On Vacation and On Cloud Nine

As I write, I'm sitting on my couch in new PJ's that my folks got me for Christmas. They're soft green fleece with polka dots, and I can't seem to find a reason to get out of them, they're so nice. I've been off work since Dec. 20 and don't go back until next Wednesday, the 2nd, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. We had a wonderful time visiting our families over the holidays, and will be back with Andy's family this weekend for our nephew's baptism.

As far as pregnancy goes, I'm at 17 weeks today (yippee!!) and am feeling fine. I've been making it onto the treadmill most days as the doctor recommended, and have not been eating fruit. I've also cut way back on the amount of sweets I eat, though that's been a real challenge. I've stopped weighing myself at home; guess I figure that I'm doing all I can, and it's up to my doctor to monitor that part. I'm very much looking forward to my next appointment on Jan. 10 so we can find out the gender of this little person and flesh out our dreams a bit.

My family got me a couple of gift cards for Motherhood Maternity for Christmas, and we stopped by one while at some outlet malls the day after, on the way home. The outlet store was so much bigger and nicer than the one here at home, and I managed to find 3 great pairs of pants, including jeans! This is definitely reason to celebrate, let me tell you. I find cute shirts all the time that I like, but pants that fit, are the right length, and aren't obviously maternity pants are tough for me to find. I'll be having lunch today with a friend I haven't seen in a while, and I'm looking forward to showing them off.

My wonderful Andy took my advice this year and got me things to improve my ability to stay cozy, including a new robe, slippers, and some wonderful organic bath salts and lotions, which he's already put to use on my legs, which have started to ache a little over the past few days. I think I'll keep him:).

Guess that's about it for now. I'm off to go, um, nevermind, I think I'll stay right here on the couch a little while longer.

Acceptance

I'm feeling much better today than I did yesterday about the whole change in diet and exercise thing. I think I sort of needed someone to step in and say that yes, in fact, I DO need to be exercising, and that eating more food groups than just fruit, cereal, and sugar would be a good idea. Andy went to the grocery last night and stocked up on some veggies, whole grains, and flavored (but calorie-free) water for me, which makes it easier, and I've actually enjoyed the 3 meals I've had since then. A few years back, Andy and I did a low-carb diet for quite a while, and that's sort of what I'm modeling these new habits after, but with less rigidness. Since she didn't tell me I couldn't, I'll still probably have some form of chocolate every few days, but I just don't need it 3-4 times every day like I probably was.

I did 30 minutes on the treadmill yesterday, and about the same about during a walk at work today with my boss, and feel good about it! I'd sort of turned into a bit of a slug, as hard as it is to admit that, and this new way of doing this has kicked off what I needed to be doing anyways. I'm sure I'll have some challenges over the holidays in terms of sticking to the modified eating and exercise habits, but my plan is to not beat myself up if I eat something less than perfect from time to time, I just can't eat garbage ALL the time.

Ahh, acceptance; it's a wonderful thing.

Angus and I are "Beefing" Up!

I had my most recent doctor's appointment today (at about 15 1/2 weeks) and I've apparently gained 6 lbs. since the last one 4 weeks ago. I guess this isn't necessarily a horrible thing, but she said I don't want to gain this much EVERY 4 weeks. I also had a higher-than-usual blood pressure, though she doesn't think we need to do anything about this currently. The other sort of concerning thing was the sugar in my urine. I guess this means that getting gestational diabetes is possible, but they don't actually test for it at my doctor's office. She advised me to start eating less sugary cereals, etc., to cut out fruit and fruit juices entirely, and make sure I'm getting more exercise than I have been. I'm supposed to have some protein with every meal, and make most meals consist of protein, dairy, and vegetables, and make sure that all carbs I eat are whole grain. Seems bizarre to me that I shouldn't be eating fruit, but I guess it does have a lot of sugar in it. I've been pretty emotional today about the whole thing, though the doctor assured me that I'm still fine, and baby's still fine. These changes in diet and exercise should help with the weight gain and the sugary urine, so that's what I'll do. She listened to the heartbeat again today, which sounds just fine, and also did the "multiple marker screen," which will tell us if baby's at higher risk for Down's syndrome, spina bifida, etc.

