Christmas Concert '08!

Our scheduled Christmas activities have been somewhat of a question mark this year. All eyes are on the Barley. However there was one Christmas tradition that I wanted to institute and observe if I could at all help it...A Christmas Concert!
A time to get together and sing Christmas songs with friends like they did in old 50's movies. (sans the hot toddies-maybe next year!)
So I busied myself (as much as one can busy oneself while not moving from the couch) with plans. Mostly I busied my mom and Kent with the baking and the Christmas decorating. A task that I envied them for...I love setting the house in Christmas order and making things just so (also, maybe next year!)
However, I was able to make these darling little mistletoe pins in the meantime.
So, with everything in order we called on our good friends Meg and Ryan to come celebrate with us around the Christmas tree.
Kent played the guitar, and Meg charmed us with her cello playing. Ryan and I chose less "Traditional" instruments and played the keys (car keys) in all the jingly sorts of songs.

A festive time was had by all! With baked sweets, cider, cocoa, and ornament decorating! It was a very cheerful evening. (Minus my discussion of our flagging economy and the predicted doom and utter economic collapse they say we are headed for in as little as 4 years. (I have nothing to do but read this mess on the news all day)...also start gardening.)Now, some may wonder at my crazy Christmas antics and wonder what was I thinking?...what with all the standing, jingling, and sitting at the table shown above. Surely this breech of Dr's orders catapulted me into labor?
Nope..and relax! The Barley had a blast, and really would never dream of interrupting the Christmas Concert '08! It was a lovely night off and I sang and laughed until my prego belly shook like a bowl full of jelly!
Merry Christmas to all!

The Final Countdown...

Da-da-da-duuuuuh, duh-duh-du-du-duuuuuh!
As discussed previously, the Paper chain is the countdown method of choice in the Walter Household.
Used to countdown major events and milestones. And if getting off my butt, (or left side to be more precise) to join civilization isn't a milestone I just don't know what is. Ahh, to feel the wind on my face and pavement under my feet again...richness.
As is, we have 6 links left in the paper chain placed by my afternoon perch.
6 links left and it's "Look out world the Barley and I are back and taking no prisoners!"
Kent and I have had the feeling that as soon as I am off these muscle relaxers, and we give my uterus permission, it's going to spaz out as it's been aching to (and ache it does) and presto we got baby!
So if you look at it that way, it really is The Final Countdown!
Peace and quiet...final countdown. Night time is for sleeping...final countdown. A time where I have to sqwunch up my face to remember what spit up smells like...final countdown.
But also it's having a little homemade person, who is totally and completely brand new to the world to teach you new depths of love and sacrifice. You don't see a lot of things on earth that no one else has for the first time. And I have a little paper chain to countdown to one!

P.s. If she doesn't come by next Friday we are going to IKEA. I can't of anything more labor inducing than walking 5 miles of Swedish warehouse looking at sales!

Bed Rest(less)

I am currently writing to you "off the hip". I mean that most literally, as I am on bed rest where I am ordered to lay on my side and only my side. (Minus those glorious minutes I get to shuffle to the bathroom or sit up to eat.)
You would be amazed at how little there is to do while laying on ones side. When I first heard the news bed rest I had hopes of finishing our wedding album, working on some branding for my new up and coming business venture with Meg, sketching, listing...etc. But alas I have found that all of these are for those lucky stiffs who can lounge on the couch on their back.
As is, I am growing intensely uncomfortable writing over my shoulder and will make this post short.
We had another Dr.s visit yesterday and they recommended I stay on my Terbutaline (muscle relaxer) and bed rest for another 11 days. Blech. It is doing a good job so far and I have had half the contractions I started the week out with. So that is good for the Barley, and if they keep on working she will have a chance to get a little bigger and avoid some complications.
For that reason, I am happy to do it.... but let us be honest with one another...this sucks.
I am getting stir crazy, and what I wouldn't do for some exercise!
So if anyone has any fun sideways activities they know of...let me know! I am open to mixing up my routine of movie watching and contraction counting.
Well, my faithful nurse "mom" is bringing out lunch so I had better goooo! But really, I'm not going anywhere...I will be just here for 11 more days.

