yes, i'm still here

No baby yet. :( One day past due date... Although it is Friday and it is my last day of school. I have told my principal and the secretaries that I will not be here starting Monday (crossing my fingers that I will either have a baby by then or that they will have scheduled me to be induced). In all I think I will miss 45 days of work (9 weeks). Hopefully I will get two weeks at full pay and then the next four or five at 40% pay. That is good because then I will only have a few with no pay at all. Everyone around me at school keeps coming and checking on me which is nice too.

Yesterday afternoon I felt pretty bad. I actually called the doctor when I got home because my belly felt really really tight and I wasn't sure if I was having one long contraction or what. They just told me to go lay down, put my hand on my belly to feel if it was contracting, drink a big glass of water, and go to the hospital if my contractions got to five minutes apart. Anyway, I just think that the nurse thought I was confusing braxton hicks contractions with real ones, but I don't think I was. I just think I was feeling really tired and crummy. Oh well. I slept great and feel much better now.

I have spent the entire morning finishing up last minute things for my sub. I should have been resting, but I kept thinking of things that I needed to do. I feel good about how I am leaving things for her though so at least I won't have to worry about that. Plus it is good that Jonathan is finished with all of his big stuff this week at work today as of noon. As I have said, God has good timing.

This weekend (if I'm not at the hospital) I am going to go to the pediatrics place for a prenatal class. Otherwise I am just going to sleep and rest.

please make the phone stop ringing!

No baby yet. :( But my counter is cool today. I wonder what it will say tomorrow? I did start having some contractions yesterday evening though. They were not long and not very intense so I know I still have a while, but at least it is a sign of things progressing. Plus I didn't have any while I was sleeping or else they weren't strong enough to wake me up. I have been taking my blood pressure regularly and it has been relatively normal. My kids at school are still surprised to see me each day. I just hope that I will know for sure when it is time to go home or go to the hospital. I'm sure I will, but I am still nervous about it. You just can't help but worry sometimes.
Our phone is still ringing off the hook. It would make it impossible to get anything done if I were trying to when I got home from school. We are going to have to turn the ringer off after we get home from the hospital. My sister stayed up last night cooking for a lady she works with that just had a baby and the whole time she kept exclaiming, "Stupid pregos! All these pregnant people I have to do stuff for!" I just thought it was really funny. But it just shows how people are nice. It is good to be hospitable. he he Today is teacher goodie day in the break room. yum, yum :)

OK, I am starting to ramble and I need to get some stuff done. More tomorrow...

this may be too much information

No baby yet. :( Chapel days are so crazy at school too. I haven't hardly had a chance to sit down all day until now. Sorry I didn't write earlier! So I went to the doctor yesterday and got lots of "nothing" news. Here is probably more than you want to know: I am still 2 centimeters dialated, 100% effaced and +2 station which is all good, but my blood pressure was high. I have to keep monitoring it and making sure that I have no signs of toxemia or else they will write me out of work (which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, ha ha). She "stripped my membranes" yesterday to try to get things moving so-to-speak which hurt like heck! No signs of anything yet though. She said that usually that would start the release of some hormones which would cause contractions which would help me to dialate (since the dialation is the hold up). She also said to make an appointment for Monday and then they would check again, possibly break my water and schedule me to be induced at the hospital on Tuesday. So for now we're just waiting and waiting, but I know God has good timing...

Those doctors all try to be so nice. They are funny because they try to compliment you to make you feel better. She kept saying yesterday how I needed to bottle and sell my secret for no stretch marks, but then she checked my ankles for swelling and she rubbed my leg which was quite hairy and all the good that her compliment did quickly vanished because of my embarrassment. Oh well.

All of my kids at school are like, "Mrs. Tucker! Why are you still here!" It is so funny because I know they mean well, but it just comes out all wrong. Then I have to be careful how I respond because I can't really be honest and say, "I don't really want to be!" Anyway, at least now I can tell them for sure that I certainly won't be here after Friday.

