Pregnancy comparisons

In being nearly 9 weeks pregnant, I find that I am still incredibly aware of my own body and I notice all the changes. This isn't surprising, in that I felt that way during both of my prior pregnancies, but I guess, maybe I figured I'd be more "chill" by the time I hit my third. But apparently not.

This time, I'm dealing with an issue of high blood pressure having recently been diagnosed (okay, technically, they were staying away from an official diagnosis, hoping that it was temporary or something) with hypertension. My Nephrologist's hope that the changes in body chemistry when I got pregnant might cause my pressure to DROP did not happen and now, here I am, on daily BP-lowering meds. (pause while I go take my morning dose).

I've had 4 (including this one and the one that ended before 8 weeks) pregnancies and none have been the same. Prior to this one, i would have said that my first and third pregnancies were so very different because I had a girl and a boy and so of course my hormones did different things to my body! But this one? Well, it has to be either a boy or a girl (we've confirmed that it is, in fact, only ONE baby) and I guess I assumed that my symptoms (specifically my morning sickness) would mirror one of the previous experiences. Not so much.

With Fuss, beginning around 8 weeks until about 16 (and then occasionally, but not daily until 18 weeks) I threw up daily. Once in the shower before I'd had the chance to have my breakfast and at least once while at work. Every day. But then I'd feel better and only the extreme cases of a certain scent or other type of trigger would stir my stomach later in the day and that was rare.


With Little Man, I rarely actually threw up. Maybe a handful of times. But from 8 weeks until about 16 weeks, I just went about in a state of mild nausea from about 7am to 4pm. (this made it difficult for me to be interested in any food early in the day, a problem that as a mom, I already struggled with since the mornings tended to get busy and I was focused on getting us ready for the day and not eating breakfast. But I needed to eat or the nausea was worse. Vicious cycle.)

This time, my first bout of nausea started at 5 weeks. Before I was even sure I was pregnant. And since then, it's been a random smattering of violent retching - some days it happens rarely, if at all and is concentrated in the morning before I've eaten. If I stay on top of my meals and snacks, I feel fine for most of the day. Other days, it feels like my body is bound and determined to make me gag repeatedly until I'd almost BEG for something to actually come up. And this isn't all focused on the first part of the day - oh no, I can feel the need to make scary noises from my throat as late as when I'm getting ready for bed at night! It's always worse and more concentrated in the morning, but the random waves of it can happen any time and without any triggers I'm aware of thus far. Sure, when the dog made a mess on Fuss's bedroom floor I had to gag my way through cleaning it up and it was awful, but the other night I was picked up a Key Lime Pie from the local grocery store for a Family Dinner dessert and I randomly thought I was going to lose it in the middle of the bakery. No idea what caused it, since the idea of Key Lime Pie or chocolate cupcakes continued to appeal, even after I composed myself.

The headaches have started again. This could be, in part, due to the fact that I've cut back my caffeine intake noticeably, or it could be the blood pressure causing it, or it could be just the usual major changes in hormones. Who knows?

I'm wearing maternity clothes, but then, this is no big shocker. I remember buying my first pair of maternity pants at 7 1/2 weeks when I was pregnant with Fuss. I hate tight clothing, so the invention of elastic waistband pants for the eternally bloated and growing pregnant woman is a beautiful thing. My best friend had given me back the tubs of "our" maternity clothes just a month or so before I got pregnant (between us, this will be the 6th child, but we've never been pregnant at the same time, so we've just shared the clothes we've amassed back and forth each time we have a baby. Another friend or two have also borrowed, but these are primarily OURS.)

I'm tired all the time. When I was pregnant with Fuss, I was working out of the home full-time and I couldn't really rest during the day. I'd come home each night and pass out on the couch while my husband made dinner, wake up, have dinner, watch some TV and fall into a deep sleep wakened only by my persistent bladder.

When I was pregnant with Little Man, Fuss was still taking a daily nap and I, too, could get in some sleep while she slept. I took a nap almost daily. This allowed me to be a little more alive in the evenings when it came to hanging out with my husband. That made things a lot easier.

Now, I have one child who naps and one who doesn't. Occasionally, I can get a nap while Little Man naps and Fuss will leave me alone while she enjoys quiet time with the sole control of the Netflix remote. Often, however, she tends to come bother me every 15 minutes with requests for snacks or drink refills or hugs.  This makes me grouchy and I've been teaching her to be more independent with instructions like "if you can't get it yourself, you can't have it."

With my 2nd pregnancy, I didn't make it to 8 weeks, where typically my nausea begins. I was slipping on the occasional pair of maternity pants, but still fitting in most of my regular stuff. I don't remember if the tiredness had started yet, but I remember a feeling of this pregnancy being "off" from the get-go. Something wasn't right, so maybe I knew subconsciously that it wouldn't last, despite my cautious hope that it would.

I'm already playing the naming game with my husband this time. We have a name picked out for a girl (we've had it for a very long time now and we're still in love with it) but while we did have a boys name, I'm less in love with it than I was 3 years ago and I've kind of gone back to the drawing board. It's funny, because some of the names I'd rejected due to an increase in popularity I'm coming back to because I just like them so much now. We shall see.

Too Many Things

Both of our computers got a virus this weekend so we were really up a creek. It was a pain. More so for my husband who had to fix it on Monday night after his softball game.

We bought a car over the weekend. A 2004 Chrysler Sebring. It's very nice and it seems to fit my husband well. I feel like I've spent the last 2 days working on the paperwork to get rid of the Jetta. I'm going to miss that car. My Jetta - that I named Jenica - has been a great car for 10 years. It has gotten me where I needed to go and kept me safe. The only problem I've had with it is the need to replace the water pump in the AC twice. Really, she's been a wonderful car.

I still haven't gotten my period and I'm a week late. I took another test this morning, first thing, and it came up negative. I've never been this late without showing up pregnant and the prevailing thought is that the nursing is messing up my cycle. But I find it wild to think that I'm having an anovulatory cycle after only one cycle postpartum, but that's all I've got as far as my own self-diagnosis. (I'm hoping to get my Taking Charge of Your Fertility book back from my friend this weekend. Maybe I'll get some more information from that.) It's driving me crazy to not know what is going on.

It's weird. Because I don't really want another baby this quickly, but on the other hand, it would be so nice to just have the decision out of my hands.

