What day is it?

It's been a while since I've had a calendar on my wall. Shoot, it's been a while since I've had ANYTHING on my wall! But anyway....I cannot believe I actually had to pick up my DayRunner today and purposely count out what day it was just to know what on earth I'm supposed to be doing this week! Moving makes your brain turn to mush, and late pregnancy tends to exacerbate the problem, that's for sure. But for heaven's sake, don't try to PLAN anything during weeks like this!

Jon is more than halfway through basic training, and from the sound of his letters, he's got this military thing down to a "t" already...upset that the doofuses are put in charge when the hard-chargers and uber-motivated soldiers have to stand back and just take orders like good little boys. Welcome to real life, my boy! I must hear things like that at least once a month from his dad, and I've heard it for YEARS from all the enlisted guys we've ever known. At any rate, though, Jon is doing well, he's just homesick and in need of a shower, air conditioning (he wasn't quite prepared for an Oklahoma summer in full "battle rattle"!), and some home cooking. All the typical stuff. We got the graduation announcement newsletter from his Commander today, and while it would be wonderful to be able to plan a trip out West to see him graduate, the whole works hinges on someone who isn't but a hair over five pounds right now. Amazing how someone so SMALL who hasn't even taken a single breath can control so much of the immediate universe!

Stefani is due on the 31st of August, but we will meet her MUCH sooner than that. I finally got in to see an OB on Monday after being hem-hawed around with at the base clinic (they didn't quite grasp the, um, pressing NEED I had to see a doctor as soon as we got here, so I got "the first appointment we have"), and as I suspected, my blood pressure is elevated. A week ahead of what is normal for me. Usually, I start seeing elevated BP's around 34 weeks, but this time it reared its ugly head at 33 weeks; no doubt thanks to some of the added stress and strain of moving. After almost two hours of trying to decipher my German OB records (THAT was a laugh...thankfully the doctor and nurses found humor in it too) and redoing most of the paperwork and "intake" stuff that is done in the first trimester, my new OB decided a very thorough ultrasound was in order.

All's well with the wee one. Not so with me, but I already saw that coming. Thankfully, now there aren't any of the classic pre-eclampsia symptoms like swelling, frequent headaches, spotted vision, and protein in the urine, but I know it's all on its way in short order. Especially considering that I can't truly "slow down" and do full bedrest like I would normally be able to do at this stage of the game. But the doctor knows that, he is understanding, and is taking into account all that is going on in life right now. Thank GOD for good doctors, they don't realize how much they can de-fuse a stressful situation!

Interestingly, the baby is measuring a full week ahead of what she *should* be in development, so the doctor is reassured that an early delivery won't be as problematic a few weeks (if we make it that far) early as it would if she were right on track gestationally or even a bit behind. She's actually measured a full week ahead for almost four full months now, but *my* measurements are still on track with my due date, so none of the dates are going to change. HOWEVER....I know pre-eclampsia doesn't reverse itself, and there is no "cure" other than delivery, so already at my first doctor's appointment, we were discussing delivery. This time around, thankfully, I have a doctor who doesn't want to toy with the idea of "trying" to have a normal delivery. He is taking my past experiences into account, paying attention to my concerns, and he's agreeing with me that this time around, a planned c-section is the safer choice. No dates yet, we're going to try to wait as long as possible, but he mentioned being surprised if we get another four weeks out of this pregnancy. Me too.

So yes, Jon, you will be beaten "home" by your newborn baby sister. By how much? We shall see. Maybe a week, maybe two, maybe just a couple of days!