Tuesday, March 25, 2008

2 Years!



Happy Anniversary to my one-true-love, Jonathan! What an awesome 2 years, can't believe a baby will be joining us for our next anniversary!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

10 week-a-roos

With impending motherhood comes the urge to speak Baby-Talk. Ergo, I will no longer announce my gestational age in weeks, but rather week-a-roos. It is not a "bottle" it's a "bah-bah." And when a chill falls over our love nest at night, I will be reaching for a "blankie." On a side note, Dr. Meltzoff actually calls this "parentese" and despite popular belief, this kind of speech is a wonderful tutorial for young children because of it's clear and elongated vowel sounds. And because the sentences are generally short, simple, and repetitive, they're easy for toddlers to mimic. So, now you know.

Now back to being 10 week-a-roos. It would seem that my morning sickness has let-up some. I am now only sick in the morning (as the term would suggest) and then usually around the time I get home from work. Aside from that and complete, utter exhaustion from about 2:00pm on, things are going quite well. Unfortunately, my new habits of relaxing on the couch after work until going to bed at 8:30 are not very conducive to my responsibilities as a grad-student.


My parents came to visit over Easter weekend. It was great to spend some time with them, but one of the highlights was shopping with my mom for maternity-clothes. Between my mom and the ready-to-serve sales associate at Motherhood Maternity, I ended up with half the store in my dressing room, and if you've ever been in the packed-out Motherhood, you know that's a lot. Now I hardly look pregnant, but that is not a problem for these experts. They provide you with a "pregnancy pillow" you can strap on to add about 3 months to your abdomen while you try on clothes. This was fun for about one fitting. Somehow the lumpy cotton blob under my shirt just wasn't drawing up the expectant mother excitment that I thought it would. But it did little to hinder my spending capacities and between there and Old Navy we still managed to blow the budget and hook me up with a sizeable wardrobe. As much as I enjoy wearing brand-spanking-new clothing, I'm trying to hold off as much as possible on these only because I know that someday, in the coming months, I'm going to be wishing I could still wear the clothes I can now.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Certainly she can't be in maternity clothes already!" But alas, this small bump has nearly pushed me over the edge. If you ever visited me at work, and saw the way I now wear my pants, you too would realize how appealing an elastic waistband sounds right about now. Give me a few more weeks of this rubber-band trick and I'll soon be crawling to my "secret-fit belly" stretch jeans.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Baby J's First Photo Shoot

Today was the appointment I have been waiting for my whole life ... or at least since my dud appointment last week. I've been able to schedule the majority of my appointments at the clinic on the base where Jon works which is slightly closer and does not involve crossing any bridges or tunnels. When I first arrived the entire clinic was undergoing a tornado drill, so everyone in the office had to cluster into the receptionist's room. The evidently-efficient receptionist decided to do what she could with my file while we were all waiting. Nothing like shouting your height, weight and last menstrual period across a room full of strangers. Or, as in my case, shouting it twice because the sweet women didn't speak very good English.
Despite my half-day appointment last week, the staff must have failed to do their job, leaving today's nurse to go over my complete medical and family history. But I have to admit, we had a great time bonding over listeria warnings and stretched ligaments.
After a few tests she brought Jon into the office for the ultra-sound. It was amazing! Baby looks like a little teddy bear, with a big head, round stomach and stubby little arms and legs, which were flailing about during the ultrasound. We also got to see the heart beating! We held our breath while she looked for what she thought could be a neighbor (sooo not ready for two) but she determined it was only a full bladder. (Doesn't take long for that these days.) And so we were sent home with two pictures to share with our family and friends, and another appointment scheduled in 4 weeks.
Now that we have no-doubt-about-it confirmation that this baby is real and in it for the long haul, I feel like I can stop being nauseous. Now if only my body would get the memo...

Saturday, March 15, 2008

BabyCenter Says ...

Early pregnancy symptons
"Heightened sense of smell - Many newly pregnant women find they're overwhelmed by gag-inducing smells early in pregnancy. This may be a side effect of rapidly increasing levels of estrogen in your system."

No kidding. Last week my nose was stuffy, this week I could put German Shepherds out of business with my new uber-sensitive sniffer. I can't pack my lunch in the morning without gagging over the grilled chicken. I can't wear my perfume. I can't open the trash can without holding my nose. And I can't grab a snack from the refrigerator without getting hit with the overwhelming scent of garlic and onions.

Our first-floor/quasi-basement has a distinct smell - musty and damp with a hint of leftover air freshner that Jon insisted on purchasing. As soon as you open the guest room door it hits you. Unless you're me. Now I can smell the guest room whilst sitting on the couch, on a different floor, on the opposite end of the house. This is torture!

Now I know somewhat what it feels like to be a dog, and should we ever own one ourselves, I may be more aware of the smells our family produces around this animal with a keen sense of smell. I've been there myself.

