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Journal :: August 2005
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03.08.2005 (wed)
I went out for a brief period in the morning to pay the rent on the garage and spent the rest of the day pretending it wasn't flaming hot. I sat outside the bedroom, like I normally do, reading Harry Potter, but after a while I had to turn on the AC in the room just to catch the occasional breeze that would slip out the door.
It seems tomorrow will be ever hotter so I doubt I'll be doing that again, but I've finished the book anyway, so it won't matter much.

The constant indigestion and heartburn continue to worsen despite the fact that I've been eating less and less each day. That's easy enough to prove because my belly keeps increasing in size but I weigh the same. Since I've already passed the total ideal weight for the whole 40 weeks and am only on week 34, I figured a little diet wouldn't hurt.

The other annoying little things at this point are the unbelievable amount of stretch marks that have been cutting across my hips and the painful stretching feeling, almost like a burning sensation, on the upper part of the belly (right where my stomach used to be). I keep putting on the moisturiser but it doesn't seem to make much difference.
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04.08.2005 (thu)
Woke up early, had breakfast and after hubby left for work I tried to get some more sleep. But Jones insisted on trying to sleep on my head so I couldn't actually rest.

The cleaning lady finally came back, after a month and a half, so I'll have a bit less work this weekend.

At 1 PM I tried to cook lunch but there was no gas. I assumed that it was connected with the water plumbing replacement and later checked that I was right. So I had a tuna sandwich instead.
At a quarter past two I went out. I had to pick up some documents and my test results.
The worst thing about walking on the street is that I feel like a freak. Every single person that passes me will stare with no attempt at concealing it at all. What is so strange about a pregnant woman anyway? Don't people see tons of them everyday? Isn't it the most natural thing in the world? I don't get it.
I just think people are complete perverts and a pregnant woman is just someone they can tell for sure has had sex. People are obsessed with sex.

It's a really hot day today so it was probably not the greatest idea in the world to go out, but I'm going to the doctor tomorrow and needed the tests.

I took a bus uptown but decided to walk back home. It was fine but I was feeling a bit faint when I got back and took a while to recover. The tests were fine except for the anaemia that seems to be getting a bit worse but was expected. I suppose it accounts for how tired I feel all the time and the occasional dizziness.
I turned on the AC in the living room and had some peaches (really tiny ones that my mother brought the other day, from their own peach tree). By 4.30 I was feeling terribly tired and fighting a great urge to eat pastry. I've been really good for the past couple of weeks but once in a while I just get these pangs like I'll explode if I don't eat something with huge amounts of sugar. Talk about addiction...

We're considering a new name for the baby. I have been trying out the other one but I'm still not entirely convinced. The short version 'Alex' is fine, but the full name is too long and just doesn't sound right. In a way we just picked a name because everyone kept asking 'so have you picked a name yet?' and it's just easier to have a reply than spend the next two hours discussing options with everyone we meet.
But now that it's getting closer we're reconsidering our options again. It's a really hard thing to decide. Even harder when you've spent the last few months thinking you had it covered :)
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05.08.2005 (fri)
We had a pre-natal appointment late this afternoon. Everything was running late so we ended up waiting an hour before going in which resulted in phone calls from my mother-in-law trying to find out what happened while we were still in there. I hate cell phones at times like these because I forget to shut it off and then feel totally embarrassed when it starts to ring.
But everything seems fine and we have to go back in two weeks.

On our way home we stopped at blockbuster so I could rent a few movies to watch while hubby's at the Martial Arts Summer Camp this week. During the week there's always a couple of TV shows to watch but on the weekend there's nothing and I'm going to be alone all day tomorrow.
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07.08.2005 (sun)
We went to the park in the afternoon because I was going mad being locked up at home. We found a shade under a bunch of trees on the lawn and stayed there for a couple of hours.
I tried reading but the book was boring me so I gave it up. It's probably the first time I actually give up on a book (I normally suffer to the end even if I don't like it) but right now I have no patient for yet another thing that gives me any kind of discomfort.

After a while we took some pictures of the two of us and my belly, which has gotten huge these past couple of weeks. I guess we don't have much longer to document it and then it will be over, so it's kind of the last chance :)
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09.08.2005 (tue)
It rained today so we stayed home.
At lunchtime I got a call from my brother letting me know he had just driven my mother to the hospital. Apparently she was walking down the street on the wet pavement and fell. She tried supporting herself with her right hand and broke her wrist.

