John on: "Boys Day Out"

On Sunday I headed to San Diego to go to my dear friend Leigh's bridal shower. I left at 8am and got home at 9pm. It was the longest John has had to watch Jack. I knew my husband would handle it with ease, but I was still sad to leave my boys for a whole day. So while my pictures from the day comprised of this...

...what was John doing with our son? I'll let him tell you.

Where the Hell is Mommy?

Well, Jack didn’t quite understand that Mommy had a party to go to in a magical place called La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya, he didn’t get that either. Yeah, one of many things in the future I won’t be able to explain to him.)

Lisa left early in the morning to head south so she could spend some time with her folks before the afternoon wedding shower for Auntie Leigh. This left me with the boy for a solid full day. Something I’ve never tackled solo before. Luckily, Sunday morning meant Studio City Farmers Market, which is a solid Jack outing. I got him prepped, dressed him in solid earth-tones and a sweet hoodie. And then I added a flair with the red socks. A sharp look:

I don’t have any pics from the Farmers Market, because I didn’t want to take any chances without backup. I wasn’t into the idea of juggling fresh strawberries, cauliflower, and Pink Lady apples along with an unhappy Jack. (Mind you, Jack’s been really pissy lately due to his molars coming in. It doesn’t take much to set him off.) I gave him a bag of Clementines to play with and moved swiftly from stand to stand. Didn’t have time to see if Angelina Jolie was showing up that day with her brood. Didn’t even have time for banter with the large-chested Gypsy girl who “sells” us the amazing Bolani bread every week. (I put “sells” in quotes, because it verges on “swindles,” because we can’t walk away from that stand without dropping 20-30 bucks. On bread. She’s that good.)

Little boy did me the courtesy of falling asleep on the ride home, which made for an easy morning nap. I held him and watched the Lakers game while he slept. That worked out well.

Knowing how Jack operates I knew I was going to have to venture out to a park after lunch. We went to one I hadn’t been but once and surprise, surprise, it was crowded on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Jack crawled all over the place, and I tried to do as little “heli-parenting” as I could stomach. I’m a little quicker to jump to Jack’s aid when he really doesn’t need it than Lisa. But I tried my best to walk the thin line of letting the boy be the boy, and letting Jack split his face open on the day Daddy’s on watch. It was tough. Then, just in case I wasn’t sure he was all little boy, he got as dirty as he possibly could in the span of 10 seconds, which resulted in my favorite pic of the day:

Passed out again on the ride home. (Amazing for a kid who constantly seemed like he was going to spontaneously combust in his first few months in the car.) The nap thing I have down.

At the end of the day, Jack was more into entertaining himself. From the piano to the hamper to his basket of puzzles, which he scattered across his room. We got to dinner pretty easily. It was from dinner on that began the series of missteps.

First, at dinner, he was successfully eating his healthier baby food and some strawberries, when he pointed to the area where we have the bread. Obviously indicating he wanted some cheesy bread, I immediately jumped to, abandoning the healthier alternative for the cheesy bread. So when I went back to the fruit et al, he was disinterested. Because there was cheesy bread. Then he decided the cheesy bread was better for throwing. And since the fruit ship had sailed, so had dinner along with it. Took my lumps and retreated to bath time.

Looking back, the secret to bathtime/bedtime is to be a step or even two ahead of Jack. I was instead a step off. I began undressing him before I had his PJs out or his sleep sack laid out. Which resulted in me having to change gears in the middle of battling him to remove his clothes. He let me know that he didn’t approve, and from there, I allowed Jack to dictate the tempo instead of taking the lead. The book progression went out the window. Half way through “Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb” I remembered I hadn’t added Jack’s bath song to my iPhone. Another misstep. So I ended up singing “Under Pressure” to him a cappella. I almost forgot his towel. I was getting by. Barely. My hope was the bath would calm him down.

And it did. Temporarily. But once he was done, he was done quick. When I tag team bath time with Lisa, I pull Jack from the water and “shake, shake, shake” as we call it. Then hand the boy to Lisa who has Jack’s towel in receiving formation, swooshes it around him, and whisks him away to bedtime. So I did part one swiftly, only to realize part two wasn’t standing there. So I’m holding a wet, pissed off kid and grabbing for a towel even though my clothes had ultimately done most of the work for the towel. Got him dry and, as he fought me through getting dressed, I thought to myself, Lisa must be really, really good at this.

heart,
john

John on: "Staying at home with Jack"

On Saturday I took off to spend the day with my friend Leigh in what was the longest amount of time away from Jack ever. I was gone 8 to 5 and, while I missed him terribly, it was nice to put on earrings and a shirt that wasn't stained with spit up or dry crusted pea puree. I also got to listen to my own music for the long drive (no lullabies) and got to eat a lunch with two hands. I never really worried about how the boy was doing though because I know he loves his daddy. Still, to be a fly on the wall for John's first "stay at home dad" experience....

On a daily basis, I leave Lisa and Jack standing in the doorway, waving goodbye. Saturday, it was Lisa driving away from me and the boy.

Probably my first day as father and son tearing up the town together should have been more momentous. Throwing rocks at cars from the freeway overpass, teaching him to hold a chaw in his lip, betting the superfecta at Hollywood Park, something along those lines. But knowing Jack’s aversion to change I went with keeping it simple and playing to my strengths.

Music is my go-to move usually. I played him a record. He watches it spin. I let him pound on the piano. He’s not a big believer in having a tonal center yet. I put him in his crib and let him kick while I strummed my gee-tar, seen here:

I’m hoping extending his tongue means he likes what he hears.

This got him through to his first nap. Our goal is to keep him down longer than 30 minutes. He woke up at 30 minutes, and when I tried to get him back down, the kid actually laughed in my face. He’s lucky I love him.

Our big outing was to the Do-It Center where I Bjorned him as I knew I’d need two hands and a non-yelling kid to root through the screws and bolts section of the store. I immediately got smiles upon entering, all from the ladies. It is certainly obvious in a hardware store the different perspective men and women have of a baby. Women smile and swoon. Men grunt and move on. I turned the corner to head down the main aisle, an elderly woman spotted us from what felt like half a klick away, and said, “Can I see your baby?” (I hope my reaction didn’t come across as appalled or put off, because she followed with “I won’t get too close, I promise.” Maybe I have the same naturally pissed off face that my wife carries.) And as she approached, another woman came from the other side with a hello and smile for Jack. They were a mother-daughter tandem, who were about to become a grandmother and great-grandmother for the first time in December. In addition to cooing at Jack, they wanted an up-close look at the Bjorn. We left it at “Get one for your daughter” and “congratulations.” A sweet, nice moment.

Countered by a male sales clerk smirking at me as I left them: “Don’t you wish you had one of those when you were single? Total chick magnet, right?” Yes, a great way to pick up expecting grandmas. Like I said, the male/female perspectives have their differences.

In the bolts/nuts/screws aisle, Jack was incredibly excited, kicking and cooing away. My dad is happy to know that the hardware store appealed to his grandson. Of course, so does getting his own foot into his mouth.

