Pre-Christmas Update

Not much new going on, but don't want to go too long between posts and I won't be on my computer much while family's here (plus probably most of you reading this are family...and will be here).

Crazy, 71 days until little man's (expected) arrival and it's probably going to fly by with all the holidays and stuff to do. Amazingly, I still haven't gotten any weird belly rubs or tactless comments from strangers, but with my coat zipped up I think I just look a little bundled so maybe it's not surprising. I did however breakdown and get a support belt thing for my belly. It's a little complicated, but it does help with my back and belly when I'm upright for a long time. I had it on at work though, and I really had to take it off after a couple hours because when I was sitting at my desk it squeezed me too much. And it doesn't help with that obnoxious rib pain :( It's not constant, but it's more frequent and uncomfortable, and the heat pad (rice sock) doesn't work as well. Still haven't tried Bengay, keep forgetting to pick some up. But, it doesn't keep me up at night so that's good. Sleeping hasn't gotten harder recently, still just waking up a couple times to roll over and get comfortable.

Let's see, what else. Oh, speaking of buying things, there are WAY TOO MANY different types of carseats, highchairs, and strollers out there, along with all the other gizmos and gadgets for babies. I don't want to spend a fortune on stuff that he's only going to use for a couple years tops, but I want to make sure we get stuff that's safe and comfortable for him and us. Luckily, we just got a ridiculously good deal on a (quality, not-expired) carseat and two bases, and we already got the highchair off our registry so no more decisions there! And my MIL already said I wouldn't be getting any presents that were actually for baby for me for Christmas. I didn't think I would really care because I usually can't think of anything I want and I don't really need anything for myself, but this is our last Christmas without kids and I already had my last birthday without a little one but we didn't think it was going to happen that quickly. Then about a month later, BOOM, we're having a baby. I'm really happy we had the opposite of difficulty, but it was still kind of surprising. Okay, end of rant.

To finish this all up, here are some pictures of the (basically) finished baby's room and my 29wk belly :) The Christmas tree will get packed up, and the zombie poster will get relocated, but all the important stuff is there!

It's Getting Real

Holy cow, we're in the third trimester. With OB travelling for work last week I thought I would have plenty of time to blog, but puppy dog was very needy and wouldn't leave me in peace if I was on the computer for too long. All kinds of things have happened in the last two weeks, and I'm very glad to report that I have had no negative hormones in that time period, just happy thoughts and not too easily hurt feelings. So, where are we now...

We finished our birth class last weekend, it was just two 4-hour classes. I felt like the first session was a little less helpful, at least for me, because it was mostly things I had already read/talked to my doctor about or all the crazy breathing techniques. I don't think I really got any relaxation ideas that I didn't already know, I'll just need to make sure OB remembers what helps me and what doesn't. But, we did watch a movie about the stages of labor with clips from actual labors, so that was helpful to know what it looks like in real life, and know when to go to the hospital (probably my biggest question for the whole class). The second session was much more informative/helpful in our opinion. Talked about all the different options, medicinal or not, for pain relief and which stages they were used in; how doctors will monitor or augment labor if things aren't getting moving on their own; different positions to labor in (holy cow there's a lot!) including how to help with back labor; and a little bit about early newbown care like umbilical cords and circumcision. Slight tangent: I've been approaching labor with the thought that I would prefer not to have drugs, but I will accept them if the doctor really thinks they're necessary or things get really really really uncomfortable. After hearing and watching about epidurals...keep that terrible thing away from me! If someone else wants one, I do not judge you at all, but there is no way I'm letting anyone stick a needle into the tiny space next to my spinal fluid. I know, anesthesiologists do it all the time and problems are rare, but I am very good at handling pain and I want to be completely involved in the birth process and not confined to my bed. If I really need it (and plenty of women have given birth without any pain medication), I can take the narcotics and that will be good enough. Anyway, overall I'm glad we went, but probably won't even bother with a refresher course next time around.

