Work and Baby Update

I worked the first of my early morning, 6 hour shifts today. I can't believe the difference a few hours makes. I've been working from 9 to 6 for the past month, then this week Scott cut me down to 9 to 4 because I kept throwing up at work, but I was still getting really tired and sick. Today's shift was from 6 to 1. It wasn't hot, so I could work outside and actually get things done. I didn't feel sick at all, and much less tired than I normally do. The only problem is that Lowe's requires a half hour lunch on shifts over 6 hours and an hour lunch with any shift over 7 hours. I should be okay if I just remember to take something light with me so I can eat in the break room and to keep my time under 7 hours. Six hours just isn't enough time to get everything done that needs to be done though!

Today's issue was from one of the vendors. They dropped a shipment off outside the gate last night. When I got in this morning, we checked it and received it. We had to reject over half of the plants. They were heat burned and disgustingly moldy. I think the driver had turned off the refrigeration to save on gas. (He was coming from Oregon.) So I spent most of my day dealing with that, then receiving another plant truck that came in.

The girls at work are convinced that I'm going to go into labor any day. Apparently the baby has started to drop. I didn't really notice, except I couldn't bend over far enough to put my shoes on, but the receiving girls and head cashiers were having a fit about it yesterday. I think they may be more excited than I am. There seems to be two groups of "baby followers:" the ones that come up and play with my belly every time they see me, and the ones that ask me about it a lot, but are terrified to touch my stomach. They're fine with smacking my arm or patting me on the back, but won't do more than barely touch my belly. It's actually a little weirder than the ones that poke and prod, because I'm used to that. Women with children of their own make up most of the "play with the belly" group, and a few guys and the girls without kids the "safe distance" group.

We're slowly getting things ready for the baby. Most of the clothes are washed and the room is being slowly organized. I've been doing most of it myself because every time Kelly walks into that room he gets kind of googly eyed and starts playing with stuff. I caught him in the act with the soft front carrier. We can't use it until she can hold her head up on her own, but he was bound and determined to test it out.

The baby shower is going to be interesting. He doesn't usually get giggly and excited about things in front of anyone but me, but with all the cute baby stuff for our little one there, it may be too much for him to contain.

10 Life Lessons I've Learned Through Pregnancy

1. Karma~ Yes, your bladder CAN get smaller. Don't complain or it will.
2. Theory of Relativity~ Feeling your baby move is a wonderful thing. It is slightly less wonderful at 3am.
3. Self Reliance~ "It's your vomit, honey, I'm not cleaning it up. Oh, don't forget your to wash your hair."
4. Human Nature~ About 70% of people will smile and go out of their way for a pregnant woman. Around 20% blame you for your condition and give no quarter. The remaining 10% just don't care.
5. Perception~ Most people don't notice that your pregnant "glow" is coming from the insane amount of sweat you're producing.
6. Patience~ It may not seem like it, but someday you will stop vomiting for no reason, and will realize that it was all for a very good reason.
7. Perseverance~ Just because you threw up ravioli once, doesn't mean it will make you hurl again. Although after 3 times, you might want to reconsider your lunch options.
8. Compassion~ I've only gained 20 pounds and I'm exhausted. Maybe obese people do have an excuse for using the motorized carts at the store.
9. Mystery~ It is possible to cry for an hour and not know why.
10. Conformity~ There are 6 billion people in the world. Even the stupidest question has already been asked by someone else, so take comfort in knowing your pointless panic attack has happened before and will happen again.

Holy Crap, I'm Having a Baby

I've known about the impending arrival of my daughter since late November. However, it hadn't really sunk in that I was actually going to be a mother, it just felt like a dream or like I was making it up.

I assumed it would get real when I started to feel her kick. Nope.

I thought it would feel real when we saw her ultrasound pictures. Nuh-uh.

I figured it would seem real when I started to show and people asked me about it. Nada.

I guessed it would be real when we picked a name. Nothing.

Seven months pregnant and it still didn't feel real. I thought I was nuts. Finally, last night, it got real. All it took was this:

There's nothing better in this world that having an internal panic attack in the middle of Babies'R'Us. That store scared the crap out of me. Thank goodness for the Prozac keeping me calm and normal or I'd have started bawling and had an "I can't take care of my baby" spaz right there in the middle of the store.

I'm not sure why it was the car seat that made it so real. We've had baby clothes for weeks, a swing, and lots of other little things, but they didn't do it. The car seat did. I stood there and stared at it for a minute and all I could say was "Holy crap. I'm having a baby." The reality of it is wearing off again, and it seems like it's happening to someone else, but every time I pass by that little orange car seat sitting in my kitchen, I know it's really me having the baby.

Kelly says he's already had his "holy crap, we're having a baby" moment and has moved on. I don't think he has yet. I don't think it's really going to sink in for either of us until we're in the hospital with her.

I'm just afraid we won't be ready.

Preggy + Work = Tired Sarah

So, the Grand Opening for my store is tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes. The way my schedule worked was that I had last Saturday off, then worked 10 straight days till next Wednesday. I was pushing too hard to get my garden center set up and was burning out, so my managers let me take today off after I watered my houseplants to recoup for the craziness that is going to start tomorrow.

I kinda feel like I'm leaving my team high and dry, because there's so few of us, but the baby comes first. One of my girls made that very clear yesterday. She's mom's age, and asked if I'd taken a break. I laughed and told her that breaks implied that I had 3 seconds to breathe. I got in trouble and she made me go sit down.

I've been dragging the past few days and was worried that if I kept pushing that hard I'd end up on bed rest. I basically collapsed when I got home and slept for 3 hours. I keep thinking that there's so much I need to do around the house, but no. I got the day to rest, so I'm going to rest. Except for doing laundry, because nobody likes smelly employees.

"If you talk again, I'm going to eat you!"

The morning sickness seems to have finally passed, and has been replaced with an insatiable appetite. One drawer in my desk at work is filled with nothing but food: popcorn, rice cakes, tomato soup, fruit cups, crackers, granola bars, and so on. I graze all day, but am always starving again 20 minutes later. I'm so used to getting sick if my stomach gets empty, that I panic every time my belly growls. Also, no doubt due to my eating habits moreso than my little cinnamon bear, I only have one pair of pants that fit comfortably. I have to wear skirts to work everyday because my dress pants won't zip. Today I used a rubber band around the button to keep them up, which worked well enough, but just made me feel fat more than anything else. Anyway, I'm going to post an update of how the first official OB visit went on the baby page tomorrow or Saturday, and will post the ultrasound then.