By the time we left, and took a walk down the street to the bank and back, Jack was getting close to his second nap. The plan was to get him home and put him down. The plan didn’t make it out of the parking lot. I looked back once and he was rubbing his eyes. I looked back a second time and he was out cold:

He went down so fast, that I fought a serious instinct to pull the car over to make sure he was breathing. Then I did something I never thought I’d do: Travel two towns over to go through a Starbucks drive-thru to delay having to try to move the kid from his car seat still slumbering. (This is where I checked to make sure he was still breathing. I held out for a 15 minute car ride.) I relied on Starbucks having the least efficient drive-thru service in America to extend his nap as long as possible. I was not disappointed. However, I was inevitably disappointed by my inability to move the kid from car seat into the nursery without waking him up. Again, he laughed in my face. But the laughter did reconfirm the whole breathing thing, so that worked out.

I don’t know how long blog-posts are supposed to be, but I’m more verbose and do far more self-editing than my wife (*understatement of the decade), so I’ll just end it saying, generally, it was a bump-free day. Downright enjoyable. He allowed me to get a tri-tip sandwich at the Handy Market. I got to even sit and eat half of it before he started airing his grievances. Very thoughtful boy. Lisa sends me pics and video during my workdays so I don’t feel like I’m missing anything, so I tried to return the favor for her. Here are the remaining highlights I texted/emailed her throughout the day:

Waking up from his long nap of the day. Dazed, confused, and questioning who the hell I am and why I'm not mommy.

He's becoming more and more comfortable with his instinct to rip the glasses from my head. This is him eyeing them up towards the end of our day. Or looking lovingly at me. One of the two.

John on: Why We Don't Have Nice Things

Not that a 20 year old t-shirt from someone else’s family reunion is nice. But it’s been in my possession for forever, since I stole it from my sister, who bought it for a sawbuck at the Salvation Army when we were in high school. Seen here in happier days with young, smiley, non-breaking stuff Jack:

But alas, the strong grip of an 11-week old boy took care of it being the one vintage tee I’d been holding onto for the last 15-20 years. Jack’s natural place to grip when he’s sleeping on me is the front neckline of my t-shirts. (If I’m wearing a V-neck, which I don’t usually do as a hairy man, his secondary grip is usually a hunk of my chest hair. I might have to start wearing turtlenecks. Or at least a dickie.)

Anyway his superstrong kung-fu grip did this:

And I can only imagine this is the beginning. I’m pretty sure we’re just going to stretch out barbed wire fence in the entrance ways of the front room, where all our books and my records are exposed, to keep him out of there. I don’t want to walk into the house one day to see Jack sitting on the floor with two halves of my Mission of Burma “Forget” LP on red vinyl in his wee little hands. That thing is worth money, kid!

Where does one buy barbed wire these days? Or is there an ehow video about making your own?

heart,
John

John on: "How Things Have Changed"

This is the first of what I hope is many guest posts from the new daddy.

Things Do Change…

Everyone says it’s a game-changer. Your life will never be the same. Say goodbye to your old ways of doing things. You’re truly marching to a different, completely arrhythmic and irrational beat. On my first day back to work from paternity leave, here’s how my life has changed thus far:

• Vocab: My use of the word “fussy” has increased about 1 billion percent. “Uh oh, is he getting fussy?” “Here comes a fussy face.” “Do you think he’s being fussy? He seems fussy to me.” I think I’ve used the word “fussy” roughly 10 times before in my entire life before February 19th. Now I might use it 10 times inside of an hour. There has to be a better word to describe the moment between infant bliss and infant eruption. I hate the word “fussy” so, so much.
• Musical Tastes: According to my last.fm account, my new favorite tracks are “White Noise” and “Window Fan Hum” by Twin Sisters Productions.
• Robe Use: Up 3 million percent. My parents lifted a robe from their cruise last winter and brought it to me as a gift. (The gift of petty larceny.) I have used it on occasion pre-Jack. It’s a lovely robe. Super soft. It has pockets. If I tie it right in the front, I can even be presentable enough to walk out in the front yard of our house and not just the back yard. Now, it’s my suit of armor for 3 am feedings, early morning soothing sessions, and a not-so-subtle way of telling people that my dedication to social decorum has completely dissolved. I’m a pair of ratty slippers and a cigar from Oscar Madison. Unfortunately, since both Lisa and I are “Oscars”, I have a feeling we’re going to need the services of a “Felix” pretty soon.
• Sense of Accomplishment: It is now largely centered on my ability to console an unhappy Jack. If I can calm him down from a real chin-trembler, it feels like a game 7 home run. Failure doesn’t feel like an option. I sing to him. I do a James Brown-style two-step. If desperate enough, I would punch a classroom of 1st graders in the face if it would calm Jack down. I’m hoping it doesn’t come down to that.
• Love of Sleep: Yes, I miss sleep. A ton. No duh. But I love it now more when Jack sleeps. Not for the reprieve from a howling infant or from his flying poo. He is just a new level of cute. Lisa is cute when she sleeps, but inevitably will snore or drool. Jack’s offenses during sleep are so much worse: farts, peeing, pooping. Yet, somehow the cute power of the slumbering infant makes it all so much…cuter. It’s really remarkable. Like some sort of natural survival defense. He would stop a lunging lion in mid-air with his sleeping cuteness. Stupid cute.
• Ball Bouncing: Lastly, I bounce on a ball. I don’t bounce the ball. I bounce with it. It’s like the bouncing balls have won. Sad day for America.
• Patience: It’s on an upswing. I now can say I sort of maybe have it. I don’t honk as much in the car as I once did. I’ll preemptively slow down at a light I know is about to change. If Jack doesn’t feel like cooperating at 5am, I can feel a slight adjustment where I can accept it, and try a different approach with the little jerk.
  

Other than that, I’m exactly the same.

The Birth Story (Part 2)

We left off with me writhing in pain from the cervidil and the pitocin, the labor-inducing drugs that had given me contractions for the past 8 hours....

But at 5:30 am, I decided to call the nurse and ask for an epidural. I didn’t want one but I slowly began to realize that, even if I suffered through and did it all “drug-free”, I wasn’t going to get a plaque on the wall congratulating me or anything. No nurse was going to applaud my efforts. So I caved and in came the anesthesiologist. Previously I had been scared to death at the idea of an epidural, but in the midst of all that contraction pain, I didn’t bat an eye. I remember the needle hurting but nothing like the contractions. Within minutes I was getting numb and thanking the doctor for being the “angel” of the hospital.

John’s POV: I didn’t have to do much insisting by 5:30am, so I guess I could have played my insistence card at the parking garage. I knew this was going to be the tough part for me: pain management. Because you’re watching your best friend, your closest ally, the love of your life go through the worst pain nature intends for a human being to endure, and pretty much all you can do is rub her back? It’s like bringing a squirt gun to a forest fire. I expected to feel helpless, and I did. I could get her a breakfast burrito when she was nauseous, grab the Maalox from the fridge when she had heartburn, soak a washcloth with cold water when she had a headache, but I’m pretty sure those tried and true techniques were going to come up a little short here. The epidural was as big a relief to me as it was to Lisa. Psychologically, that is. I’m sure physically it meant a lot more to her than it did to me.

