Stop your belly-achin?

Bob is back in town now. We both slept better on Saturday night, and even though it's New Year's Eve, I have a feeling we'll be hitting the hay early again tonight. (11 p.m. has gotten to be pretty late to me.)

Someone at our vet's office mentioned that she was going to an Irish New Year's party this year. Ireland's about 5 hours ahead of us, so they planned to ring in the new year at 7 p.m. and then enjoy a restful evening. I feel like such a dork for admitting that that sounded like such a great idea to me.

I have no idea what our new sleep schedule will become once Little Elvis arrives, and I wonder if we'll be too exhausted for a New Year's bash next year.

One of my co-workers has a 5 1/2 month old daughter and she told me that her daughter actually slept through the entire night last week. That sounds very impressive to me. I'm hoping Little Elvis will be able to sleep through the night that early as well.

I haven't figured out his schedule yet. He doesn't move so much after I eat or drink. There's not really a rhyme or reason to when he moves. At least not one that I can understand yet.

On Friday night, it was just me and the cats again. This was probably even better for Bob. My stomach started really hurting around 7 p.m. that evening. It hurt to sit, stand, walk, lie down, pretty much do anything.

It felt like I had done 2,000 sit-ups while holding weights and hanging upside down. (Those are the hardest, right?)

Luckily, our doctor had talked to us about Braxton Hicks contractions at our last appointment. She said my whole stomach would feel really hard and tight. It definitely didn't feel hard or tight. It just felt sore. I'm thinking the muscles were just stretching more.

Since I have already scared Bob fairly recently with an oddly timed call, I debated calling my mom to find out if she thought I could rub "Icy Hot" on my stomach. I didn't want to bother her either, though. So, I just whined to the cats and went to sleep fairly early.

I opted not to use the muscle rub, by the way. There are so many things I can't do right now, I figured that Icy Hot use on my stomach would certainly be one of them.

Do your muscles still hurt? Is it ok to rub muscle stuff on them?

Sleepless night

Last night I had lots of trouble going to sleep. It wasn't because of restless legs or heartburn. Yes, I was uncomfortable, but that wasn't the real cause either. Bob was visiting friends and family and I was home alone.

We haven't been apart very much since we got married 4 years ago, and I'm used to having him there with me. We have a nighttime routine that I've, admittedly, been disturbing recently. But I like this routine. I'm used to this routine. I don't sleep well when I don't have a big part of my routine - Bob.

So although my legs were restful, my mind was not.

Instead of messing up Bob's night of sleep, I tortured Slappy and Wally. Wally would get comfy in the nook behind my bent legs and I would just HAVE to flip. Slappy was kicked a couple of times during my tosses and turns.

This morning, while I got ready for work, they both stayed on the bed to catch up on their beauty sleeps. Poor things.

Little Elvis kept me company though. He had the hiccups and was pretty active. We wiled away the night hours together. I'm sure that after February 17, we'll be wiling away even more nighttime hours.

He's getting lessons from me. He must not arrive early. He has 50 more days. He also should encourage me to take him walking in his stroller after he's born. I will need the exercise and he could use the fresh air and a place to show off some of his many cute outfits.

He needs to like music, so his daddy can share that with him. And he can play whatever sport he wants, although most video games will not count. (We'll be dorky parents, trust me on this.) He also has to give his seat to a pregnant woman if he's on a bus, metro or subway train.

And I'm encouraging him not to inherit my allergies or my propensity for cussing.

I'm sure he won't remember these conversations, but I feel I should start passing along my little pearls of wisdom early.

Do you talk to your babies?

Ivory soap works for me!

I finally remembered to pick up some Ivory soap yesterday afternoon. I had read that Ivory soap could keep my restless legs still.

My mom said it had to be white Safeguard, but the CVS only had regular Safeguard, which I think is orange. So... I got the Ivory.

Since the bar of Zest soap we tried last week didn't work, I didn't think the Ivory would either.

I was wrong!

I still kicked a little, but it was NOTHING like the massive kicks of the past few weeks.

