well they turned out. Now we just have to keep Mom's cats from eating the flowers and make sure Lauren doesn't kill them before the end of the week like she did to the beautiful hydrangeas I bought for Mom when she was in the hospital.

Tomorrow is my 2 year anniversary and I am quite confident that my husband has not bought me a present or even a card. Try as I may, I can't understand why he developed the belief that anniversaries are not noteworthy or important. I don't think anyone should break the bank for an anniversary, but I certainly think that acknowledgment of some official kind is necessary. He had offered to make all the plans for our anniversary then a week ago I asked him what we're doing and he had forgotten he even said he was making the plans. Let's just say I'm keeping my expectations really low so that I might be pleasantly surprised. It definitely wasn't his romantic streak that won me over... must have been his dashing good looks.