It seems that I am not meant to be very comfortable right now. I'm getting into the home stretch, and it's taking its toll on me, I must admit. It's not all the time--just most of the time. There are several times during the day when it seems like no matter what position or angle I'm sitting in, I can't be comfortable--like something happened to my uterus and nothing will appease it. I don't think these are Braxton-Hicks contractions or anything--there's none of the reputed whole-uterus tightening or anything.
Add to that my ramped-up metabolism, and you have a person who cannot sleep with any blankets (or even a sheet) at night without smothering. This is often accompanied by charlie-horses in my legs or feet. At least that often wakes me up at regular intervals to relieve my bladder (look at me, finding the silver lining!). I just thought I was walking slowly before--now I'm practically a snail. Michael thinks my belly button isn't long for this world, and every day I check to see if it is gone yet.
On the plus side, shaved ice is amazing. We have a snow cone maker, and it's awesome--but I just want the ice with a little bit of water. I don't think it's due to low iron, I think it's just that I'm thirsty and generally that I'm running a little on the warm side (and ice is fun to crunch). Elizabeth's movements are so funny now, and my tummy often looks like it belongs in a sci-fi horror movie. Michael and I spend a decent amount of time watching it and lightly pressing in, wondering which of her little limbs we are encountering.
We can't wait to meet her.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
No Gestational Diabetes for Me!
I passed my 3-hour glucose test! Woo! I was so relieved to hear that news. The test for iron came back in the acceptable range, though on the lower side of the acceptable range. Still, I haven't had to take any iron supplements, which is great. I've noticed that I often pair iron-rich foods with calcium-rich foods, which can actually inhibit the absorption of iron, so I might be able to boost my iron levels if I simply try to keep the two apart.
Since yesterday was a doctor's appointment, that means it is time for another baby bump picture:
That is Suzie, our problem child, at the bottom of the picture. See how guilty she looks? Either that or she's fearful, because look at the size of the person behind her! I didn't even bother to edit out the red-eye in this picture, so that probably adds to my scariness. Six more pounds have been added on to my frame since the last visit. I've noticed the weight change most in the lower portion of my belly--it seems to interfere much more with my lap area than it did previously. I keep expecting to lose my belly-button, but I haven't yet! These pictures might come more often because now I have to start seeing my doctor every two weeks until I hit week 36, after which it becomes every week.
I think I felt Elizabeth having hiccups yesterday morning--her movements were these almost uniform little jumps that were spaced as if someone had the hiccups--so it was either that or she's a musical genius that keeps excellent time and she will make an amazing drummer someday. Her movements are definitely becoming more noticeable, especially by Michael. He's always shocked when she gives a particularly strong kick, and the look on his face is hilarious.
The nursery is closer to being finished, and I might even give a small video tour of it for the benefit of my folks and friends spread far and wide. It really feels like it is getting so close now!
Since yesterday was a doctor's appointment, that means it is time for another baby bump picture:
That is Suzie, our problem child, at the bottom of the picture. See how guilty she looks? Either that or she's fearful, because look at the size of the person behind her! I didn't even bother to edit out the red-eye in this picture, so that probably adds to my scariness. Six more pounds have been added on to my frame since the last visit. I've noticed the weight change most in the lower portion of my belly--it seems to interfere much more with my lap area than it did previously. I keep expecting to lose my belly-button, but I haven't yet! These pictures might come more often because now I have to start seeing my doctor every two weeks until I hit week 36, after which it becomes every week.
I think I felt Elizabeth having hiccups yesterday morning--her movements were these almost uniform little jumps that were spaced as if someone had the hiccups--so it was either that or she's a musical genius that keeps excellent time and she will make an amazing drummer someday. Her movements are definitely becoming more noticeable, especially by Michael. He's always shocked when she gives a particularly strong kick, and the look on his face is hilarious.
The nursery is closer to being finished, and I might even give a small video tour of it for the benefit of my folks and friends spread far and wide. It really feels like it is getting so close now!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Good and Bad
So I have both bad news and good news, and because I think that I'd like to end on a positive note, I'll share the bad news first.
