*Warning! Overshare blog post! Is Frustration a Virtue?

If so, I have got this virtue nailed!

5 days overdue now.
Look, I know this isnt a big deal. I know she is going to come when she is darn good and ready. I know I'll make it. I know I need to be patient.
I KNOW. I KNOW!

But, this waiting thing is HARD!
And I am UN-COM-FOR-TA-BLE!

I thought it wasn't possible to get any bigger...but I was wrong. I now am the proud owner of a roll of neck pudge and a gobbler under my chin bigger than the Thanksgiving turkey! My excema has taken a turn for the worse so even if I wanted to take one of those great pregnancy photos where my huge momma belly is displayed prominently...it would just be covered in skritchy scratchies...and my boobs are cracked already...and I cant poop...and my back is KILLING me...and I have stretch marks on the insides of my thighs...and my hair looks like crap...and I can only wear my favorite velour track suit so much before even it loses its luster. le sigh.

And, I appreciate everyones kind comments and helpful suggestions. Really. I do! But sometimes, ya just gotta vent, ya know? Get it all out. Whine a little. Have a bitch-fest-pity-party.

I've had an induction massage, worked my pressure points, stimulated my nipples, had hilarious, uncomfortable sex with my trooper of a husband...AND...I even sent my mom back home to Seattle thinking surely that would do the trick! Even Castor oil is starting to appeal to me. But...let's face it, this kiddo is gonna be stubborn!
Now, there's a shocker.

I'm going in for acupuncture tomorrow and another non stress test and then the OBGYN on Wed.

For those of you who are following: Willie is posting "babywatch updates" on his facebook and twitter pages. They have been uneventful up to this point but are a great way to get the minute by minute updates.
Facebook page
Twitter tag: @wsmith74

yours sincerely...
Beth and a still in the shell "peanut"

Waiting is Hard!

I don't know if Warhol is right...but I'm ready for this baby.

All this weekend, Beth and I kept asking "is this the last weekend that we'll be non-parents?"

It's a bizarre feeling knowing that everything in your whole life is about to change and not knowing exactly when that will start. It could be tonight or it might still be a over a week away.

Getting up and going to work tomorrow will be difficult, knowing that any minute, Beth might call and I will have to leave and be gone for at least 2 weeks.

I'm not known for my patience, but I guess this is just the first lesson my daughter is teaching me (and I better learn this one fast!)

A Preview of the Nursery!

While Beth is sleeping (she gets her best sleep between 6:00am-11:00am), I snuck into the nursery to give you a sneak peak!

There is still a little work to be done, but here's what we have so far.

My highlights are:

The best glider/ottoman ever! That was the one area we splurged on and it was worth it. It is so comfortable and the color really makes the room pop! The photo doesn't show it well, but Beth's mom made a draft little blanket/quilt for the little one (the real one is amazing) and gave it to us and it fits with the glider, perfectly

The art! The paintings on the wall come from an artist that Beth found online. After we decided to get one, we found out he is dating one of our friends and lives nearby (how Portland is that!). Anyway we have 3 of his works now and will probably be adding to it...we have 2 (Hornless Rhino and the Snail) that are on circus platforms and another called "Disco Inferno Chickens". A link to his work is here.

We also found the most adorable little gallery, Side Street Gallery, in our neighborhood run by Michael Pratt and Reta Larson (who also own Pratt & Larson Tile). I don't know how to describe it, but it's funky, kitchy, and cool! When we were in there the first time, we met Michael and Reta and they took us on a tour of their incredible house located on top of the gallery. Cool doesn't' begin to describe their living/studio space and the outside terrace...WOW! Beth and I both were attracted to a little wooden sculpture Michael had done and bought it. You can see it on top of the wardrobe next to the giraffe bank (also a favorite).

I hear Beth stirring, so more highlights later, but please enjoy the quick photos!

Nursing a cold and the karate kid!

I have a cold. Not H1N1...just a cold. Yep. Figures, since I got both my seasonal flu and my H1N1 vaccination. However, its a full blown sneezing, snuffly, drippy nose, aches and pains, can't sleep filled cold. boo. hiss.

So, I've spent the last few days pretty much exclusively in bed...which would be great if I wasn't still gestating the Karate Kid.
I mean, I realize she is ready to come out anyday now...but does she have to do "the crane" every five minutes to remind me? It's like she has 10 arms and legs and they have managed to each push on a different rib, all the while also kicking my stomach, bladder, pelvic floor and backbone...WOW! We may have a mini circus performer on our hands!

So I'm trying to keep hydrated, keep my feet up so they don't explode and getting as much rest as I can. Really, right now I'd settle for just not peeing my pants every time I sneeze.

A letter to family and friends post birth.

Dear Friends and Family:

First, we want to thank all of you for the support, the advice and the love you have given us during the last 9 months. We’re not sure anyone is really ready to become parents, but we guess, we’re as ready as we will ever be and we are blessed to have each of you in our lives!

As we embark on the last few days before the baby arrives, we want to share with you some of our plans (and the hospital’s new policies) for the big event and beyond.

