Ummmmm, need I say more? We did a lot of driving back and forth to meet Ava and, yeah, awesome.
I have finally been won over to the importance of kegeling, and will do it fanatically before, during, and after any future pregnancies . . .
Furthermore, I got really constipated post-partum . . . next time I am going to eat prunes or be otherwise more proactive to prevent/deal with that . . .
And that's all folks.
Expecting our Little Brother in November!
Showing posts with label Symptoms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Symptoms. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Teething
Yep, I'm serious. I'm pretty certain that my 3.5 month old baby is teething.
He has been COMPULSIVELY chewing on his hands, and soaking a bib in 15 mins with drool, for at least a month. I know that these sort of signs can show up at this age, and then months and months can go by before any REAL teething starts, so I didn't think much of this, even though I COULD see the two bottom teeth below his gums.
But then in the last few days . . . firstly he's been acting funny while nursing--lots of pulling off and then latching back on. Then Monday night he would NOT fall asleep and just seemed really uncomfortable and wouldn't settle. Trying to get him down for a last nap turned into trying to get him down for the night, and he FINALLY fell asleep after being awake for like FOUR HOURS (usually he only is awake for an hour and half tops).
Tuesday, we went out to lunch with my Mother-in-law, and she was touching his gums and he started CRYING VERY inconsolably, which is totally unlike him!
And then Tuesday night, he was again seeming very uncomfortable and wouldn't go down for a last nap. Finally I told James to give him Tylenol because at this point, I was suspecting the teething . . . within 10 mins he was fast asleep, and then when he woke up he was HAPPY AS A CLAM, nursed normally, and then fell asleep for the night with no problem.
And then today I was checking out his gums and the bottom teeth are now not only visible under the gums but they are little raised bumps! Soooo, I guess he's teething! I just hope these first two pop out quick so I can get my interminably happy baby back!
He has been COMPULSIVELY chewing on his hands, and soaking a bib in 15 mins with drool, for at least a month. I know that these sort of signs can show up at this age, and then months and months can go by before any REAL teething starts, so I didn't think much of this, even though I COULD see the two bottom teeth below his gums.
But then in the last few days . . . firstly he's been acting funny while nursing--lots of pulling off and then latching back on. Then Monday night he would NOT fall asleep and just seemed really uncomfortable and wouldn't settle. Trying to get him down for a last nap turned into trying to get him down for the night, and he FINALLY fell asleep after being awake for like FOUR HOURS (usually he only is awake for an hour and half tops).
Tuesday, we went out to lunch with my Mother-in-law, and she was touching his gums and he started CRYING VERY inconsolably, which is totally unlike him!
And then Tuesday night, he was again seeming very uncomfortable and wouldn't go down for a last nap. Finally I told James to give him Tylenol because at this point, I was suspecting the teething . . . within 10 mins he was fast asleep, and then when he woke up he was HAPPY AS A CLAM, nursed normally, and then fell asleep for the night with no problem.
And then today I was checking out his gums and the bottom teeth are now not only visible under the gums but they are little raised bumps! Soooo, I guess he's teething! I just hope these first two pop out quick so I can get my interminably happy baby back!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Labor Vibes
So I sent my darling family members a text a few hours ago that said: "I'm feeling kind of weird, just wanted to let you know so you could keep your phones nearby."
Basically, I had my acupuncture yesterday, and this morning and today I have been newly energetic--after having no energy or motivation for several weeks now. Today I made an excel file out of my daily to-do list/checklist (that I had been really into and had blogged about often but which has been neglected now for several weeks). AND I ACTUALLY DID some of the things on the checklist--cleaned up the kitchen, watered the plants, loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, washed dishes, etc.
The other thing I did last night and again this morning was drink "Smooth Move" Tea, because I've been seriously constipated for days. My midwife assured me that this tea was serious business and would cause the desired effect. After last night's cup (and no/little results), I was sure I would wake up this morning itching to go. Annnnnd, not so much. So I had another cup this morning. And still nothing.
Anyway, I started to feel pretty uncomfortable a few hours ago. I had just finished making "Labor Lasagna", a recipe of my own design including eggplant and a lot of spicy peppers (and veggie sauce and veggie "cheese", etc). But I was getting a little worried about even eating it because I felt so internally weird that I wondered if I should even introduce the crazy spicy food into my body! I was almost feeling hot and cold flashes and this restlessness and general weirdness.
At this point I sent the text to my darling family. MOSTLY because my Mother had told me repeatedly to call her if I even felt different at all. So I did, I let her know. So then she immediately called me, and all my sisters texted me back, asking if I was in labor, what was going on, etc.
"No, I'm not in labor! I just feel a little uncomfortable," I said.
"Uncomfortable how?" said my Mom.
"I don't know, just weird--look you asked me to tell you if I felt different at all and I do so I'm telling you!"
"Are you emotional?"
"No!"
"Well look out for that! Oh here Dad wants to talk to you."
"A?" says my Dad, "What's up are you having contractions?"
"Just Braxton Hicks but I've been having those for months."
"But are they coming regularly?"
"No, look I'm not in labor, Mom just said to call if I felt ANYTHING different so I did that."
"Have you been walking?"
"No." (And in this moment I pictured myself waddling through BJ's with my sister yesterday. I can't walk, are you kidding?) "No."
"Walk. That is what is going to get you going. You gotta get out there and walk."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind." At this point I am getting more and more physically uncomfortable and really don't want to be on the phone. "Okay I'm going to go."
So after these thrilling conversations, I tried the labor lasagna. And it was not actually that spicy, which was good because, as I mentioned, I'd started to get a little worried about how spicy I thought it would be, and if it would even be edible, give me heartburn, or make me have a horrible labor in which I was throwing up spicy food and having spicy diarrhea as I attempted to move a baby through my body.
So I ate some of the lasagna, and started getting another discomfort attack. I visited the bathroom and low and behold, I pooped a little. Not a lot, but some.
Then Amy and Karl showed up and we hung out for awhile--I ate more lasagna, bounced on my birth ball, and when they left I got a serious attack and ran to the bathroom and it happened finally. The smooth move. Not even diarrhea at ALL, just a big ole satisfying poop. God, I was thrilled. I don't know what helped more, the tea or the lasagna! I just hope things keep up this way because I must have days and days of "moves" that need to be "smoothed out" in there.
Anyway, long story short: I do not appear to be in labor, but rather to have endured an internal battle between constipation and "Smooth Move Tea". However, I still think that things do seem to be setting themselves in order somewhere in my mind/body and I would not be at all surprised to go into labor tonight or tomorrow.
Especially since I will be eating "Labor Lasagna" for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Basically, I had my acupuncture yesterday, and this morning and today I have been newly energetic--after having no energy or motivation for several weeks now. Today I made an excel file out of my daily to-do list/checklist (that I had been really into and had blogged about often but which has been neglected now for several weeks). AND I ACTUALLY DID some of the things on the checklist--cleaned up the kitchen, watered the plants, loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, washed dishes, etc.
The other thing I did last night and again this morning was drink "Smooth Move" Tea, because I've been seriously constipated for days. My midwife assured me that this tea was serious business and would cause the desired effect. After last night's cup (and no/little results), I was sure I would wake up this morning itching to go. Annnnnd, not so much. So I had another cup this morning. And still nothing.
Anyway, I started to feel pretty uncomfortable a few hours ago. I had just finished making "Labor Lasagna", a recipe of my own design including eggplant and a lot of spicy peppers (and veggie sauce and veggie "cheese", etc). But I was getting a little worried about even eating it because I felt so internally weird that I wondered if I should even introduce the crazy spicy food into my body! I was almost feeling hot and cold flashes and this restlessness and general weirdness.