I called her a few times during the day only to find that she spent most of it in the hospital waiting room until she was finally seen by a doctor five hours later and got some X-rays done that confirmed a fracture.

It's just one of those really annoying things that happen out of nowhere and basically incapacitate you for months. She can't drive, she can barely get dressed by herself and won't be able to go back to work for who knows how long. But apparently the thing she commented on was how she wasn't going to be able to pick up the baby :)

In the afternoon we went to the mall so hubby could buy some sandals and we got some of sunday's pictures developed. They turned out pretty good. I don't know when I'll have the patience to scan them but I'll try... I look like an oversized bee in my blue and white stripe top :)
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11.08.2005 (thu)
Since hubby was going to be at the summer camp all day, I went with him in the afternoon. Armed with a book and a folding chair I sat in the shade of a huge tree and read all afternoon while groups of people around me fought with sticks and shouted occasionally.

During a break my mother, whose hand is completely swollen, could not resist introducing me to everyone she knew which made me feel a bit like a circus freak. When it was over hubby took me home and then went back for Master Yang's birthday party. I was tired, swollen and had a movie to watch so I stayed home.
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12.08.2005 (fri)
Hubby had a free day from his summer camp so we went to the beach for the afternoon. It was really pleasant, with no wind. The only snag was that the sea was completely wild and so we couldn't go for a swim. Which was a shame because the water was actually quite warm.
We stayed till 7 PM and I read quite a bit and had a little nap. I guess the one good thing about summer is that despite the damn heat, especially when your ankles swell up like balloons, it's actually nice to be outdoors.
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13.08.2005 (sat)
My friend Carla came over this afternoon. We hadn't met in a while so it was nice to chat with her for a couple of hours.
She brought an interesting tea mix, made out of fruit and flowers and I actually liked it but made it a bit too strong.
Carla also brought presents - a Miss Marple book for me and a Moleskin notebook for Pedro. I felt like a terrible host after getting all this stuff :)

During all the time we were taking over the living room, hubby was hidden away in the office playing computer games. But I don't think he felt too bad about it because he keeps complaining about having all these games that he never has the time to play.
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14.08.2005 (sun)
This was the last day of the summer camp but hubby had classes all day so I was home alone. When he came over at lunchtime we went to blockbuster to rent some movies so I'd have something to do in the afternoon.

Around 7 hubby called to say classes were over but there was going to be a closing ceremony at night, where they hand out the participation certificates, and asking if I wanted to go. I said OK so he came over to pick me up.

It started around 8.30 and it didn't last very long. Afterwards I went over to talk to my mother who then tried to pull me over to introduce me to Master Yang. It's like she's hooked on being the centre of attention and wants everyone to know who she is and who her whole family is. Since I'm the complete opposite of that, typical wallflower, felling happier in a corner when nobody sees me, I was not pleased and refused to go. There's nothing worse than being presented to people as some kind of freak and having to sport that yellow smile while it's happening. And I thought the years when my parent could embarrass me were over.
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15.08.2005 (mon) - 36 weeks
At lunchtime we went out to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I liked it a lot, especially the sets in the factory. It's one of those stories that could turn out to be a really bad movie but it's a Tim Burton movie so I was fairly confident and was not disappointed.

After the movie we met up with my in-laws for lunch. They had been clothes shopping and, once more, did not resist buying something for the baby - it really looks like I won't have to worry about how much baby clothes cost or how quickly he grow cause the grandparents are making sure there's enough stuff for the first year all by themselves :)

Something my mother-in-law said made me think, though: she said that girl clothes are much cuter and you really feel like buying them all. And I think she's right - if I was having a girl I'd probably spend a lot more money on clothes. As it is they're fun because they're so tiny but not so irresistible. So I'm actually saving lots of money by having a boy :)

After lunch we did some shopping. Hubby insisted that I should buy a bikini. He says I look like I'm wearing a sack in my bathing suit. I don't feel entirely comfortable showing of my huge stomach but I'll give it a try.
I also got a dress and a t-shirt plus a couple new bubble gum books (which is what I call the book version of romantic comedies - not that great but wonderful for the summer when you just want to lie back and relax).

