Little Alien

Kumquat made it!! D-day came and went! He made it to 40 weeks and decided to just keep on going. I guess he decided it wasn't worth the effort to come out to celebrate my father's birthday which was yesterday. Clearly he is siding with Carlos who would prefer he stay in for another month - or at least until Bolivian Independence day on August 6th.

We went to Philadelphia yesterday to attend the memorial service of Sylvia Taft Lotspeich - after whom I am named. It was a wonderful remembrance of her and we got to spend time with the extended family. Carlos was worried Kumquat might make an appearance on the I-95, but luckily we made the journey without problem. Despite how cooperative he is being, I am still left with this surreal feeling of knowing that in 24 hours + (up to 9 days I suppose) our lives will be dramatically different. ...weird thought to go to sleep with...

I guess it's tough to see in the video but he sure pokes out a lot. Let's hope he is practicing his stellar dance moves...

Kumquat turns 39 Weeks

Kumquat made it to week 39! We're very proud of how cooperative he is being - he seems to be trying hard to help Carlos keep working on House II. But it's unlikely that the result will change given that Carlos asked recently: "what constitutes the house being done?...does it need to have electricity?" hmmm - good question...With one week remaining House II probably won't be quite ready...So in the meantime Carlos and I are doing our version of nesting: tearing apart House I!!

We've been spackling, plastering, repainting and re-spackling, re-plastering and re-repainting. Classic. Carlos has also been fighting with the back fence door which is not cooperating. The good news about that is that he finally put on the tool belt I got him. The bad news is he filled it with Negro Modelo which might be one reason for the fence gate was not cooperating... And somehow the house looks more disheveled than when we started!


My not-so-beauty sleep is getting a little less comfortable these days as my lower back hurts, but other than that I feel good. As for Carlos - when he isn't preoccupied with thoughts of refinancing he likes to poke Kumquat and watch him squirm.

Look at my new trick - now you see the watermelon....now you don't!! Kumquat is as big as a watermelon! I'm hoping that he doesn't weigh as much though because my arm almost fell off carrying that watermelon.

Kumquat isn't as patriotic as I thought he might be as he decided not to come out for the fireworks. In fact we haven't had any more episodes of cramping so maybe that means he'll stay in for awhile longer. He would be well advised as DC summer is hot and swampy. The doctor did say that I am almost 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced, but again that could mean anything. She thinks he'll be about 7 lbs - phew. I'm hoping for a kumquat that is 7 lbs and with the temperament of Carlos as a baby.

This week I attended the breastfeeding class which was helpful, but also scary. It seems a lot harder than I thought! Plus the instructor had a fake breast that she kept shoveling into her mouth which I found more disturbing, than insightful.

Carlos is still coming to grips with the fact that Kumquat is going to win. This week was more electrical and plumbing. And the big thing was ordering kitchen cabinets. My big fear is having cherry floor and cherry cabinets - it might be too matching - like a big log cabin or something. We are terrible about conceptualizing things as we seem to always want to make changes once we see the outcome. I don't know how to get better at that - maybe it's practice. But it sure has cost lots in terms of time and money.

Carlos decided to work on House #1 today and just like that we had 4 holes in the wall of the hallway and a hole in the roof...a good day's work!