maybe this will be a start for new posts! Maybe don't count on it, since I only get to the library about once a week to check emails and try to be productive...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
scooter baby!
after trying unsuccessfully to post this video on facebook, I'm trying my long forgotten blog...this is Josephine showing off how mobile she is now. It's not crawling, but it is cute!
maybe this will be a start for new posts! Maybe don't count on it, since I only get to the library about once a week to check emails and try to be productive...
maybe this will be a start for new posts! Maybe don't count on it, since I only get to the library about once a week to check emails and try to be productive...
Friday, May 15, 2009
where to begin?
Unless you're really bad at math, or figure that 48 weeks pregnant would be normal, or if you have no connection to me on Facebook or in person, then you've figured out that I am now officially a mom. There's really a lot that goes into that, kind of too much just to sum up in a few lines. Or even a lot of lines, for that matter.
I was creating a post to tell the story of labor and delivery which may or may not ever get finished. Suffice it to say, it wasn't anywhere near as awful or long as I was expecting it to be, even tho part of that I feel like I cheated by getting an epidural pretty much as soon as I got admitted, but if I hadn't then I wouldn't have slept and things would probably not have gone anywhere near as well as they had. And the end result is the important part - Josephine Rachael came into the world at 9:42am on March 19. That seems like forever ago, even tho 8 weeks isn't really all that long when you think about it.
There are parts of me that really don't have much of a reaction to being a mom. Yeah, everything's different, but it's not like it's so amazingly better or worse, it just is. There are parts that are fantastic, like getting to hold my baby and just sit quietly, breathing in her smell and listening to her breathe. There are amazing parts when she smiles and almost giggles and I can't help but fall in love all over again. There are parts that are awful, like when she poops or spits up on 3 outfits in a row. There are parts that are frustrating, like feeling like a burden when you have to stop everything you were doing with friends in order to change a diaper or feed the baby, but the bad parts are more than evened out by the good.
I feel like we're somewhere in the sweet spot - she's pretty much sleeping through the night (about 7hours at a shot, probably longer if I wasn't so worried about making sure she eats enough), she's learned how to smile and is just starting to gurgle and coo, she's really content for the most part, she doesn't spit up as much as she used to, and she's nowhere near old enough to be naughty just yet. That will probably start earlier than I'm expecting it, so I'd better enjoy this stage while it lasts.
It still seems a little odd sometimes that she's mine (ours). I'm (we're) responsible for her. Apparently it's ok because we haven't broken her or messed her up too badly yet.
Apart from the baby (but still very connected) we're both unemployed right now, so if anyone has any jobs or even leads, just go ahead and let us know. We were all set to have me stay home when Josephine was born, and then at the end of February, Seth lost his job. Definitely not ideal, but it gave me enough time to rearrange plans at work, instead of taking 6 weeks leave and then quitting, I took 12 weeks and was preparing myself to go back to work if necessary. And then at the end of April, I lost my job. That sucked. Well, sort of. I still sort of teeter back and forth between thinking that it's totally God's way of letting us know that I really should be staying home and that's just that, and wondering how the crap this is all going to work out. I'm officially looking for a job, my standards are way lower than Seth's - I just need something that will pay the bills and bring in money until Seth finds the job that will actually support our family and allow me to quit and stay at home again.
There are so many crazy things going on right now in the big picture that I can't deny God's hand in it all. I just couldn't tell you where it's all leading, because we can't see that far ahead just now. Seth's had so many leads fall through, jobs that we thought would be perfect for him. He's working so hard to find something, there's just not much to be found right now. It seems like everything is just a reminder to trust God and put it in his hands. I'm so thankful now that we worked as hard as we did to pay off our cars and Seth's student loans and build up our savings. So far we're ok, and there are things working on the horizon that will hopefully make that last a little bit longer. Ultimately, it's up to God to work everything out for us. I know it'll happen, and I know it'll be amazing, I just have to work sometimes to remember that on a daily basis.
So that's our life in a nutshell...
