Family Updates

We had another doctor's appointment this week, and he says that everything is okay. The heart rate dropped slightly to 134 (from 145) but this is apparently normal in later pregnancy as the baby gets bigger. I am very glad to report that I have felt very little pain in my left side for the past couple of days. I am back to my normal self; I can now bend and lay in all positions again! We have another doctor's appointment on 10/4 (Roger's birthday) and after that, we will be seeing the good doctor every week.

Although not much has been going on with us, a lot has been going on with my family recently. Both my brother and his family and my sister and her family moved into new homes. Congratulations to them - I can't wait to visit!! My dad was recently bitten by a brown recluse spider and underwent surgery to remove the infected area. He is currently recovering at home with his nursemaid (my mother). Anyone who knows my dad knows that he is not one for resting on his laurels (even for brief periods of time) so our thoughts and prayers go out to my mother as well as my father.

Otherwise, Carl was in a minor fender bender this month which aggravated his lower back, and he has started physical therapy. He has only had a couple of sessions so far but we are hoping for good results. In a few more years maybe Angela (my little sister) will be able to help out with this situation but only if she starts studying for her GRE for the grad program in physical therapy (just a little push - it's my job as an older sister)! And that's all the news for now!

33 Weeks and Counting

Just as I was in my blissful state of pregnancy...

Saturday morning I woke up to a very sharp pain in my left side. The pain seemed to radiate out across my lower abdomen, and I thought these pains may be my first painful Braxton-Hicks or warm-up contractions (albeit a bit early). However, as the day went on, the pain seemed to stay on the left hand side and became very intense when I got up or shifted while sitting. I think that more than likely I pulled something either at work or by coughing and sneezing from the cold. The doctor recommended bed rest for the weekend so this is weekend #2 without being able to go out.

I always thought that bed rest didn't seem like such a bad thing. You have a legitimate excuse to lay around all day and relax without feeling guilty. I have found that laying around all day, like most things, is not as much fun when you have to do it. So, this weekend has been spent watching movies (Something to Talk About, Stepmom, Sleeping with the Enemy, Bad Company- most of which I've seen at least twice before), reading (baby magazines and books), downloading songs at itunes, preparing materials for work and writing in the baby book.

I am sincerely hoping that this injury heals quickly. I have a newfound appreciation for women who are put on bed rest for extended periods of time. I'm not sure how you find ways to amuse yourself over several weeks, or God forbid months, but I certainly don't want to find out. I also would not want to deal with the extra pounds that most definitely would accompany weeks of laying on the couch. At our last doctor's appointment, I had gained a total of 26 pounds during the pregnancy. Not terrific, but I guess not bad either - we shall see what the last weeks bring.

We are now at 33 weeks with only 7 weeks (give or take) left to go. It seems unreal that we are this far along. I am so happy that the last weeks of the pregnancy will be during the fall - my absolute favorite time of year. I am looking forward to watching the changing the leaves, picking apples and pumpkins at the pumpkin farm (and the subsequent baking), going to a nearby vineyard for their fall celebrations, and maybe even catching a Ravens game. The only remaining baby-related things we have left to do are: a breastfeeding class and infant safety class during the next 2 weeks, a car seat inspection (scheduled for early October), and waiting for the stroller and glider to arrive. Our next doctor's appointment is this week, and I will provide updates of any news then.

Counting Our Blessings

So, I figured that I should update our blog just so that no one thought there were circumstances (especially bad ones) that were preventing us from posting. The truth is that everything is eerily quiet right now. We have been in a rhythm lately in which everything has remained calm, and we are just going along with the ebb and flow of life.

The only things of note lately: I caught a cold from the preschoolers at work and subsequently passed it on to Carl. Nothing major - I haven't had a fever, and I think that I'm now on the upswing (although Carl is probably at the peak of the cold right now). It put a damper on our weekend plans - we were supposed to go to the Maryland Seafood Festival which I was very excited about, but it was also nice to stay home one day and totally veg out (you know, lay like broccoli).

Also, the Director of our school introduced me to the owner of the school yesterday, and he said that he had heard a lot of good things about me and wanted to talk to me about some things that he has in the works. I very calmly said great, anytime he was available we could meet, but what I really wanted to do was jump up and down or do back flips or somersaults or something(although these acrobatic feats would be quite a sight to see in my very pregnant state). Nothing was revealed beyond that fact that he wanted to set up a meeting, but I love new opportunities so I'm just excited by the fact that new possibilities may exist.

