Happy B-day Ratty Dog

[J’raxis 270145]

Last I talked to her, she sounded like she was having a rough time of it.  Hope she's having a good birthday!

I've been trying to get hold of her about the paper website for over a week now, via email and phone. No response. I see Shuvom's looking for her too, now. Anyone else talk to her recently?

She was at the Manchester Republican Christmas party tonight. Doesn't look like anything's wrong other than Hotmail sucks and is apparently eating my email.

/ Is this a political thread now?

[RattyDog]

You guysssss!!! I can't believe this!! How sweet of you.....who told you it was my birthday!!! I thought I put the wrong date into the thingie in my profile!! What nice people, thank you for your kind words and well wishes!! I'm so happy, I can't understand how you figured out it is my birthday!! 'Cause your wily rebels, that's how I bet!!! 

Though I do come to check on things, I have been missing for a while as far as posting is concerned....I will fill you all in!

Well...the baby is fantastic. SHE is a pretty, healthy, long, ninja baby!! Moves around like she can't wait to get out and see this world! She is soooo beautiful...I can hardly wait for her to be here...almost half way! The sciatica is unbelievable...I don't know how it is I'm going to be able to walk when I get really big...I just, didn't realize it would get this bad! But...this is pregnancy, sometimes it's not always wonderful. But yes...very very happy.

Here is a picture of her...she is holding her foot up to her mouth and had just been eating her toes...they look like such yummy toes!!



Other news is not so awesome. The thing that has kept me very busy is my work situation. As you all know, I was trying to help the widow of the man who used to own the business I run sell the business to someone else. Well...in a flash, this has been achieved...we really didn't expect this to happen until next summer and, quite unfortunately, I have found myself facing a layoff! Not so awesome. To make matters more...interesting...Colin is also finding himself faced with an unexpected layoff! He was supposed to be gone at the end of December but has found that he will actually have a job until the end of January. So, yeah...we're a little stressed about that. What with benefits gone, the baby coming, etc. We'll be okay, it's just a matter of getting through this few months of stress and putting things back to normal. But it is a lot of stress, it's hard to interview right now because nothing fits me and I'm obviously pregnant, plus it's the holiday season. So...ahhhh!  But we will be fine.

So, yes....I've been trying to get the office shut down and wrap up forty years of business, it's keeping me pretty busy because I'm by myself and I'm definitely in a "lay low" kind of mood. But it will end soon. Other than that I've been eating a lot, doing a lot of planning and waiting not-so-patiently for little miss pretty pants baby girl to come!

Anyone who has been trying to get a hold of me....please do not use my hotmail address!! I cannot receive mail there...if I do receive mail there it seems to be some sort of fluke and I'm just not using that addy anymore!! Use instead nataliermitchell @ gmail.com, okay? And for the love of god, if you're really looking for me, just call me...

Jeremy: The only person other than you having a hard time getting a hold of me is Shuvom and I have emailed both of you multiple times...I really don't know what the problem is...everyone else is in regular communications with me and it's business as usual....? I have just this morning received your email at gmail, please continue to use gmail to get in touch with me.

[David]

Don't stress yourself.  It's good of you to say hello, but everyone (hopefully) knows you have a life off the 'net.   
You must have put the right day and month, but the wrong year.  The calender said you were a well preserved 64 years old.   

[Raineyrocks]

I love the ultrasound picture, Ratty, thanks for posting it!  

After having 5 kids that picture made me want to have another one, I'm not going to though.    

What month is your daughter, (does that sound strange?), due in?  Gosh my first pregnancy was a girl too and I was so afraid over everything, she was 2 weeks late too and I walked, mopped floors, anything to bring on labor but she wasn't coming.    

I'll tell you some funny stuff that will hopefully crack you up:  My mom was with me when they induced me so I was hell bent on having the baby natural until I heard this lady screaming in the other room and I asked the nurse what was going on.  She told me the lady was having her baby natural so I said, "quick get that damn epidural in here now!"  If your going to give natural birth I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just a big chicken.   My sister had her baby natural, she meditated through her entire labor, what a bitch!

Anyways my mom went out to smoke a cigarette and my water broke, I yelled, "Mommy!", and the nurse came in.  Here after all my reading I thought the baby just came out when your water broke!   So I was bending over ready to catch her before the nurse came in little did I know that was just the beginning.   So now she's coming a while after my water broke and my mom tells me to count to something like a 100 and hold my breath.  Stupidly I try this and of course can't make it to 100 so I accused her of wanting to kill me in front of everybody.  Then they laid Laura on my belly and I screamed, "she's dead, she's dead!"  Well everyone was looking at me weird, they didn't even cut the cord, then she started crying.  I didn't know you had to push for the placenta so after Laura's out, the doctors told me to keep pushing and I'm yelling, "oh my gosh, it's twins!"

