I'm back in the office this morning after a great weekend spent with family and friends. My primary baby shower (hosted by my sister Amanda) was held on Saturday at my friend Lindsay's house, and my parents were in town for it as well. It was SO NICE to spend time with so many of the people we love most, including a few friends who came from quite a distance to be there. We received many very thoughtful (and practical!) gifts from everyone, and I'll be starting on thank you cards soon.
I'm at just over 29 weeks now, and Rowan makes his presence known normally at least every couple of hours, which continues to be very reassuring. There's always still that small part of me that worries about something going wrong, though we have no indication that anything will. I suppose that's pretty normal, even for people who haven't lost pregnancies previously. I'm going to attempt to not worry unless there's something to worry about, which is tough, but this time is just too precious to waste with anxiety about that which I can't control anyways.
I have another doctor's appointment this morning, and though they're frequent (every 2 weeks!) they tend to take all of 5 minutes or so. I'll post something afterwards if there's anything new learned, but I anticipate she'll tell me I'm continuing to gain weight and grow this baby with no problems. I'm seeing the 3rd of 4 doctors in the practice, and will meet the 4th at the next appointment, then will be back to my regular doctor for weekly visits beginning in mid April.
I'll be traveling at the end of this week to Louisville for a 1-day conference, and then will probably be done traveling more than an hour or so away from home until Rowan arrives. There's just some security in being 10 minutes or less away from the hospital and my doctor, and I've done all the traveling I care to do for now. Being at home more often will allow me to focus on more preparation and also more relaxation, both of which are needed in these last 2 1/2 months or so.
I go back and forth between wanting him to just get here NOW so I can see and hold him and know he's fine, and wanting him to just stay right where he is, because I know I can pretty easily keep him safe there. Once he's unleashed on the world, I'm sure that will become more of a challenge. Not that I have any say in the matter at this point; he's going to arrive when he's ready to, and we'll handle whatever is thrown our way at that point. I have a feeling it's going to be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun, and I'm excited about every bit of it:).
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
One of those days...
You know, it's really difficult to pull off any semblance of grace or at least appearing "pulled together," when you're as big as a house and suffering from a case of the pregnancy dum-dums. This morning I had to let myself back in my house twice after attempting to leave because of forgetting things; the first time it was the car keys, second time it was my whole purse. Yeah. My purse. Somehow I tried to leave without it.
Then, within 5 minutes of getting to work, I spilt coffee down the front of my shirt. This isn't such a huge tragedy, since I'd already determined that it's actually a little too small and the button that protects the rest of the world from having to see my oversized boobs wasn't doing a fantastic job of staying done anyways. Luckily, I live about 5 minutes from work, so I left to go home and change. Then, when I walked out the door to head back, I realized I'd forgotten the other thing I was going to grab while at home: a paper cup to pour the remainder of my coffee into when I got back to work, since I figured I might have better luck drinking out of it than the leaky thermos.
Two days ago, I ripped a small hole into the belly of another maternity shirt by catching it on the corner of a file cabinet drawer in my office. My growing gut had betrayed me once again. It's not like I have an endless supply of clothing that actually fits, you know. I certainly don't have enough that I can afford to ruin two or 3 a week.
Sigh, the rest of the day's got to get better, right?
Then, within 5 minutes of getting to work, I spilt coffee down the front of my shirt. This isn't such a huge tragedy, since I'd already determined that it's actually a little too small and the button that protects the rest of the world from having to see my oversized boobs wasn't doing a fantastic job of staying done anyways. Luckily, I live about 5 minutes from work, so I left to go home and change. Then, when I walked out the door to head back, I realized I'd forgotten the other thing I was going to grab while at home: a paper cup to pour the remainder of my coffee into when I got back to work, since I figured I might have better luck drinking out of it than the leaky thermos.
Two days ago, I ripped a small hole into the belly of another maternity shirt by catching it on the corner of a file cabinet drawer in my office. My growing gut had betrayed me once again. It's not like I have an endless supply of clothing that actually fits, you know. I certainly don't have enough that I can afford to ruin two or 3 a week.
Sigh, the rest of the day's got to get better, right?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Long time no see...
Sorry I haven't gotten around to doing this in a while! My life has seemed too busy and crazy to put my thoughts together in a coherent fashion. No guarantees that this will necessarily be coherent, but I'll give it a shot.
