An elephant's gestation is an average of 22 months...so I have about a year to go.
(We are supposed to start calling at 6pm this evening to see if they have room for me to start the induction process.)
Showing posts with label The Wait. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Wait. Show all posts
Monday, October 02, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
Flying on Standby
Let’s say you’re planning a trip. It’s not a short trip to the grocery store or anything, it’s an extended trip where the first leg is something you have to pack for. Say 3-4 days of stuff you’ll need. You’ve got about 8 months before you really want to take the trip and lots of stuff to do in the meantime. So you call the airline and book a flight and they ask you what day you’d like to go…and you say Sept 23rd sounds great to me. And they say – well – we can put you on standby, and it might be as early as Sept 9 but it might be as late as Oct 2nd, before we have space available – and no matter what we can definitely get you in on October 2nd although it might be a longer flight. Since it’s so far off and you have no idea what you’re doing, as you’ve never taken a trip like this before – you agree to the terms and conditions. They also say – we will call you when we have room on a plane, and you’re not going to have much time, so go ahead and be packed by Sept 9 so when we call, you can come right over.
Right-O. So you go out and buy an extra toothbrush and toothpaste and deodorant, and dig in your closet for your stolen hotel shampoo. And you pack your bag – sans a few items, which you know you’ll need between now and then, but make a list so that you’ll remember to grab them quickly on your way out. You have a few things in there you will need before the trip if you don’t leave by Sept 9 – and they’re not everyday things, so you don’t want to buy new ones, but you guess you can leave it packed and just dig in the bag when you need those things. You have to make some decisions about clothes, because of your current limited wardrobe, you choose things you think you won’t miss, but end up missing anyway. You have to do laundry mid week, because you had to pack underwear and had decided not to buy new ones and you only have so many that fit right now anyway. And everyday you walk into your bedroom and you see your packed bag…sitting there…taunting you.
Meanwhile, your boss wants to know exactly what day you’ll be leaving and keeps asking you at least twice a week – even though you give the same answer about working right up until you board the plane. Your vacation insurance people also would like to know exactly when you’re leaving – despite the fact that they deal with these kinds of trips regularly, and know you don’t have a concrete answer…and quite frankly you would actually like to know the date – for your own peace of mind. As you get closer to your original date of departure people at work start saying “I can’t believe you’re still here!” And you explain that you don’t have enough time off to just take off and sit at home and wait for the plane. People begin calling your house to ask if you’ve left yet – so you quit answering the phone, much to the chagrin of the person who lives with you who then has to field all phone calls. If you call someone the first question they ask is if you’ve left yet. It annoys you partly because you told them they would get a call when you were boarding the plane – or in some cases right after you landed in your destination city, but it also annoys you because it feels little like they’re rubbing it in that you haven’t left yet.
No one would go on a trip planned this way…NO ONE…it’s enough to make a person crazy – and they blame it on hormones – like a sane person could handle this part – much less a Girl Scout who needs an itinerary!
Right-O. So you go out and buy an extra toothbrush and toothpaste and deodorant, and dig in your closet for your stolen hotel shampoo. And you pack your bag – sans a few items, which you know you’ll need between now and then, but make a list so that you’ll remember to grab them quickly on your way out. You have a few things in there you will need before the trip if you don’t leave by Sept 9 – and they’re not everyday things, so you don’t want to buy new ones, but you guess you can leave it packed and just dig in the bag when you need those things. You have to make some decisions about clothes, because of your current limited wardrobe, you choose things you think you won’t miss, but end up missing anyway. You have to do laundry mid week, because you had to pack underwear and had decided not to buy new ones and you only have so many that fit right now anyway. And everyday you walk into your bedroom and you see your packed bag…sitting there…taunting you.
Meanwhile, your boss wants to know exactly what day you’ll be leaving and keeps asking you at least twice a week – even though you give the same answer about working right up until you board the plane. Your vacation insurance people also would like to know exactly when you’re leaving – despite the fact that they deal with these kinds of trips regularly, and know you don’t have a concrete answer…and quite frankly you would actually like to know the date – for your own peace of mind. As you get closer to your original date of departure people at work start saying “I can’t believe you’re still here!” And you explain that you don’t have enough time off to just take off and sit at home and wait for the plane. People begin calling your house to ask if you’ve left yet – so you quit answering the phone, much to the chagrin of the person who lives with you who then has to field all phone calls. If you call someone the first question they ask is if you’ve left yet. It annoys you partly because you told them they would get a call when you were boarding the plane – or in some cases right after you landed in your destination city, but it also annoys you because it feels little like they’re rubbing it in that you haven’t left yet.
No one would go on a trip planned this way…NO ONE…it’s enough to make a person crazy – and they blame it on hormones – like a sane person could handle this part – much less a Girl Scout who needs an itinerary!
Monday, September 18, 2006
What blogger? Who?
Yeah, ok I know...over 2 week absence. Still no baby. Lot of stuff going on though.
Nursery Progress - Clint purchased a paint gun last weekend and was able to paint most of the maroon parts of the bed. He has khaki to go and some touch ups and we're set for that. Kathleen helped me make a slip cover for the pleather rocking chair. It still needs a tie back or a clip or something in the back, but it looks good - and I have mad estimating skilz - cause we only had about 18 inches leftover from the material I bought.
