I'm sure this isn't my first conundrum and it won't be my last.
But I really don't get how maternity pants work.
So..do you buy your size that you are currently and the weirdo waistband just sort of accomodates your growing belly? Or do you buy pants several times throughout the course of the pregnancy? Both? It seems sort of dumb (and expensive) that you have to buy pants at several different times.
I don't need maternity pants yet but I sense they are coming closer. I have started looking online and I just don't get it.
HELP!
Friday, February 26, 2010
As we journey to Trimester 2, I simply must say Girls Rule!
At the beginning of the month, I was waxing poetically about my darling husband. I still think he is awesome, but I want to give a shout out to the girlfriends with this post. Thank you JMN, AMW, BLK for listening to me whine over the phone and in person this past week. Thank you MBAMMPHPA, AH & CD for your great emails of encouragement. Thank you CH for agreeing that people say the dumbest things to you when you are pregnant. Thank you SU for agreeing with me that Don Draper is the sexiest man alive (well besides my husband of course) and thank you BCK for letting me be jealous of a his beatnik girlfriend, a television character. I do not know what I would do without girlfriends!!!! I love you all!
As for things in pregnancy land, another night of interrupted sleep. 1:30-4:00 this morning were spent filling out The Belly Book and watching 2 episodes of Mad Men. Today also marks the beginning of the 2nd trimester, at 13 weeks and 3 days. I actually felt kind of dumb about this but I asked my doctor, "When does the second trimester actually start because some books say Week 13 and some say Week 14?". He responded, gestationally, it's at 13 1/2 weeks which is why some say week 13 and some week 14. So the day has finally arrived. I don't really feel that different but I did buy one of those belly bands for my work pants. I haven't tried it out yet and haven't even taken it out of the package because it still sort of freaks me out. TGIF because I can wear jeans to work and my Uniqlo skinnnys are still the most comfortable pants I own (aka they still fit).
I have to take one final belly picture tonight marking 13 weeks but then my first trimester album will be complete. We have been taking two pictures (one front view, one side view) every week since week 5. I don't know that I'll be posting them on here since I have tried to keep this anonymous and only give the link out to a few people. If you want the belly pictures, email me. If you don't know my email address, sorry - you don't get to see them.
As for things in pregnancy land, another night of interrupted sleep. 1:30-4:00 this morning were spent filling out The Belly Book and watching 2 episodes of Mad Men. Today also marks the beginning of the 2nd trimester, at 13 weeks and 3 days. I actually felt kind of dumb about this but I asked my doctor, "When does the second trimester actually start because some books say Week 13 and some say Week 14?". He responded, gestationally, it's at 13 1/2 weeks which is why some say week 13 and some week 14. So the day has finally arrived. I don't really feel that different but I did buy one of those belly bands for my work pants. I haven't tried it out yet and haven't even taken it out of the package because it still sort of freaks me out. TGIF because I can wear jeans to work and my Uniqlo skinnnys are still the most comfortable pants I own (aka they still fit).
I have to take one final belly picture tonight marking 13 weeks but then my first trimester album will be complete. We have been taking two pictures (one front view, one side view) every week since week 5. I don't know that I'll be posting them on here since I have tried to keep this anonymous and only give the link out to a few people. If you want the belly pictures, email me. If you don't know my email address, sorry - you don't get to see them.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Baby Names!
Before you get too excited, I am putting it out there that we aren't telling anyone our name choices before the big arrival. That's right -- you have to wait to find out the NAME and the SEX! We're so evil. That said, we haven't made a 100% decision on anything yet. It's too fun getting each other's opinions (meaning my husband's and mine) on names to decide!
I read on another blog about Baby Namescape. I thought it was fun - you can look up to see what the top 10 female names and top 10 male names are at the hospital you are planning on delivering in. Some people are very anti-picking names that are popular so this would be a good tool to use. I'm not too concerned about popularity, although I can see the point of not wanting your child to be the 18th Amy in her class. I do think things like this are fun.
Here is the list as of today for our hospital:
Girl Names
Isabella
Elizabeth
Eliza
Ava
Madison
Brooklyn
Avery
Emily
Grace
Kaitlyn
Boy Names
Isaiah
Jayden
Alexander
Ethan
Elijah
Caleb
Chase
Gavin
Jackson
Joshua
I read on another blog about Baby Namescape. I thought it was fun - you can look up to see what the top 10 female names and top 10 male names are at the hospital you are planning on delivering in. Some people are very anti-picking names that are popular so this would be a good tool to use. I'm not too concerned about popularity, although I can see the point of not wanting your child to be the 18th Amy in her class. I do think things like this are fun.
Here is the list as of today for our hospital:
Girl Names
Isabella
Elizabeth
Eliza
Ava
Madison
Brooklyn
Avery
Emily
Grace
Kaitlyn
Boy Names
Isaiah
Jayden
Alexander
Ethan
Elijah
Caleb
Chase
Gavin
Jackson
Joshua
Cheetos, Por Favor!
Normally I am not much of a chip person. Save for tortilla chips, we don't regularly buy chips. I will eat them at a party but can take them or leave them. Except cheetos. I have always loved Crunchy Cheetos.
Since being pregnant, I think the one consistent craving I have had is salt. Pickles, Olives, Salty greasy chips...bring it on. Pre-pregnancy, i really wasn't all about salt. I actually was really sensitive to sodium and salty flavor in general and tended to be pretty anti-salt.
Despite this, I have tried to eat even healthier than usual, especially since my nausea has passed. This week especially I have been on a healthy food kick, eating 3-4 fruits a day and several servings of vegetables. Yesterday afternoon, I couldn't take it anymore. I NEEDED SALT. I only had a $10 bill in my wallet so I went begging door to door in my office for change. No one was going to turn down a pregnant woman on a quest for salt!
I walked down to the vending machine. They only had BAKED cheetos or the fire cheetos. GROSS. I don't really understand the whole Baked chips thing. Pregnant or not, if I'm going to indulge in chips, give me the good kind. Anyhoo..I decided that baked cheetos would have to suffice. I punched in the number.
IMMEDIATELY below the baked cheetos was the row of baked cheddar and sour cream ruffles. I must have been so delusional for salt that I punched in the code for the ruffles instead of the cheetos. So I ate the ruffles. It didn't really hit the spot, but my sister took me to a mexican restaurant for dinner and that did it. All was right with the world again. We braved a blizzard (ok, more like a few inches of snow) to trek out for mexican. The waiter told us that they have a special that when it snows more than 4 inches everyone gets a free drink. "OH, well i'm pregnant so I'll have to pass", I immediately blurted out. "Well, miss, you don't have to get an alcoholic drink," he replied. I started cracking up and commented that of course my mind went straight to the alcohol.
Here's to Mexican food with sisters and virgin margaritas!
Since being pregnant, I think the one consistent craving I have had is salt. Pickles, Olives, Salty greasy chips...bring it on. Pre-pregnancy, i really wasn't all about salt. I actually was really sensitive to sodium and salty flavor in general and tended to be pretty anti-salt.
Despite this, I have tried to eat even healthier than usual, especially since my nausea has passed. This week especially I have been on a healthy food kick, eating 3-4 fruits a day and several servings of vegetables. Yesterday afternoon, I couldn't take it anymore. I NEEDED SALT. I only had a $10 bill in my wallet so I went begging door to door in my office for change. No one was going to turn down a pregnant woman on a quest for salt!
I walked down to the vending machine. They only had BAKED cheetos or the fire cheetos. GROSS. I don't really understand the whole Baked chips thing. Pregnant or not, if I'm going to indulge in chips, give me the good kind. Anyhoo..I decided that baked cheetos would have to suffice. I punched in the number.
IMMEDIATELY below the baked cheetos was the row of baked cheddar and sour cream ruffles. I must have been so delusional for salt that I punched in the code for the ruffles instead of the cheetos. So I ate the ruffles. It didn't really hit the spot, but my sister took me to a mexican restaurant for dinner and that did it. All was right with the world again. We braved a blizzard (ok, more like a few inches of snow) to trek out for mexican. The waiter told us that they have a special that when it snows more than 4 inches everyone gets a free drink. "OH, well i'm pregnant so I'll have to pass", I immediately blurted out. "Well, miss, you don't have to get an alcoholic drink," he replied. I started cracking up and commented that of course my mind went straight to the alcohol.
Here's to Mexican food with sisters and virgin margaritas!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Books!
I am an avid reader, and have had to stop myself from stockpiling a children's library for the baby. I don't know that I will be holding off that much longer. I will force my child to love reading...ha ha ha.
I was VERY into reading pregnancy books while trying to conceive and very early on in pregnancy. However, I'm sort of over them now. I get these weekly emails that tell me about the baby's development and that does it for me (I'll recap those in the future). The development of the baby is the most interesting to me. Once you read one pregnancy book, you kind of know what symptoms, etc they will talk about in all of them. I also was slightly frustrated because some of my symptoms weren't mentioned, making me feel like a freak until I visited my doctor who reassurred me all was fine.
SOOO...Because I have checked out literally every pregnancy book that our library has to offer, I will now offer my review. I must offer this caveat - I have not read past the pregnancy parts of any of these books. I tried reading about labor and delivery and realized that I am just not ready to go there quite yet. I also can't remember the titles of some of the ones I checked out, so I'm obviously not even going to bother with those.
Let's start with ones to skip.
Our Bodies Ourselves Pregnancy and Birth. I wanted to love this one. I was a women's studies minor in college and was obsessed with Our Bodies Ourselves (the non-pregnancy one). I bought it for my sister. Loved it. Perhaps it was because I read the pregnancy version after reading so many other ones, but I didn't find it that useful.
You Having a Baby. Again, I looked at this after reading a lot of stuff so I didn't find it that useful. I thought it was organized in a strange way and not easy to follow.
Now let's go to my two favorites, as far as information goes:
Mayo Clinc Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. Everyone tells you to get this book, and there is a good reason for it. It is excellent. The purple one is the newest one, but I think I also have a previous huge hardcover edition that I picked up from goodwill. It might be this book. I actually like this old Hardcover version better than the new one. It might not even be an older version - I just know it has MAYO CLINIC in the title. I obsessed over this book (the hardcover version) from the minute we decided to start trying. I checked out the purple book (new edition) from the library and have been continually renewing it. It is a great source because you know the info in it is legit.
Your Pregnancy Week by Week. Again, I have an old edition of this given to me as a hand me down from one of Nate's coworkers, but I have compared it to the newer version and it is pretty similar. I love things that break down week by week. Each week, I read the chapter relevant to that week. It goes over the baby development as well as common symptoms, feelings. It is quick, easy to read.
