Obsessions, Complaints, and Thanks - 15 Weeks

I think I've visited every website related to pregnancy, babies, and especially baby names. It's getting a little obsessive compulsive at this point. I think I spent all day on friday reading archived articles at the Parenting magazine website, a magizine that I've had a subscription to since 2000. The really sad thing is that I have long since realized that just about any book, advice, or article about babies says basically the same thing. But does that stop me from flipping through Dr. Sears' book at the bookstore, wondering if it might have some tidbit that's not in my other 4 pregnancy books? No. And does it stop me from comparing the 15th week beteen babycenter.com, parenting.com, and about.com? No again.

The other thing that I've realized, after reading all of this, is that although there's all this talk about feeling great and attractive during pregnancy. I'm patiently waiting for the moment when I don't feel fat and uncomfortable with dry skin and indigestion. I'd like to actually meet a real woman who felt sexy during pregnancy, cause I'm really not feeling it.

Okay, enough with the hormonal rant.

The really really good news is that I had a doctor's appointment this week and all my tests came back just fine. The did take my blood pressure at the beginning of the appointment and it was 160/90, which is terrible, but then when my doctor took it again after we were done, it was 138/80, so that's a big difference. I also got another look at peanut. My mom came with me, since she was visiting for Thanksgiving, so she was able to persuade the nurse into a sonogram. Unfortunately we didn't find out the sex, like I thought we might, but he or she was actually sucking on his or her fingers and even had the hiccups for a while! It's really easy to forget that all I was complaining about above is because there's a real person in there. I can't wait to feel somethning, I think that will make it all more real. We will probably find out the gender in a few weeks when I have my offical sonogram with the technician, and luckily Ian will be there to see it all.

We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving here at our house with my mom and brother. The highlight for me was when we did the somewhat hokey tradition of saying what we're thankful for, and after I blundered and joked my way through what I was thankful for, Ian gave a very elequent and heartfelt little speech that made me feel really special.

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, the things for which I am thankful are: A healthy pregnancy, despite my many, many complaints; Ian, who is a wonderful, wonderful man, and already talks to my belly and gives me backrubs; Emily, who is one of the most fun people in the world to be around; my mom, who I always have fun with, even if we're lost in North Idaho; I'm thankful that Andrew is happy, and doing something he loves; Ian's entire family for being so thoughtful, caring, and willing to love Emily and me; I'm thankful that we're all hapy, and relatively healthy (Ian's back is on the mend); I'm thankful that Sara and Evan are healthy and I'm really thankful that I'll get to meet him soon; and since this is getting long, I'm thankful for leftover Thanksgiving food, which is delicious and has allowed me to stay out of the kitchen for the last 3 days.

Bring on the Turkey - 14 Weeks

I don't know a what point I'll learn that procrastination never pays. I curse myself every time I stay up late working on a paper for not starting earlier. This week I had two papers due on the same day, and although I had known about these papers since, uh, September, do you think I started on them before this weekend? Oh no. Luckily this time I can blame the fatigue I had all of the first trimester, but now that I'm officially in the second trimester, I'm really looking forward to getting my energy back. Any time now...

There are about a million things I feel like I need to do, like go through the baby stuff that is in storage and figure out what's usable and where it's going to fit in our house. It seemed so big when we moved in just last may, but we quickly filled it up and I'm having trouble imagining another person, even a small one, in this house.

Other than that, I also need to register us for a birth class and probably sign this baby up for childcare at the WSU center - the waiting list is that long, it's crazy.

Luckily in the next few weeks after Thanksgiving break, I don't have much to do. Just a few tests, nothing like recent years of finals from hell.

But the light at the end of the tunnel is Christmas break, going to mom's, seeing both our families, and all the magic that is Christmas with a four-year-old. I can't believe next year at this time, we'll have little peanut to enjoy as well.