I also had our 27wk (got a little off-schedule) prenatal appointment. I love my doctor, she's great. The only thing she's possibly lacking is that I'm pretty positive she hasn't has kids, but my PA has so she can give me the mom insight :) Little man's heartbeat was super loud and perfect this time, which was really cool and reassuring as always. I measured a couple cm big, but doc wasn't concerned and was happy with my weight gain. She set me up for my Gestational Diabetes screening (which everyone takes), and the best part was I got to choose when to go in.  Those of you who have had babies, you probably remember the experience, because my mom and MIL do and that was 19+ years ago, but I'll fill the rest of you in. They make you drink basically straight glucose, then wait for an hour and draw your blood. It really didn't taste that bad, started out like orange Gatorade then ended up like strong orange Kool-Aid, but it did NOT sit well for me. About half way through the hour I got dizzy and warm and kind of nauseous, but I kept everything down. Then, as the phlebotomist was taking off the second/final vial of blood, I got really warm and nauseous and felt like I was going to faint...so he had me go lie down for a while and drink some orange juice (would have preferred a cookie, but oh well). I have only had my blood drawn two times before that, but both times they took more and I had no light-headedness or anything. They said it was probably just a big shock to my system: ate a small breakfast, drank 10-ish oz of basically straight glucose, don't eat anything else for an hour, then take blood. Yeah, guess I'm not surprised. Anyway, my numbers came back fine so no GD for me! But I'm anemic, which doesn't surprise me because I've been eating mostly chicken (caribou/moose is just SO hard to find here ;) ), so now I'm taking yet another pill for iron (others are just vitamins). So yeah, I have my next appt at 30wks and then it's every two until 36wks when it becomes every week! Ah! Craziness.

I'm super pumped to be officially in the final trimester by even the latest counting standards. Less than 3 months until we meet our amazing baby boy, who is obviously gorgeous and a genius and terribly charming! Pretty positive we've got the name, but we're basically only sharing with family (sorry, cyber-world). Another thing about the third trimester: I can't evade being uncomfortable anymore. It's really not that bad, but sleeping is getting more difficult (had to get an extra pillow last night), my ribs or back pretty much always hurt by the end of the work day, and my belly just feels so heavy sometimes. We did this exercise at the birth class where hubby stand behind you and with his hands under your belly lifts up gently: felt so nice to take the weight off! Also, I've definitely starting getting the Braxton-Hicks contractions. It was a little scary at first, feeling your whole stomach harden up for a few seconds, but it wasn't in the least bit uncomfortable so I wasn't too concerned. It's just really weird. So you all know what I'm dealing with spatially, here's my 28wk photo:

It's getting tougher to see around my belly, and I do not feel like I look that big, but there's the proof! Putting non-slip-on shoes on is kind of difficult, and I can't see my feet if I stand up straight and just look straight down. I haven't bumped into anyone yet, but I have bumped him into a couple doors and railings, not very hard. Figuring out what to wear to work is not fun, I feel like I exhaust my unique pairings pretty quickly, but I work with 3 guys so they probably don't even notice. One of these days, I may very well wear spandex and a long sweater; I don't even care, it'll be comfortable. But I'll wait until the end for that.

Speaking of the end, I plan on leaving work after the first week of February, so only 30 days left (pretty sure I'm getting/taking 2wks for Christmas)! I'm starting to realize I will miss it, but not terribly. Mostly I'm just bummed that I finally got well-known by the people we work with on a regular basis, and now I'll be leaving. But those ties are not that big of a deal, I really want to stay home with our little guy and be his mommy. I can do plenty of stuff from home and while I won't be earning licensing hours, I can still keep my creative juices flowing. I'd rather not have to dump him at daycare every day; I know there are a lot of good moms who do that, but that's not what I want. Plus, then I won't miss anything :)

Ok, I think that's all for now. I'm sure I forgot something I wanted to talk about, but I'm getting hungry and since I'm off for the rest of the day I want to get some stuff done. Toodles!

*Edit: I remembered what I was thinking of! I've had two girls this week that work at restaurants I frequent ask me when I'm due or say I'm finally definitely showing! I personally liked it because I go there often enough and they're always working when I come so it's pretty obvious that I'm growing a baby not a belly, and they were both so sweet about it. The one said she kind of thought so a few weeks ago, but she wasn't 100% positive so she didn't say anything. Smart move, but I'm glad she got the courage this week to comment :) And I'm pretty sure the other has seen some of my friends touching the belly, so she knew it was safe.