I was creating a post to tell the story of labor and delivery which may or may not ever get finished. Suffice it to say, it wasn't anywhere near as awful or long as I was expecting it to be, even tho part of that I feel like I cheated by getting an epidural pretty much as soon as I got admitted, but if I hadn't then I wouldn't have slept and things would probably not have gone anywhere near as well as they had. And the end result is the important part - Josephine Rachael came into the world at 9:42am on March 19. That seems like forever ago, even tho 8 weeks isn't really all that long when you think about it.
There are parts of me that really don't have much of a reaction to being a mom. Yeah, everything's different, but it's not like it's so amazingly better or worse, it just is. There are parts that are fantastic, like getting to hold my baby and just sit quietly, breathing in her smell and listening to her breathe. There are amazing parts when she smiles and almost giggles and I can't help but fall in love all over again. There are parts that are awful, like when she poops or spits up on 3 outfits in a row. There are parts that are frustrating, like feeling like a burden when you have to stop everything you were doing with friends in order to change a diaper or feed the baby, but the bad parts are more than evened out by the good.
I feel like we're somewhere in the sweet spot - she's pretty much sleeping through the night (about 7hours at a shot, probably longer if I wasn't so worried about making sure she eats enough), she's learned how to smile and is just starting to gurgle and coo, she's really content for the most part, she doesn't spit up as much as she used to, and she's nowhere near old enough to be naughty just yet. That will probably start earlier than I'm expecting it, so I'd better enjoy this stage while it lasts.
It still seems a little odd sometimes that she's mine (ours). I'm (we're) responsible for her. Apparently it's ok because we haven't broken her or messed her up too badly yet.
Apart from the baby (but still very connected) we're both unemployed right now, so if anyone has any jobs or even leads, just go ahead and let us know. We were all set to have me stay home when Josephine was born, and then at the end of February, Seth lost his job. Definitely not ideal, but it gave me enough time to rearrange plans at work, instead of taking 6 weeks leave and then quitting, I took 12 weeks and was preparing myself to go back to work if necessary. And then at the end of April, I lost my job. That sucked. Well, sort of. I still sort of teeter back and forth between thinking that it's totally God's way of letting us know that I really should be staying home and that's just that, and wondering how the crap this is all going to work out. I'm officially looking for a job, my standards are way lower than Seth's - I just need something that will pay the bills and bring in money until Seth finds the job that will actually support our family and allow me to quit and stay at home again.
There are so many crazy things going on right now in the big picture that I can't deny God's hand in it all. I just couldn't tell you where it's all leading, because we can't see that far ahead just now. Seth's had so many leads fall through, jobs that we thought would be perfect for him. He's working so hard to find something, there's just not much to be found right now. It seems like everything is just a reminder to trust God and put it in his hands. I'm so thankful now that we worked as hard as we did to pay off our cars and Seth's student loans and build up our savings. So far we're ok, and there are things working on the horizon that will hopefully make that last a little bit longer. Ultimately, it's up to God to work everything out for us. I know it'll happen, and I know it'll be amazing, I just have to work sometimes to remember that on a daily basis.
So that's our life in a nutshell...
Thursday, February 05, 2009
No one tells you these things
There's a lot of information out there about being pregnant. Tons. What happens, the changes to your body, emotions, all of it. And yet, somehow, there seems to be quite a bit that isn't included. The other side of that is that sometimes information is so vague that it is not helpful. Like you could possibly have symptom XYZ during your pregnancy, and that's normal. Or you could not have that symptom, and that's normal too. I haven't worried a ton about any of that because the books and doctors are pretty specific about what isn't normal and isn't good, and those lists don't seem to change, so I have a pretty good grasp about what I really need to be concerned about. The rest of it is probably normal to some degree, I seriously doubt that I will be discovering some previously unknown symptom or risk factor that could put my baby or pregnancy in jeopardy.
I truthfully haven't dealt with a lot of the typical pregnancy issues - I never puked during the 1st trimester, the nausea wasn't really all that severe, I rarely have heartburn problems, my back hurt for awhile but a few trips to the chiropractor had that pretty much fixed. I have started to get very tiny stretch marks, but they're really just adding on to some that have been there forever. so that's no big deal. I did have my first emotional breakdown last week, so that was fun. About the worst, most consistent issue that I've dealt with has been stuffy and bloody noses (actual pregnancy symptom!), and that's just more gross than anything. So I really have had nothing much to complain about, for which I am thankful.
