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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

First Time Jitters

Well, the nerves are kicking in. As in, holy crap this is really happening and I can't wrap my head around it nerves. I am so excited to meet this baby and simultaneously trying to wrap my mind around the fact that this squirming thing in my belly is really a baby and not some strange indigestion. I spent some time on the phone with a mama friend who just had a baby a few weeks ago and it did wonders to quell my nerves. It's good to get that perspective when I am floundering around trying to imagine that this will really happen.

Just a year ago I wondered if I would ever experience childbirth in this life. We are so lucky. That is my affirmation, my focus when I get lost in the nerves.

Only four weeks to go and a baby room that seriously needs putting together. I am waiting for the intense nesting energy to drive me through the final stage of preparation. There are a few more shelves that need purchased and installed then I can sort her clothes/books/toys and get everything off the floor and out of the crib. Time to pack up the Christmas decorations and set up the swing (thanks Char & Jamie!) and work to find a place for strollers and high chairs.

My last prenatal appointment went great. My blood pressure isn't a major concern, I am now officially off the blood thinners and my bruising is clearing up and there are no signs of early labor. Things are looking great and even though I'm getting bigger and more tired working still feels really, really good to me. Scott is urging me to slow down but I don't feel it yet, although I am taking time to rest and paying close attention to my body.

Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Hello From 34 Weeks!



Oh Baby! I can't believe there are six more weeks of growing left to do! She is doing great, moving quite a bit now which is a huge comfort. We can finally feel what is definitively a foot, or elbow moving around, versus a rolling baby. This gets more exciting every day.

So far I am still working quite a bit and feeling well about it. This week I've had some elevated blood pressure and have been told by the doctor to slow down. The trouble is that I don't really feel like slowing down, quite the opposite in fact. I know that any day now I will become very tired and moving around a lot will be uncomfortable. Until that moment I'm happy being busy.

I finished my home made Christmas gifts today and thanks to Scott they are off in the mail. Like most presents I ship they will most likely not make it there in time but oh well. It's the thought that counts.

The baby shower was great fun although not many pictures were taken. I will do my best to pull some together and write a bit about it, it was a great day. For now I've got a date with a movie, my hubby and the couch.

(Heather, if you are reading this call me!!!)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Also

A good friend delivered her baby girl a few days ago. I am anxiously awaiting photos of them. I did not know the exact time she went into labor, however, that entire day I walked around thinking about her. I had a knot of anticipation and excitement in my stomach and I just knew she was in labor. I told Scott that I had a feeling she was having her baby. Then I told my coworkers that know her that I was pretty sure she was having a baby at that moment. Sure enough a few hours later I got a text announcing a good birth. Must be the pregnancy is increasing my baby intuition. So to my friend who will remain anonymous until she makes a public announcement: If you are reading this we are so, so happy for you and hope you are too consumed with falling in love to post pics....but we are anxious to see them:)

32 down 6-10 or more to go

This week is week 32, only five more weeks until we can safely deliver at home and eight more weeks until the due date! The baby is supposedly weighing in at 3.75 pounds which my baby development web site explains is roughly the weight of a large Jicama.

I've heard over and over again that your child will enjoy the foods you craved while pregnant. If that's the case then my daughter loves apples with peanut butter, oh and dark chocolate with peanut butter. Actually just about anything with peanut butter. I've never been a huge fan of peanut butter until this pregnancy. Precipitated by the gestational diabetes, my love of peanut butter has now grown to enormous heights. I just spent the last 20 minutes of work dreaming about getting home to a cut up apple and my jar of Adam's. Speaking of the Adam's peanut butter I have been going through one huge jar a week. Wow. That even amazes me.


Speaking of the 'ol gestational diabetes a new and strange side effect has developed. Everything is going really well, the diabetes is under control and the baby is doing well. Even though it's going well I still have to take my blood sugar levels every day or two to make sure I am staying on track. This is normally accomplished by a "prick" of the finger tip. Being that I am a massage therapist the finger tip method is strictly a no fly unless I had wanted to spend the last few months working with rubber gloves on. No thank you. So I test on my upper forearm to avoid compromising my finger tips. This method had been working just fine, in fact it was easy to hide the little marks within the flowers of my tattoo. However, in the last week I have been developing giant blossoming bruises where I lance myself. Yikes!!! They do not hurt but they look awful. I mean, awful. Really, really awful. I am waiting for someone to ask me if I am being abused, they look like nasty finger prints. Hmmmm....