Whirlwind week

Well, it's been a pretty crazy week; it went by really fast and a lot has happened. We finally got some snow here, and it was over the weekend so I didn't even have to deal with people not knowing how to drive. Almost all of it was gone by mid-afternoon, but it was still nice and the dog got to play in it.

We got a bunch of Christmas present-wrapping done, and then mostly finished our Christmas shopping. I have to admit, and I'm a little ashamed, that we did go out "Black Friday" shopping on Thanksgiving evening, but only a little and we went out of our way to be polite and friendly with the employees that had to work. We also had a bunch of friends over for Thanksgiving, which was nice, and we didn't blow up the turkey so that's always a plus. There have been a couple times that I kind of wanted a wine cooler or something, but yesterday I got some sparkling cider so everyone drinking beer wasn't a bummer. Speaking of bummers...

Our house got broken into Monday. Luckily they didn't take much that we were attached too, but it was kind of scary. I'm really just glad that he didn't hurt our dog and that I wasn't home. He rummaged through a bunch of dresser drawers, but the one that made we maddest was the one in baby's room with his clothes. Couldn't the creep leave anything alone? But, he didn't take anything for the baby and it looks like he didn't touch much besides the dresser, so that's good. I'm just glad we have the alarm and hopefully it doesn't ever happen again.

Anyway, on to pregnancy stuff. We're down to double digit days until little guy is due (95), which feels kinda crazy. I know that's still 3 months, but I feel like 6 months pregnant is a legitimate amount to seem pregnant...if that makes any sense. Also, my ribs have been bothering me more and more frequently. It's only on the right side, but it goes from the side around to my back, and feels like something's wedged between my ribs. I can stretch it out a bit, but not much helps so far. I'll ask about it at our doctor appointment this week. We also have our first birth class this week, which I think will be really helpful but hopefully not too touchy-feely. Ooh, and after this week we start seeing the doc every other week! Kind of exciting :)

Ok, signing off; I'm tired and not into typing right now. Have a good week, here's my 26wk bump pic:

Weird, huh? I've had a couple of the "you just have a basketball in there!" kind of comments; I'm ok with that :)

Catching Up

I was travelling a lot of last week, so didn't get a chance to post. I actually missed it a bit, mostly just getting all of my thoughts down on "paper" I guess. So, let's see if I can remember everything that's been on my mind...

That's a good place to start: my brain is so checked out. Some days aren't bad at all, I remember things just like before I was pregnant...then there are the rest of the days. This baby-brain thing is not a joke; usually I'm really good with words (I know, I don't showcase it here) and names and dates, but lately I just can't call to mind information that should be pretty cemented in there. Like today at work: I've been telling a contractor that I ordered more plans for him two weeks ago and needed to know if he got them. It's not entirely my fault it took this long because he kept not answering me, but I was sure I had sent the drawings to plot. Then I looked back through my emails...definitely only asked for more drawings for a different project, also a school that starts with the same letter and needed the same number of drawings, but still, I had looked at that sent email multiple times making sure I had indeed sent it. Oh well, it hasn't slowed down the work or cost anyone money.

And work. Goodness, it's getting harder to convince myself I can't go in wearing yoga pants and a hoodie. Don't worry, I'm strong enough not to give in (I think), but gosh that sounds wonderful. With the discomfort from sitting at a desk all day, wearing comfy clothes would make me so much happier. My back is starting to get a little achy on days that I don't get up from my desk much, and my ribs are starting to hurt too...and my butt. My office chair is not my friend, and little guy has started targeting the right side of my rib cage with his strong little legs. It's never painful when he kicks/punches me, but it isn't comfortable. Still, he's crazy mobile and I absolutely love it, even if it's sometimes in weird places.

