My mom put in a request that I talk about baby names. We haven't officially decided on names yet, but we have a couple front-runners with some backups in mind. I'm not going to reveal them here, however. I may tell close family near the end when (if) we're 100% settled, but we shall see.
Craig is probably more settled on them than I am, because I have a couple reservations when it comes to the front runners. My reservation with the boy's name is a popularity issue...that it's too high on the baby name lists. My reservation with the girl's name is that it's a little long and doesn't have a simple nickname to shorten it.
The frustrating thing about all of this is that we never thought we'd be in the position to go back and forth over names. We settled on baby names way back when we were first dating. It wasn't one of those creepy "it's too early to discuss this" conversations, though...we just sort of fell into it. And right then and there we settled on names. However...in the meantime, someone stole our boy's name and pretty much wrecked it for me. The girl's name ended up getting really popular, and I have more of an issue giving a girl a popular name than a boy. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because boys fall into nicknames easier and are less competitive anyway, so it's less of a potential for a complex later on if the boy is one of a few in his class with the same name. But again...the popularity thing is my one reservation for the boy's name, so it still does bother me a bit.
We still have a few months to get past any issues and decide for sure what we want. It's a big decision and we don't want to saddle our first child with a name that could eventually lead to ridicule. We know of a couple examples where initials or nicknames that other people have left their kids with could be trouble down the road, and we'd really like to avoid that. For that reason alone we'll probably have to let a few people in on the secret before the baby's born, just to make sure we're not missing anything. We shall see...but sorry, for now, no name news :)
In other news, however...another month, another doctor's appointment. I will now be going every two weeks, until the last month, when it's every week. Hard to believe I'm hitting that milestone already! Anyway, all was well with the baby, so that's good. Heartbeat was good, and once again the doctor specifically mentioned how active the baby was. Considering I've had many different people say that, I'm starting to get nervous that this baby is going to be hyper! Maybe they say that to everyone, but seriously...the ultrasound tech, at least two doctors...yikes. I guess it's good, though...at least I know the baby's in there and doing ok! I did find out that I'm just slightly anemic (the cutoff is 35, I'm a 34), so I do have to start taking an iron supplement. Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than just popping another pill in the morning. I have to take the iron at night with some juice, because vitamin C aids in absorption, while calcium hinders it. So considering I take a prenatal vitamin and have a bowl of cereal with milk each morning, that's not the best time to take it. Before bed is the only good option, so hopefully that becomes an easy routine. I just wish iron was in more foods I like so this wouldn't be an issue in the first place. Oh well. Small price to pay.
Have a nice weekend!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Bittersweet Milestone
I discovered last night that my belly now sticks out farther than my chest. Even in my chest's slightly enlarged state, even with a nicely padded bra on...the belly still extends farther. Obviously this is a good thing because it means the baby is growing and things are progressing nicely. It's just tough to think back to the good ol' days when my waist was small enough to make my chest look more impressive than it probably was :) I hope that someday it goes back to that. As it is I'm hearing two sides of the story. Many people are telling me that my body will snap right back into shape, mostly by virtue of it starting out in good shape and me continuing my workouts all through the pregnancy so far. However, you always hear people say that no matter how hard you work out afterward, your body will never be the same. I suppose the truth is somewhere in between...that with some work my body will get back to a good place, almost to the point where outsiders would hardly know I've had a baby, but that looking at it naked, I will know that it's not what it once was. The key is learning to live with that, and minimizing the impact of future pregnancies and the lack of exercise time that will come with having kids.
I've come to understand in the last few years that my perception of myself is different than what other people see. I think most people are probably like that. While I could always see a lot of flaws in my body, most people that saw me on a day-to-day basis didn't notice them. In clothes I looked fine...and out of them I probably did, too...but like most people, I tended to focus on what I'd like to see improved. However, I was probably happier with my body in the past 2-3 years than I even had been, so that was nice. I'm sure my post-pregnancy world will (eventually) be similar to how it was pre-pregnancy...in clothes I'll look fine, out of them I'll be eager to get back to the gym.
