Wednesday, July 20, 2011

23-27 weeks...Whoops!

I didn't realize that I hadn't done an update in a month. I told you time was flying, but I mean, WOW, things are really sneaking up on me! At any rate, here is a wrap up of what the end of the second tri was like for me.


How far along: 23-27 wks

Total weight change: Up 14 from pre-preg

Maternity clothes: Pretty much exclusively. I think I've worn a non maternity shirt maybe 4 or 5 times in the last month? Non mat pants are NOT an option!

Stretch Marks: Sad face. I was laying in bed, and SB says "Hey, when did you scratch yourself?". I knew as soon as he said it that these supposed "scratches" were stretch marks. I had to pull my belly up to see the underside, and lo and behold, two parallel pink lines (reminds me of a + pregnancy test know that I think about it!), running about an inch or two up my belly. I was surpisingly saddened by this. I love my belly, I think that it is beautiful so I guess the stretch marks kinda ruined what I thought was a "perfect" looking belly. I got over that reeeeel fast, and came to the conclusion that my belly is still beautiful, and that it really isn't a big deal. When I got the ones on my thighs, I could have cared less, but the belly ones did kinda throw me for a loop!

Movement: What a difference a month makes. This baby has got their Dance Dance Revolution game hooked up, and plays it all day! This past month this baby has shown itself to be a mover and shaker. I praise God for it, and can't help but already mourn the loss of it once baby is born . I get rolls, kicks, swipes, punches, and stuff I can't describe. Feeling my little one enjoy playing in its space has been life changing. Out of all of the pregnant body does, having the ability to feel your baby move en utero is simply the most amazing. Its so neat having this quiet bond that only the two of us share. It is super humbling too. Baby is moving right now as a matter of fact, and it is wonderful.

Sleep: This past month has had the same set up sleep stealers as previous weeks. I had rhinitis again, then I heartburn. Lately I've just been SUPER hot at night (the 3 days we had no A/C didn't help), and I can't sleep when I'm hot, so that has been a struggle. I still get my rest though, and I've made it in to work everyday (gotta keep that month and a half PTO saved up) so I guess it's not going too bad.

Best Moment This Week: This MONTH has had a lot of best moments. Regular movement is one. Seeing that eveything is in place and perfect with baby is another.  We went to see a specialist last Friday since after two scans the tech at the midwives still struck out on the measurements we need to be cleared for our anatomy scan. The Dr was SUPER nice, and he also had a friendly nurse, and a student shadowing him. I had to go in with a full bladder, which was a little miserable, but once I got to lay down, it took the pressure off and I was a-ok. They got a good look at the cord, the heart, the right femur, right kidney, and the cerebellum. The dr remarked that the baby had a "beautiful cerebellum" when he walked in the room and saw it on the screen (the nurse took a peek while we were waiting), lol. The ultrasound confirmed my suspision from a week ago when I mentioned to a few people that I thought baby had turn head down. The first thing we saw on the screen was their head...directly on top of my bladder..lol! The baby set about kicking at the scanner, so I knew that the legs were in a good position now to get a nice look at thier bits.  After two attempts wtith no luck, they were finally able to see what the baby is working with. The dr printed the sex on a a picture, and gave it to Damon. He wrote "secret" on my chart, so only Sugarbeet, God, and the Dr know what the baby is, and we will never see that Dr again, so I think it is a nice secret that Sugarbeet gets to have all to himself.  He says that things feel more real now, and has started to hound me about registering, so I guess the desired affect of him feeling closer to baby has worked.

Belly Button In or Out: It is giving up the ghost. It used to just stick out after I ate, but now a days it seems to be permanatly pudgy. It's not all the way out yet, be we are getting there.

