Baby Update

Well there's not too much to update. I told myself I would update when I gained a pound or hit my second trimester, whichever came first, but they happened on the same week. My scale tells I am now 141. Mind you I set my scale 5lbs. up too, but at the doctors theirs said I was 146. When I set my scale 10 lbs. up it still reads 141. I've had it for a while, it does show weight gain or loss consistently it just can't be set more than 5 lbs. up.

Speaking of we'll not be going to the doctor unless a funny reading comes up. Mike will be starting a class next semester that we'll have to pay for out of pocket plus books so that, plus $500.00 that insurance won't cover for prenatal care is out of our range. He sold some stuff so I could buy some of those glucose protein strips, & I'm getting my blood pressure checked at the pharmacy. Enough is budgeted for the last 2 months to rent a doppler to check heart tones as visits get more frequent then. I've downloaded a prenatal/ pregnancy form to record everything & should something come up will be taking that to the doctor so as to not leave them in a lurch.

I've not got a belly picture or anything, but I've been told around 11 weeks that I look very pregnant. I do know that I show earlier w/ each subsequent pregnancy & I can't figure out if it is due to being stretched or the stretching having become become pendulous. This is the longest I've ever been between pregnancies & not knowing how to sound modest about it, I was in great shape before this baby. In the army for the sit up test my best score was 102 in 2 minutes. Well, carrying Victor I separated my abdominal wall but even so, after some months, maybe a year after Miranda I had Mike hold my feet for fun & I could still crank out more than 70. So I confess to not knowing the elasticity or stretching capabilities of the abdomen. I feel I look big though.

I'm in my 14th week & though a nap is no longer mandatory for me to function I am still not bubbling over w/ extra energy. If I go on a walk I'll need a nap or an early bed time. I've tried to go back on coffee but it still didn't taste good. I tried a sip of wine & it tasted worse. All I really want to eat is cheese, eggs & milk; I've got a huge craving for protein & fats so I try to have those when I can. The children are all sick again & I've been blessed to be spared, especially as pregnancy renders you more vulnerable immune system wise.

I bought a 1/2 bushel of oranges from a grove down in Vero Beach Fl. They drive a truck up once a month & sell citrus to us Carolinians so THAT was a real blessing/treat. They only sell for an hour & 1/2, then drive on to the next town. Usually we split fruit in half to make sure everyone gets some & it was a luxury to put 1 orange in front of each child & fun to hear them say "I get a whole one?" When we get low I start charging them 2 orange sections for all of the peeling I do. That way we all get nearly a whole orange. Victor is angling for grapefruit next time.

Well that's about it. Our garden is dismal from lack of rain. We've had 1 really good one earlier this month & a sprinkling yesterday & that was it for us. I've been watering & keeping the 2 gates closed but some enterprising chicken still figures out how to get in there. They need greens too. Our roosters are steadily being thinned out, we're having a chicken supper once a week. We ate my favorite one on Thanksgiving as he had developed some kind of nerve damage in his left foot. The cold mornings were hard on him & it was pathetic to watch him stump around on his knuckles & not be able to get any feed. He was so big & sweet, though inbred which is why I think he had a growth/ nerve issue. Not a growth, he just never quit growing. His liver looked fine though, so we ate him w/out reservations.