National Adoption Day

I realize the last few posts have been very self-centered and as excited as I am about having this baby, I thought it might be time to write about other people's babies. Growing up my family was a foster family and over the years we took care of lots of babies and kids, some of whom were abused, neglected or mentally handicapped. In high school I shared my room with a rambunctious 2 year old for 2 years and it was the most rewarding experience of my life and I dare say, that of my entire family. Sure this experience was not without a lot of challenges, but through it all I came to admire my parents and the strength of their marriage. I realized first hand what it is to love someone more than yourself, and just how many children need a loving home. We werethisclose (literally 1 day away from adopting Nina, the 2 year old), but then another family came along who had young children, a stay at home mom to give her the extra attention she needed and they were multi-ethnic, just like her! It was so painful to let her go, but we realized what a blessing this new family was and what an even greater blessing that they wanted to include us as part of their new family.
Not every foster care story has the same ending, but every child deserves the same chance. This Saturday is national adoption day and if even you arent in a position to adopt a child or even a pet right now, consider volunteering for an organization like CASA (court appointed special advocates) or becoming active in Big Brothers Big Sisters. OR simply talk to other people about the huge numbers of children, not just babies, who just need someone to love them and care for them.

Patience is a Virtue...

...that I dont have. After the high of Monday finding out that I was finally making some progress, I'm definitely hitting the low of still being pregnant. I know I'm not due until Friday and most first babies are late, but I was hoping against hope I'd got yesterday. Not to mention I was 3 days early and my bro was 1 day late, so genetics to go on time are on my side. How cool would it be to have a birthday of 11/11!? Its getting so bad I dreamt last night that I had actually given birth and didnt know it. Somehow I completely missed the whole thing! Aiden better get a move on!

I also did a little research and found out that I was born on a full moon and tomorrow is a full moon... maybe, just maybe... well, I dont want to jinx it!

1 down 9 to go

This weekend was pretty tough as I finally started to have some serious contractions. Poor Mr. F (or "My Baby Daddy as he told me I should refer to him on this blog...) woke up every time I rolled over on Saturday night to ask if we needed to go to the hospital. Well, we didn't go, but I was having solid contractions about every 20 min, then every 10 for a while and as painful as they were, I got the great news this morning at my check up that some progress has been made! 1 cm down, 9 to go! Additionally I didnt gain any weight this week, another sign labor is probably around the corner!! Just in case though, we set an induction date of next Thursday, Nov. 20.

I've been walking as much as I possibly can and eating lots of spicey foods too. Not to mention the dr. told me rasberry tea has been known to help labor get going... and if all else fails, there is a full moon this Thursday, so something is bound to happen! And yes, in case you're wondering, more people than I can count have recommended a little "adult activity" to help things move in the right direction, although I think that is a discussion for another blog ;)

If you know of any other ways to get things moving let me know! I want to have this baby pronto!!! :)

ps. any and all prayers for a safe delivery are welcomed and appreciated :)

39 Weeks Down, 1(?) To Go!!!

Holy Cow! Today is the 39 week mark and boy does it feel like I'm going to pop at any second...and truthfully, I wish I would! November 7 was our "Please let us make it to this date!" goal because today is Mr. F's last day of general surgery rotations and the large majority of my school things are done for the time being. However, I have to admit I'm getting overwhelmed and stressed because I feel like professors keep assigning things for me to do while I'm out with the baby. I don't understand because they all knew I was going to be ending my semester early and agreed to give me take homes or papers instead of finals. The reality is, I'm only missing 2 or 3 classes at the end of the semester and havent missed or been late to a single class all semester. I'm having a real moment of wishing I could just take a normal maternity leave and not be expected to be accountable to anyone school related. I'm having a major pity party for myself, which isnt helped by having a really tough time getting around, feeling exhausted and having classmates tell me it was "a bold move to wear flip-flops when my feet and ankles look like the Michelin man." Seriously. And nothing else fits. I now understand the phrase "barefoot and pregnant."

Mr. F being the phenomenal man and husband that he is, I am seriously the luckiest woman on the planet, reminded me that we've been through so much and these little school stressors are just minuscule...and that I only need to pass my classes. I know he's right, but thats pretty tough to swallow because I dont like to do anything half-assed, even though I know he's right at this point. UGHHHH.

I hope everyone else is having a great Friday and I'm gonna try to get myself out of this funk pronto.

could it be?