Then a few weeks back, I started noticing what felt like the baby trying to kick my ribs out from the inside. That's not pleasant, but generally pretty short lived. A couple weeks ago, that feeling stopped, but I started having SEVERE pains in that same area, right about where my ribs curve around and head toward by spine. It usually stemmed from any sort of physical contact in that area. I couldn't tell if it was my ribs (I have found out that your baby can bruise you internally) or if it was my skin, it sorta felt like both, depending on the exact situation. I'd never heard of such a pain, it hasn't been mentioned in anything I've read. I mentioned it to my chiropractor and she thought it might be the muscles between my ribs, so she had a little thing she did to work on that, and it helped some, but I still can hardly stand sometimes to have anything touching that area, which isn't super convenient, since that's pretty much where my bra sits, and there's not a lot of room in there if I slouch even a little bit when I'm sitting down.
So at my doctor's appointment yesterday I mentioned it to her, and she didn't seem all that surprised. Yep, it's my skin. More specifically, it's the fascia (this link has some pretty cool info) of my torso, the stuff that kind of keeps everything together - stretching out and becoming thinner, because everything's expanding up in that region. So there's nothing I can do, no relief that she offered, I just have to deal with it because it's going to keep getting stretched out until the baby comes. yaaaay, six more weeks....
It's not that knowing this ahead of time would have changed my mind about being pregnant, and it's not like it was freaking me out to have it happening and not know what all was causing it, it just would be nice with all the volumes of information available on pregnancy and everything that happens, if they would maybe mention that too. It kind of would be nicer if there was a way to treat it, but whatever.
I truthfully haven't dealt with a lot of the typical pregnancy issues - I never puked during the 1st trimester, the nausea wasn't really all that severe, I rarely have heartburn problems, my back hurt for awhile but a few trips to the chiropractor had that pretty much fixed. I have started to get very tiny stretch marks, but they're really just adding on to some that have been there forever. so that's no big deal. I did have my first emotional breakdown last week, so that was fun. About the worst, most consistent issue that I've dealt with has been stuffy and bloody noses (actual pregnancy symptom!), and that's just more gross than anything. So I really have had nothing much to complain about, for which I am thankful.
Then a few weeks back, I started noticing what felt like the baby trying to kick my ribs out from the inside. That's not pleasant, but generally pretty short lived. A couple weeks ago, that feeling stopped, but I started having SEVERE pains in that same area, right about where my ribs curve around and head toward by spine. It usually stemmed from any sort of physical contact in that area. I couldn't tell if it was my ribs (I have found out that your baby can bruise you internally) or if it was my skin, it sorta felt like both, depending on the exact situation. I'd never heard of such a pain, it hasn't been mentioned in anything I've read. I mentioned it to my chiropractor and she thought it might be the muscles between my ribs, so she had a little thing she did to work on that, and it helped some, but I still can hardly stand sometimes to have anything touching that area, which isn't super convenient, since that's pretty much where my bra sits, and there's not a lot of room in there if I slouch even a little bit when I'm sitting down.
So at my doctor's appointment yesterday I mentioned it to her, and she didn't seem all that surprised. Yep, it's my skin. More specifically, it's the fascia (this link has some pretty cool info) of my torso, the stuff that kind of keeps everything together - stretching out and becoming thinner, because everything's expanding up in that region. So there's nothing I can do, no relief that she offered, I just have to deal with it because it's going to keep getting stretched out until the baby comes. yaaaay, six more weeks....
It's not that knowing this ahead of time would have changed my mind about being pregnant, and it's not like it was freaking me out to have it happening and not know what all was causing it, it just would be nice with all the volumes of information available on pregnancy and everything that happens, if they would maybe mention that too. It kind of would be nicer if there was a way to treat it, but whatever.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
So Excited
Hey look, a post that isn't actually related to me being pregnant right now!
I feel a little juvenile about this, but I'm really excited about a movie that's coming out in a couple weeks. It's called Coraline, it's based off a book by my favorite author, Neil Gaiman. I'm pretty sure it's just a kid's book, at most it's a Young Adult book, which might explain why I feel a little juvenile about my excitement.