Oddly enough, my feet were really warm last night. I have no clue if that ties in with the soap or not. I also have no idea how that works. But I highly recommend it to all you pregnant women who can't keep from kicking through the night!

Coupons simply make cents

I finally got some diaper coupons! And I even got a free sample diaper! You have no idea how excited this made me. (Well, the exclamation points might be a giveaway.)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my frustration with baby coupons -- I had filled out all these forms and ended up getting lots of spam from Nigeria and England instead of the expected diaper, formula and picture coupons.

Well, Huggies did me right. They sent me a newborn diaper, disposable wash cloth and lotion samples along with coupons. We had already bought a jumbo pack of the Huggies newborn diapers (I liked the cutout for the umbilical cord), so now I have an excuse to buy more.

Maybe the coupon companies were waiting until closer to our due date? Who knows? I hope they keep them coming. I like coupons and from what I've been told about diapers, we will need LOTS of them.

What I've learned so far

This time of year is a time for looking back and looking forward. One thing I noticed in looking back in the blog posts is how remiss I've been in updating.

So, I'm going to try to cover as much as I can with this post. I'm also going to try to be super-savvy and link to the posts that I'm referencing. All this, and I'm hoping to keep things short. We'll see if I can master these goals.

I don't have any real "food" cravings, but the ice still calls my name (as do scouring sponges, Zest soap and Bob's stubble -- all of which I'm avoiding). Apparently, this is caused by an iron deficiency. But as caerynn told me, the iron pills hurt my stomach. I'm going with extra spinach and iron-fortified cereal since my anemia is very borderline.

As for the crying, I feel like I've gotten worse. We went to see "We Are Marshall" over the holidays and I swear I cried through the entire movie. I know those movies are supposed to make me cry, but since when does a rerun of "That 70s Show" bring on the waterworks? I am going to chalk this up to hormones. And just to give myself an excuse, it was the episode where Eric was leaving his family and I'll be sad when Little Elvis moves out. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

Glucose testing isn't nearly as bad as I dreamed it would be. It takes about an hour and the drink isn't too bad. Just remember not to eat or drink for, I think, 12 hours before you're tested. That's the most important thing.

RhoGAM was a little more painful. It's needed if you have negative blood (I'm B-). They draw your blood, then it takes about an hour to mix your blood with something else (science and medical stuff is not my strong suit) and then they jam that mixture into your arm. I say jam because they have to get into your muscle (kind of like tetanus if I remember correctly) and it does hurt a little. In all honesty, ripping the Band-aid off at the end of the day was a lot more painful.

As for the pains of pregnancy, here's what I've learned. I know all pregnancies are different, so these may not work for you (I hope they do.)

Heartburn: This has plagued me throughout the entire pregnancy, and I hate those chalky tablet things. Milk helps momentarily, as does chamomile or mint tea. Honestly, the best thing (although still temporarily) is ice water. Obviously, something I get plenty of.

Restless legs and sleepless nights: We got a pregnancy pillow. It was the cheap one at Bed, Bath and Beyond ($10, I had extra fabric, so I made a pillow case. They are $20 at the store, and in case you haven't noticed--we're cheap.) It's been great! Seriously. I put it between my legs and lay my belly on the top part of it. Other than getting up to go to the bathroom (and dealing with the cats), I am sleeping lots better. Another tip I've heard, but I haven't remembered to buy it yet -- Ivory soap or white Safeguard at the foot of your bed is supposed to soothe restless legs. Some day I will remember to buy it at the grocery store. (pregnancy brain again)

Swollen ankles: These don't hurt anything except my pride. Elevating them helps. I try to put them up at work some, although I get strange stares. I think it's important to get them above your heart, but I'm not attempting THAT at work.

The occasional calf cramps do pop up at night, but if I stop flexing or pointing my toes, they go away.

Alright, I've gone on long enough. If you guys have extra thoughts or ideas of what has worked for you, please share!

Decibel dilemma

I hope the holidays are going well for you. My parents are here, and so far I think they are having a good time.

