you, too, can have a UTI

May I suggest one that's more fun than mine?

unique transylvanian iceberg

ultimate thunderous instruments

uno tittilicious industry

utterly tenacious ivy

unidentified tangential irony

umbilical twisted igloo

ubiqitarian tactful information

unclean tattered ivory

universal taboo ink

understood terrapin instincts

unctuous tardy ignoramus

uncertain tainted incense

unanimous treacherous infantry

unadorned turquoise icing

ukranian trained iguanas

uxorious timid imbecile

unequivocal traumatic incident

urban tropical island

ugly trapeze imp

uniform tango india

(Think of it like a Choose Your Own Adventure... without the hot air balloon.)

the 12-week bump hump

The Hater was gone for about 2 days, and I'm convinced that the baby grew at least twice its size in that time.  I have no tangible ultrasound to prove it, but my belly has certainly declared its pregnancy state.  We have the makings of the bump.

I have a friend who is also pregnant, about 6 weeks ahead of us.  This is her third pregnancy.  She had some maternity pants that didn't fit her - and did fit me.  Wow.  The comfort difference was astounding.  I couldn't believe it.

So while The Hater was still out of town I went back out Saturday night to look for maternity clothes on sale at Ross and Old Navy.  I came out with a pair of khakis and jeans from Ross, both at great sale prices.  Then I found two shirts (one short sleeved and one three-quarter sleeved) on clearance at Old Navy.  I was super excited with these finds because I had looked at maternity clothes at the mall on Friday, and the prices were outrageous.

I can still wear most of my scrubs, but they're getting tight in the middle.  Prior to now I really liked the drawstring pants, but now there's really no need for a drawstring.  I can hold them up just fine on my own.  Pregnancy:  for people who hate to wear belts.

This week we're working on the 12th week.  I figure we're 2 or 3 days into the 12th week.  So far so good.  No awful symptoms to report, other than fatigue, which I already knew too well.  

I do have one amusing symptom that drives The Hater nuts.  I have had some especially aromatic farts since before we knew that I was pregnant.  I'm talking eyes-watering-clear-the-room farts. These usually happen at night, which is good for me - bad for him.  It's quite possibly my favorite symptom of pregnancy because he can totally share it with me.  Over and over and over.

workin' for the weekend

I'm so glad it's Friday I can hardly stand it.

The Hater will be out of town, but that won't rain on my parade.  I've worked so much OT this week that I'm leaving shortly after lunch.  I think I'll go to the mall and do my walk there; you know, mix up the scenery.  Maybe I'll find some sweetheart deals.

And maternity support hose.  My legs have been aching this week.

I'll have to stop somewhere and get some of the shampoo that we like (and my conditioner).  We've been scraping the bottom of the bottle for about a week.

I'm a little over halfway through reading S. King's "Dreamcatcher".  If I feel especially froggy I may try to finish the last 400+ pages before The Hater gets back.  That is, if it doesn't delve too far into my very important schedule of sleeping as many hours as I can.

Meanwhile, last night I pulled out some genealogy info to look at names.  We have some real winners up our family tree.  If it's a boy, we're thinking "LaFayette Fuqua", except we want to pronounce it not like the famous guy, but the place in TN, where the "fay" part has the accent.  The girl names weren't nearly as fun to mix and match - we're going to have to dig much deeper to come up with something that will make all of the grandparents wince.

first real football post of the season

Has anyone else noticed that the SEC teams have rocked out this weekend?  

(Except the Gamecocks... who The Hater says we have to cheer for so long as they're not playing against us because they're in the SEC.  He says this doesn't always apply to Florida or Alabama.)

We're eager to watch the game tonight.  I wish it was a little earlier in the day; I'm hoping to stay awake through at least the first half.  I've just had a really hard time being awake after 8pm for the last couple of weeks.  

I've been telling The Hater that it's time for us to write another letter to Phil Fulmer.  We're tardy on our pre-season set of expectations.  He wants to wait until we have something to critique, which I guess is fair.  All I'm saying is that I still have an itch to address the whole "Vol fans are spoiled" comment he made, but I can wait.

Meanwhile, we've started singing Rocky Top to the baby at night.  They say that infants can recognize tunes they heard in utero for a year after their birth, so we want to make sure that baby knows it was a Vol before it was even born.

It wouldn't be the first football post if I didn't at least mention Peyton, who is excited to be my fantasy QB again this year.  We've talked about it, Peyton and I, and we both feel that this will be a great season.  

our choice

The Hater and I declined genetic testing for the fetus.  We decided that the results, no matter what they may be, would not change our minds about going through the pregnancy.  For us, it wouldn't be right to abort, and it makes little sense to consent to a procedure that carries a 10-15% chance of losing the baby.

That was our choice.  Fundamentally, I'm certain that the choice could have gone no other way.  But again, that was our choice to make.

We don't pretend to know the complications of strangers' situations.  We're not going to judge them by our set of preconceptions of what is right.  But we do respect their autonomy to make choices for themselves.  That's why The Hater likes to say that we're "pro adoption" when painted into a pro choice vs pro life argument.  

Unfortunately, society twists lots of issues into unnecessary dichotomies.  

boy named Sue

I'm really pulling for Sue if it's a boy.

 

The Hater is adamant that this is a terrible idea and won't even entertain the thought of it.

 

I reckon he's afraid that the kid will grow up mean and hit him hard between the eyes.

 

Still, it has a great ring to it.