How Do You Know He's Not My Sidekick? - 13 Weeks

I don't know if it was all the popcorn and soda I had at the theater yesterday, the italian soda I had at Daily Grind (instead of what I really wanted, coffee!), or Kevin Smith, but I was overcome by sudden gut-wrenching vomiting last night after Ian and I finished watching the comentary for Dogma - we've (I've) been on a Kevin Smith kick lately. Man, just as I'm rounding the corner to the second trimester safe zone - It's probably karma for thinking "ha I made it through the first trimester without morning sickness!". Though I don't know if this has more to do with the pregnancy or the unusually large amount of sugar I had yesterday.

I have to go back to the doctor again next week, and of course I'm fearing the worst with all the tests I had to do this week - I brought my jug back to the lab and there were like 3 doctors taking a break with the lab tech so I said "uh, I'm bringing back a sample...?" and the lab tech asks "what is it?". Um, obviously they hired her for her discretion. So I turn really red and manage to say "a lot of urine". Then she proceeds to draw several viles of blood and I have to pee in a cup again.

Poor Ian though, he hurt his back at work last week - he finally got some drugs, which as it turns out, are pretty good. He's been walking around in an oxycontin-induced haze for the last two days. We're quite a pair.

And (I'm not complaining or anything here) to top it all off, I have several things due next week, two exams, and we've got a match against Eastern Washington University's mock trial team tomorrow morning. This is probably why most people wait until they're done with college to have babies.

Twilight Years - 12 Weeks

So I figured at 23 I didn't need to worry about things like high blood pressure, elastic pants, and gray hair. Aparently I was wrong.

Here's one for the "humliations during pregnancy list" - today I had to go pick up a jug at the lab in the hospital - for guess what... pee. Lots of pee. Even though I've sworn up and down to my doctor that my elevated blood pressure is due to doctor anxiety (nothing personal!), she doesn't believe me, hence I must pee into a jug for 24 hours straight. I have a feeling that's not going to be too much fun during my nightly batrhoom runs. I guess I'd rather have a doctor that is overly cautious than not - especially after came home after my doctor visit and freaked myself out by reading in my pregnancy books about chronic hypertension and preeclampsia, both of which sound much worse than having to pee into a jug all day. And on the bright side, the kind man at the lab spared me from having to carry my enormous jug past all the people waiting at student health services by providing a nonconspicous black plastic bag.

So the prelude to all this was my doctor visit on Wendsday, which went pretty well, although I'm discovering that, and maybe it's just this stage in pregnancy, I fear the worst all the time. I had to wait in my doctor's office for a while, and by the time she got there, I had figured whatever bad news she had, she must want to tell me with my clothes on, so it must be really bad. Oy, what am I going to do for the next 6 months? No wonder my blood pressure is so high.

Not all was bad at the doctor, I did have another ultrasound, which was awesome. The baby is moving around (although I can't feel anything yet), and it really looks like a baby instead of a peanut.

Last weekend my mom, Emily, and I went up to Spokane in search of maternity clothes (the only choice in Pullman is Wal-Mart) - turns out there aren't a lot of choices in Spokane either, but I got a lot of really cute stuff that is still a bit big, but much more comfortable than my regular jeans - elastic pants - who knew? We had a great time and stayed in a hotel - which we took full advantage of, complete with an ice cream run at midnight. Not my fault, we were watching the food chanel, what do you expect? I also stayed up way too late absorbing TV, which we don't have at home, and I was shocked and disturbed to find shows such as The Fresh Prince and Roseanne on, get this, Nick at Night! Whaaaaa? When I remember watching Nick at Night, everything was in black and white, now it's shows I remember watching when they were on in prime time. I did recently find my first gray hair, so I guess I'm getting up there. And I now understand why my mom lables hers "Katies" - because I know this one belongs to Emily.

The sad thing is that I can't even dye my hair now due to the pregnancy, so I guess I'll wear my gray hair as a badge of motherhood - I've earned it.