Ahhh, the Joys of Pregnancy!

We had a nice time in Fargo, but it was a very quick and busy trip. I was so busy taking pictures of baby Livy that I forgot to get group shots of all of us, but I have some really cute ones of Uncle Jeff and Livy. We got to practice on her, and Jeff changed his first diaper! He really was a natural, while I was more nervous. Livy had gotten her baby shots right before we got there, so she was running a fever and was a little cranky for most of the time we were there. I just felt so bad for her when she cried, but Jeff was better. He bounced her and carried her and talked to her, as though he'd been doing this for years.

Elizabeth is kicking and moving all the time, so she's fine, but Mama has some issues. It turns out that I have pregnancy-related diabetes, carpal tunnel, and restless leg syndrome. The carpal tunnel is kind of like arthritis pain so far, so it hasn't been a big issue, but the RLS has been tough. As soon as I fall asleep, my legs start twitching and jumping, and I wake up about every hour with terrible cramps. The nurse told me to take calcium twice a day and to eat oranges for potassium (bananas make me gag), and that has been helping. For the gestational diabetes, I have to eat way more food than I want to, and so far, I have not been able to get it all in. I have to take my blood sugar four times a day, and so far my levels have been terrific. The funny thing to me is that my sweet tooth - along with most of my appetite - disappeared once I got pregnant, so I didn't think that GD was going to be an issue. However, I've learned that GD is almost always the result of the hormones coming from the placenta, and not what the mother eats. So, I will keep trying to eat more and take my blood sugar, and all of these things should disappear once Elizabeth makes her way into the world.

Jeff, wonderful husband and father that he is, has taken a second job at night to help get ready for baby. I hate that he has to do that, but no one is going to hire a 7-month pregnant woman, and so he decided to get another job. He has been looking for several months now actually, and a Mexican restaurant hired him this week. Tonight is his first shift, and I just worry so much that he will be overworked. We have agreed that if he hates the job, or if it gets to be too much for him, that he will quit. I don't want him to ever feel that he has to work so hard. After I get through student teaching in the fall, I will have a 300% salary increase, so we really just have to get through my time off and we'll be fine again. Jeff just felt like he needed to do something NOW, so that's what he's doing. Elizabeth and I are very, very blessed to have a father and husband like him!