I feel bad that I'm obviously playing to type here and not posting as much about my second pregnancy with Henry. Truth is I don't have a lot of time these days what with 2 jobs, a toddler, a husband in college, and a side business. just not enough hours in the day it seems, or rather too many of them wasted at my job. If I didn't have to work for a living I would certainly have more time to do all the other things that I needed to do but oh well that's life.
So Henry, you are a little kicker and your big. I'm currently at 26 weeks with you and your actually measuring around 30 weeks big. You like to kick and flop around and punch Mommy pretty much through out the day and night. Your big brother is eagerly anticipating your arrival, at least as much as he can since I don't know how much he realizes what is actually going to happen when you show up. But he knows he's going to be a big brother, and he keeps asking me to read him the "I'm a Big Brother" book. the other day David kissed my belly where you are and then proceeded to beat his hands on it, but still the sweetness was there. I think that you and David are going to be great friends and wonderful brothers.
The cravings that I have mostly are for crab, which makes me think you are really going to like eating crab...and who knows maybe you will come so early that your born a Crab, like your Mommy and Daddy are. Daddy is eagerly awaiting your arrival too and we're all looking forward to you joining our lives. Until you come out though mommy will keep you safe and warm inside her and I'll just have to put up with the kicking ;D.
Love Mommy
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Talking and smiles
Dear Sweet Sugar Boy,
Ducky and I took you to get your picture taken with Santa last night. you were a little squirmy, but eventually we got you to smile. But as we were waiting in line Ducky asked if you still smiled when I did Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash is a Country and Western superstar, I know as you get older you'll learn more about Johnny Cash, probably because I'll wind up telling you the story a million times over.
Anyway, when Johnny Cash would start his shows he would say in his low freight train like voice "Hello, my name is Johnny Cash". I started saying this to you one day when I was home for lunch. You cracked up laughing like it was the funniest thing you'd ever heard. Ever since then when I say "Hello, my name is Johnny Cash." You'll smile or laugh at me. It's the cutest thing.
Another note is that you have started to say some words. Mostly you say Yeah, and Yay! You like those words the most. I love you so much sweet boy. Take care and Merry Christmas!
Love,
Mommy
Ducky and I took you to get your picture taken with Santa last night. you were a little squirmy, but eventually we got you to smile. But as we were waiting in line Ducky asked if you still smiled when I did Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash is a Country and Western superstar, I know as you get older you'll learn more about Johnny Cash, probably because I'll wind up telling you the story a million times over.
Anyway, when Johnny Cash would start his shows he would say in his low freight train like voice "Hello, my name is Johnny Cash". I started saying this to you one day when I was home for lunch. You cracked up laughing like it was the funniest thing you'd ever heard. Ever since then when I say "Hello, my name is Johnny Cash." You'll smile or laugh at me. It's the cutest thing.
Another note is that you have started to say some words. Mostly you say Yeah, and Yay! You like those words the most. I love you so much sweet boy. Take care and Merry Christmas!
Love,
Mommy
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A Big Brother
My Sweet Sugar Boy,
Well Mommy and Daddy found out this week that your going to be a big brother. Mommy is going to have another baby in 9 months. Mommy is excited and nervous for you since I don't really have any experience with siblings being an only child myself. But I know you will be fine with it, like most things. You are such an angel and Mommy loves you so much. Almost every thought I have is of you. I want to make sure you always know how special you are to me and how much I love you.
On another note, you got your first pair of big boy shoes yesterday and you were walking outside. Your still a little unsure of yourself but you are getting much better in the shoes. You look so handsome in everything but now you really look like a little man. you also rode your first carosel last night on a big choo choo train. You had so much you didn't want to stop going. That's the news for now. I love you my sweet boy!
Love,
Mommy
Well Mommy and Daddy found out this week that your going to be a big brother. Mommy is going to have another baby in 9 months. Mommy is excited and nervous for you since I don't really have any experience with siblings being an only child myself. But I know you will be fine with it, like most things. You are such an angel and Mommy loves you so much. Almost every thought I have is of you. I want to make sure you always know how special you are to me and how much I love you.
On another note, you got your first pair of big boy shoes yesterday and you were walking outside. Your still a little unsure of yourself but you are getting much better in the shoes. You look so handsome in everything but now you really look like a little man. you also rode your first carosel last night on a big choo choo train. You had so much you didn't want to stop going. That's the news for now. I love you my sweet boy!
Love,
Mommy
Thursday, December 8, 2011
A whole year!
To my sweet Sugar Boy,
I'm so sorry that I haven't written in so long, but you have been keeping Mommy very busy! You are a year old now and walking. You took your first unassisted steps around mid October, and then only did it once or twice between then and when you took off. It was the day after your birthday and Ducky and I were in the study with you looking at the Christmas tree and you just started walking, and you have been going an going ever since. We still carry you some places of course, and we haven't found good shoes for you yet so you haven't walked outside, or in shoes yet, but you are all over the place indoors. Last night I had to go shopping so we went to Macy's and Ducky came too and you were walking all over the misses section and accesories.
You are getting to be such a little man honey, you can say a few words, and you clap pretty much for everything these days. Your growing like a weed and mommy has a hard time keeping clothes that fit you. But the doctor says your right on schedule and doing great. You still love music and you are still a very happy and sweet little boy. Though you can be stubborn and you don't like to be told no. But mommy doesn't want you to hurt yourself so when I say no it's for the best.
Your first birthday party was great, you got lots of toys, including a red piano from Nana and Grandpa. Your friend Brantley was there with you, he's Miss Holly's son. Miss Holly watches you for mommy on Tuesday's, Wednesdays and Thursdays while mommy is at work. So you get to play with your buddy a lot. We had a Thomas the Train theme for you and Daddy, Ducky, and I did a puppet show for you!
Oh! And did I mention you have a cousin now? Aunt Katherine just gave birth to a baby girl, your cousin Kelsey. You and Kelsey are exactly one year and one week apart in age. You are the first born of the family though so you need to show her the ropes and watch out for her. Even though Aunt Kat lives all the way down south we are going to try to make sure you two are very close cousins.
What else....your eating solid foods now, and drinking whole milk, though we're trying to wean you off of formula. At about 8 months you stopped breast feeding. Your already a great traveler. You've been to Colorado, and Oklahoma, and Port Aransus. The beach trip may have been the best cause it was your first time at the beach and you loved it! Mommy lost her glasses in the ocean too cause she was busy watching you and Daddy and didn't notice a big wave behind her.
Everyday your changing and growing sweetie, and mommy is a little scared because your growing up so fast. Before I know it your going to be grown up and mommy will have to rely on these blogs and pictures to remember her sweet little boy. I love you with all my heart precious boy and I'll talk to you soon.
Love,
Mommy
I'm so sorry that I haven't written in so long, but you have been keeping Mommy very busy! You are a year old now and walking. You took your first unassisted steps around mid October, and then only did it once or twice between then and when you took off. It was the day after your birthday and Ducky and I were in the study with you looking at the Christmas tree and you just started walking, and you have been going an going ever since. We still carry you some places of course, and we haven't found good shoes for you yet so you haven't walked outside, or in shoes yet, but you are all over the place indoors. Last night I had to go shopping so we went to Macy's and Ducky came too and you were walking all over the misses section and accesories.
You are getting to be such a little man honey, you can say a few words, and you clap pretty much for everything these days. Your growing like a weed and mommy has a hard time keeping clothes that fit you. But the doctor says your right on schedule and doing great. You still love music and you are still a very happy and sweet little boy. Though you can be stubborn and you don't like to be told no. But mommy doesn't want you to hurt yourself so when I say no it's for the best.
Your first birthday party was great, you got lots of toys, including a red piano from Nana and Grandpa. Your friend Brantley was there with you, he's Miss Holly's son. Miss Holly watches you for mommy on Tuesday's, Wednesdays and Thursdays while mommy is at work. So you get to play with your buddy a lot. We had a Thomas the Train theme for you and Daddy, Ducky, and I did a puppet show for you!
Oh! And did I mention you have a cousin now? Aunt Katherine just gave birth to a baby girl, your cousin Kelsey. You and Kelsey are exactly one year and one week apart in age. You are the first born of the family though so you need to show her the ropes and watch out for her. Even though Aunt Kat lives all the way down south we are going to try to make sure you two are very close cousins.
What else....your eating solid foods now, and drinking whole milk, though we're trying to wean you off of formula. At about 8 months you stopped breast feeding. Your already a great traveler. You've been to Colorado, and Oklahoma, and Port Aransus. The beach trip may have been the best cause it was your first time at the beach and you loved it! Mommy lost her glasses in the ocean too cause she was busy watching you and Daddy and didn't notice a big wave behind her.
Everyday your changing and growing sweetie, and mommy is a little scared because your growing up so fast. Before I know it your going to be grown up and mommy will have to rely on these blogs and pictures to remember her sweet little boy. I love you with all my heart precious boy and I'll talk to you soon.
Love,
Mommy
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Let me tell you about yourself
To my sweet baby boy,
As the days of my pregnancy are now over I'm going to address these posts to you, my sweet David, in the hopes that you will read about yourself when your older. I know I always enjoyed reading and hearing the little things that my mom had written about me when I was younger, so I want you to have that as well.