The book is fantastic tho. Actually, I haven't read it yet, but I borrowed the audiobook from the Library. For a Neil Gaiman book this is at least as good, if not better than reading the book itself. The audiobooks are all unabridged. He reads his books himself and he's got a fantastic British accent. He also knows exactly how to read and where to put what intonations in the dialogue (since he wrote it and all). Plus, they tend to add in fun music and little extras with some of the dialogue to enhance the experience (there are a couple parts with talking/singing rats in Coraline that are deliciously creepy in the audio version).
In general, Neil has a wonderful ability to make a kid's book appealing to more than just kids. They're humorous in ways that adults can understand, and while the language is such that a kid can easily read and comprehend it, the themes aren't just for kids, either. Coraline has bits of magic and silliness along with everyday life, but it's a bit scary in parts, too. There's danger and suspense and tension, quite a bit of Unknown mixed in with everything. I don't know if I would recommend it for anyone younger than maybe 7 or 8...it might depend on the kid. There's nothing horrible or disgusting, but there are some rather sinister characters.
I'm excited for it to be made into a film because there hasn't been a single movie that Gaiman's been involved with that hasn't been brilliant. Mirrormask was what first got me interested in his work, then there was Neverwhere, a novel turned into a BBC sci-fi miniseries, and then just last year was Stardust and Beowulf. Neil himself has been blogging about Coraline for months now, and is very excited about how it's been coming along. I generally take it as a good sign when the author approves of how his creation is being transformed from one medium to another. There are also all sorts of websites, promotions and fun things (such as the first video by Neil) to go along with the release, which make it all the easier to be excited.
So childish as it may seem, I'm looking forward to this movie like very few other movies lately. And my kind and loving husband has promised to take me to see it, maybe as a Valentine's Day date. In 3-D, even. I'm so lucky!
I feel a little juvenile about this, but I'm really excited about a movie that's coming out in a couple weeks. It's called Coraline, it's based off a book by my favorite author, Neil Gaiman. I'm pretty sure it's just a kid's book, at most it's a Young Adult book, which might explain why I feel a little juvenile about my excitement.
The book is fantastic tho. Actually, I haven't read it yet, but I borrowed the audiobook from the Library. For a Neil Gaiman book this is at least as good, if not better than reading the book itself. The audiobooks are all unabridged. He reads his books himself and he's got a fantastic British accent. He also knows exactly how to read and where to put what intonations in the dialogue (since he wrote it and all). Plus, they tend to add in fun music and little extras with some of the dialogue to enhance the experience (there are a couple parts with talking/singing rats in Coraline that are deliciously creepy in the audio version).
In general, Neil has a wonderful ability to make a kid's book appealing to more than just kids. They're humorous in ways that adults can understand, and while the language is such that a kid can easily read and comprehend it, the themes aren't just for kids, either. Coraline has bits of magic and silliness along with everyday life, but it's a bit scary in parts, too. There's danger and suspense and tension, quite a bit of Unknown mixed in with everything. I don't know if I would recommend it for anyone younger than maybe 7 or 8...it might depend on the kid. There's nothing horrible or disgusting, but there are some rather sinister characters.
I'm excited for it to be made into a film because there hasn't been a single movie that Gaiman's been involved with that hasn't been brilliant. Mirrormask was what first got me interested in his work, then there was Neverwhere, a novel turned into a BBC sci-fi miniseries, and then just last year was Stardust and Beowulf. Neil himself has been blogging about Coraline for months now, and is very excited about how it's been coming along. I generally take it as a good sign when the author approves of how his creation is being transformed from one medium to another. There are also all sorts of websites, promotions and fun things (such as the first video by Neil) to go along with the release, which make it all the easier to be excited.
So childish as it may seem, I'm looking forward to this movie like very few other movies lately. And my kind and loving husband has promised to take me to see it, maybe as a Valentine's Day date. In 3-D, even. I'm so lucky!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
it's official!
Over the past couple of weeks, I've definitely noticed some changes...I'm officially in my 3rd trimester, only 10 1/2 weeks to go! It's funny how at the same time, that seems both really far away and just around the corner.