I think my final weight gain is going to be a whopping 39 pounds! I really wanted to keep it under 30 and then I changed my goal to under 35, but it just keeps piling on. I just hope I can get it all back off and then some. I will have to try to take Jules on long walks on the beach this summer.

I slept great last night and I came home from the doctor yesterday and rested all eveing which was good. I am going to try to do the same today. Just preparing for the wearisome months that lie (or lay - which is it?) ahead...

miscellaneous ramblings

March is finally here and it has definately come in like a lamb. Have you looked outside today?! It is so beautiful! I wish I could be out there enjoying the sunshine! Oh well! Spring and Summer are just around the corner. I think it is supposed to be 75 degrees tomorrow. Whoooo-hooo! If it's not going to snow then I at least want it to be warm. I hope it is warm on my birthday. Sometimes it snows.

Anyway, I made a good dinner last night. Mashed potatoes, meatloaf, peas, and asparagus. I ate too much but it was yummy. Then Jonathan and I watched "Walk The Line" which I thought was really good. I actually started on some thank you notes too. How productive! Today I have another doctor's appointment and then I'm headed home early to do more productive things. How nice it is to be able to get stuff done. (But I know I will be sad on Friday when I get my last Curves paycheck.)

Julianna's something or other is sticking in me right now. She hasn't been moving as much as she normally does but I think it's just because she hardly has any room to. Three weeks is so short! I am getting very excited! I still have lots of stuff to wash though. I need to get the breast pump ready, wash some bottles, and there are lots of bibs and socks, etc. that I haven't touched yet. Besides, I haven't put up the gifts from the last shower.

I also really need to clean the house before Rebecca and Emily come this weekend. Some friends asked if we wanted to eat at Carraba's and I NEVER pass up the opportunity to eat there, but it might not be able to happen this weekend, depending on when R & E come. That makes me sad. :( I LOVE CARRABA'S!

I am now up 33 pounds for the 2nd day in a row so I guess it's official. With 3 weeks left it looks like I will probably go over the 35 pound goal. :( Jonathan and Whitney have started their running again. I need to exercise with them, but maybe when I'm ready they will want some extra motivation and I'll be able to go with them. I hope I'll be able to run again with a little baby to care for too. We'll see... I really want to lose all of this extra weight before I head back to school in the fall. Ok, I am rambling now and I'm sure it is boring. Happy Hump Day!

still no baby...

No baby yet. :( Everyone at school yesterday kept asking me about it. How are you feeling? What does the doctor say? How much longer now? It is nice to have all of the attention, but I feel like a broken record. At least people care. :)

I really, really overdid it yesterday. I had aches and pains all night long. Mostly they were in my legs and back from standing and walking around. But we did have a great dinner though so I guess it's all good. I know one thing though - today I am going straight home from the doctor's office and getting in the bed. My body just can't take much more and whenever I sit down to rest I think of one more thing to do and I jump up to do it. Anyway, maybe if I'm in the bed reading or something it will be easier to stay put.

One of my devotionals for today hit a soft spot with me. It was about the Good Samaritan and it said, "God's will comes to us in strange ways, often in the form of interruptions. Just when we think our duties are done for the day and we've settled in for a quiet evening at home, someone calls on the telephone or shows up on our doorstep asking for our time. "Are you busy?" they ask. The best thing to do is to stop looking at these intrusions as interruptions. Instead, we should take them as opportunities that God is sending us to serve those in need—to listen well, to show love, to help them on their journey toward intimacy with God."

I guess reading all of that sortof had a weird effect on me. I just became really thankful after reading it. Thankful for all of the people who have helped me throughout this pregnancy. How everyone has been so nice and thoughtful from random people at the grocery store, to coworkers and family members. Someone different calls each night to see how I'm doing and sometimes I can't help but think of their calls as interruptions, but overall I know that I am blessed by them. As I have been praying for a healthy daughter and delivery, I have added to my prayers a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings I have received during the last nine months including the unusual ones like the "annoying" ways people have been showing me their love. :) I am going to make more of an effort to reciprocate that care for other people.