I will say that I'm still pretty happy with how I'm progressing so far, though. I've only gained about 15 pounds and I'm still not noticing any extra pudge in other parts of my body. Everything's still pretty solid and the belly area is pretty much the center of the action. Although, I suppose it would be tough to tell if other things have expanded because the proportions of my belly throw everything off, and I'm no longer wearing any non-spandex pre-pregnancy pants...so it's tough to actually judge. But nothing looks too out of whack, so that's good. At this point, I'll take it :)
I've come to understand in the last few years that my perception of myself is different than what other people see. I think most people are probably like that. While I could always see a lot of flaws in my body, most people that saw me on a day-to-day basis didn't notice them. In clothes I looked fine...and out of them I probably did, too...but like most people, I tended to focus on what I'd like to see improved. However, I was probably happier with my body in the past 2-3 years than I even had been, so that was nice. I'm sure my post-pregnancy world will (eventually) be similar to how it was pre-pregnancy...in clothes I'll look fine, out of them I'll be eager to get back to the gym.
I will say that I'm still pretty happy with how I'm progressing so far, though. I've only gained about 15 pounds and I'm still not noticing any extra pudge in other parts of my body. Everything's still pretty solid and the belly area is pretty much the center of the action. Although, I suppose it would be tough to tell if other things have expanded because the proportions of my belly throw everything off, and I'm no longer wearing any non-spandex pre-pregnancy pants...so it's tough to actually judge. But nothing looks too out of whack, so that's good. At this point, I'll take it :)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
"How are you feeling?"
I find this to be a tough question to answer, and it's one I get multiple times daily. I get that it's the normal question to ask pregnant women, mostly because it's so well known that pregnant women feel like crap in the beginning (often before they can tell people WHY they feel like crap) and get worn out by the end. I guess I'm in that odd stage in the middle, where I actually feel pretty good. I mean, I get tired (like everyone else...but maybe it just happens quicker when I do something to actually tire myself out), but my only complaint other than that is just adjusting to my ever-expanding belly. Physically on a day-to-day basis I feel fine, almost like a non-pregnant woman...until I look down or feel a good kick. So I guess I'm not sure what to say when I get asked that question, because 1) If I answer it truthfully, it's really uninteresting; and 2) If I really pick into any little issues that might be bothering me, I run the risk of sounding like I'm complaining (about something almost insignificant, nonetheless). I guess I have yet to find a good, middle-of-the-road, courteous response that shows I'm grateful for their concern and happily doing well, but without sounding like I don't want to have a full conversation. It's odd. And by no means am I saying that people shouldn't ask, because I think it's nice and friendly...I'm just saying I have no idea what to say back, and that's my own problem to figure out.
The "phantom movement" thing is really becoming a pretty common occurence these days, although I'm getting used to it so it's less phantom-esque. It's funny, because normally when I type, the area of my arms just below my elbows rest on the sides of my belly. And for whatever reason, on the right side the baby seems to gravitate to that area a lot. I'll just be sitting here typing and I feel my arm getting displaced ever so slightly, as the baby moves into that area and pushes out. I have no clue what part of the baby it is, unfortunately, but it happens quite a few times a day. I am feeling a lot of pressure all over my belly these days, but mostly on the right side. Like I said the other day, I think the days of the roomy uterus are over. When the baby's pushing out, my belly gets really tight in that area. It's not particularly painful, though it's a little uncomfortable at times.
Last night I was getting frustrated because I'd felt a lot of pressure all day, and then when I put on my maternity jeans, the band up top was feeling really tight...which is a whole other issue. Just when I was finally getting comfortable with my maternity wardrobe, I think some things are getting too tight, but only in the belly, so going up a size is going to make the rest of the pants too big. Ugh.
So anyway...the easy answer to the question should probably be: "I'm feeling good but still adjusting to my belly--the size, the activity inside, and all these odd new sensations." I know that stuff is only going to continue and get more intense from here on out, so I'm just going to try to brace myself and keep formulating a better answer....