Things have continued to go very well with the little one I'm growing. I'm at almost 28 weeks, and still just as healthy as can be. My appetite has gone from eating small meals frequently to eating large meals frequently, but luckily, a good friend gave me a box full of her old maternity clothes, so I don't have to wear my husband's t-shirts and sweatpants (at least not out of the house). I had my glucose test (for gestational diabetes) at my last appointment, almost 2 weeks ago, and it came back normal, which is great news!!! I fully expected to have to do the more lengthy test afterward and see the "diet nazi," as apparently she's called, but luckily, all is well in that area.
I have had a couple of recent traumas, however. No need to be concerned; they're just traumas in my own mind. I recently discovered, as I was getting out of the shower, STRETCH MARKS. The problem is that I can no longer actually see my lower belly region, but there they were, staring at me in the mirror when I got out. Creepy, crawly, textured, red stretchmarks, going from my nether-regions to an inch or 2 below my belly button. I know this is an area rarely seen, but still, I was really hoping to be one of the lucky few who avoids them. I've been putting on the Palmer's every day to try to avoid them, but obviously these efforts were unsuccessful. Sigh.
The other trauma has been my recent attempt at a new hairstyle. I know, I know; I've read the stuff that says, "don't get your haircut while you're pregnant," because any sort of a big change when you're as big as a house and hormonal is just a lousy idea, not to mention the fact that most of us have stronger, healthier, shinier hair than ever before during pregnancy, and it seems like a bad idea to screw around with that. Anyways, I did, first when we were in Indianapolis last week (will talk about that in a minute), and that was my first mistake.
I went to the mall in Castleton while Andy was in his training for work, and it was more exhausting than I anticipated. I had to sit down 3 different times to rest and eat in like a 2 hour span. And when I saw the little hair salon and the opportunity to sit down for a while and let someone else pamper me, well, I jumped all over it. Those of you who know and love me, please help me remember that in the future if a hairstylist utters the word "LAYERS" to me, that's my cue to run away as quickly as possible. It looked decent the first day, of course, since she styled it, but I'm a pretty low maintenance girl. If it involves more than putting a little gel or mousse on my hands and running them through my wet hair, I'm not interested. I don't even own a blowdryer or curling iron. So, the next day, it just looked like I had cute curly hair in the front, and a long mullet/mop in the back. I got this cut on Wednesday, and by Saturday, I was back in a hairstylist's chair in Evansville trying to get it fixed...
This time, I went in just thinking they would basically lop off the extra length in the back to try to even things up a little bit. However, I was lucky/unlucky (haven't decided yet) enough to land in the chair of a very stylish woman who's been cutting hair since 1971, and she had other ideas. To make an already lengthy story a tad shorter, she took off more length all the way around, and gave me BANGS. I haven't had bangs in at least a decade, and I am clueless as to what to do with them. Same thing as before; I looked gorgeous and hip the first night, which worked out well since we were at an employee recognition dinner for Andy's work, but the next day I was clueless as to what to do with this stuff on my head. Sunday was fine; didn't pay too much attention to it since I was mostly at home relaxing anyways, but when I went to work on Monday, jeez. I swear I'm not typically a vain person! Like I said, I don't even bother to blow dry my hair, ever! But yesterday, I was so self-conscious about it all day long. I wouldn't have been more aware of my hair if I had just gotten a mohawk. Of course, all the ladies in my office commented on it, and luckily most stuck with the generic, "I love your hair!" sort of comments, but a couple stood out as more offensive than that (and please remember, we're dealing with a very pregnant brain at this point). One woman said, "It just looks so sweet..." and I wonder what exactly that means. Am I four? Another (my favorite) said, " It looks very mommy-like," and as a mother herself, if she thought for one second that's the look I was going for, she's out of her freaking mind.
So, after a very long day of enduring the comments and my own insecurities, I went home in a lousy mood. My wonderful husband took me out to dinner (I'm telling you, food is the surest way to my heart at this point), and let me whine for a while about my hair and my day. Then, after he left to go to derby practice, I spent some time in front of the mirror and played with it enough that I'm now able to convince myself that it is no longer horrible. I'm sure the little cardigan and pearls I was wearing yesterday didn't help in my desperate attempt to still look sort of young and cute instead of the frumpy social worker I'm trying to avoid becoming. Crisis averted, at least for the time being.
