Another Difference between #1 & #2

Besides the daily differences in Baby Girl's pregnancy vis-à-vis Nathaniel's (like being more tired, er, exhausted, from chasing after a toddler and keeping house instead of lying down to nap or read another enlightening pregnancy article when the desire hit and waiting for our mama-san to clean the house on Wednesdays; having the baby's nursery set up by this time; the layette purchased and washed; the hospital bag packed; completing a birth plan; attending several childbirth classes, etc.), there is another striking difference--the prenatal journal entries. The list of things Nate did with Mommy in-utero went something like this:

"Went shopping and ate dim sum on the sensuous streets of Singapore, climbed Mt. Fuji followed by a fun weekend of frolic at Tokyo Disney, took a siesta on the beach at Waikiki & listened to Don Ho play "Tiny Bubbles" after our evening luau, piloted a reconnaissance support mission over the seas of North Korea with Mommy in the KC-135, flew First Class across the Pacific Ocean on United Airlines to go ice fishing in Minnesota..."

I even had to stop scuba diving and eating sushi whilst expecting our firstborn. You catch my drift; life was different. Baby Girl's entries are much more prosaic:

"Visited the San Antonio Zoo with Big Brother--saw the new hippo exhibit at Africa Live!, attended my first Woman of Faith national conference--rocked out to Mark Schultz, relaxed in the hammock at the lake, went sledding & ice fishing in Minnesota, saw Ronnie Milsap in concert while sipping lemonade at the San Antonio Stockshow & Rodeo, played "Candyland" and "Hi-Ho! Cherry-o!" 648 times..."

Of course, the change has taken its toll on me, too. There's a definite difference in your body's reaction to climbing a mountain and sitting still in arena chairs for three days in a row. My sciatic nerve (and referred pain in my right knee & lower leg) has been really bothering me for the past two or three days. The doctor recommended stretching (which I've been doing--pulling out every yoga move I can think of, "pigeon" being my go-to move), a hot bath, heating pad or an ice pack for my throbbing shin. He also said if the pain gets unbearable, I could try a chiropractor (now I know his stance on complementary medicine). In the end, he reminded me that the only thing that will probably permanently relieve the pain is delivery. Thanks, Doc!

Speaking of which, I had my 32-week appointment yesterday. It was short & sweet. I'm at the 30 pound mark for weight gain (7 weeks to go...can I stay within the 25-35-pound target range? Don't bet on it!), blood pressure was 94/60, again a strong heartbeat in the 160s. I took Nate to this appointment to keep him in the loop and excited for our new baby. He got to hear Baby Sister's heartbeat again, "Yes, Mommy I do hear it!" he repeated three times--before putting Dr. Kuhl's osteoporosis display in his mouth and climbing on the back of his chair, smirking. I think he was most fascinated by the process of collecting a urine sample. Great. That oughta confuse the boy enough to halt any potty training progress (not that he has any real interest in sitting on the potty). I think the Curious George sticker he received on the way out the door made him forget the whole collection process. We'll see.

My personal countdown has officially begun. I hit 33 weeks today. That puts me below the 50-days-to-go mark. It will come soon. We were going to try to paint the crib this weekend (Jason actually gets a three-day weekend for President's Day since he starts his general surgery rotation at Wilford Hall next week and there will be no civilians to in-process him on the federal holiday), but they're calling for thunderstorms all weekend. It will happen (painting the crib).

Our friends, the Evers, were in town from Abilene for the weekend. It was the first rain we've had in months (we've had the wettest six months on record followed by the driest six months on record this past year in San Antonio). As a result of the inclimate weather, we stayed inside--Nate showed Reagan (age 2) the ropes at Bass Pro Shop ("The Fish Store") and we all endured a Saturday afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese. The pinnacle of the day was dinner. We went out for sushi! We tried a new Asian Restaurant down the street called Wasabi. Jason and I shared the boulgogi and split two rolls (cooked, of course)--the volcano roll (deep-fried tuna with spicy scallop topping) the tiger eye (smoked salmon, cream cheese and jalapeno with wonton wrap). Yummy! Yummy! I think Baby Girl likes sushi!