Au revoir ankles

It’s happening. After 35 weeks of a nearly-ideal pregnancy, my vena cava has finally given in. I have swollen ankles.

A few weeks ago some kind-hearted lady at church told me that if I hadn’t started swelling yet, then I probably wouldn’t. Although I really didn’t believe her, deep inside I wanted to think she was right. And aside from my feet and ankles, I’m still doing pretty good. I thought for sure I’d be wearing my 3-carat faux diamond ring from Wal-Mart by now, but my fingers are still rocking the hardware Handsome Coastie purchased for me three years ago, a little tighter but not yet cutting off my circulation. And while swollen feet and ankles are somewhat uncomfortable, and completely unattractive (my husband just stares at them and laughs) my real dilemma is shoes! My footwear collection mainly consists of heels and flip-flops. And since I’m not supposed to wear flip-flops to work … I think I need to go shoe shopping this weekend.

Obviously, swelling of the limbs is a very common symptom of pregnancy. But just knowing that is not enough. I, of course, want to know why. Naturally I turn to my trusted resource, Baby Center. First I realized that searching for “swelling” turns up a whole host of calamities. What we’re really dealing with here is “edema” - when excess fluid collects in your tissue as a result of retaining water, changes in blood chemistry and pressure on your pelvic veins and vena cava (the large vein that carries blood from your lower limbs back to the heart). The retaining water thing is no joke, while my belly doesn’t appear to be any larger (39 inches if you’re interested) I’ve somehow managed to gain 5 pounds in the past 10 days!!! In just a matter of days I blew through both my low- and high- weight gain goals. While it’s easiest to blame it on the water, I must admit that with the start of football season, I may have indulged in too many mini-hot dogs, nachos and brownies this past weekend during the Penn State game. Mama needs to get out for more beach walks!!

This past week I’ve also been SLAMMED with free time. (Is that possible?). So much so, that I was able to spend the weekend writing up a birth plan, typing and re-organizing all of our notes from childbirth class, laying out Jack’s coming home outfit, and counting diapers, wipes, Diaper Genie refills, sleepers and onesies. (Yes, I am a record keeper.) So I thought I’d be able to continue the trend this week by cooking dinner every night, freezing meals for post-baby dinners, getting some exercise and finishing my final project. Surprisingly, this “edema” has literally knocked me off my feet. Now I get home from work, put my feet up on a stack of 5 pillows, turn on the news and read books. I’ve decided to take a break from my pregnancy/labor/birth/parenting library and turn to something lighter. On Monday I started “Out of Africa” but just couldn’t get into it, on Tuesday I finished “Animal Farm” but it wasn’t really the kind of story I was looking for, so last night I started re-reading “Little Women.” I’m hoping this will be the book to keep me occupied over the next few weeks.

Throughout this whole pregnancy, and especially since the arrival of “The Nest” I’ve been able to enjoy full nights of restful sleep, without even having to get up to use the restroom (my in-laws say I have a hollow leg). But this morning I’m slightly more sluggish than usual. Between the excessively loud thunderstorm, horrible case of heartburn, and Jack practicing Kung-Fu at 3am, last night was not a good night. This is probably good preparation for the future. Needless to say, for the first time these 9 months, I’m actually anxious to reach the end. I think the hubs and I are both looking forward to meeting the little guy and getting to feel his little kicks from the outside. And I’m definitely looking forward to doing so with smaller ankles and no heartburn!!

Attack of the raging hormones

My poor husband. This past weekend I had what has probably been my first emotional breakdown. Personally, I think that’s pretty good. Here’s what my trusted resource, Baby Center, has to say: “It's common to have mood swings during pregnancy, because of hormonal changes that affect your levels of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) and the broad range of feelings you may have about becoming a parent. Everyone responds differently to these changes. Some moms-to-be experience heightened emotions, both good and bad; others feel more depressed or anxious. Most find that moodiness flares up at around 6 to 10 weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as their pregnancy winds to a close.”
Considering all the hormonal activity that goes on among the other ladies just in my 2 hour, once a week childbirth class, making it to 31 weeks with only one incident deserves some sort of recognition. My husband remains unconvinced. In my defense, it was a tough weekend. And after one stern reproof from hubby and a few days of self-reflection I believe I can now address the situation with all the objectivity necessary for an online blog.
My family had just left (I hate those first few hours after company leaves and the house seems sooo quiet) and I realized the next time I’ll see them is after Lil’ J’s arrival, Handsome Coastie was about to start another 12 hour night shift, 3 day weekend (I HATE these, especially since I always end up watching Law and Order by myself on Sunday night and then can’t fall asleep!!), my job had just thrown me a few loops that I wasn’t expecting, I was suffering major episodes of pregnancy brain and forgetting IMPORTANT things, and I had a growing to-do list rolling around in my head that I had neglected to translate onto paper (finish writing Thank-Yous, sew curtains, submit final project, pay college bill, mail off half.com orders, have baby in 9 weeks, etc, etc). To top it all off I had forgotten my sunglasses. Any woman knows that if you’re going to end up fighting back tears in the middle of Wal-Mart, the first thing to reach for is your sunglasses. I was stranded.