They like seeing the belly and I don't think either can wait until February 17. (My belly is huge by the way. I keep getting that comment at work.)

We all went to a hockey game last night. It was my parents' first professional game.

I guess it was Little Elvis' as well. It was really loud in the arena and I was worried that it would scare him.

The first period he didn't move at all. But he got into his groove with the second period. I'm not sure how he liked hockey, but I think I may try to stay away from super loud places for the rest of the pregnancy -- if I have the choice.

Do you guys stay away from loud places, or do your babies seem to like them?

Little Elvis' soothing heartbeat

I cried this morning on the way to the doctor. I tried not to, but I just couldn't stop the tears or the huge lump from growing in the back of my throat. Bob knew I was upset, but he didn't realize I was crying until the sniffling got too loud.

I'm sure I frustrate him when I get like this. My work just keeps getting crazier and crazier. Although I don't have to work full days, I will have to work on weekends and holidays. I should just have to log on and do minor stuff, but this morning it took me more than an hour to do a job that I thought would take 30 minutes. And I ended up having to get help from a co-worker who just happened to be online.

This scared me. Am I going to have spend 1-2 hours on Christmas and my vacation days and on my weekends just waiting for the system to work? I didn't cry when I found out about having to work on the weekends. I didn't cry when I found out that I had to work on my vacation. But I did cry when the system wouldn't let me do my job.

I also cussed a whole lot. Poor Little Elvis. Try as I might, that kicking cussing goal is not being achieved.

I've seriously gotten to the point where I'm telling myself, just eight more weeks. Every morning I tell Little Elvis to not come early. I don't want him to come early, but I'll be so thrilled to get out of this crazy situation once he arrives--at least for six weeks.

So, my nose was runny and my eyes were red when I got to the doctors office. The nurse who weighed me and took my blood must have noticed because she was extremely nice and talkative. She told me a trick she found to keep her 2-year-old from crying in the store.

Whenever he starts getting whiney over something, she says he's going to make her cry and he wouldn't want to do that would he? This has stopped his waterworks several times. I think it's a great tip, and will hopefully remember to use it on Little Elvis.

After hearing his little heartbeat (140 times per minute), I felt a lot better. Hopefully my work will go more smoothly over the holidays and I won't feel the need to cuss or cry in frustration at a situation I'm powerless to control.

I hope your jobs are going better, and that you don't have to think about work or anything but your babies, families and friends over the holidays.

Merry Christmas!

Itching and twitching

If you ask me, I've been pretty good throughout this whole pregnancy thing. I'm not demanding Bob fly off to Chicago to buy me pizza (as some Southwest commercial suggests women do) and I don't feel like I've been extra moody or emotional. Yes, I will rant about my Colts (who won, so they have a few days off from my tirades) and bad drivers are still subject to my wrath. But I did that stuff before I was pregnant. I'm a bit of a hothead I guess.

I'm saying all of this, but honestly, I have no idea how good or bad I've been. Bob won't tell me. He's way too patient with me. I keep telling him he should write a blog about how crazy and awful I'm acting, but he says I'm an angel.

At least he did until last night...

We went to see a play in Ford's Theatre (where Lincoln was shot). It's an old theatre and the seating hasn't changed, so it was a little cramped. This meant no crossed legs for me. I know I've written about restless legs before, but I don't just get them at night. Crossing my legs and shaking at least one foot is a great way for me to release that extra energy in my legs.

Since I couldn't do that, I just bobbed my legs up and down. Bob had to scoot over in his chair to get away from my constant motion.

Then I just couldn't get comfy. My back hurt if I sat up straight. It hurt if I leaned to the side. It hurt if I slouched. I spent the entire hour and a half readjusting myself. The people behind us were probably just as annoyed as Bob.

When the play was over and we got up to leave, I felt a weird weight on my back. All of my movements had dislodged the velcroed cushion from the chair and it was stuck to my back! Bob had to unstick me and rush to put it back on my chair.

It's been getting harder and harder for me to sleep, but I was exhausted during the play, so I just knew sleep would be easy last night.

