My parents are coming next weekend! That is the big news and focus in my life right now. I had a whole list of things I wanted to accomplish before their arrival, but I decided that it wasn't worth the anxiety. I generally tend to deal with some level of anxiety anyhow, although it's usually more social anxiety than anything. Pregnancy has increased this quite a bit, but I think I'm dealing with it better, for the most part. Not that there isn't still a part of me looking at my list, and the calendar, and then my list again :). Mostly it's just a matter of prioritizing, and realizing that if X, Y and Z don't get done it's not a big deal and life will go on. Brian will likely be heading out for training from the end of May to the beginning of July so I keep counting, 4 weeks until he leaves, then there are 2 weeks until I'm 36 weeks along. It's really not unusual to deliver that early, so that means we could theoretically have 6 more 'together' weeks to get things around! And less than a week for some things until my family arrives. I am so thankful that my parents are fantastic and won't freak out or be judgemental if things aren't perfect.
Of course, if the fan/light fixture we bought for the living room when they were here last in the fall still isn't up (cough) my mom WILL most likely give me a ton of crap. I can't climb that high on the ladder though - my balance is never great and it's downright horrendous right now! Really, that's the excuse. I'm not lazy, I'm just pregnant *beam*.
I got a few great packages from the 'rents this week too. Two were full of 'my' old baby stuff, including some of my beloved Sesame Street picture books. a blanket used by my dad when he was a baby, and some new copies of old favorite books too! I am a book lover, and I hope the Pea will be too.
At the end of this week (4/19) was my 4th OB visit. Turns out latex paints aren't really harmful at all, though he did suggest aiming for good ventilation just the same. You mean I have to help paint the nursery? Oh man! Apparently, in spite of the fact that I am surprised at the way my weight gain has suddenly increased, I'm right on track per the doc. He also measured me for the first time (pubic symphasis to fundus, which is the top of the uterus) and said the baby is growing great! Of course, I know at this point I should be about 1cm per week, and at the end of this week I should be 22-23cm. I am 24. I'm glad he's getting big and strong, but boy do I hope I don't have to birth a 10lb baby at the end of this whole thing! We heard his heart, it's going strong. And I got a script for some heartburn meds because holy smokes do I have the acid reflux all of a sudden! It's really helping.
No major new symptoms other than that. The baby is officially kicking hard enough for it to be easily visible, even when Brian's halfway across the room. I can't wait for my mom and dad to come feel all the bounciness!
Stats:
Weight - Prepregnancy +14 (gulp)
Heartrate of the Pea: 155
Symphasis to Fundus Measurement: 24cm
Things left to do to get the nursery and house ready: LOTS!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
Week 20 and 21: March 30-April 12, 2007
What a great deal, two weeks for one!
Week 20 was a pretty big thing because it is the official halway point. I keep wavering between like, "Oh my gosh I can't believe I'm halfway through," "I am so glad I'm halfway through because I can't wait to meet him," and "I can't be halfway through - I am not ready!" I think the latter tends to get the most 'airtime' though. I keep reminding myself that there is very little we actually need for the baby right at first, and I really do have like over 4 months to go. I think it's just that these first months have gone really fast, especially in retrospect. Everyone keeps telling me to just wait, months 8 and 9 seem like an eternity, which I imagine is true.
At this point, I just feel like there's a ton to do. The nursery is still full of 'guest room' furniture, and the room which will be the new guest room is full of my craft/office stuff, and the office which will now be shared is full of... well, Brian's stuff that I can't organize. He's been working ridiculous hours lately, and now it is hockey playoff season, so I'm thinking it will be a few weeks before we make much progess. And that's just fine - I'm not having any pregnancy induced anxiety at all, nope! That is a figment of your imagination. :)
We were quite social (for us) during week 20, including a squadron party and babysitting for friends so they could have a date night! Little Carter is 3 months old and Brian did such a great job with him! I know it's a lot harder when the baby is your own and breaks are few and far between, but even though the little guy was fussy Brian handled it really well. Maybe we can do this after all!
I continue to get bigger and bigger, though through week 20 it was mostly still an outward growth of belly only. At the aforementioned squadron party a friend asked if I was 6-7 months along and I replied with "barely 5 - today is the first day of the 5th month". Her reaction? "Oh my GOD you are HUGE!" Gee, thanks. I keep reminding myself that there is a whole new person in my body and it is just going to take up some space!
Weight: Pre-preganancy +9. Yep, that's probably 2 pounds in the last week. Yikes.
