Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Everyday

There are so many new forms of birth control out there, and so many advertisements, that I am sick of listening to it all.

YAZ--A new form of BC that takes care of the symptoms that are caused by PMS
Seasonale--A new form of birth control that allows you to have a period only once every three months
Mirena--A new form of birth control that prevents pregnancy for up to five years
NuvaRing--A form of birth control for idiots

Okay, so that last one isn't an accurate description, but come on! I am really offended by some of the tactics the marketing people use to try and convince women that they are too stupid/crazy to take a regular birth control pill or use any other form of BC than hormonal methods.
Everyone remembers the YAZ commercials with the women discussing their periods in a nightclub? While it no longer runs, I (and every other person I know, including my OB-GYN) HATED that ad. Number one, very rarely does a group of female friends discuss their menstrual symptoms unless something weird is going on, and then they may decide to keep those problems between themselves and their doctors. Number two, who goes out and then decides that the topic of conversation is going to be how miserable they feel? Honestly, if that was the game plan for the evening, everyone would have been much happier staying at home in pjs with ice cream and a screening of Dirty Dancing. While that particular commercial is no longer making the rounds of daytime TV, a slightly more annoying one that is all high energy and bright colors is. Ad execs, you are marketing a birth control pill to grown women, not the newest knock off Barbie that looks like it should be working a street corner rather than taking up residence in a little girl's toy box.
Seasonale is not new. Taking a regular BC pill continuously in order to avoid Aunt Flo has been well known and documented for years. I myself have even practiced this with a "regular" pill in the past. However, I have heard of some pretty bad side effects from the Seasonale version, including a continuous period for the first cycle of the pills (that's three whole months in case you weren't doing the math) and an unplanned pregnancy that wasn't discovered until three months after conception; three months which included some pretty dubious behavior on the mommy-to-be's part and a hazy recollection of who exactly was the proud papa. Why this kind of continuous usage has these side effects and just using a normal BC pill in the same way doesn't (at least in my own experience) I have no idea.
The IUD (or intrauterine device) is the most commonly used form of BC in Europe. It used to be widespread in the US until the '70s when one type ended up poisoning some women and killing them. Apparently, it's been long enough to begin re-marketing the product under the name Mirena. It also has a really annoying commercial with a bunch of gingers and while I applaud the fact that it does disclose some of the more unsavory possible side effects, it doesn't even bother telling potential consumers one important thing: lots of doctors don't insert them. It is considered one of the most effective forms of BC, mainly because it doesn't rely on the lazy/moronic consumer to do anything other than visit their dr., but not having access to it does seem to make the use a little more difficult--at least in my humble opinion.
The NuvaRing is really just like pill, only it only needs to be remembered once a week instead of once a day. This is the main commercial that irritates me. I, of all people, know that remembering to take a pill everyday at exactly the same time can be difficult what with the stress involved in everyday life. But that's not the point of the commercial. It talks about how hard it is to take something everyday. It's not hard--just pop the thing and take it (hell, pill heads always seem to remember). Insinuating that it's difficult to take the normal pill, therefore you need to have this thing you only remember once a week, is implying that your market is either stupid ("So you mean I put this in my mouth and swallow it, every day? Wow!") or so lazy that your marketing is a waste of time because they will probably not use the ring anyway.
I haven't decided what kind of BC I will be using after baby, but I am certainly getting all kinds of info thrown at me. Maybe I'll just do what the girls at East Rankin were told--hold an aspirin between my knees and make sure it doesn't fall out. ;-)

Runway Moms

This show is about a modeling company in New York that specializes in booking pregnant models or their babies. I normally don't watch it because these women are so much better looking pregnant than I am. Tall woman just look better--they have more room to spread out.
Anyway, today's episode involved the particular woman they were profiling getting a 3D ultrasound. Her baby was not as cute as Jonah (and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom--this other kid had a long ugly nose).
Makes me glad to know that even if I'm not an "Expecting Model" I'm still having a better baby that this bitch. Ha ha!!