Friday, March 14, 2008

When something so wrong, feels so right ...

Just for the record, I am not one of those girls who enjoys throwing up. I prefer to only taste my food the first time around. But the past two weeks have completely revolutionized my thinking. Now, if I go more than 30 minutes without feeling nauseaus, I worry that something may be wrong. As disgusting as it is, I want to feel sick just so I can feel normal, just to know that everything is going exactly the way it should. But as my very wise co-worker says, "If satan can't have you sick, he'll have you scared." So I'm determined to make the best of these humbling moments.
In the meantime, I've become quite familiar with the toilets both here at home and at work, and getting downright sick has become almost second-nature. I'm a pro.
Unfortunately, my normal menu is no longer appetizing. Raw meat makes me cover my mouth and run out of the room, a cool, crispy salad with italian dressing makes my stomach turn, and scrambled eggs ... eh, I can hardly type the words without getting queasy. This baby, on the other hand, prefers cheeseburgers, french fries and milk shakes! But I've been able to compromise with saltines, apple juice and granola bars ... most of the time. As all the good books say, at this point in the game, just go with your cravings, or something like that. :)
And so, as much as I'm hoping to drag this pregnancy out, I must admit I'm looking forward to the start of the second trimester and the end of my mortal enemy - morning/noon/night sickness.
P.S. No lie, all this talk about un-appealing foods has resulted in yet another tango with the toilet bowl. I'm going to close this post before I lose the rest of my dinner. :(

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The Highly-Anticipated First Appointment

My request for a civilian obstetrician was over-rode resulting in a referral to the local Naval Hospital. By local I mean 40 minutes of heavy traffic, one tunnel and one drawbridge away.
I managed to still get to my first appointment a few minutes early, which was good since I had to park on the 5th and top level of the parking garage and the find my way through buildings 1 and 2, to reach the 4th floor of building 3 and find the doctor's office. After a short wait I then heard that my trip that day was actually not for a doctor's appointment, but rather for new baby orientation and a meeting with a nurse. So first was a 30 minute slideshow educating those of us in the room on our first pregnancy, followed by three videos detailing the first, second and third trimesters.
The office was understaffed that day, so we were all forewarned that it might take some extra time for us to each get called back to meet with a nurse. In the meantime, we were being entertained by trimester one. Thirty minutes later trimester one ended and, without a nurse to put in the next video, we were only entertained by a blank movie screen. At this point the remaining mothers-to-be began nodding off in their seats for some much needed naptime.
Of course, I was the last to be called. For the next 10 minutes, Nurse Shirley referred to me as "'Lil Mama" and took my weight and medical history. Then she sent me down to the first floor lab for some tests and a reminder to arrive with a full bladder. Like that would be difficult- being pregnant and trapped in a waiting room for 3 hours. Nearly 4 hours after my initial arrival, I was finally able to wrap up my visit with some bloodwork. I made the mistake of handing her the wrong arm, the one with the hidden vein. So she dug around with a needle for a while, finally hit something right, and proceeded to withdraw bood. Unfortunately, she didn't choose the most productive vein and after an eternal 60 seconds, we both realized neither of us had the time to wait until the next 8 vials were filled. So the blood-sucking nurse profusely apologized and proceeded to stab the next arm.
At this point, it has been over 5 hours since my last meal and, as I had failed to bring along a snack, I was starting to feel the lack of nourishment. Fortunately, this arm was much more compliant and we were able to get all the vials full before the darkness started creeping into the corners of my eyes and my entire body broke out into a cold sweat. And so, although Nurse-Stabs-A-Lot may not be very fast at drawing blood, she sure is fast at retrieving snacks. Next thing I knew I was chugging some cranberry juice and cramming down a Kudos bar. A minute or two later I was able to walk out, head held high, with wobbly legs and shaky hands clutching what was left of my cranberry juice.
And so ends the world's most anti-climactic first appointment.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Baby's First Vacation


We went to Key West this week to visit some of Jon's friends from the Coast Guard Academy. It was my first time in Florida and we had perfect weather. We spent some time on the beach, out on the boat and by the pool. Did some touring and lots of sightseeing.
The first day there I was so busy looking at the beautiful homes and architecture that I ran into a tree branch and scraped the top of my head. The second day there I stepped on a fish bone and ended up with a fish-rib poking through my flip-flop. I'm beginning to wonder just how safe my baby's carrier is going to be over the next 8 months.

I'm only 6 weeks along but I've already gotten a pooch and just this week nausea has begun to kick in. Flying was the most difficult. Just when did airlines stop serving mid-flight snacks?? I spent most of my traveling time praying that the Lord would either help me not throw up or pee my pants. It would appear that I've reached the food and bathroom addiction stage. I now carry snacks in my purse and always scope out the nearest bathroom. Sounds like good preparation for motherhood!
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