The Kirk's - Boys-R-Us!

34 Week Check-Up

A Cold for Mommy and Haircut for Kaiden (and Mommy)

Another Illness for Mommy
So I made the leap from stomach yuckiness to respiratory inadequacies! Seriously as if being 8 months pregnant with a toddler isn't strain enough on a girl, lets add fever, chills, sore throat, congestion and coughing in there just for giggles! Ugh, I haven't had a cold in almost a year they are NOT fun especially when all you can take is tylenol and cough drops. . . . NOT QUITE the nyquil knock out plan I had hoped for, but good news is we survived and I finally feel good again! Although I would like to take this time to point out the double standard that exists between sick dad's and sick mom's. . . So my yuckiness started last Friday with a tickle in the back of my throat, but by Sunday night it was full swing, I was miserable, couldn't sleep, couldn't decide if I was hot or cold, just awful! Dave goes off to work, and I am left at home to take care of myself and Kaiden - who luckily is a really easy going kiddo, but still, when it feels like your head is in a vise grip and an elephant is on your chest the last thing you want to do is 'play' cars and make meals and change diapers. So Tuesday Dave calls just before lunch to say he is coming home, because he is feeling awful, fever & chills and horrible headache - no surprise. Well Kaiden and I were out running our errands - mind you I had my diaper bag stuffed with kleenex, hand sanitizer and cough drops b/c I can't get my nose to stop running or my throat to stop aching - when he called to see what we were up to and I said we were running errands and would be home in an hour to two, to which he responds I'll be sleeping when you get home. And just like that sick daddy got to sleep on the couch, virtually uninterrupted for 6 hours - I say virtually uninterrupted because Kaiden would bring him his snack and want to sit with daddy - but not a diaper did he have to change, nor a meal did he have to feed boy nor a game did he have to 'play'. He wakes up in time for ME to warm him some homemade chicken soup and to drink some fluids then back to his couch while I get Kaiden fed, bathed and off to bed. Imagine my elation when Wednesday he announces "I feel completely better, all you need to do to beat a cold is rest." UH-HUH - guess that's why I'm still dealing with a lingering cough and stuffy nose - Good News!! I hear Mom's get great rest the first year they're dead!

The Check-Up

OK off my soap box and on to our 34 week check up. I'm going to preface this with I really do LOVE my Dr.'s office and understand that crap happens, but COME ON people. . . So I always ask at each appointment "Is there going to be anything I need to know about at the next appointment?" I got no response so I assumed that it was going to be just another measurement and movement check up. So back we go for the appointment, first things first - as all mommy's know they want to get that weight, ugh! Well I managed to loose another 2 pounds, again not trying but loving weight loss happens this easy while pregnant of course I don't expect this to keep up post partum. Anyway the Dr. said again that weight loss is OK as long as the baby's growth rate is steady, which it is, so no real worries - then she said "I guess you're just burning up all those calories chasing this guy around" to which I added "yeah, somehow between having a baby sitting on all my organs, chasing a toddler, fighting sickness, and working from home I just can't seem to finish a whole meal anymore." Which in theory should mean that all moms out there (especially with one or two already at home) should instantly return to their prepregnancy glory instantaneously (just ask the men in their lives how easy it is to get 'it' back) but darn if that doesn't happen either!