We completed our childbirth class on Tuesday with a potluck dinner. It may sound completely stupid, but because almost everyone there told me personally how much they like the spinach-artichoke dip I made, I have been in a particularly good mood all week. It is strange how something so silly could totally make my week. It also reminded me to compliment those around me more frequently - you never know when someone may really need that pick-me-up and it doesn't take much to do it.
At the last class, we were also making plans to see the other class members at the Stroller Mommies program at our mall and at the Reel Moms program at our movie theater. I have to say that there are a lot of really good programs in our area for new parents (even if they have held on to some sexist titles), and I am really looking forward to being a part of them. Hopefully, it will help with the postpartum feelings of isolation and general baby blues.
During our class, I was talking to one of the women about going to the bathroom at night. She said that she gets up probably every 45 minutes to an hour to go to the bathroom. I felt bad saying that I usually only get up once or twice and never more than 3 times. It really made me stop to take stock of how lucky I have been. I have been sleeping fairly well through the night, and although I have definitely started waddling and it takes a little longer to get up from the couch, I am not really uncomfortable. Not bad for being 8 months pregnant. Even if things take a turn for the worse tomorrow, I have less than 8 weeks to go. (Although, I suppose those 8 weeks could feel like 8 months, depending on how bad the symptoms are.)

I know I sound like Little Miss Sunshine right now, and I could turn into Ms. Negativity tomorrow (especially with hormones such as they are), but the real reason behind my happiness is that I was recently reflecting on where we were last year at this time and around the time of the baby's due date in November. It is hard to believe that it has been almost a year since our scare with Carl's testicular cancer last November. Everything from the discovery to the diagnosis to the surgery and recovery went so fast that even now it seems almost like a dream. But, I know that it was not. And, even though I didn't think it was possible to love or appreciate Carl more before all of that happened, something profound happened when being faced with the very real possibility of losing a person who is the center of my world. I can't really express my gratitude to not only have him healthy but to now also be starting a family with him. I'm sorry about the sappiness of this post, but sometimes these things need to be said - or written. I guess when you are feeling particularly happy, you just want to pass those feelings on to everyone else. So, my wish today is that anyone reading this will also take a moment to take stock of the good things in their lives. I don't think we really allow ourselves to do this fully with the momentum of life but maybe we can remind each other every once in a while.

Boring is Good!

There's not much new to report. We had another doctor's appointment yesterday, and we will be seeing him every other week now. Our appointments last about 5 minutes and basically consist of him saying "How's everything going?", we say "Fine", he measures my abdomen and listens to the baby's heartbeat, and we're done. I really am thankful that we have had such an uneventful pregnancy and even the unpleasant things (early pregnancy nausea, current indigestion, etc.) are completely normal and expected. The baby's heartbeat has been very consistent as well, ranging between 140 and 145 each time.
We also had another Childbirth Preparedness class last night. One of the women in our class actually had her baby over the weekend and brought him to the class. What a wake-up call! It is still hard to believe that there is a baby in there. As part of our graduation next week, we have to bring our labor bag to class. It is getting hard to deny that the big event is getting near, although I am managing to not obsess about it too much.
We have just started the Pet Prep with Terra in order to get her ready for Calabasa's arrival. During the first week, we are listening to pleasant baby sounds in the nursery, then we move on to the unpleasant baby sounds, and then introduce her to baby smells (only the pleasant ones!). We also have to wrap up a "baby" (in our case, a Care Bear) and hold her while introducing Terra to the sounds and smells. I don't know if any of this is really going to help with the main issue - Terra giving up her place as queen of the house to a newcomer - but we are doing what we can. Terra is also a prominent part of our birth plan because we have to take her to Doggie Daycare once I am in the beginning stages of labor. The hospital is only 10 minutes away from our house but the daycare is is 20-30 minutes away in the opposite direction - it should be interesting!
That's all for now - I guess at this stage of the game no real news to report is the best thing.