I'm feeling so fat lately. And I'm eating terribly and I've gotten away from exercising again. (No big shocker. I hate exercise.) I've lost a few pounds, but not really enough to make a huge difference in my shape. And sometimes, I think I'd like to be pregnant just to have an excuse to be fat. Which is a terrible reason to want to be pregnant. My biggest problem with my weight/eating right now seems to be weird fluctuations with my desire to eat/what to eat. I go back and forth between being ravenous or not wanting to eat at all and when I'm hungry, mostly I just want food that isn't all that great for me. With all the chaos that was our week last week, we only cooked once or twice - the rest of the week was full of fast-food, pizza, snacks, etc. It was horrible. (And yummy)

7 Quick Takes: It's the end of the week!

1. I am still recovering from my experience of working for 3 days this week. I know that it's July and I'm 8 months pregnant, but I'm mildly amused at myself, since I used to do this full-time, often 50 hours a week or more. And we were way busier then (though I also had help back then, too!). I am getting old!

2. My house is being attacked by flying insects. The construction at the back of house seems to have somehow allowed them access to the inside of the house, and I have spent way too much time slapping at house flies. Ugh. We're getting them under control with bug spray, etc. but it's been somewhat ridiculous.

3. Did I mention that we signed up for Netflix recently and are LOVING the streaming-through-the Wii option? Seriously, it has been a life-saver in the Fuss department (they have a great selection of kid-friendly movies and TV shows) and Daddy Fuss and I are enjoying some of the older movies and TV shows available (remember The Commish? Love that Tony Scally!) I think we'd continue it just for the streaming option, but we also get several disks in the mail per month, which is great, too! (since not everything is available streaming through the Wii).

4. I'm going to have to hurry up and choose the exterior colors for my house, since we need to paint the outside of our addition (something I hadn't considered) and I am having SUCH a time making that choice. Cannot believe how difficult it is to pick a nice-looking combination that both Daddy Fuss and I like. Plus, I am not in the outside-of-the-house mindset right now. I am focused on the inside and I am just not ready for this!

5. I really, really, really want a new battery for my laptop. I have all these fanciful thoughts of being able to, you know, MOVE my computer off my desk. Or take it to Panera some evening for a quiet hour or two of writing by myself without little kid TV shows entering my thoughts from the background.

6. My exhaustion this week has delayed my writing, though I have written a little bit and it's all completely new stuff. I have even named a character after one of my internet friends and it's interesting how this originally minor character is coming alive. I hadn't even planned this character into existence, but there she is, in my story. I'm amused.

7. I am so glad to have White Collar back. Neil Caffrey, I have missed you!

For more quick takes, click here.

Contracting, hospital, shopping - all in a weeks work.

On Wednesday afternoon I started to get regular contractions coming 4-6 minutes apart. Some oh them were pretty strong, while others were more of a “medium”. The ladies at work found out and began pressuring me to go to the hospital. I was resistant, because I’d been through this before – regular, though reasonably mild contractions for an hour and then they stopped dead. But since the midwife had mentioned that she didn’t think I’d make it through the week at Monday’s appointment and I was feeling so crummy, around 3:00 I caved to peer-pressure and called my doctor’s office. My favorite midwife was in the office and suggested I come in to get checked by her before going to the hospital. I left my own office practically with fanfare – nearly everybody currently in the office showed up in the hallway to see me off. Considering at this point, I was nearly expecting to be sent home, I was completely embarrassed.

At her office, they were so sweet, squeezing me in quickly while my friend, Fran, from the office waited in the inner waiting room. Mr. Fuss started the trek southward from his job. (We work on opposite ends of the county and the doctor and hospital are down south by my office.) The midwife checked me and announced no change from my Monday 3cm, 80% effaced, but she felt one of my harder contractions and suggested that I go on to the hospital to get on the monitors for awhile and see what happens. She sounded promising, though saying that if I could hold off until 8am to deliver, she was on call then and she’d be my “catcher”.

To summarize, I spent about 2 hours on the monitors, but didn’t progress as far as dilation goes. However, I must insist that during my time there, I actually began to feel as if I were, in fact, in labor. The pain got pretty intense. My whole body started to react and I could barely move without wincing in pain. The baby was holding up beautifully. I had an impressive 7 minute contraction (the nurses were amazed and equally surprised that that alone didn’t move me along) and did the breathing through it, but was really much more ready to start crying. The frequency of the contractions went more sporadic on me, however, and regardless of the discomfort I was in, they sent me home.

By this time, my mother had shown up and we ended up catching my step-father as he commuted home past my office city and we all went to dinner. (I had only felt up for a very light lunch and was pretty hungry by this time.) I continued to have intense contractions while at the restaurant, though they were sporadic (10 minutes, 3 minutes, 8 minutes, 12 minutes).

I was told at the hospital that I needed more fluids and some rest to relax. Both my mom and Mr. Fuss suggested that I take the next 2 days off of work, even though I had originally planned to work until Friday and only take Monday before the induction. My supervisors at work were very understanding and so, here I am at home. Thursday I felt crummy, somewhat drained and not interested the least bit in food. I got out of the house with my friend K and her 2 boys to walk the mall and by the end of the day (around 4) I was having contractions every 20 minutes for hours. I went to bed at 11, wondering if this meant imminent labor through the night, but alas, they seemed to have stopped or faded. I woke up to 3-5 contractions 5 minutes apart, but they, too seemed to stop pretty quickly. After a morning of feeling blah, I took a nap around 10:20, to be awakened by the phone less than an hour later. However, suddenly I was feeling pretty good and was able to make plans to meet K at Babies R Us for a quick shopping spurt using some coupons that would soon expire. Then I met Mr. Fuss for a mid-afternoon coffee break and headed home. It was a very successful day.

(Jeopardy Think Music) 18 days

Last night I lost my plug. I had a ton of very frequent contractions off and on all day yesterday (for just over an hour they were 3-5 minutes apart, though mostly very mild, then they stopped for 45 minutes altogether and began again, etc.) I had to stop charting them when I got a really complicated project and since mostly they weren’t real strong I could focus on my work. As I got ready to leave the office (late, thanks to this crazy project that was ticking me off and stressing me out) I ran to the bathroom before I hit the road and there it was – a good-sized glob of goo. (A “gelatinous glob” as described by the “What To Expect” book). I actually got pretty excited until this morning when my mom looked up some stuff on the internet (having last night estimating that she expected my labor to start within 24 hours based on her experience) and informed me that either intercourse or an internal exam can dislodge the plug. Oops. Having had both within 24 hours, who knows what the real cause was?

I had more steady contractions last night as well. Mr. Moose timed them out at 5-6 minutes apart lasting 1.5-2 minutes in length. If they’d been stronger I would have possibly considered it early labor, but I’m having such a hard time with measuring these mild ones.

