Holder

Thank you. I ordered Patrick a bathrobe from one of your suggestions. Exactly what I was looking for. He and Steve have started going in the hot tub together in the morning (before you say what my mother immediately said when I told her, allow me to assure you that it is completely safe - Steve keeps his hot tub at 100 degrees. more of a warm tub actually) and I had gotten Steve a big cushy robe for this purpose years ago. I thought Patrick would like one too. Now that he and Steve are two sides of a single coin and all. They even wound up with the same haircut when Steve disdainfully avoided the kids' hair place I have always used in favor of having Patrick get his haircut with him at the barber.

My mother arrived this morning and Steve is leaving tonight. He will be, um, communing with nature (pheasants, mainly, but some ducks as well. geese perhaps) with five other "outdoor ethusiasts" until Sunday. He is SO excited and I take no offense from the fact that perhaps less than half of his glee is derived from the prospect of four whole days in North Dakota. I suspect he is dying to get out of here for a while and I don't blame him. He is feeling stressed and the break is well deserved. I have about twelve phone numbers for him, which I found reassuring until I contemplated that he is, at a minimum, seven hours from reaching me so if anything untoward were to happen he would miss it. Of course, what is he going to do anyway? I have an appointment this afternoon (yay!) and if god forbid I am starting to dilate or anything we will reassess from there.

You would think I would be aware of what my body is doing but I am really not. Everything right now feels like it is happening below the pantyline. I contract and I feel it in my pelvis. Someone kicks or something and I feel it in my pelvis. I assume 13a is still very low, although I think B moved again. They both prefer the right side of my body but since 13b is actually established to the left it leaves a lot of room on that side to shift about at will. Apart from the contracting and the bed rest and my weight (15 pounds. I am 28 weeks pregnant with twins and I weigh 15 pounds more than I did before IVF. I can only assume that one of the drugs I am on is affecting both my appetite and my metabolism. I am never hungry but I force myself to eat highly caloric stuff regardless - to no avail) I feel terrific. I have never slept this well in my life. Nothing hurts - not my back, not my feet, not the baby kicks... nothing. I am prepared for a downward spiral of unpleasantness but right now I am feeling quite sunny.

Patrick will, of course, be going as the letter B for Halloween. He said last year (when he went as the A) that he would be doing a letter a year and he seems determined to stick to that. When I asked what he would be if he was not completing the alphabet, he said, "A vacuum cleaner." After taking a moment to consider the complexities of creating a vacuum cleaner costume I gave the whole alphabet plan my whole-hearted support. He did point out that he will be the Z when he is twenty-six and I pointed out that he will actually be 30 as he did not start the alphabet thing until he was four. He frowned at me and said, "I am not going to argue about this" (a new expression of his - each day is just a delight, I tell you) but I noticed that he has started telling people that he will be done with the alphabet at 30. So he occasionally believes me when I say things.

Off to my appointment. More later (I finished Thursday Next and the Nursery Crimes books and I am almost done with the Dark Materials trilogy - book posts I think are in order, now that I have my laptop back).       

PS I turned 36 yesterday. It feels a whole lot like 35.

Comments

[Julie]

Delurking to say very happy belated birthday to you! :-) I am glad that things are going well - other than the lovely bed rest, I should say.

[Mommy Someday]

Happy belated birthday! I just turned 37, and it feels alot like 36 did. I love Patrick's Halloween costume plan!

[Melissa]

28 weeks pregnant with twins. Ah, I feel caught up now. LOL.

I'm still kicking myself for taking such a long break from all of my blog reading. Grrrrr. =)

[Melissa]

28 weeks pregnant with twins. Ah, I feel caught up now. LOL.

I'm still kicking myself for taking such a long break from all of my blog reading. Grrrrr. =)

[Leaf, probably...]

I turned 22 the other day. It feels much like 20 and 21. I will be celebrating by building a fort and watching Disney movies in it.

[Marleen]

Congrats on the birthday. You did keep that quiet, didn't you? ;)
Hope all is well with the babies, and you.