Of course, what I had forgotten is that I have a history of bad reactions to pain meds like codeine and vicodin. I didn’t make the correlation but very soon after the epidural, it made me sick. My blood pressure dropped to a level that made the nurses very nervous. And I began to get nauseous. Nausea is one thing I am very familiar with so I knew it was real. I kept telling the nurse and John I felt super nauseous but no one was springing into action. Finally I was just like, “John, get me something to barf in.” He did and I vomited. And then vomited. And then took a break, and vomited some more. This went on for a few hours. I remember thinking though, I’ll take vomiting over the contraction pain any day. I will say that I wasn’t prepared for how “drugged out” I felt. I could barely keep my eyes open. I remember saying, how in the hell am I supposed to push a baby out? I can barely lift my head. In the middle of this time, my water broke while the nurse was checking me and I saw her hesitate. I asked her if there was meconium in the fluid and she looked surprised and said, “you’ve been doing your homework.” But, yes, there was meconium which meant that a NICU unit would be in the room when I delivered so they could clean out little Jack’s lungs with anything he could have swallowed.

John’s POV: This was the only time Lisa got some sleep from checking in at the hospital on. Maybe 10 minutes of snoring between vomiting. And by now, she had checked off a lot of items from the “how you know you’re giving birth” list. Mucus plug, gone. Water breaking, yup. Intense physical pain, hell yes. The meconium in the fluid was a little unsettling, but it was one of the main reasons they wanted us to come in Friday instead of after the weekend. So it wasn’t a curve ball. It was a threat we were well aware of. Also, by now, I think if the doctor had come in and said “C-section”, we would have handed her the scalpel and asked which number blade. Up until that point, if we had actually had a “birth plan”, it would have been a poster board with “NO C-SECTION” in giant red letters. But as we got closer, we just wanted him out and breathing and screaming and alive. Everything else, surgery-free, drug-free, hospital-free, seemed more about ego and pride. Our birth plan was a healthy baby. That’s it. Oh, but with a stealth bomber fly-by at the moment of his birth. Flown by Hannibal from the A-Team. After he single-handedly captured Osama Bin Laden. That’s it.

Eventually I felt like pushing. And I say that sort of blithely but, damn, I felt like PUSHING. And in breezed the doctor who calmly said, ‘yes, let’s push.’ So John grabbed a knee, the nurse grabbed the other knee, and I bared down. The doctor kept telling me to push as hard as I could and I wanted to scream “Look lady, I AM pushing as hard as I can!” I finally got the word that he was crowning and that was encouraging. Up until then John had maintained his very strict “eyes above the waist” rule but the thought of seeing his son born made him cheat I think. He didn’t tell me until afterwards but he watched little Jack be born. Once Jack was out he immediately let out a cry. It was music to my ears but I remember that it did sound super liquid-y. He was put on my chest, all slippery, for a minute and then he was whisked away to the corner to clean out his throat and lungs. John was immediately the perfect doting dad and stayed with him over in the corner. He bounced back to me to make sure I was doing okay as I delivered the placenta and got stitched up. It was all so super surreal, probably partly because I had so many drugs pumping through my system. The nurses finished their work on Jack and I remember John being tentative about touching him. I think I called out across the room, “it’s okay to touch him John, he’s ours.”

John’s POV: Hell yeah, I peeked. I tried at first to be respectful of Lisa’s wishes, but there wasn’t a curtain or anything. So avoiding the view was more effort than holding back Lisa’s leg. So I just watched the whole damn thing. There was the ‘Knocked Up’ moment where he crowned, and I started getting a little freaked out that I didn’t hear him crying. I thought I would have heard him cry at that point. But no one else seemed concerned. So I got un-concerned. Then after the next push, it seemed like he just spilled out onto the bed. I watch him get handed to Lisa, then whisked to the corner where the NICU nurses go to work. I don’t know where I’m supposed to be, stay with my crying wife? Go after my crying son? So I just kind of bounced back and forth. He’s ok, she’s ok, he’s ok, she’s ok, over and over. I’m sure I’m crying cause our OB asks me if I want to cut the umbilical cord, but takes a beat to make sure I’m ok. Of course I’m ok, it’s just kind of a big moment, you know? Cut the cord, tell Lisa the baby’s fine, go back over and see the NICU nurse hold up a little brown vial proudly to show how much poop they sucked out of Jack’s stomach. I don’t know if I’m supposed to be relieved by the reveal or more freaked out. I remember that. I remember Lisa suffering through the placenta extraction. And then I remember the warmer being on and Jack just sort of wobbling around in there in this wonderful soothing heat. I think then I got to hold him and take him to Lisa. But to be honest, I’m not 100% sure about any of that. Looking back, video documentation would have helped. However, it wouldn’t have been forgiven by the new mom. A peek, yes. A gawk, yes. Blatant staring, mouth agape, yes. But a video camera would have gotten me in trouble.

And that was it. 26 hours after checking into the hospital we had little Jack, a healthy and cute little boy. More adorable than we could have ever imagined.

The Birth Story (Part 1)

I figured it is about time to tell the story of Jack's birth. John has also chimed in here to tell his side of the story which varies a little bit from what I remember. Turns out we're both pretty...verbose...so I split it up into two parts. Enjoy!


It all started Friday, February 18th, exactly 41 weeks into my pregnancy. I had a doctor’s appointment that morning where my doctor wanted to check my amniotic fluid levels which had been slightly low earlier in the week. Knowing this, I had really taken it easy the previous few days and drank gallons of water every day. I was bummed that my tons of natural induction methods had all failed. I had walked for miles, eaten spicy foods, taken herbs, acupuncture, and a lot of other things. Nonetheless, for some reason I was confident that the doctor would send me home on Friday and that John and I would spend a great last weekend together. We had dinner reservations and plans. But, one look at my ultrasound and the doctor said that my fluid level was low and that my placenta looked “old”. Nothing like stating the obvious. So she said that we’d have to go check into the hospital. What? At that point it still didn’t seem real. She called the hospital and she came back and told us that they were a little busy so we should go get a bite to eat and come back in a few hours and check-in at noon.

John’s POV: We tried every natural inducement ol’ wives tale: THE salad from Caoti Café (an LA-specific inducement legend), eggplant parm, orange soda (Thanks, Anita), pickled cactus tacos. If Lisa had read about walking backwards with a bucket between her knees, I would have walked into the house to find her debating between plastic or metal. Pregnant women do not want to be induced medically. But it wouldn’t be the last time today where what we theoretically wanted got pushed aside to make way for the only thing we actually wanted, which was our healthy baby boy.

So off we went. We decided to head home to get the house in order and eat our last meal. Not surprisingly, my last meal at home was scrambled eggs. Seemed fitting. Then, with our bags packed, pillows in the trunk, we headed off to become parents. We parked in the parking lot (no pulling right up to the door in labor) and slowly walked into the hospital. It was sort of like checking into a hotel which was not what I had imagined. But things never turn out as planned.