This morning, I had several contractions pretty early on – 5-6 in a 25-30 minute period – but they seem to have eased off a bit. I have had several bouts of menstrual-like pain – cramping and lower back ache – and I am DEAD tired. (Brushing my hair took all my energy. I considered crying when I parked my car this morning and imagined the walk from my car in the parking garage to the office) and I am HOT, though my office mate is decidedly not. I am also coughing like crazy due to this stupid cold. I desperately want to go home and go to bed, but I think packing up my desk would be more than I could handle right now.

I wish I could ignore it all and just let it happen, but I don’t really seem to be able to do that. I like to know what is going on at all times. I like to be aware. And I really am ready to have this baby.

I’ve been avoiding thinking about the details of L&D. I know that previously, the more I thought about it, the more worried I got that I wouldn’t be able to handle it, so now I think I’ve pushed it pretty far back in my mind so that I don’t focus on the scary. I don’t know if that’s healthy or not.

I finished putting the nursery together last night. All of her clothes are put away, all the items we have purchased or been given thus far are assembled and/or organized into their reasonably proper place (sans one diaper bag that I was given by a friend – it’s an awesome bag, but now I have 3 different diaper bags and I don’t know if I should take the one back or not. The only one I could take back is the one I actually registered for – how’s that for ironic? – but how many diaper bags does one little baby need, really?) I have one of those typical “cutesy” bags with Pooh and Piglet on it. Medium sized with several outside pockets and a coordinating changing pad. It got not so great reviews on sturdiness, so I knew I wanted another. The one my friend gave me is sturdy beyond belief with a ton of inside pockets and compartments and can worn as a shoulder bag or a back pack. It looks like little luggage and even has one hard side. The one I registered for was one of those 5 piece sets with a coordinating bottle cooler, a mini bag, etc. The main bag itself is just like a large tote, but it’s pretty stylish-looking and has a TON of room for all the stuff you carry for a baby. I just don’t know what I’m going to need or want when I’m carting her around all over the place.

Anyway. With only 18 days until my EDD, labor must be imminent, but it’s the “when” that drives me crazy. I’d love to have a clear marker – “this happens and that means 24-48 hours notice” – but I know that isn’t how it works.

Almost labor, contracting, and cute shoes

Last night by 9:30 I was having frequent contractions. I had Mr. Moose start timing them a little before 10 and though they were random in both length and intensity, they continued for HOURS. I went to bed shortly after 11 (go Giants!) with the hope that relaxing into to sleep might relax my uterus as well and stop the contractions. From the time I drifted off to sleep until about 3am every time I moved, I had another contraction. (Rolling over, going to the bathroom, repositioning my arms to avoid the sore shoulders/numb hands, etc.) I had a few more random ones during trips to the bathroom from then until 6:30, but they were much less painful and much more manageable.

I had a couple during a particularly long and boring meeting this AM at work, and then once I was back at my desk by 11, I had a really horrific contraction (at 11:14 to be exact – I started timing) that, I confess made me have the thought “I’m in labor!!!! Who should I call first?” So much for waiting to verify that it was real labor. I know better – I know that one contraction does not equal labor – I know that the doctor and hospital request that you’ve been having said labor pains for an hour and that your contractions be only 5 minutes apart. But I had the thought that I was going to need to call Mr. Moose and my mother and would it be better for my mom to swing by the house and grab my hospital bags or should I ask Mr. Moose to do it? I hadn’t finished training the new girl and could I legitimately ask her to call my dad and best friend to tell them my news or was that a tacky favor to ask of a woman I’ve only known for 4 days? (Our receptionist whom I had been counting on to do this was let go last week.)

I calmed down pretty quickly as it eventually eased off (wow, yeah, we’re getting an epidural, gosh darn it!) and kept my eye on the clock. I had another hard, but manageable contraction about a half hour later and then they tapered off again in both length and intensity. (Mostly, I’ve had them when standing for more than a few minutes at a time).

I am ready to have this baby, but am trying to calmly wait for her to decide when to come. I think she’s anxious if her movements and pushing against my organs and bones are any indication, but has yet to find the exit.

I had a lovely shower thrown by my female co-workers over the weekend. I got some spectacular gifts ranging from the sweet and fun to the totally silly to the practical stuff (ie. Diapers!) I also developed either a cold or a really awful allergy attack that has lasted the last 2 days (I’m afraid it’s a cold, but I don’t know anyone who has been sick… I rarely get allergies, though admittedly the pollen count in this area has been AWFUL for the last several days). Mr. Moose and I were able to clean the house to much closer where we want it (the kitchen is nearly perfect, we even cleaned the hall closet out and neither the dining room nor the living room look like anything has blown up in them recently). We also went shopping for baby supplies that we had not yet received and managed to get all of the necessities with the exception of the diaper pail we were looking for. I’m ready to give up on that and settle for any small garbage can with a tight lid, but that would likely have to get replaced very quickly once we started using it. Mr. Moose promised to stop by the baby store on his way home during the week since we keep missing them on the weekends. (The store is close to his work, fairly out of my way during the week, etc.). I also bought some actual outfits in appropriate size for her to wear providing she is not enormous at birth (and how can she be? I’ve gained about 12 pounds total since getting pregnant – that can’t all be baby, right?) that aren’t sleepers (oddly almost everything I’ve received is a larger size than she’ll need at the beginning, providing that she is an average-sized or smaller baby).

One of the gifts that I received was impractical, but so much fun and a totally appropriate gift from the sender. My friend P at work loves shoes and has a great collection of her own. She has no children, though she is the type of person who is great with them, and despite the warnings from everyone at all the stores, she bought me a boxful of newborn “shoes” (many booties, lots of “crib shoes” just for decoration) that are SO cute. There are some white MaryJane style ones with cute little flowers, white crocheted booties, leather “sandals” and moccasins with giraffes on them, etc. I’m having so much fun just looking at them.

35 weeks and counting – but counting to what?

I had my first of the “once a week” appointments today. After several evenings of sitting on the couch trying not to make too many pitiful noises because of the range of mildly uncomfortable to “ugh-should-we-be-timing-these?” contractions I am happy to report that I am 50% effaced and 1cm dilated. I know not to get too excited – I can walk around this way for weeks and not progress, etc. However, it makes me feel better to know that she is head-down, my cervix is soft and SOMETHING is coming from these darn contractions. If I were going through all this discomfort and everything was still hard and sealed tightly, I would be more annoyed and more miserable. The way I see it is that it’s all working to move along my labor and the eventual delivery of the baby and therefore I can bare it.