At this point I sent the text to my darling family. MOSTLY because my Mother had told me repeatedly to call her if I even felt different at all. So I did, I let her know. So then she immediately called me, and all my sisters texted me back, asking if I was in labor, what was going on, etc.
"No, I'm not in labor! I just feel a little uncomfortable," I said.
"Uncomfortable how?" said my Mom.
"I don't know, just weird--look you asked me to tell you if I felt different at all and I do so I'm telling you!"
"Are you emotional?"
"No!"
"Well look out for that! Oh here Dad wants to talk to you."
"A?" says my Dad, "What's up are you having contractions?"
"Just Braxton Hicks but I've been having those for months."
"But are they coming regularly?"
"No, look I'm not in labor, Mom just said to call if I felt ANYTHING different so I did that."
"Have you been walking?"
"No." (And in this moment I pictured myself waddling through BJ's with my sister yesterday. I can't walk, are you kidding?) "No."
"Walk. That is what is going to get you going. You gotta get out there and walk."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind." At this point I am getting more and more physically uncomfortable and really don't want to be on the phone. "Okay I'm going to go."
So after these thrilling conversations, I tried the labor lasagna. And it was not actually that spicy, which was good because, as I mentioned, I'd started to get a little worried about how spicy I thought it would be, and if it would even be edible, give me heartburn, or make me have a horrible labor in which I was throwing up spicy food and having spicy diarrhea as I attempted to move a baby through my body.
So I ate some of the lasagna, and started getting another discomfort attack. I visited the bathroom and low and behold, I pooped a little. Not a lot, but some.
Then Amy and Karl showed up and we hung out for awhile--I ate more lasagna, bounced on my birth ball, and when they left I got a serious attack and ran to the bathroom and it happened finally. The smooth move. Not even diarrhea at ALL, just a big ole satisfying poop. God, I was thrilled. I don't know what helped more, the tea or the lasagna! I just hope things keep up this way because I must have days and days of "moves" that need to be "smoothed out" in there.
Anyway, long story short: I do not appear to be in labor, but rather to have endured an internal battle between constipation and "Smooth Move Tea". However, I still think that things do seem to be setting themselves in order somewhere in my mind/body and I would not be at all surprised to go into labor tonight or tomorrow.
Especially since I will be eating "Labor Lasagna" for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Insomnia/Showers/Nerves
Topic One: Insomnia. It is 5:30 in the morning and I've been awake for two hours. No, I'm not having contractions or any signs of imminent birth. I just plain can't fall asleep. Basically over the last couple weeks, I have increasingly had trouble falling asleep--"trouble" meaning that it takes me 30 mins or an hour to fall asleep at night instead of being able to fall asleep immediately, and if I wake up in the middle of the night to pee (inevitably) it may again take me 30 mins or an hour to fall asleep . . . and this is the second or third time that I haven't been able to fall back asleep at all. So here I am.
Topic Two: Showers. Well, taking a LONG shower/bath has become a nightly (or nearly nightly) ritual for me...I'm just so uncomfortable--my back always hurts so much, and sitting around in the evening I just start feeling so uncomfortable and crampy and everything that I inevitably end up going to take a shower. I think it helps to relax all my muscles so I'm less likely to need to put ice on my back in order to fall asleep--and I'm less likely to be insomnia-ish. It obviously didn't help much tonight. :-/
Topic Three: Nerves. Not like nervousness. Like, there is a baby head pressing against the nerve that runs down my inner thigh and I'm increasingly hit by shooting pains down my inner thigh all the way down my leg. Some days/hours/etc this has been happening rather OFTEN--a few times an hour or something, and sometimes seemingly over and over . . . the other night I could NOT lay on my right side or it would just happen repeatedly. And I couldn't lay on my back either, so I was stuck on my left side without being able to move into any other position. Siiigh. I guess it's a sign that he is very low. He seemingly has dropped several times. So I have stabbing nerve pains.
And that's that. Sorry for the complainy-ness. Honestly I don't even care about all this stuff at this point because I only have a week left (give or take a few days). So who cares--bring it on. I can survive anything for a week.
Topic Two: Showers. Well, taking a LONG shower/bath has become a nightly (or nearly nightly) ritual for me...I'm just so uncomfortable--my back always hurts so much, and sitting around in the evening I just start feeling so uncomfortable and crampy and everything that I inevitably end up going to take a shower. I think it helps to relax all my muscles so I'm less likely to need to put ice on my back in order to fall asleep--and I'm less likely to be insomnia-ish. It obviously didn't help much tonight. :-/
Topic Three: Nerves. Not like nervousness. Like, there is a baby head pressing against the nerve that runs down my inner thigh and I'm increasingly hit by shooting pains down my inner thigh all the way down my leg. Some days/hours/etc this has been happening rather OFTEN--a few times an hour or something, and sometimes seemingly over and over . . . the other night I could NOT lay on my right side or it would just happen repeatedly. And I couldn't lay on my back either, so I was stuck on my left side without being able to move into any other position. Siiigh. I guess it's a sign that he is very low. He seemingly has dropped several times. So I have stabbing nerve pains.
And that's that. Sorry for the complainy-ness. Honestly I don't even care about all this stuff at this point because I only have a week left (give or take a few days). So who cares--bring it on. I can survive anything for a week.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
D.O.N.E.
Yep, totally done with this whole pregnancy thing.
It's SO weird how I watched other people go through this "end of pregnancy-so done" phase and thought that I would have so much more patience when I got to "that" point, and it's only two more weeks, they should just buck up and stick it out, yadda yadda.
Well, now all my well meaning advice is coming back to bite me in the ass because NOW I know how they actually felt. Yes, logically I have 2, 3, or even 4 weeks left. But you can bet your butt that if I make it to my due date, two weeks from today, I will be JUST as desperate, miserable, and impatient as (almost) every other pregnant woman who makes it to her due date.
To recap--I'm sleeping just about 12 hours a day every day. This has been the case for awhile. Just TRY to wake me at hour ten and you will pay. However, until about five days ago, this half of my life I spent sleeping was mirrored by awake hours where I was, as my midwives describe, quite perky. I had a good amount of energy, could get plenty of stuff done during the day, etc.
However, for the past 5 days or so, the 12 hours don't seem to be enough. I'm tired again an hour or two after I wake up--I can't focus on anything, my brain feels like it is in a fog . . .
Then there is the physical discomfort. I need to sleep on ice packs so that I can fall asleep without my back hurting. There is no position I can lay, sit, stand, walk in that I am not completely uncomfortable. This makes falling asleep or getting into any kind of "relaxed" position very difficult. Right now I'm perched at the edge of my couch with my stomach hanging off the front and my laptop on the coffee table.
And, I have no energy to do anything. The laundry and dishes pile up. I only make dinner because I'm hungry and really want to eat it. I really hope that I have some nesting energy hit me before I go into labor so that Lil James isn't born into a filthy hovel. My days are spent sleeping and whining and trying not to be too miserable--watching TV and attempting to distract myself from my physical discomfort and irritability.
So the strategies to evacuate baby Irwin begin. I'm not nearly desperate enough yet to try sex or spicy food, especially given the discomfort and heartburn I felt after my last spicy food experience. But I'm chugging red raspberry leaf tea like it is my job, and I'm taking Evening Primrose Oil daily. Craig (acupuncture friend) said I could take up to 5000 mgs a day (or of Borage Oil), but not to get that high with the dosage until I get to 39 weeks. I've been taking 500 mgs a day for the last week, I'll probably bump it up to 1000 mgs today though and increase little by little until I'm taking as much as I can.
I have an appointment with Craig on Monday (one day shy of 39 weeks) to start baby evacuation acupuncture. It's not really supposed to work until the baby is ready anyway, but he claims to have never had more than one or two women go more than a day or two past their due dates. SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. At this point being pregnant until 42 weeks--a serious possibility for the average (non-intervened) person--sounds akin to Chinese water torture.