You are such a joy! In my completely unbiased opinion you are the cutest little thing to ever live. It's funny how everyone thinks you look like your father, or your Ducky, or your grandpa, or your nana, though all those people know that it's really me that you look like. Your Dad even said last night that he doesn't know what people are seeing when they say you look like him because all he can see is me in you. He said you look like a mini male version of me.
You are almost 6 months old now. We've started you on solid foods, so far you are eating carrots and sweet potatoes. Next week we'll move you to yellow vegatables and then to green veggies, and after that we'll move you to fruits. You make these funny little faces when your eating, like your not sure what it is that's in your mouth. What's really funny though is when your having your bottle. You get so upset if we don't give your bottle right away, and if we take it away to burp you or to fix the nipple on the bottle you will cry and scream your head off. You've never gone without a meal and you've never been left wanting but you are a little used to getting your way. You pretty much have everyone wrapped around your little finger.
Your starting to scooch crawl now, and your definitely getting more mobile. I'm afraid we're going to have to start baby proofing the house now, cause I don't want baby to bonk his head on anything. I was able to put you in your exersaucer now and you just LOVE it! You can stand up in it if you want to or you can sit down and you can spin yourself around to all the toys that are there for you to play with on it. So you'll just entertain yourself for hours in that thing. You still love your quilt time too but I think the exersaucer is training your legs and your trunk muscles a little bit more.
You still sleep with me in the early morning hours, mostly because I have problems if I'm not sleeping with you and you and I love to take naps together when I've taken off of work. I usually can always get you to sleep. Though you don't like it when I leave you in the morning and it breaks my heart to go too. I know if Daddy had to hear it he would get the lead out on finding a better job so I could stay home with you more.
You love to stick everything in your mouth at this point, and you are so quick with getting Mommy's glasses off her face. You can do it so deaftly and then you stick them in your mouth and start sucking on my glasses. You have also taken to pulling hair which does hurt alot. You grab daddy's chest hair to pull yourself up and you grab the little hairs at the back of my neck when I'm holding you. But your so sweet and cute that even though you hurt us sometimes we still love you.
You are a very bright little boy, so alert and attentive and you love attention. Daddy is certain that you are an extrovert and that you are a people person like your mommy. I'm secretly hoping that's true, cause your my sweet boy and you and I have a very strong connection to each other. You are the world to me little one and I love you more then I thought I could ever love anything. When you smile, or laugh, or squeal at me I just melt everytime. I so want to hear you say Mommy. Well I need to go for now. I love you my sweet boy!
Love,
Mommy
As the days of my pregnancy are now over I'm going to address these posts to you, my sweet David, in the hopes that you will read about yourself when your older. I know I always enjoyed reading and hearing the little things that my mom had written about me when I was younger, so I want you to have that as well.
You are such a joy! In my completely unbiased opinion you are the cutest little thing to ever live. It's funny how everyone thinks you look like your father, or your Ducky, or your grandpa, or your nana, though all those people know that it's really me that you look like. Your Dad even said last night that he doesn't know what people are seeing when they say you look like him because all he can see is me in you. He said you look like a mini male version of me.
You are almost 6 months old now. We've started you on solid foods, so far you are eating carrots and sweet potatoes. Next week we'll move you to yellow vegatables and then to green veggies, and after that we'll move you to fruits. You make these funny little faces when your eating, like your not sure what it is that's in your mouth. What's really funny though is when your having your bottle. You get so upset if we don't give your bottle right away, and if we take it away to burp you or to fix the nipple on the bottle you will cry and scream your head off. You've never gone without a meal and you've never been left wanting but you are a little used to getting your way. You pretty much have everyone wrapped around your little finger.
Your starting to scooch crawl now, and your definitely getting more mobile. I'm afraid we're going to have to start baby proofing the house now, cause I don't want baby to bonk his head on anything. I was able to put you in your exersaucer now and you just LOVE it! You can stand up in it if you want to or you can sit down and you can spin yourself around to all the toys that are there for you to play with on it. So you'll just entertain yourself for hours in that thing. You still love your quilt time too but I think the exersaucer is training your legs and your trunk muscles a little bit more.
You still sleep with me in the early morning hours, mostly because I have problems if I'm not sleeping with you and you and I love to take naps together when I've taken off of work. I usually can always get you to sleep. Though you don't like it when I leave you in the morning and it breaks my heart to go too. I know if Daddy had to hear it he would get the lead out on finding a better job so I could stay home with you more.
You love to stick everything in your mouth at this point, and you are so quick with getting Mommy's glasses off her face. You can do it so deaftly and then you stick them in your mouth and start sucking on my glasses. You have also taken to pulling hair which does hurt alot. You grab daddy's chest hair to pull yourself up and you grab the little hairs at the back of my neck when I'm holding you. But your so sweet and cute that even though you hurt us sometimes we still love you.
You are a very bright little boy, so alert and attentive and you love attention. Daddy is certain that you are an extrovert and that you are a people person like your mommy. I'm secretly hoping that's true, cause your my sweet boy and you and I have a very strong connection to each other. You are the world to me little one and I love you more then I thought I could ever love anything. When you smile, or laugh, or squeal at me I just melt everytime. I so want to hear you say Mommy. Well I need to go for now. I love you my sweet boy!
Love,
Mommy
Friday, February 4, 2011
End of Maternity Leave
I was supposed to return to work today. Thankfully today turned into a snow day because I was not ready to go back. I cried several times yesterday because I thought that I would need to go in. Although work had a delayed opening, the roads were still icy at noon and I wasn't going to risk it after 3 months of being off.
These three months with my son have been wonderful, I never thought I could love something or someone as much, and as purely as I love my son. Of course I love my husband with all my heart, but there's something different about the love I have for my son. I've undergone a tremendous and monumental change now. I see the world through completely different eyes now. As John says, it's as though we've been traded to a different team - the parent team.
I got to have David's first Christmas and New Years with him. He was Christened in our church and in the Unity faith. We've done two theatre shows together. We've had hard nights together, and we've had wonderful nights and days together. He's rolled over for us, smiled at me with his heart melting smiles, cuddled with me as we slept together, and he has dealt with my endless kisses and hugs. For these reasons it will bother me more than him when I return to work on Monday.
For these reasons I know that I need to do everything I can to make myself and my life better. That means finding a job that I love, losing the weight I need to lose to be healthy, and supporting John to get a better job that supports all of us so that I can stay home with my children if I want to. It's hard for me to tolerate the thought of returning to work now, and if/when I have another child I know I definitely won't want to return and leave my son and other child at home.
Now begins the real work that I've put off for years, but I now have the motivation of my son to get me going, and keep me going until I reach my goal.
These three months with my son have been wonderful, I never thought I could love something or someone as much, and as purely as I love my son. Of course I love my husband with all my heart, but there's something different about the love I have for my son. I've undergone a tremendous and monumental change now. I see the world through completely different eyes now. As John says, it's as though we've been traded to a different team - the parent team.
I got to have David's first Christmas and New Years with him. He was Christened in our church and in the Unity faith. We've done two theatre shows together. We've had hard nights together, and we've had wonderful nights and days together. He's rolled over for us, smiled at me with his heart melting smiles, cuddled with me as we slept together, and he has dealt with my endless kisses and hugs. For these reasons it will bother me more than him when I return to work on Monday.
For these reasons I know that I need to do everything I can to make myself and my life better. That means finding a job that I love, losing the weight I need to lose to be healthy, and supporting John to get a better job that supports all of us so that I can stay home with my children if I want to. It's hard for me to tolerate the thought of returning to work now, and if/when I have another child I know I definitely won't want to return and leave my son and other child at home.
Now begins the real work that I've put off for years, but I now have the motivation of my son to get me going, and keep me going until I reach my goal.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Labor and Delivery
It's taken me awhile to get to where I can write this out since now my sweet little David is here.
My contractions began on Thanksgiving day, occuring about every hour from 10 am in the morning till around midnight when I finally went to bed. John and I were able to have Thanksgiving dinner, and watch the last UT football game of the season. My mother came to spend the night, and we all headed off to bed at midnight. As soon as I went to bed however my contractions starting coming every 8 minutes or so. I kept John up to hold my hand and time out the contractions, until they finally got to be 5 minutes apart. Around 2:40 am we got our things together, woke up my mother, and headed off to the hospital. We called John's parents on the way there to let them know the show had started.
We got to the hospital about 3:10, and we were taken to a room where they checked to see my dialation and said that I was effaced 90% but still only dialated 1 cm. The hospital called my doctor who said to observe me till the morning. It was then they moved me to a delivery room and hooked me up to an IV and the other monitors. My contractions kept coming as back labor, which was pretty painful. But my birth plan stated that I was not to be given an epidural until 4 cm. So I kept having contractions all morning until the Doctor came in around 10 a and checked me that I was now at 4 cm.
The Anesthesiologist came in about 11 am and administered my epidural. After that I felt much better as the pain from the contractions had subsided, and I was finally able to take a nap once the pain had gone away. They checked me again around 3 pm or so to see that I was now dialated 9 cm, and we were almost there. I waited another hour and half for the doctor to pronouce that I was at 10 cm and it was time to start pushing.
With the help of John, my mother, David and Donna; I pushed as hard as I could for 2 1/2 hours. By that time when the baby still had not come, they called the doctor in again and she did an ultrasound on me to see that the baby was transverse. His little head was jammed up against my pelvic bone. The Doctor then told us that even if we managed to get the head out his shoulders would get stuck, so we needed to do a C-section to get me delivered. I continued having to push as they administered more drugs to me to kill the pain, and wheeled me into surgery. John dressed in scrubs and came with me.