It was not. My legs were more restless than usual and I itched everywhere! And not on my stomach. My fingers, feet, knees, back, shoulders and even hair itched.

Bob has been able to sleep through these bouts, as have the cats. But last night was worse.

I also could not get comfortable. I try to start out on my left side, since I keep reading it's the best. But usually my arm goes to sleep and I have to switch sides. Last night, the skin on the right side of my stomach ached. I assume from the weight of my stomach. It wasn't that painful, but it was uncomfortable.

So, I switched to my right side. Now let me explain that switching sides is not an easy process for me. I have to use both arms and my feet. I also have to grunt and groan. (I probably don't have to, but for some reason I always do.) So I fuss and fidget and finally get myself set up on my right side. Well, that makes the left side of my stomach ache. Great.

I read in a weekly email from the American Pregnancy Association that I could sleep on my back (they even recommended stomach if that's what helps you sleep) so I tried that. Well, the kicking and itching just wouldn't stop.

Bob is not a heavy sleeper. So he had to endure my kicks, itches and fusses. Surprisingly, he didn't feel the need to kick, itch or fuss back at me.

It took me two hours, but I finally exhausted myself after midnight.

Then my bladder woke me up before six. This isn't uncommon, but after all the issues finally falling asleep last night, I think we both knew we wouldn't get any more sleep.

My stomach no longer ached, but Little Elvis was up and active. I think he's going to be a gymnast. I swear he was turning flips. I definitely can't go to sleep when he's being so active and cute.

So, both Bob and I are tired today. And I feel really guilty for making him put up with all my newfound quirks last night. I promised him that tonight I would sleep in the guest room. He says he's fine, but I hate taking his sleep away from him, especially when we're going to be so sleep deprived in less than 9 weeks!

Are any of you having issues sleeping? Got any advice?

Now is not the time to panic

I learned an important lesson last night. I shouldn’t call Bob at weird times right now. Since I’m 31 weeks pregnant, it can cause him undue stress if he misses my call.

Let me explain.

Last night Bob had to go to a conference (and speak at it) in the city. I went home after work and was going to drive to the metro to pick him up when he was finished.

Well, I panicked around 8:30 p.m. The night before he had tried to call me and my cell phone didn’t receive the call until the next morning.

What if this happened again? I could picture him waiting out in front of the metro in the chilly weather without a coat and a cell phone that wasn’t connecting to its intended target.

This worried me. And I didn’t remember when his presentation would be over.

I decided to wait until 9 to call, because presentations don’t last past 9 p.m., right?

Well, that lasted until 8:43. Then I couldn’t help myself. I had to call to make sure that he wasn’t trying to call me.

I decided that he was much better about putting his ringer on buzz than I am, so I went ahead and called him. Obviously, he didn’t answer. So I left a long, stressed out, apologetic message about his phone not working and me worrying and him not walking two miles in the dark.

Not two minutes later, he calls.

“What’s wrong?” he urgently whispers.

“Your phone works! You can call me! Did you hear my message?” I’m happy that I can, in fact, receive calls from him.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, are you still presenting? I didn’t want to miss your call and I did yesterday and I didn’t want you waiting on me while I was waiting on you.”

His conference ended at 9 and he was able to call me back and let me know he was ready for pick up.

I managed to botch that, though. I took the long way. I forgot that we now have a much easier way to the metro that cuts time and two long red lights. In the end, the poor man did end up waiting on me at the metro.

But from now on, I will make sure what time his conference is over before I start calling him in the middle of it to ask if his phone works.

Is panicking like this common during pregnancy? I think I was capable of waiting 15 minutes a few months ago.

Feeling the burn after fire drill

I've felt like a slug the past few weeks. I probably walk about a mile a day during the week, but on weekends I'm all about lounging around. And that lounging isn't good when mixed with Christmas sweets.

So, today I decided I need to walk more--at least during the week.

I did my usual four blocks to work in the morning. That's not a big deal, and except for my mad dash away from a smoker who was intent on blowing his smoke in my face, I handled it perfectly well.