I AM READY TO MEET YOU, LITTLE JAMES! It seems like you have plenty of energy but Mommy has none. Please come out now as soon as you possibly feel ready.
It's SO weird how I watched other people go through this "end of pregnancy-so done" phase and thought that I would have so much more patience when I got to "that" point, and it's only two more weeks, they should just buck up and stick it out, yadda yadda.
Well, now all my well meaning advice is coming back to bite me in the ass because NOW I know how they actually felt. Yes, logically I have 2, 3, or even 4 weeks left. But you can bet your butt that if I make it to my due date, two weeks from today, I will be JUST as desperate, miserable, and impatient as (almost) every other pregnant woman who makes it to her due date.
To recap--I'm sleeping just about 12 hours a day every day. This has been the case for awhile. Just TRY to wake me at hour ten and you will pay. However, until about five days ago, this half of my life I spent sleeping was mirrored by awake hours where I was, as my midwives describe, quite perky. I had a good amount of energy, could get plenty of stuff done during the day, etc.
However, for the past 5 days or so, the 12 hours don't seem to be enough. I'm tired again an hour or two after I wake up--I can't focus on anything, my brain feels like it is in a fog . . .
Then there is the physical discomfort. I need to sleep on ice packs so that I can fall asleep without my back hurting. There is no position I can lay, sit, stand, walk in that I am not completely uncomfortable. This makes falling asleep or getting into any kind of "relaxed" position very difficult. Right now I'm perched at the edge of my couch with my stomach hanging off the front and my laptop on the coffee table.
And, I have no energy to do anything. The laundry and dishes pile up. I only make dinner because I'm hungry and really want to eat it. I really hope that I have some nesting energy hit me before I go into labor so that Lil James isn't born into a filthy hovel. My days are spent sleeping and whining and trying not to be too miserable--watching TV and attempting to distract myself from my physical discomfort and irritability.
So the strategies to evacuate baby Irwin begin. I'm not nearly desperate enough yet to try sex or spicy food, especially given the discomfort and heartburn I felt after my last spicy food experience. But I'm chugging red raspberry leaf tea like it is my job, and I'm taking Evening Primrose Oil daily. Craig (acupuncture friend) said I could take up to 5000 mgs a day (or of Borage Oil), but not to get that high with the dosage until I get to 39 weeks. I've been taking 500 mgs a day for the last week, I'll probably bump it up to 1000 mgs today though and increase little by little until I'm taking as much as I can.
I have an appointment with Craig on Monday (one day shy of 39 weeks) to start baby evacuation acupuncture. It's not really supposed to work until the baby is ready anyway, but he claims to have never had more than one or two women go more than a day or two past their due dates. SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. At this point being pregnant until 42 weeks--a serious possibility for the average (non-intervened) person--sounds akin to Chinese water torture.
I AM READY TO MEET YOU, LITTLE JAMES! It seems like you have plenty of energy but Mommy has none. Please come out now as soon as you possibly feel ready.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Farting and Nerve Pain
And I thought it was high time for a new Symptoms post about the joys of pregnancy, even though there are at least two other meaningful blogs I have in mind, they both take a lot more energy and thought and I'm just plain not up for it tonight!
So, fun thing one: I am farting a lot. Not like, I ate beans and am super gassy. More like, multiple times a day for no particular reason I do little farts. It's like a punctuation mark on my daily activities.
Fun thing two: Since James has dropped I now get occasional stabbing pains down the inside of my right thigh. Not to be confused with sciatic pain (down my butt and the back of my leg), which also visits occasionally. My grandmother apparently described this sensation as the baby thinks your nerve is a guitar string and gives it the occasional: "TWANG!" Grandma, that is exactly what it feels like.
In other news, I had a midwife appointment today and they think James is a nice average size baby. He was even described as "petite", but they assured me that that was because they had had a lot of 9 and 10 pounders recently. They are guessing him to be a little under 7 pounds now. But considering he probably has at least two more weeks to grow, he could still add a bit of weight before his birth. But I am NOT COMPLAINING!! A 6-7 pound baby sounds GREAT to me!!
And I'm still not feeling at ALL like he will be here any time soon. I maintain that I will make it to at least 39 weeks. If not 41 or 42.
So, fun thing one: I am farting a lot. Not like, I ate beans and am super gassy. More like, multiple times a day for no particular reason I do little farts. It's like a punctuation mark on my daily activities.
Fun thing two: Since James has dropped I now get occasional stabbing pains down the inside of my right thigh. Not to be confused with sciatic pain (down my butt and the back of my leg), which also visits occasionally. My grandmother apparently described this sensation as the baby thinks your nerve is a guitar string and gives it the occasional: "TWANG!" Grandma, that is exactly what it feels like.
In other news, I had a midwife appointment today and they think James is a nice average size baby. He was even described as "petite", but they assured me that that was because they had had a lot of 9 and 10 pounders recently. They are guessing him to be a little under 7 pounds now. But considering he probably has at least two more weeks to grow, he could still add a bit of weight before his birth. But I am NOT COMPLAINING!! A 6-7 pound baby sounds GREAT to me!!
And I'm still not feeling at ALL like he will be here any time soon. I maintain that I will make it to at least 39 weeks. If not 41 or 42.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Zits?!
I have my first acne outbreak (only a few zits, thankfully) since missing my period. I don't think I have gotten one other zit while being pregnant.
Before getting pregnant, I pretty much exclusively got a zit or two while I was PMSing.
Could this be a sign of my hormones changing? Is Little James ripening up in there?
I HOPE SO!!!
I'll be full term (37 weeks) on Tuesday! :-D And I GUESS I would prefer to stay pregnant until after Halloween, since I have the perfect outfit (I will share later), and we are going to a Halloween party at Yaling's house.
But once November hits, I think I will be pretty officially ready! I will be one day shy of 38 weeks on November 1st.
GET READY FOR IT, JAMES!!!
Before getting pregnant, I pretty much exclusively got a zit or two while I was PMSing.
Could this be a sign of my hormones changing? Is Little James ripening up in there?
I HOPE SO!!!
I'll be full term (37 weeks) on Tuesday! :-D And I GUESS I would prefer to stay pregnant until after Halloween, since I have the perfect outfit (I will share later), and we are going to a Halloween party at Yaling's house.
But once November hits, I think I will be pretty officially ready! I will be one day shy of 38 weeks on November 1st.
GET READY FOR IT, JAMES!!!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
One Month to Go: Back Pain and Nesting
My ticker is in the last box and tells me I only have 30 days until my due date! Shall we crunch the numbers?
2 is the number of days until I can go into labor and still have my home-birth (36 weeks)
9 is the number of days until I am full term (37 weeks)
30 is the number of days until my meaningless due date (40 weeks)
44 is the absolute maximum number of days that I could be pregnant (42 weeks)
12 is the number of things on our "to do before the baby comes" list (which is actually going to be updated now, and get a lot longer again, but we definitely making progress).
Anyway, needless to say, we are in the home stretch! As I enter the ninth and final month of pregnancy, I am forced to conclude that this might be the worst month of all for me.
I was very lucky to have little to no morning sickness, to find my emotions and health stabilized by pregnancy, rather than disrupted, and generally to be a pretty happy and care-free pregnant lady. In retrospect the second trimester was such a godsend! Even my issues of heartburn and being uncomfortable tend to go in waves, where it will be bad for a few days, and then I'll feel better again.