John’s POV: TV fails us again. No rushing to the hospital while Lisa performs outdated Lamaze exercises to keep the baby from shooting out onto the floor of our Hyundai Santa Fe. No male orderly shoving Lisa into a wheelchair and racing her down the hall to the O.R. Our biggest drama was that the 5 got a little backed up where we didn’t expect it (Sigalert failing me when I needed it most), and we had to use the Glendale Freeway instead of the 110. Too bad. Lisa had stashed garbage bags and an old beach towel under the driver’s seat to save the upholstery of our still-kind-of-new car, and I thought such foresight should have been rewarded with actually being necessary. Oh, and for the record, Lisa refused to allow me to drop her off at the front door of the hospital. I picked my battle there, as I was saving up my insisting for the epidural.

We checked in and got settled in our big delivery room. I got into my hospital gown and plopped down in the bed. They strapped a fetal heartbeat monitor on my belly as well as a contraction monitor. Then they put in an IV which didn’t feel that good. Next up? A drug called “cervidil” which would be used to get my cervix all ready for delivering a baby. My cervix was no where close to going so the doctor thought this drug would be helpful before giving me the labor inducing drugs. So they put the cervidil in (a strip of paper that is placed against the cervix) and I was told to chill out for 12 hours. Oh, fun. 12 hours in a bed where I can’t really move that easily. I think I first felt what could be described as menstrual cramps and then things got painful. From around 9:30 pm to 2:00 am I was having contractions. And they didn’t feel good. And kept getting worse. At 2:00 am, they started the induction drug, pitocin, through my IV drip. Immediately the contractions got even worse. I guess no one can describe what it will feel like but, damn, it was as bad as I had thought. I wanted to stave off an epidural as long as possible so that left me writhing in bed for hours. Because I was so hooked up to so many things, it was hard to get in different positions to manage the pain. But John was there and he helped me immensely. He massaged my back and watched the monitor to tell me when a contraction was coming and when it was almost over.

John’s POV: We got a little cocky. 6 hours of pretty much no discomfort, we decided it would be cool to have visitors, so Lisa’s mom and sis stopped by with dinner. We ate, and talked and hung out like the heavy lifting was days away. Then we decided we should get some rest to prepare for the real deal, the pitocin, at 2 am. And of course, as soon as we lay down, the contractions began. And then we realized that we should have done the sleep thing a while ago, because that ship had sailed. Columbus-style. Like to the other side of the planet.

A few hours after checking into the hospital and before the real contractions started.

To be continued...

Today I am...40 weeks pregnant.

Wow, my due date. The long awaited 2/11/11. Unfortunately, it's just another day today and the little guy shows no signs of moving out. Had another doctor's appointment this past week where she informed me that I hadn't made any progress. She is already throwing around the word "induction" which I don't love. Especially since I'm sure, if he had his way, the lil' one would come out at 42 weeks. But modern doctors don't really let moms go to 42 weeks so we'll see what happens. In the mean time, it's time to bring on the natural labor induction techniques! Truthfully, I think all of these are complete b.s. but it makes me feel proactive. So far it's included evening primrose oil tablets, raspberry leaf tea, bouncing on an exercise ball, spicy food, the "maternity" salad from a famous LA restaurant, and a prenatal massage. But today I also tried acupuncture. I went to this place that specializes in pregnancy acupuncture and wow, it was cool. I don't think it'll automatically induce labor, but you can certainly feel those needles doing something. The feeling radiates down your feet and up your arms. At the very least, my acupuncturist said it should make my labor easier if I do have to be induced. We'll see...

That's about all that's happening here. We threw a Superbowl party at our house last weekend and that was our last hoorah. Now we're just playing the waiting game. Not something I'm very good at. Here's a picture of me "waiting" this morning, at a full 40 weeks.

And now, for the weekly stats...

How far along: 40 weeks

Baby Development: Nothing new except he's as big as a small pumpkin. That's giant. Again, I'm worried he'll be huge but I guess there's not much I can do about it now.

Baby Movement: He's got peaks and valleys. Sometimes he moves a lot and at other times he has slow hours/days. But we're doing our kick counts.

Water Intake: My acupuncturist immediately could tell I wasn't drinking enough water. So I got busted. Going to try to do better.

Best Moment this Week: Getting a massage at the spa. Not as good as a "real" massage because they're scared to press too hard on a giant pregnant lady. But still, amazing.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Oh man, where do I start? I guess mostly worried about having to be induced and then having a c-section. Though I'm trying to tell myself that tons of women have inductions and/or c-sections and they are fine and all they care about is that their baby is healthy. So we'll see what happens...

Symptoms: Still have heartburn. This sort of shocks me. I thought at the end the heartburn was supposed to go away but maybe the lil' guy hasn't dropped enough. Doesn't matter what I eat or what time I stop eating before I go to bed. Guaranteed to wake up with heartburn between 12 and 2am.

Sleep Quality: Not bad actually. Sleeping pretty soundly aside from the three trips to the bathroom.

Food Cravings: Not so much cravings...but we've just been trying to eat all these inducing foods. It's not working.

What I Miss: Having a back that doesn't hurt all the time. I used to think it hurt but this is way more achy.

I'm Looking Forward to: Meeting the little guy very very soon!

Trying to Get Done Before Baby: I honestly think I'm done. We did our taxes, completely redecorated the guest room, washed all the baby clothes, cleaned our house top to bottom...we're ready!

John's POV: "The kid missed having a pretty rad b-day. 2/11/11? Come on. And since 2/12/11 passed, and we’re pretty sure Valentine’s Day is going to come and go with us just staring at Lisa’s belly for umpteenth consecutive night, there’s not a lot of cool b-day options left. Though I think he can make it to 2/21/11 or 2/22/11. Though those are more like pathetic luggage codes than anything else. As far as the old wives’ tales regarding the onset of labor, we are truly willing to try anything. Eggplant Parm? OK. Cactus tacos? Sure. Orange soda? How much and how often? I’m looking forward to perpetuating the inductive powers of whatever dish Lisa coincidentally consumes on the day the baby decides to descend. It’ll likely just be the 98th breakfast burrito she’s had during her pregnancy. So yes, eat 98 breakfast burritos and that kid will shoot out like a rocket."

Today I am...39 weeks pregnant.

39 weeks. Not sure how many of these updates I have left in me. One for sure (I think) and then maybe one more? Either way, it's crazy how close we're getting. Of course, you wouldn't know it because not much has changed. Sure, I'm bigger and slower, but still no contractions. Almost everyone on the pregnancy message boards has experienced early contractions or Braxton-Hicks contractions by now, but not me. And I can only assume I'd know it if I'd had. My doctor assures me that's also normal and some people don't get them until they're really in labor. But, at the same time, I'd like to have a preview of this "worst pain of my entire life". Would make it less of a mystery. At this point, I'm waiting for some unknown hour on some unknown day where my body just revolts in pain. It's pretty awesome!