Then, I decided to go walking at lunch. I bring my lunch and usually just sit at my desk. I walked probably about 6 or 7 blocks during the lunch break--a very leisurely walk. That probably doesn't burn all of the calories from my mini-Hersheys bars, but it has to help.

Right after I got back, we had a fire drill. This means I had to go down six flights of stairs and wait for the fire department to arrive. The fire department wasn't fast enough for me, so I walked a few more blocks.

When I got back, the line to the elevators was packed. I decided that I would slowly walk the six flights back up to my desk.

My thighs were burning a little and I was winded when I finally reached my floor, but I didn't feel like I overdid it. It did take me a good few minutes to get back to my normal heart rate, though.

I hope this wasn't a bad decision on my part. Little Elvis hasn't fussed at me and my stomach doesn't hurt anywhere.

What are you guys doing for exercise right now?

Who's cute?

A weird phenomenon has been happening to me at work – people just keep coming up to me to tell me how big and cute I’ve gotten.

I keep hearing that I “popped” all of a sudden, but I feel like I popped a long time ago. Maybe it’s just because I look at the belly a whole lot more than anyone else.

The “big” comment is alright, because I feel like I’m right where I should be in terms of belly size. At least the doctors say I’m doing great. I figure they’d tell me if I got too big.

The “cute” one is a little odd, though. I do NOT feel cute. Yesterday I forgot my mascara, and itched my eyes most of the day, ridding them of what little make-up I managed to put on. I also went without lipstick since a few lip blisters came back this week. (It’s definitely stress, work is getting crazier and crazier as I get bigger and bigger.) And my shirt had roast beef juice on it! (I’m also getting really, really clumsy.)

As you can imagine, I was anything BUT cute.

This means one of two things:

1. I looked so scary that lots of people who usually don’t talk to me felt the need to lift my spirits.

2. They were only looking at my round belly, which is pretty cute. It’s obvious to me that Little Elvis is going to be a very handsome boy—just like his father.

I do think people really aren’t noticing me anymore. It’s definitely all about the belly now. And I assume once he’s born, it will be all about the baby. Why look at a boring woman when there’s a round belly or a sweet baby?

Any of you gotten cute comments on decidedly uncute days?

The star of bellybutton

I’ve been watching my belly a lot recently. It’s fun watching Little Elvis do his calisthenics, especially at night when I can expose my belly and watch it wiggle without cover.

The other night while Little Elvis was getting his usual workout, I noticed that the skin around my bellybutton looks different from the skin on the rest of my stomach.

I have an inny and it’s still just a little bit in. I’m kind of hoping it will stay the way it is now, because I think it would hurt for my bellybutton to poke out.

Back to my topic, the skin that used to be in is pinkish and it’s shaped in a star pattern around my bellybutton. It’s also hairless. It kind of looks like a pale pink star tattoo.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong. It seems to be the bellybutton skin that has never seen the light of day.

Have any of you noticed this?

I want my "back" back

I'm one of those people who will always be indebted to Jennifer Lopez because when she hit it big, it was no longer hard for me to find pants that fit my big bottom.

My favorite song to karaoke (and pretty much in general)? "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mixx A Lot.

What does this say about me? I have an ample ass. Or at least I did. The other day I looked in the mirror to make sure my shirt was pulled down in the back. That was when I realized that my normally big bottom was flat!!

It's like it's moved from my back to my stomach. My friends and I had a nickname for this phenomenon in middle school, but I don't remember what it was. It's obvious those mean jokes are coming back to bite what's left of my butt now.

Will it come back? I hope so. I fussed about my butt in high school, but grew to love it in college. I liked being a "big booty girl."

Justin Timberlake brought sexy back, but I don't think he can bring my butt back. Hopefully it will bounce back to its normal shape after Little Elvis is born. He doesn't need a mom who has to wear those "mom" jeans.

Any of you experience this? Will I get it back?

Folically challenged

My body is still doing all sorts of strange things. I still have the heartburn and restless legs, but I noticed something new the other day. And it's the absence of something, not the presence of something new.