But now, for over a week (maybe even two), I have had persistent and killer back pain. Whenever I have to sit or lay down, I have to arrange a million pillows around me so that I'm not horribly uncomfortable, and even then, it is pretty bad. I am still getting regular adjustments from the chiropractor, but it seems to make no difference. Basically, I have a 20 pound uterus (baby, uterus, placenta, and fluid) pulling on my weak back muscles. The fact that the same area is always in pain seems a testament to this theory. I can practically feel it happening as I type.
Several times a day I beg James to rub it--I get down on my hands and knees to relieve the pressure--I bounce on my birth ball hoping for a miracle. But it only seems to get worse. The only time I feel relatively okay is for a few hours in the morning. :-/
A few days ago I remembered with a cry of joy that I am able to take tylenol. Now I'm struggling not to take it around the clock. I take some and then a few hours later I start wondering when I can take more again. It is fairly miserable.
And yet despite my complaining, I'm still grateful for the fact that this is the worst part of the pregnancy for me so far. At least there is an end in sight!
Okay, moving on.
We had/are having another productive weekend. As I reported earlier, we finished installing our changing area and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! James loves it, too, and keeps saying how nice it is and how glad he is that I envisioned it. :-)
Today we also gathered up the blankets, pillows, and couch cushions from the living room and are doing a flea "fogger" in one of the upstairs rooms. We don't have a serious flea problem at this point, but I have had several itchy episodes and I think there were/are a few living in our couch area. So the fogger is supposed to work for seven months, and I love that I won't have to worry about fleas for all that time. So that is happening today.
We also moved the rug in the living room back a bit, which is part of getting the woodstove ready for inspection. As part of this, we got into dusting and vacuuming some of the surfaces in the living room--the old-fashioned radio and the lamps. I was recalled back to this post as I watched James vacuum off the lampshades, but they WERE super dusty so I'm glad he thought to do it!
Hopefully the rest of the day will be equally productive. We have to wash all the blankets and pillows that just got "fogged", and I need to switch out the summer and winter clothes. (You may be thinking that you are SURE this has been on my "to-do today" list before. You would be right, readers, and yet it is still undone.) :-/
James is studying for his big exam right now, so it would be an ideal time for me to start dealing with the clothes. Will she do it, folks? WILL SHE DO IT?
2 is the number of days until I can go into labor and still have my home-birth (36 weeks)
9 is the number of days until I am full term (37 weeks)
30 is the number of days until my meaningless due date (40 weeks)
44 is the absolute maximum number of days that I could be pregnant (42 weeks)
12 is the number of things on our "to do before the baby comes" list (which is actually going to be updated now, and get a lot longer again, but we definitely making progress).
Anyway, needless to say, we are in the home stretch! As I enter the ninth and final month of pregnancy, I am forced to conclude that this might be the worst month of all for me.
I was very lucky to have little to no morning sickness, to find my emotions and health stabilized by pregnancy, rather than disrupted, and generally to be a pretty happy and care-free pregnant lady. In retrospect the second trimester was such a godsend! Even my issues of heartburn and being uncomfortable tend to go in waves, where it will be bad for a few days, and then I'll feel better again.
But now, for over a week (maybe even two), I have had persistent and killer back pain. Whenever I have to sit or lay down, I have to arrange a million pillows around me so that I'm not horribly uncomfortable, and even then, it is pretty bad. I am still getting regular adjustments from the chiropractor, but it seems to make no difference. Basically, I have a 20 pound uterus (baby, uterus, placenta, and fluid) pulling on my weak back muscles. The fact that the same area is always in pain seems a testament to this theory. I can practically feel it happening as I type.
Several times a day I beg James to rub it--I get down on my hands and knees to relieve the pressure--I bounce on my birth ball hoping for a miracle. But it only seems to get worse. The only time I feel relatively okay is for a few hours in the morning. :-/
A few days ago I remembered with a cry of joy that I am able to take tylenol. Now I'm struggling not to take it around the clock. I take some and then a few hours later I start wondering when I can take more again. It is fairly miserable.
And yet despite my complaining, I'm still grateful for the fact that this is the worst part of the pregnancy for me so far. At least there is an end in sight!
Okay, moving on.
We had/are having another productive weekend. As I reported earlier, we finished installing our changing area and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! James loves it, too, and keeps saying how nice it is and how glad he is that I envisioned it. :-)
Today we also gathered up the blankets, pillows, and couch cushions from the living room and are doing a flea "fogger" in one of the upstairs rooms. We don't have a serious flea problem at this point, but I have had several itchy episodes and I think there were/are a few living in our couch area. So the fogger is supposed to work for seven months, and I love that I won't have to worry about fleas for all that time. So that is happening today.
We also moved the rug in the living room back a bit, which is part of getting the woodstove ready for inspection. As part of this, we got into dusting and vacuuming some of the surfaces in the living room--the old-fashioned radio and the lamps. I was recalled back to this post as I watched James vacuum off the lampshades, but they WERE super dusty so I'm glad he thought to do it!
Hopefully the rest of the day will be equally productive. We have to wash all the blankets and pillows that just got "fogged", and I need to switch out the summer and winter clothes. (You may be thinking that you are SURE this has been on my "to-do today" list before. You would be right, readers, and yet it is still undone.) :-/
James is studying for his big exam right now, so it would be an ideal time for me to start dealing with the clothes. Will she do it, folks? WILL SHE DO IT?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Surprise Shower (and aftermath!)
So on Saturday I headed off to what I thought was a dinner for my Dad's birthday at my Grandma's house. I had made a version of a pineapple upside down cake where I put the pineapple in the middle of two layers and frosted the top (it ended up amazing, OMG!). Pineapple Upside Down Cake is my Dad's favorite. :-D
James and I arrived with presents in hand for my Dad for his birthday and my Mom for her birthday which we'd neglected to give her months ago. :-/
My Mom and Grandma said that we should go down to the community room to find my Dad who was apparently down there for some reason, and to see a new painting she had done that was hanging there.
I walked in to a roomful of my nearest and dearest friends and family members shouting "surprise", and was shocked and pretty immediately overwhelmed--see it here--I wasn't even sure where to start and what to do!! But I recovered, hugged everyone, and got down to present opening.
I got SO many amazing and beautiful things! I will right now thank my family for getting me SO much useful stuff off of my registry--I have heard from (online) friends in other regions of the U.S. that no one EVER buys off of the registry where they are from, and they always get just clothes and cute things from their shower but not any of the big useful things. I'm SO glad we don't live in any of those areas!
I still got a TON of adorable clothes, blankets, toys and homemade things that were not on my registry (which I also adore), but it is definitely amazing that I got so many of the practical things (car seats for both our cars, cradle/swing, high chair, boppy, thermometer, moby wrap, activity bouncer, cloth diapers, etc). These things make us so much more prepared to welcome little James into our life!
Now there are relatively few things that James and I need to get to be totally ready for Lil James and it makes it a lot easier. (Especially since we also got some gift cards and coupons!).
People have asked me repeatedly if I was really surprised. Well, I was definitely shocked and surprised. However, of course I had some thought that this could be my shower because I only have 6 weeks left until my due date now--so any situation in which I was asked to be somewhere at some time I would have had the thought that this *could be* it. So of course I sort of thought it could be it, especially when I actually got to Grandma's house--something just seemed funny and being asked to walk down to the community center of course I thought it could be it.
But Mom and my sisters (and James) did a really good job of throwing me off and making me unsure or think that I guess it wasn't going to be the shower--like telling me that Mare wasn't going to be there because she made plans with a friend, or asking me to make a cake, or talking about how Gram M. was really excited to have us over for a vegan dinner, etc.
So while I was suspicious, I think I was the least suspicious I could have been at that point. I was also suspicious at the last 4 family gatherings, so I was definitely still surprised.