Or when I'm on a plane! Like I said, I was travelling last week and that involved a LOT of hours in airports and on planes. Going into the trip, I wasn't really sure what kind of reactions I would get: was I big enough that people would know I was pregnant and offer help/awkward advice or would my coat and bags hide my belly enough that no one would really notice? Well, quite the mix. One flight I sat next to two pretty funny guys, so I dropped the term "baby-brain" pretty quick so there wasn't any weirdness, and they were my perfect mix of making baby jokes but not going too far. They even helped debate baby names...but we mostly ended up making fun of really bad ones we had heard, and deciding that any of our top choices were pretty good. Then there was the not-very-nice lady at the SkyClub who wouldn't let me in even though Delta had made me miss my flight (extending my layover by about 5 hours) and there wasn't a USO. She told me they only allow military if you had orders to/from a warzone, and then said "and I don't think they'd let you be active duty since *gesture at my stomach*". First, you're lucky I got some sleep on the last flight so I was willing to just smile and say OK and let your weird acknowledgement of my pregnancy go. Second, active duty is not the same as deployed! And I could definitely be active duty and pregnant. I'm willing to let this slide a little because people mis-speak, but seriously? I may have subsequently found an empty restroom to cry in for a while... And finally, there was the nice older gentleman who told me I should take advantage of the early boarding for "people who need a little more time getting in their seats." We were starting boarding for a 6am flight, and I had managed to get about 2 hours of quality sleep at the USO so I wasn't feeling too tired, but my ribs/back were bugging me and I was really struggling to be comfortable sitting in an airport chair, plus my coat was off so my belly was definitely visible. When I sat up a little bit at their announcement, the nearby gentleman told me that I should go for it, he would definitely let me. I know, kind of two different standards for people assuming I'm pregnant, but I think I have a subconscious age requirement that people have to meet before I'm ok with it.

Whew, that was long. But seriously, I think my biggest frustration in pregnancy is people being insensitive to others or going too far the other way and worrying too much about offending people. I know it's really hard to know what to do around pregnant women, especially if you have never been, because some women (usually me) really want to talk about it and have people notice, while others will get hugely offended if you ask them when they're due or something even if they're 8 months pregnant. I know it's not fair to have to predict our crazy hormones, because even we can't really, but whatever you do/say, just be kind and tactful. I don't think I would care if someone said "wow, are there twins in there?!" once I get bigger, but does anyone actually think that's a good thing to say? I wouldn't go up to a skinny person and say "wow, when's the last time you ate?!" Different, but close enough. Somewhat related: I'm so sad by all the pregnant ladies that are so obsessed with their weight, to one extreme or the other. I'm sure it's tough for a lot of women to see the numbers steadily increasing even though they're eating well and maybe still exercising, especially if they've struggled with their weight in the past. I just remind myself that my doc will let me know if I need to slow down, and I'm growing a healthy little boy. Remember that you're creating another human being and you're supposed to gain some weight. But that's all I'm gonna say about that, I don't really want to open that can of worms.

Ok, last topic for the night I think, and I may have touched on this before but I don't remember. I usually don't worry much, partly because I've never had any really terrible things happen to me, but mostly because of my faith and knowing that God has a plan and he'll work things out the way he wants them. However, this little boy has turned me into a bit of a worrier, which in turn worries me because stress isn't great for him (I know, this makes tons of sense). It's not quite as bad now because we've gotten out of the "danger-zone" and I can feel him kick every day, but I still worry that I'm not doing everything I should to give him the best chances in life or I am doing things that will hurt him, to varying degrees. What if me not drinking the huge amounts of water they suggest is going to bring pre-term labor, or what if I'm eating something that I didn't realize was bad for him? Part of the little pity party that I threw myself in that airport bathroom was brought on by the stress of not feeling him kick in a while. I don't know if he was just sleeping most of that time because my inner clock was getting thrown off, or something about flying made him sit still, or what it was, but I was terrified of what might happen when I went to the bathroom and I hadn't felt him kick since the night before. Of course, he took a couple shots at my ribs about an hour later, but I was so scared that something about flying or lifting my bag had done something terrible. Also, in fully-rested retrospect I'm pretty sure that nothing I did was even remotely risky, but my mind still won't be completely at ease until our next appointment.

I was going to talk about my exercising/not exercising struggles, but I really just want to get this posted. I'll talk about it next time. And thanks for reading, here's my 25wk bump as a reward :)

118 Days to Go!

And I've made it to 23 weeks! Funny thing about the week count: it starts from start of last cycle, not date of conception. Something I didn't realize before I got pregnant, and a little confusing when talking to my sister-in-law about her embryology class because they count weeks in actual embryo/fetus/baby age. Anyway, now you know [said in Bill Nye's voice].