Exercising through your pregnancy. I must confess that I actually read this book 2 years ago and haven't revisited it since actually being pregnant. I thought it was a great read at the time, as I previously had thought that you weren't suppossed to exercise during pregnancy. I might have to revisit this one because as I recall the book was divided into two parts - one explaining research behind exercise and pregnancy (aka the part I read) and one actually designed for pregnanct women looking to exercise.
Funny books
The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. Another hand me down from Nate's coworker. I enjoyed this book and was the first book I read after finding out that I was truly pregnant. I thought it was funny and as it professes, tells you some things that you probably didn't know about. I did not like the exercise chapter in this book - I thought it was very anti-exercise. I also did not like the maternity clothes chapter where their helpful advice was to raid your husband's closet. I don't think I will be fitting into/nor wanting to wear my husband's suits. However, a coworker of mine did tell me that she wore her husband's clothes a lot. She did say that her husband and her were similar in size to begin with though. Regardless, this book is a good lighthearted look at pregnancy, especially when you are very early on. If anyone wants this book, please let me know and I will give it to you.
What to Expect When your Wife Is Expanding. As I mentioned before, I got this for Nate because I knew he would be really into the pregnancy and this book is also light and humorous. I wouldn't buy it if you wanted to give your guy a serious read, but it does do a nice job explaining why we turn crazy the minute conception occurs. :) I know my husband likes it and he reads parts of it to me a lot, which are funny.
Books I have Perused, but not delved into. I think this was the point when I reached information overload:
From the Hips. This isn't a bad one, but I didn't spend much time with it. I think I checked it out when I had already whittled down what I truly was going to keep reading vs what I didn't like and this didn't make the cut for no good reason other than I started to have my fill of pregnancy information.
Eating Well When You are Expecting. This book was sent to me by my insurance company, I kid you not. Our insurance company has a free prenatal program where a nurse checks in with you every few weeks and they send you this huge batch of information right away. I haven't even cracked this book open. They were going to send me What to Expect When you are Expecting but I vetoed that. I have a huge bias against this book since my women's studies days where we were told that this was the worst book ever to give a pregnant women. It may very well be a fine book, but I haven't been able to shake the bias.
The Expectant Father. This book was also given to us as a hand me down from Nate's coworker. He has it on his table but I don't think he has opened it, so I can't comment on it.
Books about Babies
So since I haven't really read about labor and delivery, you can bet that I haven't read any chapter dealing with newborns or any books about babies. I do have the following two books though:
The Baby Book by Sears & Sears. I have heard good things about Dr. Sears. That and this book was marked down to $5 brand new when our Pottery Barn Kids went out of business here.
Dr. Spock. This is the book that my mother-in-law and my own mother mentioned and used. "Oh, Dr. Spock" they laughed. It turns out that my mother-in-law still had her copy. I can't even find a link to the old version that I have. I think this might be a funny book to read as I am always really interested in how recommendations for babies and pregnancy change in such a relatively short period of time. While watching Mad Men, set in the 60s, those women are drinking and smoking CONSTANTLY while pregnant and are not at all fazed by it, much less worried about their deli meat consumption.
And now, I will reveal the book that has been recommended to me umpteen times from several different circles of friends, in several different states:
BABY BARGAINS
My friend HB loaned me this book. HB is a very practical person, and a great mom to a now one-year old. The hubs and I have often talked about how HB and her husband are good parenting role models. So when she recommended this book, I knew it had to be a good one. Fast forward a few days, and my boss actually brought in the most updated version as a gift for me. AWWWW. So sweet. My boss said she also found the book really helpful. I haven't really had a chance to sit down with it yet and I also plan on asking as many moms that I know about their advice, but this is a great book to start with.
So that's that. You might now think I am totally crazy. I know my husband certainly started making fun of me when I made repeated trips home from the library with stacks of pregnancy books. You can see why I'm sort of over reading about pregnancy. :)
I was VERY into reading pregnancy books while trying to conceive and very early on in pregnancy. However, I'm sort of over them now. I get these weekly emails that tell me about the baby's development and that does it for me (I'll recap those in the future). The development of the baby is the most interesting to me. Once you read one pregnancy book, you kind of know what symptoms, etc they will talk about in all of them. I also was slightly frustrated because some of my symptoms weren't mentioned, making me feel like a freak until I visited my doctor who reassurred me all was fine.
SOOO...Because I have checked out literally every pregnancy book that our library has to offer, I will now offer my review. I must offer this caveat - I have not read past the pregnancy parts of any of these books. I tried reading about labor and delivery and realized that I am just not ready to go there quite yet. I also can't remember the titles of some of the ones I checked out, so I'm obviously not even going to bother with those.
Let's start with ones to skip.
Our Bodies Ourselves Pregnancy and Birth. I wanted to love this one. I was a women's studies minor in college and was obsessed with Our Bodies Ourselves (the non-pregnancy one). I bought it for my sister. Loved it. Perhaps it was because I read the pregnancy version after reading so many other ones, but I didn't find it that useful.
You Having a Baby. Again, I looked at this after reading a lot of stuff so I didn't find it that useful. I thought it was organized in a strange way and not easy to follow.
Now let's go to my two favorites, as far as information goes:
Mayo Clinc Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. Everyone tells you to get this book, and there is a good reason for it. It is excellent. The purple one is the newest one, but I think I also have a previous huge hardcover edition that I picked up from goodwill. It might be this book. I actually like this old Hardcover version better than the new one. It might not even be an older version - I just know it has MAYO CLINIC in the title. I obsessed over this book (the hardcover version) from the minute we decided to start trying. I checked out the purple book (new edition) from the library and have been continually renewing it. It is a great source because you know the info in it is legit.
Your Pregnancy Week by Week. Again, I have an old edition of this given to me as a hand me down from one of Nate's coworkers, but I have compared it to the newer version and it is pretty similar. I love things that break down week by week. Each week, I read the chapter relevant to that week. It goes over the baby development as well as common symptoms, feelings. It is quick, easy to read.
Exercising through your pregnancy. I must confess that I actually read this book 2 years ago and haven't revisited it since actually being pregnant. I thought it was a great read at the time, as I previously had thought that you weren't suppossed to exercise during pregnancy. I might have to revisit this one because as I recall the book was divided into two parts - one explaining research behind exercise and pregnancy (aka the part I read) and one actually designed for pregnanct women looking to exercise.
Funny books
The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. Another hand me down from Nate's coworker. I enjoyed this book and was the first book I read after finding out that I was truly pregnant. I thought it was funny and as it professes, tells you some things that you probably didn't know about. I did not like the exercise chapter in this book - I thought it was very anti-exercise. I also did not like the maternity clothes chapter where their helpful advice was to raid your husband's closet. I don't think I will be fitting into/nor wanting to wear my husband's suits. However, a coworker of mine did tell me that she wore her husband's clothes a lot. She did say that her husband and her were similar in size to begin with though. Regardless, this book is a good lighthearted look at pregnancy, especially when you are very early on. If anyone wants this book, please let me know and I will give it to you.
What to Expect When your Wife Is Expanding. As I mentioned before, I got this for Nate because I knew he would be really into the pregnancy and this book is also light and humorous. I wouldn't buy it if you wanted to give your guy a serious read, but it does do a nice job explaining why we turn crazy the minute conception occurs. :) I know my husband likes it and he reads parts of it to me a lot, which are funny.
Books I have Perused, but not delved into. I think this was the point when I reached information overload:
From the Hips. This isn't a bad one, but I didn't spend much time with it. I think I checked it out when I had already whittled down what I truly was going to keep reading vs what I didn't like and this didn't make the cut for no good reason other than I started to have my fill of pregnancy information.
Eating Well When You are Expecting. This book was sent to me by my insurance company, I kid you not. Our insurance company has a free prenatal program where a nurse checks in with you every few weeks and they send you this huge batch of information right away. I haven't even cracked this book open. They were going to send me What to Expect When you are Expecting but I vetoed that. I have a huge bias against this book since my women's studies days where we were told that this was the worst book ever to give a pregnant women. It may very well be a fine book, but I haven't been able to shake the bias.
The Expectant Father. This book was also given to us as a hand me down from Nate's coworker. He has it on his table but I don't think he has opened it, so I can't comment on it.
Books about Babies
So since I haven't really read about labor and delivery, you can bet that I haven't read any chapter dealing with newborns or any books about babies. I do have the following two books though:
The Baby Book by Sears & Sears. I have heard good things about Dr. Sears. That and this book was marked down to $5 brand new when our Pottery Barn Kids went out of business here.
Dr. Spock. This is the book that my mother-in-law and my own mother mentioned and used. "Oh, Dr. Spock" they laughed. It turns out that my mother-in-law still had her copy. I can't even find a link to the old version that I have. I think this might be a funny book to read as I am always really interested in how recommendations for babies and pregnancy change in such a relatively short period of time. While watching Mad Men, set in the 60s, those women are drinking and smoking CONSTANTLY while pregnant and are not at all fazed by it, much less worried about their deli meat consumption.
And now, I will reveal the book that has been recommended to me umpteen times from several different circles of friends, in several different states:
BABY BARGAINS
My friend HB loaned me this book. HB is a very practical person, and a great mom to a now one-year old. The hubs and I have often talked about how HB and her husband are good parenting role models. So when she recommended this book, I knew it had to be a good one. Fast forward a few days, and my boss actually brought in the most updated version as a gift for me. AWWWW. So sweet. My boss said she also found the book really helpful. I haven't really had a chance to sit down with it yet and I also plan on asking as many moms that I know about their advice, but this is a great book to start with.
So that's that. You might now think I am totally crazy. I know my husband certainly started making fun of me when I made repeated trips home from the library with stacks of pregnancy books. You can see why I'm sort of over reading about pregnancy. :)
Princess Aurora I am Not
Cinderella had Midnight as the witching hour - I currently have 2:00 AM as my time to rise and shine. My hopes to star as Sleeping Beauty last night were dashed. Prince Charming (aka The Hubs) was away in IA on business and I was excited to have a whole big bed to myself to stretch and contort my body into the unusual positions that are now commonplace. The hardest thing for me to adjust to is side sleeping. I was a back sleeper. When pregnant, they recommend you sleep on your side, your left side at that. I cannot get comfortable on either side, but especially not my left side. I have recently tried to get creative with pillow placement and that seems to be helping some. However, at 2 AM I was up. At 2:30, I turned on the computer. I was a little sleepy after cleaning out my Google Reader so I tried to go back to sleep. At 3:15, I watched another episode of Mad Men.
