Progress

The report from the doc this week is "progress." As of Tuesday, I was 1.5 centimeters, 50% effaced, and the head was "further down than last week." So basically, she said she still wouldn't expect something in the next week or so, but we're making progress, and that's a good thing. One interesting thing that she said was that with 2nd babies they want us to call when the contractions are about 7-10 minutes apart, rather than 5 with the first, because things tend to move more quickly the 2nd time. Hopefully the hospital will honor that, too, since last time my contractions never got any closer than 5 minutes apart, and I was fully dialated and pushing with these 5 minute breaks in between. No textbook labor here, not that there is such a thing.

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I mentioned before that we are going to a different hospital this time because we are now on Brian's insurance as opposed to mine. We took the tour this week so we could figure out where to park and sign in, etc., and we were surprised to learn one annoying fact: no cell phones are allowed in the rooms, either labor and delivery or post-partum. They suggest bringing a calling card. Huh? At my previous hospital, we were allowed to use cell phones everywhere, and that's how we were in contact with everyone. Since we don't have a land line at all, I don't know anyone's phone numbers and I wouldn't even know where to buy a calling card. Maybe it's just me, but this seems a little...ancient. Those of you who have had babies recently, did you have this restriction?

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In case you noticed our "test" posting the other night, Brian learned a new trick that will hopefully come in handy when New Baby makes his arrival. Thanks to our friend Brett, Brian can now send a text from his cell phone that will post directly to this blog. That means that he will be able to send up-to-the-minute updates when it comes time for the arrival, so everyone can check here to see when we become parents of 2. Of course, now that we know the hospital policy, he'll have to go out to the waiting room to do it, so maybe it won't be as frequent as it would've been before.

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We're supposed to get another snow storm tomorrow. I don't think I could say it any better than Erin.

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Brian and I had a date night tonight, and just in the nick of time. I've been feeling all week as if I am this close to losing it. Just completely at my wits end, emotional, tired, uncomfortable, nervous...you name it, all those things you experience weeks before a new baby. But it's amazing what a night out can do for you. I still feel all of those things, but on a smaller, more manageable scale. Thanks to our friends Kate and Dave for their creative and generous shower gift that gave us a much needed break.

It all comes back to Ohio

Most of you probably know that I love Ohio. I grew up here, of course, and have a pretty fond memory of my childhood. When I went away to college, I felt the need to sow my oats and experience life. I went to school in upstate New York, and when I finished grad school, I did 2 internships in North Carolina and Virginia, as I toyed with the idea of settling in the south. But ultimately, what that experience did was bring me back to Ohio. Not that I think that Ohio is a better to place to live than any of those other places, but it's just home. I enjoyed my time away (almost 6 years altogether), but it made me appreciate what I have here in the Buckeye state.


So I often joke that it all comes back to Ohio. There have been many scenarios in my own life in which this is true, but we also seem to be a consistently pivotal state when it comes time for elections. Tomorrow is Ohio's (and Texas') primary election. And once again, the news is talking it up as if everyone will be watching to see if these two states can help determine with more certainty the presidential candidates for November. Now, I'm not heavily into politics, and I don't want to start discussing politics on this blog, but this excitement has me thinking of a couple of stories.


The first takes me back to the last presidential election in 2004. Of course, after the close race of 2000, record turnout was expected, and there was a lot of anticipation related to the election. All day as people in my district went to vote, I was hearing these crazy reports that people were waiting 1-3 hours in line. I really couldn't believe it, but I was not about to be daunted. In addition to the presidential election, I needed to vote for a school levy that my very job depended on. I had told my sister that I would wait and go with her to vote after she got off work, which meant that we arrived at the polls only minutes before it closed at 7pm. They led us to the back door of the school building, in which I could see a long line of people weaving in and out of hallways on the opposite side of the building from the gymnasium where the booths were located. Prepared to stand there for as long as 3 hours, we settled in, with only 1 other person getting in line behind us before they closed the doors. But soon, people who were leaving were telling us stories like, "I started out waaayy up there, and I waited 3 and a half hours." We got to know the people in line around us quite well that evening. Some people had brought cards, and I learned a new game or two. Others were talking on their cell phones, and rumors started in the line: the national news is reporting that the election is SO close, it may all depend on Ohio. Not only that, but our district is the only one with people still in line, so essentially - the election all comes down to US! So ok, none of us really believed this to be true, but it sure was fun to see people that excited about voting. So finally, to a make a long story tolerable, I finally cast my ballot shortly after midnight, over 5 hours after I arrived at the school. People were high-fiving each other as they left the booth, so proud that they weathered the storm to claim their right to vote. So what about you - did you wait in long lines to vote for that election?