The "phantom movement" thing is really becoming a pretty common occurence these days, although I'm getting used to it so it's less phantom-esque. It's funny, because normally when I type, the area of my arms just below my elbows rest on the sides of my belly. And for whatever reason, on the right side the baby seems to gravitate to that area a lot. I'll just be sitting here typing and I feel my arm getting displaced ever so slightly, as the baby moves into that area and pushes out. I have no clue what part of the baby it is, unfortunately, but it happens quite a few times a day. I am feeling a lot of pressure all over my belly these days, but mostly on the right side. Like I said the other day, I think the days of the roomy uterus are over. When the baby's pushing out, my belly gets really tight in that area. It's not particularly painful, though it's a little uncomfortable at times.
Last night I was getting frustrated because I'd felt a lot of pressure all day, and then when I put on my maternity jeans, the band up top was feeling really tight...which is a whole other issue. Just when I was finally getting comfortable with my maternity wardrobe, I think some things are getting too tight, but only in the belly, so going up a size is going to make the rest of the pants too big. Ugh.
So anyway...the easy answer to the question should probably be: "I'm feeling good but still adjusting to my belly--the size, the activity inside, and all these odd new sensations." I know that stuff is only going to continue and get more intense from here on out, so I'm just going to try to brace myself and keep formulating a better answer....
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The difference 30 years can make...
Ok, picture #2 isn't the most flattering (I think I have to work on my angles with this new body), but I thought I'd have a little fun for Easter. A few weeks back I figured out that back on Easter 1978, my mom would have been about as pregnant as I was at that point (depending on when Easter fell), so I decided to pull out the family photo albums to see if there was any photographic proof. Sure enough, there it was. It's tough to tell how big my mom was at that point, but considering it was baby #2, she looks pretty good and fairly similar to where I was. Yesterday morning I had the brainstorm to snap a picture of that picture, then use it as an excuse to post a new picture of myself. I know I don't need an excuse, but seriously, it helps to have some sort of specific reason to bother. It's tough to tell how big I am in yesterday's picture, too, actually. Rest assured, the belly is getting bigger and bigger. It's still not huge, but it's a big change from where I started this process. I know I look very good for the point I'm at, though. Not much chub has migrated anywhere else, so for that I am grateful.
Anyway, I thought the Easter now and then thing was sort of funny, so I hope you enjoy it. Not much new to report, though yesterday my dad debated my use of the term "phantom" in my last post. I do know that it's a real baby and not a ghost (or nothing) making those movements, but I still think "phantom" is an allowable term because the baby plays the ghost, moving about without my knowledge and suddenly "appearing"!
I've been getting a lot of random body parts pushing on the inside of my belly today, so I'm thinking the baby is starting to lose its extra space in there. Things are only going to get more cramped from here on out!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Phantom Movement
One of the newer phenomena that I've been experiencing lately is phantom baby movement...that's the only way I can think of to describe it. It's stealth movement, almost unnoticeable. See, on one hand there's the obvious movements...kicks, thumps, ripples across my belly...anything that is totally noticeable, either because I can actually see it happening or because I can feel it hitting my insides. I find that sort of movement really entertaining. Watching your body do things when you're not making them happen is such a strange thing, but it's really cool. I like watching my belly move and knowing that it's the baby moving around inside. Craig can enjoy that now too, which is nice. We still can't really identify body parts yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.
Phantom movement, however, just seemed to start recently. It's really odd. All I can describe it as is a strange sensation inside my body. It's not visible, and it's really not even identifiable while it's happening. I just sense something strange, and usually I can pinpoint where it seems to be coming from. When the sensation passes, I can usually feel in that area of my belly and that's where the baby is hanging out. That area of my belly can go from being soft one second to rock hard the next, because there's a baby hanging out just beneath the surface.
The closest example I can give to describe it is a gas bubble. You ever have a funny feeling in your stomach, a feeling you almost can't put your finger on, and seconds later you hear or feel a gas bubble gurgle through your insides? That momentary pre-bubble feeling is what this phantom movement is closest to, but it's even more subtle than that. It's not necessarily painful, but sometimes there is a slight discomfort, which seems to be a baby appendage poking into something. If there is discomfort, it doesn't last long. I generally just rub the area for a little while to see if the baby responds, and eventually one of us loses interest and moves on.
