Thursday Thirteen #28: The Visual Version

Here's the visual edition of the Thursday Thirteen:

13 of my favorite pictures EVER

1. It's a few months past Poops' first birthday, but he found his hat and loves it now, wandering around the house and thinking he's all that while wearing it. He takes on an entirely different personality when he wears it. I think he thinks we don't recognize him in it.

2. One of my dearest friends, Alicia and I, when I went up to NYC to visit my old haunts just after I got married. We have a million pictures of us acting like "An American Gothic". I had an online company stick our faces and bodies into a computer-generated copy of the painting. Similar, no? Haha!

3.

My sister and her husband. This is at Clearwater Beach on Mother's Day a couple years ago when we caught the sunset. I gave this to them as one of their engagement presents, since they never had an engagement photo taken professionally.

4. This is that same sunset. I have this picture hanging in my living room. I love decorating my house in pictures of real life.

5. This one's hanging next to the one above this in my living room.

I love ships too. This was taken in St. Lucia at a wedding of a dear friend of mine. It was a little overcast and rainy, but the vegetation was so beautiful, lush and green there. It was a great trip.

6.

Hubby and Poops at a marina near our house. He thinks his jeans make him look like he has a saggy bottom in this picture but it doesn't! I love the picture. It's hanging in our family room.

7.

The pumpkin family we carved last Halloween. This is the pumpkin version of our family. Next Halloween, we will add another tiny pumpkin.

8. Poops feeding a giraffe at the zoo a couple weeks ago.

9. There were four of us girlfriends who went to the zoo that day. These are allllllll our boys.


10.
My grandma holding Poops for the first time. I love my Grandma. She's 92 and she's still got it all together. She has fewer illnesses than all of us! By the way, she has four children, including my dad and his twin brother, who popped out when she was almost 40! Surprise!

11. I love this butt shot. I just can't help myself. Sorry Aidan!

12. Taken again at Clearwater Beach on a different day, there was an entire tree full of wild parrots. He was sitting there in the grass.

13. Finally, baby "plumber"!! This one cracks me up. Pun intended.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Team Baby

I can't explain this feeling I have, but I have this overwhelming feeling that this baby is going to go full-term and everything will go just as planned, baby bag packed, clothing ready, nursery done, everything. I don't know what it is, but I am entirely 100% sure of it. The only way I can explain it is that with Poops I knew he was coming early. I can't explain that either. I just knew. I hadn't an inkling of any future complications, I just knew he would arrive before his due date. In my head, that meant maybe a week, not six. But early, I was sure. I can't explain why. I even told my best friend this earlier on in the pregnancy and she thought I was crazy. This time is different. I think there is something to "a mother always knows." Hopefully I won't be proven wrong.

I left my doctor's appointment and second round of butt shots today feeling absolutely euphoric. On top of the world. The doctor I saw today is one of the sweetest ones on staff, and she looked at me and said, "We're going for no NICU time this time. None." I then saw the chief nurse who delivered my huge shot (which again didn't hurt--yay!) who was also so wonderful. I felt like I had a team with me for the first time. Like they were all working hard for the same goal I am. I still have questions about the group doctor thing, but you can mark it down in the "pros" list; I have a team. I feel like my team is in weekly negotiations with the evil axis of power we call Prematurity. The talks are going positively and at this time, Prematurity does not want to obtain evil weapons to destroy or even try to intimidate the country we call "Healthy Pregnancy." So if this were a world full of pregnancy politics, that would be the scenario and I have a strong, wonderful cabinet full of smart, worldly diplomats helping me to contain the evil axis.

"Little Sweet Potato" is doing well, strong heartbeat and all, and allowing me some energy and a huge appetite. Which of course was cause for celebration, my favorite sandwich at my favorite place in the whole world. Turkey, fresh mozzarella and tomato on onion foccaccia with homemade garlic aioli and a sweet onion jam. This sandwich is literally to die for and I'm stuffed. My best friend and my sister will be jealous when they read this! Love you! Hahaha. I used to fly in from whereever I was living and have to make time to go to this place for this sandwich on every trip. Now they do the same. It's that good. So that's that. I love this little transition Poops is going through with his walking. It's about time the bottoms of his feet finally get dirty!! The tops of his socks were always the dirty side because when he crawls, the tops of his feet drag on the floor. Just one of those cute little things you notice when he passes another milestone.