It was amazing to see everyone--especially those people who had to come from far away/busy life situations--Heather, Jessie, Yaling, Clare and Beth . . . I LOVE that people were able to meet some of my loved ones that they might not have met before. :-)
Aftermath:
So we brought all the stuff home, luckily Marilyn lives in the same town as us and was able to bring stuff in her car.
When we got home, Mare (and James, since he hadn't seen it all in the first place) insisted on going through everything again--which was good because it gave us a chance to organize a bit.
James set up the cradle/swing right away, and then the high chair. We took the car seats out and played with them, went through all the clothes again, took off tags and labels from toys and some of the things. I put the waterproof cover and slipcover on the boppy pillow . . .
And then we were still surrounded by mountains of baby stuff--some set up and in place and others still piled. James said it looked like our house with baby things superimposed into it.
I think for both of us, things have seemed a lot more "real" since we came home with all these things and started integrating them into our lives. I washed the receiving blankets and put them away, I washed the adorable hooded towels and baby washcloths and put them with our towels, I sorted the larger sized clothes from the smaller sized, and washed the first load of white T shirts, little socks, cloth diapers, bibs, and burp pads . . .
I am still surrounded by mountains of baby stuff but every day I do a little bit and things get a bit more under control . . .
And yet last night was the first night since the shower that I didn't have baby-anxiety insomnia . . . plenty of friends of mine have had this throughout the whole pregnancy, but I am a champion sleeper and have lost little to no sleep throughout the entire pregnancy experience. Until now. It is suddenly real in a whole new way--it's like there is no going back from here (not that that hasn't been true for awhile, but my mind just got it)--I'm not nervous about the birth or having a baby, but I guess our life is about to change drastically--it's a lot to take in.
But the excitement now is also palpable. I can't wait to meet my squishy baby.
Thanks for the amazing shower, everyone! I love you!
James and I arrived with presents in hand for my Dad for his birthday and my Mom for her birthday which we'd neglected to give her months ago. :-/
My Mom and Grandma said that we should go down to the community room to find my Dad who was apparently down there for some reason, and to see a new painting she had done that was hanging there.
I walked in to a roomful of my nearest and dearest friends and family members shouting "surprise", and was shocked and pretty immediately overwhelmed--see it here--I wasn't even sure where to start and what to do!! But I recovered, hugged everyone, and got down to present opening.
I got SO many amazing and beautiful things! I will right now thank my family for getting me SO much useful stuff off of my registry--I have heard from (online) friends in other regions of the U.S. that no one EVER buys off of the registry where they are from, and they always get just clothes and cute things from their shower but not any of the big useful things. I'm SO glad we don't live in any of those areas!
I still got a TON of adorable clothes, blankets, toys and homemade things that were not on my registry (which I also adore), but it is definitely amazing that I got so many of the practical things (car seats for both our cars, cradle/swing, high chair, boppy, thermometer, moby wrap, activity bouncer, cloth diapers, etc). These things make us so much more prepared to welcome little James into our life!
Now there are relatively few things that James and I need to get to be totally ready for Lil James and it makes it a lot easier. (Especially since we also got some gift cards and coupons!).
People have asked me repeatedly if I was really surprised. Well, I was definitely shocked and surprised. However, of course I had some thought that this could be my shower because I only have 6 weeks left until my due date now--so any situation in which I was asked to be somewhere at some time I would have had the thought that this *could be* it. So of course I sort of thought it could be it, especially when I actually got to Grandma's house--something just seemed funny and being asked to walk down to the community center of course I thought it could be it.
But Mom and my sisters (and James) did a really good job of throwing me off and making me unsure or think that I guess it wasn't going to be the shower--like telling me that Mare wasn't going to be there because she made plans with a friend, or asking me to make a cake, or talking about how Gram M. was really excited to have us over for a vegan dinner, etc.
So while I was suspicious, I think I was the least suspicious I could have been at that point. I was also suspicious at the last 4 family gatherings, so I was definitely still surprised.
It was amazing to see everyone--especially those people who had to come from far away/busy life situations--Heather, Jessie, Yaling, Clare and Beth . . . I LOVE that people were able to meet some of my loved ones that they might not have met before. :-)
Aftermath:
So we brought all the stuff home, luckily Marilyn lives in the same town as us and was able to bring stuff in her car.
When we got home, Mare (and James, since he hadn't seen it all in the first place) insisted on going through everything again--which was good because it gave us a chance to organize a bit.
James set up the cradle/swing right away, and then the high chair. We took the car seats out and played with them, went through all the clothes again, took off tags and labels from toys and some of the things. I put the waterproof cover and slipcover on the boppy pillow . . .
And then we were still surrounded by mountains of baby stuff--some set up and in place and others still piled. James said it looked like our house with baby things superimposed into it.
I think for both of us, things have seemed a lot more "real" since we came home with all these things and started integrating them into our lives. I washed the receiving blankets and put them away, I washed the adorable hooded towels and baby washcloths and put them with our towels, I sorted the larger sized clothes from the smaller sized, and washed the first load of white T shirts, little socks, cloth diapers, bibs, and burp pads . . .
I am still surrounded by mountains of baby stuff but every day I do a little bit and things get a bit more under control . . .
And yet last night was the first night since the shower that I didn't have baby-anxiety insomnia . . . plenty of friends of mine have had this throughout the whole pregnancy, but I am a champion sleeper and have lost little to no sleep throughout the entire pregnancy experience. Until now. It is suddenly real in a whole new way--it's like there is no going back from here (not that that hasn't been true for awhile, but my mind just got it)--I'm not nervous about the birth or having a baby, but I guess our life is about to change drastically--it's a lot to take in.
But the excitement now is also palpable. I can't wait to meet my squishy baby.
Thanks for the amazing shower, everyone! I love you!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Braxton Hicks
So about a month ago I started noticing the occasional belly tightening, most often while walking or doing some other kind of exercise. Since then, the frequency of these fun little "toning contractions" as my midwife calls them, have been increasing steadily.
With still 7 weeks to go I can now count on . . . I don't even know . . . dozens, maybe, Braxton Hicks contractions every day. Sometimes in an hour I will notice 5 or 6, which if you do the math, is practically like early labor (30 second contractions 7-10 mins apart).
I have heard before of people starting to contract well before (1-2 months before) they actually went into labor but for some reason this wasn't something I pictured for myself. :-/
These contractions are not painful, not at all, but they are fairly uncomfortable. James is still transverse(sideways)/breech(head up), and depending on his position, these contractions push his hard little butt into one side of my belly and his hard little head into the other side, or even more delightfully, into my ribs. Depending on how I am sitting, this can be RATHER uncomfortable, or sometimes not too big of a deal.
Anyway, I'm going to try to drink lots of water to see if that helps slow them down a bit--the idea of contracting like this for the next 7 weeks is not sounding all that fun.
With still 7 weeks to go I can now count on . . . I don't even know . . . dozens, maybe, Braxton Hicks contractions every day. Sometimes in an hour I will notice 5 or 6, which if you do the math, is practically like early labor (30 second contractions 7-10 mins apart).
I have heard before of people starting to contract well before (1-2 months before) they actually went into labor but for some reason this wasn't something I pictured for myself. :-/
These contractions are not painful, not at all, but they are fairly uncomfortable. James is still transverse(sideways)/breech(head up), and depending on his position, these contractions push his hard little butt into one side of my belly and his hard little head into the other side, or even more delightfully, into my ribs. Depending on how I am sitting, this can be RATHER uncomfortable, or sometimes not too big of a deal.
Anyway, I'm going to try to drink lots of water to see if that helps slow them down a bit--the idea of contracting like this for the next 7 weeks is not sounding all that fun.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Alyssa is almost as pregnant as I am . . .
So my friend Alyssa wrote a great rant post that I just had to share. I am TOTALLY feeling her on all this stuff.