As I mentioned, Andy and I spent all of last week in Indianapolis where we both had trainings for work (mine for 2 days, his for 5), and we were able to spend each of our evenings there with friends we don't get to see often enough, which was absolutely lovely. I was also able to spend a day with my parents who live fairly close to where we were. The kids were on spring break here at work, so it was a perfect week to get out of the office for a while.
My next appointment is this Friday, and I'm now officially on the "every 2 weeks" cycle, and will be meeting the other 3 doctors who share the practice with mine, which I think is a great idea. After these 3 appointments/6 weeks, I'll be going in weekly. I can't believe it! I'm almost in the 3rd trimester (apparently 28 weeks is the official start to that), and Rowan will be here before we know it!!! My good friend Rachel is working on closet curtains for his room, and with the baby shower rapidly approaching, I think we're on our way to being prepared. We'll be getting carpet in the nursery next Monday, and that'll be really nice too.
I'll try not to wait a month before the next one, guys, I promise.
Things have continued to go very well with the little one I'm growing. I'm at almost 28 weeks, and still just as healthy as can be. My appetite has gone from eating small meals frequently to eating large meals frequently, but luckily, a good friend gave me a box full of her old maternity clothes, so I don't have to wear my husband's t-shirts and sweatpants (at least not out of the house). I had my glucose test (for gestational diabetes) at my last appointment, almost 2 weeks ago, and it came back normal, which is great news!!! I fully expected to have to do the more lengthy test afterward and see the "diet nazi," as apparently she's called, but luckily, all is well in that area.
I have had a couple of recent traumas, however. No need to be concerned; they're just traumas in my own mind. I recently discovered, as I was getting out of the shower, STRETCH MARKS. The problem is that I can no longer actually see my lower belly region, but there they were, staring at me in the mirror when I got out. Creepy, crawly, textured, red stretchmarks, going from my nether-regions to an inch or 2 below my belly button. I know this is an area rarely seen, but still, I was really hoping to be one of the lucky few who avoids them. I've been putting on the Palmer's every day to try to avoid them, but obviously these efforts were unsuccessful. Sigh.
The other trauma has been my recent attempt at a new hairstyle. I know, I know; I've read the stuff that says, "don't get your haircut while you're pregnant," because any sort of a big change when you're as big as a house and hormonal is just a lousy idea, not to mention the fact that most of us have stronger, healthier, shinier hair than ever before during pregnancy, and it seems like a bad idea to screw around with that. Anyways, I did, first when we were in Indianapolis last week (will talk about that in a minute), and that was my first mistake.
I went to the mall in Castleton while Andy was in his training for work, and it was more exhausting than I anticipated. I had to sit down 3 different times to rest and eat in like a 2 hour span. And when I saw the little hair salon and the opportunity to sit down for a while and let someone else pamper me, well, I jumped all over it. Those of you who know and love me, please help me remember that in the future if a hairstylist utters the word "LAYERS" to me, that's my cue to run away as quickly as possible. It looked decent the first day, of course, since she styled it, but I'm a pretty low maintenance girl. If it involves more than putting a little gel or mousse on my hands and running them through my wet hair, I'm not interested. I don't even own a blowdryer or curling iron. So, the next day, it just looked like I had cute curly hair in the front, and a long mullet/mop in the back. I got this cut on Wednesday, and by Saturday, I was back in a hairstylist's chair in Evansville trying to get it fixed...
This time, I went in just thinking they would basically lop off the extra length in the back to try to even things up a little bit. However, I was lucky/unlucky (haven't decided yet) enough to land in the chair of a very stylish woman who's been cutting hair since 1971, and she had other ideas. To make an already lengthy story a tad shorter, she took off more length all the way around, and gave me BANGS. I haven't had bangs in at least a decade, and I am clueless as to what to do with them. Same thing as before; I looked gorgeous and hip the first night, which worked out well since we were at an employee recognition dinner for Andy's work, but the next day I was clueless as to what to do with this stuff on my head. Sunday was fine; didn't pay too much attention to it since I was mostly at home relaxing anyways, but when I went to work on Monday, jeez. I swear I'm not typically a vain person! Like I said, I don't even bother to blow dry my hair, ever! But yesterday, I was so self-conscious about it all day long. I wouldn't have been more aware of my hair if I had just gotten a mohawk. Of course, all the ladies in my office commented on it, and luckily most stuck with the generic, "I love your hair!" sort of comments, but a couple stood out as more offensive than that (and please remember, we're dealing with a very pregnant brain at this point). One woman said, "It just looks so sweet..." and I wonder what exactly that means. Am I four? Another (my favorite) said, " It looks very mommy-like," and as a mother herself, if she thought for one second that's the look I was going for, she's out of her freaking mind.