Week 21:
The main 'new' pregant thing this week is that I'm starting to gain weight other places. Brian keeps insisting it's in my head, but stuff is fitting different so I know it isn't true. The Belly (TM) is starting to grow sideways a bit, not just straight out, and there is a definite increase in my lovehandles/hips/thighs.
The baby is also starting to move differently. When he kicks it's a lot harder, and I can feel a lot more rolling and whole body moving. Hockey playoffs have officially started and when Brian whoops and hollers he gets pretty worked up. I think he may already be a RedWings fan (go Wings!).
I have officially registered for childbirth classes, which we'll be taking early due to some out of state training Brian has to attend in the middle of the summer. It's pretty crazy - our first class is in like 2 weeks.
And lastly I finally got my hair cut and pretty much all of the red is gone! It's hard to tell in the pics here, but on my doctor's recommendation I decided not to dye my hair during my 1st trimester, and it really needed to be dyed already when I found out about the pregnancy. Obviously I'm out of the 1st trimester now, but I decided to just let it grow out to natural. So, yesterday I got it trimmed and it's pretty much all gone! There are a few little hints here and there, but only if you look close. The cut is cute, but the color is very, very drab. It's even darker than it was before, though honestly I think the last time it was actually 'virgin' and free of dye was like, a decade ago! It's been blonde, but always after being dyed back to 'natural' and usually highlighted. I think this might last all of a week, and then I'm really going to have to go get highlights to brighten it up, because it's just horribly dull. Highlights are allowed, my doc says so, and they should be easier to maintain.
I also went shopping and got some cute maternity clothes! Most of what I have are T-shirts and tanktops - 'staples'. I got some flowy pretty shirts and two pairs of dress pants, plus a new larger pair of jeans to accomodate all the expanding. All in all, that means more pictures are in order because I think I'm pretty cute :)
Weight: Another 2 pounds this week, though it does fluctuate down a little depending on what I've eaten and what time of day and all that. So, at the high point I'm +11 now. The 2 pound a week thing will be not so good if it keeps up, but I'm supposed to be at +15-20 so I'm just making up for slow growth in trimester 1. Er... yeah. :)
Week 20 was a pretty big thing because it is the official halway point. I keep wavering between like, "Oh my gosh I can't believe I'm halfway through," "I am so glad I'm halfway through because I can't wait to meet him," and "I can't be halfway through - I am not ready!" I think the latter tends to get the most 'airtime' though. I keep reminding myself that there is very little we actually need for the baby right at first, and I really do have like over 4 months to go. I think it's just that these first months have gone really fast, especially in retrospect. Everyone keeps telling me to just wait, months 8 and 9 seem like an eternity, which I imagine is true.
At this point, I just feel like there's a ton to do. The nursery is still full of 'guest room' furniture, and the room which will be the new guest room is full of my craft/office stuff, and the office which will now be shared is full of... well, Brian's stuff that I can't organize. He's been working ridiculous hours lately, and now it is hockey playoff season, so I'm thinking it will be a few weeks before we make much progess. And that's just fine - I'm not having any pregnancy induced anxiety at all, nope! That is a figment of your imagination. :)
We were quite social (for us) during week 20, including a squadron party and babysitting for friends so they could have a date night! Little Carter is 3 months old and Brian did such a great job with him! I know it's a lot harder when the baby is your own and breaks are few and far between, but even though the little guy was fussy Brian handled it really well. Maybe we can do this after all!
I continue to get bigger and bigger, though through week 20 it was mostly still an outward growth of belly only. At the aforementioned squadron party a friend asked if I was 6-7 months along and I replied with "barely 5 - today is the first day of the 5th month". Her reaction? "Oh my GOD you are HUGE!" Gee, thanks. I keep reminding myself that there is a whole new person in my body and it is just going to take up some space!
Weight: Pre-preganancy +9. Yep, that's probably 2 pounds in the last week. Yikes.
Week 21:
The main 'new' pregant thing this week is that I'm starting to gain weight other places. Brian keeps insisting it's in my head, but stuff is fitting different so I know it isn't true. The Belly (TM) is starting to grow sideways a bit, not just straight out, and there is a definite increase in my lovehandles/hips/thighs.
The baby is also starting to move differently. When he kicks it's a lot harder, and I can feel a lot more rolling and whole body moving. Hockey playoffs have officially started and when Brian whoops and hollers he gets pretty worked up. I think he may already be a RedWings fan (go Wings!).
I have officially registered for childbirth classes, which we'll be taking early due to some out of state training Brian has to attend in the middle of the summer. It's pretty crazy - our first class is in like 2 weeks.