Thankfully, we had just finished watching “Batman Begins” and I still had Bruce Wayne’s father’s wisdom in my head, “And why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” Haha, I jest. Actually, even better than Thomas Wayne, was our pastor’s sermon on Sunday about slowing down and taking time to pray. He opened with Isaiah 30:15, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust (or confidence) is your strength.’” I know that for me personally, having an “emotional episode” or “hormonal attack” is really just a code orange, an outward indication that I need to slow down and find a quiet place to rest in God’s presence. And so I have one more thing to add to the to-do list, at the very top, and that is to simply be quiet and wait on the Lord.

New Jobs All Around

Well, today I started training for my new job at the college. This was a very hard decision. I loved my job at the other office and was planning to return to work after the baby was born until Handsome Coastie and I got re-stationed in 2010. But a new opportunity arose across campus where I can do similar work to what I'm doing now, only with a more flexible schedule and the opportunity to do the majority of my work at home. So as much as I enjoyed my job and loved my team, it just can't compete with having more time with Baby J. I'll be spending the rest of this month wrapping up things at the old office and training my replacement, while also learning how to do my new job and getting to know my new co-workers. I still can't figure out why even positive changes can be so difficult to make. :(

 The hubster will also be starting a new job this summer. In August he'll transition to a different and better role in his current office. He doesn't let me say a whole lot about his work, but what I can say is that he won't have to work nights, weekends or 12-hour shifts anymore! Hurrah, this is wonderful news for everyone! J and I are very excited that we'll get to spend every weeknight and weekend with Daddy.

To be fair to everyone in the family, I'll also mention J's new job - swallowing. At 21 weeks babies can start swallowing the amniotic fluid. "Why?" you ask. "Researchers believe swallowing amniotic fluid may help growth and development of the fetal digestive system" (Your Pregnancy Week By Week). In fact, J may even be swallowing up to 17 ounces of fluid in a 24-hour time period!! This may contribute a small amount to his caloric needs. And heaven knows with all the activity going on in mom's stomach, J needs all the calories he can get.

The rumors are true ...

... pregnancy brain is real. And apparently it's not going away anytime soon. Studies have shown that many pregnant women do experience memory loss and that this can last up to one year after birth. I used to think this "momnesia," as some call it, was just a sorry excuse that pregnant women use. But I have to admit, I appreciated the stereotype when I sent out 4 letters last week without address labels. Or when I went frantically searching in the bathroom at David's Bridal for my purse. (The assistant was kind enough to point out that my it was hanging right next to me in the dressing room.)

Ask my husband, who often receives the brunt of my strategic (perhaps selective??) memory -- forgetfulness is not in my nature. So what else could I blame such carelessness on but the pregnancy?

If you're like me, you need to know "Why is this happening??" According to the highly-informative webmd.com, "The brain is being marinated in a huge amount of [the pregnancy hormone] oxytocin during pregnancy." Which has been shown to have amnesia-like effects during pregnancy. If you want to get really deep, some believe that this is nature's way of notifying mothers that it may be time to simplify their lives and get ready for the baby ... or it could just be nature's way of reminding us to take our pre-natal vitamins.

Whatever it is, you can rest easy because not only is "pregnancy brain" completely normal, it is also, as one doctor says, "not something that makes women dangerous."

Wild (Charley) Horses

I am now 17 weeks along. Baby J is a whopping 5 1/2 inches and at this point I'm carrying around an extra 5 pounds. Apparently, those few extra pounds have brought on a new phenomenom of the second trimester - Charley Horses. For the past 5 nights I have been waking up in the wee hours of the morning writhing in pain and biting my pillow to keep from waking my husband.
According to BabyCenter.com, either my legs are tired from carrying around "all that extra weight" or my expanding uterus is putting pressure on the blood vessels that return blood from my legs. Whatever the reason, it kinda hurts!
Ironically, I just finished reading Childbirth Without Fear by Dr. Grantley Dick-Read, in which he explains the "fear tension pain" cycle common in labor. In other words, fear causes tension which creates pain which leads to more fear which in turn creates more tension resulting in additional pain and so on. Sounds simple enough when you read it. But the past few nights have been a "wake up" call, if you will, to what this cycle is really all about. The other night, in the midst of trying to massage away yet another knot in my calf, I couldn't help but think, "If I'm having this much trouble relaxing during a muscle cramp, how in the world am I going to manage labor?" So far, I don't have an answer for that. What I have concluded is that if eating a banana a day isn't going to solve my 3am problems then I'll simply take advantage of this opportunity for the next 5 months to practice relaxation and pain management techniques. Now if only I could convince my husband of this perfect occasion to work on his coaching skills ...

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.

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.