I now officially cannot see my feet when I stand up straight and look down. I also officially have been waking up more often at night because I can't seem to stay comfortable in the same position for too long. We're almost officially done with cleaning out the baby's room, there's just one more box, and a computer, and a small file cabinet to move out. I'm also officially (technically) registered for baby stuff, tho not entirely. We'll have to hit Babies R Us I think next week, especially since people are officially planning baby showers for me now...
The baby is officially very active - the nurse practitioner gave me a chart at my last visit to keep track of movements - I want to track at least 10 movements in an hour, usually counting about an hour or so after eating. I think the longest it's taken so far to reach 10 movements is about 10 minutes. Yesterday, it was 2 minutes. I have now heard that theoretically boys are more mobile in the womb, so that may be a hint of the baby's gender, but I'm not going to be making any guarantees just yet. The baby is also officially kicking me in the ribs, which is definitely less than comfortable. Unfortunately, there's just not a ton I can do about it. Movements in general are no longer cute and gentle, they're more strong and surprising. I can find where and how the baby is laying fairly easily, which I love, and I can generally differentiate big body parts (head and butt) and skinny ones (legs and arms) that's about as definite as we get so far.
Next week is my first appointment for every 2 weeks, instead of the standard every 4, and all of a sudden things seem to be speeding up quite a bit. I've got all my appointments scheduled between now and March, and it really doesn't seem like all that many, even though it's probably pretty equal to the number of appointments I've had in the entire pregnancy up to this point! We finally picked dates for birthing classes, we were having trouble with scheduling, and I was considering just skipping it, but I think it'll be good for us to go. It'll have to be a Saturday and Sunday, all day sort of thing, which isn't fabulous, but better than 6 weeks of 3hr classes on a weeknight.
Overall, I think things are going really well, better than expected. I've had intermittent issues with heartburn and other issues, but it hasn't been awful. I get a little sore sometimes, but that's why I have a chiropractor. Everyone seems to think I make a really cute pregnant lady, and I even still have enough energy to go out on a Friday night from time to time (tho someone could probably make an argument about me needing to take better care of my body and getting more sleep). I'm bummed that my sister won't be able to come up for the baby, but since she's having her own at pretty much the same time, I guess I can let it go. And my brother's going to come visit from Connecticut, so that works out nicely, since we haven't seen him in awhile. There are plenty of plans yet to be made, but I do still have some time left.
It's funny that I'm almost 7 1/2 months pregnant, but I'll still stop myself and find it absolutely amazing that this has happened. I still can't imagine very well what it will be like to have a baby in the house, having to take all those changes into account when trying to make future plans like mission trips or traveling for weddings and things. I don't think we're going to disappear into our house when the baby comes. We tried really hard not to disappear into ourselves when we got married, and it definitely paid off. I would imagine there would be similar benefits in staying (almost) as involved with a baby. At the same time as thinking all of this, I'm also trying to keep options and expectations open, just because I don't know what toll this will all take on my body and emotions and how long it will take me to recover from giving birth, much less get into a routine and become a functioning person again. I had long ago decided that there's no way I can figure out entirely what's it's going to be like having a baby. After walking into marriage with what I felt was a good grasp of the difficulties and challenges (as well as the good parts) and still being entirely knocked off my feet, I'm just going to assume it's going to be the same way with having kids. Awesome beyond description, but also requiring a lot more of me than I can anticipate. Guess I'll find out soon enough!
I now officially cannot see my feet when I stand up straight and look down. I also officially have been waking up more often at night because I can't seem to stay comfortable in the same position for too long. We're almost officially done with cleaning out the baby's room, there's just one more box, and a computer, and a small file cabinet to move out. I'm also officially (technically) registered for baby stuff, tho not entirely. We'll have to hit Babies R Us I think next week, especially since people are officially planning baby showers for me now...
The baby is officially very active - the nurse practitioner gave me a chart at my last visit to keep track of movements - I want to track at least 10 movements in an hour, usually counting about an hour or so after eating. I think the longest it's taken so far to reach 10 movements is about 10 minutes. Yesterday, it was 2 minutes. I have now heard that theoretically boys are more mobile in the womb, so that may be a hint of the baby's gender, but I'm not going to be making any guarantees just yet. The baby is also officially kicking me in the ribs, which is definitely less than comfortable. Unfortunately, there's just not a ton I can do about it. Movements in general are no longer cute and gentle, they're more strong and surprising. I can find where and how the baby is laying fairly easily, which I love, and I can generally differentiate big body parts (head and butt) and skinny ones (legs and arms) that's about as definite as we get so far.