Hubby finally bought the pillow he's been craving for months. It costs a lot but hopefully it will help with all the neck pain he's been having. I think it's worth spending money to have a mobile husband instead of a hunchback that can barely turn his head. He's done all these other treatments already so it's one more try.

At night we watched 'Super size me'. It's an interesting film and really makes you think about you eat on a daily basis. I don't actually eat burgers much (and none since I got pregnant) and we normally buy the meat and make the burgers ourselves, but I have other stuff, from breakfast cereal to the occasional pizza, and when you actually bother to really look at the labels on cereal or yogurts, for example, and realise how much sugar there is in it and start calculating the weekly amount, it gets pretty plain why we gain weight so easily.
The trouble is that I still prefer stuff with sugar rather than those replacement sweeteners that are these weird chemicals that may cause cancer and all sorts of other health problems. So I have accepted putting up with the sugar content so far, but i'm going to start looking for options. The problem is always that, like I mentioned before regarding non-animal tested products, alternative healthier foods are hard to find in supermarkets and we don't really have a lot of health food shops to chose from. In fact, some of the stuff that is sold in these health food places can be just as bad so you still need to be careful about what you buy. It takes forever to shop when you have to read the labels of every new product you want to try. But I guess laziness is no excuse if you're serious about this stuff :)
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16.08.2005 (tue)
In the morning I spent some time reminding myself how the pram and other baby-moving accessories work and gathering the last few things that needed to be washed. In the middle of all this I got my first breast milk drop. It seems the equipment is starting to work. Since one of my fears was not having any milk by the time the baby is born this is a good sign.

At 5.30 PM hubby drove me to the pre-natal class and then went over to the Mercedes rep to find out when he can leave the car for a tune-up. It seems they're pretty booked these days so we'll have to wait till friday and there are no guarantees we'll get the car back on the same day. This scenario is a bit distressing because it means we won't be able to go anywhere (beach, shopping, etc) during the last 3 days of hubby's vacation. But we'll manage.

After the class we went to the mall for some more shopping. Actually hubby wanted to go to the beach and watch the sunset but I needed to pee and eat something so it wasn't very practical. I hate feeling like I'm spoiling his plans because of my current limitations but there isn't much I can do about it.

We ate I bought some sandals, a pair of work-out pants and a step bench. When we went back to the car to leave the stuff (cause you can't walk around with a step bench under your arm) we realised 2 whole hours had gone by and we still needed to go to the supermarket. But by this time I was so tired that I started having contractions. I had about five in a row withy very few minutes apart. And although I wanted to just keep going and get the shopping done quickly, I had to stop and breathe (like I'm supposed to) because it was getting so uncomfortable.
I guess I really need to start taking it easy a bit more...
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17.08.2005 (wed)
I had a full load on the washing machine when I woke up this morning, so the first thing I did was hang everything on the clothes line. Then I had breakfast and checked my e-mail. It wasn't till later that I realised I completely forgot to count the baby moves.

This afternoon hubby went with me to the pre-natal class. It took twice as long as it usually does because we went through all of the theory plus the breathing exercises.
It was a bit uncomfortable in there because apart from being really hot, we didn't have lunch before going (stupid us) so the baby was kicking like mad and hubby started feeling sick after a while. And I guess the birth photos used as teaching aid didn't help either :)
I mean, it's not exactly a pretty sight :)

After the class we came home to eat something. We had planned on going to the beach still but ended up staying home. We've both been feeling really tired lately because we haven't been sleeping well - me because of the typical pregnancy discomforts like back aches, blocked nose, bathroom runs every two hours and having an increasingly difficult time in getting up from the bed without bursting my knees, and hubby because of his neck pain and trying to adjust to sleeping with a completely different pillow.

I tried resting for a while but it didn't take. I was tired but hyper at the same time so I couldn't shut my brain down long enough to rest. I decided to fold laundry instead - at least I get to sit. It's the walking around that kills me.
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18.08.2005 (thu)
Hubby went to bed at 4 AM so he slept through the whole morning. I watched the movie 'Closer' till the cleaning lady arrived and then woke him up and we got ready for the beach.
It was nice but got a bit windy after a while. A lit before 6 the wind started to really bother me so we left. As soon as I got up I realised it was also a very good idea to leave because I seriously had to pee.
We went to the mall and had an ice cream. Somehow a day at the beach doesn't seem complete without some ice cream :)

Then we bought some more sun screen, cause ours ran out today, and headed home. We stopped by my in-laws' to pick up some stuff, then came home to shower.
I finished watching Closer, which I didn't particularly like much, and we went out again to deliver the movies because we may not have a car tomorrow.
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19.08.2005 (fri)
Hubby took the car to the garage this morning because there were a couple of things that needed to be fixed before the inspection next month. After last time I was expecting a huge bill, especially after someone called saying all the tires needed replacing. But as it turned out the damage wasn't so bad - almost half of what I feared - and we got the car back the same day.