This week the doctor's appointment was status quo. Head down, heartbeat looked good, and I'm still 1 cm dilated. No signs of the lil' guy going anywhere for the time being. We did make progress at home this week though, as we completely re-did the guest room. And by "we" I mean John did the work and I supervised. Though I got to do the fun part of shopping for new bedding and pillows, etc. More errands meant more strangers asking me if I was expecting a girl but I didn't mind so much this week. I guess my body just likes to distribute the weight more evenly like a girl rather than have a belly that is pointy and sticks straight out like a normal boy baby. I'm sure it's because my body is used to distributing a lot of weight. :)

Today, in honor of being 39 weeks, we hired a housekeeper (maid? is that PC?) to come give our house a deep cleaning in preparation for baby. My parents and grandparents would be aghast at the idea of paying someone to clean my own house. I should get off my lazy butt and do it myself. And I should. But the idea of scrubbing the tub and getting every dust bunny out from under our bed while 9 months pregnant was painful. It's hard enough to pull on my pants and walk to the grocery store, let alone scrubbing floors. So we hired someone. Now I just have to think of an excuse to keep using her because our house looks awesome.

And now, for the weekly stats:

How far along: 39 weeks

Baby Development: Not much new to report on the development front. He's full grown and now just getting bigger and bigger in order to inflict greater pain on me during delivery.

Baby Movement: Great movement this week for the lil' guy, we were very proud of him. Though one night I was afraid he was going to kick through my belly.

Water Intake: I've decided to count coffee, milk, caffeine-free diet coke, and orange juice as water. In that case, I'm doing well.

Best Moment this Week: Probably getting a surprise ultrasound at the doctor's appointment. The lil' guy looked like a real baby in there!

Current baby/pregnancy worry: I'm back to worrying about labor and delivery. This may be from watching too many reality tv shows on pregnancy and birth. None of those moms look like they're having much fun in the hospital.

Symptoms: Same things you've heard about. I'm sure you're bored with it. Waddle walking, heartburn... but actually it hasn't been too bad.

Sleep Quality: Don't quote me, but I think I may be sleeping a TINY bit better than I was a few weeks ago. More pillows definitely help. Though now I am getting up for the bathroom three times a night but I guess that's how it goes.

Food Cravings: Ice Cream. Yum! The perfect way to end a day.

What I Miss: Being able to run errands or spend a few hours out of the house without having to find the nearest restroom. I'm tired of public restrooms.

I'm Looking Forward to: Superbowl this weekend! Probably the last time we'll host all our friends at our house without baby.

Trying to Get Done Before Baby: Return some Babies r' Us stuff, get the car seat checked at the police station, and get our taxes done so we can get a refund and pay for more baby stuff.

John's POV: "It still doesn't seem like this thing is ever going to happen. Even though something has obviously been happening for quite a while now. I don't see his motivation for leaving. It's warm and quiet and dark, he's constantly feeding or sleeping or both, and his mom carries him everywhere he goes. He's not trading up upon exiting."

Today I am...38 weeks pregnant.

Time marches on... Here I am. 38 weeks pregnant and I remember celebrating week 7 like it was yesterday. Each day brings different aches and pains and pressure on different body parts. This week I had a doctor's appointment and got my cervix checked for the first time. It wasn't too fun...fairly uncomfortable but nothing I couldn't deal with. But I found that I was 1 centimeter dilated. Of course, this means nothing really. But, at the same time, I guess it's encouraging that things are progressing. Not sure that news was worth the spotting I got for the next day, but, I'm not a doctor. (of medicine....just a doctor of hollywood trivia.) We also had our first little scare at the doctor's office as the doc couldn't find the lil' guy's heartbeart very easily. It was the first time it had been a problem and, of course, I didn't react well when I saw the look of concern and puzzlement on her face. She decided to hook me up to a fetal monitor for 20 minutes so she could make sure everything looked okay. So I got to strap on these sensors on my belly and watch a little print-out with every heartbeat of the little guy. Thank goodness that John randomly decided to attend the appointment with me after not going for weeks. Turns out the trickster was fine. I think he was just in a weird position at first. And I think he's big so it's tight in there for him. But he stayed between 140 and 160 bpm and the doc assured us all was good. So home we went with instructions to come back in a week.

The good news is that I got a hair cut this week and we also assembled all the remaining baby stuff. See? Here I am with my new hair and awesome pack n' play. Of course, my hair didn't look like that the day after and won't look like that again, but it was nice while it lasted.

And now, for the weekly stats:

How far along: 38 weeks

Baby Development: My newsletters are getting a bit boring because there's no new fruit and vegetable comparisons. He's big (around 7 lbs and 20 inches) and he is fully prepared to come out at any time. But I give him another 2 weeks at least.

Baby Movement: Well, he's been moving a little less, hence the scare. But he still loves to move around a lot around 4am.

Water Intake: Utter failure. In fact, until 3 seconds ago when I saw this prompt on my blog, I forgot that there was such a beverage as 'water'.

Best Moment this Week: I think all of the 'real' dinners I got to have with John this week. He got off work pretty early every night so I actually had the chance to make proper dinners and eat at the table. Sounds crazy but it's definitely not the norm for Hollywood employees!

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Is he moving enough. The doctor really got us scared and now I'm doing kick counts. That and worried about all the billion genetic disorders that don't kick in until a child is 12 months old or so. That just doesn't seem fair.

Symptoms: Just more of the same. Some heartburn. Pressure down there and on my bladder. Lots of waddling. And nowadays John offers to help me up off the couch. Wow, that's pathetic.

Sleep Quality: Okay, so I may have made a slight breakthrough. But it requires THREE non-head pillows. Two between my legs (including my awesome body pillow), one getting hugged at my chest and then two under my head. And if I twist my body just so, I can get a good stretch of sleep in.

Food Cravings: Tostada salads. Weird. But if this kid doesn't like Mexican, I don't know what else I could have done.

What I Miss: Popping up off the couch or jumping out of bed. There is certainly none of that. In fact, I'm lucky if it doesn't take a grunt to get out of bed.

I'm Looking Forward to: Fun weekend with the hubby, Leigh, and the SAG awards. Good times.

Trying to Get Done Before Baby: We may be crazy, but we're trying to redecorate and PAINT the guest room. Yeah. All in the next week before baby. Ridiculous? Yes. But we've been meaning to do it for 3 years. I'll let you know if this actually happens.

John's POV: “It was flat out good luck that I had a lull at work and could sneak out for Lisa's appointment. I hadn't been in a few weeks, and all I was going to do was kill time with a Staples run and some 'Plants vs. Zombies'. (I've already 3-starred 'Angry Birds' to death.) I could see Lisa's worry wheels start to spin as soon as our doctor suggested a run on the fetal monitor 'just to be sure'. I'm surprised we ever hear anything on the heart monitor she usually uses. Looks like something Texas Instruments made in the 80s. But the fetal monitor made the lil' trickster sound like John Bonham. Boom-boom-boom-boom. But even if the little guy had launched into 'Moby Dick', Lisa would have still been a little shaken up. We'd gotten accustomed to 'Everything sounds great' and 'See you in a week'. You'll get these unpleasant splashes of cold water in the face every so often, where you're reminded of the fragility of the situation. Keeps you on your toes at best. Scares the crap out of you at worst.”