Next week is my first appointment for every 2 weeks, instead of the standard every 4, and all of a sudden things seem to be speeding up quite a bit. I've got all my appointments scheduled between now and March, and it really doesn't seem like all that many, even though it's probably pretty equal to the number of appointments I've had in the entire pregnancy up to this point! We finally picked dates for birthing classes, we were having trouble with scheduling, and I was considering just skipping it, but I think it'll be good for us to go. It'll have to be a Saturday and Sunday, all day sort of thing, which isn't fabulous, but better than 6 weeks of 3hr classes on a weeknight.
Overall, I think things are going really well, better than expected. I've had intermittent issues with heartburn and other issues, but it hasn't been awful. I get a little sore sometimes, but that's why I have a chiropractor. Everyone seems to think I make a really cute pregnant lady, and I even still have enough energy to go out on a Friday night from time to time (tho someone could probably make an argument about me needing to take better care of my body and getting more sleep). I'm bummed that my sister won't be able to come up for the baby, but since she's having her own at pretty much the same time, I guess I can let it go. And my brother's going to come visit from Connecticut, so that works out nicely, since we haven't seen him in awhile. There are plenty of plans yet to be made, but I do still have some time left.
It's funny that I'm almost 7 1/2 months pregnant, but I'll still stop myself and find it absolutely amazing that this has happened. I still can't imagine very well what it will be like to have a baby in the house, having to take all those changes into account when trying to make future plans like mission trips or traveling for weddings and things. I don't think we're going to disappear into our house when the baby comes. We tried really hard not to disappear into ourselves when we got married, and it definitely paid off. I would imagine there would be similar benefits in staying (almost) as involved with a baby. At the same time as thinking all of this, I'm also trying to keep options and expectations open, just because I don't know what toll this will all take on my body and emotions and how long it will take me to recover from giving birth, much less get into a routine and become a functioning person again. I had long ago decided that there's no way I can figure out entirely what's it's going to be like having a baby. After walking into marriage with what I felt was a good grasp of the difficulties and challenges (as well as the good parts) and still being entirely knocked off my feet, I'm just going to assume it's going to be the same way with having kids. Awesome beyond description, but also requiring a lot more of me than I can anticipate. Guess I'll find out soon enough!
Friday, November 28, 2008
updates, updates
Ok, so I don't necessarily always want to be updating about the pregnancy, but that is literally the big thing going these days. Work is work, family is family, nothing crazy or all that interesting to report. And most people seem to like the updates too, so I guess it's not all bad.
So I'm right about 24 1/2 weeks, which means I passed the 6 month mark last week (I usually have noticed that moms like to know the weeks, everyone else wants to know how far along in months - I guess it's all in what you can relate to). I just had my blood glucose test at my appointment this last week. I had heard of goopy orange super duper sweet concoctions that you have to drink (sometimes in large quantities) that make you want to puke. So I wasn't all that excited about the idea. But it wasn't too bad; I had a choice in flavors, so I went for lemon-lime, which looked and tasted pretty much like a Sprite, only flat. It was chilled, making it easier to drink down, and I didn't mind it at all. I could tell later on into my appointment that I was getting a bit of a sugar high. It made me a little worried because I know the idea behind the test is to see how well your body is processing the sugar in your system to see if you've got gestational diabetes, but it all turned out fine. I don't know what the levels are for borderline or for sure diabetic, but they told me I passed, so that's all I really needed to know.
I was a little overwhelmed, however, with the amount of things that I wasn't aware of - like how I should be looking for a pediatrician now...seems a bit odd, but I guess it makes sense, if you want to have that person at the hospital to check the baby out within 24 hours of birth. It's just that I've never even thought about it - I don't know how to go about looking for a pediatrician, I don't know what is important in a pediatrician (besides the obvious part about caring about and being good with kids). So I figure I'm going to start asking the moms that live in my area what they think about their kids' docs and maybe just start (or end?) there. I've got my clinic, but since my last experience with their OB department didn't really inspire a lot of confidence, and I was starting to think about going with a different clinic with midwives next time I'm pregnant, I guess I'm not feeling all that loyal right now...
