Donating Cord Blood

This is something new we are trying this preganancy. There is plenty of companies that would like you to think that you must privately bank your babies cord blood in case of illness in the future. The cost is over $2000 plus an annual fee to keep the blood. The truth is that unless there is some sort of risk in your family you probably will not need to use it, and even if your child did get sick and need stem cells, there are other ways to get them, such as bone marrow. David and I discussed it and decided to look into donating the cord blood to a public bank instead. We chose a company that accepts donations from anywhere and it is free. They even had a short quiz on their website to help you decide if you are at risk and should privately bank or not a risk and donate. It is sort of a lot of paperwork though. I had to fill out an extensive health questionaire, sign it several times and get my Dr. to sign it. Then it had to be approved by the center. Once approved they sent me a kit with all the medical equipment in it to take to the hospital during the delivery. We are responsible for calling the center during labor and after delivery. Then filling out more paperwork afterward and ensuring that the kit is picked up by courier. We don't get anything out of it, but it is nice to think that the cord blood could save someone's life.

Baby Shower

Even though this is my 4th baby, I had my FIRST baby shower over the weekend. It was so fun! Abe got a lot of very cute clothes as well as other baby supplies and his very own baby/scrapbook! Only 3 weeks or so left until we meet him. We are working each day to get the house ready for him. I have been feeling less tired the last few days but more impatient with the pregnancy. Mostly with the fact that I can't feel my fingers due to pregnancy related carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, the hands/feet/face swelling. I'm sick of looking at my fat face. I have outgrown a lot of my maternity clothes too. These things are not a big deal though, and will all disappear the second I get to look at that sweet baby face!

Life Member Award

A few years ago I was VERY active in Early Childhood PTA, including being president for 2 years (very unusual for someone to take a second term). I also did the jobs of Historian, Parliamentarian and Newsletter. Well, the PTA usually invites a past president to come to their February meeting for a "Founders Day" celebration. This year they invited me for Founders Day and surprised me by presenting me with the Texas PTA Life Member award. It is a real honor to get the award.

Mommy and Tommy

Yes, I do spend a lot of time in bed, but hey I have only 40 more days and then I will not be allowed to sleep for 2+ years.

*!#@&% Science Fair!

Our school has started an annual science fair for 3-5th grades, and a smaller one for the other grades. It has all the makings of being a competition among the parents. There are so many rules! The whole thing is to be done at home, no pre-made kits, no demonstrations at school, you can't just do an experiment, everything must be in the form of a problem or question. Ok fine, now imagine you are 8 years old. Try coming up with something that is actually possible to do (no building bombs or time machines) or where the answer isn't blatently obvious. The last 2 years this has meant David and I had to listen to potential problem/questions for approx. 2 days before steering the children toward one they can actually do. Then *I* have to go purchase materials. This year I had to buy WORMS and a soldering iron (not for the same project, haha!) among other things. Science boards have to be purchased from the school and all the info from your project glued on. Remember, you can't bring your actual project to school only photos or drawings can be glued on your board. This is where the scrapbooking moms are separated from the non-scrapbookers (me). Scrapbooking moms have fancy paper, their own paper cutter, unique stickers, borders, etc. I don't have any of these things, but luckily Ada knows a lot of good clip art sites. It is important to me that the kids do their own work. Ada finished her board last night and Ben will finish today just in time for the Friday deadline. Then we will be done, that is, until next year!