Through all the drugs and hormones I was freezing the whole time, but all the doctors and nursing staff did everything they could to make me comfortable. I barely felt anything when they cut into get the baby out. The doctor said I had been doing some really good pushing and that if he had been in a good position to come out naturally I would have pushed him out well. He was so stuck that the nurse had to actually push him back up so they could get him out.
At 7:32 pm, my little baby boy was born. In writing this now I'm remembering everything that we went through together and now the tears have started to come. He was 8 lbs. 12 oz and 22 inches long. Once they had finished cleaning him up and doing all the measuring, John brought him over to me so I could see him. Then they took my little boy to the nursery and John stayed with me as they sewed me back up. Then I was wheeled into the recovery room. I was released from recovery about 3 hours later and taken to my post partum room where I finally got to hold my son.
Though I am not unbiased, in my opinion he is the sweetest baby ever born. I love him so much that it almost hurts me to be apart from him. I kiss and love on him so much that sometimes he fusses at me, almost like he's saying "Sheez Mom! Enough already". But I can't help it. He's so adorable and sweet and cute and soft, that I just can't stop myself. My life has been forever changed by this little miracle, and I will love him till the day I die.
My contractions began on Thanksgiving day, occuring about every hour from 10 am in the morning till around midnight when I finally went to bed. John and I were able to have Thanksgiving dinner, and watch the last UT football game of the season. My mother came to spend the night, and we all headed off to bed at midnight. As soon as I went to bed however my contractions starting coming every 8 minutes or so. I kept John up to hold my hand and time out the contractions, until they finally got to be 5 minutes apart. Around 2:40 am we got our things together, woke up my mother, and headed off to the hospital. We called John's parents on the way there to let them know the show had started.
We got to the hospital about 3:10, and we were taken to a room where they checked to see my dialation and said that I was effaced 90% but still only dialated 1 cm. The hospital called my doctor who said to observe me till the morning. It was then they moved me to a delivery room and hooked me up to an IV and the other monitors. My contractions kept coming as back labor, which was pretty painful. But my birth plan stated that I was not to be given an epidural until 4 cm. So I kept having contractions all morning until the Doctor came in around 10 a and checked me that I was now at 4 cm.
The Anesthesiologist came in about 11 am and administered my epidural. After that I felt much better as the pain from the contractions had subsided, and I was finally able to take a nap once the pain had gone away. They checked me again around 3 pm or so to see that I was now dialated 9 cm, and we were almost there. I waited another hour and half for the doctor to pronouce that I was at 10 cm and it was time to start pushing.
With the help of John, my mother, David and Donna; I pushed as hard as I could for 2 1/2 hours. By that time when the baby still had not come, they called the doctor in again and she did an ultrasound on me to see that the baby was transverse. His little head was jammed up against my pelvic bone. The Doctor then told us that even if we managed to get the head out his shoulders would get stuck, so we needed to do a C-section to get me delivered. I continued having to push as they administered more drugs to me to kill the pain, and wheeled me into surgery. John dressed in scrubs and came with me.
Through all the drugs and hormones I was freezing the whole time, but all the doctors and nursing staff did everything they could to make me comfortable. I barely felt anything when they cut into get the baby out. The doctor said I had been doing some really good pushing and that if he had been in a good position to come out naturally I would have pushed him out well. He was so stuck that the nurse had to actually push him back up so they could get him out.
At 7:32 pm, my little baby boy was born. In writing this now I'm remembering everything that we went through together and now the tears have started to come. He was 8 lbs. 12 oz and 22 inches long. Once they had finished cleaning him up and doing all the measuring, John brought him over to me so I could see him. Then they took my little boy to the nursery and John stayed with me as they sewed me back up. Then I was wheeled into the recovery room. I was released from recovery about 3 hours later and taken to my post partum room where I finally got to hold my son.
Though I am not unbiased, in my opinion he is the sweetest baby ever born. I love him so much that it almost hurts me to be apart from him. I kiss and love on him so much that sometimes he fusses at me, almost like he's saying "Sheez Mom! Enough already". But I can't help it. He's so adorable and sweet and cute and soft, that I just can't stop myself. My life has been forever changed by this little miracle, and I will love him till the day I die.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Past all due dates
So here we are after midnight on the 22nd....still no baby. He apparently really likes in there! I had an ultrasound this past monday and he was an average size, measuring about 7 lbs, 15 oz. and we got a picture of his face. Though it was in the ultrasound gray and silver tones and not a 3d. But it's all fine with me cause I got his 3rd trimester picture for his baby picture frame.
However, now we are past the new due date of the 16th, and past the old due date of the 21st. Past the muscle testing of Dr. Martin, and now we're going into the gray murky realms of...whenever. They've set me for an induction on the 28th, but I have a feeling that I won't make it to that date. I think as I have throughoutthis pregnancy that we're going to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, cut the turkey, and my water's going to break. That's the image I've had about his birth since I found out how close his due date was.
As for me, I'm kind of happy to still be pregnant. As I've said before I look on towards the future with a mixture of fear towards going through labor and the deep need and desire for David to come out and join the world so I can hold him in my arms. This week John and I have both been struck with a head cold, so I really didn't want for the baby to come yet. I'm slowly getting better, and now I'd like to get the house cleaned for his arrival, and get those final last few things done. So I look on David's lateness again with a mixture of feelings, but mostly trusting in the wisdom of David's own timing. He's going to come when he's ready and depite what my mother says on this I don't really have any say in the matter. I know my son will come when it's right for him to.
However, now we are past the new due date of the 16th, and past the old due date of the 21st. Past the muscle testing of Dr. Martin, and now we're going into the gray murky realms of...whenever. They've set me for an induction on the 28th, but I have a feeling that I won't make it to that date. I think as I have throughoutthis pregnancy that we're going to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, cut the turkey, and my water's going to break. That's the image I've had about his birth since I found out how close his due date was.
As for me, I'm kind of happy to still be pregnant. As I've said before I look on towards the future with a mixture of fear towards going through labor and the deep need and desire for David to come out and join the world so I can hold him in my arms. This week John and I have both been struck with a head cold, so I really didn't want for the baby to come yet. I'm slowly getting better, and now I'd like to get the house cleaned for his arrival, and get those final last few things done. So I look on David's lateness again with a mixture of feelings, but mostly trusting in the wisdom of David's own timing. He's going to come when he's ready and depite what my mother says on this I don't really have any say in the matter. I know my son will come when it's right for him to.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Maternity Leave
Well I am finally on maternity leave from work...it's my 4th day of being on my official matrernity leave. I've been waiting for my nesting instinct to kick in so that I can really get this house clean for the baby, and so I can get the nursery really finished up. Today is the first day that I've had any kind of feelings or inclination in that vein, but I am hoping that it gets a little stronger since I'm still kind of ho-hum.
The baby seems to be doing fine, not that I've seen him since 5 months. But by the feel of his many kicks and twists and turns, he seems to be doing well. The Doctor thinks he's "pretty big" but God only knows what the scale is there. I was 9 lbs. 1 oz. when I was born and John was 8 lbs. 8 oz., so I've been expecting for David to be over 9 lbs.. The Dr. said that if she had to induce she would probably do another ultrasound to see how big he was before making that decision. I would be happy to get another ultrasound so that I could get my 3rd trimester picture for the babies ultrasound photo frame. I'm keeping my fingers crossed there.
My Due date is getting closer and closer, and everyone is on baby watch at this point. Mom is sleeping with her cell phone by the bed. The ladies at the church are on high alert everytime I call her. John is semi concerned when ever I have pause or make a noise. I'm a mixture between being totally freaked out about labor and becoming a mom and really wanting to hold my baby and have him outside of my body. But I'm sure he's going to make his appearance when he's ready. C'mon november 21st!
The baby seems to be doing fine, not that I've seen him since 5 months. But by the feel of his many kicks and twists and turns, he seems to be doing well. The Doctor thinks he's "pretty big" but God only knows what the scale is there. I was 9 lbs. 1 oz. when I was born and John was 8 lbs. 8 oz., so I've been expecting for David to be over 9 lbs.. The Dr. said that if she had to induce she would probably do another ultrasound to see how big he was before making that decision. I would be happy to get another ultrasound so that I could get my 3rd trimester picture for the babies ultrasound photo frame. I'm keeping my fingers crossed there.
My Due date is getting closer and closer, and everyone is on baby watch at this point. Mom is sleeping with her cell phone by the bed. The ladies at the church are on high alert everytime I call her. John is semi concerned when ever I have pause or make a noise. I'm a mixture between being totally freaked out about labor and becoming a mom and really wanting to hold my baby and have him outside of my body. But I'm sure he's going to make his appearance when he's ready. C'mon november 21st!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sad news
John's last living grandparent Gigi, passed away today. Gigi was a pistol of a woman, and she had a wonderful life. She was about a week away from her 91st birthday when she passed. We were hoping that Gigi would live to meet the baby, but she can now protect and watch over David in energy and love.
As I'm sitting here wondering what to write I keep thinking of all the great times I spent with Gigi. Though I'd only known Gigi for about 3 years now, she had become very special to me. I'm a pretty family oriented person and I was very close with my own grandmother. I lost my own grandmother about 9 years ago, and having Gigi in my life made it as though I had that part of my family back again. Now with her passing I'm again feeling the sting of losing such a loving presence in my life.