Obviously we didn't ask them to try and fix the AC again. That would have been yet another expensive stupid mistake. We'll figure that part out some other time.
Personally, considering how little we actually use the car, I don't see the need for the AC anyway. But you can't argue that sort of thing with a man - boys and their cars are just one of those impossible combinations when you know you can't possibly win by being reasonable and logical. I blame Top Gear.

When we got the car back we drove to the doctor's. This time there was an examination, apart from the ultrasound, which hurt a bit, but I'm not dilated yet and everything else is still fine, except for one thing: my blood pressure is going up. I had 13/8 when normally I'm around 10/6. If it gets to 14/9 I'm in trouble, so I have too keep it in check from now on. Among other things, this means no more salt. On anything :P
That's going to make for a fun 3 weeks, hum? And here I was thinking that I was a lot more likely to get diabetes than high blood pressure. It just goes to show you can never tell just how freakish your body will behave once you're pregnant.
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20.08.2005 (sat)
We had dinner at my inlaws' tonight. Pedro's aunt Bela and uncle Fernando were there, and so was his sister and her new boyfriend.
The conversation was lively as usual and my mother-in-law kept taking pictures of me, which I get but made me feel watched :)

Some of the talk revolved around the movie 'Supersize me' which we have seen recently and that made me never want to eat another burger for as long as I live (not that I was going to anyway but I usually steal a couple of hubby's fries).

I think the movie is interesting because it doesn't just talk about McDonaleds (although that's all most people retain) but about the food industry in general and makes you think about little details like how we assume a juice will be healthier than a coke when they end up containing the exact same amount of sugar, for example. Adn the same is true for breakfast cereal - Special K has the same amount of sugar as other cereal, including the ones with chocolate. OK, fine some have even more sugar, but still, how's that good for a diet exactly? 17 grams of sugar per 100 grams of cereal is a lot! What they do is tell you that one portion is only 30 grams of cereal and therefore not so bad. But I doubt if anyone will eat just the 30 grams - I mean, it barely covers the bottom of the bowl! You'll be starving in two minutes.

I'll still take sugar over artificial sweeteners, though. At least it doesn't kill braincells.
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21.08.2005 (sun)
In the afternoon we went to the park for a bit. It seemed too windy to go to the beach and on a sunday it would also be too crowded.
After an hour or so hubby got hungry so we drove to the mall where he ate a huge burger and I didn't get anything because I knew I'd go for pastry, and then I did some shopping.

I bought a make-up bag. Not the tiny kind you carry in your purse but one of those professional looking metal bags that unfold and have lots of compartments inside. I've wanted one of these for years but I always felt it was too expensive for a whim. But since it's going to be my birthday soon I gave myself the excuse of an early birthday treat and got it anyway.

I've been slowly going through every cupboard in the house reorganising things and throwing stuff out so getting a place where I can collect all my make-up and keep it organised sort of falls into this whole nesting mode I've been in.

Now I just need to do the same for my jewelry so the necklaces stop getting all tangled in each other. But I think I'm going for a cheaper solution for that.
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22.08.2005 (mon) - 37 weeks
I had some work to do in the morning but it was just the usual updates which take 5 minutes or less, followed by the burocracy stuff. Then I had to go post some letters and stop by the bank to pick up a new cash card.
On the way home I caved and bought pastry at the coffee shop downstairs. I'd been craving it since last week and couldn't take it any more. I hate having a coffee shop on my doorstep that just happens to sell my favourites - puff pastry covered in fondant. Bastards!

So here I am trying to watch my weight and then I commit the worst mistake possible. I guess I'm going to have to be extra penitent for the next few days. Dieting is such torture! Why the hell does all healthy food taste vile and the worst possible stuff you can ingest tastes absolutely heavenly? It's just not fair! And since most food is already generically altered anyway, can't they make cauliflower taste like chocolate? I mean, come on! Do something useful for a change instead of just turning perfectly healthy food (Like soy) into health hazards!