The painting of the tree mural is going on today – I don’t know how long it will take, exactly, but this week that should get done and the wallpaper border should be hung and the walls will be completed. The crib was done over the weekend – (I had to purchase a waterproof mattress pad since I hadn’t yet received one and I wanted to make sure that was on under the sheet) – the coordinating sheet is on, the bumpers are in place and it looks really cute. For the pictures that I hope to post soon I will put on the quilt and some stuffed animals to dress it up, though I know they must be removed before it is safe for baby to sleep there. But one Martha Stuart moment will be mine, gosh darn it, and that requires the “pretty” be more prominent than the logical/practical.

My friends and family shower is this weekend, on Sunday. I am so psyched. In dealing with the updates on my registry I have noticed a few things have been purchased that I have yet to receive and assume they will come with my upcoming shower guests. The following weekend is my work shower, which, upon hearing my progress report the hostess exclaimed, “you can’t go into labor yet – the shower is 2 weeks away!” She is also the person who has volunteered to drive me to the hospital if I go into labor while at work – she left for lunch and said she’d make sure she had her phone on in case I went into labor while she was having her sandwich. I assured her that I didn’t think it would happen today, but she stops by periodically to make sure I’m not contracting, I guess. ☺

I’m feeling a lot more lower pressure over the last day or so – both toward the front and the back. I think today I’m officially waddling, though my friend K’s husband was teasing me yesterday that I was starting to waddle yesterday and he thought it was still too early for that.

I’m impatiently awaiting the arrival of my daughter, but I’d really prefer that she wait until 37 weeks (2 weeks away) to come – other than the fact that it’s better for her, physically to wait until then, I have several selfish reasons.
1. I want a February baby, not a January one
2. I want to get through my showers and my preparation, which is scheduled to be finished or close to by the 37 weeks mark.

I’m remaining calm about the progression, since I know it can remain this way for weeks, but physically, I am so tired and my body is rebelling. I have headaches and back aches and my feet hurt and my hands have swollen. I just want to sleep all the time, but can’t sleep for long periods all at once. My appetite fluctuates oddly (though I gained 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks – my greatest weight gain yet – I’m now up 13 lbs total) and I wish I had some consistency in that.

Who needs sleep (Well, you're never gonna get it)

I am terrified of sleep problems when The Fuss arrives. I am such a “need my regular sleep” sort of person that I know the first few weeks are going to be total insanity and then… well, no one really knows when their kid is going to settle into a real sleep pattern, right? It could be weeks, it could be months, it could be (please, Lord, no) a year or more. That sort of thing gives me nightmares.

I’ve been waking after approximately 2 hours at the beginning of the night and then up every 45-60 minutes for the rest of the night. I wake up knowing that I am uncomfortable (at least slightly) and move to change positions because usually the discomfort is in my hips and knees. Once I have moved positions I either realize I have to pee upon moving or try and get comfy again and can’t until I get up to go pee and return to bed to promptly fall back to sleep with my bladder more unburdened.

I often wonder if I will ever sleep longer than 2-4 hours at a time again.
(The title of today's post is from a BareNakedLadies song by the title "Who Needs Sleep?")

Third trimester

The first week of December is always sad to me when I come in to the office expecting to find the handful of blogs I have been reading daily during NaBloPoMo and – nothing. It’s like everyone says “I blogged all month and you want ANOTHER?” Makes me feel lonely.

I had my glucose tolerance test this morning, which wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to be. I think I expected - well, do you remember Children’s Triaminic Cough Syrup? How it was sickeningly sweet and kinda thick and orange and you could handle a spoonful, if you must, but to drink bottle of it… And yet, I had no issues whatsoever. Sure, it was sweet – like flat Sprite, almost (I had the lemon-lime flavor) – but it was certainly manageable. Unfortunately, my doctor’s office doesn’t do blood work anymore – they send everyone to a lab. I had to sit in a crowded lab waiting room with a bunch of older people who had forgotten to wear deodorant this morning. I read (I’m re-reading Scarlett: the Sequel to Gone With the Wind) and watched a little Live! With Regis and Kelly which they had on the TV in the waiting room. I’m pretty sure I passed, based on the fact that I felt fine even after fasting and drinking that stuff – so I’m less worried about that now, yay! I had some low activity yesterday with the baby, which worried me, but she made a showing every once in awhile and then started to go a little crazy at night, as I was settling down. I’ve also been feeling really run down in the last week or so, and have been worried about anemia. So I’m trying to eat more iron-rich foods and some extra Vitamin C (which helps your body process such things) and I think I’m feeling a little better today. (Though I did fall asleep again while Mr. Moose was in the shower this morning.)

I am officially in my third tirmester now and 7 months pregnant - that sounds so much better! I'm very excited to reach this point. I had my third trimester pedicure on Saturday with my mom and Mr. Moose began priming the walls in the nursery yesterday and is almost finished. Yay!

My buddy Nicole on the message board that I frequent went into labor yesterday, so I’m very excited to hear updates on her new baby girl. Congrats, Nicole!

Late nights, etc.

Last night the neighbor behind us (they have 2 kids, teenagers) apparently let their children have their youth group over or something. In the evening I heard a bunch of teens singing praise choruses and whatever. No biggie.

When I went to bed at 9:30 they seemed to be doing a lesson or something – oddly, it sounded like they had a microphone (their backyard isn’t really that big, but whatever). It was distant enough – and only one voice – that I was still able to fall asleep.

I woke at 11:11pm for my first round of bathroom breaks. By this point, it sounded like a party. And basketball? The cranky, tired, pregnant woman in me considered calling the police – they were being awfully loud for after 11 at night, but I behaved and was tired enough that I was eventually able to fall asleep after rejecting the idea of getting dressed, walking over there and telling them to keep it down.

Who let’s their kids have that many people over on a school night? If they do it again, I will calmly complain to Maggie, the mom. I don’t have a problem with them having friends over, etc. but 11:30 at night when most people have to work the next morning is kind of ridiculous to be escalating the noise that’s been going on all night.

Mr. Moose is out of town and I hate that. He’s in Cleveland, OH at a training conference that he really shouldn’t have had to go to. He’s there with a female co-worker – and when that got mentioned to my dad he sort of gave me a weird look. I then felt the need to defend it – it wasn’t his decision, blah, blah. I’m not worried that anything will happen or anything – I know the woman, I more than trust him, etc. but it does look at least a little funny, so I don’t really know what else to say on that. He’s freezing his butt off since, in Florida, we don’t ever have cold enough weather to merit cold-weather clothes. I sent him with layers, a snow cap he bought last February in Indiana, a jacket and boots that are made for walking in ice and snow (that he also bought last time in IN). He had to buy gloves last night since he couldn’t find his.