Today I am...37 weeks pregnant.

Well, here I am again. Bigger and...better? Well, not better because I've amped up my complaining about aches and pains this week. I thought the lil' guy had dropped and that my heartburn was a thing of the past. He gently reminded me that I was naive and ridiculous and didn't know a thing about pregnancy. So I hit the Maalox bottle again which, as always, helped the situation. Sleeping has gotten pretty dreadful. Gotten to the point where I don't really even look forward to going to bed because I know it'll be achy. Lots of tossing and turning to try to alleviate the pain in my hips. But, it's not all bad. John's always there with every awakening to make sure I'm okay.

With three weeks left, I am torn between thinking the big day is right around the corner and thinking that I really have at least 4 weeks left. A whole month. Which is a long time. So yes, the bag is not packed, and I'm not completely ready. But I haven't had any Braxton-Hicks contractions or any signs of early labor. I think he's pretty much settled in there and I've got a little time. Or at least I'm hoping I do.

This week I met the 3rd and final OB partner at my doctor's practice. She was fantastic so I've decided that if my OB doesn't make it to my delivery, I would be okay with one of the other two doctors. But we'll see how it goes. Maybe the lil' guy will cooperate and want to make his debut during the day on a weekday. We also met a pediatrician this week. Our health insurance referred us to a 4 doctor practice which is, luckily, near our house. We met one of the doctors who we liked. She seems good though we left debating if she was "warm and fuzzy" enough for a pediatrician. But, then again, maybe she didn't whip out that side of her while talking to do 30 year olds. Anyways, I guess we'll see how it goes once we start going to her.

And here's what's going on this week:

How far along: 37 weeks

Baby Development: My newsletter today said he is the size of a watermelon! Holy moly. I just thought that was a figure of speech. Like "I carried a watermelon". But no wonder why it's so awkward to walk around.

Baby Movement: He's still going in there. Sometimes it looks and feels like a movie where a bomb or missile explodes like a foot under the ground and the whole surface makes a big rise and fall move. That's what my belly looks like sometimes.

Water Intake: I'm failing. It was so easy when I sat at a desk all day. Now, at home? Not so much. Must do better this week.

Best Moment this Week: Probably finding out that my good friend Leigh got engaged! So happy for her. Hopefully the little guy doesn't completely get in the way of pre-wedding fun.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Breastfeeding probably. I'm reading so many books with so many ideas and how and when to breastfeed and all the potential problems. Kind of nerve-wracking. And of course there's no way to prepare for it.

Symptoms: Well, no contractions even though most 37-weekers feel Braxton-Hicks contractions. Like I said, I think I'm a late bloomer. Definitely have to go to the bathroom all the time though and I'm getting less mobile.

Sleep Quality: Please. Don't talk to me about sleep. My legs and arms keep falling asleep under the crushing weight of my body. And I get to go the bathroom two or three times a night. And I get to go over my long to-do lists in the middle of the night. So fun!

Food Cravings: Ice Cream milkshakes. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. But think of all that dairy!

What I Miss: I miss the energy of work and all my friends there.

I'm Looking Forward to: We've got our annual Maggiano's dinner this weekend with the LA posse. This is like our 8th year in a row!

Trying to Get Done Before Baby: I am finally getting a haircut so I can check that off the list. I installed the car seat yesterday so that's done. I think it's time to assemble that baby swing, bouncer, and stroller though.

John's POV: “We stumbled onto ‘Bill Cosby: Himself’ on the TV the other day. Right at the childbirth part. Right at the part where he jokingly asks the doctor to put his newborn baby back because it’s not done cooking yet. Then the next 30-40 minutes are all about his huge family and how 'brain damaged' his kids are. I used to really, really laugh at this stand-up. I’m laughing less now.”

Today I am...36 weeks pregnant.

I can’t believe I only have a month to go. Though, knowing that I’m likely to be late, I hesitate to say that I only have 4 weeks left. Nonetheless, things are slowly coming together. The baby newsletters all say I should pack my hospital bag this week but I am not mentally or physically at that point. I have plenty of time! Who wants to give up their favorite comfy pants just to pack in a bag? So I’ll put that off. Besides, I haven’t even started Braxton-Hicks contractions so we’re in no danger.

This past week we had an Infant CPR class as well as a Breastfeeding class at The Pump Station. The breastfeeding class was amazing! Finally, an instructor who was still excited and in awe of the process and who inspired excitement in the attendees. We learned a lot and John even got to share a beer with Tom Hanks’ son. I met my OB’s partner at my last doctor’s appointment. Just so I know who she is if my doctor is unavailable. From here on out, I’ll be going to the doctor’s office once a week.

Here’s the rest of my stats:

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Baby Development: The little guy is apparently about 6 pounds which means he could fit in most of the Newborn clothes I have hanging in the closet (which I’m sure he’ll never wear). He’s about 18.5 inches long and is starting to shed some of the fine body hair that he’s had this whole time.

Baby Movement: Big turns and pushes, creating large waves across my belly

Water Intake: Oh, leave me alone.

Best Moment this Week: Celebrating John’s 36^th birthday. I made the famous Stromboli all by myself!

Current baby/pregnancy worry: After an educational Infant CPR class, our heads were filled with worst-case scenarios

Symptoms: God help me, I think I’ve started the pregnancy waddle.

Sleep Quality: Sleeping is getting harder and harder. This week I tried to put a second pillow between my knees and that seemed to help.

Food Cravings: Oddly, yogurt, fruit, and granola

What I Miss: a big Diet Coke from a fountain soda with ice

I’m Looking Forward to: The Golden Globes on Sunday. Pregnant or not, I can still enjoy that.

Trying to get done before baby: John and I are trying to eat at some of our favorite restaurants before the little guy ruins all of our fine dining.

John's POV: “I’ve been pressuring Lisa to pack a bag since that line item began popping up on the newsletters. She keeps putting it off. I have no idea why. All of her “comfy pants” look the same to me. She can’t pick one and throw them in a bag?”

Today I am...35 weeks pregnant.

Five weeks away from D-day. We had a good week. We got a tour of the Good Samaritan hospital where I’ll be delivering. Not the nicest hospital in LA, that’s for sure. But I do love my doctor and this is the place she’s affiliated with so I’m sure it’ll be fine. Just hope the nurses on duty that day are nice and helpful. The postpartum/recovery room is tiny but I guess that means less visitors. We also had the doctor’s appointment we’d been waiting for – the one where we go to a special perinatologist for a measuring ultrasound. These weight estimates can be so far off but our doctor told her that she estimated our little guy would be around 8 to 8.25 pounds at delivery. 63^rd percentile. That’s all well and good, unless he’s over a week late and we’re talking a 9 pounder. No one wants that.

We also had my mom and sister up which was great. Finally got some nursing bras, which I hear are helpful while breastfeeding. I had the distinction of the saleswoman telling me I was the hardest woman to fit for a bra that she’d ever had. Yeah, I know. I get that a lot. I also finally had to bite the bullet and get diapers, wipes, etc. for the baby. It just still seems so far away for me but mom was right…time to get prepared.

