Thursday, January 15, 2009

33 Weeks Along (Friday 1/2/09)

On Saturday we met my parents at a halfway point between our homes in Fenton to pick up Rachel. We had a pretty relaxed day. Sunday the power went out about 4 in the morning due to high winds and didn’t come on until 4 in the afternoon. It was super cold out and got down to 59 degrees in the house. Paul couldn’t get the generator started which totally sucked. Especially since it is only a year old and has been used once. He finally got it going after the power was already back on. Betsy had a really good and energetic weekend. The only bad thing is that she is snoring super loud when sleeping but breathing fine when awake. Sunday night we met my parents at the halfway point again and dropped of Rachel for my mom to watch for a few days. My poor dad had been working all day driving generators around for the phone company so he was tired, cold, and hungry so they had dinner at the diner we met at and we had dessert.
Monday was pretty uneventful. Tuesday, my mom ended up taking Rachel to her best friend Katelyn’s house in Northville for a sleepover. Rachel was really excited about that! Paul has a cold and between his snoring and Betsy’s, I got little sleep all week. Tuesday night I ended up sleeping in Rachel’s room with her white noise machine blaring.
Wednesday we worked only a half day then picked up Rachel at Katelyn’s. Her parents are so nice. They offered to watch Rachel when I go into labor and offered baby supplies as their youngest is a toddler now. I may have to take them up on it once I have my last baby shower and know what I still need. We spent New Year’s Eve having a Christmas movie marathon since we were too busy to watch Christmas movies before the holiday. We watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Elf. After that we watched the ball drop then went straight to bed.
Thursday was New Year’s Day so we didn’t have to work. The dog seems to be doing poorly. She has labored breathing even when awake which concerns me greatly. I know that the end is quickly approaching and we will probably have to put her down this weekend so she doesn’t suffer. It is so hard. We drove to my parents’ house for dinner and drop Rachel off so my mom could watch her while we work on Friday. We sure have exchanged her back and forth a lot this week! While we were finishing dinner, my Aunt Margaret called to say that she was in town (for my baby shower on Saturday) so we went over to my Grandma’s house after dinner to visit with her and exchange Christmas presents. We got home late and I was exhausted but couldn’t sleep hearing Betsy snore and worrying about her. She doesn’t thump her tail on the crate when we come home anymore which is a sure sign that she is no longer feeling good. It is tearing me up inside. I love her so much.
Friday morning it was decided that Betsy needs to be put down on Saturday morning. Her breathing is a lot worse and she has no energy except when she is outside or around food. I spent the whole drive into work crying and kept having to excuse myself throughout the day. It was so hard making the phone call to the vet to set up her appointment. I felt evil scheduling her death although I know that oddly it is the humane thing to do. When we got home, Paul dug her grave in the frozen ground and I worked on her obituary. There was a lot of crying on both our parts. It was odd because I have never seen Paul cry before. One nice thing was going through all of our digital pictures and setting aside a folder of pictures of Betsy. She has been such a wonderful part of our lives for the past 5 years. It was fun reliving the memories but so sad to think that we will not be adding any new ones. Betsy and I spent a lot of time cuddling. Needless to say, Friday night was another sleepless one.
On the baby front, I have been getting lots of kicks, peeing very frequently, and worrying about how all the stress is affecting Lily.

News from the womb…
The volume of amniotic fluid has reached its maximum. As the baby grows, there will be less fluid and more baby occupying the uterus. Considerable movements will be felt from within the womb as the baby will be resting on the walls of the uterus rather than floating in a fluid-filled space. As more and more fat has accumulated under the baby’s skin, its skin color has changed from dark red and transparent to pinkish and translucent. The baby is making its greatest demands for protein and fat right now. In the last six to eight weeks before birth, it will double in weight. The baby’s head circumference has increased by about 3/8 inch this week due to its rapid brain growth. The baby has grown another 1 inch this week making it about 13 inches long.

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