I failed my 1-hour glucose test. As I noted in the previous post about this subject, it isn't all that uncommon to fail the first one, so I'm trying not to freak out. Yet. While I knew that sometimes women fasted for these things, I wasn't given any specific instructions to do so--so I didn't. Because who wants to fast when you don't have to (especially when you're pregnant)? In any case, it could be that it was thrown off by that. It could be a million things. The unfortunate fact is that now I have to do the 3-hour glucose test, which definitely consists of fasting and other unpleasantness. Ah well. I would rather know sooner rather than later--after all, I only have ten (closer to nine) weeks to do anything about this.
Now on to the good news! We had a lovely baby shower. It had a wonderful turnout and everyone did so much for us--we were very touched. When the pictures make their way to me, I will be sure to share them. There was even an adorable baby there (Mitchell) who was so well-behaved that I'm wondering if he was actually a robot baby, brought in to fool us into thinking that babies are routinely quiet, peaceful, and smiling (and when he did actually make noise, it was of the cute baby laughter sort--so it doesn't count). If that was their ploy, I'm not fooled--I fully expect a little hellion who screams her head off, because my life really has been much too charmed and I figure I'll get my trials soon.
With all the baby things ready to be arranged in the nursery, we're getting even more excited. I'll post a picture of the nursery once it is closer to completion--right now it is a bit of a wreck!
I failed my 1-hour glucose test. As I noted in the previous post about this subject, it isn't all that uncommon to fail the first one, so I'm trying not to freak out. Yet. While I knew that sometimes women fasted for these things, I wasn't given any specific instructions to do so--so I didn't. Because who wants to fast when you don't have to (especially when you're pregnant)? In any case, it could be that it was thrown off by that. It could be a million things. The unfortunate fact is that now I have to do the 3-hour glucose test, which definitely consists of fasting and other unpleasantness. Ah well. I would rather know sooner rather than later--after all, I only have ten (closer to nine) weeks to do anything about this.
Now on to the good news! We had a lovely baby shower. It had a wonderful turnout and everyone did so much for us--we were very touched. When the pictures make their way to me, I will be sure to share them. There was even an adorable baby there (Mitchell) who was so well-behaved that I'm wondering if he was actually a robot baby, brought in to fool us into thinking that babies are routinely quiet, peaceful, and smiling (and when he did actually make noise, it was of the cute baby laughter sort--so it doesn't count). If that was their ploy, I'm not fooled--I fully expect a little hellion who screams her head off, because my life really has been much too charmed and I figure I'll get my trials soon.
With all the baby things ready to be arranged in the nursery, we're getting even more excited. I'll post a picture of the nursery once it is closer to completion--right now it is a bit of a wreck!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Minivan
On Tuesday night, we finally got around to purchasing a new vehicle: a used 2011 Kia Sedona minivan!
Behold the glory:
Doesn't it just scream intrigue, mystery, and danger? No?
I'm just kidding, I know what it really screams. We're very happy with it--it definitely meets or exceeds all of our requirements. Most of all, we're just happy that the Great Vehicle Search is finally over and we don't have to think about it anymore. I'm only now getting over the actual shock of it actually being in our driveway, which is why I didn't post about this as soon as it happened.
I also took my glucose test and had some other bloodwork done on Tuesday, and I'm still waiting to hear about the results. I was just glad to get that over with, too. All in all, it has felt like a very productive week--especially since the crib arrived today. Now we just have to move around some furniture and get the nursery in order, and we'll be that much closer to being prepared for the baby's arrival.
Sweet progress will keep me saner than anything else, I think.
Behold the glory:
Doesn't it just scream intrigue, mystery, and danger? No?
I'm just kidding, I know what it really screams. We're very happy with it--it definitely meets or exceeds all of our requirements. Most of all, we're just happy that the Great Vehicle Search is finally over and we don't have to think about it anymore. I'm only now getting over the actual shock of it actually being in our driveway, which is why I didn't post about this as soon as it happened.
I also took my glucose test and had some other bloodwork done on Tuesday, and I'm still waiting to hear about the results. I was just glad to get that over with, too. All in all, it has felt like a very productive week--especially since the crib arrived today. Now we just have to move around some furniture and get the nursery in order, and we'll be that much closer to being prepared for the baby's arrival.
Sweet progress will keep me saner than anything else, I think.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Progress?
I'm a day away from being 29 weeks pregnant, which is just crazy, because that means that it's just 11 short weeks until Elizabeth is due.
So how are we doing with all the tasks we need to get done before the baby arrives? Well....