Toss and Turn. Toss and Turn..jacknife right leg across the bed. The last time i checked the clock it was 6:15. At 6:50 my alarm woke me up. CURSES!
I have a doctor appointment Monday so you can bet that insomnia will be my number one concern.
Toss and Turn. Toss and Turn..jacknife right leg across the bed. The last time i checked the clock it was 6:15. At 6:50 my alarm woke me up. CURSES!
I have a doctor appointment Monday so you can bet that insomnia will be my number one concern.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Positive Reframing
Today is a new day and I'm trying to be more positive. In the class that I teach, the students have to do an exercise in the psychological health chapter that reframes negative statements into positive ones. So here goes:
Negative: I only got about 3 or 4 hours of sleep last night.
Positive: I may just make it through all of the Turner Classic Movies on Demand by the time August rolls around. Last night/This Morning: Lolita.
Cross this name off the baby name list, ha ha ha!
Negative: My belly is expanding and looking flabby.
Positive: My husband gets more and more excited as the belly gets bigger. By the end of the day, I am so bloated that I can really push it out and it looks "real".
Negative: First trimester symptoms SUCK!
Positive: The symptoms sound really funny when your husband reads them to you from the What to Expect When your Wife is Expanding book. (BTW, I got this book for my husband months before we were even trying b/c I found it at a close out sale at a local book store. It is pretty funny and I enjoy hearing him read the monthly list of things to 'watch out for'.)
Happy Tuesday everyone!
Negative: I only got about 3 or 4 hours of sleep last night.
Positive: I may just make it through all of the Turner Classic Movies on Demand by the time August rolls around. Last night/This Morning: Lolita.
Cross this name off the baby name list, ha ha ha!
Negative: My belly is expanding and looking flabby.
Positive: My husband gets more and more excited as the belly gets bigger. By the end of the day, I am so bloated that I can really push it out and it looks "real".
Negative: First trimester symptoms SUCK!
Positive: The symptoms sound really funny when your husband reads them to you from the What to Expect When your Wife is Expanding book. (BTW, I got this book for my husband months before we were even trying b/c I found it at a close out sale at a local book store. It is pretty funny and I enjoy hearing him read the monthly list of things to 'watch out for'.)
Happy Tuesday everyone!
Monday, February 22, 2010
More test results
Ok, so after that downer of a post, I will post some good news.
We decided to have the first trimester screen test, which tests for the likelihood of down syndrome or trisomy 18, and the cystic fibrosis carrier test (not sure if that is the "real" name). At the time when we were asked about these tests (at our first appt with the nurse at 8 weeks), I was very overwhelmed and neither my husband nor I realized that we would have to make decisions about the tests at that time. So we just said yes.
At my first doctor appt at 10 weeks, he went through the first trimester screen test more thoroughly and I sort of felt like having the test was not a good idea. Mostly because, for us, the results would not have changed anything and from what my doctor explained, although the test is the best they have so far, it is still a pretty crappy test.
It came back that I am not a carrier for cystic fibrosis. They only screen the father if the mother comes back positive so I'm not sure if my husband is a carrier but if you go back to your Biology 101 textbooks and Punnett squares, it doesn't matter if only one of you is a carrier - your child could end up not being a carrier (50% chance) or being a carrier (50%). If both of you are carriers, your child has a 25% chance of having cystic fibrosis. Ok, that's enough genetics for today.
I just got a phone call with the results of our first trimester screen. During this screen, they measure the neck folds of the baby during the ultrasound and take a blood sample. The measuring of the neck folds process is really something. It looked to me like she was just clicking on random spots. We knew that our neck fold measurement was fine, but did not know about the blood test results.
For the first trimester screen results, they give you a risk measurement. They will never tell you that you have zero risk, instead they will say that your baby has a 1 in 10,000 chance of having down syndrome. 1 in 10,000 is as good as you can hope for. Our number: 1 in 10,000. Nice.
I was not really worried about this test, but it can be a cause for worry for some. I highly recommend reading up on all of the screening tests at an early stage. Like I said, we were not prepared to make decisions on the tests when we were asked because it was our first appointment and it wasn't even with our doctor. I sort of entered panic mode when they asked me to make a decision and sign the form. I'm glad to know it all worked out.
We decided to have the first trimester screen test, which tests for the likelihood of down syndrome or trisomy 18, and the cystic fibrosis carrier test (not sure if that is the "real" name). At the time when we were asked about these tests (at our first appt with the nurse at 8 weeks), I was very overwhelmed and neither my husband nor I realized that we would have to make decisions about the tests at that time. So we just said yes.
At my first doctor appt at 10 weeks, he went through the first trimester screen test more thoroughly and I sort of felt like having the test was not a good idea. Mostly because, for us, the results would not have changed anything and from what my doctor explained, although the test is the best they have so far, it is still a pretty crappy test.
It came back that I am not a carrier for cystic fibrosis. They only screen the father if the mother comes back positive so I'm not sure if my husband is a carrier but if you go back to your Biology 101 textbooks and Punnett squares, it doesn't matter if only one of you is a carrier - your child could end up not being a carrier (50% chance) or being a carrier (50%). If both of you are carriers, your child has a 25% chance of having cystic fibrosis. Ok, that's enough genetics for today.
I just got a phone call with the results of our first trimester screen. During this screen, they measure the neck folds of the baby during the ultrasound and take a blood sample. The measuring of the neck folds process is really something. It looked to me like she was just clicking on random spots. We knew that our neck fold measurement was fine, but did not know about the blood test results.
For the first trimester screen results, they give you a risk measurement. They will never tell you that you have zero risk, instead they will say that your baby has a 1 in 10,000 chance of having down syndrome. 1 in 10,000 is as good as you can hope for. Our number: 1 in 10,000. Nice.
I was not really worried about this test, but it can be a cause for worry for some. I highly recommend reading up on all of the screening tests at an early stage. Like I said, we were not prepared to make decisions on the tests when we were asked because it was our first appointment and it wasn't even with our doctor. I sort of entered panic mode when they asked me to make a decision and sign the form. I'm glad to know it all worked out.
And now, the post where I confess, "I Hate Being Pregnant"
Just shy of 13 weeks I am going to go ahead and say that I hate being pregnant. I told my mother (and my sister, and my best friend) yesterday that if one more person tells me, "pregnancy is such a joyous time, enjoy every minute of it" i was going to full out punch them. In fact, I almost hugged KG at work when she finally broke down and said, "I hated every minute of being pregnant".
And now I feel guilty. I know that there are people out there right now that are praying to become pregnant. I know there are people that have waited years and are still waiting to be pregnant. I know there are people who desparately want to be pregnant, but it is not in the cards for them. And here I sit, whining that I hate being pregnant. So not only do I dislike being pregnant, I dislike that I dislike being pregnant.
I honestly do not know how there are women who exist and do not know they are pregnant until they give birth on the toilet. We found out at week 5. I had a blessed week 5. Then since week 6, it is pretty much sucked. Yes, there are moments of relief, but they do not last more than a few days. Yes, I love hearing the heartbeat and I loved seeing the baby move around during the ultrasound. As for everything else, not so much.
So hold on, because I am just getting started with my whining.
First, I weight gain is really really bothering me. I didn't think I would mind gaining weight for the baby. I actually couldn't wait to get a belly. I still think that I would like having the baby belly and when I see pregnant women that are visibly pregnant, I find myself gazing wistfully at their belly. What I didn't think about is that you don't just go from skinny flat belly to cute pregnancy belly overnight. Oh, there are IN-BETWEEN stages. Stages where is just looks like you have a saggy belly and an extra spare tire. Stages where your thighs start to touch. Stages where your pants are just uncomfortable. Stages where you finally understand why fat people wear spandex pants all the time. Other comments that really annoy me are, "You are going to be such a cute pregnant woman! You will just look like you have a little basketball". Um, great. So when I am an enormous best then what? Someone at work actually commented, "Oh my god, I think you are showing! I think I see a little belly!". It took a lot of self-control to not start crying immediately. I know this person was telling me because she thought I would be excited. But, I wasn't excited. I was thinking, "WTF. I'm not suppossed to show yet! I'm suppossed to just pop out a little basketball in a few months!"
On Friday, I did something really dumb. I clicked on some weight calculator from one of the emails I got. You enter your pre-pregnancy weight and height. Then you enter how many weeks you are and your current weight and height. They make this nice little graph where they draw two lines - one being the top limit of how much weight you should gain and one being the bottom limit. Then, they plot your current weight point on the same graph. My plot point was SAFELY above the top limit line. I didn't exactly start crying at work but I almost did.
The sick part of all of this is that I know that I am not fat. I know that it would take a while to get to be fat. But for someone who was in pretty rockin' shape to begin with, I'm not a big fan of my extra seven pounds.
Let's move on to my boobs. Again, I really liked my pre-pregnancy boobs. Now they just look ridiculous, I am constantly aware of them, and dislike how they don't really fit into any bras. I also cannot believe how much my nipples have changed in a few short months. (Yes, I am now talking about nipples. Deal with it.) I was not prepared for any of these changes. I thought that all of these boob changes happened AFTER pregnancy. Sure, they might get a little bigger during, but no big deal. When I read that englarged breasts are on the list of happenings during the 2nd trimester, I wanted to scream. "NO! PLEASE! MAKE THEM STOP GROWING!"
I am also not a fan of the random pimples that seem to be popping up all over my face, neck, chest. GROSS. If I have to deal with the enormous breasts, must they have red sprinkles?!
The thing that bothers me the most though is just how much this all bothers me. I seriously let this ruin my birthday. I laid on my couch all day long, and whined to anyone who called me. (So if your call went to voicemail, be grateful). And now, I'm whining on a random blog post when I really should be doing some work. My pregnant friend M said that I probably will snap out of this in a few weeks. God willing, I hope that at week 16 my post will start out, "I LOVE BEING PREGNANT".
And now I feel guilty. I know that there are people out there right now that are praying to become pregnant. I know there are people that have waited years and are still waiting to be pregnant. I know there are people who desparately want to be pregnant, but it is not in the cards for them. And here I sit, whining that I hate being pregnant. So not only do I dislike being pregnant, I dislike that I dislike being pregnant.
I honestly do not know how there are women who exist and do not know they are pregnant until they give birth on the toilet. We found out at week 5. I had a blessed week 5. Then since week 6, it is pretty much sucked. Yes, there are moments of relief, but they do not last more than a few days. Yes, I love hearing the heartbeat and I loved seeing the baby move around during the ultrasound. As for everything else, not so much.