Green Jello - Scarlett gets jealous when we start doing anything baby related. She had a field day with the washing of all of Landon's clothes...must sit in laps. She's checking that bassinet from time to time to see if there's anything new in there.
Living room furniture - the sofa was delivered as scheduled and apparently they unwrap the chairs at the warehouse and not the sofa, because twice we've sent the chairs back, since they're damaged by the time they get here.
I'm still working. Today I called to set up my short term disability and after establishing that I need it for the birth of a child, the lady first asked me to predict when the baby would be born (date of hospitalization and last day of work) and then asked if my illness/injury was work related and/or accidental. Which I suppose some people could accidentally get knocked up at work.
Dream Dinners update - we tried 2 of the dream dinners that I made and froze and both were pretty tasty. We decided to wait on trying any others until the baby comes though.
Nursery Progress - Clint purchased a paint gun last weekend and was able to paint most of the maroon parts of the bed. He has khaki to go and some touch ups and we're set for that. Kathleen helped me make a slip cover for the pleather rocking chair. It still needs a tie back or a clip or something in the back, but it looks good - and I have mad estimating skilz - cause we only had about 18 inches leftover from the material I bought.
Green Jello - Scarlett gets jealous when we start doing anything baby related. She had a field day with the washing of all of Landon's clothes...must sit in laps. She's checking that bassinet from time to time to see if there's anything new in there.
Living room furniture - the sofa was delivered as scheduled and apparently they unwrap the chairs at the warehouse and not the sofa, because twice we've sent the chairs back, since they're damaged by the time they get here.
I'm still working. Today I called to set up my short term disability and after establishing that I need it for the birth of a child, the lady first asked me to predict when the baby would be born (date of hospitalization and last day of work) and then asked if my illness/injury was work related and/or accidental. Which I suppose some people could accidentally get knocked up at work.
Dream Dinners update - we tried 2 of the dream dinners that I made and froze and both were pretty tasty. We decided to wait on trying any others until the baby comes though.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Feast and Famine
So, last week I posted 5 posts right in a row. You couldn’t shut me up. This week I can barely get 2 words out.
The hormones have clearly set in. On Thursday a strawberry milkshake made me cry. I ordered chocolate, and to hide strawberry underneath and ruin half my milkshake is just inexcusable. Also – when I say I’m done with doing something, I mean I’m done. Don’t push me for another minute, I’m done, I told you that. And thinking of something else for me to do that requires work or movement or stair climbing, well – that’s not cool either. And I might just have a tantrum if you’re not careful.
I spent a couple hours on Saturday at Dream Dinners with Cindy. While we might not be quite ready for this baby, at least our freezer is. We haven’t tried any of our meals yet, but they all looked and smelled really good while I was preparing them. As soon as we eat them, I’m going to decide on whether to make that a normal thing. I think the best part of the whole thing is that I didn’t have to chop anything, and everything I needed for each recipe was right there.
The hormones have clearly set in. On Thursday a strawberry milkshake made me cry. I ordered chocolate, and to hide strawberry underneath and ruin half my milkshake is just inexcusable. Also – when I say I’m done with doing something, I mean I’m done. Don’t push me for another minute, I’m done, I told you that. And thinking of something else for me to do that requires work or movement or stair climbing, well – that’s not cool either. And I might just have a tantrum if you’re not careful.
I spent a couple hours on Saturday at Dream Dinners with Cindy. While we might not be quite ready for this baby, at least our freezer is. We haven’t tried any of our meals yet, but they all looked and smelled really good while I was preparing them. As soon as we eat them, I’m going to decide on whether to make that a normal thing. I think the best part of the whole thing is that I didn’t have to chop anything, and everything I needed for each recipe was right there.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Barring any strange circumstances
When it’s time to go to the hospital – people will be called. Not before then – I do not need people checking up on me while I’m laboring at home, thank you very much.
We are pre-registered, so we will arrive at the hospital and go directly to the labor and delivery floor (3rd floor). If you come in the very front entrance of the hospital and take a right, follow that hall around (a couple turns) you will “T” into elevators, and go to the 3rd floor. There is a waiting room just outside those elevators on that floor. Clint will check that waiting room from time to time – as you cannot get back into L&D without a visitor pass.
We will settle into the first room, where I am only allowed 3 visitors at a time (including Clint). I can’t imagine wanting to see anyone but Clint at that point, but we’ll see how that goes – and at some point, I KNOW I will not want anyone in there but Clint. I also won’t want him out of my sight for very long, so the waiting room is about as far as he’s going to get to go, I’ll put him on a leash if I have to.
I will be in the first room for labor, delivery, and recovery. After the baby is born, I will stay in that room with him for 1 ½ - 2 hours, and then they will move me to the post partum room and him to the transition nursery – where he will get his tests done, and a bath. He will be under a nurse’s care from birth (including the 1 ½ -2 hours with me) until he’s 4 hours old, and then he can be brought to my room. The transition nursery is on the 4th floor and has gray trimmed windows. You will be able to see him through the windows. Any cheek pinching and commencing of spoiling will have to wait until he is brought to my room.