Third Trimester Thoughts

So today we reached the 30-week point. It is both exciting and scary to think that we are 3/4 of the way to the finish line - that is, if I deliver on time. This is probably not likely considering that I've never been the most prompt person. At least there is intervention ready by way of induction in case Cali decides that she prefers to overextend her stay. I am hoping that we won't have to go that route but if anyone is betting on the date, I would put my money on a later rather than earlier date. (My guess is November 16th.)
The only recent changes in the third trimester of pregnancy are as follows:
1. I am radiating heat like a furnace. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm outside in the heat or inside in the air conditioning - I can't seem to regulate my body temperature to that of a normal human being. Sometimes when it rains, I think that I can actually see steam rising from my body.
2. The baby has become much more active, especially at inopportune times. I was in a meeting this week and Calabasa gave me a huge kick in my side. I was so startled that I jumped and put my hand on my stomach. Suddenly, I had all eyes in the room on me, all wondering what they would do if I actually went into labor (both an embarrassing and amusing moment to me).
3. Probably the most amusing change has been concerning my dreams. I suppose that it is subconscious nervousness about the baby's impending arrival. In the latest dream, we were coming home from the hospital with the baby when I realized that I hadn't called anyone to let them know that the baby was born. In the dream, we lived about an hour away from my parents, and I got the great idea to just drive to their house to surprise them with the baby. Then in the car (in the middle of the night), I realized that I did not bring any clothes, diapers - nothing - for the baby. Could this mean that I'm not feeling ready for the baby's entrance into the world? Hmm...
The truth is that I am not yet overanxious for her to arrive. I'm not really uncomfortable (yet), and I find myself continuously thinking only 10 more weeks of this fairly easy and predictable lifestyle that we have settled into. I know that it will be wonderful when she arrives but I almost feel like I should make a list of things that I want to accomplish in these last 10 weeks of relative freedom, as if I were preparing for a life sentence of house arrest. I feel a bit odd and guilty about that thought but it just seems that every parent hits you with "Just wait, if you think you're busy/tired/etc now..."
Terra has been doing her part to prepare us though. She was sick this weekend. We think it was an allergic reaction to something she ate but she broke out in terrible hives. She also woke up about 4 times in one night with diarrhea. We gave her Children's Benedryl and worried like crazy until the massive bumps went down. This meant that our weekend was pretty much spent at home nursing her back to health. However, she is back in good health, and in the end, everyone being healthy is all that really matters.

Belly Laughs

Just a couple of updates...
We had our second "Prepared Childbirth" class this week. I really look forward to these classes not so much for the information but more for the support group atmosphere. Everyone shares their funny pregnancy stories, and everything (even morning sickness) seems far better when shared among others going through the same thing. It has been a while since Carl and I were in class together. We took one class together in college, and it was definitely all work and no play. However, it seems that the past 7 years since our college days has changed Carl because the reverse now seems true (although setting most certainly contributes to the change in attitude). During our classes concerning bringing our child into the world, Carl cannot resist making comments to make me laugh. For Seinfeld fans, it is a lot like Jerry putting the Pez dispenser on Elaine's leg to make her laugh during the George's girlfriend's piano recital - Carl purposely tries to make me laugh during what is supposed to be very sentimental and heartfelt moments. Well, during our last class, none of Carl's antics were necessary to get me going. This week we watched yet another childbirth video. In this video (clearly set in the early eighties judging from the big hair and short shorts), the father's name was Carl. They showed Carl being a very supportive husband throughout his wife's labor. At one point, the woman is on an exercise ball in the shower to relieve some of the pain. For some unknown reason, Carl decides that this is the perfect time to sing "She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes..." to his wife, and to make matters worse, he had a very distinct Boston accent which distorted the song. I started laughing so hard that I was in tears, and I had to excuse myself from the class to get myself together. Unfortunately, I know that this episode means that it is guaranteed that Carl will be giving me his own rendition of this song when we go into labor.
During the past week, we also had another doctor's visit. From the beginning, I knew that our doctor was wrong about the due date. We have been subtly hinting at this fact since the beginning, but now that the date is approaching, I have lost my ability to be subtle. So the negotiations began... Our doctor figured our due date to be November 19th, I determined that our due date is November 6th, and the sonogram put us at November 8th. After strongly encouraging him to reconsider our date, he stated that actually November 20th would be the date. This was definitely a step in the wrong direction. I was ready to pull out the big guns for this battle. Finally, he agreed to re-consult the magic cardboard wheel o' fun for a final word on this matter. He said the wheel showed November 13th to be the due date and so we had a winner...at least for now...

I had to post this adorable picture of my niece and goddaughter, Mary Mackenzie. Happy 1st birthday baby! 

Sorry it took so long to get pictures of the nursery on the blog - I guess that's what happens when you're a working girl. Hey Diddle Diddle pictures are on the wall, and you could say that the theme of the room is nursery rhymes (although we haven't added any others yet). It is still a bit bare...we will be adding the glider, toy chest, and bookshelf soon. The baby's name will be on the wall in wooden letters over the crib but since we don't know the name yet, we can't complete that part!