I spent part of the afternoon doing more search on cosmetic brands that don't test on animals, since there's a store across from the supermarket we go to that carries some brands I didn't know before, but that give me a bit more choices when going shopping.
I also found out about optical brighteners in laundry detergents and got a bit freaked. I've started using Ecover lately (because of the animal testing thing) and they claim not to have any but the stuff we've used all our lives definitely has these chemicals. I wish I had an ultraviolet light to see if I'm fluorescent anywhere...
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out the info on the Ecover website.
Since I figured a detergent brand could be biased, I googled 'optical brighteners' and came up with several other sites that had the exact same information.
The stuff doesn't kill you but doesn't feel terribly healthy either, in my opinion, and is completely pointless since it doesn't actually make the clothes any cleaner.

At night we sat down to watch our weekly does of Lost and Desperate Housewives but the channel completely messed up, so instead of an episode of Lost they played some pointless summary of the show so far, and instead of Desperate Housewives we got stuck with a rerun of that crap show 'Las Vegas'. I felt like complaining but didn't know who to call. What the fuck were they thinking?
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23.08.2005 (tue)
I had a quiet day. In the morning I took a little nap. I had soup (without any salt :P) and peaches for lunch and then went to work at scanning some of Pedro's baby pictures. I realised recently that we don't have any and I think it'll be fun to compare our baby with pictures of us when we were little.
I think babies look rather generic when they're born and it's not tilll they're around 3 months old that you can see features that you recognise in the adult version. Which is why it always makes me roll my eyes whenever people go 'oh, he looks just like his mother' as soon as a baby is born. But I have no doubt that people will do that to us as well and I'll try very hard not to roll my eyes at them :)

Later on I sat on the sofa with my feet up and read for a bit till it was time to go to my class. The class took the usual hour and a half and so I was out of there by 7.30 PM. Hubby was still at work, with no prediction about what time he'd be able to leave, so I took the bus home.
I had something to eat when I got home and read some more till hubby finally arrived a little before 10 PM. He just got back to work on monday and he's already working 12 hour days. Talk about exploiting people...

The problem is that with this kind of schedule we don't get any time together - he has dinner then goes to bed and we end up talking till one or two AM and then he has to get up 5 hours later and start all over again. I end up feeling really guilty about keeping him up talking but otherwise it's like we just happen to share a flat and nothing more.
No wonder I always frown at family lunches and stuff like that on weekends - we need time together otherwise what is actually a really good relationship is going to start falling apart.
And I can't help thinking that with a kid it's going to get even worst since the little time we'll have together is going to be focused on the child instead of us.
Oh well, we've always managed to fix things before so I must be optimistic. But I would be lying to myself if I tryed denying these things go through my head.

I've been reading 'The Princess Diaries'. I know it's a really childish book to be reading but lately I can't handle anything else. It's innocent, funny and entertaining and even though some of it is a bit ridiculous and sappy, my hormones are so out of control at times that when I try to read more serious stuff (not that I ever read anything that may be considered terribly serious or intelectual anyway) or watch a dramatic movie or whatever, I start crying for no reason and I really can't deal with that right now, because then I feel depressed the whole day and I don't even have anything to be depressed about. So I just go for cuddly safe stuff that I know won't upset me and hope there's enough of these books to last me the three weeks I still have to wait till labor. Because that's the only downside: I can read one of these books a day!

I'm usually more of a movie person but lately I can't face sitting on the sofa watching TV or movies all day. Don't know why exactly but it bores me to death. I prefer reading because I can take the book anywhere and so I don't have to sit in the same place all the time. I think it's a summer thing. I've realised I read a lot more during summer. I may read nothing but crap, but at least it's a change :)
I'll get back to normal as soon as I get my hands on the new Neil Gaiman book.
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24.08.2005 (wed)
I've been trying to make up for lost sleep. I still can't breathe properly and my stomach won't let up but now I've been told I can use a couple of nose drops a night to stop me from asphyxiating, it's been a bit better. I don't use it all the time - only when strictly necessary - but it's good to know I have an option.

