March 17, 2002

Cade has started a new game for us to play in the car. Each of us gets a turn and we tell the other two one of our favorite memories. It is actually a fun game that we can all participate in – unlike the guess the NFL team. I’m usually left far behind on that one. A couple of weeks ago this memory came to me so I thought I’d record it….


The average pregnancy for a woman is 280 days (40 weeks x 7 days). Out of my 279 days of pregnancy (Cade was born 4 minutes before his due date of March 20th) March 17 sticks out the most. It was a miserable day. Also when I look back on it that day must’ve had 48 hours in it or something. We did a lot on March 17, 2002.

We woke up and I had a few minor contractions and Jay made me go for a walk. They stopped so it was a false alarm. We made it to our church’s 8:30 service. I was so uncomfortable we left before Sunday School. We went to my office and Jay helped me catch up on a few things. He pulled a few of our really big, heavy, awkward files out for me so I could get through my filing stack. Then we ate Mexican – hoping the old wives tale was correct – and it would throw me into labor. Then we went to the mall in Joplin to walk the baby out – didn’t work. Jay told me I needed one of those slow moving vehicle triangles on my back(he’s always the jokster!). I got the 6 month inspection done on my wedding ring. Then we went to Wal Mart and stocked up on everything we would need for awhile, including the ugliest pair of canvas slip on shoes for my hugely swollen feet.

The part about that day though that sticks out the most to me was when I got my ring checked. I swelled horribly while I was pregnant. Towards the end I was putting on 3-4 lbs a week just in fluid. My doctor kept telling me it would come off once I had him – which it did. I lost over 25 pounds of fluid in just the first 4 or 5 days post delivery. But because of the swelling I hadn’t been able to wear my wedding ring since Christmas – the entire last trimester. Somehow I remembered that I needed to have the ring checked in March. It has to be done every March/Sept or my diamond warranty will be void. Looking back I wonder why I waited until the very last second to have it inspected that March, but anyway I got it done. But I had to walk into the mall wearing my wedding ring on my pinky – and that was a tight squeeze. I waddled up to the Zales counter and asked them to clean it and inspect it. When the lady handed it back to me she told me it was a pretty ring – which they all are when they are really clean and under those jewelry store lights. I told her thank you, and that I could not wait to be able to start wearing it again, as I was jamming it back on my pinky. This is when I heard the words that are the equivalent of asking someone when they are due when they aren’t pregnant….the lady said “you know, we can stretch your ring for you so it will fit again”. I felt like she was implying I had gained weight rather than realizing I was pregnant. I have no idea what kind of a look that I gave her or what I said but I remember thinking you have got to be kidding. Could she not tell that I was pregnant? I know as I walked off the lady was probably thinking I was living in a dream world if I thought I was going to loose all that weight and wear my ring again.

Yes, I did get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight after Cade was born. Every pound came off….but I also learned there is something even harder to get rid of than pregnancy pounds….infertility weight, followed by adoption wait weight followed by thought you were going to get a baby but you didn’t and then you had to start taking all kinds of fertility drugs weight….. But at least I can still wear my wedding ring!