So I looked up who Jules might share a birthday with and here's what I found famousbirthdays.com. I know, I know, I am a lunatic, but oh well. I guess I can't help it. I am still betting on the 26th. There are lots of cool people with that birthdate. I just hope it's not the 31st because that's Al Gore's birthday. :)

so sad

No baby yet. :( Back at work. :( Everyone keeps asking me how much longer and I've only been at work for an hour now. If I could know don't you think I'd tell them?! :)

I woke up last night and waited for Julianna to move. She didn't for about 30 minutes and I just laid there still and paranoid. I'm sure it's just nervousness, but I get worried when she doesn't move when I want her to. Anyway, my bags are packed and ready and all of my lesson plans are done. The only thing that I need to do is get some assignments for 4th quarter entered into the computer so that my sub doesn't have to do it. ('cause I don't want to have to explain to her how to do it when it is much easier to just do it myself since it's only for one quarter - she's already emailed me once with questions this morning - which is perfectly fine, but just so much easier for me to do it myself - AND could this sentence get any longer??)

I had a great Spring Break. I didn't do too much of anything. I did get the files on CD that I needed to get for the sub and I got lots more baby clothes washed. Jonathan hung the blinds and I got the car seat inspected. Now I just hurry up and wait. I've had horrible back pains the past week or so and not too many braxton hicks contractions (at least if I've had them they've been tiny). We got to thinking that maybe I'll have back labor instead of normal contractions. Anyway, at least I go to the doctor again tomorrow and we'll see what they say then.

Well, I have to get to work. Since I'm here I might as well be doing something worthwhile. More tomorrow...

stop here if you're tired of hearing about heartburn

OK, they're talking about college girls donating their eggs for $5000 on TV and I personally think they're crazy. They're saying that Asian, Indian, and Jewish donors are getting up to $15,000 per donation because those donors are hard to find. Well, if you ask me the whole thing has nothing to do with science or helping a needy couple, it's all about the money and "adding to the shoe collection" which is kinda sad, but anyway... I know several couples who have adopted or who are adopting and I don't know how similar I think that is, but to me it still just seems kinda weird.

My Baby Center newsletter this morning said that next week they'd start sending me the newborn newsletters instead of the pregnancy ones. That is exciting to think that I could have a little one in such a short amount of time. Last night I was begging Jonathan and Whit to carry her upstairs so that I didn't have to. My back was hurting pretty badly and of course I had eaten too much for dinner and had horrible heartburn and indigestion.

I did get a lot done yesterday though. I made it to the grocery store to stock up on some staples and frozen foods. I also managed to run some stuff by school which wasn't that successful because the copy machine was broken and I forgot a couple things, but anyway, a person at my school saw me and asked how I was and what the doctor was saying. Then she said, "Has the baby dropped? I can't tell because I've never seen you wear anything that tight before." Ugh! People are so inconsiderate! Besides, I'm on Spring Break! I can wear what I want! I'd like to see her 9 months pregnant!

Today is my last day of break. I HAVE to finish the birth announcements and get my grades posted since we only have one week left in third quarter and I don't want my sub to have to worry about report cards until the end of the year. Other than that I'm not gonna do much today. I already dread going back to work on Monday. Jonathan said last night, "But it's only 5 days" to which I responded, "If you were carrying an extra 35 pounds with major back pain 5 days would seem like an eternity to you too!" But my dad's right, at least she'll be a spring baby. I am looking forward to taking her to the beach this summer and pushing her around the outlet malls and seeing her in cute hats and bathing suits. :) Yay for little girls!

OK, happy Friday everyone! Cheer on the Wolfpack and Tarheels!