In good news: they were able to tell me that our insurance covers these prenatal appointments 100%, though I still need to find out what sort of coverage will exist for the eventual hospital stay. Also, my doctor will be out of town in 4 weeks (when my next appointment was to be scheduled), so I'll go in 3 weeks instead! This is exciting, since they should be able to tell us the gender at that time. January 10, for any of you who are keeping track of this stuff, and you know I'll be posting something after that appointment!

Also (I suppose this is good news), I've finally committed to the idea of owning a few actual maternity items. I bought 2 shirts and 2 pairs of pants at Old Navy on Saturday, and am happy with them. Much easier to mess with than the tummy sleeve, though it's still being put to use regularly as well. I'm just thrilled to find pants that work in the belly area and in the length, since I'm a tad short, and most pants are too long, and petites are too short. I tried on a couple of items at the Motherhood Maternity store, and it was a little startling. They had one of those little pillow-belly things you velcro around your middle while trying on stuff, and honestly, I'm just not ready to buy things that will fit with that thing. I'm getting there, just at my own speed...

We'll be heading out of town on Thursday (the 20th) and will be gone through the holidays, and I can't wait! I think a change of scenery will be very nice, as will the chance to spend time with our families. If I don't get a chance to write again before that, happy holidays to everyone!!!

Ducks in a Row...

Ok, so it's really early to start planning this stuff, but I know I'm someone who feels better when I have a plan, or at least an idea, of what's going to happen. So, I had an appointment with our director of human resources today, and found out that because of when I'm scheduled to deliver (June 6-7), which falls at the very beginning of when I'm off work (off all of June and July every year), I won't have to start using sick time to get a paycheck until my contract year begins, August 1. By then, I'll have around 8 weeks of time accumulated that I can take, meaning that I don't have to come back to work until the very end of September, meaning that I could have as much as 4 months off with a paycheck after the kiddo gets here. I AM ECSTATIC!!! I love my job, and am definitely planning to return to it, but at the same time, I want as much (paid) time off as I can get, and want to enjoy every precious moment with our new little one before going back. I don't think I'll actually take quite 4 months; I'm thinking of going back part-time in mid-September to get me used to being back, and Angus used to the new babysitter.

Which, however, is another thing I've learned about today that I'm pleased about. Angus' regular sitter will be our close friend Brandie who stays home with her son and also watches a couple of other children. Not only do I totally trust and feel comfortable with her, but she'll be a bit more flexible about scheduling. For example, since I don't work in June and July, I don't want to have to pay a regular sitter during those months, and she's fine with that. I haven't totally wrapped my brain around the cost for this service yet, but I believe it to be in line with other places and again, the comfort of knowing he/she will be with someone I love and trust is worth it to me.

I told my boss my tentative plan today re: time off/possible return dates, and though she's a fantastic and caring boss, I think it'll take her a little while to wrap her mind around the implications for the rest of the office. This can't NOT be an inconvenience to them, especially since there are only 3 of us who share weekly on-call duties, and for close to 4 months that'll be split between 2 people, but I know I have to do what I feel is best for me and my family. I'm sure she'll come around, and it'll all work out, but when I first told her I was pregnant, she (for some reason) had in her mind that I'd likely be off for 6 weeks, so this new information has got to come as a bit of a shock.

I've been feeling pretty well, and have a lot more energy than I did early on (though still not so much that I'm exercising as much as I probably should be). I think I've gained maybe a pound or 2 in the last couple of weeks, and my appetite's definitely returned. My next appointment is this coming Monday, Dec. 17, and I'll be past the 15 week mark at that point. I swear, every Friday when I hit a new week, it feels like my birthday, I'm just so pleased. I found a cute little party dress to wear to a cocktail party that a co-worker is having this Saturday and for now, the combination of my tummy sleeve and looser-fitting pants seems to work with the slightly larger belly. Oh, AND Andy and I got a dishwasher last weekend, which I'm sure will come in quite handy in about 6 months (not that it's not already coming in handy, but seriously, does anyone else's run for 2 1/2 - 3 hours?! Crazy!) Life is good!

