two months left!

Today is April 17th, which means it is exactly 2 months until Baby E is due!  I know that she could come earlier (yes please) or later (dear God no) than June 17th, but it's still a good mile marker.  Seven months down, two to go.  She's beginning to be a bit cramped in there at 3 1/2 pounds and 18 inches long.

Her movements have decreased a ton this last week, which has me a little worried.  I still feel movement, so I know she's alive, but it's nowhere near the amount I had been feeling before.  I can go an hour or two without feeling her kick, whereas I would feel her wiggling around every moment of every day before.  What has happened to my hyperactive baby?  Are things just too tight in there so she's taking it easy?  I have my 2-week appointment on Tuesday, so I'll just check with Dr. Raley then.

We spent time with our neighbors yesterday.  They invited us to stop by because they were having a sort of open house in honor of the husband/dad, who had recently passed away.  They're interesting people.  All three of them (mom and dad in their 60s, daughter a little younger than I am) were living on disability, and we never saw any of them actually leaving the house to do much.  They have a list a mile long of what's wrong with them physically.  And before he died, Willy told them that he wanted them to throw a party and everyone should "do a shot and smoke a doobie" in his honor.  So yeah, interesting people.  Anyway, the daughter Michelle has a 3 month old son named Alex who is absolutely adorable.  I spent a lot of time holding him yesterday, and he's a very sweet and happy baby.  It made me sad though, because I don't think he gets the kind of attention he needs.  His mom just leaves him inside with a bottle to feed himself while she stays outside smoking.  And I can tell that he's lying down on his back too much and not being held/played with enough.  The back of his head has a big bald spot, which I know isn't uncommon for babies because they're on their backs so often at first.  But he also has a huge scabby sore on the spot, which makes me think of a bedsore.  It made me sad to see this beautiful baby boy and wonder what kind of future he has, living with Mom and Grandma in a house full of trash and cigarette smoke.

I know that we're blessed, and I sometimes fail to remember it.  I'm not living off disability, and if I needed to go back to work, I could.  I come from a family of hard workers with strong work ethics.  Kevin has a solid job that, while it isn't much, allows us to pay for most of our needs.  We have a nice house to live in, and while it isn't in the greatest neighborhood, we have some nice neighbors and I've rarely felt unsafe.  And Baby Evelyn will never ever have a shortage of people wanting to hold her, play with her, teach her, and love her.  So I'm content with everything right now.