So hold on, because I am just getting started with my whining.
First, I weight gain is really really bothering me. I didn't think I would mind gaining weight for the baby. I actually couldn't wait to get a belly. I still think that I would like having the baby belly and when I see pregnant women that are visibly pregnant, I find myself gazing wistfully at their belly. What I didn't think about is that you don't just go from skinny flat belly to cute pregnancy belly overnight. Oh, there are IN-BETWEEN stages. Stages where is just looks like you have a saggy belly and an extra spare tire. Stages where your thighs start to touch. Stages where your pants are just uncomfortable. Stages where you finally understand why fat people wear spandex pants all the time. Other comments that really annoy me are, "You are going to be such a cute pregnant woman! You will just look like you have a little basketball". Um, great. So when I am an enormous best then what? Someone at work actually commented, "Oh my god, I think you are showing! I think I see a little belly!". It took a lot of self-control to not start crying immediately. I know this person was telling me because she thought I would be excited. But, I wasn't excited. I was thinking, "WTF. I'm not suppossed to show yet! I'm suppossed to just pop out a little basketball in a few months!"
On Friday, I did something really dumb. I clicked on some weight calculator from one of the emails I got. You enter your pre-pregnancy weight and height. Then you enter how many weeks you are and your current weight and height. They make this nice little graph where they draw two lines - one being the top limit of how much weight you should gain and one being the bottom limit. Then, they plot your current weight point on the same graph. My plot point was SAFELY above the top limit line. I didn't exactly start crying at work but I almost did.
The sick part of all of this is that I know that I am not fat. I know that it would take a while to get to be fat. But for someone who was in pretty rockin' shape to begin with, I'm not a big fan of my extra seven pounds.
Let's move on to my boobs. Again, I really liked my pre-pregnancy boobs. Now they just look ridiculous, I am constantly aware of them, and dislike how they don't really fit into any bras. I also cannot believe how much my nipples have changed in a few short months. (Yes, I am now talking about nipples. Deal with it.) I was not prepared for any of these changes. I thought that all of these boob changes happened AFTER pregnancy. Sure, they might get a little bigger during, but no big deal. When I read that englarged breasts are on the list of happenings during the 2nd trimester, I wanted to scream. "NO! PLEASE! MAKE THEM STOP GROWING!"
I am also not a fan of the random pimples that seem to be popping up all over my face, neck, chest. GROSS. If I have to deal with the enormous breasts, must they have red sprinkles?!
The thing that bothers me the most though is just how much this all bothers me. I seriously let this ruin my birthday. I laid on my couch all day long, and whined to anyone who called me. (So if your call went to voicemail, be grateful). And now, I'm whining on a random blog post when I really should be doing some work. My pregnant friend M said that I probably will snap out of this in a few weeks. God willing, I hope that at week 16 my post will start out, "I LOVE BEING PREGNANT".
Thursday, February 18, 2010
A 3 1/2 year old's input on Sex and Names
My niece T: "Are you going to have the baby yet?"
Me: "Nope - not for a while. It has to grow inside my belly. Should I have a boy or a girl."
T: "A girl"
Me: "What should I name her?"
T: "Toni. Or Grandma Judy."
Me: "Ha ha ha"
T: "Well, I think you should have a girl and name her Olivia." (Like the cartoon pig that she's obsessed with.)
Little does she know that "Olivia" got vetoed by the Hubs. I should check on "Grandma Judy" though. That he might go for. ha ha ha
Me: "Nope - not for a while. It has to grow inside my belly. Should I have a boy or a girl."
T: "A girl"
Me: "What should I name her?"
T: "Toni. Or Grandma Judy."
Me: "Ha ha ha"
T: "Well, I think you should have a girl and name her Olivia." (Like the cartoon pig that she's obsessed with.)
Little does she know that "Olivia" got vetoed by the Hubs. I should check on "Grandma Judy" though. That he might go for. ha ha ha
Denial
When deciding what to wear this past week, I think in the back of my mind, i was conciously picking out my baggier/looser pants, or dresses, or leggings. Thus, "tricking" myself into thinking that I wasn't really getting fat.
As I sit here typing with my pants unbuttoned at the office, I think my denial is starting to fade.
Ladies, if you have to bend over in front a full length mirror in the morning to see if your panty lines are visible because your pants MIGHT be too tight, I would suggest removing the pants and going to find something else to wear. Learn from my mistake. "These are fine", I thought to myself. I got in the office at 8:29 and the pants were unbuttoned by 8:45. Thank goodness I wore a longer shirt.
I think I will be returning to the baggier pants, dresses and leggings, Thank you very much. I wish I could wear jeans to the office every day because my jeans still all are very comfortable. Dress pants - no way Jose.
As I sit here typing with my pants unbuttoned at the office, I think my denial is starting to fade.
Ladies, if you have to bend over in front a full length mirror in the morning to see if your panty lines are visible because your pants MIGHT be too tight, I would suggest removing the pants and going to find something else to wear. Learn from my mistake. "These are fine", I thought to myself. I got in the office at 8:29 and the pants were unbuttoned by 8:45. Thank goodness I wore a longer shirt.
I think I will be returning to the baggier pants, dresses and leggings, Thank you very much. I wish I could wear jeans to the office every day because my jeans still all are very comfortable. Dress pants - no way Jose.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
First Photo Spread
This pregnancy thing is crazy. For the past three days, I have been cursing pregnancy due to a relapse of insomnia and the introduction of some major heartburn and acid reflux. I'm pretty sure I sobbed myself to sleep two nights ago. Which I was thankful for the fact that I actually fell asleep. I feel like a major zombie.
Now I'm back on the "I LOVE PREGNANCY" train. Why? We had our first ultrasound this morning!
Talk about crazy. There actually IS a baby inside of me folks. The ultrasound technician called our baby a rockstar (which I secretly...ok not so secretly loved). Apparently he/she was in great positions for measuring what needed to be measured. I gave my belly an extra little rub after that.
The neck folds look fine and based on all the measurements today, he/she is right on track to arrive 8/31. The crown to rump measurement is 6 cm.
Here are two of the zillion shots we were sent home with:
I apologize that they are on their side. I tried cropping all the personal info out of them for the blog and can't seem to rotate them so just rotate your head :)
We were also able to hear the heartbeat again, with a picture of the EKG. It was WAY clearer than the ghetto-fied doppler machine that they used a couple of weeks ago. We could see the blood flow through the umbilical cord. It really was so strange.
After the ultrasound, I had to give one vial of blood to conclude the down syndrome screen. I was able to lay down for it so I didn't pass out but I still had the gross dizzy feeling. Thankfully the hubs bought me some eggs and toast :)
As far as my belly is concerned. I'm not entirely sure that I have one yet. I start the day with nothing really and then by the end of the day have a small one due to bloating, probably. However, I was excited when my friend BLK hugged me over the weekend she thought she could feel a little something. Hey, I'll go with it.
Now I'm back on the "I LOVE PREGNANCY" train. Why? We had our first ultrasound this morning!
Talk about crazy. There actually IS a baby inside of me folks. The ultrasound technician called our baby a rockstar (which I secretly...ok not so secretly loved). Apparently he/she was in great positions for measuring what needed to be measured. I gave my belly an extra little rub after that.
The neck folds look fine and based on all the measurements today, he/she is right on track to arrive 8/31. The crown to rump measurement is 6 cm.
Here are two of the zillion shots we were sent home with:
I apologize that they are on their side. I tried cropping all the personal info out of them for the blog and can't seem to rotate them so just rotate your head :)
We were also able to hear the heartbeat again, with a picture of the EKG. It was WAY clearer than the ghetto-fied doppler machine that they used a couple of weeks ago. We could see the blood flow through the umbilical cord. It really was so strange.
After the ultrasound, I had to give one vial of blood to conclude the down syndrome screen. I was able to lay down for it so I didn't pass out but I still had the gross dizzy feeling. Thankfully the hubs bought me some eggs and toast :)
As far as my belly is concerned. I'm not entirely sure that I have one yet. I start the day with nothing really and then by the end of the day have a small one due to bloating, probably. However, I was excited when my friend BLK hugged me over the weekend she thought she could feel a little something. Hey, I'll go with it.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Maternity Clothes
To be honest, maternity clothes really freak me out. Especially the pants with their odd elastic pouches.
I have no need for maternity clothes yet. I haven't really even checked any out yet either. However, I was excited to get an email from PopSugar today announcing the new line of maternity clothes by Heidi Klum available at Pea in the Pod and Motherhood stores. This I gotta see.
First I checked out the Pea in the Pod collection - "Lavish". Generally I like it. Generally I do not like the price tags. Maybe by the time I actually need maternity clothes these will be on clearance? ha fat chance. I really think I NEED this sequin top.
At a $195 though, I don't think it will be added to my cart. Not when I got a similar sequin dress at goodwill last year for $6.95.
I am less of a fan of the Loved collection from Motherhood. However, this collection is significantly cheaper. The slim stretch jean is pretty cute and only $34.95.
Well once I started looking on the site, I just took over and continued browsing. Apparently Pea in the Pod is the place to go for the more fashionable maternity clothes (and a price tag to match). I mean, I don't even consider spending $250 on non-maternity jeans, so I don't think I'm spring for the $250 jeans then. There are a couple of tutorials for altering your current jeans to accomodate the belly that I have found but I'm not sure I want to risk ruining my jeans. Maybe I'll try with an old pair first. I can't find it at this exact time, but I recently saw there is a company where you can mail them your jeans and they will insert denim flaps into the side seams to essentially create maternity jeans. Then, after you give birth, you mail them back and they remove the panels and you have your old jeans back! I think I might try to rig something like this up with an old pair of jeans too.
I really am hoping to live in dresses and skirts by the time I acquire a belly. I'm not too big of a pants fan to begin with and I can't imagine that the options for tall pregnant women are very vast for pants (although I haven't looked yet so I could be wrong!).
Until then, thank god all my jeans still fit ;)
I have no need for maternity clothes yet. I haven't really even checked any out yet either. However, I was excited to get an email from PopSugar today announcing the new line of maternity clothes by Heidi Klum available at Pea in the Pod and Motherhood stores. This I gotta see.
First I checked out the Pea in the Pod collection - "Lavish". Generally I like it. Generally I do not like the price tags. Maybe by the time I actually need maternity clothes these will be on clearance? ha fat chance. I really think I NEED this sequin top.
At a $195 though, I don't think it will be added to my cart. Not when I got a similar sequin dress at goodwill last year for $6.95.