Cravings/Aversions: Sweets, and ice

Symptoms: I've started nesting a little. I wash the dishes every night now, and anyone who knows me has fallen out of their chair and needs a moment to regroup after reading that.  My back feels better, but I think maybe I'm just getting used to the pain being around. I am getting more tired, and spending more time on the couch. I need to get moving again, and have been walking on my lunch break at least.  The only issue is that walking for long periods gives me some pretty bad round ligament pain, and actually really tires me out! I've decided that I'm too small and it is too soon for me to be this lethargic, so I'm regrouping efforts to keep moving.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Getting my Gestational Diabetes test over with...oh and passing!
Things I Wish I Would Have Known: That I would have missed a month of writing my symptoms, nearly two months of taking pictures, and that I would be so okay with staying home. I say it every week, and these past 4 that I've missed should make it evident, but I really think this is all happening too fast. I've only got 90 days left till my due date, and I wish I could cling to each moment as tight as the last.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Double Digits

For the second time this pregnancy, I have reached Double Digits! Here is a screen shot of my ticker for today:

 I've only got 99 days left!  Not since 10 weeks has double digits been so exciting! It feels like this milestone came very quickly. Let the countdown to the countdown to the countdown begin! Lol. After here, I think my next milestone isn't until 31 weeks when I'll have the less than double digit coundown (Holy Moley!), 35/35, and then after that it is 38 weeks, which is full term. Once there, all I have left is, well, Birth Day!
I am hanging on for dear life right now, everything is going so fast, and I can't believe how much closer I am to meeting this little guy or doll. I am so excited!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Viability

This was a looooong time coming...and yet got here so fast! I am 24w, which besides meaning I've got 6 months under my belt, also means that if I were to go into pre-term labor, this would be the first time there would be measurable odds in favor of the baby surviving. Take a looksie:


COMPLETED WEEKS OF GESTATION AT BIRTH
(using last menstrual period)

CHANCE OF SURVIVAL

21 weeks and less          0%

    22 weeks                      0-10%

     23 weeks                     10-35%

      24 weeks                    40-70%

     25 weeks                      50-80%

     26 weeks                      80-90%

 27 weeks                     >90%

30 weeks                     >95%

34 weeks                     >98%

As you can see, 24 weeks, while not ideal, is a good place to be for the survival of your baby! I still can't believe that I am here, it has been a very short time, and I feel like I'm constantly having to adjust to the fact that this pregnancy is going so quickly.  I sent SB a message about how we we're at v-day earlier this week, and he replied with the baby is "here to stay". Don't ask me why, but it really struck a cord with me. Everything about our lives has followed this natural progression that never felt pushed or hurried along. Even in getting pregnant, it just felt like what we should do, like it was the next step that we were ready for.
Now it begins to sink in that in just a few, few, very few, short months, we will be parents. Holy Cats.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Weekend Plans

This was a LOOOOOOONG week. I feel like it went on and on and on, and I am so glad that it is finally Friday! That being said, here are the plans for the weekend (think)

Friday:

Head out to Elaine's with-
  • my completed crochet project (to show off)
  • my fabrics so we can measure, cut, sew, and therefore complete my quilt top
  • my dress that I ordered online for Mason's wedding in case we need to make any alterations
  • my cloth diapers so that I can demonstrate how easy they are
  • my fabric for the cloth wipes I'm making. I need help pinning the two different fabrics together and I really need help cutting
  • Possibly my sewing machine
Saturday:
  • Go to Micheal's and Hobby Lobby to find some new yarn for another blanket for my baby
  • POSSIBLY go to Quilters' Emporium to possibly buy some fabric to possibly make a blanket. I'm been trying to limit myself to one project of a type at a time, so technically I can't start a blanket until this quilt is finished. BOOO
  • Hang out with the Sugarbeet and go to a birthday party for a friend from college
  • Be baller
Sunday:
  • Get smart and get to church
  • Go to Santos' birthday party
  • Go to family night
  • Dread going to work the next day, but look forward to another week!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

14 weeks yo!


How far along: 14 wks

Total weight change: ZERO

Maternity clothes: Um, heck yes!! I wore my jeans on Friday for the LAST TIME.  I sat at work absolutely miserable.  I've been coming home and changing into maternity clothes at night, lol. I bought some stuff this week, and that included some slacks for work and some jeans, which I desperatly needed.  I'm wearing my band today, and have decided that I never want to again.  It was nice while it lasted, but now that I've had  a taste of true mat pants, this band is just a terrible substitute and no longer a bff. :(

Stretch Marks: No

Movement: I wish

Sleep: Besides my nose waking me up all night for several nights, I think it was okay...but not really.