It is hard being pregnant. Though I feel very lucky that I didn't have very much morning sickness and seem to be able to handle the other discomforts fairly well still, I am QUITE excited to get my body back and have this baby.
Thanks, Alyssa, for expressing the frustrations of pregnancy so well. Not a cakewalk, people.
It is hard being pregnant. Though I feel very lucky that I didn't have very much morning sickness and seem to be able to handle the other discomforts fairly well still, I am QUITE excited to get my body back and have this baby.
Thanks, Alyssa, for expressing the frustrations of pregnancy so well. Not a cakewalk, people.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Heartburn Solutions
So since I last updated, I went through probably about a week where I seemed to have heartburn constantly, and I was pretty miserable. Along the same lines, I had one of those "MY BELLY IS STRETCHED BEYOND BELIEF, I AM HORRIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE, HOW CAN THIS BABY GET ANY BIGGER?" few days right at the same time. As usual, I thought that I would feel this way for the rest of the pregnancy and I started to get pretty down about it.
However, in the last few days or so, I've discovered that it really is true that what you eat matters in the heartburn department. The main thing I realized is that I can't drink any tea any more--at least not green, white, or black tea (maybe purely fruit or herbal tea might be okay, I'm not sure). I had gotten back into the habit of drinking green/white tea throughout most of the day, and I think, in retrospect, that this was the main cause of my constant heartburn.
Other bad foods: grapefruit, oranges, orange juice, lemonade (any citrus I guess) . . . I was on a real grapefruit kick for awhile there and they were so delicious and amazing that I think I was in denial that they might be contributing to my heartburn issues.
But low and behold, simply giving up tea and citrus seem to single-handedly have cured my heartburn, and I'm incredibly grateful. And, as it tends to do, my belly and body seem to have made it through another adjustment and I once again feel comfortable and happy with being pregnant.
The only thing about cutting out these foods is that my list of foods I CAN eat is once again shrinking. I have been more and more flexible about eating gluten occasionally because bread is the thing that really sounds good in the midst of this heartburn control diet. I have minimal side effects from eating bread--the times I really notice the effect of the gluten is when I eat something made with a higher processed form of gluten (like fake meat/veggie burgers, etc).
Anyway, it's now been probably 5 days since I needed to have a Tums, so I'm pretty relieved to have managed this issue--at least for now.
Tonight is our first childbirth class (Bradley Method). I will try to remember to update about it tomorrow. I'm very excited!
However, in the last few days or so, I've discovered that it really is true that what you eat matters in the heartburn department. The main thing I realized is that I can't drink any tea any more--at least not green, white, or black tea (maybe purely fruit or herbal tea might be okay, I'm not sure). I had gotten back into the habit of drinking green/white tea throughout most of the day, and I think, in retrospect, that this was the main cause of my constant heartburn.
Other bad foods: grapefruit, oranges, orange juice, lemonade (any citrus I guess) . . . I was on a real grapefruit kick for awhile there and they were so delicious and amazing that I think I was in denial that they might be contributing to my heartburn issues.
But low and behold, simply giving up tea and citrus seem to single-handedly have cured my heartburn, and I'm incredibly grateful. And, as it tends to do, my belly and body seem to have made it through another adjustment and I once again feel comfortable and happy with being pregnant.
The only thing about cutting out these foods is that my list of foods I CAN eat is once again shrinking. I have been more and more flexible about eating gluten occasionally because bread is the thing that really sounds good in the midst of this heartburn control diet. I have minimal side effects from eating bread--the times I really notice the effect of the gluten is when I eat something made with a higher processed form of gluten (like fake meat/veggie burgers, etc).
Anyway, it's now been probably 5 days since I needed to have a Tums, so I'm pretty relieved to have managed this issue--at least for now.
Tonight is our first childbirth class (Bradley Method). I will try to remember to update about it tomorrow. I'm very excited!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
The Third Trimester
So I officially hit the third trimester about a week ago.
Since then,
- I have been cleaning obsessively--which is exactly what my house needed. Right now our new library (with guest bed) and books, is almost set up. The bed and dresser are all set up and all the shelves are in place and the books are at least half on the shelves. That room looks awesome and it will be easy to finish.
Our guest room now holds my sewing desk and sewing machine (and associated mess). I need to go through the desk better and organize everything, but it is a good spot for it. Also in there is a dresser holding our sheets and quilts, and a shelf with all the games in the house. The bed in there needs to be fixed/replaced since it is deflating, but the room itself looks good.
The downstairs has been rearranged so that James' desk is in the living room. We are going to try to set up the bills and mail down here, or we can sit at it when we are on the computer.
The wooden room (to be dining room) downstairs is sort of in the middle of being cleaned up, like that is where I left off. I have an idea of how to arrange things down there--mostly just clearing out to fit our new dining room table and chairs (which James' amazing Aunt got for $57 at auction for us, woohoo). But I also want to arrange the desk in there to hold jars and some big cooking things.
So I have made a ton of progress on the house, which is awesome.
- Also since a week ago when I hit the third trimester, I have had some level of heartburn after most meals (especially while laying down). This can be worsened simply by pressing on my stomach. :-/ But actually it's not really that bad--just very slight. I'm hoping it doesn't get worse but I think I might be fighting physics in there.
- And last but not least, I noticed yesterday (in the midst of my week of insane cleaning and moving things around), that my feet were swollen. I was pretty surprised. But I had been doing a lot (probably barefoot the entire time), and my feet might also have been sore (and swollen) from that anyway.
But it's definitely been a classic third trimester week, hasn't it? In some ways I can't believe that we only have 12 weeks left--less than 3 months to go . . . in other ways I feel like 3 months is still a long time to have this baby grow and get so much bigger . . .
He is supposedly about 2-2.5 lbs right now. He'll probably be at least 6-8 pounds, so he is going to triple or quadruple in size over the next three months, how the heck will he fit in there? -- Yet my stomach just seems to keep getting bigger, and I guess that's how.
Since then,
- I have been cleaning obsessively--which is exactly what my house needed. Right now our new library (with guest bed) and books, is almost set up. The bed and dresser are all set up and all the shelves are in place and the books are at least half on the shelves. That room looks awesome and it will be easy to finish.
Our guest room now holds my sewing desk and sewing machine (and associated mess). I need to go through the desk better and organize everything, but it is a good spot for it. Also in there is a dresser holding our sheets and quilts, and a shelf with all the games in the house. The bed in there needs to be fixed/replaced since it is deflating, but the room itself looks good.
The downstairs has been rearranged so that James' desk is in the living room. We are going to try to set up the bills and mail down here, or we can sit at it when we are on the computer.
The wooden room (to be dining room) downstairs is sort of in the middle of being cleaned up, like that is where I left off. I have an idea of how to arrange things down there--mostly just clearing out to fit our new dining room table and chairs (which James' amazing Aunt got for $57 at auction for us, woohoo). But I also want to arrange the desk in there to hold jars and some big cooking things.
So I have made a ton of progress on the house, which is awesome.
- Also since a week ago when I hit the third trimester, I have had some level of heartburn after most meals (especially while laying down). This can be worsened simply by pressing on my stomach. :-/ But actually it's not really that bad--just very slight. I'm hoping it doesn't get worse but I think I might be fighting physics in there.
- And last but not least, I noticed yesterday (in the midst of my week of insane cleaning and moving things around), that my feet were swollen. I was pretty surprised. But I had been doing a lot (probably barefoot the entire time), and my feet might also have been sore (and swollen) from that anyway.
But it's definitely been a classic third trimester week, hasn't it? In some ways I can't believe that we only have 12 weeks left--less than 3 months to go . . . in other ways I feel like 3 months is still a long time to have this baby grow and get so much bigger . . .
