Pregnant Women Make Excellent Body Pillows

I'm sure you read the title of this post and thought to yourself, "He must have meant, Pregnant Women Need Excellent Body Pillows," but you'd be mistaken.  Late Friday evening, Meg and I plopped ourselves onto our bed that's just a little too high for her to crawl in to.  I had just wrapped up two of the busiest weeks of my life.  I had a lot of catching up to do at work, having been less than productive while recovering from the appendectomy, flying to be with Meg during the TTTS surgery, and wrapping up loose ends in DC.  I was exhausted.  I had been working until around 11:00pm each night and Meg had been hard at work emptying all of the boxes from our move.  Don't worry, she didn't overdo it.  She impatiently waited patiently for me to take a break from work and help lift and move the boxes in to more convenient locations to be unpacked.  It was also the end of the quarter, which for a sales guy, is a busy time on its own.

So, after rushing on Friday to get the last remaining boxes put away and getting the guest bedrooms organized for her incoming family, she cuddled up next to me and positioned me like I was her body pillow--stomach to stomach, one of my thighs between her knees, and my shoulder folded down so she could wrap her arm over the top.  Little did she know that this position was actually extremely comfortable for me, too!  One of my legs was elevated and supported by one of her legs.  Her ever expanding belly kept me from rolling too far forward.  And two pregnancy-driven pillows provided excellent neck and head support.  Who knew snuggling with your pregnant wife in this position could be so damn comfortable?  Pregnant women DO make excellent body pillows!

Let's see, what else have we been up to?  Of course we went out to watch fireworks last night.  While it was blazing hot during the day (to me at least), the evening turned very comfortable and we had perfect viewing weather for an awesome fireworks show.  For once, I left the bulk of my camera gear at home so I could just enjoy spending some time with my wife, because as most spouses of photographers know, they tend to get ignored ever so slightly when there are never-ending photographic subjects around.  Of course, I instantly regretted it (the "not bringing my gear" part, not the "hanging out with my wife part") when I saw other photographers with their arrays of lenses and camera bodies set up on their tripods.  I could never go completely without some sort of camera.  So, I brought a small one to capture some of the last remaining moments of peace and relaxation during this holiday, knowing all future 4th of July weekends, while they will probably be memorable in their own right, will probably not best be described using the adjective "relaxing."

My beautiful wife


Rare photo of me on the other side of the camera


Meg enjoying her folding recliner


Meg's cousin Shallee's daughter - Kylie


Shallee, our secret baby whisperer-to-be


Proof that we were actually there


Also, our t.v. finally gave up the good fight and failed to turn on after an hours' worth of playing the on-and-off game.  I guess some electronics just don't handle cross country moves very well.  I'm not ready to completely discard it, so I'm having a little bit of diagnostic work done to see if it's something that can be fixed.  However, due to its ailments over the past year, and Meg's desire to have something less mammoth in the family room, it's going to be relegated to the basement, where I'll probably be looking to escape in the future :)  We went to check out some new sets and they all seem to come with 3D these days.  I definitely won't say that I selected our t.v. because it had 3D capabilities, but it did come with a pretty cool 3D starter set for free and I do like me a good deal.  Weren't we supposed to be watching 3D holographic television by now?  What's up with the glasses?  Didn't the t.v. makers make a run at 3D before?  I bet all of the 3D t.v. makers are just sitting around laughing at how silly everyone looks in these glasses.  Heck, look at us.  What a bunch of dorks!



We've also been making a lot of progress with the trim work projects in the master bedroom and the babies' room.  If you recall from my previous posts, I wanted to add chair rail and crown molding in the girls' room, as well as some slightly more elaborate trim work in our bedroom.  I began these projects will a full-fledged commitment to completing them mostly on my own.  However, recently, I've succumbed to the fact that I just can't do it all, especially not before the babies get here.  I'm not too proud to admit it...I need help!  An excellent carpenter, Mr. Tom Piesz, had been patiently educating me in the ways of woodworking, but I've placed the project management responsibilities in his capable hands.  While I have no doubt that I could've eventually "gotten there," I wanted our girls to be able to sleep in their bedroom before their fifth birthday and my dream is definitely becoming a reality.  Once the trim is done in both rooms, next comes the painting!

Our bedroom - probably doesn't look like a lot of progress, but there were 180 pieces of small trim that needed to be fit inside each panel. Just the big parts are left.


The girl's room - chair rail and crown molding are new



We've also been trying to get our yard in order.  While I try to maintain it on a weekly basis, the big projects get farmed out.  While Meg's family was in town, we put 'em to work.  There's no free lunch at Chateau DeBauche.  Both the herb garden on the patio and the flower bed to the right are courtesy of her dad, stepmom, aunt, and Charlie.  Family is great!



In case you're wondering, Meghan and the girls are all doing great!  Throughout the rest of the pregnancy, she's scheduled to see her OB and MFM on a weekly basis, which is great for a worrier like me.  I like frequent feedback, so verifying that the girls are continuously improving after the surgery, and knowing that all three heartbeats are still there, does wonders for my soul.  While very mobile throughout the first part of the pregnancy, I definitely think she's starting to feel more pregnant lately.  Getting up and down is absolutely more of a chore than it used to be.  She's also feeling some numbness, tingling, and pain in her hands that she's shared with the doctors and they don't seem too concerned over because "It's normal."  At this point, there's no confusion whether what we're feeling in her belly are actually kicks or not.  These girls are active and are definitely telling us "Hey, we're in here and we're ok, but my sisters are making it crowded!"  Madelyn is still doing well, though she's never really had any difficulties during this pregnancy.  Sophia and Isabelle are doing so well that a new fetal cardiologist told Meg that if he hadn't known that they had TTTS, he wouldn't have been able to tell by looking at them.  Sophia still has some regurgitation in her heart, but it's not enlarged anymore.  Though there's still a small amount of fluid around her heart, it's decreasing each week.  Isabelle still has some intermittent drops in her diastolic cord blood pressure, but still, the doctors aren't concerned.  Meg goes back to the MFM tomorrow, so hopefully we'll get some updated ultrasound images to share.  Meg's also due for a pregnancy update photo!

Lastly, I can't remember if I've ever introduced Abigail, but she's the other member of our family.  I don't know if she has any idea that three little girls are on their way, but boy is she in for a surprise in a few months.  I think she's pretty used to the quiet around our house and she thinks she pretty much rules the roost.  It will be interesting...