Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, son! 3/29/09

Killing Time...

I know I have not been very good at posting things on a regular basis...life is temporarily boring and uneventful around here and there is not too much to talk about. But imagine my shock this morning when I log on to this blog and see our huge countdown banner on the front page...five days left?? FIVE DAYS LEFT??? How is that even possible?? I have had such a strong feeling since Christmas that this booger was coming early, so I am really surprised that I have made it this far sans baby. I am also disappointed that my very first "motherly instinct" was totally wrong. But in the words of my dear friend, Karola, being a mom isn't about playing guessing games. Karola, you always know the right thing to say to make me feel better. :)

I have not worked since March 3rd, and I think that is the main reason why I have no baby to show for. I guarantee you that if I had made it one more week at Healthsouth, that baby would have fallen out in the middle of a treatment session!! Maybe he DID peak his head out a little bit and, after not seeing his shadow, decided to head back in for another 6 weeks of winter...

I have a few postulations as to why L.B. (Little Baby) Jean is waiting to make an appearance. First of all, I think that he or she knows that Phil is getting a cortisone shot tomorrow for his herniated disc. Maybe L.B. is just a considerate baby and wants to make sure that Daddy feels as well as he can so he can help Mommy out. Another possible reason for L.B.'s "delayed" appearance is that he is afraid of our dogs. After all, most of what he/she hears during the day is loud barking and me yelling at the dogs: "Haley, get down!! Willie, drop that shoe!! Willie Jean, quit humping your sister!!" I swear, this kid's first word is going to be "NO". Quite possibly, L.B. may be awaiting Grandma and Grandpa Sattelmeyer's visit to the Carolinas next week before he/she makes a grand entrance (wow, those titles make my parents sound so old!!). In the end, though, he or she is probably going to be a timely child. He DOES have until the first to come out, after all. And wouldn't that show me if he comes a week or two late...so much for instincts. :)

Strong will + Tiny stature = Little girl stuck in toy dispenser

This is SO going to be my child... :)

Dilation, Vacation, Medication, and Elation

I apologize for few and infrequent postings on this blog. One, I’m lazy. Two, it’s really about Baby Jean who has yet to make an appearance. And three, I’m lazy (did I state that already??). However, I thought this would be a nice opportunity to update everyone on the entire Jean family, dogs and all.

Momma Jean: Well, last Friday was an exciting day. Not only did I lose part of my mucous plug (eew??), I learned that I was 1.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Now, I have done my homework and I know that none of the above guarantees an early arrival for Baby Jean and that many women can go for weeks in the above condition. However, it was exciting to learn that 36 weeks of being uncomfortable and abstaining from rum is finally starting to pay off. Now, everyone knows that I am a bit of a procrastinator. Did I rush home on Friday to pack my bags?? Umm, no…I took a nap, walked the dogs, and debated lying out in the sun for a little bit. After increasingly stronger contractions (albeit still pretty irregular) all weekend, have I started packing my bags? Come on gang, you know the answer! I’ll do it one of these days…I may still have a little bit of denial left in me (I have 3 weeks to get over it!). Besides, we were busy at the beach all weekend. Priorities, people!!

Poppa Jean: Several weeks ago, Phil spent about 5 days in Costa Rica for a friend’s wedding. While I was devastated that I got left behind (apparently, flying to another country at 34 weeks is frowned upon), I thought it was cool that Phil was able to have some private time with his friends and enjoy his freedom before he becomes a Dad. Apparently, Phil enjoys deserting me in my “condition” (or maybe I am overly annoying him!) because he spent last week in Kentucky working at his company’s plant in Winchester. This also gave him the opportunity to clean our house (still waiting for a buyer, people!) and to collect the list of items I sent him to find and bring back (had I known that it was going to take 4+ months to sell the darn house, I would have brought more stuff with me!). After my phone calls on Friday, Phil made it back to Charleston in about 8 hours…record time!! Luckily, we didn’t have to rush off to the HUMAN hospital that night…(see below).

Willie Jean: You know the saying, “curiosity killed the cat”? Well, it almost killed the damn dog! I have one of the most curious and adventurous dogs in the world. Apparently, my little Westie has figured out how to get the lids off of child-proof bottles of Tylenol (which Momma Jean should not have left lying around on the table, but that’s another story). I came running when I heard a crunching noise and found Willie sitting under a table munching on a tylenol with a plethora of spilled pills lying around him. Long story short, we had to call Animal Poison Control and induce vomiting (it was almost funny to note the contents of Willie’s stomach…so, that’s where my missing shoelace went!!). We also had to take him to the emergency animal hospital for the entire weekend so he could receive 48 hours of IV fluids, multiple injections of some type of medication to prevent liver damage, he had to eat something with charcoal to cleanse his colon, and he had multiple blood and chemistry profiles drawn (apparently, tylenol is very toxic to dogs; the vet said that ingestion of 1.5 pills exceeded the toxic level for a dog of Willie’s weight). Three days and SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS later, Willie is back home and feeling fine. Bye-bye, Baby Jean college fund!!

Haley Jean: Well, Haley had a GREAT weekend! There was no Willie to fight over Mommy’s lap with, we took solo walks at her own pace (which is slow), and she enjoyed leisurely meals without worrying about Willie trying poking his nose into her food bowl. It was amusing to see how quickly Haley reverted back into the old habits and characteristics that she had prior to Willie’s arrival: very needy, attention starved, increased anxiety, always having to be in our faces, etc. Even though she and Willie have their scuttles, his presence keeps her acting more like a dog and less like a whiny human.

Well, that’s all the info with the Jean family. I’m not going to lie; the next posting will probably wait until I have a picture of Baby Jean to put with it!! As always, I miss everyone and the Jean family sends our love and best wishes your way.