My dad came over last night to do the grout on the tile in my kitchen (the backsplash – it’s done!). I brought up the subject of my going into labor and asked him if he wanted to know when I did or if he just wanted to know when it was over. He was very adamant that he wanted to know when and be aware, etc. I can’t picture him pacing the waiting room or anything, but it’s kinda nice to know that he wants to be involved. K says that he’s been getting really excited about the prospect lately – I can just never tell with him.

No idea how to finish this post – I’m kind of spacy today.

On Parenting and Birth

It’s interesting reading parenting articles/opinions on the major things from sleeping to children’s toys lately, etc. I find that I do actually have fairly strong opinions on many things that parents do and I’m not even truly sure where they come from.

On sleeping – I’ve read several books that run the gamut, and I’ve read a few blogs that mention other things. I don’t like the idea of “the family bed” for a myriad of reasons, all of them my personal tastes and personality. I have no issue with someone else doing it if it works for them, but I don’t plan to try it with my own kid. One reason is a practical reason that, even though babies don’t take up much space, it already feels as if our bed is pretty crowded with just Mr. Moose and myself and another reason (that partially tacks onto that one) is that I KNOW I wouldn’t sleep well for fear of rolling onto the baby/smothering her with blankets and pillows, etc. We plan to have the bassinet/pack’n’play next to the bed for the first little while that we bring the baby home, and gradually move her to her room and crib over time. The long-term plan may or may not work, but that’s where I’m starting.

Eating – I’ve mentioned before the distress I feel when I hear other mom’s talking about nursing their 4-year-olds. This disturbs me to no end, though I suppose there is a chance that I might change my mind once I really know what to expect from nursing, but somehow I doubt it.

CIO/FIO – It’s interesting to hear the opinions on this from the internet. I was always told that a baby shouldn’t be picked up the moment that she fusses even a bit so she doesn’t learn to expect that treatment when it’s not practical (like when you’re in the car during rush hour with no way to pull over right away, etc.), but I also know that I could never handle hearing my nephew cry for very long, so I can only imagine what it will do to my heart to hear my own baby crying from frustration if I am trying the CIO theory. So, probably not. (I know to never say never in these situations). I like what The Baby Whisperer suggests which is to pick up the baby when she cries, but as soon as she settles, to put her back down in her crib (in a “it’s time to sleep” situation) and continue to pick her up each time she begins to cry again, but to immediately put her down when she settles. She says that it may take awhile – 30 times in a night the first night, and usually decreasing times in subsequent nights – but that eventually she will learn that you will always come when needed, and there is no reason to fret. But it might not work, and I’m prepared to adjust if necessary.

Lately, I’ve been having more anxiety over impending labor – we went to our first childbirthing class the other night and I watched a video. I turned to Mr. Moose afterwards and said “do you seriously think I can do that?” He assured me that I could, but I am doubtful. I want to go into labor naturally, if possible, but I’m scared of laboring at home for very long, and yet don’t want to be sent home because it’s too early. I’d be willing to schedule an induction, but I’ve heard that inductions usually make it worse and so I don’t want to deal with that, either. I also want this baby out as soon as possible, safely. I don’t want to be one of those moms who is still waiting 2 weeks after her due date. I don’t know that I can handle emotionally or physically a long 20-hour labor. I know they say that you can handle anything is necessary, but I just cannot picture myself going through all that and not begging for a c-section by hour #8. I’ll be labeled “that wussy mom in room 208”, but I really won’t care. Seriously, though. I know when I first got pregnant and read in my books on pregnancy about labor that I was intimidated. Isn’t everyone? But I think I’m more freaked out the closer I get to the point where I’m actually going to have to go through it. For awhile the idea of stretching that far out creeped me out – now it’s less about that, and more about the ability to actually deal with labor and physically be capable of pushing her out of my body. I have never been strong, ,or athletic or had much stamina for any physical activity – ever. So a long labor? I seriously think it would kill me. And I’m scared of the feelings of her crowning, of the possibility of ripping, etc. Okay, now I have to stop talking about this or I’m going to have a panic attack. And I’m at the office, so that’s not a good idea. ☺

Love and random updates

We tried a new church/Sunday School class over the weekend – it was a couples class at a conservative Baptist church that is right near our house. We had visited heir newlyweds class over a year ago and it didn’t fit us well. With our bible education backgrounds from our private school, light, surface teaching bores us. This class, while including young couples who were further along in their relationships/lives than us, seemed to be more up or alley.

I was relieved to hear the statement during the class that you are supposed to love your spouse more than you love your child – differently, of course, but the spouse more than your child, none-the-less. I had always believed that that was God’s purpose – you are supposed to love Him, your spouse, your children – in that order. I know I sometimes struggle with loving Mr. Moose more than I love God – but that’s a topic for a different post, I think. ☺ So much of what I’ve read lately implies or comes right out and says that your child should be first, etc. It relieved me to hear otherwise from the Bible.

I know I’m going to love Kremit – I already do in some ways and I know that when she is born and I hold her and look at her for the first time, that I will love her even more and my heart and hers will forever be linked. But I cannot imagine or comprehend loving her more than I love my husband. It’s foreign to me.

In pregnancy news, our little girl has been increasing her strength and activity of late and I feel her all the time these days. It’s fun and assuring, though there have been a few times when I have expected her to move and she doesn’t and I get panicked.

Our kitchen, as I mentioned, is basically done, minus the backsplash and flooring. I chose the backsplash tiles last night, and while they are very plain, I think it will look nice. It will also allow me to do pretty much anything I want with the flooring, so I will be choosing that hopefully soon to complete the overall project. I ended up going with my dad’s preferred tile, even though it wasn’t what I originally envisioned. I sometimes think I do that that too often – submit to his preferences just because I want to please him – but overall, I think it’s going to work out nicely. I can’t wait to have a room completely done – not looking for a final detail or waiting for more money until I can fix/replace/install whatever.

I keep looking around my house wondering what irrational thing I’ll want to fix when I go through my nesting period – I’ve noticed several little things and more bigger things. There is a missing bit of paint in the hallway – on the ceiling and a nick in the doorframe outside the baby’s room. We tore out the ugly black rubber baseboards in the living room after we painted the room overall, and we never finished patching/repainting them. I’m really wanting to replace the ugly cheap rug we stuck under the dining room table since between human and dog-related spills one end of it looks really nasty. I found a comparable rug at Target for $35 on sale, but because of the budget constraints, I haven’t bought it yet. I am totally disconcerted by the closet issues in the baby’s room and I really want to replace them. If my dad pays for the tile in the kitchen, we may be able to swing both that and the travel system (which is the bigger priority) from the money mom gave us to help with the kitchen.