Aidan Walking!!

Here he is!! Proof of walking!! He still doesn't walk by default, but he's gaining confidence with every step. Yay Aidan!!!

The Group Thing

Two years, I've been with the same OB office now, and I am still undecided about the whole "group doctor" thing. There are 9 in my practice. I have met all of them, and like all of them except one; the one who, when I was bleeding in my 8th week, told me (coldly), "Well, you'll just have to wait it out for the next 72 hours to see if you miscarry," and hung up. Without a goodbye, or a "I realize it's not easy for you to hear this..." or something a little more cushiony. (I need cushion. Sugarcoat away.) The funny thing is, the more I seem to not like her, the more I seem to keep getting an appointment with her. The practice is uberbusy, and they really have to work at getting you in for an appointment. You can request a doctor, but if you're looking for a certain time, you gotta take what you can get. My group has a really good reputation and the women's hospital is down the street. But I've found that not all of the doctors in the practice have the same opinion on everything. So now it's kind of like a personal joke to me, I poll the doctors at every appointment, asking them all the same questions I've asked the others, because I am interested to know all their different answers. Some are passionate about certain foods, others couldn't care less. I've found that two out of three believe whole-heartedly in the progesterone shots I am taking. One said it probably doesn't matter. At my last visit, I found out I was now considered a "high risk" patient because I saw the big red letters splashed across every page of my chart. That's funny, because when I asked the doctor I had in the previous visit if I would be considered "high risk", he said, "No. We don't base a high risk pregnancy on previous pregnancies. And since there are no problems popping up right now, you're ok." I asked a different doctor after seeing my new label on my chart if it was simply because I started the shots, and she said, "No, it's because you had a previous premature birth and you were pre-eclamptic last pregnancy."

Hmmm.

So, as a journalist, I can appreciate the group thing because it is like getting a free second opinion at every visit, and from this, combined with my own research, I can flush out my own opinion. It's important to be your own advocate, after all. And it's a little scary to wonder that if I had one doctor, with one opinion, forever and ever, would I be getting the right care? On the flip side, that doctor would know me very well, instead of the nine doctors who randomly get me and have to see my chart to remember my name. And again, on the flip side, I could know my one doctor really well, but on "labor day" he/she could be unavailable and I would deliver with some doctor I've never met ever. Oh the quandry. I just can't figure it out. I do like the intimacy of just one doctor. But I do like the fact that no matter what, in a group, I will know my delivering doctor, whomever I get. I guess I wish that as a group, they were more unified in their answers and views, even on things as simple as which herbal teas to avoid.

So here's the question, because I am so curious to find out what you other mothers out there think.

Do you prefer a group practice or one doctor?
	I had a group practice. Loved it!
	I had a group practice. Hated it!
	Just one doctor for me! Loved it!
	Just one doctor for me! Hated it!
pollcode.com free polls

Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

ICE CREAM ICE CREAM!

You may know this about me, but I am obsessed with ice cream. I wish I weren't, but I just give in to it. This week, it's Klondikes, but next week, who knows? It's ice cream roulette. Anyway, the wonderful also-pregnant ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom are hosting another round of contests for 4th of July, and one of the prizes is an ice cream maker! Yummy! Sign me up for that! Head on over there and check it out -- and the best part is, you don't have to be a blogger to win anything! Good luck!

Thank you ma'am may I have another!