Things you should know if you’re coming to visit us at the hospital:
- Parking costs money
- There is valet parking available
- The cafeteria only takes cash
- The waiting room is small (and on Saturday it was crowded)
- If you make a single peep about when I’m going to have the next one, I will throw you out a window
Childbirth class
This past Saturday we signed up for the fast track childbirth class…what a bummer when we discovered that taking the fast track child birth class does not insure you a fast track child birth, but just that the class is fast track. When I win the lottery, if I ever feel the need to give a donation to a hospital I think I might donate 20 recliners for the child birth classes.
The packet said to take the class by your 36th week – which ours is fast approaching, so I thought we might be the most pregnant couple there, but as it turns out, there were a quite a few women due a week or so before me. And the teacher said she normally has at least one who is due next week. We didn’t have any of those. No one was due at least until September, and one as late as November. Most falling in September and October.
Lots of info was presented – mostly stuff we knew. We got some helpful suggestions, and a justification for my package of popsicles purchased on Sunday. We found out that the hospital breakfast is cheap, if bland. The valet service is 24 hours. I need 2 bags packed. I will change rooms once. Clint had a hard time concentrating on the breathing portion, and dubbed it “dyslexic donkey breathing.” (Hah-hee, hah-hee, hah-hee, hah-hee)
And, at least I know if I say something like “That doesn’t even look like a baby.” My quote will not forever be memorialized in film for all child birth class people to see. There will be NO camera equipment of any kind in that room.
Oh and one more lesson learned…do not attend an 8 hour class after having had a cyst removed from your back on the day prior – it’s just plain uncomfortable.
The packet said to take the class by your 36th week – which ours is fast approaching, so I thought we might be the most pregnant couple there, but as it turns out, there were a quite a few women due a week or so before me. And the teacher said she normally has at least one who is due next week. We didn’t have any of those. No one was due at least until September, and one as late as November. Most falling in September and October.
Lots of info was presented – mostly stuff we knew. We got some helpful suggestions, and a justification for my package of popsicles purchased on Sunday. We found out that the hospital breakfast is cheap, if bland. The valet service is 24 hours. I need 2 bags packed. I will change rooms once. Clint had a hard time concentrating on the breathing portion, and dubbed it “dyslexic donkey breathing.” (Hah-hee, hah-hee, hah-hee, hah-hee)
And, at least I know if I say something like “That doesn’t even look like a baby.” My quote will not forever be memorialized in film for all child birth class people to see. There will be NO camera equipment of any kind in that room.
Oh and one more lesson learned…do not attend an 8 hour class after having had a cyst removed from your back on the day prior – it’s just plain uncomfortable.
Belly Shot – Week 35
What? You thought I would remember/have the energy to actually give a weekly belly shot? HAHAHAHAHA.
The latest Belly Shot is on Flickr.
The latest Belly Shot is on Flickr.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Enter Miserable, Stage Left.
Where did my weekend go? Oh that’s right – I managed to pile 10,000 things in one weekend, thereby creating the illusion of never actually getting a weekend.
My baby shower was great – I got to see a lot of people I hadn’t seen in quite a while. I brought my camera in and set it down and never touched it again…so I have no pictures. We now have a great store of diapers…I’m told the 1,325,458 diapers we got might last us a week!
And then…I got asked the question…“Are you miserable yet?” WHY HAVE I NOT LEARNED MY LESSON YET! When asked if I am experiencing something horrific, I say “Nope, not yet.” And within 2 days BOOM…there it is. So thanks to my big yapper – I am now miserable.
I am winded by climbing one flight of stairs. Not even the industrial flight at work – the one at home. So much so, that I don’t go upstairs if I can avoid it. I had to physically recover from going upstairs this morning because someone we know took her crate toy up to the guest bed to play with, and I can’t leave her in her crate all day without a toy. It took me twice as long as normal to walk in to my office from my truck today, and then about 20 minutes and a cool paper towel on my forehead to recover from that. It’s like I have the flu or something, but I don’t have a fever or congestion…just the fatigue. Up until this point I did not see the point of those “Expecting Mom” parking spaces – I do now and I will be taking full advantage of them.
At least I intend to take full advantage of them. As I pulled up to Krogers this afternoon, the expectant mom space was occupied, and I pulled around to try and find another close space and I saw the person getting into the car, and I thought I'd just whip around and get it on my next lap. I was beat by a man who parked there. I hope he has a really hard labor!
My baby shower was great – I got to see a lot of people I hadn’t seen in quite a while. I brought my camera in and set it down and never touched it again…so I have no pictures. We now have a great store of diapers…I’m told the 1,325,458 diapers we got might last us a week!
And then…I got asked the question…“Are you miserable yet?” WHY HAVE I NOT LEARNED MY LESSON YET! When asked if I am experiencing something horrific, I say “Nope, not yet.” And within 2 days BOOM…there it is. So thanks to my big yapper – I am now miserable.