And now for the stats:

How Far Along: 35 Weeks

Baby Development: Pretty sure he’s over 5.5 pounds. The emails tell me his physical development is pretty much done and now he’s just going to put on some weight. Sounds like a pretty sweet life.

Baby Movement: Still moving around in there. Sometimes it’s a giant jolt like an earthquake.

Water Intake: Definitely lacking now that I’ve been home a while. I need to get on that.

Best Moment of the Week: Hearing at our special ultrasound appointment that I was one of those “extremely normal” women where everything looked average and great with the baby.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: I really don’t want my belly button to pop. It hasn’t yet but…

Symptoms: I think the little guy has finally dropped because my heartburn has lessened (yay!) but my trips to the bathroom have become more frequent. Thank god I’m not working so no one else has to see me get up and go to the bathroom every 30 minutes.

Sleep Quality: Terrible. Why don’t they tell you that you won’t be able to sleep? The books force you to sleep on your side but, guess what? All of that weight (and it’s A LOT) practically kills your hip so you have to rotate sides all the time. With a body pillow in tow and a giant belly, that’s not that easy. And I’m pretty sure John never sleeps through my grunts and hard work every time I do it.

Food Cravings: Pancakes. Which is so weird because I haven’t made pancakes myself in probably 10 years.

What I miss: Sleeping like a rock

What I’m looking forward to: One day being able to run errands without using so many public restrooms

Trying to get done before baby: Cleaning out our filing cabinet and reorganizing that whole closet.

John's POV: “I’m back to the studio for a couple weeks and the commute isn’t quite as enjoyable. Now it just feels like a long friggin’ drive and a long friggin’ walk. I still check on Lisa via IM, but it’s not the same. See? I got spoiled. Of course, it’s a cush couple of weeks with late INs and early OUTs. What am I going to do when I get a real movie job again when I’m working 60+ hours a week bare minimum? A bridge to road rage across as I slowly crawl towards its entrance ramp.”

Today I am...34 weeks pregnant.

Getting closer and closer but, with the holidays here, it’s been a welcome distraction. We spent Christmas in LA for the first time and it was nice to celebrate, just the two of us. I suppose it’s probably our first and last quiet Christmas. I’m told by the powers-that-be that fill my email inbox every week that I should be doing my birth plan. Now, I’m generally a type A, organized nut, but writing out a birth plan just seems silly. No one has any idea how their body is going to react or what it’s going to be like so how am I qualified to write out a birth plan? It’s like saying that I’m going snorkeling in South Africa and, while I’ve never been snorkeling or to South Africa, I’d like to tell you all how it’s going to be. Of course not. I leave it up to the professionals. My tour guides. My nurses and doctor. Sure, I don’t want a c-section but, as my doctor said when I told her that, yes, of course. No one wants a c-section. I suppose I could type that out but it would be a short birth plan.

And now for the stats:

How far along: 34 weeks

Baby Development: Baby is apparently filling out and getting rounder. He weighs as much as a cantaloupe which explains my tiredness.

Baby Movement: Very pronounced and big kicks.

Water Intake: Hey, it’s the holidays. Aren’t we on a break?

Best Moment of the Week: Having John home all week and watching “Christmas Vacation” with him in honor of the holiday.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Starting to seriously worry about actually delivering this baby. I hear it’s kind of painful.

Symptoms: My hands and finger joints are starting to ache and become all mushy. I feel like I couldn’t grab onto something really tightly. My wedding ring is getting very tight.

Sleep Quality: I’ve had better. But I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse.

Food Cravings: Everything

What I miss: Working out. Ha! Just kidding.

What I’m Looking Forward to: Being able to one day turn over in bed like a normal person.

Trying to get done before baby: Hanging some wall décor in our house that we’re been procrastinating on for 2 years.

John's POV: “LA at Christmas time is about relaxing as it can get for a city that routinely gets my bile boiling and turns my knuckles white. Definitely a holiday we’ll always remember, since we had never truly spent one alone with just each other, and probably won’t again for a long, long time.”

Today I am...33 weeks pregnant.

This week was my first week not working and it was glorious. I didn’t realize how hard it had been getting to work all those hours. But it was nice to take it easy and be able to put my feet up for part of the day. Being off work means that my house projects begin and there are many of them. Right now it feels like there is a lot of time before baby comes but I’m not so sure.

We had our childbirth class at Cedars Sinai this week. About 12 couples with pillows and mats watching childbirth videos and hearing in detail all the things that will go on during labor. I think I knew most of the info presented but it was helpful to John. There were a lot of breathing exercises where the instructor would say “okay, a contraction is starting, now breathe through the pain.” Guess what my reaction was in the 2 minutes of silence that followed? Yeah, giggling and stifling laughter. I felt pretty bad but, come on. Of course I can breathe calmly while sitting in a warm room, fully clothed, in zero pain. How do I know how I’m going to react when I’m in the worst pain of my life? Oh well. That’s why yoga and meditation is not for me.

But the highlight of this past week was welcoming our new niece Sophia! John’s sister may have been around the globe in Berlin, but we were certainly thinking of her as we got word that her water had broken. Sounds like Joelle handled her natural childbirth like a champ and her baby girl is beautiful. Can’t wait for the cousins to be so close in age and play together.

And now for the stats:

How far along: 33 weeks

Baby Development: As big as a pineapple and losing that wrinkly alien look. (So they say).

Baby Movement: Pretty sure the little guy is doing somersaults and acrobatics.

Water Intake: Does eggnog count?

Best Moment of the Week: Meeting our new little niece Sophia over Skype!

Current baby/pregnancy worry: the latest terrible website I saw was about SIDS so that’s on my mind.

Symptoms: Heartburn. No, seriously. The worst heartburn of all time. So bad that I woke up practically choking on my own acidic vomit-type stuff. It is by far the worst pregnancy symptom I’ve had all these months.

Sleep Quality: Pretty crappy. I wish I could sleep on my back!

Food Cravings: Prime Rib

What I miss: Not having to chug Maalox once a night.

What I’m Looking Forward to: Christmas day and exchanging presents with John!!

Trying to get done before baby: Hanging the alphabet cards in the baby’s nursery.

John's POV: “Joelle was always the looker of the family. I mean, I wasn’t voted Prom King. I wasn’t even nominated. But you can already see even at 2 days that Sophia’s going to get the Prom Queen’s good looks. She is adorable.”

Today I am...32 weeks pregnant.