I noticed it happening periodically over the past week or so, then really started noticing it while sitting in church on Thursday night and Friday afternoon. It even happened while I was sitting here typing this entry. The ironic thing? When I'm getting ready to sleep in a little while, that's when the obvious movement will kick in. It's already starting...mommy's getting ready to sleep, and the baby will do anything but!
Have a Happy Easter, everyone!
Phantom movement, however, just seemed to start recently. It's really odd. All I can describe it as is a strange sensation inside my body. It's not visible, and it's really not even identifiable while it's happening. I just sense something strange, and usually I can pinpoint where it seems to be coming from. When the sensation passes, I can usually feel in that area of my belly and that's where the baby is hanging out. That area of my belly can go from being soft one second to rock hard the next, because there's a baby hanging out just beneath the surface.
The closest example I can give to describe it is a gas bubble. You ever have a funny feeling in your stomach, a feeling you almost can't put your finger on, and seconds later you hear or feel a gas bubble gurgle through your insides? That momentary pre-bubble feeling is what this phantom movement is closest to, but it's even more subtle than that. It's not necessarily painful, but sometimes there is a slight discomfort, which seems to be a baby appendage poking into something. If there is discomfort, it doesn't last long. I generally just rub the area for a little while to see if the baby responds, and eventually one of us loses interest and moves on.
I noticed it happening periodically over the past week or so, then really started noticing it while sitting in church on Thursday night and Friday afternoon. It even happened while I was sitting here typing this entry. The ironic thing? When I'm getting ready to sleep in a little while, that's when the obvious movement will kick in. It's already starting...mommy's getting ready to sleep, and the baby will do anything but!
Have a Happy Easter, everyone!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Reality TV
It always amazes me to think about how reality TV has shaped our perceptions of certain life experiences. Way back in the day, I think your average person generally had little idea about things like plastic surgery, drug rehab/addiction, or any other life-changing experience. However, reality TV has given us insight into all of those things--from the numerous plastic surgery shows, to VH1's Celebrity Rehab, A&E's Intervention and MTV's True Life. I'm not saying that these shows give a completely full and accurate portrayal, but I think it gives normal people a glimpse into experiences they wouldn't otherwise have, enough to have a vague sense of what actually happens in those circumstances.
Back before reality TV was everywhere, TLC was getting the ball rolling with its daytime lineup of A Wedding Story and A Baby Story. I recall watching a LOT of that stuff back in college, and it's been a normal part of my weekday mornings off (the few I have) ever since. Back in college A Baby Story was a little beyond our comprehension. That just seemed so far off, but we formed a lot of important ideas about childbirth at that point. More on those in a bit. At that point we were pretty fixated on A Wedding Story, because marriage was a foreseeable goal (ok, we didn't have the guys, but kept hoping we'd find the right one soon) and we did know some people who were getting married, so it all seemed a little more relevant. It was funny a couple years ago when I watched A Wedding Story for the first time in a while to realize I had leap-frogged that show...that the show portrayed something that seemed so huge and important back then (wedding planning and marriage are huge and important, but it was merely a big dream back in college), and that I had already survived it! Watching it now is like, "Yeah, been there, done that...it was great but I don't miss the planning!"
A Baby Story is a different story, however. And these days they have another show, Bringing Home Baby, about the first 36 hours home from the hospital. I've seen enough of them over the years to know exactly what I'm going to see each episode...but watching them now takes on a whole new meaning, because that will officially be us in 3-1/2 months. It's a little mind-boggling...almost can't wrap my brain around the fact that after all these years, I'm going to be that screaming, sweaty woman in labor, then a couple days later we'll be those parents trying to figure out why the baby won't stop crying at 3am. You can watch it a million times, but only when it's actually in the forseeable future does it really start to set in. It's one thing to know you're going to be the screaming, sweaty woman at some point...but it's another to actually know WHEN. Despite the scary stuff, watching these shows can also be comforting because you see that everyone else goes through the same thing and survives it.