I am winded by climbing one flight of stairs. Not even the industrial flight at work – the one at home. So much so, that I don’t go upstairs if I can avoid it. I had to physically recover from going upstairs this morning because someone we know took her crate toy up to the guest bed to play with, and I can’t leave her in her crate all day without a toy. It took me twice as long as normal to walk in to my office from my truck today, and then about 20 minutes and a cool paper towel on my forehead to recover from that. It’s like I have the flu or something, but I don’t have a fever or congestion…just the fatigue. Up until this point I did not see the point of those “Expecting Mom” parking spaces – I do now and I will be taking full advantage of them.
At least I intend to take full advantage of them. As I pulled up to Krogers this afternoon, the expectant mom space was occupied, and I pulled around to try and find another close space and I saw the person getting into the car, and I thought I'd just whip around and get it on my next lap. I was beat by a man who parked there. I hope he has a really hard labor!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Showers, Showers, Everywhere.
Events that go smoothly do not good blogging fodder make. Not that I wanted it to go any other way. I had a great family baby shower this past Saturday. The food was great, and the company was great. I have uploaded pictures to Flickr. Unfortunately I only have pictures of Clinton and me opening presents – so if you happen to have attended and have any pictures of other people who were there, I’d like to get those and you can email them to me at the address in the sidebar (I will not publish them publicly unless given permission to do so.)
I have gone from a completely unprepared feeling, because we had nothing baby related to speak of, to feeling a little bit like a baby store puked in our living room. Seriously though, we got lots of good stuff, and I can honestly think of only 2-3 things I would go buy at this point, before he makes his first appearance – and with the gift cards, we did, in a way, get those things too. I am now looking more forward to having the crib painted so that I will have a place to put some of this stuff away. Oh, what’s that? A tropical disturbance in the gulf bringing lots and lots of rain all this week foiling any painting plans that might have been? Thanks, universe! Ahh, well – it will get done one day.
I have gone from a completely unprepared feeling, because we had nothing baby related to speak of, to feeling a little bit like a baby store puked in our living room. Seriously though, we got lots of good stuff, and I can honestly think of only 2-3 things I would go buy at this point, before he makes his first appearance – and with the gift cards, we did, in a way, get those things too. I am now looking more forward to having the crib painted so that I will have a place to put some of this stuff away. Oh, what’s that? A tropical disturbance in the gulf bringing lots and lots of rain all this week foiling any painting plans that might have been? Thanks, universe! Ahh, well – it will get done one day.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Belly Shot 30
(Blogger's uploading photo thing isn't working, so you'll have to click on the link and it will take you to Flickr)
Week 30.
I have roughly 2 months to go.
I also had to buy new pants this week. I guess the tags were pretty serious when they said they were good through the second trimester. And I don't suppose hiking your pants up every 10 minutes lest they fall off is a sign of a good fit.
We went to JC Penney's and got a pair of denim capris and a couple more work shirts for me, and then headed on to Motherhood Maternity. I'm not a huge fan of Motherhood Maternity - they seem kind of pricey. But since none of the other department stores in our mall carry maternity clothes I didn't have much of a choice.
Motherhood Maternity could use some doors for their fitting rooms, the heavy curtains they have seemed fine until a 3 or 4 year old of someone else's walked in on me...not once, not twice, but 4 times. Each time she came in I said "Excuse me!" Clint told her "You're in the wrong dressing room." And finally, what got her away from me was a stern "Seriously, go find your mother!" (Who was standing around out in the store eating ice cream.) At least I wasn't really exposed.
The good news is that now I have 2 more pair of pants that should last me through the end of this pregnancy, and I'm actually quite happy with the pair that has this on the bottom of one leg.
Week 30.
I have roughly 2 months to go.
I also had to buy new pants this week. I guess the tags were pretty serious when they said they were good through the second trimester. And I don't suppose hiking your pants up every 10 minutes lest they fall off is a sign of a good fit.
We went to JC Penney's and got a pair of denim capris and a couple more work shirts for me, and then headed on to Motherhood Maternity. I'm not a huge fan of Motherhood Maternity - they seem kind of pricey. But since none of the other department stores in our mall carry maternity clothes I didn't have much of a choice.
Motherhood Maternity could use some doors for their fitting rooms, the heavy curtains they have seemed fine until a 3 or 4 year old of someone else's walked in on me...not once, not twice, but 4 times. Each time she came in I said "Excuse me!" Clint told her "You're in the wrong dressing room." And finally, what got her away from me was a stern "Seriously, go find your mother!" (Who was standing around out in the store eating ice cream.) At least I wasn't really exposed.
The good news is that now I have 2 more pair of pants that should last me through the end of this pregnancy, and I'm actually quite happy with the pair that has this on the bottom of one leg.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Grosscola!
I had my 1-hour glucose tolerance test today.
There was a moment of freak out in the office after I peed in the cup. They didn't tell me what was going on, but they asked me what I had for lunch. There was much shuffling around of things and back and forth trips to the bathroom by the nurse and lab tech. I asked what was going on and they said their preliminary test strips said I might have a bladder infection so they were going to do a culture. If it was positive, they would call me, and if it wasn't, then they wouldn't. I said, "Huh, you'd have thought I would have felt that." Then they discovered that the next lady also had a bladder infection - with no symptoms. The strips had gone bad. No bladder infection for me. Yay!