In addition to grass day, don't forget, yesterday was also "butt shot day". Yes, how exciting for me. At least I had a new yard full of green grass to look forward to when I got home from my Dr's appointment. I am happy to report that the shot, as scary as the crazy ridicu-needle is, (have I told you how long this thing is???!!!) did not hurt one bit! It actually hurt more to get blood drawn for tests later on in the appointment. All that worry for nothing. I have no problem whatsoever, driving in every week to get that shot. None. It was almost a pleasure. As long as the needle is, it's actually very skinny, and the skinnier the needle is, the less it hurts, no matter how deep it goes. I hadn't thought of that. But honestly, when a doctor calls a shot "painful", you start to panic. Doctors are known for saying "This won't hurt a bit". So when they actually say the word "painful" you're looking forward to a kind of torture. But no pain whatsoever. Very excited about this fact. I also was happy to learn, that despite my growing chest, which has hit the "d" mark by the way (yayyy!!! Pregnancy is great!!), I actually lost two pounds. How can that be? There is no shortage of Klondike Bars in my freezer, I can tell you that much. My little weightloss means I have only gained 3 pounds this pregnancy. Sweet! I have found, though, that when I eat my meals the same time I feed Poops, I'm so busy prepping and cutting for him, and eat my meal in between feeding him, that it takes me longer to eat and I get full much faster. I wonder if that's it. He's been using the fork very well, but it requires me to "load" and "reload" it for him. I remembered a few weeks back thinking that I have really embarked on the "mom eats last and when she does, it's cold" phase of life. Like in A Christmas Story, when everyone keeps asking for seconds and the mom doesn't get a bite in edgewise. (Ralphie says something like, "my mom hasn't eaten a hot meal in years".) I have already had that experience when we were at a gathering a couple weeks ago where I was so concerned about everyone else eating that I made a plate for everyone else, but by the time I got up to go fill up my plate there was nothing left. Oh the joy! I digress.

We find out if it's a boy or a girl on July 11th!!!!!!!! Three weeks!!!! Holy crap!! I'm really excited. I guess I have a feeling that we'll see a tiny little "something" between its legs, but I can't figure out if that's because I'm so used to everyone in my life saying "it's a boy!" or not. But either way, I have nursery-theme contenders for both, so I am really excited to get started on that room. Of course, it would really be nice to be able to buy the beautiful dresses I see in the little girl's department around Easter time (cute little tiny shiny shoes and hats and tights my God!) but if not this time, I can wait. If it's a boy, we'll probably go for the tie-breaker. But any way it goes, ever, we will be blessed. Happy First Day of Summer everyone! Here's to a very, very, slow-slash-non-existent Hurricane Season!)

Loooove... In the Afternoon

OH how I've been waiting and waiting and waiting. Two years, and finally, we have grass. Yesterday was officially, Grass Day. There's nothing more exciting than knowing I can just go outside and play with my little boy, in my yard, sans fruit trees, sans anthills, sans bugs and spiders. This day has been a culmination of work and money and sweat and dirty fingernails. Unfortunately, this isn't a true before and after photo session; I wish I had taken more pictures of the "real" before, right after we bought it, which contained fruit trees, a giant, scary, ominous pine tree, tons of ferns and jungle-like foliage, and of course, dead grass. (Somehow, the total "girl" in me saw past all of that, and saw the potential of the house when we bought it.) Anyway, I'm so excited I just can't contain myself! Here's our new backyard. We had it leveled off a little because it was very slopey before and there were once three fruit trees in the back that came with big giant spiders that liked to come inside the house to cool off. We got rid of those (and subsequently the spiders--thank God. I'm an arachnophobe would you believe). There was also a big black, deteriorating porch surrounding that slab, but we took it all down. We intend on screening it all in again one day, correctly, but for now, we'll probably just put a table, chairs and umbrella outside with some lights and a couple a tiki torches and enjoy the openness. Also, we added that fence you see all the way on the right.

BEFORE/AFTER

More Backyard (from the other side)

BEFORE/AFTER

And here's the front yard. I so wish I had taken the "real" before pictures. There was a ton of crazy ferns and foliage covering the left side of the yard up near the house, under that oak tree you see there and my mom and I dug through it all and got rid of it. We also took out a giant pine that was in the middle of the yard that was starting to die and was a lightning rod. It's literally like a normal yard now! I'm so proud. It feels like Christmas.

BEFORE/AFTER

Tiny Kicks and a Couple Steps and a Fall

I cannot confirm this, but I believe I have felt the official flutter of "Large Onion" and this time I am quite sure that it wasn't gas. With Aidan, there was no question. He kicked me hard. I was on the phone with my mom and he kicked me and really didn't stop till he came out. But with this one, it's not as clear. It could have been gas bubbles, but really I don't think so. I think it was flutters. Cute cute cute baby flutters!! And while Poops still isn't officially walking yet, he did cross the living room on his two very wobbly legs to me today!! He gets too excited and basically ends up tripping over himself usually, but he made it this time! And I burst into tears and hugged him so hard! And turned to joyous husband and said "Happy Father's Day!" How fitting.