Main thing going on this week is super hunger, and crazy moving around by our little boy. Pretty sure this morning I felt an elbow through my stomach, which is really weird, but also super cool. I'm a little surprised how much it doesn't freak me out when I think about a living person growing inside me, moving around and listening to my heartbeat, developing into a fully-functioning human being. Somehow I think it would be less weird if I laid an egg and it hatched 9 months later, kind of like a chicken. But, Psalm 139 (You knit me together in my mother's womb) and Jeremiah 1:5 have a lot more meaning to me now. I felt our little boy for the first time at about 17 weeks, and he didn't get frequently noticeable for a couple more weeks, but God was well aware of him long before that; and I have to say, I'm a little bit jealous of Him :)

I guess another thing that's really hit this week is that sleeping is getting more difficult. Luckily I'm a pretty solid sleeper, so I don't get woken up by kicks, but I definitely have to sleep on my side now (or my blood supply gets hampered by little guy) and if I don't sleep just right my hips are sore in the morning. Not really that bad yet, but I also have 17-ish weeks to go/grow...

Speaking of growing, did you know that the distance from your pubic bone to the top of the uterus (in cm) should be +/- 1cm from the number of weeks you are (starting at 20wks)? That's a definite win for the metric system there, and I was exactly 22cm at 22wks 0days :) Which, I know, is not that cool, but for a number/pattern nerd it really is. Here's our weekly bump picture, yesterday at 23wks.

Yoga pants/stretchy pants in general are seriously the best. Monday I momentarily tried to figure out an acceptable way to wear them to work. Leggings with a tunic/dress would be fine most days, but it's starting to get chilly and the office isn't that warm. At least I only have a couple more months!

So many things I could continue to talk about, but this is getting long, so maybe I'll do a re-cap post before next week. For now I'm going to try to convince baby to move around some more :)

Here I Come, Blogging World

So I'm joining the blog-o-sphere. I've never been good at keeping a journal/diary, so we'll see how well I keep this up, but I have a couple reasons for starting this now.

Originally, when TheBump.com suggested that I start a baby/pregnancy website I thought "that's ridiculous, I don't want to share that much with complete strangers and who would read it anyway." But as our little boy and I are growing I've realized that: 1. I want to keep track of what's happening/changing for my future reference, so I remember what to expect next time around; 2. I have a lot of friends that are either going through about the same things right now or will be in the not-too-distant future, and if they're anything like me will appreciate the reference/honesty about how life changes that you can't always find in books or online; and 3. I find myself wanting to share my little joyful moments and struggles more than I initially expected (and I know not all of my Facebook friends care). So, here goes nothing.

I'm almost 23wks now, past the halfway point and finally to where I think it's obvious I'm pregnant. Based on what I've read elsewhere, I think I had a really easy first trimester. Of course, breaking my collarbone at ~7wks was really stressful until the doctors confirmed that even if I wasn't pregnant they wouldn't suggest surgery, but that still wasn't so bad. I had no morning sickness to speak of, just occasional yuckiness and carsickness, but I was really tired and there was a week or two that hamburgers sounded disgusting. I haven't had any serious cravings yet, but bubblegum, ramen and cheetos have all had their moments. Only thing I would seriously classify as a "pregnancy craving" would be the sudden and serious desire for caribou jerky, which unfortunately is really hard to get my hands on...and possibly not super safe to have.

Hubby and I could notice I was showing at somewhere between 14 and 16 weeks, but I don't think it was noticeable to others until about 18, maybe 20 weeks, and amazingly I still haven't had anyone say anything too rude. My boss has made a couple slightly awkward comments, but since he knows and isn't just noticing on his own I don't really care. And, no weird belly rubs yet! When I was telling my Little's mom that I was pregnant on Halloween, my Little rubbed my belly a little bit and smiled, but I honestly didn't notice and it didn't bother me at all. I'm just really glad she's taking it so well :)

I know I've missed out on the whole first half of my pregnancy, but I'll probably come back to things later on, and feel free to ask questions! I'll wrap this up today, going to try to check back in once a week, so I won't ramble quite so much. Thanks for reading :)