I drank the Glucola - which tasted like Sunkist - with too much sugar in it. It's not something I would like to be able to buy in the grocery store or anything, but it really wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. Clint's favorite nurse told me that the lab lady had given me the worst tasting of the two and that she wouldn't have done that to me. This was the first appointment I went to without him and she asked where he was.
The doctor filled out Clinton's paper work so that he can take sick time when the baby comes instead of vacation.
I confirmed our decision to use Dr. Gmoser for a pediatrician (I also have a call into his office to get that paperwork started.) She said she really liked that group, so that makes me feel even more confident in our decision.
I told her we were not going to do the cord blood registry and she said there is a program where we could donate the cord blood to MD Anderson, so we're going to do that. Actually, all along I wanted to donate it more than store it, so that we could help further the science, so that worked out perfectly.
She said she wanted us to take a Lamaze class, and that she didn't care which one or where, or even if we took it at the Woman's Hospital. We're still going to go with the Woman's Hospital one though, because they also give us a hospital tour, and I think that may be pretty beneficial.
She measured my belly...I can't remember that outcome. I heard the heartbeat. She felt around and determined him to be head down. I gave 2 tubes of blood to the lady who gave me the gross drink and I headed out the door.
I go back in 2 weeks.
There was a moment of freak out in the office after I peed in the cup. They didn't tell me what was going on, but they asked me what I had for lunch. There was much shuffling around of things and back and forth trips to the bathroom by the nurse and lab tech. I asked what was going on and they said their preliminary test strips said I might have a bladder infection so they were going to do a culture. If it was positive, they would call me, and if it wasn't, then they wouldn't. I said, "Huh, you'd have thought I would have felt that." Then they discovered that the next lady also had a bladder infection - with no symptoms. The strips had gone bad. No bladder infection for me. Yay!
I drank the Glucola - which tasted like Sunkist - with too much sugar in it. It's not something I would like to be able to buy in the grocery store or anything, but it really wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. Clint's favorite nurse told me that the lab lady had given me the worst tasting of the two and that she wouldn't have done that to me. This was the first appointment I went to without him and she asked where he was.
The doctor filled out Clinton's paper work so that he can take sick time when the baby comes instead of vacation.
I confirmed our decision to use Dr. Gmoser for a pediatrician (I also have a call into his office to get that paperwork started.) She said she really liked that group, so that makes me feel even more confident in our decision.
I told her we were not going to do the cord blood registry and she said there is a program where we could donate the cord blood to MD Anderson, so we're going to do that. Actually, all along I wanted to donate it more than store it, so that we could help further the science, so that worked out perfectly.
She said she wanted us to take a Lamaze class, and that she didn't care which one or where, or even if we took it at the Woman's Hospital. We're still going to go with the Woman's Hospital one though, because they also give us a hospital tour, and I think that may be pretty beneficial.
She measured my belly...I can't remember that outcome. I heard the heartbeat. She felt around and determined him to be head down. I gave 2 tubes of blood to the lady who gave me the gross drink and I headed out the door.
I go back in 2 weeks.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Belly Shot 29
One of the things a lot of preggo bloggers seem to do is post a weekly pic of their belly. I took one at 17 weeks, and then promptly vetoed that idea completely. However, I am now 29 weeks along and I can actually say I feel like I look pregnant and not just chubby. I would say I don't mind the picture, but i think you can tell from the look on my face, that I'm not completely thrilled by the whole idea. At any rate, here we go.
Week 29 Belly Shot
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Excuse me, where is the fire extinguisher?
When you get pregnant, everyone tells you about the morning sickness and asks you about the morning sickness, and they keep doing it until you deliver I guess. I mean, I’ve made it this far and people are still asking me. I don’t want to talk about morning sickness…mine wasn’t that bad and apparently that’s not a good enough reason to stop talking about it.
What they fail to tell you about is the heartburn. Because, seriously? This is worse than puking. I’d rather be sick for 9 months than face the next 3 months of this. Originally – like 3 months ago, I was able to control the heartburn by staying away from carbonated drinks…and then God laughed at me and said that chocolate shall also cause me heartburn, I won’t give up chocolate, but I know the consequences, so I was prepared for that. And then God laughed at me again…and now everything gives me heartburn. DON’T TELL ME TO TAKE TUMS!!!!!!!! I take Tums. I take about 20 each day. I have them in a baggie in my purse and every once in a while I pull the baggie out and have a 2 Tums or 3 Tums snack. I got what I consider the best tasting ones (berry flavored). I never noticed this before, probably because I never took more than 3 Tums in any given week before, but they leave an awful dry, metallic taste in your mouth…oh but if you wash that away with water? The taste either gets worse or the Tums are no longer doing their job, and I have to take more – it’s a vicious cycle. It kept me up all night Friday night and hurt so bad Sunday night that I cried. I sat up in bed after Clint gave me conflicting instructions about what he thought I should do about it and I cried.
There’s an old wives tale that says heartburn is the sign that the baby will have lots of hair…I don’t generally subscribe to old wives tales (we have a heart beat that says Landon is a girl, but you’ve seen the pictures…clearly he’s not a girl.) He better have a head full of hair and maybe one of those man back hair sweaters when he comes out, because this is just ridiculous.