Home Improvement

I was informed on Saturday afternoon that the demolition on my kitchen would begin on Wednesday and I needed to have the tile of the current backsplash removed and the entire contents of my kitchen packed by then (or, preferably sooner). We also have a house-full of company coming over on Tuesday night for dinner (which thankfully, will be being prepared elsewhere and BROUGHT to my house) and of course, priming the baby’s room has been back burnered – AGAIN.

Don’t get me wrong – I am thrilled about this new kitchen (did I mention this yet? It’s been a whirlwind. Nutshell: My dad has offered to remodel my current kitchen with certain stipulations for the next couple of years worth of Christmas and Birthday gifts. We were made the offer on Saturday, a week ago, had picked out the colors for cabinets and countertops by the next day and dad had a drawing done by the cabinet-maker by Sunday night. – Papa Moose does nothing halfway.), but all of a sudden, things got very overwhelming. There was a brief crying fest as I attempted to finalize my grocery list for a week where I will only have access to the kitchen to cook for one-two days (including one with 8 guests).

Also, I am frustrated with the lack of forward progress on the baby’s room. I have been attempting to “clean” the Rubbermaid wired shelves that were left by the previous owner of the house. They have begun to break down, apparently and feel quite sticky and many of them have a gross yellowish ook on them that can only be removed by lots of rubbing with alcohol. It’s very slow going and since I’m not convinced that I like the configuration and they are very old-school so they can’t easily be moved around to a different configuration, I have stopped after several hours yesterday to get a second opinion from my mother. Mr. Moose was unable to do any work over the weekend on the patching and scraping of the walls due to yardwork/a last minute concert e attended Saturday night/plans with friends/a work thing/ demolition on the kitchen taking precedence. (He was obviously QUITE busy.) I really wanted it DONE by Thanksgiving, but that isn’t happening – at this point I’d be happy if it was PRIMED by then, but I’m not holding my breath. Mom’s friend is going to help with the fancy painting – possibly doing a mural on one wall – and I need to have her over to look at the space, but was hoping to do so after it was primed so it didn’t look so terrible.

I’ve had some Braxton hicks contractions today, and just came to the realization that I’m getting pretty near 30 weeks (I’m 25 weeks today). This seems like a mile-stone to me (30 weeks, that is) because I’ve very much been looking forward to it for some reason. I just figured it out on my calendar, though that 32 weeks occurs on New Year’s Eve which is MUCH too early for the baby to come even though somehow I had it in my head that if she were to come really early, I’d be okay as long as it was after 32 weeks. Anyway – the mind of a pregnant woman is a weird thing, I assure you.

Cold and Tummy - random combo, I know

I’m so glad I didn’t sign up for NaBloPoMo – though that may have made me get off my rear and do more posting!

I’m really feeling like I’ve been getting bigger this past week – I’ve asked Mr. Moose, but he’s not stupid and won’t answer that question (even when pregnant, it’s never a good idea to answer “do I look fatter than usual?”) I think I gained a few pounds, but I missed my regular weekly weigh-in at the grocery store (he went by himself at the end of a very long Monday) and so I’m not really sure.

I had a fright last night where my swelling feet started to go numb – but I think I may have just simply been lying too flat. My feet have begun to swell regularly at the end of the day – not freakishly as of yet, but enough that they are a bit puffy, and I’ve tried to elevate them more at night. Sitting up straighter seemed to help and Mr. Moose gave me a foot massage (isn’t he the greatest?)

I had an amazing bath last night after dinner – I tossed a tiny bit of bubbles in (I vaguely remember reading something about not taking bubble baths when pregnant, but I’m not sure it made sense, so I just kept it to a bare minimum) and made it just warm enough that I wasn’t sweating or anything, but it was really comfy. We got a cold front for this time of year and our high today was 70 degrees. I wore my leather jacket to the office since this city is essentially on the water and we were forecasted to get a decent amount of wind today – I couldn’t even think of buttoning it, but thankfully it wasn’t quite that cold! I’ll be stealing Mr. Moose’s jacket and/or living in the fleece sweatshirts from Old Navy as the weather gets cooler. No sense in buying a jacket that I may not be able to wear again because it’s so big!

I’ve struggled with my larger-than-usual tummy of late. I’ve never been one to be overly conscious of my weight – sure I bemoan the fact that I can’t fit into the cute little dresses I loved when I was skinny, but it’s never been a big obsession. As a matter of fact I vaguely remember thinking in passing “I wish I could just say I was pregnant – at least then any weight I had on me would be called baby and not that I’m a cow.” But lately, I’m noticing the size of my belly even more – and I’m not even to the rapidly growing stage yet. I have no problem gaining weight or stature for the health of my baby – I haven’t been dieting or anything – I’ve been eating reasonable meals, I’ve cut out the alcohol, and I’ve been craving vegetables and fruit, so the pounds haven’t really piled on, even though my tummy has definitely expanded. I guess I just wonder if I’m totally going to hate my body at the end of pregnancy and if I’ll ever have a decently-sized stomach again. I’ve never been one to do much exercise, I’ve never been one to be good about dieting – will it shrink down on it’s own to a reasonable post-baby size? Will I ever be less than fat again? I admit that I was less than (or more than?) skinny when I conceived – but I actually figured I may have lost some fat in the early days of pregnancy when I didn’t want to eat much, and what I wanted was healthy and low-fat. I figured that might have been the contributing factor to the expansion of my waistline and lack of gain on the scale. Am I doomed to be one of those “always a little heavy” mothers that no one really finds all that attractive?

Do you feel self-conscious in your post-baby body?

Sibling Spacing

Ask Moxie today had a topic about the ideal spacing of siblings and it got me thinking. I guess I had always assumed that most people purposely had siblings every 2-3 years (certainly the case in Mr. Moose’s family – 4 kids all approximately 2 years apart with the last one slightly more, but only so much that she falls to the next school grade by a couple of months). I started to think about my own thoughts and compare them to the sibling sets I know and how they worked out.

My BFF’s husband and his brother are about 10 years apart and have really never gotten along. My BFF is paranoid about large gaps in sibling age because of that (her sons are about 3 years apart and she is content with that), and yet another friend is the youngest of 4 siblings – the first 2 being 17 and 19 years older than she and the 3rd being 3 years older (#3 was an “oops” and then their parents decided “well, we’re doing it again anyway, why not 2?”) and my friend and her brother (who was 17 when she was born) are close and loving, she has a usual love/hate relationship with the one who is only 3 years older and she and the oldest sister kind of ignore each other’s existence. (I didn’t know the oldest existed for years, to tell you the truth since by the time I came along, she was married with a couple of kids and lived out of state.