I am less of a fan of the Loved collection from Motherhood. However, this collection is significantly cheaper. The slim stretch jean is pretty cute and only $34.95.
Well once I started looking on the site, I just took over and continued browsing. Apparently Pea in the Pod is the place to go for the more fashionable maternity clothes (and a price tag to match). I mean, I don't even consider spending $250 on non-maternity jeans, so I don't think I'm spring for the $250 jeans then. There are a couple of tutorials for altering your current jeans to accomodate the belly that I have found but I'm not sure I want to risk ruining my jeans. Maybe I'll try with an old pair first. I can't find it at this exact time, but I recently saw there is a company where you can mail them your jeans and they will insert denim flaps into the side seams to essentially create maternity jeans. Then, after you give birth, you mail them back and they remove the panels and you have your old jeans back! I think I might try to rig something like this up with an old pair of jeans too.
I really am hoping to live in dresses and skirts by the time I acquire a belly. I'm not too big of a pants fan to begin with and I can't imagine that the options for tall pregnant women are very vast for pants (although I haven't looked yet so I could be wrong!).
Until then, thank god all my jeans still fit ;)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
"You Ain't a Beauty, but Hey, You're Alright"
Ok, so you know that I love my health and beauty products. LOVE them. Pregnancy has caused some health and beauty related changes. They are:
1. Perfume.
I just started wearing perfume again this week. For weeks I could not wear any fragrance since the smell made me sick. I first discovered this when we went on our cruise and I had brought a few samples of perfume that I was loving. I remember sitting at dinner smelling something so gross and then realizing that it was me! It didn't matter what perfume I wore - I could not stand it. The worst was Origins Ginger Essence. I still haven't even TRIED to put that on because the smell was so terrible.
2. Skin care. This was my typical routine - Wash my face every night with Cetaphil, put a thin coat of either Neutrogena Green Tea Stress Relief Acne Gel OR Patricia Wexler Acnostat, followed by Kiehls moisturizer. I would also dabble in eye creams, serums etc depending on what samples I had around.
Well, retinoids (in a lot of serums, eye creams, etc) and salicyclic acid (ingredient in both acne lotions I was using) are no-nos when you are pregnant. This TOTALLY sucks because I could definitely USE these products now, particularly of the acne variety. I don't have full blown acne but I have noticed an increase in blemishes since the little alien came to live in my uterus. So now I still wash my face every night with Cetaphil and follow with the Kiehls moisturizer. No acne creams, no serums, no eye creams, etc. On some blog, I read about how one woman started using the St. Ives Apricot Scrub a few times a week to help with skin issues she had while pregnant so I went to Target and picked up a tube. (I actually purchased the Up & Up (Target brand) knock off of the St. Ives to save an extra buck.) I used to faithfully use this in high school and it sort of took me back. So a couple of mornings a week, i will use this in the shower. It seems to be working well. Since cutting out all the extra sample products, the amount of samples I will have by the time August rolls around is going to be astronomical!
I typically have very dry skin. Typically in winter I also have some eczema issues. I was using Elidel. My doctor thought that this wouldn't be the best choice in the event I had an eczema flare-up. Thankfully, since being pregnant I haven't had any eczema issues and I might even go so far to say as my skin isn't AS dry. It's still dry but not cracked and itchy. I also feel like I NEED deodorant/antiperspirant now. I am constantly hot. Before pregnancy, especially in witner, I often probably forgot to put deodorant on. Now I carry back-ups with me.
Another thing I read somewhere is to try to decrease the amount of makeup you use to help with the whole acne thing. So that leads me to...
#3 Makeup.
This was a hard one for me. I LOVE makeup. I wear a fair amount of it every day including foundation (Laura Mercier), Concealer (Bobbie Brown), Blush (Nars), Bronzer (Laura Mercier), Eye Shadow and Liner (Various), and Lipgloss/Stick (Various). I have eliminated the foundation because I felt like that probably contributes most to gunked up pores. I think the concealor and bronzer do a fair enough job of evening things out. (If you see me and disagree, just lie to me, please. ha ha ha). I think since I have backed away from the foundation, things have improved. I do have separate brushes for each product that I wash regularly as well.
#4 HAIR.
I haven't noticed any changes regarding the hair on my head. I feel like my eyebrow hair grows even faster than it did and I feel like I really have to be on top of my mustache. I broke down and bought some Sally Hansen 'stache wax strips and they are amazing. I might just be addicted to waxing my mustache. This is probably TMI, but if I gave you the link to this blog, I would tell you about this anyways. And some day, if I have a girl and I give these blog posts to her, she too will understand and probably say, "Mom, you were such a dork." To which I will reply, "Yes, I am a dork, but a mustache free dork, sweetie."
If I have a boy, I might just leave this post out of the collection, unless of course he brings home a super hairy girl. ;) ha ha ha.
1. Perfume.
I just started wearing perfume again this week. For weeks I could not wear any fragrance since the smell made me sick. I first discovered this when we went on our cruise and I had brought a few samples of perfume that I was loving. I remember sitting at dinner smelling something so gross and then realizing that it was me! It didn't matter what perfume I wore - I could not stand it. The worst was Origins Ginger Essence. I still haven't even TRIED to put that on because the smell was so terrible.
2. Skin care. This was my typical routine - Wash my face every night with Cetaphil, put a thin coat of either Neutrogena Green Tea Stress Relief Acne Gel OR Patricia Wexler Acnostat, followed by Kiehls moisturizer. I would also dabble in eye creams, serums etc depending on what samples I had around.
Well, retinoids (in a lot of serums, eye creams, etc) and salicyclic acid (ingredient in both acne lotions I was using) are no-nos when you are pregnant. This TOTALLY sucks because I could definitely USE these products now, particularly of the acne variety. I don't have full blown acne but I have noticed an increase in blemishes since the little alien came to live in my uterus. So now I still wash my face every night with Cetaphil and follow with the Kiehls moisturizer. No acne creams, no serums, no eye creams, etc. On some blog, I read about how one woman started using the St. Ives Apricot Scrub a few times a week to help with skin issues she had while pregnant so I went to Target and picked up a tube. (I actually purchased the Up & Up (Target brand) knock off of the St. Ives to save an extra buck.) I used to faithfully use this in high school and it sort of took me back. So a couple of mornings a week, i will use this in the shower. It seems to be working well. Since cutting out all the extra sample products, the amount of samples I will have by the time August rolls around is going to be astronomical!
I typically have very dry skin. Typically in winter I also have some eczema issues. I was using Elidel. My doctor thought that this wouldn't be the best choice in the event I had an eczema flare-up. Thankfully, since being pregnant I haven't had any eczema issues and I might even go so far to say as my skin isn't AS dry. It's still dry but not cracked and itchy. I also feel like I NEED deodorant/antiperspirant now. I am constantly hot. Before pregnancy, especially in witner, I often probably forgot to put deodorant on. Now I carry back-ups with me.
Another thing I read somewhere is to try to decrease the amount of makeup you use to help with the whole acne thing. So that leads me to...
#3 Makeup.
This was a hard one for me. I LOVE makeup. I wear a fair amount of it every day including foundation (Laura Mercier), Concealer (Bobbie Brown), Blush (Nars), Bronzer (Laura Mercier), Eye Shadow and Liner (Various), and Lipgloss/Stick (Various). I have eliminated the foundation because I felt like that probably contributes most to gunked up pores. I think the concealor and bronzer do a fair enough job of evening things out. (If you see me and disagree, just lie to me, please. ha ha ha). I think since I have backed away from the foundation, things have improved. I do have separate brushes for each product that I wash regularly as well.
#4 HAIR.
I haven't noticed any changes regarding the hair on my head. I feel like my eyebrow hair grows even faster than it did and I feel like I really have to be on top of my mustache. I broke down and bought some Sally Hansen 'stache wax strips and they are amazing. I might just be addicted to waxing my mustache. This is probably TMI, but if I gave you the link to this blog, I would tell you about this anyways. And some day, if I have a girl and I give these blog posts to her, she too will understand and probably say, "Mom, you were such a dork." To which I will reply, "Yes, I am a dork, but a mustache free dork, sweetie."
If I have a boy, I might just leave this post out of the collection, unless of course he brings home a super hairy girl. ;) ha ha ha.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
"These Dreams Go On When I Close My Eyes..."
I read somewhere the you have wack-a-doo dreams when you are pregnant. In my case, this is totally true. My husband has been thoroughly amused by the stories I tell him in the morning. I have had a dinner party with Bruce Springsteen where he asked me to sing with him and mid-song I yelled, "I need more cord here". (As in the SNL skit where "more cowbell" was needed). I tooled around NYC with Anthony Bourdain and slept on the street with his wife. (Don't ask me - I blame it on falling asleep mid- No Reservations). Then there are the really weird ones that I don't think I can bring myself to blog about.
It seems that other people have had dreams where I am pregnant too. I told my cousin the other day that I was expecting and she replied, "That's so weird because I just had a dream about you being pregnant."
I never know how exactly to bring up the news so what usually happens is some sort of awkward exchange. My husband is much better at thinking of creative ways to tell people. The easiest way that I have told someone happened like this:
Colleague: "Hi A. Before I get into why I am calling you, I just have to say that I totally had a dream that you were pregnant last night."
Me: "Well, that's probably because I AM pregnant".
Wasn't that easy?!
P.S. Now I totally have that song by Heart in my head.
It seems that other people have had dreams where I am pregnant too. I told my cousin the other day that I was expecting and she replied, "That's so weird because I just had a dream about you being pregnant."
I never know how exactly to bring up the news so what usually happens is some sort of awkward exchange. My husband is much better at thinking of creative ways to tell people. The easiest way that I have told someone happened like this:
Colleague: "Hi A. Before I get into why I am calling you, I just have to say that I totally had a dream that you were pregnant last night."
Me: "Well, that's probably because I AM pregnant".
Wasn't that easy?!
P.S. Now I totally have that song by Heart in my head.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
HONEYMOON!!!
My doctor told us that weeks 12-28 (or maybe it was 24...I only remember the 12 part) was sort of like a honeymoon period of pregnancy. Given that the honeymoon was one of my favorite parts of getting married, I was really looking forward to the honeymoon of pregnancy.
It is only 11 weeks right now, but I think I am on my honeymoon. (knocking on all sorts of wood around here)
Sunday night I had a glorious night of sleep after a decent run. I have taken to presetting the treadmill to 10:00 pace (6.0 MPH) and I increase the pace by 0.1 every 5 minutes to keep from getting bored. (I'm like a little kid on a treadmill - I have to keep pushing buttons to keep myself amused.) Sunday's run felt pretty good - I wasn't really even sweaty afterwards. Yesterday it was pretty nice outside so I got home from work and decided to run outside.