What they fail to tell you about is the heartburn. Because, seriously? This is worse than puking. I’d rather be sick for 9 months than face the next 3 months of this. Originally – like 3 months ago, I was able to control the heartburn by staying away from carbonated drinks…and then God laughed at me and said that chocolate shall also cause me heartburn, I won’t give up chocolate, but I know the consequences, so I was prepared for that. And then God laughed at me again…and now everything gives me heartburn. DON’T TELL ME TO TAKE TUMS!!!!!!!! I take Tums. I take about 20 each day. I have them in a baggie in my purse and every once in a while I pull the baggie out and have a 2 Tums or 3 Tums snack. I got what I consider the best tasting ones (berry flavored). I never noticed this before, probably because I never took more than 3 Tums in any given week before, but they leave an awful dry, metallic taste in your mouth…oh but if you wash that away with water? The taste either gets worse or the Tums are no longer doing their job, and I have to take more – it’s a vicious cycle. It kept me up all night Friday night and hurt so bad Sunday night that I cried. I sat up in bed after Clint gave me conflicting instructions about what he thought I should do about it and I cried.
There’s an old wives tale that says heartburn is the sign that the baby will have lots of hair…I don’t generally subscribe to old wives tales (we have a heart beat that says Landon is a girl, but you’ve seen the pictures…clearly he’s not a girl.) He better have a head full of hair and maybe one of those man back hair sweaters when he comes out, because this is just ridiculous.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Corpse Fairies
My doctor’s office at her Fannin location has 3 small rooms and one big room. The big room has the ultrasound machine in it, and the chair for the Dad. All the other rooms are tiny and have the examining table, a little changing area, and are basically walk in closets – but have the things you expect to see in a room at the doctor’s office….except for the art. I don’t mean to say that there aren’t the required pictures on the wall of various women’s insides and gestational pictures of fetuses to show you how in week 5 you have a lima bean and in week 18 you have a mango. Which, what’s with the food descriptions for sizes when it comes to fetuses?
But these, seem out of place. (The pictures are not the best - because they're camera phone pictures, and I will try and remember to bring our real camera to my next appointment at the Fannin Office)
But these, seem out of place. (The pictures are not the best - because they're camera phone pictures, and I will try and remember to bring our real camera to my next appointment at the Fannin Office)
We can't really tell if they're corpse fairies or angels, I mean, they have halos, but they also have wands.
Some seems to be practicing their martial arts.
Some just look like they're falling.
And hanging beside the corpse fairy mobile...a fat ballerina in a sparkly leotard.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Baby Update
We arrived today for our appointment, and the nurse tried to tell Clinton that they had not fixed the ultrasound machine. He tried to tell her that he would put her in a headlock. I don’t think either one believed the other.
All is well in whoville.
We were also able to confirm boyhood. Actually the technician said, “If it’s a girl, she has some major problems.” And then of course picked on Clint about needing his glasses checked since he couldn’t see what we saw last time, but he did see it this time.
But we got a few pics to share. The numbers on the bottom – for those not “in the know”
HR – heart rate – 153 bpm
BPD – biparietal diameter (skull diameter front to back) – 6.02 cm
HC – head circumference – 22.5 cm
FL – femur length – 4.45 cm
AC – abdominal circumference – 21.3 cm
He measured 24 weeks plus 4 or 5 days for everything except abdominal circumference (he’s a chubby week ahead there). Our estimated date of delivery is now Sept 23.
So – we have a face.
We have a spine.
And we have confirmed boy parts.
We are pre-registering with the hospital on Friday. I have a glucose test in 4 weeks. And at 28 weeks (as of July 4th) I am “grounded.” I am not to leave the area (defined as an hour or so away) until after giving birth.
All is well in whoville.
We were also able to confirm boyhood. Actually the technician said, “If it’s a girl, she has some major problems.” And then of course picked on Clint about needing his glasses checked since he couldn’t see what we saw last time, but he did see it this time.
But we got a few pics to share. The numbers on the bottom – for those not “in the know”
HR – heart rate – 153 bpm
BPD – biparietal diameter (skull diameter front to back) – 6.02 cm
HC – head circumference – 22.5 cm
FL – femur length – 4.45 cm
AC – abdominal circumference – 21.3 cm
He measured 24 weeks plus 4 or 5 days for everything except abdominal circumference (he’s a chubby week ahead there). Our estimated date of delivery is now Sept 23.
So – we have a face.
We have a spine.
And we have confirmed boy parts.
We are pre-registering with the hospital on Friday. I have a glucose test in 4 weeks. And at 28 weeks (as of July 4th) I am “grounded.” I am not to leave the area (defined as an hour or so away) until after giving birth.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Flickr and nursery progress
I joined Flickr to post pictures. I just have the base, free, kind of account, so I can only upload so many to that site, but the link is here and will have a few more pictures than what I post on here.
Head on over and check out the nursery progress. Actually they're mostly "before" pictures, since the only real progress we've made is to clean out that room.
