Bed, White, Black and Back

As you continue to grow, your Mom's tiny back starts to hurt more and more. We've already taken some not-so-drastic steps to try to help her back, including Preggoga, Body Pillows, Massages, Heat Packs, Exercises, walks and acupuncture. All of that is true except for the acupuncture.


But a few weeks ago we tried something a little more drastic. We gave your canine brothers the boot. Preston and Toby (or "black" and "white," as we refer to them when we don't want them to know we're talking about them (yes, we're weird (but, yes, it works)) have slept in bed with us since they were puppies. They are both good snugglers and cuddlers and like to curl up in little balls, mostly on your Mother's side of the bed...mostly directly on your mother. Of course we knew we were breaking the cardinal sin of dog-raising by letting them sleep with us (that puts on equal ground instead of establishing us as leader of the pack). But, seriously...could you say 'no' to these faces?

But, as the belly and your Mom's discomfort grew, the dogs sleeping habits (which are acutally just OUR human sleeping habits) started causing more and more discomfort. She couldn't be pinned down by the close-sleeping canine comrades any longer. And then, when the body pillow came, the dogs got displaced and encroached on my side of the bed. Our queen bed suddenly felt like a tiny twin and Holly and I had a talk. A very serious talk. It went a little something like this:

Aaron: "I think we need to start training the dogs to not sleep in bed with us."

Holly: "Okay!"

So, night one came and we just didn't lift the dogs into bed no matter how much they begged. Luckily, our bed is so high that they can't get up there themselves.

After a few minutes of whining, the dogs gave up and went to sleep on the couch. Two nights later they didn't even beg to get into bed anymore.

This was much more painful on the humans than it was on the dogs. I was so subconciously worried that we had hurt their doggy feelings that I had tortured dreams of the dogs pooping in bed or messing things up. One night, in my sleep, I even went and found Toby and brought him to bed.

But, two weeks in to the no-dogs-in-bed experiment, and we're no worse for the wear. The dogs still love us (trust us, we know) and the curl up every night on the very cumfy green couch. And we've reclaimed what piece of the queen bed the body pillow leaves us with.

But, your Mom's back is still hurting her!

Thinking that, perhaps, the softness of our bed has been doing her back in, your Mom decided to try sleeping upstairs on the guest bed since it's a little firmer. Now, when the guest bed WAS our bed, I only had nice things to say for it. Granted, we bought it out of some guy's storage locker after seeing an ad in the newspaper, but it was comfortable enough!

Apparently, sleeping on the King Coil pillowtop amazing mattress we now have has spoiled me and my little back. After sleeping upstairs, I awoke feeling as if I had been broken into a million pieces...upper back, lower back, parts of my back I didn't even know I had...they were all hurting.

Your mother's back felt mostly the same as it did after sleeping in the real bed. Major experiment fail. We were back in the King Coil pillowtop soft-bed heaven last night, and my back is now fully repaired. Your Mom's...not so much.

But, not to worry, for her birthday, Mimi and Pops got your Mom a pre-natal back massage at a massage parlor. Hopefully this will work. If not, maybe we'll try swaping with Preston and Toby-- they sleep like little babies on the couch and never complain about sore backs.

Bumps: Growing and Arriving on our Doorstep

It's very odd to consider you a 1/2, rather than a third. But, statistically, week 17 is just about half way for a normal pregnancy! Heck, that means you're 5 months old (in utero...and sorry none of this time counts towards birthdays...because the day you're born is your Zeroth birthday...sorry, Charlie (and no, that's not your name)). You've really come into your own, and while I hope you're getting comfy in your Mom's belly, you shouldn't get TOO comfy...after all, March is sooner than you think! It's already October! That means We've known about you for almost 4 months!

And, baby, you've come a long way already! We've been taking pictures of your growing bump for 10 weeks already! Take a look for yourself:

Weeks 8- 17

Fall is definitely your Mom's favorite time of year, and it seems that by the end of this Fall, we're definitely going to have a pumpkin on our hands!

So, the progress is remarkable, I know, but the arrival of yet another bump on our doorstep this week has made the growth of your bump seem slow. One minute I'm just sharing the bed with 2 dogs, your Mom and your growing bump; the next minute, I'm sharing the bed with 2 dogs, your Mom, your growing bump and this cushy monstrosity:

'C' is for " 'C' ya later, Aaron. There's no room in bed for you!"

That giant letter C is your Mom's body pillow! It finally arrived! And despite coming with worse instructions that a piece of IKEA furniture named "SKÄRPT," we figured it out and set your Mom up just right. And boy is she sleeping like a gem now!

Those are the instructions? Seriously? I'd have better luck putting together "KERPLOONKTER"

The only problem is that the pillow itself is the size of a large hobbit, which means I'm even more convinced that a King-Sized bed will be in our future! Seriously, this pillow looks like a speed bump in our bed, or some sort of small hobo under the covers.

But your future is about 4.5 more months of growing in your Mom's belly. For me, this means a lot more time with my favorite growing bump on the block! For your Mom, though, it means 4.5 months with her two favorite bumps: the body pillow and you!

Side-by-Side-by-Sidesleeping

Did you know that your Mom is growing more and more uncomfortable day by day? Or, should I say, night by night... Now, don't be upset; it's a natural part of pregnancy: your Mom cannot find a comfortable way to sleep!

Sleeping on her stomach is completely out of the question; she doesn't want to cramp your style.

Sleeping on her back is growing more and more complicated. Basically, the new weight brought on by growing a you in her belly has added some extra mass on her topside. This extra mass makes her feel like shes being "crushed." Now, I could think of worse ways to be crushed, but your Mom just can't do it!

That only leaves one option: Side sleeping!

The only problem with side sleeping is that by exposing the small of her back or a nest-like space between her butt and her legs, she is only inviting Toby and Preston to nuzzle up closely. And boy do those boys take advantage. Like little fuzzy bookends, the dogs sleep closer and closer to her every night!

Also, starting soon, the added weight of pregnancy (in chest and belly) is going to start having "dunlap disease"...where it dunlap off the edge of the bed. In fact, I think it's happening already. The solution: a body pillow. I've suggested it many times, as did Iris and David. But your Mom is resisting the notion. It would provide tons of support for you in her belly! And then think, you could sleep on her belly pillow AND her bladder! It's the best of both worlds!

I will try again this weekend to get a body pillow that your mother will use. Until then, though, it's side sleeping with a side of white dog and another side of gray dog (and a slight chance of dunlap).

Speaking of sides, though, take a look at this side-by-side comparison of your Mom at week 8 and at week 15! Can you spot the difference?