way cool video

Something cool to see while I wait for camera batteries to charge - and a free minute. Thought I'd have some writing time this morning, but John is already awake. This is from the ultrasound I had this week. Baby 3 at 34 (nearly 35) weeks.

Everything's fine, by the way. I did have too much fluid - the technician said 20 is too much - I have 23. The baby is also on the bg side - it's just over 6 pounds now, in the 70th percentile, so not super huge, but on the bigger end. She said it will likely wind up being between 8.5 and 9 pounds. The OB is sending me for a follow-up ultrasound in a week and a half. But she thinks it will have normalized by then - I was only measuring one week ahead yesterday. However, in the event it's still there, or is escalating, she'll probably induce me about two weeks early, to prevent a natural labour. If the water breaks in a big gush, it can cause bleeding in me, and cord prolapse I think it's called in the baby (which is exactly what happened with Joan - her cord was pinned next to her shoulder. Why they didn't do a C-section, I have no idea, knowing what I know now. If I get another resident trying to deliver this one, I think I reserve the right to have a pregnant-lady freak-out, and insist on a real doctor.)

Other than that, things are going well. it's been a busy time with doctors. Joan gets her leg brace next Wednesday, and they've stepped her physio appointments up to weekly, in an attempt to help her relax and make friends with them. They've also cut it down to one therapist at a time, instead of the panel of poking, prodding fingers we usualy face. We had our first one-on-one session, and it went great! She played and laughed, and actually didn't want to go at the end! It was great.

John's doing great, too. He had his first kiss from a girl a few days ago! I had taken him to the park, and a 6-year-old named Sara was there with her grandpa. They chummed around the whole time, but when it was time to go, she threw her arms around John and gave him an embarassingly long, wet lip kiss. It was so wet, they both wiped their faces on their sleeves afterwards. The grandpa and I were both holwing. John doesn't like to talk about it, though. But not from embarrassment - I don't think it meants anything to him. When Mike asked him what happened at the park that day, the highlight was finding a tiny ball on the ground. Sara didn't even come up without prodding.

I've been trying to get the kids out and about before summer is over, and Baby 3 arrives. The city runs a park program, which travels around. We were able to get to one for a couple of mornings. Next week, it swings close to home again, so I'm planning to take them as much as I can, working around doctor's appointments, as usual. It's really just for John, but Joan joins in with crafts and stuff too - it's for 3-5 year-olds. They do little crafts, and play games. The first day we went, I was so embarrassed. He was there with a bunch of very proper little girls. He made me a necklace, then they tried to play Red Light, Green Light. Of course, all the girls folowed the rules to a tee. Then, there's my kid. The light turned red, and John shouted "IT'S GREEN!!!! LET'S GO!!!!!!" And off he shot. The girs were thoroughly disgusted, but the one other boy tagged along, as every mom on the sidelines howled. Then they tried to play a dancing game, where they did various dance moves, then sat on command. Yeah. That was doomed from the get go. He played along with the dancing moves, but when it came time to sit, he would spin wildly, and scream "I'M A HELICOPTER!!!!" It really annoyed one of the little girls, who, every time, would jump up, point at John and yell "YOU LOSE!" as the moms on the sidelined all howled. Except for me, who turned progressively deeper shades of red.

I almost didn't go back the next day, but he woke up early and got himself dressed so I'd take him, so I couldn't say no. But day 2 went much better. It was all boys that day. It must just be a boy thing, because there were NO games that day. The teacher tried, but couldn't get anything organized. They spent the entire time pretending to be bulldozers in the beach volleyball court. At one point, the teacher wet down the sand, so they could do sand castles. One of the parents turned to me and said "won't that be kind of muddy?" And I replied "It's just wet sand. They can hose it off at the end." And right on cue, my kid found the one patch of wet dirt, which had turned to soupy, goupy mud. He was throwing great handfulls into the air, chanting "WE WANT MUD! WE WANT MUD!"

We also found an outdoor pool a few blocks away that the kids love. We've started getting John to swim in his life jacket, so he's not afraid of the water anymore. The first day we went, he stayed in there for three hours, and I had to drag him out! It's only good for heat waves, though. But we've got another going on now, so I think I'll take them back in the next couple days. Joan LOVES it! She splashes and kicks and giggles. She just loves to swim! We've also found a few beaches, for when Mike has days off or gets off early. Unfortunately, most of the beaches are near Red Deer. We're working on finding a closer one that we like, but most of the water around Calgary is rivers.

Anyway, I'd better go. Hope you enjoy the video. If anyone has trouble seeing it, let me know. I'll probably download it to youtube when I have a few more minutes, in case anyone has issues with this format. Pictures coming soon! I know it's been a while.Things just seem so busy here, though I know they're not. I just can't do as much as I used to, as fast as I used to. I'm in slow motion, but time keeps moving just as fast. And yet the OB is STILL telling me to get more sleep. I told her that every time I sit down, I fall asleep, thinking maybe my iron had slipped too low - the test she did show it low, but she said it was still well within normal, so that's probably not my issue. But she said it's pretty normal to feel that tired, when you have two little kids, and try to sleep with a lead balloon attached to your belly. Just rolling over in bed is quite the performance, which I guess is affecting my sleep more than I realize.