I'm grateful that I did get to spend time with Gigi learning about her past and her life. I learned about her life in Dalhart during the Dust Bowl and Depression era, about her time in DC during the war, and her life afterwards living in DC. I'm grateful that Gigi was able to be at our wedding, and that she passed knowing that the Poole line would continue on in our son. I'm grateful for the times we spent with Gigi in DC, for being able to be there at Gigi's 90th birthday party; for the weekend shopping together in Port Aransus, and for all the other little moments I got to spend with her. I'm mostly grateful that because of all these experiences and everything I learned that both John and I will be able to pass on our memories of her to our son.
We all love you Gigi, and we all know that you are now in a better place. I keep reminding myself how full of energy you were, and that energy never dies. Energy can never be destroyed, it only changes form. So though you may not be here in physical presence with us any longer, I know that your energy and your presence is not gone from us completely. I believe in reincarnation, and I believe that we continue to meet and experience the people that mean the most to use throughout our lives and through out our incarnations. So keeping those beliefs close to me, allows me to say that I will meet you again Gigi. Though I may not perceive exactly who you are to me, I know that my soul will recognize you right away. You have touched my life, and in turn you have already touched our son's life. Thank you for sharing your time and love with us on this plane. Rest in Peace.
Frances "Gigi" Poole
Nov. 1 1919 - Oct. 23 2010
As I'm sitting here wondering what to write I keep thinking of all the great times I spent with Gigi. Though I'd only known Gigi for about 3 years now, she had become very special to me. I'm a pretty family oriented person and I was very close with my own grandmother. I lost my own grandmother about 9 years ago, and having Gigi in my life made it as though I had that part of my family back again. Now with her passing I'm again feeling the sting of losing such a loving presence in my life.
I'm grateful that I did get to spend time with Gigi learning about her past and her life. I learned about her life in Dalhart during the Dust Bowl and Depression era, about her time in DC during the war, and her life afterwards living in DC. I'm grateful that Gigi was able to be at our wedding, and that she passed knowing that the Poole line would continue on in our son. I'm grateful for the times we spent with Gigi in DC, for being able to be there at Gigi's 90th birthday party; for the weekend shopping together in Port Aransus, and for all the other little moments I got to spend with her. I'm mostly grateful that because of all these experiences and everything I learned that both John and I will be able to pass on our memories of her to our son.
We all love you Gigi, and we all know that you are now in a better place. I keep reminding myself how full of energy you were, and that energy never dies. Energy can never be destroyed, it only changes form. So though you may not be here in physical presence with us any longer, I know that your energy and your presence is not gone from us completely. I believe in reincarnation, and I believe that we continue to meet and experience the people that mean the most to use throughout our lives and through out our incarnations. So keeping those beliefs close to me, allows me to say that I will meet you again Gigi. Though I may not perceive exactly who you are to me, I know that my soul will recognize you right away. You have touched my life, and in turn you have already touched our son's life. Thank you for sharing your time and love with us on this plane. Rest in Peace.
Frances "Gigi" Poole
Nov. 1 1919 - Oct. 23 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Strange new dream
Last night I woke up around 4:00 am thinking about bottle feeding the baby for the extravaganza. Crazy thing about it was that I thought I was dreaming about bottle feeding the baby during the extravaganza, until I had been awake for about 5-10 minutes which was when I realized I was actually awake.
Anyhow, I tossed and turned, unable to get back to sleep for about an hour. Still thinking about random baby things until sometime after 5:00 am when I finally dozed off again. When I did finally get back to sleep I had this odd dream.
I was back in High School, but I was driving the new car that I just bought (we traded in the PT Cruiser for a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid). Ali and Caryn were there and had just returned from Ireland (they're really coming back any day now) and I wanted to show them the new car. So I took them outside to the parking lot. I found the car and I opened the door and sat inside, which was when I realized that it was not my car...at least not all of my car. Instead of the fancy controls and navigation system that the car actually has, it looked like the inside of a Ford Escort (the car I actually drove in High school). There was a tape deck where the navigation system should have been, and all the dials and interior was black instead of the gray and silver that the car actually has. But the car still looked the exact same on the outside.
I got out and knew this wasn't my car. Then a "mechanic/gaurd" came out of the little shack house that was in the middle of the lot, and suddenly there were like 5-6 other guys there. I accused all of them of stealing the inside of my car. Which they sort of semi fessed up to. I then went searching for the inside of my car. Suddenly the parking lot was a parking garage and I traversed 4 -5 levels of this parking garage, until I finally found this small room where there was this boxy looking Buick that was painted the same shade as my Camry.
I got in and knew that this was my car, even though it looked nothing like the actual interior of my car. But all the controls were so fancy and digital that in my dream this was the "inside" of my car that had been stolen. I told the main "Mechanic/Gaurd" that this was the inside of my car and he said he would put it back in my actual car. This is where the dream ends because I woke up and had to go to work at this point.
As far as the baby front goes, we've finished taking our classes. I'm at 34 weeks along now, so I've only got 6 weeks left of the pregnancy, as long as I don't go early or late. ( I love how I refer to my labor in the text of a volcano exploding). The baby is moving pretty fiercly these days and at times I feel like he's trying to pop out of my navel. I'm pretty uncomfortable most of the time these days, but especially standing up, walking etc is really a b**ch, cause it feels like there's a bowling ball pressing on my va-jay-jay. I walk a heck of a lot slower, and with a definite waddle now. I feel like Godzilla attacking Tokyo at times. Forget about bending down, bending over, bending in any which way is uncomfortable and I tend to get lightheaded when I try it. John has to help me up all the time these days. The swelling feet and hands has cleared up a bit though since I spend most of my time sitting or lying down now. Like I said I'm just generally uncomfortable, and I'm ready to have this baby. I'm now at the "Please get him out of me" stage.
Anyhow, I tossed and turned, unable to get back to sleep for about an hour. Still thinking about random baby things until sometime after 5:00 am when I finally dozed off again. When I did finally get back to sleep I had this odd dream.
I was back in High School, but I was driving the new car that I just bought (we traded in the PT Cruiser for a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid). Ali and Caryn were there and had just returned from Ireland (they're really coming back any day now) and I wanted to show them the new car. So I took them outside to the parking lot. I found the car and I opened the door and sat inside, which was when I realized that it was not my car...at least not all of my car. Instead of the fancy controls and navigation system that the car actually has, it looked like the inside of a Ford Escort (the car I actually drove in High school). There was a tape deck where the navigation system should have been, and all the dials and interior was black instead of the gray and silver that the car actually has. But the car still looked the exact same on the outside.
I got out and knew this wasn't my car. Then a "mechanic/gaurd" came out of the little shack house that was in the middle of the lot, and suddenly there were like 5-6 other guys there. I accused all of them of stealing the inside of my car. Which they sort of semi fessed up to. I then went searching for the inside of my car. Suddenly the parking lot was a parking garage and I traversed 4 -5 levels of this parking garage, until I finally found this small room where there was this boxy looking Buick that was painted the same shade as my Camry.
I got in and knew that this was my car, even though it looked nothing like the actual interior of my car. But all the controls were so fancy and digital that in my dream this was the "inside" of my car that had been stolen. I told the main "Mechanic/Gaurd" that this was the inside of my car and he said he would put it back in my actual car. This is where the dream ends because I woke up and had to go to work at this point.
As far as the baby front goes, we've finished taking our classes. I'm at 34 weeks along now, so I've only got 6 weeks left of the pregnancy, as long as I don't go early or late. ( I love how I refer to my labor in the text of a volcano exploding). The baby is moving pretty fiercly these days and at times I feel like he's trying to pop out of my navel. I'm pretty uncomfortable most of the time these days, but especially standing up, walking etc is really a b**ch, cause it feels like there's a bowling ball pressing on my va-jay-jay. I walk a heck of a lot slower, and with a definite waddle now. I feel like Godzilla attacking Tokyo at times. Forget about bending down, bending over, bending in any which way is uncomfortable and I tend to get lightheaded when I try it. John has to help me up all the time these days. The swelling feet and hands has cleared up a bit though since I spend most of my time sitting or lying down now. Like I said I'm just generally uncomfortable, and I'm ready to have this baby. I'm now at the "Please get him out of me" stage.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Taking for Granted
As my pregnancy progresses, I've come to realize certain things that I always took for granted before and never will again. I will never again take for granted -
1) My shoe size
2) Drinking any kind of alcohol
3) Shaving my legs
4) Pulling up my pants
At almost 8 months pregnant now, my feet have begun to swell. I used to be a size 10 in my shoes, and a perfect 10 at that. My feet, strangley enough were one of the prettiest body parts I had. Even if they were a bit stinky ;D. I had a nice arch, cute little toes, and a slender curve to my feet and my ankles. But all that has changed now. Now, they are puffy little pastries that feel like they want to explode from the inside out. My ankles....are practically non existant. The creepiest thing about my feet now is when they get so swollen that the tops of my feet hurt when I walk. The fluid pools down in my feet and when I step, the tops of my feet jiggle which makes them hurt. The only relief I have found so far is to keep my feet propped us for an extended period of time. Which is not so easy a task when you work 40 hours a week and come from and married in to my two families.