Best Moment This Week: Reaching 13w3d, the official end of the first trimester! To celebrate, the baby decided to make me feel like crap...which I loved! It was a nice reminder that everything is going well, and that I've actually got a baby on board.  Oh, an we got the quilt laid out this week.  We were up until 1 am, but Ms Virginia, Mrs Oldham, Rosalind and I got it all ironed out. It took starting over 3 times, but I'm glad to say that it is done. Next week we get to sewing!

Belly Button In or Out: In

Cravings/Aversions: I've been eating whatever, the aversions sometimes show up when its time for dinner, and especially when its time for meal planning.

Symptoms: Still. back. pain. Friday I had terrbible nausea, lightheadedness, headachynesss, and general malaise.  I also had a 3 day long headache, and since pregnancy has turn me into a hypochondriac, I was convinced I had pre-eclampsia.  I gave in on Saturday morning and took two tylenol, and after a nap I felt a lot better.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Feeling movement! Also, we have our appointment next week on Monday so I'm just counting down the days till I get to hear that sweet little heartbeat again.

Things I Wish I Would Have Known: Its a little known secret that when you get pregnant, eveyone else goes to med school and gets a degree in obsetetristics... I'm surrounded by Dr's now, and its terrible! I also wish I would have known that I would have such a daunting task ahead of me with this whole cloth daipering thing! There are so many options and options with those options that its actually quite out of control. Pregnancy is one of the few times in life that you can actually suffer from an information overload.  Trying to learn all that I can about cding has left me confused and overwhelmed. I feel like the normal answer to being confused (which is more research), has been counterintuitive and left me still scratching my head in wonder!

Friday, June 17, 2011

I'm a hippie, I know, I know

I'm in the process of starting to collect things needed for our Little Ones arrival, and in the process have begun to fully flesh out my inner hippie. I've made some choices that I think tend to be less than popular, but when it all boils down to it, there really is no way to please every one (insert "so just please God" at the end of this sentence, but that’s for another time).


That being said, here are some of the choices I've decided would be best for me, my baby, and the WORLD! Lol:

Minimal medical intervention (honestly, I'd like to show up to the hospital when ready to push)

Seeing midwives instead of Drs (cause I'm not sick)

Cloth diapering

Using cloth wipes

Utilizing items that can be found used instead of buying new (we have accomplished this one pretty well if I do say so myself)

Attempting to get as much clothing as possible second hand

Not giving into the over consumerism that is specifically marketed to naive and or fearful parents

Exclusively Breastfeeding



Most if not all of the choices above has caught me flack from every female member of society. "You can't do this, you won't have time for that, its just not practical". When I asked someone why they were being so negative they told me "I'm not being negative, I'm just being real. I don't want to sugar coat anything".

Makes me think. It makes me think why everyone is under the impression that cloth is so difficult, when they have never tried it. Makes me wonder why the amount of things I buy for the baby is equal to the amount I have actually prepared. I don't know how these time tested, mothering techniques became so taboo (actually I do, and if you know me, you know that I blame it on the "Women’s' Liberation"...lol, long story). At any rate, I think that what I would like to do for my child is return to a simpler, more time-tested way of rearing my LO. Women breastfed for centuries, cloth diapered just as long as well. Used soft clothes to wipe their babies bottoms, not paper sitting in a solution of chemicals, and made/recycled their own clothes for baby.

I think that a lot of the attitude I get comes from the "I got real, and then I got Luvs" phenomenon. If you're not familiar, the Luv's diaper brand has commercials that feature new moms who discuss how "in the beginning when baby was little, I'd only get the expensive diapers". There is a scene of a newborn baby laying so small and quietly in a crib, then that scene cuts to a toddler running around and throwing things. The baby-moon is OVER! Lol. Time to get some cheap diapers since that is what is practical and makes sense.

I think that a lot of new Moms go through this, and it changes you. You had all of these ideas of how things were going to be, how you were going to parent, the way everything would be perfect, with just a little work and patience....Then life starts, and its not the rosy picture that was originally envisioned. Never letting your baby cry turns out to be a harder task than you thought, or you end up with an infant that nurses every two hours for 45 minutes, oh, and cluster feeds in the evenings. Life gets real, and idealism goes out of the window. Then some new fresh faced mom who has NO idea what she is getting herself into shows up and says "I have the exact same ideas that you had!", and you say "Oh no, no no no, it doesn't work that way sister!".

