Ed/Bump Update - Week 21

Sorry for the delay this week! Yesterday was a big unpacking/resting day after the move on Monday. It has been a crazy week! Sorry in advance for rambling to follow, there's just a lot to catch up on!

Ed's home! We busted him out of rehab...

All the ladies at rehab celebrating Ed's birthday!

There was even a Tesla that had come to see him off!

Ed's still doing well, but now the gains he makes are smaller and more to do with 'normalizing' and refining his movements. We're still setting up his outpatient treatments and rehab, which is a huge pain to track people down. Ed mentioned how easy it is for them (insurance, rehab, Dr's) to not feel the urgency he feels as the one who has his health on the line, when he's struggling to get anything scheduled. But he's doing alright. Trying hard to manage his energy despite all the draws on it these days.

His birthday was Saturday and it was a brilliant day. We hitched a ride into Campbell and did some light walking around the Oktoberfest celebration for lunch. For dinner we treated ourselves to a night out at Liquid Bread Gastropub. We did the restaurant week tasting menu. It was about... 50% successful... but after talking about it with Ed, it sort of reaffirmed that we don't just like stuff because it's fancy or weird. We like things that actually taste good and some of this just... didn't.

Preparing for Ed's birthday dinner... somehow we missed the chance to get a picture with Ed... oops! :)

Shiitake mushrooms, brussels sprouts, barley, sprouts and balsamic vinaigrette - I liked this one well enough

Beer soup with cheese, potatoes... something or other. I did not like this. Ed seemed to think it was alright.

Looooved this. Pork chop with turnips, some greens I can't remember and huge serving of salt. 

Sweetbreads with shishito peppers and squid ink spaghetti. The spaghetti was delicious, the rest was eh.

Delicious warm green tea cake with green tea whipped cream and a cranberry relish? I could have eaten 4 of these.

Strawberry pudding with a little piece of almond toffee on top. Not my bag baby. Ed thought it was alright though.

After dinner we decided to go all out and get a hotel room in San Jose for the night. Nothing crazy, just a nice room to have a night away. I'm pretty sure we still ended up asleep at 10:30pm. But not before we ordered room service for dessert! A glass of wine for Ed, a chocolate milkshake for me, and some milk and cookies courtesy of the hotel to celebrate Ed's birthday. It was a really nice calm night. :)

The view from our room

To start of this week, we officially had the first half of our move to the new apartment. I will post pictures, hopefully in a week or two, of a more organized place. We're living 80% out of box/off the floor. The first half of the move went SO QUICKLY. A bunch of Ed's coworkers showed up on their lunch break on Monday and moved a huge amount of our stuff. They all kept complimenting how packed we were, but really we owed that to Dad and Debbie who came last weekend to help us compress everything. Ed and I were shocked at how much got moved over. I've been all weepy thinking about all the help. So thankful.

Also our new apartment is wonderful. Any guests that come will have a great upstairs suite all to themselves - as long as they don't mind some baby stuff around them! I can't wait to show you guys pictures, I'm really happy with this place. If you'd like our new address, just text email or comment on here and I will reach out to you with our new information!

Now baby stuff!

All dressed up for Ed's birthday dinner :)

How far along? 21 weeks

How Big Is Baby? A carrot

Sleep: Had a really good night last night, but it's been rough what with all the juggling involved with moving and other stressful things, like settling Ed's outpatient care. Hopefully last night was the start of a good series of restful nights.

Best moment this week: Ed's coworkers and Dad and Debbie helping us through the first part of the move to our new place. Y'all remember how awful I said our move INTO the Campbell apartment was... I swore I would never do it again. Thank god for all those lovely people. In fact, they are so lovely they are coming back on Saturday to help us move the big furniture. To say we're grateful is a huge understatement.

Movement: FINALLY! I mean, I've felt the fluttering, but this morning I actually felt the first big stretch where I could feel the alien pressing on both sides of my tummy at the same time. Followed up by more stretches in all directions :) Apparently we're both big fans of morning stretches. Omi would be proud!

Symptoms: Things have really settled in general. Still having back problems, but how can I explain, it's aggravated by the baby but not because of the baby. I've always had low back issues. Moving and unpacking doesn't help either. But I'm getting it treated and it's helping. 

Food cravings/aversions: Everything seems pretty normal... Pumpkin pie? Pretty much all fall/winter food makes me stop in my tracks. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, chili, roast turkey, cornbread, butternut squash soup, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, peppermint hot chocolate.... the list goes on and on and on!

Gender: Pretty sure it's decided on something in there! Can't wait for it to let us know what :)

Belly Button in or out? In. Ed noted how taut the area is looking though... I know I'm halfway though but I'm still surprised it's so filled out.

What I miss: Not too much really. Feeling pretty good these days. Carolyne says I'm probably nesting now, so I'm content to just unpack and decorate and set up shop in our new home.

What I am looking forward to: More days like these, where things seem to fall into place. AND my mom coming to town tonight! I'm hoping now that Ed is home we can do some fun things and she'll get a chance to meet our new midwife. Should be a really good visit to tie things up and tide us over until our trip back East for Christmas!

Funny moment of the week: It's never quite that funny when we're in the midst of it, but packing up the cats for travel is always amusing. I try to separate them and put them in without the other seeing what's up. This time I did Leo first, and then left him in a room while I went to attend to Rosie. When I came back he was (still in the bag) clear across the room, upside down, with the bag all twisted around him. He does not like travel! Poor babies. They love the new apartment though. Carpeted stairs to fly up and down and more sunlight to sleep in during the afternoons. :)

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: People can be WONDERFUL. And with no reward. Although one could argue having Ed back at work is a reward, but people (read: coworkers and family) can be jaw droppingly wonderful.  

Milestones: Moving into our new apartment, the place baby will call his or her first home! And my cute little niece just finished her first month of sleep depriving Ck and Joe :) Look at that face!!!

Oh Emilia, you are a sweetie!