This past week was huge! Probably my busiest week yet. It started off with a birthday party for my one-year-old nephew, Johnny. He is easily the cutest baby I have ever seen (and I say when I think a baby is ugly so this is no lie). Unfortunately, that means our little guy is in for a rough ride when taking pictures side by side with Johnny, but he’ll have to learn to cope. He certainly won’t be a blonde haired, blue eyed, Gerber baby. Then that same night we had Christmas party to attend. I managed to stay up until 11:30 or so but when I got home I was in for a rude awakening. I took off my high-heeled boots which had felt tight all day (after 14 hours in them) and found someone else’s legs attached to my waist. I mean, they must have been my legs but my calves were as big as my torso and my ankles were non-existent. I have never seen such a thing. As I stood in the bathroom and freaked out, John assured me that it was only because I was on my feet all day and this wasn’t going to last the duration of my pregnancy. I was skeptical. I mean, what in the hell did he know? How many times had he been pregnant? But, following his advice, I got into bed, and hoped to find a different pair of legs in the morning. And what do you know? Voila. In the morning my legs were back. Granted, they were nothing to write home about in the first place but I was happy to have them. The next day was my San Diego baby shower and it was a ton of fun. Friends, family, and presents galore!

Today was my last day at work and it happy and a little bittersweet. I am happy to not have to get up at 5am, not get home at 9:30pm, not get out of breath every time I trek to set. But the goodbyes were hard because it’s hard to leave a movie before it’s finished. Hard to go home knowing they’ll be there for the next 5 months, finishing the movie. But I did get a lot of nice things said to me and a few gifts which were appreciated.

Enough about that, on to the stats:

How far along: 32 weeks

Baby Development: Baby is a large jicama (?) and starting to gain weight fast.

Baby Movement: Bigger movements rather than small kicks and jabs.

Water Intake: Decent. But going to work in 40 degree weather is putting a damper on my iced water intake.

Best Moment of the Week: Saying goodbye to my long work commute.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: post-partum recovery and the terrible things your body goes through.

Symptoms: More of the same. Achiness, heartburn, uncomfortable.

Sleep Quality: Ahh, I remember when sleep was quality.

Food Cravings: Breakfast burritos

What I miss: Being able to walk at a normal adult pace, rather than a mosey.

What I’m Looking Forward to: Sleeping in next week!

Trying to get done before baby: Putting up the pretty wall decals in the nursery.

John's POV: “The mosey is the standard pace of my dad. It is a slow-down-and-take-it-all-in pace. And it’s the only pace that Lisa can do in the morning. At night, she operates at roughly a double-mosey. The reward of getting home, getting into PJs, and getting off her feet is what helps her take it to the next gear. We did a lot of moseying at the studio since it’s a long-ass walk from the parking garage, and part of me will miss it. We got really lucky with our jobs for this pregnancy. Surrounded by lovely people, able to steal away for a mid-day visit, commuting through unbearable traffic together, moseying together. Hopefully we haven’t been spoiled by it.”

Today I am...31 weeks pregnant.

Ahh, week 31. A pretty tough week because of work. It was our first week of shooting on this little superhero movie and it was a long one. Shooting means up before 5 for the hour-long commute and not getting home until 9:30 or so. And that’s me leaving early because I’m the “poor pregnant woman”. I feel a little silly walking around set with a giant belly but no one really seems to mind. Or really take notice. Not sure if it’s because of the long hours (I guess I don’t need an MD to see that) but I am the most tired I’ve been so far. Absolutely exhausted when I get home.

This past weekend we got a Christmas tree and decorated the whole house for the holiday. It is one of my favorite things to do because I love this time of year!

And now, for the stats:

How far along: 31 weeks

Baby Development: The lil’ guy is apparently as big as a bag of oranges and can now suck his thumb.

Baby Movement: Lots of moving and he seems to get the hiccups a lot. That’s funny.

Water Intake: Not bad. Not good. Maybe 8 glasses a day?

Best Moment of the Week: Having my amazing husband put up the Christmas lights and the Christmas tree.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Those first few weeks after birth. Okay, first few months. Sounds like we’re in for a rough ride.

Symptoms: Tired, sleepy, achy.

Sleep Quality: I’m trying not to disturb John’s sleep too much with all of my tossing and turning.

Food Cravings: Pasta and red sauce (which leads to heartburn!)

What I miss: Staying up past 10pm. Although, let’s be honest, I was always in bed by 11 pre-pregnancy.

What I’m Looking Forward to: San Diego baby shower coming up.

Trying to get done before baby: all of my Christmas shopping.

John's POV: “We had some friends over to help trim the tree/give Lisa a pat on the butt for aging. After everyone left I gave Lisa one last gift, an ornament with the name we’ve picked out for the trickster. No one else got to see it, and we put it in the back somewhere just in case company came a’callin’. I love the name we’ve picked out, but I’ve started warning people that despite the suspense we’re building by delaying the unveiling, it’s going to be an underwhelming reveal. This is where the parental narcissism that every expecting couple goes through clouds your judgment. No one’s gonna really get blown away by a child’s name. We’ve not invented a new way to combine consonants and we’re not using an umlaut. But expecting parents do sort of feel that way. And who’s to say they shouldn’t? It means a lot to us. And probably holding onto the info a little bit longer makes it even a little more precious. Forgive us. And do us the favor of feigning wonderment when we send you a text at 2am after 36 hours of labor with the reveal. Thanks.”

Today I am...30 weeks pregnant.

A big week for the Trickster household. I turned 32 years old and John and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary. (10 years of dating, not marriage.) Ten years is a long time. A LONG time and a lot has happened. I’ve certainly changed since he met me at age 21. And now I’m 32. Might be considered old in some towns to start a family but, luckily, in LA, and especially in the film business, everyone is acting like I am shockingly young to be pregnant. It’s nice never to have felt any pressure. That being said, talk to me in 13 years when we’ve got a teenager and I’m in my mid-40s and exhausted and wishing I was younger. But, truly, I am glad this is happening now. John and I got to do a lot of amazing things and take a lot of fantastic trips. And I can’t wait to be a parent with him and see him become a father.

Enough of the mushy stuff, here are this week’s stats:

How far along: 30 weeks

Baby Development: It’s getting a little crowded in there but I think he still has room for kicking and rolling. Especially since he’s kicking me in all my internal organs.

Baby Movement: Plenty.

Water Intake: I’m trying. Straws definitely help.

Best Moment of the Week: Having my father-in-law and husband build the little one’s crib. It looks great and I’m so glad they got to do it together.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Just a general worry about his health, from newborn on up to about 4 years.

Symptoms: More heartburn and so many aches and pains. Maybe from sitting in my office chair for too many hours.

Sleep Quality: It’s okay. Getting up about once a night.

Food Cravings: my homemade turkey chili

What I miss: Nothing. It was a great week with family.

What I’m Looking Forward to: The holidays...a nice quiet Christmas at home.

Trying to get done before baby: Clean out the garage so it’s actually usable.

John's POV: “With us working most of the time and leaving my parents to their own devices, it was tough to keep the old man from assembling every piece of nursery furniture that was in a holding pattern in the garage. I was lucky he waited for me. And it definitely meant more getting to assemble it with him. As far as Lisa’s birthday, I got her a lovely assortment of gifts, but what she got me in return was the best: for our 'anniversary', (dating, not marriage) she framed the 'Songs: Ohia' poster I took off the wall at Spaceland during our first date. I don’t know how I held onto it as long as I did, but it was a lovely token of the distance we’ve come to where we are now.”