Head on over and check out the nursery progress. Actually they're mostly "before" pictures, since the only real progress we've made is to clean out that room.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Standing on the street corner with my bucket
We registered this week for baby stuff. It felt a little reminiscent of when we registered for our wedding. Except – you know – we knew what to expect when we got married – life does not change that drastically when you live together before getting married. We did not know what we needed to register for this baby. Yes we need a car seat, Yes we need a pack-n-play/bassinet combo. Yes, we need a high chair – but really – we don’t need it until he’s older. Yes we need a stroller. Yes we need sheets. Bottles? What kind? How many? We don’t know. I had my friend Stephanie come up on Sunday and she was a tremendous help. She has 2 little ones, one 14 months and the other 3 years old – he’ll be 4 in October.
She graciously told us what she thought were good buys and what she thought wasn’t necessary. Things they will give us in the hospital and therefore we do not need to register for. Things that she found useful and things she found completely useless.
We managed to create quite a registry between the 2 stores, and I’m going to guess that not much of it is bought, because it’s expensive stuff or it’s just plain boring.
The thing is that I feel very much like I’m just begging. Plain old, stand under the overpass and harass the people who drive by for money begging. And the things we put on the registry are just unimaginably expensive - and who in their right mind would buy me a $300 breast pump?
She graciously told us what she thought were good buys and what she thought wasn’t necessary. Things they will give us in the hospital and therefore we do not need to register for. Things that she found useful and things she found completely useless.
We managed to create quite a registry between the 2 stores, and I’m going to guess that not much of it is bought, because it’s expensive stuff or it’s just plain boring.
The thing is that I feel very much like I’m just begging. Plain old, stand under the overpass and harass the people who drive by for money begging. And the things we put on the registry are just unimaginably expensive - and who in their right mind would buy me a $300 breast pump?
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Playing Cards
I don’t often play the pregnancy card. When I do, it’s because I know something is either beyond my limitations or it could be dangerous for the fetus.
Discussions around our house however have become more frequent regarding my use of the pregnancy card, and I often, jokingly flash it – but I’m not really serious about it. I have never been and don’t want to be a damsel in distress.
Things I have been accused of “playing the pregnancy card” for, but I have good reason not to do them:
- Lifting heavy objects – and generally – I try to pick something up first – I do know my limitations and when I feel like I would be straining I stop and call for help.
- Picking up dog poo in the backyard – this is a sore point for Clint – as he believes only cat poo is the enemy, but I seriously don’t think that my handling feces of any kind could possibly be good for the baby – and I’m sure I could back that up by clicking a few links on-line – but it’s my own instinct that I should not be handling feces of any kind.
- Walking slower – my muscles are not holding like they used to and my abdomen hurts sharply if I walk too fast.
I feel like I might be missing out on an opportunity here, so I have decided that I need to come up with a pregnancy card. It will be similar in size to those joke cards they have at Spencer’s, like a credit card, and it will work miraculously as a get out of jail free card, only you should not surrender your pregnancy card to anyone until you give birth, and at that time you will trade your “Pregnancy” card in for a “Post Partum” card.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
We wouldn't have known
Yesterday was my 3rd OB visit. It was supposed to be in town, but because my Dr. is having surgery next week, they moved all her appointments to her main office. This was an inconvenience, only until at this visit it worked to our advantage.
The appointment was at 4:30 and we arrived a little early and headed in. It was supposed to be a listen and measure appointment. No biggie – not a lot of bells and whistles. I weighed, I have normal calm blood pressure, I peed in a cup. And we waited in a small room – we hadn’t been put in before with a weird mobile of what Clint could only describe as corpse-like angels or fairies and one fat lady ballerina hanging from the ceiling. This is why I’m supposed to be carrying my camera at all times – maybe at my next visit I can snap a photo of it.
So we sit and wait and we talk about how we’re only going to hear the heartbeat and that we need to find the back-up literature that says the whole fast heartbeat = girl is an old wives tale, just in case – cause we don’t want anyone to get all excited about it being a girl or boy and it’s the other and they get all upset and have a big pile of stuff to give us that won’t go with our baby.
And the Dr. comes in and we talk about how we’re not going to do the screening for the 4 chemicals because there’s a very high chance for a false positive and it’s just not worth the worry. And how I forgot the form in the car and she says she has forms, but then that gets dropped altogether when she says today we’re just going to listen to the babies heartbeat with the Doppler. And I unbutton my pants and pull them down a little and she starts working on trying to find the heartbeat. She finds mine but no baby. She tries for about 30 seconds before giving up and sending us to the ultrasound room to have her technician find it. Clint has a worried look on his face, like something is terribly wrong. He does that though – so I don’t pay much mind to it.
We walk out and I go lay down in the ultrasound room. The technician turns the light off and had me pull my pants down slightly. She has Clint play with the chair to get my legs up – which he likes to do. She begins the ultrasound and up pops the baby…it’s moving and lovely and she shows the heart pumping. Clint asks how fast – and she shows a weird screen with a bunch of lines and somehow knows it’s 154 bpm. This is a good healthy heartbeat. And by that Old Wive’s Tale – it’s a girl.