Drinking alcohol.....this one is kind of a no brainer. I never felt like I was a lush or an alcoholic, but I would consider myself a moderate drinker. Though to listen to me talk now, you would think I was one step away from the Betty Ford clinic or a DUI. It's really more that when you take away all possibility and hope of enjoying a beer or a glass of wine after a hard day, you start to realize how much you enjoyed those times. Also when you are like me, and most of your evenings out centered around a few wonderful friends and smoky bar where you could sing your heart out at karaoke; you also begin to realize how much of your social life was centered around alcohol. Even if you didn't over indulge, you still miss happy hour when your pregnant.
Pre pregnancy, shaving my legs, used to be considered a chore. Now it's a luxury. Performing any task below your burgeoning belly is a luxury these days, including getting a pan out of the cupboard to cook dinner in. So since I rarely see my legs or my feet anymore unless I have them propped up on the couch, I often neglact that I have a small forest growing on my legs. I can only take "warm" baths which to me is just silly....why take a bath at all if it's just going to be "warm". And even with a bath you still have to perform yoga like stretching to shave your legs. In shower, perhaps? Not in a stand up shower, and not 7 -8 months pregnant. You might go unconsious from leaning over too long. So how did I manage it? Very carefully...sitting indian style in the shower, and doing one side of the leg at a time.
When you consider your lack of ability to bend over, coupled with your lack of balance due to your shift in gravity with the baby belly; you can start to see why pulling up your own pants would give a pregnant woman trouble. Then combine that with the swollen feet, making your feet bigger then usual, and you might get a visual image of what I look like getting dressed these days. I grab my pants off the hanger with trepidation each morning, take a deep breath, and hope for the best. It usually takes me several attempts to get my foot into the pant leg. I may lose balance and either wind up on the bed (it's very important for me to attempt this near a soft surface) or I could step on my pants in the fast reflex to balance myself on both feet. Then as I pull the pant leg up, there's typically a 30 - 40 % chance that my foot or a toe will get stuck at the very bottom of the pant leg and I can't get it free. So I usually end up on the bed again in those instances. Of course after that leg is done, I have a whole other leg to do this all over again. Between the bending over, the falling down, and the getting stuck....I never realized how adept I was at pulling on pants before my pregnancy. It had never crossed my mind that I was a frickin virtuoso at dressing myself, before I couldn't dress myself anymore.
Now with still 2 months to go until I can hold my child, I wonder what new experiences are in store for me? What other mundane tasks will I no longer be able to perform in a month? Will I ever return to my previous glory in dressing and grooming myself? I can only hope and pray that I will be able to pull my pants up once again with out the necessity of being falling distance from my bed. One thing is for certain though, I will never take these things for granted again.
1) My shoe size
2) Drinking any kind of alcohol
3) Shaving my legs
4) Pulling up my pants
At almost 8 months pregnant now, my feet have begun to swell. I used to be a size 10 in my shoes, and a perfect 10 at that. My feet, strangley enough were one of the prettiest body parts I had. Even if they were a bit stinky ;D. I had a nice arch, cute little toes, and a slender curve to my feet and my ankles. But all that has changed now. Now, they are puffy little pastries that feel like they want to explode from the inside out. My ankles....are practically non existant. The creepiest thing about my feet now is when they get so swollen that the tops of my feet hurt when I walk. The fluid pools down in my feet and when I step, the tops of my feet jiggle which makes them hurt. The only relief I have found so far is to keep my feet propped us for an extended period of time. Which is not so easy a task when you work 40 hours a week and come from and married in to my two families.
Drinking alcohol.....this one is kind of a no brainer. I never felt like I was a lush or an alcoholic, but I would consider myself a moderate drinker. Though to listen to me talk now, you would think I was one step away from the Betty Ford clinic or a DUI. It's really more that when you take away all possibility and hope of enjoying a beer or a glass of wine after a hard day, you start to realize how much you enjoyed those times. Also when you are like me, and most of your evenings out centered around a few wonderful friends and smoky bar where you could sing your heart out at karaoke; you also begin to realize how much of your social life was centered around alcohol. Even if you didn't over indulge, you still miss happy hour when your pregnant.
Pre pregnancy, shaving my legs, used to be considered a chore. Now it's a luxury. Performing any task below your burgeoning belly is a luxury these days, including getting a pan out of the cupboard to cook dinner in. So since I rarely see my legs or my feet anymore unless I have them propped up on the couch, I often neglact that I have a small forest growing on my legs. I can only take "warm" baths which to me is just silly....why take a bath at all if it's just going to be "warm". And even with a bath you still have to perform yoga like stretching to shave your legs. In shower, perhaps? Not in a stand up shower, and not 7 -8 months pregnant. You might go unconsious from leaning over too long. So how did I manage it? Very carefully...sitting indian style in the shower, and doing one side of the leg at a time.
When you consider your lack of ability to bend over, coupled with your lack of balance due to your shift in gravity with the baby belly; you can start to see why pulling up your own pants would give a pregnant woman trouble. Then combine that with the swollen feet, making your feet bigger then usual, and you might get a visual image of what I look like getting dressed these days. I grab my pants off the hanger with trepidation each morning, take a deep breath, and hope for the best. It usually takes me several attempts to get my foot into the pant leg. I may lose balance and either wind up on the bed (it's very important for me to attempt this near a soft surface) or I could step on my pants in the fast reflex to balance myself on both feet. Then as I pull the pant leg up, there's typically a 30 - 40 % chance that my foot or a toe will get stuck at the very bottom of the pant leg and I can't get it free. So I usually end up on the bed again in those instances. Of course after that leg is done, I have a whole other leg to do this all over again. Between the bending over, the falling down, and the getting stuck....I never realized how adept I was at pulling on pants before my pregnancy. It had never crossed my mind that I was a frickin virtuoso at dressing myself, before I couldn't dress myself anymore.
Now with still 2 months to go until I can hold my child, I wonder what new experiences are in store for me? What other mundane tasks will I no longer be able to perform in a month? Will I ever return to my previous glory in dressing and grooming myself? I can only hope and pray that I will be able to pull my pants up once again with out the necessity of being falling distance from my bed. One thing is for certain though, I will never take these things for granted again.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
I've been negligent
I don't even remember my last post on here. I think it was in July. John and I have just been so busy for the past few months that posting on the Baby blog fell off my radar of things to do. I'm sure that no one is even following along anymore, it's been so long. What all have we done? Well, there was my birthday, then John's Birthday, then we hosted a Snippets, we went on vacation in San Francisco, had my baby shower, had the air conditioner crap out on us twice, moved John's office to make way for the baby room, had the car repair guy use my car for his personal use while we were on vacation, went to a UT game, and this weekend we're going to the coast with John's family.
As for the baby front... weekend after this John and I have our birthing class, then the weekend after we have the Newborn care class, and the weekend after that the Breast feeding class. I'm currently in week 30 of my pregnancy and I'll be in week 34 by the time I finish all the classes. Mostly that means that once I finish the classes I'll have 4 weeks before I go on maternity leave. Which is almost as exciting as having a baby.
David's been kicking up a storm, but it's hard to tell a pattern just yet. He kind of just moves when he feels like it. We're starting to get the baby room set up for him, and John's plan is to have it mostly done by the beginning of October. Right now it's just a mostly empty room except for a dresser and some bags of clothes from the baby shower. I'm trying to get all the Thank You notes for the baby shower gifts written and out to everyone, along with everything else of course.
Since it is early fall (still feels like summer though) I'm going to be starting the rehearsals for the Prancing Papas soon. I have to choreograph and teach them the dance while I can still move. Which won't be for much longer since I'm already slow and waddling along. Especially when David sticks his head in my pelvic bone and tries to bust his way out early. Makes it kind of hard to walk then.
At night I basically get up to pee every 2-3 hours, and I'm still having odd dreams. Like dreaming about the Real Housewives of DC last night, or dreaming of co-workers getting fired, then having another dream about telling them about the dream. usually I have to wake up to go to the bathroom so I don't remember all the dreams I have anymore.
My feet have grown, and they swell up during the day now too. I get canckles, and even though I exercise and drink water and keep my feet up they still will swell to be like clown feet. I only have a couple pairs of shows I can wear anymore and they all stink to high heaven. It's also hard for me to stay on my feet for very long now, so now my shopping tends to be short.
Everyone asks me how I'm feeling these days, and my typical answer is "pregnant". The real answer is I feel pretty good, aside from the constant peeing, the waddling, the swelling, the back ache, and the sore feet I feel great. I'm just wondering if I can last another 10 weeks of this. But at least I haven't yet reached the "get it out of me" stage. I'm still in the "Get me a drink" phase.
As for the baby front... weekend after this John and I have our birthing class, then the weekend after we have the Newborn care class, and the weekend after that the Breast feeding class. I'm currently in week 30 of my pregnancy and I'll be in week 34 by the time I finish all the classes. Mostly that means that once I finish the classes I'll have 4 weeks before I go on maternity leave. Which is almost as exciting as having a baby.
David's been kicking up a storm, but it's hard to tell a pattern just yet. He kind of just moves when he feels like it. We're starting to get the baby room set up for him, and John's plan is to have it mostly done by the beginning of October. Right now it's just a mostly empty room except for a dresser and some bags of clothes from the baby shower. I'm trying to get all the Thank You notes for the baby shower gifts written and out to everyone, along with everything else of course.
Since it is early fall (still feels like summer though) I'm going to be starting the rehearsals for the Prancing Papas soon. I have to choreograph and teach them the dance while I can still move. Which won't be for much longer since I'm already slow and waddling along. Especially when David sticks his head in my pelvic bone and tries to bust his way out early. Makes it kind of hard to walk then.