The Dangers of Modern Living

Well, we have to replace our Air Conditioning. I know I shouldn't be upset about this as the unit we had was older than both Yale and I, but I still feel a bit cheated since we've only been able to take advantage of it for 2 years. We decided to replace both the heat and A/C so that we'll know (hopefully) that both will work when needed. It's going to cost a butt load, but at least now our future is a little more certain as I am certainly not going to pay that much for something that will be left behind if we move. That means we will be staying in this house for AT LEAST five more years (unless something drastic happens) and I am by no means unhappy about that. I like having things this planned out--it makes me feel more secure.
I almost ended up having the baby today. I was driving home from running some errands and was almost hit head on by some old woman. I had pulled into a center turn lane, with blinker going, and had slowed down due to oncoming traffic in the left lane. The old lady was at a stop sign, trying to pull out into traffic into the left lane. Apparently, she needed not only the lane she was trying to pull into, but also my turn lane and possibly the far right lane that was traveling in the opposite direction. I saw her coming and laid on my horn; she stopped, literally, six inches from my front driver's side bumper. Had she hit the air bag would have deployed and I would have most likely gone into premature labor. I am very blessed that someone out there is looking out for me and Jonah.
On a brighter note, I found a cute dress from target that I am thinking of wearing with leggings for the baby shower. I have passed the point where I can wear a short dress without some kind of leg covering--it's just better for everyone that way.

I hate it hot

Our AC is broken. Sadly, I'm not kidding.
The highs this week are over 100 degrees.

Some Like It Hot

It is so f-ing hot here.
Right now it is 101 degrees with a humidity of 23% (according to The Weather Channel--I think the humidity is higher).
I will never have a child due in the fall again.

The Dreaded Baby Registry

The baby registry is a new invention perpetrated by big box stores to try and get everyone to buy the same things for their child. Most of the stuff they "recommend" (i.e. force you to put on your registry and manually take off online at home if you don't want it) is really stuff you don't need. It feeds on the insecurity that all new moms have when it comes to worrying that if the slightest thing is done wrong the child will be forever screwed up. I, too, have become the victim of this philosophy.
I have a baby registry at Babies R Us (a store that I love and loathe all at the same time) and Pottery Barn Kids (everyone reading this should know of my obsession with anything Pottery Barn--yes I know it isn't healthy). I'm pretty sure I have a couple of other floating around out there that I made while in classes, but they aren't really the ones that have anything good on them. The two I previously mentioned seem complete and fabulous--like I know exactly what I'm doing.
I don't. I have no idea if I will need anything that is on these two lists. I have so much stuff on them that if I get everything the baby will need his own house (I don't expect to get everything, just FYI). I have spent HOURS reading reviews of stroller brands and particular stroller models. Sadly, I was almost on board with the "Well, if it's expensive, it must be good" way of thinking because of all the contradictory information. I have been very lucky to get a slightly used Graco car seat or I know I would have spent even more time researching that. I just don't have anymore energy to look at the high chair reviews. I have no clue. Some seem to be good for smaller babies, some for larger babies, and as Jonah is currently weighing in at around 4 lbs. and average is 3.3 lbs., I get the feeling we're having one of the latter (he's estimated to be around 8 lbs. at birth--yay for me). I did find a stroller I like, that wasn't $300, had tons of good reviews, and actually has a dinosaur print on it. Plus, it's a Graco and thus compatible with our carseat. I ordered it from Wal-Mart and hopefully it will live up to expectations when it comes in.
Another thing that had irritated me with the registries is that the stuff I put on it originally goes out of stock so quickly or isn't available online and in stores. I have a jogging stroller on the Babies R Us registry that now is only available in stores--if it happens to be in stock there. I also found a lightweight stroller that I really like, plus a portion of the proceeds goes to pediatric AIDS research, but I can't put it on the registry and it's only available online.
As you can tell, I'm obsessing right now. I have way too much time on my hands and nothing to do (or nothing I am able to do at 7 1/2-almost 8-months pregnant). If anyone would like to see the random stuff I've put on the registries, go to either of the two stores' websites and take a look-see. Plus, any moms reading this, I would love to know what I should or should not put on the registry. Anything that has wasted your time and space will certainly waste mine!

I'm Ready for my Closeup

I got an ultrasound in 3-D yesterday so we can see what Jonah is going to look like. He's a cutie, if I do say so myself.
I can't get them to load here, but if you want to see them I have them saved and can e-mail them to you. Just let me know!