Crazy Little Thing Called Labor

Hi folks. Kent here, guest posting for Kirsten, since she's just *this much* indisposed at the moment. I'm in the rocking chair by the window up at the Overlake Hospital Labor and Delivery Unit, and Kirsten's in the bed next to me. Don't panic, though! Every visit we have now, if it's not a scheduled appointment, happens over here at L&D. They just have better monitoring equipment and whatnot, and it's right next door to the place we usually go.
Here's the news: yesterday morning, very early, Kirsten started having pretty bad cramps, so she called the consulting nurse, and they had us come on in. After a lot of checking things out and monitoring stuff, they told us that she was actually in the first stages of labor! Wow! That explains the cramps, I guess. They eventually gave Kirsten medication to stop the contractions, and once they got that to work, we went on home with several doses of the same medication in pill form. It's been sort of working, but today brought some more weirdness, and contractions a little closer together than they should be in times of non-labor, so we called and they had us come on back in. Pretty much the same story today, and we're headed home in a little bit unless anything changes. The idea is to keep labor at bay for at least another week or so (until 36 weeks), and then if Greta wants to come on out, they'll let her, and we'll care for her appropriately. Should be in good shape at that point.
If things pick up or anything else changes, we'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks for tuning in! :)

Kent (for both of us)

Big day for the Barley!

So yesterday was a big day for the Barley!
Firstly, she is now enjoying a new corner office with a view of my pelvic floor. Yesterday she by all signs "engaged" or "lightened" as they say in the books, or as I would say "dropped like a ton of bricks."
Which is super exciting considering this means she is doing her thing to get ready to go-go-go, and I have more room to breathe, eat, and otherwise enjoy a little more of life's upper abdominal comforts. However it does come at the price of lost lower ones. Her little head is nicely nestled on what sometimes feels like knives, an anvil, and my bladder in between.
Goooo Barley!
Also yesterday I had a monster headache and nausea which was my cue to visit the hospital which was the hospitals cue to check my blood pressure, whose impressive new highs cued the Dr to label my pregnancy "hypertension", which was the cue to steal my blood and pee, and give me drugs I don't want to take.
So, now I am officially an old man and am on blood pressure medicine and monitor my bp 4 times a day with my new handy and so dandy at home cuff. (batteries not included).
The new medicine makes me feel all floopy and light-headed, and I distrust it. (I think any mom would distrust a medicine that clearly states not to take it if you are pregnant or going to be pregnant...and boy if I'm not anything but pregnant.)
However they say it is better for the Barley than the alternative. Lets just hope the poor Barley does not feel as silly as I do. So far I haven't heard any drunken songs echoing from my uterus...but I feel one coming on so I had better sign off.
....They caaaall her the irish roooooover!

33 week checkup!

So we had our last ultrasound yesterday! The next time we get to look at The Barley she will be a little more 3D...with surround sound! It is getting more and more difficult to see what's what in the ultrasound as she gets bigger, so unfortunately there will be no picture for this post. The one we got was barely recognizable seeing as the poor girl is stuffed so tight, like a ham in a pickle jar.
However we did see what amounted to blinking and mouth moving. Also, she was sucking on her foot, which I think shows remarkable skill.
The reason for an ultrasound this late in the game was to check up on her kidneys which were growing at 2 different rates last visit. This time they noticed that they were the same size, just one was holding more fluid than the other. Thankfully, this is not a dangerous or worrisome complication, as her fluid levels and everything else look normal. So praise God for that!
Greta is right on track to be a Christmas Eve baby, they bumped her due date back to the 24th!
She currently weighs 4lbs and 7 oz and that puts her smack dab in the 64th percentile for weight. The midwife predicts she will be around 7lbs when D-Day arrives. A nice little bundle if I do say so myself.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween last night?
We had a fantastic time hanging out with friends and shoving our faces with sweets and pizza rolls.
Kent and I had a tough time this year trying to figure out what we should be. I have rigorous guidelines when it comes to costumes, and this year there was the added the complication of being hugely pregnant. They should also be at least semi-homemade, I don't want to be a man, or an inanimate object, and would like the costume to be somewhat uncommon. (ex: no witches/or pumpkins).
This year we were a 50's housewife and the milkman. (tee-hee)
I thought Kent looked particularly fine in his little white shorts and bow tie. (meow) Excuse me as I exhibit the 1950's sense of propriety and don't post pictures of those wee short or my expectant figure...