[Lynnette]

Happy Birthday! I thought the same thing about 36...41 feels much like 40, too. As a matter of fact, I keep forgetting I'm not 40 anymore. Maybe that's a good cut-off point. Good job keeping the babies in there!

[Elizabeth]

Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimon
Bellweather by Connie Willis

Both are extremely well written and upbeat.

[Ruth]

Happy belated birthday! Ages started blending together for me in my mid-30s. I don't feel older than 35 ... although if I had a chance to REALLY feel 35 again, I suspect I would be able to recognize the difference.

[Beth]

Happy Birthday!
The best tasting (I had to try them all unfortunately) weight booster is chocolate flavored Boost, in my humble opinion.
You are doing great, keep resting for the babes.

[Mandy]

Happy birthday! I hope you can get someone to come and do a bit of pampering for you while hubby is gone - perhaps in home pedicures for you and your mom or something along those lines. :)

[victoria]

Happy happy birthday! Here's hoping the obstetrician is bored by your absolutley normal, routine, nothing to see here folks below-panties activities and that we all settle in for two more months of posts about books!

[Kristen]

Happy Birthday yesterday!

[C.]

Happy B day. 33 Approaching, I imagine it will feel much like 32.

[Beth]

Happy Birthday! Wishing you a pleasant weekend with Patrick and your mom.

[Veronica]

Happy Birthday!

[Scissorbill]

So you're not only 28 weeks pregnant with twins but now you have ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE? Keep up the good work, it suits you.

[Natalee]

Happy Belated! My 30th was last Friday. The only thing different is that I feel that I should appear more adult-like, yet my heart is still a Toys R Us kid.

[kara]

Happy natal anniversary! =)

[Toni]

Happy Birthday. I feel like after 27...you just feel the same. Not sure why.

Enjoy the sleep - my guess is that in a couple of months, you'll be looking back at this time and WISHING you had slept even more :)

Wishing you well at the appt.

[R]

Happy Birthday! I am hoping that your birthday gift is a nice long uneventful rest-of-pregnancy.

[e]

Happy birthday, OLD thing. I'm staring 40 in the face, but frankly it doesn't feel much different from turning 36 -in so many details.

[Kris]

Happy 36th and 28th!! Keeping fingers crossed you stay pregnant for at least another eight weeks.

[Nancy]

Happy tidings, returns of the day, belated birthday! I think being 28-weeks into a twin-pregnancy isn't such a bad way to ring in 36. It may not feel terribly different from 35, but a fair amount has happened since the dawning of your 35th year! (dude, because I'm avoiding work like it's going out of style, I trotted back in time and found http://julia.typepad.com/julia/2006/10/happy_birthday_.html)(whither archives? I had to GOOGLE for god's sake). Best of wishes for a happy and healthy Julia 2007-2008.

[Flicka]

Happy Birthday! And many happy returns. Glad you're feeling good, too, now that you are almost ready for the old age home. :p

[Heather B.]

Happy Birthday!

I turned 24 last week and yet I still look and feel exactly the same. Odd how that works. ;-)

[Linda]

Happy Birthday, Julia! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Dark Materials trilogy. And ditto on the Connie Willis recommendation, although my favorite book of hers is The Doomsday Book.

Keep those babies in the oven for a bit longer, please!

[Sunny]

Hi Julia! I'm glad things are going well for you, and also? Happy birthday! I'm mainly commenting to say thank you for asking for book suggestions. It just so happens that I seem to have the exact same criteria as you, and I am planning on going through the extensive list. I'm on book 3 of His Dark Materials, and I'm crossing my fingers I'll be done when you review it.

Good luck with everything!

[Christina]

Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween to you, Steve, Patrick, and the 13s!! I'm so glad everything has been going smoothly, even though you're on bedrest.

[Tonya]

Wishing you a very happy year, and many happy returns on the day. You beat me to 36 by a day. ;-)

[Ann]

Happy birthday to you! Glad things seem to be going well. Hope this new year in your life brings much joy.

[Ann]

Oh, and I just realised that you share a birthday with my baby son. He turned 1 on Tuesday.