OK so we're in the room she is taking my blood pressure, which Kaiden thinks is the coolest thing besides when the Doppler gets turned on, but that's coming. So my nurse says, OK everything looks good you are going to have your group B strep test today so you'll need to undress from the waist down. I just chuckled, are you serious?! You know how long I sit in here waiting for the Dr. I'm not getting undressed until I hear a knock b/c I have a toddler who doesn't seem to understand that the speculum sitting in the pail aren't some kind of fascinating science project waiting to be discovered. So she said, OK well I'll knock right before she gets in here. OK so 10 minutes or so goes by - time which Kaiden busied himself by pushing in and pulling out the stirrup leg rests with sheer delight at the horrible screeching noise it made! Knock - Knock - OK Katie she is getting ready for you - uh huh - I take off my shoes, and wait another 2 to 3 minutes for good measure then decide to go for it. I derobe, and grab the bag of yogurt melts - the ULTIMATE bribe for Kaiden - I get on the table and let him walk around with his snack - he does well for a few minutes, but after 5 or 7 minutes, he decides to start opening drawers and cabinets - let me just say as a Biologist I sometimes get freaked out by all the germs I know are out there and as a woman I also don't really love the idea of an OB/GYN exam room where God knows what kind of bodily fluids have touched what surfaces! OK so he pulls open the cabinet, sees the bucket with what I assume is disinfectant and the days dirty speculums (you know the metal or plastic duckbill platypus shaped tool used to 'prop' us open for our yearly exams - yeah get a good visual guys all YOU have to do is turn your head and cough!) He squeals in amusement "Bubbles!". Remember I am sitting bare assed on the table with a one ply giant paper towel attempting to cover up, saying "No No Kaiden, Yucky! Gross, icky Bubbles, no no NO!"

The good news for me was he did actually listen - some how I got him to turn his attention to me on the table, which seems like a good thing, except that at this point he now wants "up up" yes thats right the half naked mommy who has an ever shrinking lap now also has a 20+ pound toddler attempting to get comfortable and dig into his yogurt bites. Of course you're thinking any minute now the Dr. will be coming in to do the test so we can be done with this weeks appointment, but OH NO we get to sit like this for at least another 10 minutes. Of course Kaiden does NOT want to sit with me anymore, but I fear putting him down b/c of the places he can get into. . . OK so long wait later, enter the doc - she puts her hand on my shoulder and says "sorry you got undressed for this appointment but we can't actually do the strep test until you are at least 35 weeks, and you are only 34 weeks 2 days!" YES folks thats right, this was just a TEST!!! Seriously do you think the nurses sit there and say "how can we screw with a pregnant lady today!?"

Alright so annoying pant-less sitting around over - well not over b/c now I'm half naked for just the measurement and doppler check up but at least we've got the doc in so we can relax a little. Pierce is growing on schedule, but as she pointed out I am on the small side of normal - her exact words were "you're not that big ya know" - thats weird cause I feel like I'm getting big! Then she goes on to assure me that his growth rate is steady and that "some women just make small babies!" Like we don't know that, remember Kaiden was 5lb 12oz and 17.5 inches - He's 17 months and just now moving into 12 month pants and onsies! Good news in two weeks I get to go back and relive the naked splendor that is the group B strep test - plus as an added bonus I get to give more blood for even MORE testing!!!

Hair Cut Time

Doesn't it seem like last month that Kaiden got his first haircut but he was getting a wee on the shaggy side and he really starts to loose his patience when his bangs dip into his eyeballs - I can't imagine why that would bother him! Anyway I wake up from a nap last Saturday to find Daddy has started this without me - in fact I woke up just a few minutes too late, because as I was coming into the kitchen Dave was committing the cardinal sin in hair cutting - he was trimming a straight line in the bangs with scissors - think Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber!!! Ugh men, sometimes they just jump right in without thinking about how they're getting back out! At that point I took over the cut and did my best to salvage what I could but Kaiden was losing it and didn't seem to understand that his hair was looking a little too special!

The side and back doesn't look too shabby. Thanks Mom (and June)!

Just look at those "Lloyd-like" bangs. Thanks Dad!

Fortunately we have a great family friend June who has also done our whole family's hair since we moved to GA, and my Mom and brother had appointments set up for this week! Chad so graciously gave me and Kaiden his slot while he played tennis with Dave. Mom was already finishing up with her appointment when Kaiden and I got there. Quickly and with help from some gummies and toys June was able to shape up the mess that was Kaiden's remaining quaff. She was awesome, she did a great job, and Kaiden was really good too. So he still has Lloyd inspired bangs, but if you brush them to the side it isn't as obvious. Once we got Kaiden done Mom took him to the park just outside the salon and I got almost an hour of a wonderful hair cut and adult conversation. Those two things can do so much to rejuvenate an exhausted mom, I felt like a new woman driving home! Maybe I should get it done more than 3 times a year!