He is supposedly about 2-2.5 lbs right now. He'll probably be at least 6-8 pounds, so he is going to triple or quadruple in size over the next three months, how the heck will he fit in there? -- Yet my stomach just seems to keep getting bigger, and I guess that's how.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Maternity Underwear and Spider Veins
So my sisters were here for a week--we did a cleanse: no meat, dairy, gluten, sugar, alcohol, caffeine for a week. For me, all I had to give up was sugar and caffeine, but for them the diet change was more significant. I think it went well, though!
Anyway, last night we went shopping for maternity clothes. I have now outgrown almost all of my regular shirts, so I wanted to get a few new shirts--especially some that I could wear into the fall. So we got quite a few things, but the most exciting among them was maternity underwear.
OMG I AM IN HEAVEN!! They honestly don't look that different than my regular underwear, but they sure feel different! I think they are cut lower in the front, and the waistband is extra stretchy--so what had been PRESSING against my abdomen is now gone and it feels amazing! I also got these little white shorts that I love--also cut really low in the front. They, too, are super comfy.
And today I noticed, for the first time, that I have spider veins on the side of my leg just below the knee. :-/ I don't really know much about these--I hope they will go away on their own, though. Anyway, it is very minor, I doubt anyone else would notice it unless I pointed it out, but still a little bit annoying. . .
I guess I hoped I would be able to sail through this pregnancy with minimal lasting side effects on my body, but the fact of the matter is, pregnancy does change you and your body forever. You have a baby at the end of it, and it makes it all worth it, but I will never again look in the mirror and see what I saw before, and the sooner I accept that, the better off I will probably be.
Anyway, last night we went shopping for maternity clothes. I have now outgrown almost all of my regular shirts, so I wanted to get a few new shirts--especially some that I could wear into the fall. So we got quite a few things, but the most exciting among them was maternity underwear.
OMG I AM IN HEAVEN!! They honestly don't look that different than my regular underwear, but they sure feel different! I think they are cut lower in the front, and the waistband is extra stretchy--so what had been PRESSING against my abdomen is now gone and it feels amazing! I also got these little white shorts that I love--also cut really low in the front. They, too, are super comfy.
And today I noticed, for the first time, that I have spider veins on the side of my leg just below the knee. :-/ I don't really know much about these--I hope they will go away on their own, though. Anyway, it is very minor, I doubt anyone else would notice it unless I pointed it out, but still a little bit annoying. . .
I guess I hoped I would be able to sail through this pregnancy with minimal lasting side effects on my body, but the fact of the matter is, pregnancy does change you and your body forever. You have a baby at the end of it, and it makes it all worth it, but I will never again look in the mirror and see what I saw before, and the sooner I accept that, the better off I will probably be.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Bye Bye OJ
So, here at week 25 (and admittedly, even last week--week 24) I'm starting to feel a bit (as a friend of mine put it) third trimestery . . . the peeing has gotten pretty ridiculous, and even more annoyingly, I am starting to get hints of heartburn--most notably, after drinking orange juice. Luckily its not that bad, but it certainly doesn't make me want to drink a whole lot of OJ!
So, I guess me and OJ are all done until November. :-(
So, I guess me and OJ are all done until November. :-(
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Veins, Stretch Marks, and Peeing
I thought it was time for a new "symptoms" post. I haven't posted much about symptoms because I've been feeling really good since the pulled muscle incident. I now sleep with about 30 pillows (okay, three really--the wedge pillow under my belly, one between my legs, and one under my head), but as long as I am good with the pillows, my back and stomach seem to be in pretty good shape.
But finally I think my huge boobs, belly, body, and the increased blood circulating all around has caused some changes. First, I look like a road map. There is a highway going down my chest to each breast and a series of roads all over my boobs. Additionally, there is a thoroughfare down each side of my body spreading its little tributaries all over my stomach.
So, sometimes when I look in the mirror, I think I might have gotten some stretch marks on my boobs and under my stomach. But then, I'm not sure, and think maybe it is just the veins. The jury is still out on that one.
But peeing is a definite. I had a little break from peeing frequency for a month or two, but now it is back to full force. I'm back to getting up at least once a night to pee. When I was driving back from Whitney's (a 90-min drive), I had to pull over to pee in the woods and felt as if I was going to explode if I tried to go any farther without going. Sometimes I go, and then LITERALLY five minutes later, I will feel as if I have to go again. Sometimes this second trip produces mere teaspoons of pee, but other times my bladder has miraculously filled in five minutes and I have a full other batch of pee in there . . . it's true, pregnancy is a miracle!!
But finally I think my huge boobs, belly, body, and the increased blood circulating all around has caused some changes. First, I look like a road map. There is a highway going down my chest to each breast and a series of roads all over my boobs. Additionally, there is a thoroughfare down each side of my body spreading its little tributaries all over my stomach.
So, sometimes when I look in the mirror, I think I might have gotten some stretch marks on my boobs and under my stomach. But then, I'm not sure, and think maybe it is just the veins. The jury is still out on that one.
But peeing is a definite. I had a little break from peeing frequency for a month or two, but now it is back to full force. I'm back to getting up at least once a night to pee. When I was driving back from Whitney's (a 90-min drive), I had to pull over to pee in the woods and felt as if I was going to explode if I tried to go any farther without going. Sometimes I go, and then LITERALLY five minutes later, I will feel as if I have to go again. Sometimes this second trip produces mere teaspoons of pee, but other times my bladder has miraculously filled in five minutes and I have a full other batch of pee in there . . . it's true, pregnancy is a miracle!!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Hungry Much?
So, in the first trimester I gained a whopping three pounds--and I'm willing to bet I've already gained ten or so this trimester . . .
Honestly I don't care at all because I was getting a bit worried about gaining almost nothing the first trimester (and I didn't even have morning sickness!).
Anyway, I think Jay-Jay and me are both packing on the pounds right now--it is ridiculous how much and how strong he can kick--last night he was moving the laptop with his kicking and even managed to HOLD IT up in the air for a second. Meanwhile some other friends of mine due in November haven't even felt A kick yet. Have some of mine, ladies, because sometimes it gets exhausting to feel him kicking ALL the time. Like right when I first wake up in the morning and I want to go back to sleep.
Anyway, I think he is having a growth spurt right now--not only have I been sleeping 13 hours some nights, but I swear I've been eating like 6 meals a day. Last night I had three dinners--a bean/veggie stirfry around 4:30, a tofu salad sandwich (with tomato and Chinese cabbage)--and let me tell you, that was some damn good homemade tofu salad (tofu, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, celery, canned asparagus, vegan mayo--YUMMMM)--anyway, I ate the tofu salad sandwich around 7:30, and then I had a yuba wrap (soybean wrap with millet, rice and veggies) from the coop right before bed, at like 10:30 . . . oh yeah and somewhere in there I also had an apple with lemon juice on it and a coconut milk ice cream bar. I was confident I would wake up this morning and still be full.
But no. I woke up STARVING. It's 1:15 pm now and I've already had (in this order), a nectarine, oatmeal with raisins and applesauce, a plum, and tofu salad with tomato on a cabbage leaf (sandwich sans bread), and some salted chocolate. Alright, when I put it like that it sounds like breakfast and lunch, but keep in mind I didn't even get out of bed until like 10am, so it's all been eaten in the last three hours. Plus I'm not normally even a breakfast eater! I can usually go until this time of day only eating a piece of fruit or two! I basically have been eating/cooking nonstop since I got up. LOL.
Anyway, I think we are both growing--but that is what we're supposed to do--so, it's on! Luckily, we can afford to buy enough fruit that I'm eating five pieces a day, and enough veggies, grains, and beans for me to have 5-6 full meals a day. I figure as long as I'm not going overboard with sweets (and despite my addition to salted chocolate I am actually pretty good on sweets) and other empty calories, I will probably be okay.