So, after a very long day of enduring the comments and my own insecurities, I went home in a lousy mood. My wonderful husband took me out to dinner (I'm telling you, food is the surest way to my heart at this point), and let me whine for a while about my hair and my day. Then, after he left to go to derby practice, I spent some time in front of the mirror and played with it enough that I'm now able to convince myself that it is no longer horrible. I'm sure the little cardigan and pearls I was wearing yesterday didn't help in my desperate attempt to still look sort of young and cute instead of the frumpy social worker I'm trying to avoid becoming. Crisis averted, at least for the time being.
As I mentioned, Andy and I spent all of last week in Indianapolis where we both had trainings for work (mine for 2 days, his for 5), and we were able to spend each of our evenings there with friends we don't get to see often enough, which was absolutely lovely. I was also able to spend a day with my parents who live fairly close to where we were. The kids were on spring break here at work, so it was a perfect week to get out of the office for a while.
My next appointment is this Friday, and I'm now officially on the "every 2 weeks" cycle, and will be meeting the other 3 doctors who share the practice with mine, which I think is a great idea. After these 3 appointments/6 weeks, I'll be going in weekly. I can't believe it! I'm almost in the 3rd trimester (apparently 28 weeks is the official start to that), and Rowan will be here before we know it!!! My good friend Rachel is working on closet curtains for his room, and with the baby shower rapidly approaching, I think we're on our way to being prepared. We'll be getting carpet in the nursery next Monday, and that'll be really nice too.
I'll try not to wait a month before the next one, guys, I promise.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Crib
We bought Rowan's crib yesterday! It's a lovely cherry-colored crib and we were able to find it at about 1/2 the cost of the one we originally wanted at Babies-R-Us, so I'm just thrilled. Andy put it together last night while I went grocery shopping, and now I'm ready to do the rest of the nursery! It's so exciting, and I feel good about the fact that we're doing a lot of comparison shopping and saving for the right stuff. I'm going to go shopping with a friend soon who will be sewing curtains for our closet, and we'll start looking for some of the other odds and ends as well. It's all very exciting to me, and I'm feeling more ready all the time.
I'm still feeling fine, though I continue to struggle a bit with getting comfortable and being able to sleep. However, I'm happy and healthy and that's what counts.
I'm still feeling fine, though I continue to struggle a bit with getting comfortable and being able to sleep. However, I'm happy and healthy and that's what counts.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Peace and Gratitude
This week has been pretty insane at work, and we've been struggling to get things done so we can have a little weekend getaway without breaking the budget. I haven't really taken the time recently to just contemplate how wonderful things are right now. It seems that the times I do get to focus on my own feelings and the miracle taking place in my body, all that I do is focus on the aches and pains, the difficulty sleeping, and the stress associated with this huge change in my life.
So, as a way to end this week with some peace and gratitude, and with keeping with my Lenten determination to exclude worry from my life as much as possible, I am taking this moment to acknowledge all the blessings in my life right now. I have a wonderful husband who's helped me to create this wonderful little boy growing inside of me. I love these two boys more than anything in the world, so much that it takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes. I am so grateful that I and this baby both are perfectly healthy and are growing right on schedule, as we enter the 23rd week of pregnancy. I have countless family members and friends that love me and provide me with any support and encouragement I might need. I have a comfortable home that continues to be my place of solace after a long day. I have what I need in terms of food, security, and love. I have a job that fills my days with purpose. What more could I ask for?
Next week looks as though it'll be every bit as busy as this week has been, with work responsibilities that will have me at the office 2-3 evenings as well as full days. This weekend I plan to relax with some of my favorite people and I resolve to return on Sunday with recharged batteries and the strength to face whatever life throws at me, knowing how lucky I've been to have all that I do.
So, as a way to end this week with some peace and gratitude, and with keeping with my Lenten determination to exclude worry from my life as much as possible, I am taking this moment to acknowledge all the blessings in my life right now. I have a wonderful husband who's helped me to create this wonderful little boy growing inside of me. I love these two boys more than anything in the world, so much that it takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes. I am so grateful that I and this baby both are perfectly healthy and are growing right on schedule, as we enter the 23rd week of pregnancy. I have countless family members and friends that love me and provide me with any support and encouragement I might need. I have a comfortable home that continues to be my place of solace after a long day. I have what I need in terms of food, security, and love. I have a job that fills my days with purpose. What more could I ask for?