Holy Jesus - it was like I had my mojo back. I decided to wear my watch to make sure I did at least 30 minutes of something, be it running or walking. I was cruising along and realized that I was running like my old self. No, wait, I was running like my old self, with a little munchkin along for the ride! "See", I told my belly, "This is what I have been wanting to show you". We cruised along one of my old routes and made it back home in 31 minutes. It felt so good. I was curious about my pace because as I said, it felt very different from my runs in the past couple of weeks so I figured out the mileage using Gmap Pedometer and typed it into the Runner's World Pace Calculator. 8:22! I wanted to give the baby a high five. I am not that concerned with my pace, but I have been a little down about how out of breath and out of shape I have felt in the past couple of weeks while running.
Yet another glorious part of the honeymoon is that i think my food aversions are pretty much gone. I tempted fate and ordered chicken while out to eat on Saturday night and it was tasty. It didn't gross me out at all.
And, for the second night in a row, I had 10 hours of glorious sleep.
Honeymoons are the bomb!
The baby is now the size of a lime. How appropriate that it is a tropical sort of fruit :)
It is only 11 weeks right now, but I think I am on my honeymoon. (knocking on all sorts of wood around here)
Sunday night I had a glorious night of sleep after a decent run. I have taken to presetting the treadmill to 10:00 pace (6.0 MPH) and I increase the pace by 0.1 every 5 minutes to keep from getting bored. (I'm like a little kid on a treadmill - I have to keep pushing buttons to keep myself amused.) Sunday's run felt pretty good - I wasn't really even sweaty afterwards. Yesterday it was pretty nice outside so I got home from work and decided to run outside.
Holy Jesus - it was like I had my mojo back. I decided to wear my watch to make sure I did at least 30 minutes of something, be it running or walking. I was cruising along and realized that I was running like my old self. No, wait, I was running like my old self, with a little munchkin along for the ride! "See", I told my belly, "This is what I have been wanting to show you". We cruised along one of my old routes and made it back home in 31 minutes. It felt so good. I was curious about my pace because as I said, it felt very different from my runs in the past couple of weeks so I figured out the mileage using Gmap Pedometer and typed it into the Runner's World Pace Calculator. 8:22! I wanted to give the baby a high five. I am not that concerned with my pace, but I have been a little down about how out of breath and out of shape I have felt in the past couple of weeks while running.
Yet another glorious part of the honeymoon is that i think my food aversions are pretty much gone. I tempted fate and ordered chicken while out to eat on Saturday night and it was tasty. It didn't gross me out at all.
And, for the second night in a row, I had 10 hours of glorious sleep.
Honeymoons are the bomb!
The baby is now the size of a lime. How appropriate that it is a tropical sort of fruit :)
Monday, February 8, 2010
Cure for insomnia?
After a particularly bad sleepless night on Thursday night, my husband thought that maybe if I exercised, it would help me sleep. I told him that I didn't really feel like exercising, but that he was probably right. "Do you want me to make you go to the Y?", he asked. "Yes", I replied. I went and did my thirty minutes on the treadmill.
That night, I managed to fall asleep after each and every time I got up to pee. Woke up at 8 AM feeling well rested. Hallelujah.
Saturday we were quite busy with a variety of things so I never exercised. Saturday night, I was up at 2 AM to pee, tossed and turned until 3, went downstairs and watched Breakfast at Tiffany's until 5:30 AM. I love that movie and was about to start wearing hats and cutting itty-bitty bangs. Thankfully, I fell back asleep before I found the scissors.
Then last night, I got home from a baby shower and went to the Y. Ran for 35 minutes and had the best night's sleep that I have had in a long time.
It could be a fluke, but I hope it keeps up! This might be the single biggest motivator I have ever had to exercise.
Sex?
Yes, Please. (Ahh..Austin Powers).
Now that we are starting to spread the word (AHH! fun!!!), we can pretty much guess what questions people will ask. The number one question always is, "When are you due?". Easy enough. The number two question always is, "Are you going to find out the sex?".
We are NOT going to find out the sex, which I think some people are surprised about given how Type-A we tend to be. However, we both also really like surprises so this is a pretty big surprise!
When we respond, "NO", the conversation can go any which way. Some of my favorites have been:
"You're crazy".
"Oh fun!!!"
"Good. It is more fun that way."
"Well, how are you going to know what color to paint the baby's room?"
"Wow! You have more willpower than I!"
I don't know that it is a matter of willpower. I jokingly say that I will need something to continue to make me push the kid out when the time comes. Otherwise, I might just chicken out. (Or pass out...)
Let's back up to "How are you going to know what color..." comments. These are my personal favorite. This exact quote was from a waiter last week who gave me a funny look when I was gushing on my cell phone and my husband explained that we were having a baby. He seriously was acting like we were making a HUGE mistake for not finding out the sex. Color is one of reasons I was pro not finding out. "Now we won't only get only pastel pink or only pastel blue clothes", I thought. Then, I started paying attention and looking at baby clothing stores. Non-pink and non-blue clothes are few and far between. After about the 4th baby store we went into one day, we noticed a pattern. One side of the store was pink, and one side was blue. Whatever happend to the 62 other colors in the crayola crayon box? I'm not saying I would refuse to dress a boy in blue or a girl in pink, but I just am a little dismayed that the majority of clothing items seem to be in these colors. After attending a baby shower yesterday where the couple was not going to find out, all the clothes then are pastel green or pastel yellow. The older mothers in the crowd said you used to be able to find more gender neutral stuff when it wasn't possible to find out the sex. So technology ruins baby fashion, ha ha ha. If any of you mamas have any recommendations, shout them out.
As for the nursery, well, that is probably one of the things I have been most obsessed with - collecting pictures, searching for cribs, rugs, making a (long) list of craft projects to make for the room. It was never the plan to paint the nursery blue or pink. I know I am new to this whole parenting thing, but I don't think our child will have an identity complex if his room is not powder blue or her room is not bubblegum pink.
Of course, I didn't say all this to the waiter. I just smiled and said, "I think we'll be ok".
Now that we are starting to spread the word (AHH! fun!!!), we can pretty much guess what questions people will ask. The number one question always is, "When are you due?". Easy enough. The number two question always is, "Are you going to find out the sex?".
We are NOT going to find out the sex, which I think some people are surprised about given how Type-A we tend to be. However, we both also really like surprises so this is a pretty big surprise!
When we respond, "NO", the conversation can go any which way. Some of my favorites have been:
"You're crazy".
"Oh fun!!!"
"Good. It is more fun that way."
"Well, how are you going to know what color to paint the baby's room?"
"Wow! You have more willpower than I!"
I don't know that it is a matter of willpower. I jokingly say that I will need something to continue to make me push the kid out when the time comes. Otherwise, I might just chicken out. (Or pass out...)
Let's back up to "How are you going to know what color..." comments. These are my personal favorite. This exact quote was from a waiter last week who gave me a funny look when I was gushing on my cell phone and my husband explained that we were having a baby. He seriously was acting like we were making a HUGE mistake for not finding out the sex. Color is one of reasons I was pro not finding out. "Now we won't only get only pastel pink or only pastel blue clothes", I thought. Then, I started paying attention and looking at baby clothing stores. Non-pink and non-blue clothes are few and far between. After about the 4th baby store we went into one day, we noticed a pattern. One side of the store was pink, and one side was blue. Whatever happend to the 62 other colors in the crayola crayon box? I'm not saying I would refuse to dress a boy in blue or a girl in pink, but I just am a little dismayed that the majority of clothing items seem to be in these colors. After attending a baby shower yesterday where the couple was not going to find out, all the clothes then are pastel green or pastel yellow. The older mothers in the crowd said you used to be able to find more gender neutral stuff when it wasn't possible to find out the sex. So technology ruins baby fashion, ha ha ha. If any of you mamas have any recommendations, shout them out.
As for the nursery, well, that is probably one of the things I have been most obsessed with - collecting pictures, searching for cribs, rugs, making a (long) list of craft projects to make for the room. It was never the plan to paint the nursery blue or pink. I know I am new to this whole parenting thing, but I don't think our child will have an identity complex if his room is not powder blue or her room is not bubblegum pink.
Of course, I didn't say all this to the waiter. I just smiled and said, "I think we'll be ok".
Friday, February 5, 2010
Darling Husband
I am taking this post to brag about my wonderful husband.
Seriously. I feel very VERY VERY lucky that I am not doing this pregnancy thing alone. So far, I can't say that I'm the hugest fan of being pregnant. That may sound bad or negative, but it is true. I have been up since 1:00 AM this morning (thus, this is my 2nd post of the day) and feel like crap. I am SO EXCITED to be pregnant and have a baby and start the process of adding to our family. But right about now, pregnancy can kiss my ass.
So Darling Husband, thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU for
1) Recognizing my cravings and darting off to the grocery store ASAP and coming back with fresh flowers;
2) Doing 95% of the cooking, cleaning while I lie on the couch, bed, floor, what have you.
3) Rub my hair and back when I come to back to bed at 4:30 in the morning sobbing because I can't sleep
4) Letting me show you 42 cribs and 63 rugs that I have picked out for this kid's room and patiently letting me go through the pros and cons of each
5) Coming to my appointments with me
and
6) Being SO EXCITED to tell everyone you see that you are going to be a dad. Our child is lucky to have one sane parent these days :)
Seriously. I feel very VERY VERY lucky that I am not doing this pregnancy thing alone. So far, I can't say that I'm the hugest fan of being pregnant. That may sound bad or negative, but it is true. I have been up since 1:00 AM this morning (thus, this is my 2nd post of the day) and feel like crap. I am SO EXCITED to be pregnant and have a baby and start the process of adding to our family. But right about now, pregnancy can kiss my ass.
So Darling Husband, thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU for
1) Recognizing my cravings and darting off to the grocery store ASAP and coming back with fresh flowers;
2) Doing 95% of the cooking, cleaning while I lie on the couch, bed, floor, what have you.