I've been operating under the assumption that it is pretty difficult to eat a lot of junk food when you are vegan and gluten free, and so far it seems to be true! Okay, there have been a few occasions when I've eaten super fried things--but I have REGRETTED IT soon after. Believe it or not, cutting out wheat also cuts out most fried things (since most things are breaded before being fried), so I've (apparently) developed a pretty low tolerance for deep frying. The last two times I ate fried stuff I got a serious stomach-ache later that day and continuing into the next . . .
WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS POST???
I am on an eating frenzy, but since it's all healthy food--who cares? Grow little James, grow! (But stop growing if you get to 9 pounds or so and you find yourself still in Mommy.)
Honestly I don't care at all because I was getting a bit worried about gaining almost nothing the first trimester (and I didn't even have morning sickness!).
Anyway, I think Jay-Jay and me are both packing on the pounds right now--it is ridiculous how much and how strong he can kick--last night he was moving the laptop with his kicking and even managed to HOLD IT up in the air for a second. Meanwhile some other friends of mine due in November haven't even felt A kick yet. Have some of mine, ladies, because sometimes it gets exhausting to feel him kicking ALL the time. Like right when I first wake up in the morning and I want to go back to sleep.
Anyway, I think he is having a growth spurt right now--not only have I been sleeping 13 hours some nights, but I swear I've been eating like 6 meals a day. Last night I had three dinners--a bean/veggie stirfry around 4:30, a tofu salad sandwich (with tomato and Chinese cabbage)--and let me tell you, that was some damn good homemade tofu salad (tofu, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, celery, canned asparagus, vegan mayo--YUMMMM)--anyway, I ate the tofu salad sandwich around 7:30, and then I had a yuba wrap (soybean wrap with millet, rice and veggies) from the coop right before bed, at like 10:30 . . . oh yeah and somewhere in there I also had an apple with lemon juice on it and a coconut milk ice cream bar. I was confident I would wake up this morning and still be full.
But no. I woke up STARVING. It's 1:15 pm now and I've already had (in this order), a nectarine, oatmeal with raisins and applesauce, a plum, and tofu salad with tomato on a cabbage leaf (sandwich sans bread), and some salted chocolate. Alright, when I put it like that it sounds like breakfast and lunch, but keep in mind I didn't even get out of bed until like 10am, so it's all been eaten in the last three hours. Plus I'm not normally even a breakfast eater! I can usually go until this time of day only eating a piece of fruit or two! I basically have been eating/cooking nonstop since I got up. LOL.
Anyway, I think we are both growing--but that is what we're supposed to do--so, it's on! Luckily, we can afford to buy enough fruit that I'm eating five pieces a day, and enough veggies, grains, and beans for me to have 5-6 full meals a day. I figure as long as I'm not going overboard with sweets (and despite my addition to salted chocolate I am actually pretty good on sweets) and other empty calories, I will probably be okay.
I've been operating under the assumption that it is pretty difficult to eat a lot of junk food when you are vegan and gluten free, and so far it seems to be true! Okay, there have been a few occasions when I've eaten super fried things--but I have REGRETTED IT soon after. Believe it or not, cutting out wheat also cuts out most fried things (since most things are breaded before being fried), so I've (apparently) developed a pretty low tolerance for deep frying. The last two times I ate fried stuff I got a serious stomach-ache later that day and continuing into the next . . .
WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS POST???
I am on an eating frenzy, but since it's all healthy food--who cares? Grow little James, grow! (But stop growing if you get to 9 pounds or so and you find yourself still in Mommy.)
Friday, June 11, 2010
OMG I think there's a baby inside me!
So as I mentioned last week, I've been feeling what COULD be little kicks here and there. (Or they could be gas bubbles). I've been leaning toward kicks a lot of the time when there isn't further gurgling and moving of the intestines. But it definitely hasn't been anything where I feel sure that it was kicking or moving.
I may or may not have mentioned that we have our own doppler machine, so we can listen to the heartbeat whenever we want (though we try not to overdo it, we might listen once every two weeks or so). But the last two times I looked for the HB I found it immediately.
So yesterday when our midwife was here, she tried for a min or so to find the heartbeat, but for some reason I just had this feeling that she was in the wrong spot. So she asked me if I wanted to try to find it, and after a few seconds, I found it pretty easily. My midwife was like: "The Moms always know where it is!" LOL.
But seriously, how DID I know where to look? I guess I do have a sense for where it is, though I couldn't find a logical reason why I should.
But just now I think I might have really felt it kicking or possibly even moving/turning a bit! Of course I can't be sure but it was little bumps just a little higher and to the other side from where we heard the heartbeat. So depending on how it is facing, that WOULD sort of be right where its feet could be!
I will have to keep an "eye" on this phenomenon and see if I keep feeling it in the same spot! Hehe! I'm so excited for when I can feel it move all the time.
I may or may not have mentioned that we have our own doppler machine, so we can listen to the heartbeat whenever we want (though we try not to overdo it, we might listen once every two weeks or so). But the last two times I looked for the HB I found it immediately.
So yesterday when our midwife was here, she tried for a min or so to find the heartbeat, but for some reason I just had this feeling that she was in the wrong spot. So she asked me if I wanted to try to find it, and after a few seconds, I found it pretty easily. My midwife was like: "The Moms always know where it is!" LOL.
But seriously, how DID I know where to look? I guess I do have a sense for where it is, though I couldn't find a logical reason why I should.
But just now I think I might have really felt it kicking or possibly even moving/turning a bit! Of course I can't be sure but it was little bumps just a little higher and to the other side from where we heard the heartbeat. So depending on how it is facing, that WOULD sort of be right where its feet could be!
I will have to keep an "eye" on this phenomenon and see if I keep feeling it in the same spot! Hehe! I'm so excited for when I can feel it move all the time.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Weird Pregnancy Dream
So I finally had a weird pregnancy dream last night. I dreamt that I was at my parents house and we were just hanging out, and suddenly I REALLY felt the baby move! And I looked down and I could see it moving all around in my stomach and kicking and rolling like crazy. Eventually, it was rolling so close to the skin that I felt like I could see it really clearly--little bony butt and head. Somehow it rolled out of my body, right through the skin of my stomach--LOL. This sounds gross and something that I should have panicked about, but in the dream it was super normal and I was just holding my tiny tiny 5 inch translucent skinned baby. My sister was there and she asked if we could see if it was a boy or a girl. So I held it up and we could definitely tell! (But I'm not saying what it was because I don't want to sway the poll I am taking!)
Anyway, at some point I realized that I could still feel a baby inside me, and that it was actually twins--the second baby came out of my belly too but I could see that it was underdeveloped compared to the first baby. I guess I think that this baby represents our next child (I don't really think I am pregnant with twins). Anyway, at this point I started to get a little worried about the babies chilling in the open air, so I put them back in my stomach--picture rubbing lotion into your skin--that's how I put them back, I just rubbed them into my belly. So then they were back in there safe and sound.
I was worried after this, and ran to the bathroom to see if I was bleeding but everything was fine.
So, super weird right!? It was cool though, to see and hold my tiny tiny little baby.
Anyway, at some point I realized that I could still feel a baby inside me, and that it was actually twins--the second baby came out of my belly too but I could see that it was underdeveloped compared to the first baby. I guess I think that this baby represents our next child (I don't really think I am pregnant with twins). Anyway, at this point I started to get a little worried about the babies chilling in the open air, so I put them back in my stomach--picture rubbing lotion into your skin--that's how I put them back, I just rubbed them into my belly. So then they were back in there safe and sound.
I was worried after this, and ran to the bathroom to see if I was bleeding but everything was fine.
So, super weird right!? It was cool though, to see and hold my tiny tiny little baby.
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