When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed...

All those amazing people out there that are praying for us; we need to have a chat. At least one of you (don't know who it is) is cursing us by praying for us to have something like: patience, endurance, strength, fortitude...

You need to STOP!

As if the kitchen flood and bedroom mess isn't enough, my car died on my way to work this morning. I'm driving merrily along and all of a sudden my car starts slowing down regardless of pushing the gas pedal, weird. So, there I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, no shoulder on a 55mph road. Aside from the 1.25 hours it took to get the tow truck there (including the 45 minutes to convince the insurance/roadside assistance people we were covered), I did get to enjoy some country road scenery/smells/sounds and meet one of my student's siblings who stopped to help Ian (yes, I dragged my knight out to help me) push my car to the side of the road. I let the roadside assistance people know I couldn't wait 2 hours for the tow truck like last time we called them because I'm 9 months pregnant and will have to pee before then! He was there in a half hour with the good news they weren't going to charge us extra for such a long towing distance. That was nice. I took Ian's car to work (now 1.5 hours late) and he rode back with the tow truck to the repair shop and started his work day 1.5 hours late, too.

Halfway through the day the repairman called to let me know the fuel pump was out...amounting to a chump change of ~$590 repair job. Ouch. A few hours later he called to tell me that the gas tank was empty...(hmm that would contribute to my car stopping in the middle of nowhere) ...EVEN THOUGH the gas gauge read 3/4 full! That I found humorous. I'm at the point where I have to laugh or else I would cry. I stopped by the shop on my way home tonight and he showed me how the dashboard gauge won't move. Apparently the part is obsolete, so he can't find anything to replace it. He'll let me know tomorrow if they find it in Wisconsin.

Really people, what are you praying for? The health prayers are working for the most part. I'm having no complications and Jr continues to bust a move all day long. All lights are a go for a healthy delivery. He's even head down tonight! Please stay there little guy.

My doctor was telling me this afternoon (as I was scheduling my induction for the 24th) that bad things always come in three's, so I'm done. And how I should be grateful this isn't happening after Jr is born. Yes, I am grateful for that. I might've had a melt down by this point otherwise.

She was also humorously asking me how many children I wanted since my pregnancy rap sheet is a foot long. Good question. We'll see, won't we?

Cats

I just got this in an email and it's a perfect picture of our nightly scene! I've been trying to plan on how it's going to END when Jr arrives. It'll be interesting.

Yuck!

Thursday night our kitchen drain clogged as we were cleaning up from dinner. We didn't think it was a big deal, just stop running water in it until it's fixed, right?
Unbeknownst to us our line to the sewer is linked to the apartment above us, and guess what that means? Yep, gravity is NOT our friend (anything they dumped down their sink came out of ours.

Friday night I got home from work and noticed that the entire kitchen floor was wet, and there was evidence in the empty sink that it had 'thrown up.' I'm thinking "Great, yuck, now we need to mop the floor." I headed back out the door again to pick up Ian and go to our ward Christmas party, blissfully unaware of the magnitude of the damage.
That night when we got home from the party we discovered that not only had it overflowed onto the floor, it had run the length of our counter top (ruining every food item along it's way), into every drawer (silverware, hot pads, towels, washcloths, cereal), under the sink, flooded under our oven, fridge, cabinet and into our pantry (ruining several food items and boxes storing our extra dishes). It REAKED. Oh, we were unhappy.
Our entire Saturday was taken up with cleaning the muck (save a trip to get a H1N1 shot for Ian). I think Ian mopped the floor 5 times with bleach (he did 90% of the work). I think we started at 9amish and finished at 11pm. It took forever! Ian had to pull out the oven and the fridge to clean underneath them. Mysteriously the drain wasn't clogged on Saturday. The drawers still smell of the sewer muck.