At night I basically get up to pee every 2-3 hours, and I'm still having odd dreams. Like dreaming about the Real Housewives of DC last night, or dreaming of co-workers getting fired, then having another dream about telling them about the dream. usually I have to wake up to go to the bathroom so I don't remember all the dreams I have anymore.
My feet have grown, and they swell up during the day now too. I get canckles, and even though I exercise and drink water and keep my feet up they still will swell to be like clown feet. I only have a couple pairs of shows I can wear anymore and they all stink to high heaven. It's also hard for me to stay on my feet for very long now, so now my shopping tends to be short.
Everyone asks me how I'm feeling these days, and my typical answer is "pregnant". The real answer is I feel pretty good, aside from the constant peeing, the waddling, the swelling, the back ache, and the sore feet I feel great. I'm just wondering if I can last another 10 weeks of this. But at least I haven't yet reached the "get it out of me" stage. I'm still in the "Get me a drink" phase.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Been awhile
Yes, it has been quite awhile since I made a post on the blog. July is usually a busy month for me, and this one has been even more so with a baby in the oven slowing me down. What all has happened so far this month? I had a birthday, turning 30 this year (OMG!); had a tooth removed that was causing me a lot of trouble; had John's birthday party over at our house that went splendidly. This weekend is going to be a video event at the church, and the weekend after that we're hosting Snippets at our house. Greatfully, Mom and John and myself will be going on vacation to San Francisco in mid August, so I can get out of this heat and get some rest away from work before the baby comes.
As far as the baby goes, I'm starting to feel like I've fallen behind in getting prepared. I haven't done a registry, or taken any birthing classes. Heck, we don't even have the room cleaned out to start turning it into the nursery yet. I keep thinking that I need to like, set up a phone tree for people to call each other when I go into labor, start thinking about my hospital bag, and that I need to get myself into a birthing class or something. Of course since this is my first I'm not even sure if I'm behind the curve or not. I'll be at six months after this week passes, so am I too soon to be thinking about these things? Right on time? Wasting time!? Who the heck knows!
On the physical side of things I'm noticing a lot of changes happening. My feet and hands are both swelling, I can barely get my wedding rings off any more and I can only wear a couple of pairs of shoes still. After John's birthday party was over this past weekend my feet looked like little feet balloons that someone had blown up real big. I was limping around Saturday night and all Sunday because my feet had become so swollen from being on them so much preparing for John's birthday that my toes were like little sausages, and my ankles were almost none existent. My hair is getting thicker, my nails are getting longer, and my belly has gotten bigger. Some chairs are getting difficult to get out of and I'm starting to waddle around more. All this and still 3 months to go.....John may need a crane to move me around by the 8th month.
Thankfully, after Dr. Jackson took out that tooth, I haven't been in any more pain. That thing was causing some major pain in my mouth. I got really scared about taking too much Acetaminophen. I've never been much on taking medication for my woes. Usually, if it's bearable, then I'll bear with it. I don't take allergy medication, even though I have pretty bad allergies. I'm just not a pill popper, if I do need something I'll usually opt for a holistic or homeopathic option if one is available. So for me to be taking OTC pain killers on a regular basis (up to 8 a day for two weeks), that should tell you how much pain I was in.
I was terrified that I was hurting the baby with all that acetaminophen, and resolved to stop taking the pills no matter what. However, the day I stopped taking the medication was the day that Dr. Jackson came in on a Saturday for me and yanked that danged tooth out of my head. I've felt 200% better since then. So now it's just the usual feet swelling, gaseous, midly nauseaous pregnancy woes I'm dealing with. Though now I not only have more energy, but I'm no longer in pain so I'm more willing to get out there and do something now. If only I could motivate my bank account to grow a long with me, I would get myself into those danged birthing classes. Oh well, if anything it's not as though the baby is going to stay up there because Mom didn't take the birthing classes. It has to come out at some point right?
As far as the baby goes, I'm starting to feel like I've fallen behind in getting prepared. I haven't done a registry, or taken any birthing classes. Heck, we don't even have the room cleaned out to start turning it into the nursery yet. I keep thinking that I need to like, set up a phone tree for people to call each other when I go into labor, start thinking about my hospital bag, and that I need to get myself into a birthing class or something. Of course since this is my first I'm not even sure if I'm behind the curve or not. I'll be at six months after this week passes, so am I too soon to be thinking about these things? Right on time? Wasting time!? Who the heck knows!
On the physical side of things I'm noticing a lot of changes happening. My feet and hands are both swelling, I can barely get my wedding rings off any more and I can only wear a couple of pairs of shoes still. After John's birthday party was over this past weekend my feet looked like little feet balloons that someone had blown up real big. I was limping around Saturday night and all Sunday because my feet had become so swollen from being on them so much preparing for John's birthday that my toes were like little sausages, and my ankles were almost none existent. My hair is getting thicker, my nails are getting longer, and my belly has gotten bigger. Some chairs are getting difficult to get out of and I'm starting to waddle around more. All this and still 3 months to go.....John may need a crane to move me around by the 8th month.
Thankfully, after Dr. Jackson took out that tooth, I haven't been in any more pain. That thing was causing some major pain in my mouth. I got really scared about taking too much Acetaminophen. I've never been much on taking medication for my woes. Usually, if it's bearable, then I'll bear with it. I don't take allergy medication, even though I have pretty bad allergies. I'm just not a pill popper, if I do need something I'll usually opt for a holistic or homeopathic option if one is available. So for me to be taking OTC pain killers on a regular basis (up to 8 a day for two weeks), that should tell you how much pain I was in.
I was terrified that I was hurting the baby with all that acetaminophen, and resolved to stop taking the pills no matter what. However, the day I stopped taking the medication was the day that Dr. Jackson came in on a Saturday for me and yanked that danged tooth out of my head. I've felt 200% better since then. So now it's just the usual feet swelling, gaseous, midly nauseaous pregnancy woes I'm dealing with. Though now I not only have more energy, but I'm no longer in pain so I'm more willing to get out there and do something now. If only I could motivate my bank account to grow a long with me, I would get myself into those danged birthing classes. Oh well, if anything it's not as though the baby is going to stay up there because Mom didn't take the birthing classes. It has to come out at some point right?
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Survey says....
It's a Boy! I have done my wifely duty and conceived a son and heir to the Poole dynasty!
I had the big ultra sound this week. Aside from the less than enthusiastic sonographer, she did at least let us know that I am carrying a healthy baby boy. During the ultra sound she couldn't get all the measurements she needed though because the baby kept moving around. He was also being modest and wouldn't show us his little third leg for a few minutes. Because little David was moving around so much they wound up having to send me to another Doctor to have another ultrasound done. Lord only knows why they couldn't just reschedule me for another ultrasound there, but it actually worked out well.
I went for my 2nd ultrasound today at the other Doctor's office and realized that I preferred that place to where I have been going. I didn't even meet the Doctor but his staff was more friendly and personable then the staff at my Dr.'s office. It almost makes me wish I was a high risk patient, so I could get in to that Doctors roster. The sonographer there was much more friendly and David seemed to respond to that by cooperating with her. She had no problem getting all the measurements and got some great profile shots of David.
So now that we know it's a Boy, we will need to re-paint the room where the nursery is going to be. Some folks are like "Hey purple works for boys too!" which is true it's the color of royalty. However I think lavender might be a tad too feminine for a little boy. So the room will probably go to a blue or a green depending on what John and I settle on for the bedding. I do wish I could find some Star Wars crib sets to snuggle my little Jedi into. Sadly I will have to wait a few years before the Star Wars sheet sets come into the shopping agenda =D.
I had the big ultra sound this week. Aside from the less than enthusiastic sonographer, she did at least let us know that I am carrying a healthy baby boy. During the ultra sound she couldn't get all the measurements she needed though because the baby kept moving around. He was also being modest and wouldn't show us his little third leg for a few minutes. Because little David was moving around so much they wound up having to send me to another Doctor to have another ultrasound done. Lord only knows why they couldn't just reschedule me for another ultrasound there, but it actually worked out well.
I went for my 2nd ultrasound today at the other Doctor's office and realized that I preferred that place to where I have been going. I didn't even meet the Doctor but his staff was more friendly and personable then the staff at my Dr.'s office. It almost makes me wish I was a high risk patient, so I could get in to that Doctors roster. The sonographer there was much more friendly and David seemed to respond to that by cooperating with her. She had no problem getting all the measurements and got some great profile shots of David.
So now that we know it's a Boy, we will need to re-paint the room where the nursery is going to be. Some folks are like "Hey purple works for boys too!" which is true it's the color of royalty. However I think lavender might be a tad too feminine for a little boy. So the room will probably go to a blue or a green depending on what John and I settle on for the bedding. I do wish I could find some Star Wars crib sets to snuggle my little Jedi into. Sadly I will have to wait a few years before the Star Wars sheet sets come into the shopping agenda =D.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
We have movement!
I am at 18 weeks and 2 days today, just started my fifth month of pregnancy according to my "What to expect when your expecting" book. I had actually started feeling movement a few weeks ago. It was slow at first, feelings like dental floss being pulled across my stomach (my uterus expanding); mild cramping like pains in my lower regions (my ligaments stretching); and a fluttering, butterfly type feeling in my abdomen (the baby actually moving around).