The day care situation is unresolved, because we are on a waiting list. We won't know until around mid-April whether we got a coveted slot or not. To clarify, this daycare is on campus (meaning super convenient), and the infant "classroom" has 8 spots. Three or four of those spots will be taken by babies who are returning to the daycare in August, so we're up for the four or five remaining spots. Unfortunately, there are about four or five people on the list ahead of us, and one of these terrible people is having twins.
Ah well. I've contacted a woman who has an in-home care license, and she comes very highly rated by the state standards. She's also cheaper than the daycare, and she'll take our little one earlier than the on-campus daycare will (they won't take her until she's twelve weeks old, and she'll take her whenever we want). She doesn't anticipate having any problem fitting us in. But she's not on campus, so dropping the baby off and picking her up will be a little less convenient. Still, as a back-up to the campus care it doesn't seem too bad. As soon as we know for sure that we're passed over by the campus day care, we'll go take a tour of this lady's place.
We are dragging our feet on purchasing a new vehicle. You'd think we'd be more excited, but it's just so worrisome--we want to make sure we get a good deal and that we make a good decision. It's going to be the biggest purchase we've ever made completely on our own, so...we're a little scared (understandably so, I think). Vehicles cost too much money to make a rash decision, and we need this one to be reliable, to last a while, and to fit our family. We're almost certainly going to end up in a van. Why does a couple who will only have one kid need a van, you might ask? Well, because we have two child-substitutes (read: dogs) that we'll occasionally want to take around with us, too. Even though they're small, one can't be trusted to roam the cabin free (especially with an infant in the back seat) and we can't exactly stuff them into the trunk. Given what we're willing to pay for a vehicle, balanced with our particular needs and concerns, vans are definitely better deals than any of the wagons we've seen.
We've ordered the crib, and it will come this Thursday (thank you, wonderful and lovely in-laws)! We still need to move furniture around so that the crib will actually fit somewhere in our house. We probably should have done something about that this weekend, but...it didn't happen. Given that our baby shower (thank you, wonderful and lovely people in the Psychology Department at ECU) will be on April 12th, our laziness is especially unforgivable.
Eleven weeks. Good grief.
So how are we doing with all the tasks we need to get done before the baby arrives? Well....
The day care situation is unresolved, because we are on a waiting list. We won't know until around mid-April whether we got a coveted slot or not. To clarify, this daycare is on campus (meaning super convenient), and the infant "classroom" has 8 spots. Three or four of those spots will be taken by babies who are returning to the daycare in August, so we're up for the four or five remaining spots. Unfortunately, there are about four or five people on the list ahead of us, and one of these terrible people is having twins.
Ah well. I've contacted a woman who has an in-home care license, and she comes very highly rated by the state standards. She's also cheaper than the daycare, and she'll take our little one earlier than the on-campus daycare will (they won't take her until she's twelve weeks old, and she'll take her whenever we want). She doesn't anticipate having any problem fitting us in. But she's not on campus, so dropping the baby off and picking her up will be a little less convenient. Still, as a back-up to the campus care it doesn't seem too bad. As soon as we know for sure that we're passed over by the campus day care, we'll go take a tour of this lady's place.
We are dragging our feet on purchasing a new vehicle. You'd think we'd be more excited, but it's just so worrisome--we want to make sure we get a good deal and that we make a good decision. It's going to be the biggest purchase we've ever made completely on our own, so...we're a little scared (understandably so, I think). Vehicles cost too much money to make a rash decision, and we need this one to be reliable, to last a while, and to fit our family. We're almost certainly going to end up in a van. Why does a couple who will only have one kid need a van, you might ask? Well, because we have two child-substitutes (read: dogs) that we'll occasionally want to take around with us, too. Even though they're small, one can't be trusted to roam the cabin free (especially with an infant in the back seat) and we can't exactly stuff them into the trunk. Given what we're willing to pay for a vehicle, balanced with our particular needs and concerns, vans are definitely better deals than any of the wagons we've seen.
We've ordered the crib, and it will come this Thursday (thank you, wonderful and lovely in-laws)! We still need to move furniture around so that the crib will actually fit somewhere in our house. We probably should have done something about that this weekend, but...it didn't happen. Given that our baby shower (thank you, wonderful and lovely people in the Psychology Department at ECU) will be on April 12th, our laziness is especially unforgivable.
Eleven weeks. Good grief.
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