This morning I got to see a couple episodes of Bringing Home Baby. Nothing new or life-altering, but it just reminded me yet again that it's going to be quite the experience...I'm just happy we won't have a full cameras crew documenting it. I'm actually a little relieved I didn't come across A Baby Story today. Back in December I watched a couple episodes on the plane down to Florida (thanks Jet Blue) and managed to see two straight episodes of women going through natural child birth...water births, no less. Lots of pain, lots of screaming, lots of bloody water...not really what you want to see when you're pregnant. Let me see the nice happy woman sporting an epidural and no purple stretch marks, and I'm a happy camper. I just have to keep those images in my head, rather than the scary ones...because even if my experience is more like the scary ones, hopefully it'll all be a blur anyway. Maybe it's ignoring the inevitable, but I'm trying not to think too much about labor. I don't want to spend the next three months worrying about it because 1) it's too late to turn back anyway; 2) it'll drive me nuts; and 3) I might psych myself out for nothing.
Anyway, I just think it's funny that reality TV has given women like me insight into this whole childbirth process like our parents' generation never had. And who says reality TV is all crap?
Oh, and in case you're wondering...what jewels of wisdom did A Baby Story teach us back in college? 1) Epidurals hurt, but they appear to be worth it. 2) Babies are covered in goo when they pop out, so really, it's perfectly ok if you clean the baby off right away before handing it to me. 3) Hats are great after the baby gets cleaned up...not only are they cute, but they cover unfortunate labor-induced coneheads. 4) One or maybe two family members are the maximum capacity for the delivery room. Any more than that is just weird. Having your current children watch the new one pop out is just weird. Pardon my saying, but no kid needs to see that much of their mom's vagina, nor something that traumatic and bloody at such a young age. I'm 29 and pregnant and didn't like seeing it in Knocked Up. I don't care how much of a miracle it is...it's frightening. And as Mary used to say every time we'd see a delivery room full of people: "Hel-lo, I'm not wearing any pants...get out of my room!" Well said.
Back before reality TV was everywhere, TLC was getting the ball rolling with its daytime lineup of A Wedding Story and A Baby Story. I recall watching a LOT of that stuff back in college, and it's been a normal part of my weekday mornings off (the few I have) ever since. Back in college A Baby Story was a little beyond our comprehension. That just seemed so far off, but we formed a lot of important ideas about childbirth at that point. More on those in a bit. At that point we were pretty fixated on A Wedding Story, because marriage was a foreseeable goal (ok, we didn't have the guys, but kept hoping we'd find the right one soon) and we did know some people who were getting married, so it all seemed a little more relevant. It was funny a couple years ago when I watched A Wedding Story for the first time in a while to realize I had leap-frogged that show...that the show portrayed something that seemed so huge and important back then (wedding planning and marriage are huge and important, but it was merely a big dream back in college), and that I had already survived it! Watching it now is like, "Yeah, been there, done that...it was great but I don't miss the planning!"
A Baby Story is a different story, however. And these days they have another show, Bringing Home Baby, about the first 36 hours home from the hospital. I've seen enough of them over the years to know exactly what I'm going to see each episode...but watching them now takes on a whole new meaning, because that will officially be us in 3-1/2 months. It's a little mind-boggling...almost can't wrap my brain around the fact that after all these years, I'm going to be that screaming, sweaty woman in labor, then a couple days later we'll be those parents trying to figure out why the baby won't stop crying at 3am. You can watch it a million times, but only when it's actually in the forseeable future does it really start to set in. It's one thing to know you're going to be the screaming, sweaty woman at some point...but it's another to actually know WHEN. Despite the scary stuff, watching these shows can also be comforting because you see that everyone else goes through the same thing and survives it.
This morning I got to see a couple episodes of Bringing Home Baby. Nothing new or life-altering, but it just reminded me yet again that it's going to be quite the experience...I'm just happy we won't have a full cameras crew documenting it. I'm actually a little relieved I didn't come across A Baby Story today. Back in December I watched a couple episodes on the plane down to Florida (thanks Jet Blue) and managed to see two straight episodes of women going through natural child birth...water births, no less. Lots of pain, lots of screaming, lots of bloody water...not really what you want to see when you're pregnant. Let me see the nice happy woman sporting an epidural and no purple stretch marks, and I'm a happy camper. I just have to keep those images in my head, rather than the scary ones...because even if my experience is more like the scary ones, hopefully it'll all be a blur anyway. Maybe it's ignoring the inevitable, but I'm trying not to think too much about labor. I don't want to spend the next three months worrying about it because 1) it's too late to turn back anyway; 2) it'll drive me nuts; and 3) I might psych myself out for nothing.