I had thought that the ligament stretching sensation was the baby actually kicking, but when I talked to my mom about it she said "Oh no, you'll know when it's a kick." Boy was she right! I was at work today and had to go to the bathroom (big surprise there). So I went to the bathroom, came out to wash my hands when BLAM! the baby kicked. There's no clear way for me to describe the feeling of it, especially not for a man to really understand since I don't have a frame of reference for guys, but I'll try. It was a feeling similar to that of a menstral cramp, but much quicker to fade then a menstral cramp. The pain is less than breaking a bone, or even stubbing your toe. It's more like if you ate something bad or if you were constipated and were feeling pains in your stomach. But it's localized to one specific area and it only lasts for a few seconds.
Taravid (a merge of our boy and girl names that John and I are using until we find out the sex) kicked me about 3 times while I was washing my hands and 2 more times as I was going back to my desk. Once I sat down the kicking stopped. It was almost as though the baby was kicking because I woke it up by going to the bathroom and he/she was trying to get comfortable again. Dear lord I hope the baby doesn't sleep like it's father or I'm going to be black and blue on the inside by the time I go into labor ;D (love you honey!).
So it's starting to get exciting now, and I'm actually starting to look and feel pregnant. My feet and hands are starting to get "puffy" as John called it, and I'm getting heartburn more often (thank god for Tums). I do still wish that it would hurry up and get here. I also still think that anyone who loves being pregnant is possibly insane. After all, who really loves running to the bathroom all the time, and the headaches, heartburn, nausea, feet and hands swelling, muscle tension and all the other weird things that goes on? If you really love going through all that I think you need to see a psychiatrist for sadist tendencies =D. However, I am happy to be having this experience since I now have a lot more sympathy for mother's and for pregnant women.
I had thought that the ligament stretching sensation was the baby actually kicking, but when I talked to my mom about it she said "Oh no, you'll know when it's a kick." Boy was she right! I was at work today and had to go to the bathroom (big surprise there). So I went to the bathroom, came out to wash my hands when BLAM! the baby kicked. There's no clear way for me to describe the feeling of it, especially not for a man to really understand since I don't have a frame of reference for guys, but I'll try. It was a feeling similar to that of a menstral cramp, but much quicker to fade then a menstral cramp. The pain is less than breaking a bone, or even stubbing your toe. It's more like if you ate something bad or if you were constipated and were feeling pains in your stomach. But it's localized to one specific area and it only lasts for a few seconds.
Taravid (a merge of our boy and girl names that John and I are using until we find out the sex) kicked me about 3 times while I was washing my hands and 2 more times as I was going back to my desk. Once I sat down the kicking stopped. It was almost as though the baby was kicking because I woke it up by going to the bathroom and he/she was trying to get comfortable again. Dear lord I hope the baby doesn't sleep like it's father or I'm going to be black and blue on the inside by the time I go into labor ;D (love you honey!).
So it's starting to get exciting now, and I'm actually starting to look and feel pregnant. My feet and hands are starting to get "puffy" as John called it, and I'm getting heartburn more often (thank god for Tums). I do still wish that it would hurry up and get here. I also still think that anyone who loves being pregnant is possibly insane. After all, who really loves running to the bathroom all the time, and the headaches, heartburn, nausea, feet and hands swelling, muscle tension and all the other weird things that goes on? If you really love going through all that I think you need to see a psychiatrist for sadist tendencies =D. However, I am happy to be having this experience since I now have a lot more sympathy for mother's and for pregnant women.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
This Week
The major change this week.....I got a haircut. That's right, the long locks that was always back in a bun have been chopped off. I didn't go super short, just to my shoulders, but it's a graduated bob with stacked layers in the back. Everyone seems to really love it, and it certainly looks good on me. John was a little sad that I cut my hair, but he's gotten used to the new look now I think. The most important thing is that the new cut is doing what I wanted it to, which is motivate me to put a little effort into my appearance ;D.
A lot of people have asked me when we will know what the baby's gender is and if we're finding out. Hopefully I can list the answers here and get folks to spread it around. Yes, we are finding out. I'm too much of a planner to not find out the gender, and John wants to know so he can attach a pronoun to the baby instead of calling the baby "It" all the time. We should find out the gender at my next ultrasound which is on June 29th. So we should know by my birthday if I'm carrying a Tarah Ellen or a David Rawlings.
I've also figured out that the baby doesn't like Monday's. It's the weirdest thing but I always get sick on Monday's. I'm perfectly fine the rest of the week but Monday's are not good for me. I have to remember that to see what day the baby is born on.
I've started to feel the baby moving too. There's actually 3 distinct feelings. One is my ligaments stretching. This is accompanied by a very quick pain that almost feels like I've pulled or dislocated something. These happen occaisionally but not too often, and it's the only actual "pain" I've felt. The second is my uterus stretching. This is accompanied by a feeling like a string of dental floss is being pulled across my abdomen. The third feeling is the actual baby moving. This feeling is like a fluttering like butterflies in my stomach, or it could be a slight pressure that is also felt in other body parts like my breasts.
I've also started to show a bit now. It's easier to see that my hips are spreading and I'm carrying kind of high. this is part of the reason why the ladies at work think I'm having a girl. They're using the old wives method of predicting the gender by how I'm carrying. Even though I see that I'm getting bigger and I feel like I'm gaining weight, I actually haven't gained anything recently, which I hope will continue. I want my baby to eat my fat ;D.
So that about brings us up to date with what's happened with me and baby. Now hopefully I can stay up to date from here on out.
A lot of people have asked me when we will know what the baby's gender is and if we're finding out. Hopefully I can list the answers here and get folks to spread it around. Yes, we are finding out. I'm too much of a planner to not find out the gender, and John wants to know so he can attach a pronoun to the baby instead of calling the baby "It" all the time. We should find out the gender at my next ultrasound which is on June 29th. So we should know by my birthday if I'm carrying a Tarah Ellen or a David Rawlings.
I've also figured out that the baby doesn't like Monday's. It's the weirdest thing but I always get sick on Monday's. I'm perfectly fine the rest of the week but Monday's are not good for me. I have to remember that to see what day the baby is born on.
I've started to feel the baby moving too. There's actually 3 distinct feelings. One is my ligaments stretching. This is accompanied by a very quick pain that almost feels like I've pulled or dislocated something. These happen occaisionally but not too often, and it's the only actual "pain" I've felt. The second is my uterus stretching. This is accompanied by a feeling like a string of dental floss is being pulled across my abdomen. The third feeling is the actual baby moving. This feeling is like a fluttering like butterflies in my stomach, or it could be a slight pressure that is also felt in other body parts like my breasts.
I've also started to show a bit now. It's easier to see that my hips are spreading and I'm carrying kind of high. this is part of the reason why the ladies at work think I'm having a girl. They're using the old wives method of predicting the gender by how I'm carrying. Even though I see that I'm getting bigger and I feel like I'm gaining weight, I actually haven't gained anything recently, which I hope will continue. I want my baby to eat my fat ;D.
So that about brings us up to date with what's happened with me and baby. Now hopefully I can stay up to date from here on out.
Last Week
I was chastised last night for not posting a new blog, so I'm going to make up for it today. I actually tried to post a new one a few days ago and my silly laptop deleted my entry and I didn't feel like starting over.
Part of the reason I didn't post last week was because I had some sad news to process. John took our dog Dorien back to the shelter. Dorien was a sweet dog and I was very attached to him, but taking him back was the best and wisest option. Dorien had a few behavioral problems, the hardest to deal with being that he was terrified of John. I was the only person that Dorien would obey and even then he only obeyed me about 65 % of the time.
Even though John had only ever loved Dorien, the dog would bolt and run away anytime John can near. He would even occaisionally soil himself and the house when John got close to him. Dorien also wouldn't really let anyone else take care of him, and was given to bouts of bolting out the door every once and a while. John and I decided that this wasn't a very good situation with me being pregnant. I couldn't go running after Dorien down the street if I were 8 months pregnant. Also, someone would need to take care of Dorien while I was giving labor and in the hospital recovering and that really couldn't happen if I was the only person that Dorien would come to.
So we both decided it would be best to give Dorien back to the shelter. We had tried to send him to the Eskie rescue but the rescue wouldn't call us back for 3 weeks and actually didn't call us back until 3 days after we had taken Dorien back to the shelter. John went back to the Shelter to try to get Dorien to take him to the rescue, but when he went Dorien had already been adopted. While my heart is a little bruised, I do have my own little one to worry about now. I send my love out to Dorien and will trust in the universe that the family who has him now will love him as much as I did.
Another thing that happened last week was after John took Dorien back to the shelter, my BF Ali took me to the Star Wars Concert, which was freakin AWESOME! Ali really helped me by taking my mind off of losing Dorien. We were about 20 feet away from the stage and loved every moment of it. I think I spent half the show with my mouth half open.
On Monday I went in to my Primary Care Doctor to get my sinus infection taken care of (since my OBGYN didn't really want to deal with it). This Dr. diagnosed that I did have acute sinusitis and gave me some antibiotics to take, which has knocked out the sinus infection that was causing so many problems. So I do feel much better now, and I'm feeling more like myself.
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, just work and home; work and home, and I'll pick up the rest in the next blog ;D.