Update

I haven't gotten around to doing this in a while, and I think it's because I don't really have anything to bitch and complain about right now. I'm almost to 14 weeks (will be on Friday), and am feeling much better in general than I did early on. I feel a wave of nausea pass over me maybe once or twice a week, usually if I'm somewhere sort of stuffy (like Sunday Mass), but the main current complaint is just my lack of energy. I was doing an alcohol program for work last night, and though I do these several times a week, I noticed that 30 minutes or so into it, I became kind of short of breath, which is really annoying. I also had to walk up 2 flights of steps to the room where the program is; again, shouldn't be that big a deal, but I had to stop at the top to catch my breath before going into the room. Wierd.

These symptoms have kind of forced me to slow down and make different decisions than normal during this hectic time of year. I took off work yesterday and spent the day finishing my Christmas shopping since I know I don't really have the energy to battle the crowds during the evening and weekend hours, and this was the best idea! I will be making this an annual event for myself because it was just so nice to be able to take my time and really figure out what I wanted to get for everyone, instead of running into a store and finding the "best" thing I can in 10 minutes so I can get to the other 20 places on my list. I probably wondered around Borders for an hour yesterday and left with some really good gifts instead of things that would suffice but I'm not happy with. I know there will be additional things that come up, but I've finished shopping for everyone on my list, and it feels good.

Andy and I are still sticking to our plan to wait and get through the new year before we start to think about cleaning out the room that will be the nursery and planning how to furnish/decorate it. I don't imagine I'll be one of those women who buys everything in sight 6 months early. I know there are some things we need to have, but there's a lot of stuff that we don't need, and a lot that I know others will get for us during showers, etc. I can't imagine that it's in our unborn child's best interest to come into this world with parents that have just increased their financial obligations by splurging on crap that he/she will never really have a chance to appreciate or notice in the first place. We want to move out of our little house eventually, so the goal needs to be paying OFF bills, not creating new ones.

Oh! I forgot, the other sort of new thing is that I, for the first time, wore my tummy sleeve to work on Monday. I wore it with a pair of nice warm gray wool pants that I'd given up on weeks ago, and a long shirt to cover the belly region, and it was pretty nice! I noticed that the part that's more around my ribcage felt a little loose, so I checked it periodically to be sure that it wasn't getting rolled up in there, but I definitely think this was a good first clothing purchase, and I imagine it'll get more use in the next few weeks. For anyone who's interested, I lost around 5 lbs. early on when I was so sick and not eating well, and I seem to have gained about 1 lb. back so far. I know there's more to come in that area, and I'll definitely try to do whatever my doctor recommends.

I got a few books from the library the other day (including one for Andy about pregnancy/childbirth, etc.), and finished the first one last night. Called "Belly Laughs," by Jenny McCarthy. I can't remember who recommended this to me, but thank you, whoever you are! This was a funny, light-hearted look at pregnancy that I found quite helpful. It had never dawned on me that many women shit on the delivery table during labor, so that's another thing to add to the list of "shit" I'm not looking forward to, but in general it gave me an opportunity to go, "Ah, I'm not alone!" She, however, gained 60 lbs. during pregnancy, and since I'm not a celebrity with the luxury of a personal trainer and chef to get me back in shape after the birth, I hope I don't put on quite that much!

Ok, I guess I had more to say than I thought. In closing, I guess I'll mention that I'm so grateful to be at this stage in my pregnancy where I'm feeling pretty good, still looking pretty good, and have people that I know I can count on if I need something. I'll continue trying to relax and enjoy the wondrous experience of creating life, and will be sure to let you in on the highlights.