The other story goes back to my days in Ithaca, in which my studies granted me the opportunity to meet the First Lady, who is currently running for President. At the time, she was running for Senate in New York, and she stopped by a place where I was working as part of a research project with the elderly, and she had some kind of interest in inter generational collaboration or something. I know some people are not big fans of the Clintons, but no matter how you feel about them, it was pretty cool to meet the First Lady. The security was amazing - I had to get clearance a full week ahead of time to even be able to stand in the same room as her. Then just before she entered, they brought in these REALLY intense looking dogs to come into the room and sniff us all out. (and this was before 9/11) I was so nervous, and I have absolutely no recollection of what I said to her. The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes, and it was such a blur. I just kept thinking, "This woman is married to the President. Wait. This woman is married to the President." But even if I can't remember it, at least I have photographic evidence:

That's me to the left of Hillary. They made us wear those shirts to represent the college - ugh.

So anyway, I can't wait to see the result of tomorrow's election. I even dreamt about it last night. And as much as it would be cool to have a picture of me standing next to someone who eventually became President, I'm not planning to vote for Hillary tomorrow. But that's as far as I'm willing to discuss politics here... if you live in Ohio - remember to go vote tomorrow!

Great Room Exchange: check

Okay, I've talked it up for long enough, it's time for photos. If you've visited this blog much in the last few months, no doubt you've heard me complain about The Great Room Exchange. Despite recent delays in getting the crib, we went ahead and moved Katy into her new room with her old crib. I wanted to give her a chance to get settled in her new place before another major life adjustment in a few weeks. (Nap was brief today. Let's hope tonight goes better.) So I am breathing a major sigh of relief as I post this summary of the GRE.

Rooms rearranged: 4

Rooms repainted: 1

Pieces of furniture given away: 7

Visitors to our home to collect unwanted furniture: 7

Pieces of furniture accumulated: 5

Closets/storage spaces emptied and reorganized: 10

Large garbage bags taken to Goodwill: 8

Large garbage bags taken to garbage: 15

Trips to Target to purchase items related to this project: countless

Months to complete this project: 3

Days to spare before due date: 25


At last, photos:


Master bedroom before:

Bed awkwardly crammed into corner space

Katy's swing, which is currently homeless

Master bedroom after:

New bed, more space, deal-of-the-century bedding

Corner space rearranged to accommodate Brian's office (see below)

Brian's office before:

This was the space where Brian was allowed to do whatever he wanted

Brian's office, i.e. new guest room after:

Now offering queen size accommodations for our guests, but not much else...

Guest room (and sewing room and storage area before):

You can't tell, but this is actually quite a large room

And this angle doesn't do any better...

Guest room, i.e. new Big Girl Room after:

My mom helped me make these curtains, lined with room darkening shades for nap time

The quilt will be the bedspread when we move to a Big Girl bed, and this dresser was generously donated by Weed.

This table is a temporary solution, and these toys are why we had such a brief nap today.

And just for fun, we added another one...


Guest bathroom before:

"Decorated" mostly with college leftovers

Hard to tell, but the shower curtain is a pretty lavender and silver shimmer

And I can't believe how much of a difference new towels and new pictures can make

And ironically, the only room untouched...

The Nursery (which will be outfitted with a new crib when we get the hardware by next week):

Katy's old crib... now in her new room

New Baby's new room - hope he likes it...

So what do you think? Was it worth all that effort? I'm not doing this again for a few more years, if I can help it.