Saturday, September 30, 2006

4 dreams

So far there have been four dreams had about the baby after it's born. One by Josh, one by my Mom, and two by me. In each dream we were fully aware of the sex of the baby. Here are the current standing via our subconscious:

Josh: boy
Mom: boy
Me: girl
Me: girl

So, looks like we're neck and neck at this point. Any predictions? It will still be another 4 weeks or so before we find out for sure—assuming the Wee One cooperates at the next ultrasound.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

ch...ch...ch...changes

Everybody says that your life changes the moment you have children, but I don't think that's the case. I think your life actually changes the moment you find out you (or your partner) are pregnant. At least mine has.

From the day we found out about the wee one, things have been different, both psychologically and physically. For example, one of the first things I did when I found out I was pregnant was give up caffeine. Now, that's saying a lot coming from a girl who drank two or three cups of coffee every morning. It wasn't easy, but it was necessary. Josh changed his coffee habits too. Instead of us making a pot of coffee at home each morning, Josh waits until he gets to work to have his cup(s) o' joe. He'll still make a pot on Saturday and Sunday mornings at home, but it's a huge change from what we used to do. And he does it out of respect for me. He's kind enough to think of me and doesn't make it so I don't have to smell it or be tempted by it.

There are quite a few other food related changes I've had to make in my life: no cold cuts, no soft cheeses, watch the fish consumption, make sure I'm getting an adequate amount of calcium in my diet, etc. Oh, and eating breakfast again—every day. That's a habit that I had really gotten out of and would solely subsist on my morning coffee until the afternoon. Now that's changed.

It's odd how much better you want to take care of yourself—both mentally and physically—when you know someone else is depending on you. Not that I didn't take good care of myself before, but now, we take even better care of ourselves. It's no longer just about us two—we have another human completely depending on us to give them a healthy "home", now and after they're born. And that's is what is really important to us now.

So, while I'm sure our lives will change even more when the wee one arrives, for us the process has already begun.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

the first trimester is coming to a close

Saturday will mark the end official end of the first trimester and the start of what many tell me will be my most beloved trimester. These first 13 weeks have been full of ups and downs and while they've been relatively lovely, I'm looking forward to the next trimester. Looking back at this first trimester, I've experienced all of the following and then some.

Week 1—3: The "pre-pregnancy awareness" days. I went about my daily routine, oblivious to the happenings (or about to be happenings) going on inside my body. I knew Josh and I were ready to begin the journey towards parenthood, but I had no idea it would happen in July of 2006.

Week 4: I knew something had changed at this point. It would still be a few days until the confirmation tests, but I just had that gut feeling. My breasts felt like they had been trapped in a vice and I was suddenly exhausted. All.the.time. Just two days after the start of week four I ran out and got the test that changed our lives forever. We were thrilled and wanted the world to know, but it would still be another week before we would start spreading the news.

Week 5: The official news breaks. First to my parents and then to Josh's. After that it was a free for all. My Mom would shout it from the rooftops and I had to be sure Josh and I got to our closest friends before they heard it from someone else. This was also the week that the ugly side effect known as morning sickness reared it's head (and decided to stay around for way too long). The first real episode was from the dishwater in the sink one morning. An odd thing to make a person gag if you ask me. Definately, not fun.

Week 6—7: In just days we would leave for a much anticipated vacation in Arizona. Morning sickness is at it's worst so far and I'm really concerned about the flight out there. I did not want to be the girl who threw up on the plane. I armed myself with Seabands© and a plethora of dry snacks and gingerale for the plane ride. It worked and we made it to AZ without incident. This, however, is where the "fun" ceased. We had a decent time—swimming, being with our friends, etc.—but I was miserable the whole week. It was so hot out there (in the 90's by 8 a.m) and we couldn't do much more than sit in the recycled central air. I was nauseous daily and had to nap every afternoon. I never threw up while we were there—or on the plane ride home—but it took everything I had to keep me from doing so.

Week 8: Absolutely miserable and praying for the morning sickness to stop, I wondered how people could stand to go through this more than once. I guess you forget and 6 weeks of morning sickness is nothing compared to the rewards you reap when it's all over. I turned 30 this week. Despite the fact that I couldn't drink a margarita or three to celebrate, it was a wonderful birthday. Josh threw the surprise party for me and so many came out to celebrate. I also told work that I was pregnant this week. They were thrilled for us. I'm lucky to work for such a great company that is not only accomodating, but very family oriented. Even this past Friday at our Fall Planning & Development meeting they mentioned to the entire staff & faculty, via part of our "Lots to Celebrate" powerpoint slide, that Josh and I were expecting our first child.

