32 weeks, er, 8 months pregnant

This week's ultrasound checked out fine. No, better than that. Turns out though my belly is small, the baby is exactly the size she's supposed to be for 32 weeks. I'm just wall-to-wall baby; with her head tucked under my left hip bone and her butt under my right ribs. So that was the pinch that keeps nagging me just under my ribs. My stomach organ is actually under my sternum now. No wonder I never feel hungry. The scary thought is that with eight more weeks to go, where's she going to grow into?? I'm beginning to have nightmares that a foot will protrude from my throat and a hand will jet out from between my legs long before her due date (Aug. 22 for the memory impaired ;) ). Here are the ultrasound photos that Millcreek Imaging took. I love that place. I had one ultrasound done at HealthSouth in Park City and they were awful- the customer service I mean. It's tough to describe but at Millcreek they answered all of your questions and concerns, described the procedure as like a football play-by-play and acted happy to have you there. At HealthSouth no one even said goodbye to me as I left. And they take better photos :). See for yourself. I think Sage has Ryan's lips.

30 Weeks

Greetings from Lake Charles, Louisiana! It's cloudy, rainy and grey this morning but what do I really care when I'm inside a hotel all day?
BTW, flying a puddle jumper, standby, to anywhere longer than 30 minutes away when you're pregnant is extremely discouraged. Trust me and I'm not huge. The woman next to me had a comparable belly at 20 weeks where I am 30.
Still, my back, butt, tummy all cramped. Those Skywest seats were made for Eva Gabor's dogs not humans. Hot and hungry- I forgot to feed us much more than a couple of Fig Newtons before take off and all that is offered in flight now are biscotti and raisins. Of course, it would have been much worse had I not even gotten on the flight and had to wait it out at the airport until night for the next available seat. Talk about a sore ass. I got lucky. The return includes first class so I'm looking forward to that.
I'm home next Wed.. Some of you might think I'm silly to travel to the sweltering, bug infested, humid SE state in July in my third trimester but I plan to stay indoors or by the pool, sleep often and show off my new clothes from Prana. (The capris and tops will be worn long after the baby pops as they are stretchable, comfortable, sporty, stylish and way cool. I'll try to include a flashy pic from the conference). The reason I'm really here is to attend the annual outdoor writers conference. I missed last year's event and because it's always so inspirational and motivational I had to come this year. I get to meeting new writers and suddenly my brain's a tilt-a-whirl with new story ideas and ways to market myself. Plus, the conference paid my way since I'm one of their featured speakers. How could I resist? I guess the mommy card will now be a part of my writing forever so I need to hunt for new ideas. And that's ok. I want to share what I learn.
My belly's growing and the doc is a little less anxious. She ordered another ultrasound for me on June 27 just to make sure Sage still has 10 fingers and 10 toes. But the heartbeat's strong and she moves when she should.
Aside from a glitch the other night, Ryan's been a doll. I got up to pee at about 2:30 a.m. backed up to the seat and dropped in! I screamed, "God Dammit, Ryan! You left the toilet seat up." and he woke up cracking up. It was everything I could do to maintain my anger and not laugh too. Although it was funny, I was pissed. He doesn't wipe the rim down and it was sooooo gross. Why can't men understand that when we use the toilet 70 percent more than they, we get the say?? Plus, it's late, it's dark, I'm tired and I back into the thing. It's not like I KNOW that the seat ain't down. Ugh. At first, argued with me and put up quite the fight but the next night the seat was down. That's all that matters. :)

The Baby Shower

Eleven weeks left and counting. The most incredible part about being pregnant(aside from having an alien grow within you)is that you learn so much about an entirely foreign topic. Like someone about to depart for South America for three months, I've delved into every kind of research possible including networking, magazines, TV shows, books, classes and even prenatal yoga. And I'm not a Yoga person; but stretching seems like a good idea at this time.
I walked into class and the teacher asked me if I was pregnant! I had to lift up my shirt to show her my little tummy and prove I wasn't making it up. I'm small for 7 months but Stef says it'll be ok. Hell, I'm psyched I won't be birthing a 12 pounder. Apparently because I'm fit, I tend toward the small side.
Rest easy. I am beginning to show. Especially when I wear tight tops. But it's all in the stomach. No round face or arms. And the baby's kicking up a storm lately. At the baby shower, girls teased that I was just pretending to be pregnant to cover up for my boob job. No, I'm really pregnant. The cleavage is just a welcome side effect.
Speaking of the shower- Thanks, everyone for creating such a diverse, unique afternoon of fun. The guests ate, drank (a lot) and were pampered with products from Mountain Body in Park City, massage therapists and Lucy the manicurist. They purchased toys from Polly, the Passion Party consultant, listened to an off-beat woman talk about self-healing and angel spirits and were treated to the acoustic sounds of the Masturbating Hearts. David Baker provided the icing on the cake by appearing in nothing but a shiny green thong. The gifts were great. I went home with five Hefty bags of kids clothes. I'm still in need of bigger items but Park City yardsaling has proven quite effective.

Healthwise, I am doing well. Spent two days last week at Solitude Resort as a featured skier in Cold Snap - a Sci Fi Channel movie about giant spiders that attack a ski area. I'm down to only one pair of ski pants that still fit me. Sigh. But, again, unless I flash bare belly, no one notices. Hiked yesterday in Summit Park and did my stair stepper this evening. Tomorrow, I'll try to climb. I just got a full-body harness from Petzel to keep the pressure off my tummy.