And lastly I finally got my hair cut and pretty much all of the red is gone! It's hard to tell in the pics here, but on my doctor's recommendation I decided not to dye my hair during my 1st trimester, and it really needed to be dyed already when I found out about the pregnancy. Obviously I'm out of the 1st trimester now, but I decided to just let it grow out to natural. So, yesterday I got it trimmed and it's pretty much all gone! There are a few little hints here and there, but only if you look close. The cut is cute, but the color is very, very drab. It's even darker than it was before, though honestly I think the last time it was actually 'virgin' and free of dye was like, a decade ago! It's been blonde, but always after being dyed back to 'natural' and usually highlighted. I think this might last all of a week, and then I'm really going to have to go get highlights to brighten it up, because it's just horribly dull. Highlights are allowed, my doc says so, and they should be easier to maintain.
I also went shopping and got some cute maternity clothes! Most of what I have are T-shirts and tanktops - 'staples'. I got some flowy pretty shirts and two pairs of dress pants, plus a new larger pair of jeans to accomodate all the expanding. All in all, that means more pictures are in order because I think I'm pretty cute :)
Weight: Another 2 pounds this week, though it does fluctuate down a little depending on what I've eaten and what time of day and all that. So, at the high point I'm +11 now. The 2 pound a week thing will be not so good if it keeps up, but I'm supposed to be at +15-20 so I'm just making up for slow growth in trimester 1. Er... yeah. :)
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Week 19: March 23-30
So I'm a little late on this post, what else is new? At least I am consistent!
I have now spent some time babysitting a 3 month old baby boy, and I guess babysitting is sort of like riding a bike. It was no big deal really, and I even managed to make a bottle one handed while holding a fussy baby. Score! Hopefully I won't need that particular skill for my own little one, as the plan is to breastfeed, but we'll see how that goes.
It has made me really anxious to meet my own baby boy. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am totally not ready or prepared for his actual arrival, and of course he's nowhere near baked, but somehow it made the whole thing a little more real. At any rate, now I am firmly picturing snuggling up with a little cuddly ball and chewing on chubby cheeks.
The realization that I'm almost halfway there has also spurred lots of shopping for baby stuff. I don't know when the last time you went into a Babies 'R' Us was, but there is a lot of stuff. So now I'm working on researching all the minutiae and trying to figure out what we actually want. Hopefully in the next week or so I'll be registered. Er, maybe in the next 2 weeks. My parents are coming for a visit in about a month (HOORAY) so I really need to get things at least organized enough that there is a guest room for them to sleep in. It'll happen, I'm not too worried.
The main difference this week is a sense that I really, really like being pregnant and I'll be sort of sad when I don't have this little person inside of me. He's kicking more often and harder now, especially when Brian's watching hockey. There was a day when he was quiet and I was a little worried, but he more than made up for it the next day.
I am also still getting bigger every day. I swear these pictures don't do it justice - I feel way bigger than this. Still, here they are - the belly pictures.
I have now spent some time babysitting a 3 month old baby boy, and I guess babysitting is sort of like riding a bike. It was no big deal really, and I even managed to make a bottle one handed while holding a fussy baby. Score! Hopefully I won't need that particular skill for my own little one, as the plan is to breastfeed, but we'll see how that goes.
It has made me really anxious to meet my own baby boy. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am totally not ready or prepared for his actual arrival, and of course he's nowhere near baked, but somehow it made the whole thing a little more real. At any rate, now I am firmly picturing snuggling up with a little cuddly ball and chewing on chubby cheeks.
The realization that I'm almost halfway there has also spurred lots of shopping for baby stuff. I don't know when the last time you went into a Babies 'R' Us was, but there is a lot of stuff. So now I'm working on researching all the minutiae and trying to figure out what we actually want. Hopefully in the next week or so I'll be registered. Er, maybe in the next 2 weeks. My parents are coming for a visit in about a month (HOORAY) so I really need to get things at least organized enough that there is a guest room for them to sleep in. It'll happen, I'm not too worried.
The main difference this week is a sense that I really, really like being pregnant and I'll be sort of sad when I don't have this little person inside of me. He's kicking more often and harder now, especially when Brian's watching hockey. There was a day when he was quiet and I was a little worried, but he more than made up for it the next day.
I am also still getting bigger every day. I swear these pictures don't do it justice - I feel way bigger than this. Still, here they are - the belly pictures.
Maybe if the pants were down a little more. I dunno', just trust me, it's huge.
And the stats: I have now officially gained about 6-7 pounds. Which is still about a pound a week in this trimester and right on track. Supposedly. :)
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