Week 9—11: Two words. Morning Sickness. Thankfully the eleventh week marked the end of the dreaded daily gag/vomit. I don't miss it at all.

Week 12: We had our first ultrasound & early screen blood work. The blood work came back normal and all appears to be progressing well. The last week or so has also found me altering my wardrobe with a few pairs of maternity pants and tops making there way into my daily life. I can still wear quite of few of my regular tops—and oddly, my pre-pregnancy jeans still fit—but it won't be long until I say good-bye to all of them. I'm starting to really show and have noticed that I'm even beginning to walk different (I think my uterus may have tipped). Earlier in the week I found a chart with my measurements from October 2005. I was astonished to see that my waist is a whopping 8 inches bigger than it was just a year ago. Baby has lots of room to float around right now.

Week 13: The wee one is now three inches long and weighs just an ounce. So, where have these 5 extra pounds come from? I haven't had any noticable "must have now" cravings, but if I'm hungry for something, I satisfy that desire. Josh has been great and for weeks now has taken over bathroom cleaning duty. I seem to be completely over the morning sickness and feel great being pregnant. I hope to hear the heartbeat again at my doctor's appointment on Tuesday, more than anything I'm just happy things are progressing nicely.

Here's to the next 27 weeks.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

dragon lady nails

One of the benefits of the prenatal vitamins I take: super long and strong fingernails. Look at the middle one! It's out of control. Just the part of the nail that extends past the nail bed is nearly a half an inch long. Even the lady at the pharmacy today touched it and mentioned that she remembered that side effect being a benefit of the vitamins.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

the first ultrasound

Saturday, September 9, 2006

Dear Baby,
Yesterday your Daddy and I went to our very first ultrasound appointment. It was one of the most amazing things we've ever seen. The sonographer put the warm (thankfully) jelly on my belly and all of a sudden there you were. It made the pregnancy that much more real.

I was happy to see that there was only one of you in there and you really seemed to be enjoying the buoyancy of the amniotic fluid. You were bouncing all over the place and were really active. The technician (Jillian) took lots of pictures and measurements of you while we were there. She pointed out your various parts—which were so obvious, as you look completely like a human already at just 12 weeks.

After about ten minutes or so you settled down and Jillian wanted you to move a bit more so she had me cough a couple of times to get you going. When I did you put your arm up to your head as if I was putting you out. That made all three of us laugh. It was so cute and one of the main things your Dad would tell people about after the appointment. Then you got the hiccups. Amazing that you could get the hiccups like that in-utero. The sonographer surprised us by bringing up your heartbeat for a listen. It was like a quick whosh, whosh, whosh and she said that it was a good heartbeat at 158 beats per minute. We could see your little heart beating right through your chest on the monitor.

All in all we spent about a half in hour in there ohhing and ahhing over our little baby. Jillian took a whopping 25 pictures of you and gave us a whole two. But that's okay, I've looked at those two very real pictures of you at least a dozen times since that moment. Probably many more than that.

Can't wait to see you again at around 20 weeks—to find out your gender. Just another six months and we'll be holding you in our arms instead of a picture.

Love,
Mommy

Saturday, September 09, 2006

too soon? never...

Earlier this week I purchased my first baby item (not the first I've received, just the first purchased by me). Now, before you tell me buying baby stuff at 11.5 weeks is too early, let's look at the facts:
  1. The item was on sale, and with the little bit of $ I still had on a gift card it only cost me $3.97 out of pocket.
  2. Since the computer is part of my daily life, this seemed ultra appropriate and too cute to pass up.
  3. The tie-dyed onesie my Mom got us last month looked so lonely hanging in the closet by itself and needed a friend.



See, it was a necessary purchase. Don't you agree? And cute to boot.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

one more reason I love my baby's daddy

Each morning before he leaves for work, Josh kisses me good-bye and tells me he loves me. Then, he pulls back the covers, kisses my stomach and says to the baby, "I love you too."

We love you, Josh.