Count your blessings

Today an 8.9 earthquake hit Japan and a tsunami followed creating massive destruction and death.  It's on days like this that I can't help but thank G-d for all of the things that I am blessed with and send out lots of prayers for those that are less fortunate, especially in times like these.  Today, and every day,  I am thankful for the following (not necessarily in order):       

1.  My precious baby girl, growing in my belly.  All of her hiccups, kicks, and jabs that let me know that she's still okay.

2.  My incredible husband with his hilarious sense of humor, his dedication, attention, affection, loyalty, friendship, intelligence, and patience with me, our pregnancy and lives.

3.  My huge family - my mom and her side, my dad and his side, my step-mother and her side, and Josh's side and all of my brothers and sisters and their families too. 

4.  A beautiful roof over our head.

5.  Reliable transportation.

6.  Health.

7.  Insurance.

8.  Scooter & Bailey that bring a smile to my face many, many times a day.

9.  Food. 

10.  Education.

11.  Employment (even though I may not love my job).

12.  Friends.  Josh and I are very blessed with all of the wonderful people we can call friends.

13.  Freedom.

14.  Religion.

15.  Clean water.

16.  Running water, electricity, and gas.

17.  Good neighbors.

18.  Clothes (even if almost none of them fit right now) and shoes.

19.  Medical care.

20.  Disposable income.

What are you thankful for?

You're Waddling! I WISH!

The past couple weeks have been hard.  The pregnancy has been going great, but now that Piper is in position (head down) I am in a LOT of pain. 

What is the Sciatic Nerve?
The sciatic nerve is the longest and thickest nerve in the human body, measuring just under an inch in width, comparative to the diameter of a finger. The sciatic nerve runs from the lower spine, through the pelvic area, and down through the hip and back of the leg. The sciatic nerve is the major nerve supplier to the legs, and it branches out to provides movement and feeling to the hip, thigh, knee, calf, ankle, foot and toes.
The sciatic nerve, in spite of its length and size, normally behaves like all other nerves; it transmits signals to and from the muscles and the brain. All movement and feeling in the legs and feet are dependent on the proper function of the sciatic nerve and its branches.

When the sciatic nerve becomes inflamed, pinched, or injured, the symptoms are known as sciatica. A troublesome sciatic nerve resulting in sciatica can cause acute pain anywhere from the lower back and hips to the feet and toes. In these severe cases, sciatica can result in a loss of feeling or reflexes, and/or weakness in the hips and legs. 

Symptoms of sciatica can include pains such as cramping, burning, or shooting sensations in the hip and thigh, though the pain can extend all the way to the foot and toes. These symptoms can be aggravated by simple movements such as coughing, bending, or squatting, all of which put pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Pregnant women often suffer from sciatica as the sciatic nerve runs directly under the uterus from the spine to the legs. The developing baby puts pressure on the sciatic nerve, resulting in mounting pain through the course of the pregnancy.

Lucky me.  This is exactly what has been going on.  For the past 2 weeks or so, I have had trouble walking.  I definitely "waddle" because I can barely walk one foot in front of the other due to the pain.  It feels better to walk when I dig my thumb in to one particular part of my butt while I walk, but since people look at you funny when you do this, I try not to do it at work. 

It's gotten so bad that I don't get up to get water during the day at work because A) I have to walk too far to the kitchen to get it and B) then I have to go to the bathroom all the time and it's too far. 

This week, I have had 3 awful episodes.  In the first one, I couldn't get off the couch and I was basically paralyzed.  It was scary!  The second episode happened when I was standing in Piper's closet putting stuff away and I couldn't walk out of the closet.  It feels like I've been struck by lightening and I can't move my legs without screaming in pain.  Josh eventually helped me down on the floor (half in the closet, half out) where I laid for about 20 minutes before I could move.  The third time happened on Monday when I was at Taco Bueno (my favorite) by myself for lunch and I couldn't get up out of the booth I was sitting in.  I had to sit there for about 15 minutes trying to get the feeling back in my legs.  Not fun.  Totally embarassing (when in public).  And not cool!

I go to the doctor today for my 33 week check up.  Hopefully she can recommend something to relieve the pain.  If not, it's going to be a looooonnnnnnggg and painful 7 weeks...

Parents-To-Be with Priorit-Tees

Before (and after) Josh and I got married we had a tradition of really living it up on St. Patrick's day here in Dallas.  I have always said, "it's the best day in Dallas".  In fact, it was on this day in 2005 that we decided to take our "friendship" to a new level and began dating. 

This year, although 8 months pregnant, is no different.  Unless of course you count the fact that we are signed up for breastfeeding classes that morning.  From 9:00AM until 11:30 that morning we will be learning the ins and outs of one of the most important bonding experiences we can share with our little baby. 

In years past, from 9:00-11:30 on this very day, we would be imbibing on bloody marys until we switched to beer for the rest of the day. 

Once we realized that we would be in class on this very important day, our first thought was to reschedule the class.  I even contacted the hospital to see about switching to another day when it occurred to me that this class is a priority! 

What were we thinking?!  From now on, our daughter comes first and if that means we have to show up to the St. Patty's day festivities 3 hours later than normal, then she's worth it.

See?  We're growing up and maturing right before your very eyes!  I'm so proud of us.  :)