I think I always assumed that we’d have another in 2-3 years, but a lot of that depends on our financial situation. I never even remotely considered having one sooner than 2 years (or pretty close, anyhow) though the more we talk about prevention/post-baby BC the more nervous I get with the possibility of having an “oops”.

Several of Moxie’s commenters mentioned things other than numbers for when they wanted to wait until – when the first was done nursing, or out of diapers, in school, potty trained. I see a lot of benefit to many of them. And in some ways, we’re going to have to play it by ear, I’m sure.

My sisters kids are spaced 2 years, 3 years and 22 months apart, but almost none of them was exactly planned that way (the 2 girls were happy surprises) and number 2 was a “let’s wait and see” pregnancy.

Ultimately, I don’t know what will happen for us – and it will largely depend on how well we do with our finances and when/if I’m able to stay home and how much I’m able to work at a part-time job, etc. This is likely something that will also depend on the personality of our baby in the first place (ie, a high-needs baby will put off the sibling a little longer, an easy baby might make it more likely to have number 2 sooner. And of course, this assumes we get a choice. A surprise pregnancy or a much-delayed one are just as likely as having a choice in the matter.

Being Sick While PG (aka At least i can still type)

I have little-to-no voice today, but despite the coughing I actually slept reasonably well. (I would cough 2-3 times each time I woke up and then it would settle down and I’d drift off to sleep, so I lost no more sleep than I would have had I not been sick. I’m up every 1-2 hours to waddle to the restroom regardless.) I wanted to call in (well, email-in) sick, but since I feel well enough to do paperwork, I figured I should be a good employee and come in anyway. I hope I don’t regret that decision.

Rant about pregnancy-approved meds: WHAT is the point of plain Rob*ituss*in? My list said I could take Rob*itus*sin DM which is listed on the bottle as both an expectorant and a suppressant (how does THAT work?) and it doesn’t seem to actually DO anything. I still cough and it doesn’t really seem to be any looser – maybe a TINY bit, but not enough to qualify, in my opinion. And if you’ve got a sore throat, forget it. Sure, they claim you can take Chlor*iseptic, but that stuff is so nasty (who wants half their mouth to be numb for 5 minutes and then to have it wear off and be useless again?) and pointless and bad for your vocal chords that I really don’t see the point. (I was a singer in high school and was forbidden to take any numbing spray or anything with eucalyptus in it since it does more harm than good to your vocal chords. If it hurts to talk, it means your chords are inflamed and you shouldn’t be talking/singing anyway or you could damage them). I suck on lozenges (in high school we were allowed to have jolly ranchers or lemonheads in lieu of lozenges as well) to keep my throat moist, but that does little for the pain. Having a cold while pregnant shouldn’t be possible.

Catch up, update and Homecoming

I’ve been slacking again. But I have an excuse! I got Mr. Moose’s cold and, seeing as I’m pregnant, I can’t take a lot of the medication to make me feel more normal. I never thought I would be jonesing for drugs, but I miss Tylenol Cold something awful.

Had my 23 week appointment yesterday and everything is as is should be. I still haven’t gained any weight – I’m technically up a pound – but the docs aren’t concerned as long I as I assure them I’m eating (I am) and not exercising too much (not a chance) and the baby is growing properly (she is). She has been very active for several days and I’m adjusting to the sensation much better now that it is more frequent and less of a surprise every time. Mr. Moose finally got to feel her kick on Sunday, which made us both very happy.

We’ll be going to our high school Homecoming game on Friday night – my husband was part of the school’s first football team and they are doing a special celebration of those team members this year and he was asked to come back for that ceremony. In the email that included all the details, it was mentioned that one member of the team (who happens to be my high school boyfriend) is serving in Iraq and won’t be able to attend. I said to Mr. Moose “well, at least I won’t have to worry about him grabbing my butt again,” referring to the last time we were in the same place (albeit, this was years ago) when he thought it would be funny to grab/slap my rear as he walked by. Mr. Moose agreed and said he was also glad of that (they had been very good friends back in the day) since he didn’t want to have words with a Marine. I also countered that he was less likely a few years older and now that I’m pregnant to be that obnoxious, but we wish him safety in his efforts in Iraq, nonetheless.

Weird Dreams and Naming decisions

I had the weirdest dream Sunday night. I dreamt that Mr. Moose and I were living in a house (not one that I recognized) with my mother and that my old dog was there and still alive. Our current dogs were also there and while my dog, Murphy, had lived with Tiki, Mr. Moose’s dog, buck never did. But anyway. One summer afternoon I let the dog outside and then, 5 days alter at 4am I realized that I couldn’t remember letting him back in – ever – and I hadn’t seen him in days. I think I may have killed him, though that was never determined in the dream. I woke up at 4am and couldn’t stop focusing on the dream thinking over and over “oh my gosh, I killed the dog and how on earth am I going to be a mother if I can’t take care of a dog?” Tiki died of old age and other related health problems nearly a year ago and I had nothing to do with it, by the way. The only other thing my mind would think about was an annoying line from a stupid Orbitz gum commercial – “Who are you calling a cootie queen, you lint licker?!” Very weird nights.

I also had dreams this week including borrowing a suit for Mr. Moose (who is a large man) from a gay male co-worker (who is significantly smaller) – when he brought in his suit, it was sour apple green. (My co-worker isn’t typically that flamboyant) and another dream that included kicking the butt of a high school classmate for cutting in line at a public restroom (like now, when I’m 6 months pregnant) – I haven’t seen or heard from/about this person in AGES, so no telling why she was in my dream.

(TMI alert) Monday night my gastrointestinal festival finally got geared up and I had this incredibly painful session in the bathroom. It included lots of groaning and moaning and ultimately ended with me waking Mr. Moose out of a dead sleep to come take care of me when I got close to fainting. It was awful. I felt so bad for waking him and scaring him, but I was starting to panic that I would faint and knock myself out, or that all the pain and contracting in my body was distressing the baby, etc. We then fought over the toilet for several minutes (the problem with only having one bathroom) and I informed him that we were definitely getting the epidural during labor. It was so awful. The good news is, I’m feeling much emptier, the softener I took over the weekend did do a decent amount of good and I’m back to milkshakes doing their duty (add to that a combo of apples, raisin bran and anything else I could possibly think of to naturally get me moving). My various ways to keep conscious involve cold wet clothes on the back of my neck, purposely trying to even my breathing (easier said than done when in pain) and ice cold water to cool me down. By the time I finally got back to bed, I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly. (It didn’t last – the water came back to haunt me an hour later). But the baby was active this morning and I’m beginning to feel the little bump, bump on the outside occasionally, so hopefully Mr. Moose will soon get to feel it too.