I also need to start looking into things like birthing classes (which also seems a bit overwhelming, but most likely is not), and to keep working on cleaning out the office, which means we need to finish putting together the new office, which means buying a desk, and a dresser for the baby's room. And people keep asking me about baby showers, which I'm figuring that someone will offer to put one together sooner or later. I've got plenty of time left for that, but that means that I'll have to actually register soon, which is another somewhat daunting task, what with not knowing what I need/what, what brands are good, etc. I've been so thankful already that I've got friends who have done this at least once before, because there are lots of questions to ask and lots of advice to get.
Overall tho, I've been really enjoying everything. I'm not so concerned about gaining weight (it helps that I really haven't gained a lot in the last month or so...) I know that I'm in a good spot heading into my 3rd trimester when I can't really help the weight gain, and it would actually worry me if I didn't gain very much weight. I have noticed no stretch marks (from the baby, I already had my fair share from before). I've had some back pain, but the chiropractor seems to be helping with that just fine, and everyone seems to think I make a pretty cute pregnant lady, so I really can't complain.
So I'm right about 24 1/2 weeks, which means I passed the 6 month mark last week (I usually have noticed that moms like to know the weeks, everyone else wants to know how far along in months - I guess it's all in what you can relate to). I just had my blood glucose test at my appointment this last week. I had heard of goopy orange super duper sweet concoctions that you have to drink (sometimes in large quantities) that make you want to puke. So I wasn't all that excited about the idea. But it wasn't too bad; I had a choice in flavors, so I went for lemon-lime, which looked and tasted pretty much like a Sprite, only flat. It was chilled, making it easier to drink down, and I didn't mind it at all. I could tell later on into my appointment that I was getting a bit of a sugar high. It made me a little worried because I know the idea behind the test is to see how well your body is processing the sugar in your system to see if you've got gestational diabetes, but it all turned out fine. I don't know what the levels are for borderline or for sure diabetic, but they told me I passed, so that's all I really needed to know.
I was a little overwhelmed, however, with the amount of things that I wasn't aware of - like how I should be looking for a pediatrician now...seems a bit odd, but I guess it makes sense, if you want to have that person at the hospital to check the baby out within 24 hours of birth. It's just that I've never even thought about it - I don't know how to go about looking for a pediatrician, I don't know what is important in a pediatrician (besides the obvious part about caring about and being good with kids). So I figure I'm going to start asking the moms that live in my area what they think about their kids' docs and maybe just start (or end?) there. I've got my clinic, but since my last experience with their OB department didn't really inspire a lot of confidence, and I was starting to think about going with a different clinic with midwives next time I'm pregnant, I guess I'm not feeling all that loyal right now...
I also need to start looking into things like birthing classes (which also seems a bit overwhelming, but most likely is not), and to keep working on cleaning out the office, which means we need to finish putting together the new office, which means buying a desk, and a dresser for the baby's room. And people keep asking me about baby showers, which I'm figuring that someone will offer to put one together sooner or later. I've got plenty of time left for that, but that means that I'll have to actually register soon, which is another somewhat daunting task, what with not knowing what I need/what, what brands are good, etc. I've been so thankful already that I've got friends who have done this at least once before, because there are lots of questions to ask and lots of advice to get.
Overall tho, I've been really enjoying everything. I'm not so concerned about gaining weight (it helps that I really haven't gained a lot in the last month or so...) I know that I'm in a good spot heading into my 3rd trimester when I can't really help the weight gain, and it would actually worry me if I didn't gain very much weight. I have noticed no stretch marks (from the baby, I already had my fair share from before). I've had some back pain, but the chiropractor seems to be helping with that just fine, and everyone seems to think I make a pretty cute pregnant lady, so I really can't complain.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
maybe the coolest thing ever...
I was really excited to get to about 16 weeks or so, knowing that at any point between then and 20 weeks is when I would start feeling the baby move. I tried to find out a lot of information - when, how it feels, how do I know, etc. It's most often described as "fluttering", or like bubbles, a lot of women mistake it for gas or hunger. I had also read that you could feel it easiest when you were still and paying attention, if you're busy during the day you're more likely to miss it because the movement is so slight.