This morning I woke up at 7.30 with the phone. I don't understand why but at least once a month someone calls around 7.30 from a phone number I don't recognise. The weird bit is that it's always a different number!
There was a time when we used to pick up but whoever it was would just hang-up. Now we let it ring and write down the number instead. At least if the same number calls we can call them back and deal with it. But this whole 'different numbers' thing is what gets me a bit baffled.

Since I wasn't going to sleep anymore after that I got some breakfast and went back to bed to eat my cereal and read. I read till nine-something and then went back to sleep. To be able to do this I have to keep telling parts of my brain, who insist I should be doing laundry or checking if I have any work related email, to get a life and that there's nothing urgent and I can sleep if I want to. It's exhausting having to educate yourself to let go of things but I believe I'm finally starting to win the battle.
I never sleep much anyway - one to two hours if I'm lucky - so it's not like I've wasted the whole day.

It's just that with all the extra weight I'm carrying now, diminished mobility and the insufferable heat, I don't really feel like doing much. I just want these last 3 weeks to go by quickly and get my body back. I miss having just me in here. Plus, I'm getting seriously curious about what the kid will look like. By the way he moves I still say I'm having a chestburster, but the ultrasounds seem to prove me wrong :)

I had quite the nosebleed when I got up the second time because of the AC and the fact that I only have one working nostril at any given moment (and that's WITH drops, even though I didn't actually use any tonight, but the nostril that's on the pillow side is always blocked, no matter what I do) but it stopped quickly.

The things that have been truly hurting lately are my leg joints. I guess the increase of 15 kg in 8 months is a bit too much for them so my knees are giving in. Plus both my bed and car seat are pretty low so it take an extra effort to get up. The worst is my right side because that's the leading side most of the time, so my right knee hurts constantly now and I don't know if I can do anything about it because of the medication ban. Another reason that makes me feel like I should just hang around here and read instead of doing anything else.

The weird thing is that despite the pain and discomfort you sort of adapt and learn to live with it. Which is probably why a lot of women have more than one kid. But if I ever start thinking about it for some weird reason, I'll have to force myself to read this and think twice.
Right now I feel like a beached whale who's never going to be able to find a lacy bra that fits ever again.

At night we went food shopping but asked for delivery so I didn't actually have to carry any bags. It's great but at the same time there's this feeling like the last two hours were useless because we went shopping and came back empty-handed.
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25.08.2005 (thu)
I spent most of the day sitting at the computer updating the photo section of the site. I was waiting for the shopping delivery and our cleaning lady so I couldn't go anywhere or stay in bed all morning.

I had a late lunch tucked away outside the bedroom because there was a lot of vacuuming being done and I didn't want to have to keep going from one room to another, then I took a shower and got ready for class. The classes now are just a repeat of what I already learned so it was easy enough to do and a bit faster than usual. At the end of it Edite, the nurse that teaches the class, measured my blood pressure and it was a bit high but no more than last time.
I took the bus home and stopped by my in-laws flat and they measured my blood pressure again and it was a bit higher. But I guess that's normal because I had just had a one hour class that ends with pushing exercises, followed by a bit of walking, most of it up-hill.

Basically I have to completely give up salt - something I'd already started doing - and rest more. The resting is annoying. I'm not the most active person in the world but I have a hard time just sitting around doing nothing. And the salt thing doesn't really bother me but now I have to read the labels on everything because there's salt on the stuff you least expect.

Good thing I went shopping recently and got health food and so I actually have stuff I can eat. The idea was that I have to keep a closer eye on my weight and at the same time try to eliminate all the crap that's put into food these days by buying organic. But since I'm very skeptical about these things I just buy a couple of things to try out and see if i like it or if it tastes like straw before I commit. I think a gradual change is always best. But now, when it comes to the salt thing, I had to completely cut it out of my diet from one day to the next, so I don't know how long it will take to adjust.

The good thing is that since I can eat nothing but bland food now, it may help with the weight issue as well. At least it looks like I didn't gain any more weight this week, which is a big battle won.
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26.08.2005 (fri)
So I did nothing the whole day. I was a complete vegetable, sitting on the sofa with my feet up reading a book for most of the day. I took several measurements of my blood-pressure during the day and it's a bit lower than yesterday but not quite low enough.