In most of the articles I've read about pregnancy, I've read that pregnant women grow hair in the strangest places. And apparently they grow lots of hair.

Well, if anything, I'm growing less hair. I rarely pluck my eyebrows anymore because the stragglers just aren't growing.

And shaving my legs? I honestly don't remember the last time I did, but it's got to have been more than a week and my legs are actually pretty smooth. That's pretty strange isn't it?

I also read that my hair would change texture or grow really fast. The texture certainly hasn't changed and it doesn't appear to be growing any faster than usual either. It might be shinier though.

Anyone else got weird hair stories?

Don't look at my cankles

My mom is in town. Last time she came to visit we had my breast "health scare". This time I realized that my ankles have gotten fat. So she and Bob got to sit through my litany of "cankle" complaints last night. I'm sure she must think her timing is awful.

Bob has been dealing with my weight fussiness for about a week now. He probably appreciated having some back up last night.

I gained 7 pounds last month according to the doctor's scales. That makes me mad. The doctor said Little Elvis is doing fine. But I feel huge now, especially when I notice how large my ankles have become. They aren't swollen by the way, just bigger.

Is it weird that I'm not upset about the belly? I knew it was going to get big. The ankles (and unfortunately calves and entire legs) are unexpected. I'm going to try to do more walking than my usual mile a day and hope that will help my ankles slim down.

Coupon confusion

Have you guys been signing up for all the pregnancy promotions? You sign up and you’re supposed to get coupons for diapers and bottles, etc.? Well, I’ve signed us up for several and so far I’ve gotten about 10 pamphlets for cord blood banking and more than a dozen emails from a widow in Nigeria offering to split millions of dollars with me if I pay her some money first.

How crazy is that? I understand that signing up for mailing lists will get you on some spam lists. But ONLY spam lists? That’s a little much. They could at least send me one coupon for formula or baby announcements.

I know this probably looks like I’m angry about it. I’m not so much angry as confused. Maybe I’m somehow signing up for the wrong lists. Are there better ones that will actually send me coupons?

RhoGAM worries

Tomorrow morning Little Elvis and I are getting our blood tested. I have a negative blood type and there’s a chance he won’t. So we’re going to have something called a RhoGAM test, I think.

If his blood is positive, my blood could fight him. That’s pretty scary.

What’s also scary is that I have no idea what the test will entail. I know I was really wrong in my belief that the glucose testing was going to take at least 4 hours, so I’m hoping my fear of having a huge silver needle poked through my belly and into him is also wrong.

In all of the baby tracking calendars I read, none of them mention whether or not he can feel pain at 29 weeks. I just don’t want him to be hurt by some (hopefully mythical) needle.

I’m old enough to realize that getting shots and having blood drawn are both relatively short processes (at least from my experience), so I don’t expect it will be too awful for me.

And how will they make sure they get him? He moves around a lot.

I’m sure I might sound like a complete idiot here. Have any of you gone through this experience? Is it anything like what I’m imagining?

Superhero status

I feel like a superhero today. No, it’s not endorphins… Well, it could be endorphins, but I think it has a whole lot more to do with my new boots.

When we went on our baby buying spree, I had to indulge myself as well. I’ve been wanting a pair of flat black boots. I’m so thrilled that lots of the things that are fashionable right now are also very pregnant-friendly.

Although I do want to look like a very fashionable pregnant lady, I’m torn. I hate to spend lots of money on clothes I’m going to need for a very short time and I keep waiting for my feet to expand before I start buying “good” shoes.

This means that for most of my pregnancy I’ve looked a lot more frumpy than fabulous, but I feel more confident in my appearance today—thanks to my stylish new Payless kicks. (Hey, when you care enough to buy the very best? Wait, that’s not the right saying…)

These boots, although a little more than I typically want to spend at Payless, are awesome! They are flat, come up almost to my knee and have laces up the back. They aren’t bondage looking, just very cool. When I tried them on I told Bob I looked like Wonder Woman.