Thursday night, however, was a heartbreaker. Husband and I went out to get him some new clothes and we got a phone call from my mother-in-law who was watching Poops. Now, she never calls us while we're out so we both knew something was up as soon as her number popped up. She called to report that Poops had a fall, face-first onto the fireplace hearth. His first big fall and his first shiner. Right under the eye. It could have been so much worse and of course, for that I am thankful that it is what it is and it's already healing nicely. But every time I look at it, that shiner calls out to me, tauntingly, wagging its little shiner finger in my face, saying "Bad mommy! You didn't order that fireplace cover yet! Bad, bad mom!" Ugh. Poor Poops. My heart hurts just thinking about it.

In other, very exciting news, sod is now going in Wednesday, the same day of my next doctor's visit and the first butt shot. So, I get a shot in the tuckus and by the time I get home, I'll have a lawn! Bonus! I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day weekend! We sure did around here! This year was golf year for husband (last year was bbq year--I don't know what I'm doing hitting the two big guns so early! I'm in trouble for next year!!). Anyway, he got lots of golf stuff and played a round of golf and we had lots of family time and yummy food. Happy Father's Day!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY DADDY AND MY HUSBAND, MY TWO FAVORITE MEN IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!

AND A VERY HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE OTHER DADDIES OUT THERE! LOVE AND BLESSINGS TO ALL OF YOU!

The Yard Makeover

Is officially set to begin today! Excavators are coming to rip up the existing lawn that is filled with anthills/brown patches, the new fence is going in and the ground will be filled with fertilizer to accomodate the impending new grass. Unfortunately, "Grass Day" is being postponed to Monday (which makes Sunday "Grass Eve) because things just happen that way. So this time next week, I will be posting a slew of pictures to include my new yard. This is so much more exciting for me than it is for you, I know. I apologize. I never knew there would be a time in my life that I would salivate over things like a yard, a knitting class, or an afternoon tea, not to mention get excited about a poopy diaper or making my own baby food, but alas, this is me. I don't even ask anymore. I just embrace it.

All of these renovations, along with Poops, and the cleaning on top of it has made me a bad blogging buddy, and I'm sorry! I stink! By they way, still no walking yet. Poops is now 14 months old and I think he just plain old refuses to walk because he crawls at such a lightning speed and I don't think he thinks he could ever walk that fast! People tell me all the time that I'll be sorry I wished for walking, but honestly, I don't think he could possibly get much faster! He's into everything already! The only difference would be that I wouldn't have to carry him everywhere. What a convenience to be able to put him down and have him follow me from the car to the house with all the groceries! Of course, whatever his pace is, is okay with me. But I wouldn't mind me some walking about now!

Day of Rest

I'm taking the rest of the day off. Since Sunday, I've been going at 110 mph, painting, cleaning, painting, folding, painting, cleaning, chasing. The floors aren't done (of course--that's my story) but the bathroom is! Yay! Just need hubby to put up the new mirror/slash/medicine cabinet and it will be complete. I love it!! Painting projects are never as simple as they look. Anyway, how much do I love random acts of kindness? I was running through the grocery store today and was at the very end of my list with my full basket, Pampers and all, and about to make a terrible decision to purchase an Entenmann's crumby cheesy something, when an old man walked up to me, said hello to Poops, and said, "Wow! Looks like you've got a lot of groceries!" And then handed me his $5 off coupon. He said he used a few this week already. It was the sweetest thing ever! And to boot, he saved me from making a poor caloric decision! It just warms my cockles. It seemed like everyone who was out and about was just buzzing and bustling with smiles and happiness. So nice. I'm off to nap while I can.

