Baby & Abilities

Everything is going well with the pregnancy and I haven't had any changes to my cervix. This coming week will be my last weekly appointment because I'm 24 weeks now, but we will still have appointments every two weeks. The frequent appointments are frustrating, but I try to remind myself that they are better than bed rest! Joshua is moving all over the place now and Bob and Tana both felt him last night for the 1st time!

I was talking to Julie a couple of weeks ago and realized that if you don't see me often I haven't done a very good job describing some of the changes, so here are some of the daily challenges . . .

I can no longer dress myself or put deodorant on, so Bob or Tana has to help me every day. This is primarily because my arms and fingers aren't strong enough to do the work. Bob jokes that he's just going to line Joshua and I up in the morning to dress us both! :-)

I have a very hard time getting into and out of our bed (even w/ my rail) because it's too high to easily lift my legs up on it, so I spend at least part of my nights in our spare twin bed because it's a lot lower. I try starting out in our bed but this baby must jump on my bladder because I am up at least twice a night to go to the bathroom and that's when it's easier to use the lower bed. I can't lift the laundry detergent or press the spout down on that kind, so I have a small travel size detergent container that Tana refills for me every week. I have to do smaller loads of laundry because larger loads are too heavy and wear me out (putting them all in the washer, transferring them to the dryer & folding are strenuous!).

Anything that requires dexterity of the fingers is either out or a challenge. I still like to read, but have a hard time turning the pages. I takes me about 45 minutes to flip through the coupons and cut them out (using scissors is now a two-handed activity). Using silverware is a challenge, but not as hard as finger foods. Between my fingers and my growing belly, I seem to drop something on myself at least once a meal now :-) I can't scrapbook or do any other type of craft any longer.

I watch a lot of t.v., and as most of you know this is something I almost never did before. What used to be an hour a week is now a minimum of an hour or two a day. So, I've been bored, bored, bored! Julie suggested I try online scrap booking because it's not a lot of keyboarding (which is also hard), but primarily uses the mouse. This has turned out to be a great idea because I am able to do it and I was upset that I hadn't been able to scrapbook our wedding pics, let alone thinking about the upcoming baby pics! I am open to any other suggestions of things to do!

The bathroom: it has a whole set of challenges, some of which I will not share on the blog! Some of the most difficult (that I will share) have been standing up afterwards and pulling my pants up. I have learned that handicap bathroom means simply putting in rails, so I have to make sure it's a higher toilet before sitting down bcz I can't stand up from the regular sized ones. We went to Taco Bell this past week and I had to go to the bathroom (Joshua jumping on bladder again!) and I made sure it was a high toilet before I sat down. Unfortunately, I didn't look to see where the rails were! One was directly behind me and other was about four feet away! The wall closest to the toilet didn't have a rail. I was stuck. I knew Bob would come in search of me before too long so I just sat there waiting until he had an employee check on me, at which point they allowed him in the womens room to lift me up . . . lucky Bob!

I can still make lunches; it may take me 30-40 minutes to make 3-4 sandwiches, but I can still do it! I cannot unload the dishwasher (except for the silverware), but I can load it and I can wash most of the pots and pans myself. Most days, I can still make dinner but Tana has been helping out a lot with that. I still do mine and Bob's laundry every week, it just takes longer. I'm trying to do what I can so I stay independent and don't become a total burden to Bob and Tana. :-)
Well, that's all for now . . . even though I'm one-finger typing my index fingers are getting tired!