Due to the H1N1 virus hospitals are now limiting the number of visitors/support people allowed in the labor & delivery & recovery rooms. This includes Kaiser Sunnyside, where we are planning to have the baby. Unfortunately, only 4 people are allowed to log in at the hospital! This means that unless you are Sue, Mary Ann, or a sister, you will not be permitted to visit while we are at Kaiser. Although we are not thrilled about this new policy, it is better than the 2 people that other hospitals are allowing and we are thankful for the extra safety procedures designed to keep our newest family member safe.

Willie will be doing his best (and/or as much as Beth will allow) to update his facebook and Twitter page with any and all updates about the labor and delivery. Don’t worry, it won’t be graphic! If you are not on facebook or twitter, they are easy to join and free. Willie's Twitter tag is @wsmith74 .

We do not know how long we will end up being at the hospital (hopefully not too long!).

We’ve also heard from so many of you how excited you are to visit and we are looking forward to seeing you all (Okay okay, we realize it’s really about the new baby…) However, once we started to do the math and look at the calendar we began to realize that there won't be enough hours in the day to see everyone in the first few weeks as well as settle in to our new roles as exhausted parents. So, at the advice of many new mothers and fathers we know, we hope you will understand that we will be limiting how many visitors we have each day and length of stay. It may even take us a few days to settle in after we return home. We hope you won’t think us rude and we apologize in advance for any inconvenience. It has absolutely no bearing on how much we appreciate and love all of you!

Our doctors have also given us a bevvy of warnings regarding H1N1 and the seasonal flu. Although both mom and dad have been vaccinated, our new little bundle will be extra susceptible and we are listening. While we know this is common sense, it makes us feel better to write it down: So…If you are not feeling well, have people around you that are not feeling well, have the sniffles, a cough, or any other cold or flu symptoms, please delay your visit until you are at least 48 hours past your last symptom. Keep in mind that you are contagious up to 24 hours before you show any symptoms of being sick. Also, we’ll probably be religious about having people wash their hands and/or using Purell before interacting with the baby.

Willie will be the main point of contact for finding good times to come over and visit the family. The best way to get him is e-mail: wsmith74@yahoo.com. In anticipation of new challenges and sleep deprivation, we are likely going to be turning off our phone ringers a lot for the first few weeks after the birth, so e-mail, e-mail, e-mail!

Thank you again for everything and we look forward to seeing you all as we start the next chapter of our life’s journey!

Beth, Willie, and at least for the next few days “Peanut”.

Notes from a daddy to be...

Since I cant seem to get Willie to write an actual post, I am stealing an email he sent to some friends of ours back East to give you a recap. Willie is very excited and has been my rock the last few months...and his obsession with Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) has been the gift that keeps on giving!

Here is the text of his email to our good friends Linda and Charlie Naftalin:

So sorry to be delayed in our response, it has been a crazy month.

Thanks for the wonderful baby Einstein playmat. There is a funny story behind it. The woman who hosted our baby shower (Sarah) to whom you sent the gift, got married a few weeks after our shower. So....in all the confusion, she thought it was a wedding gift and didn't open it.

Beth and I were both in their wedding (Beth...at 8 1/2 months pregnant!) and after they got back from their honeymoon and were opening their gifts they discovered the it amongst the pile. At first the new groom thought it was someone idea of a joke...and then they realized it was meant for us. We just picked it up from them a few days ago. It's great and fits in with the theme of our nursery. Thank you!

The week after the wedding, Beth was in charge of the biennial conference meeting of Oregon Democrats in central Oregon. Everyone who is anyone from the Dem Party of Oregon...all the electeds, consultants, candidates, activists, etc....she did a FANTASTIC job with it, especially since the keynote dinner speaker canceled at the last minute, so they decided instead to take the budgeted travel expenses and buy wine for all the tables. She put me to work up on stage to do an after dinner comedy routine on why there was no keynote speaker. It worked out great.

Seeing so many people ill at the conference. the next weekend, I turned into the H1N1 guru...and even though we had to wait in a 5 hour line, we got Beth the vaccine. I have taken Congressional oversight to a whole new level with our public health officials and their response to the vaccine shortage. I'm sure there are some cursing my name, but until we start targeting the highest risk first, I'm not slowing down (at least until the baby is born!)

This is the first weekend we have had free in almost 2 months and it was all about getting the nursery ready (we made some progress) and a horrible trip to Babies R Us! That truly may have been one of the worst experiences of my life. Thank God, I don't have to do it again...oh wait!...we have to return some items...Damn!

This coming week, I get busy and am putting on 2 events for Speaker Pelosi (which may or may not happen depending on the Health Care vote) and the next day I put on the Congressman's Annual Comedy Event. This year, I 'm trying to add some more production elements to it, so we are filming some shorts and rehearsing a musical number this week. Keep your fingers crossed that the Peanut decides to wait a week before deciding to join us.

Hope you and Charlie and the family are doing well. Keep us aprised of your grandbaby that is on the way! We will try and stay in touch as much as possible and keep you updated. I'll be using Facebook to update folks about the baby. Because of H1N1 we are limited to only having 4 people be with us for the delivery and recovery. Not 4 at a time...but just 4 people total who can see us at the hospital. Thank goodness for social media networks to help spread the word.

Now off to check on dinner. I don't know why, but in early September I fell in love with the Barefoot Contessa. And to Beth's pleasure, I am the main cook in the family now. She still helps and gives tips, but I am really enjoying cooking.

Off to check the potatoes.

All our best-

Willie, Beth and Peanut