Step One

Is done. They have poured the concrete to extend our back porch. This is very exciting. Oooh and they are preserving some of the "leftovers" from the previous residents for me, a beautiful pygmy palm tree (it's little) and a few very leafy plants with large red and green leaves. There was a whole "greenhouse" thingy in the back that was overgrown with ferns and old, moldy stones. It was charming at first and seemed to have potential, but the screen and the frame around it were all disgusting and harboring possible insects, so we removed it to extend our existing patio. Anyway, the plants that have nicely survived will go in an area tba of the newly landscaped non-brown-patch lawn to be put in next week. Yes, next week now. I was crushed at first when they pushed it back (I mean, how cool would it be to have a new lawn by Father's Day????) But the excavator bailed at the last minute and now our landscaper has to bring in another one to do all the grating (so exciting, isn't this??) before they can lay the sod (we have a very slopey backyard that we have to level off a bit). I have taken quite a few "before" pictures, but I am actually a little embarrassed by our terrible lawn, so I will post them when I have "after" pictures so I don't have to be as embarrassed. Anyway, enough about the lawn. Let's talk about the inside of the house. I know, so riveting. But I am entirely consumed by fixing up my house right now! It's absolutely crazy! I will be sitting here, trying to relax, taking a break, completely exhausted, but the molding will be calling me from the bathroom, "Paint me! You just painted the whole rest of the bathroom, and here I am, old and off-white and I need a fresh coat! Paint me now!" And I will have to answer the call. There is just no other way. So my bedroom and bathroom are in a current disarray from said painting. I wanted the bathroom "spa-like" like the cover of a Real Simple, baby blue with white trim. I bought new fixtures, towel bars, shower curtain rod, got rid of the old yellowing medicine cabinet, painted the bathroom, the closets, the ceiling, the molding and the cabinets, (oh! and no worries about a pregnant woman painting--I've taken many precautions including keeping it all very well venthilated, wearing mask, fan running, lots of breaks, and no sleeping in my room with the master bathroom's fumes leaking in). And after one more coat of paint on the cabinets and a few touch-ups, I'll be ready to officially move everything back in! Very exciting. Also, my mom and I went to tea on Saturday, which was a lot of fun. We love to visit tea rooms so much (this one was probably our least favorite of the bunch) but afternoon tea really is so much fun and so girly. To the place's credit, they did have hats and feather boas for us to dress up in while we drank our chocolate-vanilla-coconut tea. So before I bore you to death, which I am sure that I am, I will head off to read other blogs and then paint that second coat that's calling out to me as we speak. Hope everyone had a great weekend! One more week till sod and butt shots! Yippeee!

Happy Friday

It's one week before what I'll now call "Grass Eve". Next Friday will be Grass Eve and Saturday will be Grass Day. This is a monumentous occasion for me, the fact that we're getting grass. We're going to have a yard that doesn't suck!! I don't know if you remember or not, but last October right around Halloween, I did a posting about how one of the neighborhood kids called our house a "ghost house." A little girl had left her umbrella in our yard and my husband was in the driveway as she went by on her bike and he asked her if it was her umbrella. She said, "yes! thanks!" and my husband overheard her tell her friend the following as they rode away: "Wow! Someone does live there! I have to tell Billy it's not a ghost house!"

Egad. My worst nightmare. We were the ghost house in the neighborhood! How mortifying!! We realized we had spent so much time working on the inside that we had to really get moving on the outside too. Boy are kids honest! That was quite a motivator. Well since then, our home has gone through quite a metamorphasis. We've painted it a pretty yellow instead of a crappy old cream/brown, and we painted the shutters white. We got rid of a very scary tall pine tree that was dying and trimmed back all our trees. We cleaned out the yard completely so that all the ferns and overgrown brush were eliminated. Now, it's a cute house with very crappy grass. Brown dead patches and weeds everywhere and ant hills, and very little actual grass. The heartbreaking part of it was two years before we moved in, the previous owners had actually put in all new sod. But it wasn't taken care of and the weeds and ants took over. I don't know why I didn't see this as a problem when I fell in love with the house; in fact, I overlooked a whole lot of flaws that my husband and I have had to fix over the past two years. I just don't know what it is, something happened when I walked through the door for the first time with the realtor. I thought, "This is it. This is the house." I could just tell. I don't know why. I went home and went to bed and planned out how to decorate every room in my head (and it is turning out just like I pictured--by the way). But boy did it need work. The carpets needed to be ripped out (my husband put down more wood floor), there was wallpaper everywhere, literally, (the doors, the sockets...), there was wood paneling in one room, the skylights needed replacing, we had to tent the house for termites, fix the roof, boy this is a long list of stuff. But I loved the layout. I loved that you had to step down into the living room. I loved that there was wood flooring in the family room. I loved that there were three large bedrooms, and the master bedroom was more like a "master wing" than a room. I loved the split floorplan. And I loved the location. Right in between my work and my husband's work. And near everything, malls, Target, good schools, the beaches, a great church. Our little neighborhood had a Main Street, with lots of trees and a cute little historic downtown area. And despite all our work, a lot more has to be done. This weekend, I'm giving the master bathroom a long-awaited makeover. The guest bathroom still has to be done (I flushed yesterday and the toilet handle broke off). We need to update the kitchen. Then little stuff, like fixtures and bookshelves.