So last night I hardly slept. I laid awake in bed for hours and when I finally fell asleep I was woken up by the insane partying on Broad St. again. It was worse or on par with the World Series celebrations. I was so thankful Aiden wasnt here yet because I'm sure he would have been woken up. I didnt even need to check the tv to know Obama was elected. Among Philly's many lacking qualities subtly is definitely one of them.

The partying lasted until about 2:30 am. ughhh.

Then this morning I woke up with Mr. F before 4am as usual... general surgery is taking a toll on both of us... the hours are insane and I'm so glad he doesnt want to specialize in surgery! Well, usually I have no problem going back to sleep after he leaves for the hospital but this morning, no such luck. After tossing and turning for awhile I finally got up and cleaned the kitchen, got dinner ready, made lunch, vacuumed my apartment, cleaned the bathroom and ... well, you get the idea.

Could this be the infamous pre-labor burst of energy? Only time will tell and I'll be sure to keep you updated!

a little vanity

Ok, I definitely care about my appearance and like to make a good impression. However, I am not afraid to leave the house without makeup. Now that said, I have been thinking about how I'm going to look in the hospital when Aiden comes. I know I know... I'm going to be giving birth and chances are not looking my best, but who cares cause I'll be bringing a new life into this world. I get it. BUT what about afterwards? What about when all those pictures are taken that will last FOREVER and will be treasured because they will be our first family pictures? What about when friends and family come to meet Aiden? I dont want to look like I've just given birth, I want to look like I'm glowing. Call it vanity or insanity.

So this morning I decided I am going to at least do my nails. After performing contortions a Cirque De Soliel performer would be jealous of, I managed to paint my toes! Thats right, I havent seen my feet in months, let alone put my own shoes on and I managed to not only put a cute shade of pink on my own toes, but also keep it to just the nails! HOT DAMN. Where there's a will there is a way. In the interest of full disclosure, I was motivated by the thought of looking at my feet while I'm pushing Aiden and thinking that I dont care how unflattering that position may be, I'm still cute and girly.

Additionally, I waddled my way down to Walgreens in an effort to get a little exercise with the promise of buying a new bottle of nail polish. Two birds with one stone:) So now I have painted fingers and toes and am REALLY ready for Aiden to get here, and I'll look good all the while:)

I voted!

This week is a pretty big deal, we're electing our next president and chances are pretty good I'm going to have a baby, one of these you may care more about than the other, dont worry, i'm not going to ask which one:) I promise this is not an entry about which candidate I think is the best or my personal politics. I believe each person's vote is as valuable as the next, but it is a private matter. Growing up, my family talked politics, but when it came time to vote, my parents never told us or each other who they voted for. Perhaps this seems strange, but I think the point was that no one should feel pressure to pick one candidate over the other based upon what someone else says...and there should be no backlash over your individual choice. Mr. F and I have agreed that we will always talk issues and have political discussions with our children, but we are not going to reveal our final votes. We even voted absentee in separate rooms this year.

My point in all of this rambling is not just how happy I will be when this election is over, but the main reason I am excited is because I'm so sick and tired of feeling bombarded not only by both candidate's negativity, but by the sheer level of offensive in-your-face attitude of campaign volunteers. I am so happy people are taking our privilege to vote so seriously. We are truly a blessed nation to not have to be afraid of violence on our way to the polls and we know each vote does count (hello florida!) Yet, election time is my least favorite time of year. Over the last 6 months I have been bombarded by one volunteer following me down the sidewalk asking if I am registered to vote, to which I answered yes. That wasnt good enough because i was told I should register in PA because its a swing state. What that volunteer didnt know was I'm a registered VA voter, also an important player this year. I'm not sure what part of my continued walking and lack of eye contact was interpreted as "please follow me and harass me" on the part of the volunteer. Later in the summer a volunteer actually got in front of me to block my path when I tried to walk past her because she wasnt getting a response from me. Keep in mind, it was during the worst heat wave this summer, I was 5 mos visibly pregnant, and carrying my cat on the way home from the vet.

This year I beg each of you to vote, be active in politics if you are so inclined, but PLEASE go forward with an attitude of respect of fellow voters and for a variety of opinions. Just because we may not agree on politics doesnt mean one opinion is more valuable than another...and political opinion certainly is not an indicator of intelligence.

Now I'll step off my soap box and ask if anyone has an extra "I voted" sticker and would like to share it with me I'd be very grateful. The stickers arent included in absentee ballots and I'd really like a free krispy kreme donut tomorrow :)



and for the record, i'm a registered independent. just in case you were wondering.