Another cool story:  My twin sister became a Jehovah's Witness, (she's not anymore), but anyway I lost my birthday partner because we are twins.  That same year I got pregnant with #3, both Laura and Carrie, (1&3), were due February 8th well on the 15th (my birthday), I started to get labor pains.  They had to induce me again, all my kids have been kicked out, because I was never able to go  past 4 whatever they call that birth measurement.  Carrie was born on my birthday so I had a birthday partner back!  Awesome, huh?

I used to crack my neighbor up anytime the kids would come over and bug me I would say, "what the hell do you want didn't I kick you out of my uterus already!"   I know, I know, not nice but it was funny!

Anyways I wish you, your husband, and daughter the very best!   If you need any baby advice ask me if you want.

[David]

After that rather, um interesting narrative, let me give some of my own advise.  Don't ask Rainey to give you advise.     just kidding. 

[Raineyrocks]

After that rather, um interesting narrative, let me give some of my own advise.  Don't ask Rainey to give you advise.     just kidding. 

You may have a point!   I truly do mean well though but yeah that narrative was interesting to say the least.

[kola]

it looks like triplets. 

kola

[dalebert]

I saw a show that followed a couple of women through their pregnancies while they trained in meditation for natural births. They went to a number of classes and practices throughout their pregnancies. It wasn't an instant thing. I seem to recall one had had a baby before with drugs. I think one was a first timer. They had varying degrees of pessimism about meditation and I think at least one lady said she was ready to take an epidural the minute she felt like the meditation wasn't going to work. The results were amazing. Both women were astounded at how much easier the births were compared to their built up anxiety about it. If I were a woman, I would ABSOLUTELY take the meditation route. It seemed not only to make a natural birth possible. It actually seemed to make it easier.

[Pat K]

Hope all goes well for you Ratty.
Cute kid there in the pic.


As for drugs during child birth Dale,
Meditation my ass. I would want all
the drugs I could get.

I have been in the delivery room
and while it didn't hurt me a bit.
It sure did look damn painful for the
mother.

Then after 10 hours of induced labor
they did a c-section. I was looking for drugs
at that point.

Though I guess it might depend on the
women. I knew an Iowa farm girl, who
pushed the kid out in 20 min. and the
next day was loading a truck to move!

[dalebert]

I have been in the delivery room
and while it didn't hurt me a bit.
It sure did look damn painful for the
mother.

That's just it though. The women in the show had the same impression of birth and had a lot of anxiety about it. Hence, they were pessimistic about meditation and had a ton of anxiety, yet they both were amazed at how little pain they had.

[Russell Kanning]

It seemed not only to make a natural birth possible.

natural birth ... possible .... those are funny words to put together

good to see you are alive and well RattyDog .... baby on the way

[Lloyd Danforth]

My mother had a funny story about her mother who delivered three girls in the 1920's, all in the hospital.  It was common for women to spend a week on their back in the hospital after delivering.  A few days after giving birth my grandmother asked the doctor when she could get out of bed.  The doctor, apparently not a fan of the bedrest thing replied that when he drove into work he saw Mrs. so and so who he had assisted delivering a child the night before hanging out the washed sheets that had been soiled the night before.
I'll never forget reading the scene in  "The Good Earth"  where the woman is working in the field and her water breaks.  She goes into the dwelling and squats down, delivers the child, bundles it up, puts it to her breast and goes back out to work.

[dalebert]

Or how about the scene in The Meaning of Life?

[Puke]

Or how about the scene in The Meaning of Life?

YAY!


I like this scene better. 

[Raineyrocks]

My mother had a funny story about her mother who delivered three girls in the 1920's, all in the hospital.  It was common for women to spend a week on their back in the hospital after delivering.  A few days after giving birth my grandmother asked the doctor when she could get out of bed.  The doctor, apparently not a fan of the bedrest thing replied that when he drove into work he saw Mrs. so and so who he had assisted delivering a child the night before hanging out the washed sheets that had been soiled the night before.
I'll never forget reading the scene in  "The Good Earth"  where the woman is working in the field and her water breaks.  She goes into the dwelling and squats down, delivers the child, bundles it up, puts it to her breast and goes back out to work.

Damn!  I wish I was 1/4 as tough as those women.