That afternoon Ian commented that the bedroom stunk (he never smells anything) but I didn't notice it (I smell everything).
Sunday afternoon we noticed again that the bedroom now stunk worse than the kitchen and couldn't imagine why. At about 10pm that night I went and checked the carpet next to the wall shared with the kitchen - AND IT WAS SOPPING WET!...about 5 feet into the bedroom. Somehow the 'flood' went under the wall into our bedroom, and I hadn't noticed because that wall is covered with boxes (flood fodder), a dresser, my hospital suitcase and a step ladder to help me get into our tall bed. I could have cried!
We spent about an hour pulling everything off of that wall, assessing damage/no damage and moving it to another location.

I am really glad that we weren't coming home Sunday morning with a brand new baby to discover the big mess. This should hopefully be all cleaned up before next week and we really are bringing him home.
People are telling me that since the pad is soaked it is going to mold and mildew fast. The carpet cleaners are supposed to come Friday. What a mess!

Lungs

A coworker passed me at lunch today and said "You are getting to the point that even someone like me, who is very aware of personal space, can hardly resist touching your belly."
:)
Well, I waited and waited for the doctor to call when he said he'd call today and he never did! I left a message with his assistant and still didn't hear back. About 1:00 I started calling every number I had associated with all this and finally reached someone in genetics. They found out that the doctor had called my OBGYN, (instead of ME! Like that did me any good!) to report that Jr's lungs are not developed so they will not be inducing me this weekend. Looks like Christmas Eve is our day...unless Jr decides to come on his own earlier. Not likely, though. So, I'll be around for two more weeks. :)

FYI: the amniocentesis was no big deal. I didn't watch but it felt the same as the shots I give myself every morning, and left a smaller mark. My fluid levels are normal now but Jr is still bigger than he should be. He's also refusing to stay head down, so hopefully he now has time to decide that's a good thing so he can be born naturally!

Urologist

We got so much information and possibilities from the Urologist that it's hard to remember them all. Basically, Jr. appears to have what they call a 'double system kidney' on the left side, which means it has two parts. If it was just 'dilation' then it would probably resolve itself, but it's not and will most likely require surgery to fix once the exact nature of the problem is determined. It's not life or death and will not require emergency action at birth, just daily antibiotics to avoid infection. It will take a couple tests and probably a few months to diagnose the problem then prescribe the solution (he presented over 3-4 different things that could be wrong and each had a different solution). The nature of the problem will determine how invasive the surgery will have to be. Jr. will have to be monitored regularly until he's at least 5 years old.

As worried as we should probably be about this, it's a blessing to finally have an expert tell us exactly what to expect. Hopefully there will not be any more 'unknowns' after this.

The biggest thing I'm worried about is going through labor again. I really need to spend some more time meditating on it so I don't get anxiety attacks or anything when it comes again.

We found the doctor very informative. An instructor in one of our prenatal classes went on and on about how circumcision is a thing of the past and is completely unnecessary according to research. The specialist gave us a little insight into her statistics. Yes, only 1% of males ever get urinary tract infections (making it seem that circumcision doesn't really have an impact), but 95% OF THAT 1% are uncircumcised. Since our little Jr is going to be naturally prone to infections and problems in that department they recommend he get it done. Wow, I wish some people in teaching capacities would keep their personal opinions to themselves. A personal choice like that cannot apply to every circumstance.

That reminds me of a time that a former bishop of mine told a rather judgmental story (in sacrament, no less!) about seeing one of his former congregation buying birth control and how he could no longer chastise her because she wasn't in his ward anymore. How dare anyone make a judgment about someone's personal life, and then broadcast it in public. You never know what someone's situation is. We HAD to use it after my molar pregnancy to ensure I didn't get cancer, that's no one else's business, and if anyone had said anything I would have probably been a puddle of tears since I wanted a baby so bad. I truly hope that I practice tolerance and understanding, I would hate to know that I had hurt someone by passing judgment on them. And if I have I apologize.

The non-stress-tests continue twice a week (FOUR doctor appointments this week! Three next unless they induce), no problems so far. I've heard of and seen a few ladies get sent to labor & delivery based on their tests. A couple of them delivered! Apparently holiday stress can cause early delivery! I'm glad I have Ian to take the stress away.

I can't even believe Jr. might be here in a week. Incomprehensible.