Later in the afternoon my in-laws came over to meruse my blood-pressure again and to do the protein test and it was higher than my measurements during the day. But I think that's just because they called saying they'd be here in 5 or 10 minutes and I went around getting dressed and tidying up the place instead of sitting still like I'm supposed to :)
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27.08.2005 (sat)
We went to IKEA today and bought a table and chairs for our dinning room. Our present chairs are 7 years old, I never actually liked them much and are completely coming apart so I can't trust anyone apart from myself to sit on them.
It was pretty difficult to carry a whole table and four huge chairs and it certainly wouldn't fit in the car, so we had them delivered. It should all be here on tuesday.

The idea is that we'll have to start having our meals at the table eventually, instead of sitting in front of the TV like we normally do, and if we don't get the flat in order now, we won't be able to get anything done for months.
Plus, as it turns out, my in-laws decided to give us the money for the table and chairs as my birthday present, which I think was really nice of them.

When we got home Pedro's parents and grandparents stopped by: the first for the daily routine of checking my blood-pressure and the rest to see the baby bed because they hadn't yet.
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28.08.2005 (sun)
I did a bit more shopping today, mainly for sleepwear to take to the hospital. I don't have anything that fits anymore and the stuff that may fit after the birth is not entirely appropriate because it's either too warm or too short. So I got a nightdress and pjs (after a long search because, once more, nothing fits) while hubby was getting a haircut.
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29.08.2005 (mon) - 38 weeks
I seem to be losing weight now. Not a lot but a bit anyway. I suppose it's normal, considering the diet I'm forced to do now. Besides, I'm over the total weight I was supposed to gain during the 9 months so there should be enough reserves in there. Since I've been eating healthy food - milk, cereal, pasta, vegetables, fruit, etc - I'm not concerned about the weight shift. I've just cut the excesses and the body is adjusting. But it feels nice, actually, because I was afraid I'd have 20 extra kg by the end of this pregnancy. Plus, the weight loss is probably from retained fluids, since my ankles seemed less swollen this morning.

I called my mother, who's still down in the country. My father is on vacation this week, so he joined her over the weekend. It seems the arm still hurts but everything else seems fine.

At night we had to do some shopping, mostly because I'm running out of food that hasn't got any salt in it. But this diet seems to be working because my blood-pressure has dropped back to a normal range.
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30.08.2005 (tue)
I was waiting for a furniture delivery from IKEA that was supposed to arrive till 2 PM but didn't get here till half past four, so I basically spent the whole day waiting.

The good thing was that I bought the first season of a TV show called Monk yesterday and so I had something to watch while I was waiting. The show is pretty cool, especially due to the very funny actor Tony Shalhoub who plays the lead. I've liked him ever since watching another show with him called Stark Raving Mad.

After three I started to panic because I wanted to shower before class but didn't want to risk doing it and then have the deliverymen ring the bell while I was shampooing my hair.
In the end they turned up in time but it was cutting it really close. I didn't even have the chance to open the boxes and make sure everything was intact.

So I went to class, and when I came back I started opening the boxes. The chairs we bought are pretty cool but they take up a lot of room. I'm not so sure everything will fit properly...
When hubby finally got home, around 10 PM, we assembled the table. It was a nearly impossible task, requiring a rubber hammer and brute strength just to get the pieces to fit together. The instructions are laughable. We've bought stuff from IKEA before and it was never such a complete torture. I don't know what they were thinking with this one.

But we eventually got everything assembled and it all looks great. Although, since both table and chairs are white, I have a feeling I'm going to spend the rest of my life cleaning them. But it gives our living room a Star Wars feel and it may help to brighten up the room by reflecting the light that comes in through the window.

But at least now we can have people over without fearing they'll fall out of the chairs.
Now we just need to get rid of the old furniture but I think my father knows someone who may want it.
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31.08.2005 (wed)
I know I shouldn't have but I got up this morning and, after dealing with a work-related matter, I rearranged the furniture in the living-room. But I tried not to push myself and I measured my blood-pressure afterwards and it was fine.
The table and chairs just needed a bit more room to breathe so that meant a little shuffling. Now I just have tons of stuff to throw away - all the boxes and plastic that came with the furniture and that are now almost completely blocking our hallway.

Hubby had to work even later than usual so around 8 PM I started taking all the trash down. When he got home he helped me with the rest. We obviously got to bed quite late, but if we don't do at least one task a day the flat will never be ready in time.
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