So for about the last week I've been taking more time to try and feel things. At one point I was slouched over in my chair at work and thought I had felt something. Then I straightened up and realized that it was more like my diaphragm than my uterus that was actually moving. I ended up going thru the weekend thinking maybe I had felt something here or there, but not ever really being sure, seeing as I've never actually felt anything quite like a baby moving inside my own body.
On Tuesday afternoon, I happened to be sitting at my desk and felt sort of what I had felt here and there over the weekend. And then it happened again. And again. And then some more. I was pretty sure at that point that it's really what I thought it was, that baby was a-movin'! It was pretty much like gas moving around in your tummy, or I could see how people describe it as fluttering. It feels a little like being really nervous, when your stomach is just all aflutter and you just can't calm it down. More than anything tho, it literally feels like someone poking very softly from the inside. Like any normal person, that of course called to mind the scene from Alien where the baby alien pops out of the guy's chest, which made me chuckle a little bit. For the rest of the afternoon it was a little distracting, little bubble feelings every few minutes, I wasn't honestly sure if I liked it or not.
Then I got home and tried to feel it some more, and realized I really couldn't. I think I feel it more when I'm sitting up, or scrunched up, giving the baby a little less room to move around. This would explain why I can feel it more at work. There must be tons of space still (I would hope so, there's still lots to grow!) because yesterday I didn't really feel Baby much at all, at work or otherwise. I was a little bit concerned, but today's been fairly active, so I think Baby must have just moved a little closer to the surface again or something. I've actually been feeling the baby on the right side, stronger than before, all in the same area, like s/he's practicing kicking a target or something. It actually feels like an intentional jab, instead of just a soft tapping. I think I'm over wondering if I like it or not. I pretty definitely like it. I feel like I'm sharing something with this little thing that I really hadn't before, almost like a little bit of communication, Baby just letting me know that s/he's there.
On a side note, I'm really going to have to figure out a pronoun for this kid. We're not going to find out if it's a boy or girl, and I'm getting to not like referring to the baby as "it", and the whole "s/he" thing seems silly and like too much work. Suggestions anyone?
So for about the last week I've been taking more time to try and feel things. At one point I was slouched over in my chair at work and thought I had felt something. Then I straightened up and realized that it was more like my diaphragm than my uterus that was actually moving. I ended up going thru the weekend thinking maybe I had felt something here or there, but not ever really being sure, seeing as I've never actually felt anything quite like a baby moving inside my own body.
On Tuesday afternoon, I happened to be sitting at my desk and felt sort of what I had felt here and there over the weekend. And then it happened again. And again. And then some more. I was pretty sure at that point that it's really what I thought it was, that baby was a-movin'! It was pretty much like gas moving around in your tummy, or I could see how people describe it as fluttering. It feels a little like being really nervous, when your stomach is just all aflutter and you just can't calm it down. More than anything tho, it literally feels like someone poking very softly from the inside. Like any normal person, that of course called to mind the scene from Alien where the baby alien pops out of the guy's chest, which made me chuckle a little bit. For the rest of the afternoon it was a little distracting, little bubble feelings every few minutes, I wasn't honestly sure if I liked it or not.
Then I got home and tried to feel it some more, and realized I really couldn't. I think I feel it more when I'm sitting up, or scrunched up, giving the baby a little less room to move around. This would explain why I can feel it more at work. There must be tons of space still (I would hope so, there's still lots to grow!) because yesterday I didn't really feel Baby much at all, at work or otherwise. I was a little bit concerned, but today's been fairly active, so I think Baby must have just moved a little closer to the surface again or something. I've actually been feeling the baby on the right side, stronger than before, all in the same area, like s/he's practicing kicking a target or something. It actually feels like an intentional jab, instead of just a soft tapping. I think I'm over wondering if I like it or not. I pretty definitely like it. I feel like I'm sharing something with this little thing that I really hadn't before, almost like a little bit of communication, Baby just letting me know that s/he's there.
On a side note, I'm really going to have to figure out a pronoun for this kid. We're not going to find out if it's a boy or girl, and I'm getting to not like referring to the baby as "it", and the whole "s/he" thing seems silly and like too much work. Suggestions anyone?
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