bigger? smaller?

i have now reached 44 1/2" around the middle. i am huge! but strangely, i have dropped a few pounds - i was up at 190 at one point (yikes!) and now i'm at 184. i blame the dentistry - tooth now has a temporary filling that my (real) dentist promises will last until the end of april, but it still feels funny to me and i'm nervous about chowing down with it.

so weird to be in the final stages. i don't know if it's just that i've recovered from the holidays, or it's the sense of impending events getting ever sooner, but i have a new sense of urgency about getting ready. possibly it's just that i'm tired of being pregnant and want to get the show on the road! bags are packed, carseat is at the ready (although we've no idea how to install it yet), and i'm finally getting the baby's room sorted. have also been reading up on how to kickstart labour - hence today we are walking up to our favourite restaurant for brunch. it's at the top of a steep hill. (but i will be bringing bus tokens along in case i get too pooped on the way.)

time is running out!

wow. less than two weeks to go. and, as people keep telling me (stop!!), it could happen "any day now." yikes. yikes. i'm still not used to being pregnant, and it's going to be over soon. my husband keeps saying that i will want to go for #2 just because i'll miss the belly. not so sure about that - last night i couldn't sleep and spent a fair amount of time futzing around with pillows trying to lie on my belly, but of course it didn't work. i feel like a narwhal.

the belly does have its uses, though. for example:

* balancing a cup of coffee or tea
* catching spills that would otherwise end up on the floor
* propping up books and crosswords so they don't get soggy in the tub
* insulation against the cold
* conversation starter

i'm sure there are others i am not thinking of right now...

my dentist, my nemesis

so everything was set for a lovely christmas - the shopping done, the gifts wrapped, the fridge stocked, the tree trimmed, all of that stuff taken care of. no need to leave the house at all until my midwife appointment thursday.

or so i thought.

on 23 december, saturday afternoon at about half-past four, a filling fell out (and took a wee chunk of tooth with it) of my bottom left molar - at the very very back, where it's hard to see. i called the dentist (knowing they'd be closed, but what else to do?) and
the outgoing message said "if you have a dental emergency, call the emergency dentist at 555-5555." so i did, and made an appointment for that evening at eight-thirty. the husband came with, as i didn't know what would happen - would they want to use nitrous, and leave me in a state unfit to drive? who knew? the answer, it turned out, was no - they gave me a quick patch - after forty minutes in the waiting room, i spent about ten in the chair - told me it would be solid by morning, and to see my regular dentist for a permanent fix as soon as the baby was born, and sent me on my way. i was famished by this point, so i ate a bowl of soup and a bowl of jell-o and went to bed.

so sunday morning - christmas eve, that is - i decide to have a bowl of all-bran. you know, the kind of cereal that turns to mush the moment you add milk. nothing crunchy or chewy. well guess what happened? that's right, the temporary filling fell out. so back i went to the emergency dentist for nine o'clock! barely twelve hours from the first patch! they tell me i have a "deep bite," to be careful, see my regular dentist as soon as i have the baby, etc. off i go home, to another day of not eating - lots of fun considering i'm past 37 weeks now! i have no doubt that i am the only preggo who has lost weight over christmas.

anyway, i putter around the house, spend way too long entertaining my sister and her weird boyfriend (hello, i didn't get my morning nap because i was at the dentist, have some consideration!), have a nap, get the veg for christmas dinner started, and decide sometime around eight or so that it must be safe for me to eat something by now. i make a salmon sandwich with soft bread (oh, and did i mention that when my tooth went the first time, it was when i had just put a loaf of nyt no-knead bread in the oven? the kind with a deliciously crusty crust? which i didn't even get to try?), chew gently on the right side only, and you can guess what happens.

at this point, to hell with the emergency dentist. i'm not going back every twelve hours for a new filling. what's the point? so i sit down at the computer to do a little research on dentistry in pregnancy, since no one - my own dentist included - seems keen on doing anything. there is surprisingly little info available on dentistry in pregnancy - the usual resources (babycenter, motherisk) just say "do get your teeth cleaned, since you are at risk for gingivitis" and talk about what to do in pregnancy if you are a dental hygeinist working with mercury. no mention of whether i can or should get a crown or a cap or a proper filling. someone on a forum thought she remembered that her dentist said she couldn't get a crown while knocked up, but being knocked up, couldn't remember the details.

of course, since i was busy reading away, i totally forgot about the veg i was cooking, until the smell of burning reached my nose...

sigh.

well, if nothing else, this has kept me from overindulging in candy, which is my normal modus operandi at this time of year. can't wait to call my real dentist first thing tomorrow. woohoo!

three days till christmas!

and i've got all the shopping done! there is just about no reason for me to leave the house whatsoever, at this point. yeehaw! the tree is trimmed, the presents are wrapped, the swag for the stockings is ready to go. cookies and cake are baked, and there's more cookie dough in the fridge. i just bought a cast-iron dutch oven so i can make the famous new york times no-knead bread, i have a duck for christmas dinner, and all the ingredients for the sides.

and it's a good thing too, since at this point, it's all braxton-hicks, all the time. and i am huge. after a month or so at 43 1/2", my belly is now up to a whopping 44". i do not want to go anywhere!

of course, there is still much to do on the home-front, especially in the baby's room, which is still only half-painted, and filled with crap. the rest of the house looks great though, if i do say so myself.

and, there is more shopping to do before baby gets here. i was all proud of myself for having a ton of sleepers and boottees and whatnot, and then i realised last night - i still don't have a nursing bra! or any sheets (let alone spare sheets) for the moses basket! time to do a little online shopping, i think...

hmmm

i'm getting lazier and lazier about posting here as the time draws closer. less than a month to go now! yikes! partially that's due no doubt to anemia - i've been completely zonked and my hemoglobin has dipped near transfusion-required levels. this despite averaging 18 mg iron a day in my diet, + supplements! now i've stepped up to the vile-tasting floradix, and it seems to be helping.

also, i am officially on mat leave. well, technically i am using up vacation days right now and mat leave will start on 2 january, but at any rate, i am not going to work anymore! very strange. friday was my first day off, but today, for some reason, is the day that counts for me - maybe because of all the madness of last week, or because we had people over on friday so there was much to do during the day, but today is my first completely unstructured do-what-i-want day. well, it's also do- all-the-damn-dishes-etc. day, but you know what i mean. there is no deadline for dishes, other than "before they drive me crazy."

mainly, i want to get stuck into carpentry. i bought a new drill yesterday, woohoo! and of course, christmas shopping. oh, and i'd like to string the house with lights, although i promised not to climb any ladders. we'll see.