I am seeing the doctor tomorrow to confer with her about said bruising. My theory is that the blood thinners I am on to help with the blood clotting issue are taking their toll. Most likely they have built up in my blood and are now causing hyper sensitivity and bruising. All good and well as I am scheduled to stop taking them directly after Christmas. I am anticipating being asked to participate in another blood clotting time test to see exactly how viscous my blood is. I had hoped to avoid another one of these tests since each one leaves a little scar which you can see to the bottom left of the big bruise in the pic above. My guess is if my blood is too thin then we will begin dialing back the blood thinners now instead of after the holiday. Until them I find discreet ways to put my clients at ease when I take my cardigan off to work so they don't silently wonder what is going on with me.

With Christmas presents on the brain I have rounded a corner into full on craftiness here. Behold a stack of Martha Stewart cookie/treat boxes waiting to be filled. I am so excited about these but will explain why later when it wont ruin any holiday surprises.

I am also working on a few things for the baby shower which is Sunday. I know I am supposed to sit back and let it be thrown for me but I enjoy getting ready for parties. Since we are going with a tea and cake theme I've collected some beautiful dishes and wine glasses and glued them together to make impromptu cake and cookie stands. I've been wanting to try this for awhile and am pretty psyched with the results. I am also very, very excited about the party favors we are making, again more on that when it wont be a spoiler.

And of course Christmas is just around the corner. We've had a bit of the old holiday spirit already with the arrival of our fully decorated mini tree care of Aunt Pat!


Tonight Scott brought home our full sized tree which is currently resting in the corner getting used to it's new digs before we decorate it. Happy Holidays!!!! Look how excited Jelly is for Christmas:

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Home from work. Check
Caught up on all of my insurance billing. Check
Banking is done. Check
A precious hour to myself to nap. Check

I am settling into the couch with my comfy new blanket that G&G (grandma and grandpa Dihel) sent me. Rare are the moments where all my obligations are met and I have this moment to nap. I am just tired enough that I know it's gonna be great, and that very soon naps will be hard to come by in these parts. I am so excited for this nap I can taste it. Just as I'm beginning to drift off in my little row boat of sleep it starts.....

I thought I was safe this time, she is supposed to be out of town at the beach. The driving techno beat starts rising first and I plead with the divine "please no, let me be imagining that sound". No such luck as the song really starts and my down stairs neighbor kicks into karaoke gear. I have known people and lived with people before who enjoy singing. A song will move them and before they know it they are singing along. This. is. nothing. like. that. This my dear reader is a non stop 3-4 hour karaoke session which I have a front row ticket for 3-5 times a week. I am not exaggerating. Hours at a time the singing goes on and on. Rarely do I recognize the music being played, although it is reminiscent of the music spilling out of teenage clothing stores at the mall. Heavy beats, synthetic vocals and lots of hard to reach notes. Hard to reach, as in the average person should not try it. Certainly not for 3 hours straight!!!!

Perhaps it's the pregnancy, perhaps it's the fact that I've been dealing with this for months and my patience is wearing oh so very thin. I've tried talking to her, letting her know that we can hear everything. That didn't work, she must like the idea of performing. We have tried blocking all the vents with pillows and blankets which helps marginally but now it's winter and we can't keep that up without damaging the furnace. We've tried drowning her out with our stereo but I just don't have her tolerance for hours of very loud music. Lately we've resorted to running away, fleeing the scene which I will be doing as soon as I finish typing this. Leaving the house due to the annoyance only adds to our frustration. Hmmmm......

My only thought here is that the karma will even out when we have a crying baby. Scott and I might go out of our way to be noise considerate but our daughter will be another entity all together. Hopefully it will help to balance the dynamic.

What would really help is buying our own house. If any of you have great tips for us on how to start that process let me know. We are clueless although quickly becoming motivated.

So long nap, you were a beautiful concept. I'm going to return some library books now.