[Kathie]

Happy belated birthday!
I am also loving the image of Patrick the sullen teen, going to a Halloween party dressed as an L. Patrick, the frat boy, drinking tequila from plastic cups, dressed as a P. Patrick, the newly wed, going to a Halloween party, his beautiful bride dressed as something extremely cute, and him, a W. And Patrick, taking his newborn out trick and treating for the first time, dressed as a Z...

[Loth]

Belated Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween to your little B! Do let us know what you thought of the His Dark Materials books - I remember being quite stunned by them when I read them.

[Heather]

Happy belated birthday. I turned 36 back in March. Feels a lot like 30 too. But you have been very busy this year. And I get the feeling you'll be even busier this time next year, LOL!

[Flippy]

Hmm, if posting at 4am helps my timing, I might be able to be the 36th post, and to wish you a belated 36th birthday in it. We'll see. Anyway, happy happy!

[Amie]

Happy belated Birthday! Hope it was as good as it could be from bed!!

Glad to hear you're doing well otherwise!! How did the Dr's appointment go?

[D]

If he went as A at age 4, will he not complete the alphabet at age 29?

[Megan]

Book post (and Happy Birthday but I figured that phrase was starting to do that weird not-a-word thing from repetition what with all the well wishes!): I think I tried to suggest this before but it looked like the blog ate my comment (Oooh! Book title!) so: they're probably out of print, but see if you can find Elizabeth Goudge. Little White Horse came into print again when JK Rowling recommended it; there are a couple of other children's books (Henrietta's House is one) and several adult novels. I like the Eliot series: Bird in the Tree, Herb of Grace and Heart of the Family (if I remember correctly) but you might also like Middle Window and... I think it's Scent of Water. If not, why not revisit some kid's books? I still laugh over The Treasure Seekers and The Wouldbegoods and I really enjoy Arthur Ransome (although as a careful mother you might have fits over the thought of allowing children to sail and camp all alone!)

[sheila]

36 may not feel any different from 35, but 37 most definitely will! All the best to you in the coming year (and weeks, to be sure!). Happy Birthday!

[Diane]

Happy 36th! I turned 36 last July. 6 days before I had #3. My eldest son, who will be 5 soon, loves to tell everyone very loudly when asked how old he is, "I am 4 1/2 and my Mom is 36". He did it when I was 35 too, but now it seems to make me cringe more. I was wondering exactly how many weeks you are now. 28. Wow. That's really great!

[Christiana]

Happy birthday, Julia! May this year bring you healthy, happy twins at a good long gestational age!

On the weight thing - if your doc isn't concerned, you shouldn't be either. I'm 24 weeks pregnant with a singleton and I've gained... 1 pound since the beginning of pregnancy. if the babies are growing they are getting what they need from you. My doc assures me that it will catch up in the end, but since the baby (and my stomach) are growing nicely, no one has any cause to worry.

[magpie]

A belated happy birthday! Looking forward to your "review" of the Pullman trilogy.

[jessica]

Hi Julia,
Happy Birthday! You're a day after me. Yay for being a Scorpio.

I'm glad you are doing well on bedrest and I hope Patrick shares his candy with you.

[JuliaKB]

Happy belated to you.
So glad to hear things are quiet on the home front. Many more restful weeks to you.

[Nicky]

Happy belated birthday! And, I don't want to mess with either yours or Patrick's head, but if he did A at age 4 he'll be 29 when he does Z (3 + 26) :-)

[Nicky]

Dammit, D got there before me. And I thought I checked all the posts before I commented!

(I'd say I was shocked that Patrick didn't work it out for himself but I had to count it out on my fingers to check...)

[dara]

Yep...35, 36...they all feel the same.

Congrats on feeling so good! I am 33 weeks and my hoo-ha and back are killing me.

Hope your appointment went well...

[Katie]

Happy Be-lated! Let us know how the doc went! And in regards to the weight gain. Don't worry to much! I was pregnant with a singleton, but during my entire pregnany I was only up 16 pounds from PP weight. Don't know about you but my very honest doc said I had plenty of "extra" the baby could have. My guess is that you gain another 10 or so, by the end of your pregnancy. Hope all is well with A and B!

[Libby]

Happy belated birthday Julia! I am glad to hear that you feel great!

All the best!