I guess I grossly underestimated the amount of money we'd have to put into this house. My husband may secretly want to kill me. But I really do love it here. I love that we've transformed a ghost house into a cute little home. And next week, we'll the yard to go with it. I feel like all of our work (and money!) is finally paying off. After this, we can take our time on all the other stuff. It's a home! Finally!

Thursday Thirteen #27

It's not the holidays or Thanksgiving or anything, but for some reason (maybe because of the hormones) I've been feeling especially nostalgic and thankful, which is why I'm writing this TT about:

13 Things I'm Thankful For

1. Life. I love life. I'm lucky. I've had a great time so far and I've done everything I have wanted to and in the right order. Now I'm working on fulfilling another life-long dream (to be revealed at a later date) that I am so excited about! It has a little something to do with another couple things I'm thankful for: my mom and a cup of tea. Life is good.

2. Lipgloss. Not a day without it. Beauty in a tube.

3. Being able to stay at home. I was watching the noon news a couple weeks ago, longingly, thinking of how I missed news and covering trials and big stories, and the rush. Then a second later, I look down and Poops takes a step toward me. A step I'd have surely missed if I were stuck in that stuffy, noisy old newsroom!

4. Living in Florida. I love it here. The beach is beautiful. Occasionally when you drive across the causeway, you can see dolphins swimming alongside of it. I always look for the dolphins. Although rainy season is about to start and those afternoon lightning storms and downpours are a killer.

5. My mom, dad and sister. They're some of my favorite people in the whole world. We're all a little bit crazy and I love it! That's what makes us a family, right?

6. Moving back to Florida! I spent a lot of time away but always knew I'd have to move back when I settled down. Your turn, Aunt Anna Mary! (my sister).

7. A yard. Next week we will have a pretty yard! We've done so much to our house on the inside (turned out to be a bit of an 80's fixer-upper) but now it's time for some grass! I will be able to take Poops outside to play and sit outside and have coffee and not have to see ant hills, dead grass patches and weeds!

8. Klondike Bars.

9. Flowers. I just bought the most beautiful bouquet with orange roses and they opened up and were spectacular! Oh, I so can't wait to start a garden that by the way, I will vow not to kill.

10. Nesting. I'm running around like a madwoman obsessively putting finishing touches on our living room, bathroom, and office. Hanging pictures, putting up curtains, cleaning out closets. Seems a little early for nesting, but I guess if I get things done now, I can relax later.

11. That second trimester second wind. It is here! Sweet!

12. My babies. I'm about to be a mother of two. Holy Crap! What a ride this is.

13. Saving the best for last: my husband. A lot of people do not believe in soulmates or "the one." I do. I believe we were made to fit together. I knew it 11 years ago when I met him and I know it now. He makes our family perfect.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Peanut Butter Jelly Time Peanut Butter Jelly Time Peanut Butter Jelly Time

EEK!

I got my shipment of progesterone shots in yesterday. I start them next week. I cannot express to you exactly how big the needle actually is. The part that goes in my butt. It is as long, or possibly longer, than the actual syringe part. I have never seen a needle so big in my life. Except in cartoons when the Dr. Frankenstein-type character is about to deliver a lethal dose. For the first time ever, I was thankful that I have a little bit of a cushion back there because if I had a tuckus like, say, my sister (who has none whatsoever) it is quite possible that I could hit an organ. It's ginormous! And I am not a wimp when it comes to shots, either. Since blood disorders run in my family, I had the entire panel done on me during my last pregnancy. So many tests that the lady at the lab actually gave me a "Way to Go!" ribbon. Shots don't really bother me. They're a little uncomfortable, but they're necessary. But this needle is seriously large. And then that got me thinking. Are there small, medium and large needles and the doctor secretly decides which size I should get according to my rumpsize? If I had a smaller tushy, would I have gotten the smaller needle? Hmm. Well if I'm taking these ridicu-needles every week and the baby still comes early, I'm going to be pissed. These are shots on steroids.