The girls were very excited to share the news with everyone that they are getting a baby brother!
The baby isn’t even here yet and already I’m preoccupied with his existence and neglecting my hobbies! Actually, clearing out what was previously known as the craft room, now renamed the nursery, and finding a new home for all of my supplies has been a chore. I’ve also gotten to go back to work in our new office, which has been great but exhausting. Getting back into a routine of actually getting dressed and leaving the house is hard enough but we’ve had tons of stuff to do at the new office, like moving our stuff from storage and organizing it once it’s moved. These have made for some productive but long days, especially when I had grown used to taking a lunch time nap 😴. Oh well, it will all be finished soon enough and I’m happy to be back into a routine that includes seeing my friends/coworkers on a daily basis!
I’ll be back to my hobbies soon enough too because it’s almost garden season again! Now that the nursery is almost finished I can focus on planning my garden and planting my seeds. I look forward to sharing this hobby with the baby once he’s here 😃.
Speaking off the baby, you can read all about my experience with my pregnancy so far below. I’m behind with posting but I’ve been writing as we go along. I hope to post more often now that things are settling down a bit.
11 Weeks
It has finally happened. I’m pregnant. The first time I said that to someone was weird. Actually the first handful of times was weird and I didn’t like telling people face to face so most people got a text. I think the fact that most people thought we didn’t want kids and didn’t know we were “trying,” made it an unexpected surprise. There were several people who didn’t believe me at first. I don’t blame them, it was a little hard for me to believe as well. We have a history of “trying” without luck and weren’t sure this was even possible. The stress of that made this time into a “if it happens, it happens” situation and we decided to see what happened..or didn’t. I knew I was pregnant about a week before I took the test thanks to some lovely nausea that has persisted since. Phil was trying to keep me from being disappointed from another negative test and told me I was probably wrong. I knew I had never felt like I did before though. On November 17 I took a test and sure enough, it was positive within a minute. I made an appointment with a doctor for Dec 11. The waiting time in between was brutal. I knew I was pregnant because of the changes I could feel but I couldn’t wait for confirmation that I wasn’t just crazy. In the meantime, we only kept the secret for two days and then we told a few people close to us. I would like to put out a PSA for everyone: When someone (really) close to you tells you they’re expecting, especially with their first child (especially when you thought they were never going to have kids and this is a pleasant surprise), please be aware that your response will likely be recorded in their pregnancy journal and you probably don’t want to be quoted as saying, “Oh yeah? Huh,” when you’re told the news. Also, maybe don’t tell someone else that you already knew because you could tell she had gained weight…when she’s only 5 weeks and hasn’t gained any weight pertaining to the pregnancy. Just sayin’.
Anyway, the first appointment went well; the doctor confirmed my parasite exists and I’m not crazy…at least not certifiably. We got an ultrasound and full disclosure: I think ultrasounds are slightly creepy. Don’t expect a 3D or 4D ultrasound from me; I’m good, thanks. I’ll wait til he or she makes his or her appearance to see what it’s cheeks look like and whose nose it has. I don’t think our baby is going to have either of our noses though because my first reaction to seeing the ultrasound was, “it looks like a(n) opossum.” I pronounced opossum without the o and I wouldn’t spell it with one but Phil googled it and possums without an o only live in Australia and have a big bushy squirrel like tail and aren’t nearly as cute as opossums, which live in the US. The baby has a rat looking tail and pointy nose so it’s an American opossum for sure. I’m surprised that’s it’s a(n) opossum and not a dog, but you get what you get.
The first couple of weeks (and every week since, honestly) I was overwhelmed with it all. Feeling nauseous all the time, having terrible back pain, peeing every five seconds, including at night, and feeling the most tired I’ve ever been in my entire life is exhausting. I can’t help but feel unprepared for this, not that anyone ever is their first time, I’m sure. I also have the appetite of a linebacker and am apprehensive about gaining too much weight. I don’t want to hear that it’s all for the baby. I don’t care. I understand I have to gain some weight (25-35 lbs) but I don’t want to make it harder on myself for labor or recovery. I am very much enjoying food right now..at least while I’m eating it. Or about half way through eating it, 50% of the time. Typically my meals end in either nausea or heart burn though, neither of which are enjoyable. One good thing about pregnancy is I used to have a shameful sweet tooth for someone who has a degree in Nutrition Science and knows better, but now I could go without sugar and not care. I crave salt. all. the. time. I’m hoping my blood pressure stays low and I don’t have any issues. I’m still doing yoga though and will continue for as long as I’m able, so that should help.
Philip has been great at babying me and indulging my whims. He’s a good caretaker, making sure to pack me crackers when we drive very far (the only food that will settle my stomach) and making or getting me whatever I want to eat. He reads the Baby Center app every week to see how the baby is progressing. He also watched a video on how to do an emergency delivery (which we’re hoping he won’t need to do) on like day 2 of knowing we’re pregnant. He’s so sweet. He says he’s not doing anything a “modern” dad wouldn’t do but I disagree. I appreciate all the effort he’s making to be involved in the pregnancy. I sometimes wish he could be the one who’s pregnant but alas, he has no uterus. Unfortunately. He’s be gonna be a good daddy and I’m lucky to have him by my side.