3) Rub my hair and back when I come to back to bed at 4:30 in the morning sobbing because I can't sleep
4) Letting me show you 42 cribs and 63 rugs that I have picked out for this kid's room and patiently letting me go through the pros and cons of each
5) Coming to my appointments with me
and
6) Being SO EXCITED to tell everyone you see that you are going to be a dad. Our child is lucky to have one sane parent these days :)
"Everybody's Got A Hungry Heart"
Bruce fans will immediately recognize that the title of this post is yet another lyric/title of a Springsteen song. My child is doomed. :)
Well, let's start with the "heart" part of that title, since that is most exciting. We had our doctor appointment today and we heard the heartbeat!!! How exciting! I knew that it would be fast, but I was not expecting how it would sound. The hubs has been telling people that it sounded like someone running through snow. (How appropriate that he brought running into it!). After the heartbeat, the doctor told us that we could feel comfortable sharing our news. He said that many people wait until the first trimester is officially over, but truth of the matter is, the risk of miscarriage at this point, now that there is a heartbeat, is not really going to change in the next few weeks.
That was all we needed to get out the cell phones. Of course, every single person we called did not pick up! UGH! PEOPLE WE HAVE BIG NEWS HERE! We did manage to talk to some of our friends and some family members that had not yet known, but I imagine the next few weeks will be busy. It is funny how many random people we have told in the past couple of days - for example we just freely were telling the Lowe's carpet woman and our waiter at dinner tonight. I think we just REALLY wanted to start telling people and these random people were "safe".
I also told the "big boss" today. He too was thrilled. He then told me to make sure my husband got real Cubans (as in cigars) when the baby came. ha ha ha (BCK, I thought you would appreciate this).
Ok, now to the "hungry" part of the title. I know - you're sick of hearing how hungry I am all the time. I stepped on the scale today and it was 7 lbs. heavier than normal. Now, normal is a little bit of a sliding scale since I don't routinely weigh myself, any given day could have a 5 lb fluctuation. For example, at the nurse visit on that same scale I was 145. Yesterday I was 147. I weighed myself on my friend's scale not to long ago and I was 137. Anyhoo - the doc asked what my pre-pregnancy weight was. I replied 140 since that is generally what I weigh. He replied, "ok so you've had a little bit of weight gain". Remembering the 20 lb. limit the nurse gave me, I responded, "Yes, I don't think Nurse P would be too happy that I"m already 1/3 of the way to her cut off point". My doctor started laughing. He then told me that he doesn't get too worried about weight gain and that given my stature, starting weight, health history, he told me that all other things constant, he probably wouldn't start worrying about me until I was over 60 lbs weight gain. SIXTY POUNDS! "As long as you aren't eating Culvers 3 times a day everyday and you are eating sensibly, I'm not concerned". I didn't tell him about the cheeseburgers :) I generally live by the principle if I am hungry I eat so I have continued to abide by this during pregnancy. I also think 5 of the 7 pounds are boobs.
True to form of the past week, I am up at 2:45 AM. I just had my "midnight snack" of a string cheese and spent the past 45 minutes tossing and turning so I gave up and turned on the computer. I think the insomnia is the thing that is driving me the most crazy. Good thing it is the beginning of a new month when all the magazines show up in my mailbox!
Well, let's start with the "heart" part of that title, since that is most exciting. We had our doctor appointment today and we heard the heartbeat!!! How exciting! I knew that it would be fast, but I was not expecting how it would sound. The hubs has been telling people that it sounded like someone running through snow. (How appropriate that he brought running into it!). After the heartbeat, the doctor told us that we could feel comfortable sharing our news. He said that many people wait until the first trimester is officially over, but truth of the matter is, the risk of miscarriage at this point, now that there is a heartbeat, is not really going to change in the next few weeks.
That was all we needed to get out the cell phones. Of course, every single person we called did not pick up! UGH! PEOPLE WE HAVE BIG NEWS HERE! We did manage to talk to some of our friends and some family members that had not yet known, but I imagine the next few weeks will be busy. It is funny how many random people we have told in the past couple of days - for example we just freely were telling the Lowe's carpet woman and our waiter at dinner tonight. I think we just REALLY wanted to start telling people and these random people were "safe".
I also told the "big boss" today. He too was thrilled. He then told me to make sure my husband got real Cubans (as in cigars) when the baby came. ha ha ha (BCK, I thought you would appreciate this).
Ok, now to the "hungry" part of the title. I know - you're sick of hearing how hungry I am all the time. I stepped on the scale today and it was 7 lbs. heavier than normal. Now, normal is a little bit of a sliding scale since I don't routinely weigh myself, any given day could have a 5 lb fluctuation. For example, at the nurse visit on that same scale I was 145. Yesterday I was 147. I weighed myself on my friend's scale not to long ago and I was 137. Anyhoo - the doc asked what my pre-pregnancy weight was. I replied 140 since that is generally what I weigh. He replied, "ok so you've had a little bit of weight gain". Remembering the 20 lb. limit the nurse gave me, I responded, "Yes, I don't think Nurse P would be too happy that I"m already 1/3 of the way to her cut off point". My doctor started laughing. He then told me that he doesn't get too worried about weight gain and that given my stature, starting weight, health history, he told me that all other things constant, he probably wouldn't start worrying about me until I was over 60 lbs weight gain. SIXTY POUNDS! "As long as you aren't eating Culvers 3 times a day everyday and you are eating sensibly, I'm not concerned". I didn't tell him about the cheeseburgers :) I generally live by the principle if I am hungry I eat so I have continued to abide by this during pregnancy. I also think 5 of the 7 pounds are boobs.
True to form of the past week, I am up at 2:45 AM. I just had my "midnight snack" of a string cheese and spent the past 45 minutes tossing and turning so I gave up and turned on the computer. I think the insomnia is the thing that is driving me the most crazy. Good thing it is the beginning of a new month when all the magazines show up in my mailbox!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Doctors of the Male Variety, Plums & Chicken
I am very excited - today is our first official doctor appointment...finally. Both the hubs and I are really hoping to get to hear the heartbeat today. I think he also is interested in meeting the only other man who gets free access to my crotch. (A bit vulgar, maybe, but true). I actually never thought I would go to a male ob/gyn. I used to think it was so gross that my mom did. I actually went to a man because EVERY woman that I work with goes to this man (we all have the same health insurance which allows us free access to the doctors that work at our institution). I started asking people a while ago who they go to. "Dr. L - he's the best". "Oh i go to Dr. L...I really like him". One of my friends that gave birth almost exactly one year ago had Dr. L for her delivery and she also commented that she liked him.
Ok, I'll give the guy a whirl.
I scheduled a pre-conception appointment with him back in September and I have to agree - I really like him. He is laid back, smart, reassuring and practical. It was actually the FEMALE med student that was rounding with him that I couldn't stand. I wanted to ask to fill out some evaluation on her because she was so bad.
The baby is now the size of a small plum. I think I started calling it a fetus too early - but the variety of books and websites I have been following all have a different time period on that. Oh well. It doesn't really matter anyway.
I also had a breakthrough yesterday - I ate chicken! Well..quasi chicken. I got my favorite wrap from our cafeteria yesterday for lunch which has chicken breast strips in it. The thought didn't gross me out because I knew how much I loved those wraps so I gave it a go. It was great! I still don't know about looking at, cooking and eating a chicken breast though. That still makes me a little queasy.
Ok, I'll give the guy a whirl.
I scheduled a pre-conception appointment with him back in September and I have to agree - I really like him. He is laid back, smart, reassuring and practical. It was actually the FEMALE med student that was rounding with him that I couldn't stand. I wanted to ask to fill out some evaluation on her because she was so bad.
The baby is now the size of a small plum. I think I started calling it a fetus too early - but the variety of books and websites I have been following all have a different time period on that. Oh well. It doesn't really matter anyway.
I also had a breakthrough yesterday - I ate chicken! Well..quasi chicken. I got my favorite wrap from our cafeteria yesterday for lunch which has chicken breast strips in it. The thought didn't gross me out because I knew how much I loved those wraps so I gave it a go. It was great! I still don't know about looking at, cooking and eating a chicken breast though. That still makes me a little queasy.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Preggo in a Bubble
Last night I came to the realization that one-quarter of my pregnancy is already over. Wow. As much as I am SO looking forward to meeting our baby and having him/her in our lives and glad that each day that passes gets me one day farther away from feeling like shit, I also am a little sad that it is going so fast! The next time that I am less than 10 weeks pregnant will be very different.
Ok, that's as deep as I am going to get 10 minutes before a staff meeting.
I have to say that I feel like Miss Popular or something. The more people we tell, the more smiles, hugs, nice words, cards, gifts that I get! I feel like I live in this positive energy bubble! It is definitely wonderful to have such a supportive group of friends, particuarly my girl friends. Last night, I received The Belly Book from one such friend. I am very excited about this since I have been taking belly shots since week 5. My boss told me yesterday that she also is secretly (well, not anymore) checking out my belly everyday). Still nuthin' folks.
I also received some absolutely wonderful smelling foot soak, belly oil and lip balm from Earth Mama and already a plethora of good advice from another girlfriend. The package was even addressed to "Mama S----". AH! Just seeing that made me excited. These foot products will definitely be put to good use as a)my feet aren't my best feature anyway and b) being super prego (aka 3rd trimester) in the summer will likely take a toll on my feet. I was reading the label on the belly oil which is for expanding breasts, bellies and behinds. So do you think this oil will take care of my already existing cellulite?!? Even if it doesn't, my dry skin will love it!
Have you ever seen the movie Baby Mama? We watched it when it fist came out on DVD and thought it was actually quite cute. My absolute favorite part is when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's characters are in the birthing class and the instructor talks about using olive oil for a perineal massage. Amy Poehler looks horrified and exclaims, "Can't she just spray a little Pam down there?" OMG. I made my husband replay that part like 4 times because it made me laugh so hard.
Back to the belly oil bottle instructions. The oil can apparently be used for massaging the perineaum during labor. I asked my husband if he was going to give me a perineal massage and he shot back, "Can't we just spray a little Pam down there?". I was cracking up. It was just the laugh I needed after a rough day yesterday.
We may be too immature to have a baby.
Ok, that's as deep as I am going to get 10 minutes before a staff meeting.
I have to say that I feel like Miss Popular or something. The more people we tell, the more smiles, hugs, nice words, cards, gifts that I get! I feel like I live in this positive energy bubble! It is definitely wonderful to have such a supportive group of friends, particuarly my girl friends. Last night, I received The Belly Book from one such friend. I am very excited about this since I have been taking belly shots since week 5. My boss told me yesterday that she also is secretly (well, not anymore) checking out my belly everyday). Still nuthin' folks.
