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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

I have my house back!



Don't get me wrong. I love the holiday season. I love getting the tree and setting it up, along with the household decorations. I even LOVE doing extravagant lights on the outside of the house (even though we have YET to do them to our house...I told  Ben that come hell or high water we're going to start going all out next year. We're talking mechanical penguins, deer, the whole shebang).

I also love it when it all comes down and I get my "normal" house back. After a while I start feeling like all of the holiday joviality is liable to swarm in and suffocate me. It's amazing how much more spacious my living room feels just by getting rid of a medium-sized piece of dead vegetation. Not to mention the needles that go with it!
So, now the house is pretty much back to normal. With the exception of aforementioned dead tree sitting out by the side of the house, waiting to be picked up/delivered to it's final resting place.
On another note...I finally ordered the bulk of majorly needed baby items. I say the bulk of it because I'm being cheap and waiting for my discounts to be effective for the last couple of places I'm ordering from. Especially because I ended up ordering the pack & play, even though I wasn't planning on doing so until we actually needed it. The reason I had to order it? Well...apparently the furniture we ordered for the nursery was out of stock, which they failed to mention when we ordered it. It isn't due to even SHIP until the end of March. Pardon?!?!?! My baby is due in mid-February, and will probably end up coming before then. I kind of need somewhere for my child to sleep!!! SO...hello pack & play!!! I guess I don't get that perfectly ready nursery that I had envisioned. Oh well...adaptation is a wonderful thing. Disappointment, not so much.
I'll admit it, I also changed my due date on the sites where I "registered" (I registered for the exact same things at 3 places so that I could get the completion discounts, and then buy from wherever ended up being cheapest. I only told people about one of them, however, so as to avoid getting multiples of things). I changed my due date to a full month and a half earlier than it actually is, because they don't give you the discount until after your due date. Hello? Common sense? Can you kick in for these registry places? I need the discount earlier than that, because I need to have the stuff before the baby arrives so I can be fully prepared. DUH!!!
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Sunday, December 19, 2010

I had SO hoped that this would be more pleasant.

Pregnancy, that is. In my mind I wanted to continue working out (as in cardio, not just walking) at least 3 times a week. I wanted good skin, and hopefully the exercise would help me maintain energy levels. I would be able to find adorable, stylish, CHEAP maternity clothes, and would be able to continue eating healthy the entire way through pregnancy without feeling sick if I did so. I would have cravings for fruits and vegetables, and my hair would grow fast and become thick and luxurious. I would gain an optimal amount of weight and feel beautiful the entire time.

HAH! Unfortunately, like countless women before me, I do not particularly enjoy pregnancy. At least not this one. From day one it has been a slew of Dr's appointments and "don't do" lists. Including any form of exercise (oh, except for about a month in the middle there, where I was allowed to do light, slow walking. Yeah, not exactly what I meant by exercise). My skin exploded from the beginning (one of the things that led me to test for pregnancy) and only got worse with the barrage of hormones and medications I had to be put on in order to maintain the pregnancy and optimal blood flow to the baby. While energy has been OK, starting at about 30.5 weeks I'm falling asleep randomly after doing NOTHING all day...yay for pregnancy-induced narcolepsy.

The maternity clothes that I have found are OK, but the majority of them still make me look as wide as a house, so I'm stuffing myself into pre-pregnancy (stretchy) clothes since they STILL look better. Not to mention the cost of maternity clothes. We'll just say that I'm wearing my pre-pregnancy coat that I love (I'm not able to button it) because I refuse to pay almost $100 for a maternity coat that looks like a circus tent. As for food, well...the things that don't make me feel sick to my stomach are all either fried, fatty, salty, or just plain bad for you. I throw fruits and veggies in because I need to, but they almost certainly make me feel like I'm going to throw up.

Cravings are: salt. Fried. Fatty...the things that don't make me feel ill. They also are the things that pack on the pounds like nobody's business. And, while I'm not gaining 80lbs by any means, I still have already gained a bit more than I would like, and the Dr. says not to worry about it because Monkey is in the 5th percentile and needs to gain, so that means I need to gain. Oh boy...all I see there is "more to lose later." Yeah...more to lose when I'm even more exhausted and less inclined to eat healthy because, let's face it, eating healthy takes more time and effort. As for feeling beautiful, that's just a joke at this point. I feel fat, tired, sick, zitty, and all around crappy. Yeah, beautiful isn't happening in our house this Christmas.
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Thursday, December 16, 2010

And we're into single digits!

That's right...8 weeks and 6 days until Monkey's due! Of course, I may not make it that far, but it's really starting to sink in. That and the fact that we barely have anything for this kiddo. I already told the moms (my mom and  Ben's mom) that after January 1 we will be purchasing things that are left on the registry. That way there is time for shipping delays etc. There was some objection to that, because "people need time to get you gifts." I, for one, think that's great if they want to, but it is our responsibility to provide for this baby, and I can't wait because people might want to buy something for him...especially when it probably won't even be something we really need! That and the fact that a LOT of times people say they want to do something, but never do. No...better safe than sorry for us. We will be doing some major purchasing after the new year.