I’ve decided Wonder Woman is not the super hero to go with, and I want to make up one for myself. I’ve been kicking around two – Womb Woman and The Belly.

And I’ve already displayed some pretty impressive super powers if I do say so myself.

I’m able to eat through a whole glass of ice in a matter of minutes while covered in two sweaters, gloves and a blanket.

I can sniff out sweets within a 20 foot radius.

And I’m growing another human inside my belly, which is pretty impressive.

So, which name do you like? The Belly? Or Womb Woman?

Baby buying spree

I am now in week 29. That means in 11 weeks, Little Elvis should be making his world debut.

Sometimes that seems so far away, and others it seems like it can't come soon enough.
The good news is, after this weekend, we are much more prepared for his arrival. We took our gift cards and baby shower money and went on a baby buying spree!

He's now got three jumbo packs of diapers, a starter bottle set (I was really nervous here about which one to pick and went with one that claimed hospitals preferred it), a baby monitor, baby first aid items, baby bath items, a baby grooming kit and a little mirror that we can attach to the rearview mirror in our cars so we can watch him while we're driving.

Those are the necessities, but we've pretty much determined that we can't just buy necessities when we go baby shopping--we have to buy him fun stuff, too.
A few weeks ago we saw some baby rocking animals at Sam's that were so cute. We decided to wait on getting one, though. Then, we saw one of the rockers at Wal-Mart. We ended up telling Bob's dad about how cute they were and he wanted us to get one for Little Elvis from him.


So, Little Elvis got a Luc Leafwalker rocking horse this weekend--that was planned.
On the way to pick up a Luc Leafwalker, we walked past a bin of acoustic training guitars. These immediately caught Bob's eye--especially when he saw a sign for a soccer themed guitar. We dug through the bin until finding the soccer ball one. Not only was it a training guitar with a soccer ball theme, it was shaped like a banjo. That's all it took. My normally not-impulsive husband grabbed up the guitar and headed for the rocking bug.

He's already tuned the guitar and has it hanging up with his other guitars. I have no idea what the age range for this guitar is, but I'm sure it's a long way off.
I hope Little Elvis takes more after Bob when it comes to playing the guitar. After a couple of months of sore fingers, I gave up on that endeavor.

Any of you bought presents for baby way before baby was ready for them? It can't be just us, right? (He is pretty well outfitted until his second Halloween at this point--he'll be a bulldog then.)

Crazy cravings

So the ice craving is old hat at this point. I like ice and I crunch it constantly. It’s not that abnormal, and although it’s noisy, it’s not unhealthy.

I also think it has a whole lot more to do with the hard texture of the ice than anything else. This texture thing could explain my most recent set of cravings, which I feel are anything but normal.

Early last week I had the strangest desire to lick Bob’s stubble. This is not normal and can’t be good, right? He found this extremely amusing and I think went without shaving over the holidays just to tempt me!

The worst thing about my new stubble liking is that several of the men in my office have decided to grow facial hair. I was worried when I first found out about this, but so far, my desire to lick has only pertained to Bob. (Thank goodness!)

Obviously I didn’t want to taste his beard hairs, and this is why I’m convinced that coarse textures must be what I’m craving.

Sunday an even stronger urge presented itself. I wanted to eat our new bar of Zest soap! I wanted a fresh bar, not one that had been in the tub gathering moisture. I wanted a fresh, crisp and, I imagine, crunchy and tangy bar of soap! I let myself smell the bar for several minutes before fixing myself a glass of ice water.

I had laughed a few weeks ago when I read a pregnancy pamphlet cautioning pregnant women NOT to eat dirt, detergent, etc. But I guess such crazy and probably hazardous cravings do happen.

I hope that the iron supplements I’m supposed to get at my next doctor’s appointment will get rid of my cravings for ice, stubble and fresh soap. If not, I’ll just try to stay away from the soap aisle at the grocery store.

You guys had strange cravings like that? Although I hate to be the only one with a newfound fetish for stubble, I hope you guys aren’t “washing your mouths out” with soap.