Anyway, I just think it's funny that reality TV has given women like me insight into this whole childbirth process like our parents' generation never had. And who says reality TV is all crap?
Oh, and in case you're wondering...what jewels of wisdom did A Baby Story teach us back in college? 1) Epidurals hurt, but they appear to be worth it. 2) Babies are covered in goo when they pop out, so really, it's perfectly ok if you clean the baby off right away before handing it to me. 3) Hats are great after the baby gets cleaned up...not only are they cute, but they cover unfortunate labor-induced coneheads. 4) One or maybe two family members are the maximum capacity for the delivery room. Any more than that is just weird. Having your current children watch the new one pop out is just weird. Pardon my saying, but no kid needs to see that much of their mom's vagina, nor something that traumatic and bloody at such a young age. I'm 29 and pregnant and didn't like seeing it in Knocked Up. I don't care how much of a miracle it is...it's frightening. And as Mary used to say every time we'd see a delivery room full of people: "Hel-lo, I'm not wearing any pants...get out of my room!" Well said.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
More progress...
Last night Craig and I took another baby step to getting the baby's room up and running. Over the weekend I put together Craig's new dresser (the one that would help make room in our office for a guest bedroom), and when Craig got home from his roadtrip he sorted through the stuff in his old dresser and moved things into the new one. Last night he moved the old dresser down into the basement storage room and we moved one bed into the office. My ultimate goal is to figure out how to do a trundle bed setup...without spending a ton of money. I'd like to have two beds available for guests without having to worry about air mattresses or anything like that. And hey, if we can pull that off, it's one less thing we have to store somewhere else in the basement. I'm not sure it's possible, though. IKEA used to have a cheap bed-trundle bed set, but they ditched the trundle a year or two ago....darn it. Worst case scenario we just trash or donate the other bed, because both the mattress and frame are old, but it would be a shame to have to get rid of it.
But anyway, one bed out of the baby's room is progress. I also moved one picture out of there to the office, and will try to move another (my prized eyeball picture, for those of you who have seen it...I know it's freaky but it's still cool) one of these days. The picture and frame are really heavy so it always takes a little planning to hang that one...studs and everything. I think I'm going to move one series of five little pictures from the office to my cubicle at work to free up some wall space, and I'd still really like to find some curtains that will tie the whole office together...it's a bit of a mish-mash of stuff right now (different wood colors, a dark green rug, a bluish comforter on the bed, pink window valances...yikes), so anything I can do to make that room seem like it wasn't just thrown together would be nice. On the bright side, it's nice to have a bed in there so we have somewhere to lounge while watching TV online (when we miss an episode of something, generally).
It's nice to make progress, but each step like this makes all of this more and more real. We're making real changes for a major life event, and that's a little scary. Good scary, but scary nonetheless! Lots to think about, and less and less time to make it all happen!
But anyway, one bed out of the baby's room is progress. I also moved one picture out of there to the office, and will try to move another (my prized eyeball picture, for those of you who have seen it...I know it's freaky but it's still cool) one of these days. The picture and frame are really heavy so it always takes a little planning to hang that one...studs and everything. I think I'm going to move one series of five little pictures from the office to my cubicle at work to free up some wall space, and I'd still really like to find some curtains that will tie the whole office together...it's a bit of a mish-mash of stuff right now (different wood colors, a dark green rug, a bluish comforter on the bed, pink window valances...yikes), so anything I can do to make that room seem like it wasn't just thrown together would be nice. On the bright side, it's nice to have a bed in there so we have somewhere to lounge while watching TV online (when we miss an episode of something, generally).
It's nice to make progress, but each step like this makes all of this more and more real. We're making real changes for a major life event, and that's a little scary. Good scary, but scary nonetheless! Lots to think about, and less and less time to make it all happen!
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