As for Monkey, he's still looking good. Moving great. As of yesterday, he's still in the 5th percentile for growth (3lbs 1oz at 31 weeks) but since it's a steady weight gain and he's not slowing down, everyone is confident that he'll probably just be a small baby and that there is, in all likelihood, nothing wrong. Of course there are no guarantees, but it's nice to know that there are no other indicators of an actual problem. I did have about 3 contractions during monitoring yesterday, but my nurse practitioner said that with my uterus and where I am in the pregnancy, that's to be expected. I actually didn't even feel the contractions enough to label them as such...it really just felt like Monkey was pushing against my stomach...but they were Braxton Hicks contractions. Nice to know.

I talked to the nurse about my fainting (ish) episodes as well, since I had another one on my way to the Dr's yesterday. I was sent for blood tests to check iron, blood volume, and a couple of other things that I didn't recognize on the lab sheet. Then I was sent home with instructions to take it easy and drink even MORE fluids. Hopefully I will have the results of those tests tomorrow. In the meantime,  Ben and I have decided that I should not drive further than our town (very small town) for safety reasons. If I have to go anywhere further, he will take me since he starts holiday leave tomorrow.

Joy. No exercise, protein shakes, no driving. I really do feel like I'm becoming an invalid.
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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Sock Monkey Hat and Other Randomness!

Well, after finishing my initial sock monkey hat (as seen modeled by my puggle, Cloe) I was almost immediately asked to make another. I've got to watch it, though, because I have a quilt that is VERY time-consuming to finish before this baby gets here, and I'm procrastinating on it. I really think it's just the sheer magnitude of it that makes me so unwilling to work on it, but once I get started it will go right along!



We managed to get our Christmas Tree this weekend...and, despite a rather unnerving episode (see below) I was able to get all the decorations out, set up, and working. Now I begin the countdown until I can take it all down. It's weird...I love having them out, I love seeing seasons change through the house decor (part of why I love fall and winter), but I also love it when I "get my house back" and no longer have all the decorations taking up space on my surfaces. I also love not having Christmas Tree needles all over the ground.  Ben insisted that I wrap empty boxes so that it at least looks like we have presents under the tree. He's already got his gift (Ipad) and we're getting mine in the next week or so (blue tooth installed in my car...the stereo has the button but it's "not equipped").



I also got our Christmas Card picture taken. No, I'm not in it. I'm really not feeling up to tackling that monster...between  Ben, 2 dogs, and myself, it would be virtually impossible to get a shot where everyone looks good and is doing what they are supposed to. Especially when you throw in the fact that the dogs have "uniforms" that they HATE. Can't you see how happy they look? This took about an hour, a half a bag of dog treats, and a ton of "wardrobe adjustments" to get. If I had to add  Ben in, with his tendency to look like he's in pain when he smiles for pictures, plus myself (and my apparent inability to take pictures without a double chin and look halfway decent other than in my belly pictures) it just would not have worked. Can you say disaster?


OK, on to my "episode." I went to the pharmacy on Sunday to pick up a prescription refill. No biggie, right? Yeah, that's what I thought too. As I'm pulling into the parking lot, I start feeling...off. Then too hot, and then the distinctive feeling that I'm going to throw up. Wait, wait, no, that's not all. Then tunnel vision. Mind you I'm still driving. Then I realize that I KNOW this feeling. I'm about to pass out. All I could think was "Park the car, park the car, PARK THE G-D*&N CAR NOW!!!". I did manage to park the car. So far it's all happened in about 20 seconds. In the next 10 seconds my hearing gets VERY muffled, then the tunnel vision is compounded by my vision appearing pixelated and orange. Suddenly, I just KNOW that I'm going to throw up. I throw open the car door (car is in park, e-brake on, and key off) and proceed to dry heave. I sat in the car for probably 5 minutes before I could think of anything other than how awful I feel. And then I realize that I do not have my cell phone on me...I have to get home. Here's the weird thing. At that point Monkey started moving, and as soon as he did ALL of my symptoms went away. I felt fine. Oh...my prescription wasn't in yet. Oh joy.


I managed to get home...yay me. I called the nurse on Monday and she said it sounds like Vena Cava syndrome, where Monkey was resting on the main blood vessel that carries blood back to the heart...either that or he was on the vegus nerve. And if it happens again, it's off to a workup complete with EKG for me. Wonderful.


Up next week: another growth scan to see if Monkey is growing better, plus a standard office visit and 20 more minutes hooked up to a fetal monitor (I do this once a week, but after next week it will be twice weekly). Stay tuned.
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Friday, December 3, 2010

OK, Protein shakes are taking their toll!

It's not that I won't drink them. Honestly they're not THAT bad. But I'm getting tired of them and their lovely side effects, ie the bathroom is quickly becoming my new best friend. Ick. I'm considering that tonight, for a change, I'm going to make a protein milkshake. Ice cream, milk, protein powder, and a blender. Hopefully it works.

Other than that, I LOVE the second Dr. in my perinatologist's office. He's warm, friendly, jokes around, and I don't get the impression that he's trying to escape from the exam room when I'm asking questions. PLUS whenever he's explaining something, he gives reasons and shows me my chart. Such a change from the female Dr, who wouldn't give me a straight answer to my questions if her life depended on it!

The Dr. I saw on Tuesday said that based on my history, age, and testing, he thinks that this baby is just small with no other complications. Of course, he can't be 100% certain until Monkey is born, which I completely understand (and honestly I would be very skeptical of him if he tried to give me a 100% guarantee on something like that) but it was really nice to have some reassurance. I go in for monitoring once a week until 32 weeks, at which point it will be twice a week. At 31 weeks I have my next office visit and growth scan to see if Monkey has bulked up at all...here's hoping he has!
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