I've seen it on different levels. The women who had natural birth say that it is possible to do that, but CDing or BFing is going to be an issue. The women that BF said, "oh well that wasn't too bad, but you're going to be begging for an epidural, and who want's to touch poop" (which by the way, I'm convinced you do anyway...).

Women are tending to show themselves critical of what they didn't do themselves, and I find that surprising. If you want to find somebody who's mind is completely closed to different choices than theirs, meet a mom. Its not a bad thing. We've learned how to rear our children this way since the dawn of time, (and personally I think that it is engrained in our nature). By us comparing ourselves against each other we learned how to employ time tested, mom tested techniques. It was how our species survived. If a mom was doing a terrible job, and didn't look at how another mom was doing a better one, her baby would die. We need community in order to be successful, but I think we also need a healthy dose of open mindedness to new ideas as well.

I often wonder how the first mom who stuck her baby in a sposie was greeted. Or the mom that gave her baby formula. I bet convention jeered her, and made her to feel like she was doing it wrong, that nobody did it that way, and that she would change her mind. Yet here we are with those things being the new convention.

The other thing that I think moms tend to do is feel as if we are competing. Whose baby holds their head up first, rolls over, sits up, sleeps through the night, walks, talks, feeds themselves, becomes a Noble Laureate. And not just that, but by me merely saying "Oh, no thanks for that diaper coupon, I don't really plan on using disposable diapers", I get this visceral reaction of another woman’s subconscious mind saying "What do you think, you're better than me? You have no clue, you don't even have a baby yet, you'll see". YIKES. 0.0

At any rate, all of this long rant of a post was to say that despite my unpopular choices, and no matter how many I stick to, how many I toss aside, or what new methods I adopt, I know that I will be loving and caring for my baby actively and daily with all that I have in me. Isn't that all that should count?

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

13 weeks and all is well


How far along: 13 wks

Total weight change: None

Maternity clothes: My super sweet coworker brought me a couple of shirts that she had (she had an October baby too!) and I went and got 2 pairs of slacks, some shorts, and some shirts. Sugarbeet was nice enough to get me some new shoes too! I needed some heels to wear with my new slacks, but none of my black heels are properly broken in, meaning I needed to get some more "sensible" heels.  They are a 3in peep toe platform, über comfortable! I have no clothes I can wear comfortably without my band, and a few of my blouses are getting a little too tight.  All of my cotton/stretchy stuff is still fine.

Stretch Marks: No

Movement: I wish

Sleep: MUCH BETTER! I've been able to stay alseep much longer, and am finding that I don't go in the middle of the night as often. Getting to bust some zzz's is awesome!

Best Moment This Week: Getting more and more comfortable that this little one is here to stay.  God has tried and tried to get through my thick skull, but alas, I'm quite good at hitting the "ignore" button on his calls. I know that I was created for this very thing, but sometimes its hard to believe that I could be this blessed. While I haven't stuggled with infertility, I still find myself identifying with Sarah...except for the letting Sugarbeet sleep with someone else part..Lol.

Belly Button In or Out: In

Cravings/Aversions: Neither. I've been up for anything lately.

Symptoms: Still. back. pain. The girls still hate life too, but other than that I've been okay. OH, I almost forgot the best symptom of all, my linea negra has showed up!!!! I present the bottom half of my belly to any lady who will look so that I can proudly show my first exterior sign of our little one. SB loves it, he thinks its adorable, and I find it extremly reasuring. *hand cupped to one side of mouth: don't tell anyone, but sometimes I go to the restroom at work to look at it.* Also, I've had to go much more during the day, and of course when I get there I'm treated to the relief of tinkle tinkle tinkle...yeah a reeeal potty emergency here.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Continuing to grow and change

Things I Wish I Would Have Known: I knew everyone was going to have their opinion, but I wish I would have known that it was going to be impossible to avoid hearing it! I think that pregnancy should be don't ask, don't tell. Also, I wish my co-workers would stop being so conscerned with me getting fat.