13 Weeks
We had our second appointment on January 10 and a second ultrasound that revealed, thankfully, the creature living in my womb is indeed a baby and not a marsupial. Whew! I didn’t have to do blood work this time, thank goodness. On the first visit I had to give ten tubes of blood and just about passed out after tube number six. That was fun. They had to get me a Sprite and a fan because I started sweating profusely.
I’m one week away from the second trimester and I’m really looking forward to the renewal of energy that is starting to come back in spurts, and am hopeful for a decrease in nausea. Although, I teeter back and forth between feeling like total shit or feeling fine and wondering if something is wrong. Oy. I can’t wait until about 20 weeks when I’ll be able to feel the baby move and hope that will calm my fears.
Life during the first trimester is all about survival. Yes, I have a nutrition degree and yes, I want my baby to be healthy. However, when everything you eat makes you nauseous and you’re exhausted from being alive, I say eat what you can and don’t feel bad about it. As I’m approaching my second trimester and starting to feel a bit better—making it through the day without a nap sometimes and feeling only marginally nauseous—I hope to make better choices that include actual nutrients. A couple of weeks ago I started to notice that my clothes don’t fit quite right and wearing pants that don’t include an elastic waist is uncomfortable. I was a bit upset by this because I don’t look “pregnant,” I look, as my baby app so eloquently put it, as though I have more of a beer belly than a baby belly. Not to worry, they assure, soon It will round out and be recognizably baby. I can’t wait for that. I’m okay with looking pregnant, I would rather not look like I’ve just had too many Big Macs. Which I have. Okay, not Big Macs but McDonald’s fish sandwich and food from pretty much every other restaurant in town have been my life source for the past couple of months.
Hey, just a note about that baby belly I’m growing, please don’t touch it. I’m not a toucher, I don’t like it, and if you touch mine, I will touch yours. Just sayin’.
16 Weeks
I’m at 16 weeks and feeling very reflective of my pregnancy so far. The last couple of days have been so different from the past 3 1/2 months. I feel almost “normal” again right now..as in pre-pregnant amount of tired, not nauseous, and my appetite no longer feels like I am a competitive eating champion. Unfortunately, I still have to pee every 5 minutes, which I know will not get any better. My record is 6 times in one hour and I’m hoping not to beat it. I know it’s normal for women to feel better during the second trimester but any sort of change freaks me out a bit. I hear women say all the time that a mother never stops worrying about her child. Well, I have no doubt that that is true and it starts in pregnancy. During the first trimester you feel cramps when your uterus is stretching, you worry that something is wrong. You feel horrible for days on end and finally get a break from the nausea and instead of enjoying it, you worry something is wrong. You download an app on your phone for listening to your baby’s heartbeat that is rated 4.5 stars and has many comments from others saying how well it works, only you can’t find your baby’s heartbeat with it so you worry something is wrong. The only times you’re assured that everything is fine are at your monthly appointments with the doctor who has all the magical equipment that puts your fears to rest…at least for the moment. I’m not certain if I’ve felt him move before now but I think once that happens, it will be reassuring (and weird). However, no doubt it will bring a new round of fears if he doesn’t kick me every second of every day.
There are so many decisions to make! Philip and I have similar taste in furniture so agreeing on that wasn’t hard. However, never having bought a crib, bassinet, stroller or car seat before, we felt as though we needed to do some research. Honestly, I felt like that was all pretty overwhelming so like most things in our lives, Philip did the research, filled me in, and then we made the decision on what to buy together. That works really well for us because I don’t like reading all the different opinions on products and trying to decipher what matters and what doesn’t but that is something he does for everything he buys. Also, he can’t participate in the actual growing of the baby so this is a nice way for him to be involved in the pregnancy. We came to the conclusion with the crib that it was just a matter of preference for looks, really. We checked for a seal of safety approval, which pretty much every crib on the market has. We knew we wanted a convertible one also. The carseats were my department since I am a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and do professional installs for my job. Here’s a secret about them: every seat on the market has passed a safety test. So whether you buy the cheapest one at Walmart or pay $400 from a high end baby supply store, they’re both on the same level safety wise. You just pay for convenience features when you start adding on the dollars. I chose to get us seats (one for each vehicle) that are all-in-one convertible seats, meaning they go from rear-facing (which you should keep your child at for as long as possible…like even to age 3 if they haven’t reached the maximum height and weight restrictions on the seat for rear-facing), to forward-facing, to a high back booster, and then to a booster seat. Ideally, we won’t need to ever buy another car seat, assuming it is never involved in an accident and that it doesn’t expire before he meets the guidelines. If a seat doesn’t have an expiration date, it is to be replaced 6 years after the date of manufacture. Typically though, one is provided and lasts longer than that. I will check ours when they arrive.