Part of the reason I didn't post last week was because I had some sad news to process. John took our dog Dorien back to the shelter. Dorien was a sweet dog and I was very attached to him, but taking him back was the best and wisest option. Dorien had a few behavioral problems, the hardest to deal with being that he was terrified of John. I was the only person that Dorien would obey and even then he only obeyed me about 65 % of the time.
Even though John had only ever loved Dorien, the dog would bolt and run away anytime John can near. He would even occaisionally soil himself and the house when John got close to him. Dorien also wouldn't really let anyone else take care of him, and was given to bouts of bolting out the door every once and a while. John and I decided that this wasn't a very good situation with me being pregnant. I couldn't go running after Dorien down the street if I were 8 months pregnant. Also, someone would need to take care of Dorien while I was giving labor and in the hospital recovering and that really couldn't happen if I was the only person that Dorien would come to.
So we both decided it would be best to give Dorien back to the shelter. We had tried to send him to the Eskie rescue but the rescue wouldn't call us back for 3 weeks and actually didn't call us back until 3 days after we had taken Dorien back to the shelter. John went back to the Shelter to try to get Dorien to take him to the rescue, but when he went Dorien had already been adopted. While my heart is a little bruised, I do have my own little one to worry about now. I send my love out to Dorien and will trust in the universe that the family who has him now will love him as much as I did.
Another thing that happened last week was after John took Dorien back to the shelter, my BF Ali took me to the Star Wars Concert, which was freakin AWESOME! Ali really helped me by taking my mind off of losing Dorien. We were about 20 feet away from the stage and loved every moment of it. I think I spent half the show with my mouth half open.
On Monday I went in to my Primary Care Doctor to get my sinus infection taken care of (since my OBGYN didn't really want to deal with it). This Dr. diagnosed that I did have acute sinusitis and gave me some antibiotics to take, which has knocked out the sinus infection that was causing so many problems. So I do feel much better now, and I'm feeling more like myself.
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, just work and home; work and home, and I'll pick up the rest in the next blog ;D.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Irreverant
I would like to start this with a disclaimer. If you are easily grossed out or have an aversion to bodily functions please do not read this posting. It's embarrasing enough for me to write about this, I don't want to have to apologize for writing about it at church. So if you continue to read, please note that you have been warned.
So every person on this planet has gas. We've all let one go in the Walmart (crop dusting as my girlfriends call it). I like to call those the Wal-farts, cause I usually only get them in Walmart; or maybe you've let one rip at a party somewhere when you were laughing too hard. Typically you remain silent and sheepishly hope no one smells it, or heard it.
When I moved in with John I had to get used to idea that now there would be someone else in the house to hear my farts, and I should just get over my modesty issues (Course we're WAY past that at this point). It took me a little while but eventually I did get over it. When we found out I was pregnant I started noticing that I was more gassy then usual. I was burping in public, mortifying myself in front of my colleagues at work, hiccups, and more farting than usual of course. However, even with the increased gas, nothing could have prepared me for what happened the other night.
I was sitting in bed watching a movie (I seem to live in bed these days because it's more comfortable than the couch) and I had to toot. John was in the room because we were talking about what to have for dinner. When I let it rip, it didn't take long for me to smell what had come out of my body. The horrid, putrified, stench of what had just come out of my body. Now it's not like I normally like the smell of my farts or anything, but I can at least stand the smell until it dissapates.
This one almost had me gagging and turning green. Not to mention it just lingered there, suspended in the air like LA Smog. It stank so bad I had to cover my nose as I exclaimed to John "Jesus Christ, that smells!" It did finally subside and I went back to watching TV and John went into the kitchen. Not 5 minutes later though I let another one rip, this one even worse! I felt myself becoming ill and had to get out of bed in order to get some fresh air.
I couldn't go back into the bedroom for like 10 minutes after that. During that time John and I discussed that the baby is making my farts stinkier. Hence why we've named this gastric anolomoly the "baby farts". So if you pass my way and I smell like something that just died an unpleasant death or you see Peppy Le Peu following after me just know it's the "baby farts"
So every person on this planet has gas. We've all let one go in the Walmart (crop dusting as my girlfriends call it). I like to call those the Wal-farts, cause I usually only get them in Walmart; or maybe you've let one rip at a party somewhere when you were laughing too hard. Typically you remain silent and sheepishly hope no one smells it, or heard it.
When I moved in with John I had to get used to idea that now there would be someone else in the house to hear my farts, and I should just get over my modesty issues (Course we're WAY past that at this point). It took me a little while but eventually I did get over it. When we found out I was pregnant I started noticing that I was more gassy then usual. I was burping in public, mortifying myself in front of my colleagues at work, hiccups, and more farting than usual of course. However, even with the increased gas, nothing could have prepared me for what happened the other night.
I was sitting in bed watching a movie (I seem to live in bed these days because it's more comfortable than the couch) and I had to toot. John was in the room because we were talking about what to have for dinner. When I let it rip, it didn't take long for me to smell what had come out of my body. The horrid, putrified, stench of what had just come out of my body. Now it's not like I normally like the smell of my farts or anything, but I can at least stand the smell until it dissapates.
This one almost had me gagging and turning green. Not to mention it just lingered there, suspended in the air like LA Smog. It stank so bad I had to cover my nose as I exclaimed to John "Jesus Christ, that smells!" It did finally subside and I went back to watching TV and John went into the kitchen. Not 5 minutes later though I let another one rip, this one even worse! I felt myself becoming ill and had to get out of bed in order to get some fresh air.
I couldn't go back into the bedroom for like 10 minutes after that. During that time John and I discussed that the baby is making my farts stinkier. Hence why we've named this gastric anolomoly the "baby farts". So if you pass my way and I smell like something that just died an unpleasant death or you see Peppy Le Peu following after me just know it's the "baby farts"
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The Saga continues
Further to my previous post on the "Attack of the Killer Hormones" now the saga continues. Everyone continually asks me how I'm feeling? How's the baby? Well, the baby is doing fine, mommy is feeling very well. The sickness has lessened, it usually only happens now right after I wake up or if I eat to much. But there are other things which are making my life miserable now.
The main complaint is my sinuses. A strange side effect of pregnancy that they say 20 - 30 percent of women experience is sinus congestion. For the past three weeks I thought I'd just been having the most horrible allergic reaction to an Austin spring that I've ever had. Now I realize it's actually a reaction to my baby. The official explanation is "Higher amounts of estrogen during pregnancy can contribute to swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose and even cause you to make more mucus. Also, the amount of blood in your body increases and your blood vessels expand during pregnancy, which can lead to swollen nasal membranes as well."
The reality is that about 3/4th's of my day is spent not being able to breathe through my nose. And it doesn't stop there! Since my sinuses are inflamed it's causing earaches, vision problems, and mouth pain that was so bad it sent me to the Dentist on Friday. It's not only uncomfortable for me, but for others as well. It's the people around me that have to listen to me blowing my nose, which these days sounds like Chewbacca calling for Han Solo. I have a wookie mating call lodged in my nose.
I'm also still tired all the time it seems, and now I'm getting heartburn more frequently. As my husband now asks "Aside from the sinus congestion, mouth pain, ear aches, vision problems, tiredness, morning sickness, and heartburn...how are you feeling today honey?" This is why the internet lied to me! The internet said I would start feeling better! Does this sound better to you? Maybe I need to take a sound clip and loop it, of my wookie mating call nose blowing, and send it to all those folks who run the pregnancy websites with a letter telling them they need to be more honest with their websites.
The upside to all this, my nails are growing like crazy, and my nutty cravings have lessened so now I can eat more of the things I'm supposed to be eating. The other upside is that the baby is doing fine, and at the end of this John and I are going to have a beautiful little being that's all ours. However, that end result is still so far off that the pains I'm going through are still out weighing the wonderful positives. But I'm hanging in there.
The main complaint is my sinuses. A strange side effect of pregnancy that they say 20 - 30 percent of women experience is sinus congestion. For the past three weeks I thought I'd just been having the most horrible allergic reaction to an Austin spring that I've ever had. Now I realize it's actually a reaction to my baby. The official explanation is "Higher amounts of estrogen during pregnancy can contribute to swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose and even cause you to make more mucus. Also, the amount of blood in your body increases and your blood vessels expand during pregnancy, which can lead to swollen nasal membranes as well."
The reality is that about 3/4th's of my day is spent not being able to breathe through my nose. And it doesn't stop there! Since my sinuses are inflamed it's causing earaches, vision problems, and mouth pain that was so bad it sent me to the Dentist on Friday. It's not only uncomfortable for me, but for others as well. It's the people around me that have to listen to me blowing my nose, which these days sounds like Chewbacca calling for Han Solo. I have a wookie mating call lodged in my nose.
I'm also still tired all the time it seems, and now I'm getting heartburn more frequently. As my husband now asks "Aside from the sinus congestion, mouth pain, ear aches, vision problems, tiredness, morning sickness, and heartburn...how are you feeling today honey?" This is why the internet lied to me! The internet said I would start feeling better! Does this sound better to you? Maybe I need to take a sound clip and loop it, of my wookie mating call nose blowing, and send it to all those folks who run the pregnancy websites with a letter telling them they need to be more honest with their websites.
The upside to all this, my nails are growing like crazy, and my nutty cravings have lessened so now I can eat more of the things I'm supposed to be eating. The other upside is that the baby is doing fine, and at the end of this John and I are going to have a beautiful little being that's all ours. However, that end result is still so far off that the pains I'm going through are still out weighing the wonderful positives. But I'm hanging in there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)