My sister had her baby. It’s a girl (I’m so excited!) and her name is Rebecca. Rebecca was one of our choices, and I am now thinking I will have to put it aside. Mr. Moose hates that reasoning, but I stand firm that close family/friends shouldn’t share names of kids to avoid confusion – at least if they are close in age. It gets too confusing when they spend lots of time together. I’m bummed since it was going to be paired with my Grandmother’s name and I’ve been increasingly liking the idea of having a “Becca” around. But alas, we’re pretty much down to 2, though last night I started pouring through the books to see if I could find another. It seems like it’s too early to have the decision made or something. (We have a 3rd name that I have been yet unwilling to drop from the official consideration list. Meaning-wise, it’s the prettiest of them all, but it’s also the least common/popular of the group and the most likely to better fit a girly-girl than a tomboy, hence my reason for loving it.) I cannot decide if I am superstitious enough to believe that the child’s name will (at least help) determine the personality of the child or not. If so, I want to have a name that will encompass all my hopes and dreams for my baby girl and some of these names just don’t cut it. They’re nice, pretty, full of personal meaning to us, but less-so full of hopes and dreams for her personality, etc.

In case of emergency...

We are planning to ask Mr. Moose’s sister, J, to become the legal guardian of Kremit (and her future siblings) in case anything were to happen to both of us. We have many reasons for this, which I plan to list, but I also have my concerns, as well. We plan to ask (and actually have already) my father to become the financial guardian for the inheritance for the baby, deciding to spread the responsibility around on both sides of the family (and he’s EXCELLENT with money, so it’s incredibly logical). We got that idea from my co-worker, Fran, who has an only child who stands to inherit quite a bit of change if something were to happen to Fran and her husband. Fran’s sister is the physical guardian and her husband’s sister is the financial trustee. That way no one has too much power, you know?

We won’t be leaving that much behind (at least at this point), but we both have fairly substantial life-insurance policies now (which we got when we found out I was pregnant, just for this purpose). To us, our actions make a lot of sense. (To my mother, not so much. She was okay with my dad being trustee – I think even she knows that he is WAY better w/ money than she is, though I doubt she’d admit that formally. She had quite the objection when I informed her that we would be asking one of the girls to be the physical guardian of the baby should both Mr. Moose and I die. I know she’d do it in a heartbeat, but she really has no idea where she and her husband will be in the next 18+ years either health-wise or emotionally, etc. I know they would always love my child to the best of their ability, but logically… it makes sense to choose someone from our generation.)

So, J has been our choice, though we haven’t yet discussed it with her. We’d like to as soon as possible, so we can then tell his other sisters face-to-face at Thanksgiving what our choice is.

So our reasons for choosing J are logical, practical ones. 1)
At this point, she is the most stable sister who lives here. Mr. Moose’s little sister, LP, also lives here, but is still in school (college) and no one really knows what her future will entail. Where will she get a job? Will she get married (she hasn’t ever seriously dated someone to our knowledge), etc. His older sister, LB, is married and expecting her own child, but she lives in North Carolina with the stated fact of “no intention to ever move to Florida” coming from my BIL. 1b) We would prefer for Kremit to not have to move away if something were to happen to us. 1c) We would like for her to be able to be around both sides of the family and since my family isn’t likely to move away too far, this is the location we would prefer to have the guardian in. 2) J is responsible – she is a teacher with strong values, and while I cannot say that she would raise our daughter the way we would (she is significantly more conservative than either Mr. Moose or I) I know that her guidance would be stable, loving and very consistent with the way they were brought up as children (J seems to be the most like her mother in that department, with LB a close 2nd). 3) Though she might not raise our daughter exactly the way we would, she has always been incredibly maternal and we know that she would be an excellent mother. (LP, for example, is going to be a great Aunt, but since she claims she never wants children… why would we ask her to be saddled with ours?)

My concerns are that she is single, and while I think she would ultimately like to get married, she has no immediate prospects and I don’t know what her future husband might say to this commitment. I’m sure that a man who wouldn’t want to care for her (theoretically) dead-brother’s children likely wouldn’t pass muster with her, but you never know what their situation would be looking forward to an unknown future. I am also saddened that we don’t have an option for which I could confidently say “this person will raise my child the way I would,” but I have every confidence that J would do an excellent job.

We discussed the possibility of asking my sister to be the guardian, but with she and her family in another country, I get concerned about the logistics. Plus, the she’s-got-4-kids (almost)-already issue, and we chose to ask J first.

We were planning to get with her one-on-one over lunch today after church, but Mr. Moose has come down with a severe cold and we had to stay home. We want to make sure we talk to her and she is able to think about it for a bit before she has to make a decision and we’d like to talk to his other sisters over Thanksgiving (likely, the last time we’ll see LB before each of our children is born and we think it will be better coming from us face-to-face than via phone).

What are your plans for your child's future in a situation where you are no longer around to handle it?

Without Communication I go crazy

This morning my company is without communications (no phones, no email, no network access and no printing to network printers) and so I have nothing to do until out service provider gets off their rears accept write a long, newsy post. Aren’t you lucky?

I have past the 21-week mark and am feeling very pregnant. I slept poorly the night before and ended up too much on my stomach – then the baby seemed to have a sleepy day and wasn’t moving as much – I was beginning to freak out. She started moving later in the day, but not as much as usual, so I’m still at least slightly concerned. If I don’t feel much movement today, I’ll be calling the doctor this afternoon (as we’ve been planning to leave town tomorrow morning and spend the day at Disney). How bad is it, if you put too much weight on your stomach?

My co-workers have been randomly (actually alphabetically) choosing names of the day for the baby lately. We’ve come up with a system of “nice” names, silly names and names pertaining to liquor. Today’s liquor name is Limoncello (one of my favorites) and my co-workers choice of a “nice name” happens to be one of our 4 choices (which surprised me, since it’s not overly popular). I found it amusing that she chose that name out of the blue.

On the names subject: Our top choices originally included the name Cathryn Alexa, but that has since been dropped. I still like it – it’s actually a family name on my/my mother’s side (my great-grandmother was Anna Catherine) and my mom is Alexa. I’d still like to consider it for the future – maybe daughter number 2? – but I’d like to come up with something a little less directly connected to my family and my family alone for our first child. I did find out in passing that my SIL J likes that name and was bummed that we rejected it, but I don’t think any of our names are so far out there that anyone will hate them.

Well, the baby has made the occasional kick this morning, but not the persistent rumblings that she was doing as recently as a couple of days again. I also haven’t had as much sugar or caffeine today as usual (I’m trying not to stimulate her too much) but I may change that later today if she still isn’t jumping this afternoon.