Choosing a bassinet was probably one of the tougher decision because I know nothing about bassinets. I don’t plan to co-sleep so I wanted something that would fit beside my bed. I plan to breastfeed so having him next to me will make my life easier, I’m sure. I’ve heard several parents say that their child wouldn’t sleep in their crib after they outgrew the bassinet so we plan to have him sleep in his crib during the day so that it will be a familiar environment once he outgrows his bassinet. We are under no illusions that everything we plan for will work and by stating them here, I can reflect back on what worked and what didn’t in the future.
Another plan we have is using cloth diapers. This should come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog regularly, as I’m very vocal about my love for all things environmentally green. Again, we understand that this will be a lot of hassle but by reading about others’ experiences (Thanks, Phil), we are familiarizing ourselves with the process and hoping to be prepared for what’s to come, making it easier to continue. We were fortunate that my friend, Holly, knew that her sister-in-law had cloth diapers that she decided not to use with her little one and asked if we wanted them. She gave 15 diapers to us for free and that will be an enormous help. “Experts” on the subject recommend having at least 24 on hand to minimize having to do laundry every day so we have a great start on our collection. We bought a new washer and dryer as well, ones that include a sanitize feature for this purpose. Our old set was purchased when we moved into our house, almost 13 years ago, and was the cheapest set you could buy at the time..like $500 for both appliances. The washer has exactly two settings, cold and slightly less cold. However, whatever it lacks in features it has made up in durability. Both have worked perfectly all these years, only having one repair, which was replacing the heating element in the dryer last year, a $30 fix. When we went to Lowe’s to get our new set, that salesman even said they don’t make them like they used to. I have no doubt that’s true. Now they have a computer in them, which contains all sorts of parts that can malfunction. Since Philip now works from home, and in the basement, he has taken over doing laundry, especially since the clothes basket can get heavy and I should minimize straining to lift things. He’s started doing a load a day, which will be a great habit once the little monster arrives who will dirty more clothes in one day than the two of us will in a week.
We had an appointment this week with my doctor and finally got to hear the heartbeat. We are scheduled for an ultrasound later this month in the radiology lab so I guess that means it will be a better one than the bedside device she’s used before can provide. I checked with her about continuing to do yoga and she assured me I can continue until I no longer feel comfortable doing it. It’s good to continue exercising during pregnancy as it will help give me energy and can make delivery easier. I started a new routine in my Wednesday and Thursday classes this week and every time I do a new routine, I get sore from working muscles I haven’t been using in the previous 6 weeks. So I’m feeling a bit sore now but that makes me feel “normal” and I sort of like it. I was concerned about my sleeping position because I often go to sleep on my side but end up on either my stomach or my back. However, Dr. Carlson assured me not to worry about it, I’ll feel uncomfortable when it becomes a danger to the baby, which will make me move. I’m thankful to have a doctor who doesn’t buy into all the fear-mongering, making me feel as though I’m definitely going to do something wrong. I worry about that enough on my own!
We’ve either gotten or ordered all of the furniture for the nursery and Phil painted it a few weeks ago. We’ve decided to go with a safari animal theme so I plan to paint a mural on the wall behind the crib. More on that in a few weeks!
17 Weeks
This has been a good week. I’ve not been nearly as tired as usual this week and I may have started feeling the baby move but he hasn’t done enough that I know for sure. I mean, it probably is but I’ve never had a foreign being in my womb doing ninja moves before so I can’t be certain. The times I’ve thought it has happened have been when I’m laying watching tv or trying to go to sleep. I imagine I won’t appreciate his timing in a few months. I do have a wonderful pregnancy pillow that helps me sleep and truth be told, I don’t ever wanna stop using it. I love that thing. We got the crib and dresser put together today so that’s the last of the nursery furniture. I have my mural left to paint and closet doors to install. We are excited and wanted to get everything, especially while I feel better and have more energy, however, once it’s all finished, it’s just going to be waiting game and that will be no fun.
That girls have really been preparing me for all the multitasking I’m going to be undertaking by Soph making me play tug-o-war with her while trying to toss the ball up for Sansa to catch. They play with each other a lot but sometimes they both just want my and Philip’s attention, but always at the same time. I’ve been trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to teach Sophie some boundaries and to not step on my or anyone’s belly. She doesn’t do it if I put my arm out to stop her but she isn’t great at remembering not to do it on her own. She’s also gotten in the habit of whining, which sounds more like a moo, when she wants your attention. It’s annoyingly adorable, lucky for her. Sansa has learned from Soph that making noises gets attention and she has started trading in her “silent” bark for real ones lately. Thanks, Soph 🙄. Sansa and Sophie have no idea what’s about to change their lives and I suspect Soph isn’t going to be very happy about it. Sansa loves everyone so I think she’ll be a good big sister. Soph will probably sit on the baby and take his toys.
Already taking over the baby’s room 😉.
She’s lucky she has one of the cutest faces ever.
“Helping” Sansa chew on her bone.
Just being Sophie 🙄😆
Not a great pic of me but it’s not often that I get to snuggle with both of babies at the same time so I’ll take it 🙂.
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