So Clint asks if we can tell if it’s a boy or a girl or if it’s too early. And the technician says it may be a little early – but she will certainly look. So she looks and look s and looks. We see the baby scratch it’s head (it’s a thinker). We see it’s umbilical cord between it’s legs. We see it try to hid it’s parts from us by covering them with it’s hands (and modest too!) And FINALLY – she sees it. It’s a turtle. It’s boy parts. She explains to us what we’re seeing and that’s the picture I come home with. A picture of boy parts. In fact – the baby is not even wholly on the screen. I think about the awkwardness of my sending an email out to everyone with a picture of my son’s boy parts…but seriously – it looks like a turtle. And that did resolve itself by the fact that my stupid scanner at work is not really that great apparently and it got all pixelly and you can’t really even see the turtle. I scanned it in a few more times. You would think at a multimillion dollar company and a super expensive Xerox machine I could have gotten a better scan than on our $50 scanner….but this one’s better:
So the technician is cleaning up and Clint says “So are you the technician that’s always 100% right?” And she says she doesn’t like to brag, but “that’s what they say.” She also adds that it’s because she doesn’t say anything unless she sees it.
Clint is ecstatic. He had a rough day at work, but ever since we found out – he hasn’t been able to stop smiling. He probably smiled from the time we got home until he went to bed. We made a bunch of phone calls. And in a moment of silence one of us would say “Hey……we’re having a boy!” And it never got old.
I think I’ve finally connected. This is the first time I’ve really felt the excitement of this baby. Maybe now I can get off my butt and do something about getting his room ready.
The appointment was at 4:30 and we arrived a little early and headed in. It was supposed to be a listen and measure appointment. No biggie – not a lot of bells and whistles. I weighed, I have normal calm blood pressure, I peed in a cup. And we waited in a small room – we hadn’t been put in before with a weird mobile of what Clint could only describe as corpse-like angels or fairies and one fat lady ballerina hanging from the ceiling. This is why I’m supposed to be carrying my camera at all times – maybe at my next visit I can snap a photo of it.
So we sit and wait and we talk about how we’re only going to hear the heartbeat and that we need to find the back-up literature that says the whole fast heartbeat = girl is an old wives tale, just in case – cause we don’t want anyone to get all excited about it being a girl or boy and it’s the other and they get all upset and have a big pile of stuff to give us that won’t go with our baby.
And the Dr. comes in and we talk about how we’re not going to do the screening for the 4 chemicals because there’s a very high chance for a false positive and it’s just not worth the worry. And how I forgot the form in the car and she says she has forms, but then that gets dropped altogether when she says today we’re just going to listen to the babies heartbeat with the Doppler. And I unbutton my pants and pull them down a little and she starts working on trying to find the heartbeat. She finds mine but no baby. She tries for about 30 seconds before giving up and sending us to the ultrasound room to have her technician find it. Clint has a worried look on his face, like something is terribly wrong. He does that though – so I don’t pay much mind to it.
We walk out and I go lay down in the ultrasound room. The technician turns the light off and had me pull my pants down slightly. She has Clint play with the chair to get my legs up – which he likes to do. She begins the ultrasound and up pops the baby…it’s moving and lovely and she shows the heart pumping. Clint asks how fast – and she shows a weird screen with a bunch of lines and somehow knows it’s 154 bpm. This is a good healthy heartbeat. And by that Old Wive’s Tale – it’s a girl.
So Clint asks if we can tell if it’s a boy or a girl or if it’s too early. And the technician says it may be a little early – but she will certainly look. So she looks and look s and looks. We see the baby scratch it’s head (it’s a thinker). We see it’s umbilical cord between it’s legs. We see it try to hid it’s parts from us by covering them with it’s hands (and modest too!) And FINALLY – she sees it. It’s a turtle. It’s boy parts. She explains to us what we’re seeing and that’s the picture I come home with. A picture of boy parts. In fact – the baby is not even wholly on the screen. I think about the awkwardness of my sending an email out to everyone with a picture of my son’s boy parts…but seriously – it looks like a turtle. And that did resolve itself by the fact that my stupid scanner at work is not really that great apparently and it got all pixelly and you can’t really even see the turtle. I scanned it in a few more times. You would think at a multimillion dollar company and a super expensive Xerox machine I could have gotten a better scan than on our $50 scanner….but this one’s better:
So the technician is cleaning up and Clint says “So are you the technician that’s always 100% right?” And she says she doesn’t like to brag, but “that’s what they say.” She also adds that it’s because she doesn’t say anything unless she sees it.
Clint is ecstatic. He had a rough day at work, but ever since we found out – he hasn’t been able to stop smiling. He probably smiled from the time we got home until he went to bed. We made a bunch of phone calls. And in a moment of silence one of us would say “Hey……we’re having a boy!” And it never got old.
I think I’ve finally connected. This is the first time I’ve really felt the excitement of this baby. Maybe now I can get off my butt and do something about getting his room ready.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Late to the Party
So, we're late to the party as usual. Seems like everyone has a blog these days. As it turns out this is going to be a really big year for us.
We bought a house: (Technically we bought it in December, but we didn't move in until January)
We bought a house: (Technically we bought it in December, but we didn't move in until January)
On the morning of the first night we spent in our new house...we found out this:
It didn't really sink and Clint didn't believe it until we saw the Dr. on Feb 7 - and he saw this:
That 6mm blob is the baby.
And then at the next appointment we saw:
So the blog is about us....but mostly the blog is about the baby.
And we can't forget the obligatory cute shot of the big sisters:
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