I also received some absolutely wonderful smelling foot soak, belly oil and lip balm from Earth Mama and already a plethora of good advice from another girlfriend. The package was even addressed to "Mama S----". AH! Just seeing that made me excited. These foot products will definitely be put to good use as a)my feet aren't my best feature anyway and b) being super prego (aka 3rd trimester) in the summer will likely take a toll on my feet. I was reading the label on the belly oil which is for expanding breasts, bellies and behinds. So do you think this oil will take care of my already existing cellulite?!? Even if it doesn't, my dry skin will love it!
Have you ever seen the movie Baby Mama? We watched it when it fist came out on DVD and thought it was actually quite cute. My absolute favorite part is when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's characters are in the birthing class and the instructor talks about using olive oil for a perineal massage. Amy Poehler looks horrified and exclaims, "Can't she just spray a little Pam down there?" OMG. I made my husband replay that part like 4 times because it made me laugh so hard.
Back to the belly oil bottle instructions. The oil can apparently be used for massaging the perineaum during labor. I asked my husband if he was going to give me a perineal massage and he shot back, "Can't we just spray a little Pam down there?". I was cracking up. It was just the laugh I needed after a rough day yesterday.
We may be too immature to have a baby.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
FEED ME SEYMOUR
I am starving. Ravenous. All. of. the. time.
There is no way I am only going to gain 20-25 lbs with this kid. Nurse be damned.
Remember my mention of McDonald's Cheeseburgers? Since that post, I have eaten 3. On my way to the also aforementioned girls' night, I took a nap in the car. The hubs pulled over to get gas and it was one of those combined McDonalds gas stations. The sweet smell of soy patties laced with pregnancy crack (Thanks AH) awoke me from my slumber. I immediately walked inside, bought a cheeseburger and had it gone before we left the parking lot.
A couple of days later, we accompanied my in-laws to Costco. We go to Costco every few months with them since they have a membership. The most convenient location for everyone to meet was (I kid you not) a McDonald's parking lot off the freeway. I got there a bit early and went through the drive-thru for a cheeseburger. I pulled off to the side to wait for everyone. The hubs arrived and I got in his car, finishing the last few bites of my cheeseburger. As I finished it, I asked him, "can you go back through the drive-thru? i need another one". Cheeseburger #3. After that, I haven't had any more cheeseburgers from Mickey Ds. I think I kicked that craving's ass.
So we go to Costco. People, do not go to Costco when you have manic cravings. We bought the most random assortment of stuff. Stuff we usually do not buy. Example: They had these little cups of Kettle Potato chips with ridges. I barely had swallowed my first chip when I was marching over to the GINORMOUS bags of Kettle chips and bringing one to our cart. The bag was the size of my torso. My father-in-law was cracking up. Six pounds of gummi bears? You're damn right we need them.
I was initially worried that I would be disgusted by foods I normally love. Like olives. My mom is convinced that I love olives so much because she ate a lot of them when she was pregnant with me. Well, my kid is definitely going to love olives. My husband has been making this olive hummus for me that is to. die. for.
Another gross thing that I had been craving was egg salad. I never was an egg salad fan until very recently. This is something I think I only would eat if my husband made it. I'm sort of weird about those random salads. We were sitting in church last weekend and some flyer for a youth lunch to support a mission trip advertising egg salad sandwiches set me off. I NEEDED EGG SALAD. PRONTO. We drove right home and my darling husband made the egg salad. I then ate 3 egg salad sandwiches. I would have had more but were were out.
Lest you think I am just filling up on junk, these cravings are far between. I actually have been eating better than ever. I just eat all of the time. I now eat in the middle of the night. I have had either a piece of string cheese or a bowl of Trader Joe's O's (Trader Joe's Cheerios) at 3 AM every morning.
Yesterday I got a sweet package in the mail from a friend with a variety of pregnancy things - foot cream, belly balm, lindt chocolates, The Baby Name Wizard book and PICKLES. Again, i wasn't craving pickles until i unwrapped that jar and oh sweet Jesus. It was like the heavens opened up and the rays of sun were beaming down on me with choirs of angels singing.
However, I still can't eat chicken :)
There is no way I am only going to gain 20-25 lbs with this kid. Nurse be damned.
Remember my mention of McDonald's Cheeseburgers? Since that post, I have eaten 3. On my way to the also aforementioned girls' night, I took a nap in the car. The hubs pulled over to get gas and it was one of those combined McDonalds gas stations. The sweet smell of soy patties laced with pregnancy crack (Thanks AH) awoke me from my slumber. I immediately walked inside, bought a cheeseburger and had it gone before we left the parking lot.
A couple of days later, we accompanied my in-laws to Costco. We go to Costco every few months with them since they have a membership. The most convenient location for everyone to meet was (I kid you not) a McDonald's parking lot off the freeway. I got there a bit early and went through the drive-thru for a cheeseburger. I pulled off to the side to wait for everyone. The hubs arrived and I got in his car, finishing the last few bites of my cheeseburger. As I finished it, I asked him, "can you go back through the drive-thru? i need another one". Cheeseburger #3. After that, I haven't had any more cheeseburgers from Mickey Ds. I think I kicked that craving's ass.
So we go to Costco. People, do not go to Costco when you have manic cravings. We bought the most random assortment of stuff. Stuff we usually do not buy. Example: They had these little cups of Kettle Potato chips with ridges. I barely had swallowed my first chip when I was marching over to the GINORMOUS bags of Kettle chips and bringing one to our cart. The bag was the size of my torso. My father-in-law was cracking up. Six pounds of gummi bears? You're damn right we need them.
I was initially worried that I would be disgusted by foods I normally love. Like olives. My mom is convinced that I love olives so much because she ate a lot of them when she was pregnant with me. Well, my kid is definitely going to love olives. My husband has been making this olive hummus for me that is to. die. for.
Another gross thing that I had been craving was egg salad. I never was an egg salad fan until very recently. This is something I think I only would eat if my husband made it. I'm sort of weird about those random salads. We were sitting in church last weekend and some flyer for a youth lunch to support a mission trip advertising egg salad sandwiches set me off. I NEEDED EGG SALAD. PRONTO. We drove right home and my darling husband made the egg salad. I then ate 3 egg salad sandwiches. I would have had more but were were out.
Lest you think I am just filling up on junk, these cravings are far between. I actually have been eating better than ever. I just eat all of the time. I now eat in the middle of the night. I have had either a piece of string cheese or a bowl of Trader Joe's O's (Trader Joe's Cheerios) at 3 AM every morning.
Yesterday I got a sweet package in the mail from a friend with a variety of pregnancy things - foot cream, belly balm, lindt chocolates, The Baby Name Wizard book and PICKLES. Again, i wasn't craving pickles until i unwrapped that jar and oh sweet Jesus. It was like the heavens opened up and the rays of sun were beaming down on me with choirs of angels singing.
However, I still can't eat chicken :)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Babies 'R Us
This weekend, we had to go to Babies 'R Us for an upcoming baby shower gift. I think we were actually both kind of excited since neither of us had been there before. And we are sort of getting sick of shopping via Google.
Holy overwhelming. Since when do babies need as much stuff to fill a ginormous warehouse? Ok, so I know that they don't NEED all that stuff, but I did not realize that babies were so marketed towards. There are special "baby" cotton balls, for crying out loud.
Once we had printed out the list, we decided to purchase a variety of bottles, nipples, bottle brushes that the couple had registered for since we could easily locate the bottle aisle (right next to the registry desk). Now, locating the exact bottles and exact nipples was a challenge. One of my friends who had a baby last year said she broke down crying at the bottle wall. I can see why. Finally, we found all the right code numbers to ensure we had the right stuff.
Of course while we were there, we looked at some things for our own baby (no purchases, obviously). Baby stuff is definitely something you do not pay attention to (or at least WE did not pay attention to) prior to pregnancy. Who knew how many strollers, car seats, breast pumps and other electronic devices that left us looking puzzled there were? "Really? People buy this?" was our reaction more often than not. "What would you use that for?" was another popular phrase.
I totally plan on taking advantage of the experience of my already-mom friends in some departments to whittle down important decisions such as what breast pump do you like? How would you rate your stroller? Do you buy the infant car seat with the carrier thing and the Britax carseat that is good for 8-35lbs? How long do you actually use that carrier thing that snaps into a car seat base? (RE: Britax: I spent a summer doing car seat installs for work so car seats are the only thing I feel like I somewhat know.) Is all baby furniture this ugly? (We know from Google that it is not).
We didn't get through the whole store. I think both of us were on the verge of panic attack so we checked out and got the hell out of there. I know this is unlikely, but I just sort of want this whole baby thing to be as simple as possible. I don't want my house cluttered with 40,000 toys or gadgets for every little thing. I don't want heated bottle warmers and video monitoring gadgets that hook up to the tv.
And one thing's for sure: I don't want the puffy lamb/duck/name your baby farm animal wall hanging.
Holy overwhelming. Since when do babies need as much stuff to fill a ginormous warehouse? Ok, so I know that they don't NEED all that stuff, but I did not realize that babies were so marketed towards. There are special "baby" cotton balls, for crying out loud.
Once we had printed out the list, we decided to purchase a variety of bottles, nipples, bottle brushes that the couple had registered for since we could easily locate the bottle aisle (right next to the registry desk). Now, locating the exact bottles and exact nipples was a challenge. One of my friends who had a baby last year said she broke down crying at the bottle wall. I can see why. Finally, we found all the right code numbers to ensure we had the right stuff.
Of course while we were there, we looked at some things for our own baby (no purchases, obviously). Baby stuff is definitely something you do not pay attention to (or at least WE did not pay attention to) prior to pregnancy. Who knew how many strollers, car seats, breast pumps and other electronic devices that left us looking puzzled there were? "Really? People buy this?" was our reaction more often than not. "What would you use that for?" was another popular phrase.
I totally plan on taking advantage of the experience of my already-mom friends in some departments to whittle down important decisions such as what breast pump do you like? How would you rate your stroller? Do you buy the infant car seat with the carrier thing and the Britax carseat that is good for 8-35lbs? How long do you actually use that carrier thing that snaps into a car seat base? (RE: Britax: I spent a summer doing car seat installs for work so car seats are the only thing I feel like I somewhat know.) Is all baby furniture this ugly? (We know from Google that it is not).
We didn't get through the whole store. I think both of us were on the verge of panic attack so we checked out and got the hell out of there. I know this is unlikely, but I just sort of want this whole baby thing to be as simple as possible. I don't want my house cluttered with 40,000 toys or gadgets for every little thing. I don't want heated bottle warmers and video monitoring gadgets that hook up to the tv.
And one thing's for sure: I don't want the puffy lamb/duck/name your baby farm animal wall hanging.
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