I’ve gotten to that point in my pregnancy where I can’t sleep on my back any longer. I mean, technically I was supposed to stop lying on my back at night starting way back at 20 weeks or before, but I’d still do it every once in a while with no ill effects. You’ve got a couple of pretty major blood vessels that run down your back, and once you get to the point where your uterus, which is normally about the size of an avocado, is so jam-packed full of fetus that it’ll cut off circulation in those vessels if it’s allowed to press on them, you simply can’t lie that way any longer. Boo, hiss.

Being a mixed back/side/stomach sleeper, I’ve needed a bit of pillow support, and my mom very generously contributed a Snoogle to my “situation”. That thing is AWESOME. When I have the long part of the C shape behind my back, I”m able to sort of roll to my back without actually lying directly flat, which does a lot to help alleviate pressure on my hips.

SPEAKING OF HIPS! According to the tenets of “optimal fetal positioning“, I’m supposed to be lying on my left side as much as possible in order to encourage the baby to stick in the correct position for a easier childbirth. My left hip is not very pleased with this notion. It’s gotten to the point where I’m hobbling around at the end of the day, and then hobbling around when I get up in the mornings after sleeping on my hips all night. I finally broke down and made a chiropractic appointment, something I’ve always been skeptical of and never utilized. I finally decided that, since my insurance covers the visits with a $10 copay, I might as well try it. If it ends up being bunk, I shouldn’t be any worse off than I was before.

I got a referral to Dr. Kyle Deden at Washington Street Chiropractic. Dr. Deden was AWESOME. Very personable, very willing to listen to my complaints and give me thoughtful feedback on the possibilities for my various aches and pains. He was even very accepting of my worries about him manipulating my neck, and told me he’d let me lead him on whether I ended up wanting adjustment after being helped in other areas. I really, really appreciated the way he seemed to adjust his descriptions of anatomy/physiology/pathology after I told him that I”m a nursing student, too.

He performed some adjustments to my middle-back and hips, during which I groaned embarrassingly. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who does that.) We started slow for the first session, with the plans for me to come back three times the next week. I let him know that my insurance will only cover 12 visits, and he explained that, while he didn’t figure we’d need that many, in case we did, he can either submit a care plan explaining the need for more visits to the insurance company, or else he could work out a sliding scale payment plan for me. I can dig this.

Let me tell you, I was FUCKING SORE for the rest of the day. Like, barely able to move from the couch sore. I felt terrible, and Dr. Deden warned me this might be the case. For the past month or so, I’d been waking up several times during the night with terrible pain in whatever hip I was lying on, and would have to change sides (and usually pee). That night, though, I woke up at 5am to pee and realized I hadn’t been woken up by hip pain at all. VICTORY.

I guess I announced this elsewhere, but I might as well keep most of the baby talk over here. I’m 21 weeks along now, and also in the middle of my final semester of nursing school. Needless to say, I’m kinda busy.

I want to tell you how tired I am, but I’m too tired to do that. I want to tell you about how overwhelmed I am, with the house projects we need to finish before the baby comes, about how much schoolwork I have left to do this semester, about having to work 10-hour days at work to make up for the time off for that schoolwork, since I can’t afford to take any paid time off lest I drain off what little PTO I have to go into my maternity leave with. But I’m too tired for all of that, too.

Let me just tell you that I’m looking forward to May, when I can finally relax a little and enjoy the last remnants I’ll have of free time before this bundle of joy shows up to change our lives. I’m counting down the days.

• Avène Cleanance Soap-Free Facial Gel Cleanser
  “A European skincare star that uses thermal spring water to soothe and soften skin.”
• Mineralogie Ultimate Cream Concealer
  “Made with finely ground minerals, this spot concealer hides under-eye circles and blemishes with zero cake-age.”
• Thymes Eucalyptus body lotion (plus a sample of their Kimono Rose body lotion)
  “Put this one on your wish list: skin-saving botanicals and shea butter combine in a luxurious lotion.”
• Zoya nail polish in Noel
  “This shimmery denim shade from Zoya’s holiday 2011 collection fits just right – just like your favorite blue jeans.”
• Two Paper Dolls Ampersand coasters
  “Our favorite letterpress studio adds a hip, playful touch to everything they do, from notecards to coasters.”

Are any of you Birchbox subscribers? What did you get?

Who has two thumbs and needs a goddamned party? THIS GUY. I’m feeling incredibly burned out from school, and our next break where we don’t have any is the week of Thanksgiving. I’m not one for celebrating oppression of native peoples or the practical extermination of a population, but I can get behind FOOD. So I’m going to have a few of my friends over for some festivities to keep us away from the shopping centers on the day after Turkey Day. And because the people who will be joining us on this day are vegetarian/vegan, planning a feast for the group gets even easier!

APPETIZERS

• Spiced nuts
• Cheese straws
• Spicy sweet potato wedges
• Caramelized onion and goat cheese cornbread

MAIN COURSE

• Brown sugar glazed Brussels sprouts
• Chipotle sweet potato gratin
• Parmesan smashed potatoes
• Cream biscuits
• Some herb-infused homemade butter (sage? rosemary?)
• Roasted vegetable gravy
• Field Roast “Celebration Roast”

DESSERT

• Pumpkin Cream Pie (seen above)
• Silky Smooth Pumpkin Pie
• Apple pie cookies

We’ll probably end up with some cranberry sauce out of a can (Kevin’s favorite) and some bagged stuffing (also Kevin’s favorite). WOW. That’s a lot of food! I hope my friends show up hungry! I should probably start stocking up on leftovers containers now. And maybe I should start doing my research on how to make things ahead/simultaneously. Yeah.

These shoes are from Chie Mihara’s line, a Japanese designer based in Spain, I think? I love them.

"Amis"

"Consi"

"Eloisa"

"Falla"

Another "Falla", I love this color combo

"Fenomeno"

"Flok"

"Iona"

"Olga"

"Rostar"

"Salvadora"

"Volanda"

"Xosmo"

"Floribri", wouldn't these be perfect for bridal shoes?

So, what is this collection teaching me? Well, for one thing, I need some gorgeous shoes. And for another? I need some charcoal grey tights. And some ribbed grey tights. Good goddamn.

BC Footwear in "Bibliography"

Type Z in "Kimberly"

Nine West in "Fountain"

Easy Spirit "Joanny" in dark grey

Coconut by Matisse "Dylan" in charcoal

Dirty Laundry "Rayma"

Out of these, I’m kind of leaning toward the Nine Wests. They’re all so pretty, though! What do you think? Any others I should look at? I should probably find some of these in a store and try them on before committing to anything.

Speaking of music, I think it’s probably a good time to move my Monthly Mix Tapes over here from my Livejournal. I’ll probably put them in their own little section. Whee!

Holy crap, lookit how long my hair is!

Hospital

Coralville Dam/Reservoir

The Mighty Iowa River

Downtown

Fonty goodness

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