Next week looks as though it'll be every bit as busy as this week has been, with work responsibilities that will have me at the office 2-3 evenings as well as full days. This weekend I plan to relax with some of my favorite people and I resolve to return on Sunday with recharged batteries and the strength to face whatever life throws at me, knowing how lucky I've been to have all that I do.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
New Picture!
Some of you have been asking when I'm going to post a pic of my current roundness, so here you go. Unfortunately, some of the people I love most aren't close enough for me to see on a regular basis, but hopefully this will tide you over for now. Can't remember if I've mentioned this or not previously, but we don't currently have a digital camera, so this picture is courtesy of Mom and Dad, who visited this weekend. This was a great visit; we always love having them here. My dad wanted me to allow them to write "I love Aunt Amanda," on the belly for my sister, who's one of those aforementioned people who doesn't live locally, but that wouldn't be appropriate for public (or private, for that matter) viewing. My belly is still more lumpy than gorgeously round, and I'm not sure about the idea of using it as a canvas for conveying messages:).
I've been feeling pretty well; the itching has started to subside, for which I'm extremely grateful, and I swear I felt like I got elbowed in the rib this morning. Strange...my precious Rowan is getting bigger and more active all the time. I do feel like I'm continuing to lose my mind a little. I had a very restful night of sleep last night, for the first time in a while, but I think I slept almost too soundly. I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and my mind wandered to work, but it took me a minute to remember what I actually do for a living. Very wierd, but not altogether unpleasant...
I'm starting to feel more confident in my ability to be a good parent; I've always had confidence in my husband's abilities in this department, so that definitely helps. Andy and I were talking last night about what a special time this has been, both in our lives in general and in our marriage specifically. I feel very blessed to have him to share this with, and think that our son is quite lucky to have him as a father. There is still a lot of planning to do, and some pieces that have yet to fall into place, but I think we can do this. I'm looking forward to bringing Rowan home and showering him with love and attention. I have no doubt that it'll be the toughest and most satisfying thing I've ever done.
Friday, January 18, 2008
20 weeks!!!
I'm officially at the halfway mark in my pregnancy today! It feels like a significant milestone, just like getting to 12 weeks and the end of the first trimester did. As exciting as it is, it still seems like I have a long way to go, and actually the next 20 weeks will be, in some ways, longer than the first 20 have been. This is because even though I'm officially at 20, because of the wierd math they do, I was already at 4 when I had my positive pregnancy test, approximately 2 weeks after we conceived. So, I've only known I was pregnant for 16 weeks. It does seem though that time has started to speed up a bit. I remember how those first few weeks seemed to drag on and on and on, and that's not so much the case any more. I'm feeling good enough to just enjoy the process in general, though I worry at times that I'm growing too fast or too slowly. As of my last appointment, I had gained about 7 lbs since my first prenatal appointment, and the information I read this morning on babycenter.com says I can expect to gain about a pound a week from here on out. The doctor said I should be shooting for between 15 and 25 lbs., so at this rate I'll be slightly above that, but I guess that's not the end of the world. I'm trying to eat healthily, and am still motivated to get on the treadmill a couple of times a week, so that's something, I suppose.
I've not had to take any Benadryl or use any itch lotion for the last 36 hours or so, though I can still feel the itching slightly. I just don't want to use anything if I don't have to, and it's not unbearable currently. I've found that all the people who say how important it is to get up slowly are right; it's easy to feel dizzy and achy if I stand up too quickly, especially if I've been laying down.
Andy and I have plans with friends tonight, and will be babysitting my cousin's baby tomorrow night, which I'm really looking forward to! Have a great weekend, everyone!
I've not had to take any Benadryl or use any itch lotion for the last 36 hours or so, though I can still feel the itching slightly. I just don't want to use anything if I don't have to, and it's not unbearable currently. I've found that all the people who say how important it is to get up slowly are right; it's easy to feel dizzy and achy if I stand up too quickly, especially if I've been laying down.
Andy and I have plans with friends tonight, and will be babysitting my cousin's baby tomorrow night, which I'm really looking forward to! Have a great weekend, everyone!
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