Poppy's Keeping Me Busy

So much of what I do and think about these days is related to Poppy. I would guess that's not surprising, but it's still a bit overwhelming to this first time momma-to-be.

If I'm not laying still and hoping to feel her squirm (SO FUN), I'm worrying about finishing the baby registry (coming soon, I swear), or stressing about my maternity leave and how we're going to work all that out (should I have joined daycare waiting lists two years ago?!), or dreaming about our desired move to Chicagoland and wishing the economy would just cooperate already.

When these things aren't occupying my time, I'm probably thinking about everything I want to do to our apartment right now (nesting, here we come!) or checking in on my diet to make sure I'm getting all the nutrients I need. Or reminding myself to drink more water b/c although I already pee a thousand times a day, I know it's good for the Popster and I to stay hydrated, avoid too much tea, and keep the protein intake high. Or, most recently, obsessively checking my body for a chicken pox breakout (more on that eventually, but I do think we're in the clear this time!).

Then BabyCenter sent me an email this week and at just the right time (20 Things Not to Worry About During Pregnancy). And thanks to that email, I decided to spend today relaxing, puttering around the neighborhood, hitting up some prenatal yoga this afternoon, getting a haircut later tonight, and taking some much needed "me" time.

Whew!

And, lastly, before I go... I've been trying to get and keep our new baby blog going and posted a couple of new things yesterday (we're also tweeting). As of last night, there is an RSS feed and email subscription option over there, so sign yourself up if you want to stay up-to-date. And -- this is my favorite part -- vote in our weekly polls :)

Recent Posts at Anticipating Poppy

• Longer Than Expected
• Happiest New Dad Ever?
• Poll of the Week: Cloth vs. Disposables
  

A Friday Afternoon Laugh

A couple of people have asked, so I thought I'd let you know...

After all of our research on babywearing, we ended up buying a Kozy Carrier mei tai in brown with a "Waverly"-patterned pocket on the front (thanks, MetroMinis!). There are a bunch of reasons we went with this one over the variety of other possibilities, but that's not the point of this post.

The point of this post is simply to show you a picture of Tony carrying a 21 lb. watermelon in the mei tai. He says he needs practice; I say it's going to be a long time before Poppy weighs 21 lbs (and, uh, hopefully never before s/he has no head, arms, or legs to fuss with...).


This was followed by...

"I can play guitar while I wear Poppy, right? I've got BIG plans!"

And this is why I have the most awesome partner ever.

Oh, right... my birthday!

T sent me an email yesterday laying out his week and what he's got planned. For Thursday, he listed some school thing he has to do in Jersey (?) and said he might not be home until after 10. I got annoyed and wrote back saying, "Really? We need to do BBQ shopping for Saturday. I thought you'd be home that night to help!" [We're throwing a celebratory BBQ in honor of T's birthday and graduation this weekend.]

He calls me a few minutes later and says, "You dumb ass - Thursday is your birthday. I was just trying to throw you off and make you think I'd forgotten until the last minute, like usual. Hahahahaha."

Oh jeez.

My mom mentioned it a few days ago and also caught me off guard.

Mom: "I put your card in the mail today - I hope it gets there in time!"
Me: "Card for what"?
Mom: "..."

Dude. Pregnancy brain is hitting me hard. Who forgets THEIR OWN BIRTHDAY?

---

Once I was reminded of it, T gave me some options for things to do.

1. Wine & Cheese Boat Ride (Suck: No wine for me!)
2. Broadway show and dinner (Suck: Tickets are expensive and I'm cheap!)
3. Go to MetroMinis, pick out and buy a baby carrier*, then have a nice dinner at Candle 79 (Awesome: Sold!)

I'm the most boring person ever :)

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* The most adorable thing about this pregnancy so far is how excited T is to wear Poppy. I took him, his best friend, and wife to a BabyWearing 101 class at MetroMinis a couple of weeks ago and T walked out thrilled and already discussing which carrier he thinks would be best and all the ways and places he's going to wear Poppy around. The cuteness of this -- and how often he brings it up -- makes my heart want to explode.

Dr. George Tiller

I am saddened and disgusted by the news of Dr. George Tiller's murder this morning. Taking another person's life is never an appropriate response to any perceived injustice. And the further irony that these far-from-mainstream lunatics who threaten the lives of abortion providers still self-identify as "pro-life" simply makes me want to throw up.

Nobody likes abortion. Nobody is pro-abortion. But just because the idea of abortion may make you uncomfortable, this doesn't mean that it's not a necessary -- not to mention LEGAL -- medical procedure for many women across the country. Late-term abortion, in particular, riles people up to an extreme degree, but again -- even the staunchest pro-choice advocate is not pro-abortion. In fact, pro-choice advocates do the most effective work toward lowering abortion rates across the country through their work in providing access to safe and affordable birth control, comprehensive sex ed, and health reform advocacy on the state and national levels.

George Tiller may have been seen as a 2-dimensional "mass-murderer" to some, but he was seen as a hero to many, many others. He was one of the few remaining late-term abortion providers in the country and women often traveled great distances to receive necessary treatment at his clinic.

The loss of Dr. George Tiller today is a loss for the country.

I donated to Planned Parenthood in his memory today. Click here if you'd like to do the same. You can direct the acknowledgment to his clinic: Women's Health Care Services, 5107 E. Kellogg Dr., Wichita, KS 67218.

You can also help women directly by locating and donating to your local/regional abortion fund. Find out more at the National Network of Abortion Funds.

Poppy's a Contortionist

This is the weirdest BabyCenter picture yet.

In every other weekly drawing, the baby looks normal and relatively comfortable. Week 19, though? Yep, she's a pretzel. WTF? :)

In other news, things continue to go well. Our next prenatal appointment is tomorrow morning, followed by the big anatomy scan a week from Wednesday. Things are rolling right along...