Day 7 - Time is flying!

Well we tried to take a new profile picture this morning, but I quickly learned it's hard to look cute while on bed rest. My hair was still wet from the shower (no blow drying these days), I didn't have any makeup on (that's hard to justify right now) and in general, the cuteness factor was just really low. So, since basically no one is seeing me these days, here's what you need to know: the baby is growing so my belly is bigger! We're going to try and take another picture tonight when my hair is dry as we do want to document all of this for the little one to see someday!

We're seven days into bed rest, and to be honest, it hasn't been that bad. Of course it's not thrilling by any means, but I was shocked to realize this morning that this was day 7. One week is almost done!

So how am I spending my days? I'm a huge fan of to-do lists - I like the organization that it imparts on my life and I love to be able to check off tasks I've accomplished. In fact, I enjoy the crossing off so much that sometimes I'll add items to the list after I've done them just so that I can cross them off. I'm super anal and I know it. So I've made a list and I do a few things everyday. Of course I could probably accomplish everything in an hour if I just ran down the list, but I like dragging it out as I know I have plenty of time on my hands and it's nice to feel like I've accomplished a little something each day. Today it's renegotiating our home owner's insurance and calling to remove the business features from our phone. Holy moly Wednesday's a big day!

Probably the biggest change that I'm still getting used to is having maternity leave start very abruptly. We went into the doctor's office on Monday for a check up, where we were told that I really shouldn't be doing any work at this point. I hadn't been doing a ton since I went on bed rest anyway because it is hard to type while laying down (I'm propped up on the couch to blog - shhh), but it's also weird to just stop working and transition everything immediately. Work is typically such a big part of daily life (lots of to-do lists there!) and it's done for now ... in a way, I'm thankful for the abrupt transition as I think it actually makes it easier from a number of perspectives, but it's still an adjustment. I'd like to say I'm excited about daytime TV, but in truth, I find it to be pretty terrible. I don't like Oprah (sorry, but I find her annoying, although I do respect her influence) and the Today Show absolutely goes to hell as soon as Kathy Lee and Hoda come on. Thank God for DVR, Netflix, a laptop, and lots of good books!

I did get sucked into A Baby Story on TLC yesterday and I discovered that I might be a bit more hormonal than I used to be. Well first, the delivery process freaked me out more than it ever has in the past. That's for obvious reasons ... that could be us in a little over two weeks and the lady looked absolutely MISERABLE ... but the other part that threw me off was that I got completely choked up when the baby came out and they put it on the mom's chest and the parents started to get emotional. I have NO background on this family (I turned the show on after they did that part) nor a connection to their little one, but my eyes were filled with tears and I had to take a deep breath for sure. I'm not usually a very emotional person, but for the first time, I started thinking about how emotional of a process this may be. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time and he or she is going to be here before we know it! It's going to be great.

Bed rest - day 1

If you had told me yesterday morning that today I would be limited to just getting up to use the bathroom, I wouldn't have believed you. But 24 hours ago, my next three weeks took an abrupt change.

Yesterday began like any other day. I woke up and went for a swim at the YMCA and then began my work day. My back was sore, but I had gone for a long walk on Tuesday and my desk chair has not been feeling super comfy so that was easily explained. What I couldn't explain was the cramping that I started to feel around 3:30 in the afternoon, which wasn't seeming to go away, so I called my doctor's office and they recommended I go in and get checked to make sure I wasn't experiencing preterm labor. This scared me, but I really just assumed we were being over cautious, and hey, better safe than sorry!

So I called my husband who was on the road for work, but en route home at least, and left him a voicemail that I was going into the hospital to get checked out. I was annoyed that his phone had gone straight to voicemail and planned to have a talk with him about how he couldn't let his battery die anymore since we were getting kind of close to being parents ... but then he called me back when I was in the waiting room at the Glens Falls Snuggery and let me know it was just a fluke and his phone never rang. Another reason to get rid of the Palm Treo. It doesn't always ring, freezes, it doesn't always sync, in general, it sucks. But I digress ...

The nurse came and got me from the waiting room and brought me to a room where I had to change into a gurney (so stylish) and pee in a cup. I did as I was told and then waited to be examined by the midwife on duty. When she came in, I immediately felt relieved because it was my favorite midwife from the practice. She's kind, but not too bubbly; honest and to the point, but with a great bedside manner. During her exam, she looked at me and said, "well, I'm very glad you came in to get checked out because you're 2 cm dilated." Ok, not so relieved anymore.

At less than 36 weeks (I'll be 33 weeks tomorrow), I should definitely not be dilated because that baby shouldn't be anywhere close to thinking about making its entry into the world. She explained that our number one priority now is for me to stay pregnant for at least another three weeks, so I would likely have to be on bedrest. How restrictive that would be would depend on the doctor's ruling and that we needed to wait for. So while we waited, they monitored me for contractions, which I was having (hence the cramping), and I was told to drink a ton of water and chill with terrible television. In the meantime, my husband arrived - thank God! - and we watched the news and waited to see how bad my jail sentence would be. I was still pretty freaked out at this point because our 7 weekends left was likely going to be less, and that to-do list I wanted to accomplish? Well, I was probably not going to be allowed to touch it. So not only will we be parents sooner than expected most likely, but I wouldn't be allowed to nest to help prepare for that ... to me, that felt like a HUGE yikes.

After chilling at the hospital for almost 2 hours, my contractions pretty much went away and I received my sentence. Level 3 bedrest (Level 4 is staying in the hospital) so no driving, no cooking, no cleaning, no shopping, no more than doing one level of stairs per day (one up and one down), and basically don't get up unless I have to use the bathroom. Rationally, I'm fine with all of this because all I want is a healthy baby. And it's only three weeks because that's how long we have until I'm 36 weeks. Irrationally, being told I can't nest definitely freaks me out, and in general, I'm just really terrible at relying on others to take care of me or my to-do list. It bugs me and I'm bad at doing nothing. But, obviously I will.

So why did this happen? Who knows. Sometimes it just does, and in my case, they have no idea why. Maybe having a super active weekend contributed to it? Maybe taking a long walk on Tuesday did? But who knows ... the fact is, it did happen and now we have a new plan to ensure that the little one comes out when it's ready to live in this world. And it's totally possible, although I don't believe probable, that I go full term too, or maybe even late! So I could be 41 weeks pregnant and cursing the heat and humidity on July 24 that I'm still pregnant. Or we could have a baby in just over 3 weeks ... only time will tell!

In the meantime, I am constantly reminded of how awesome my husband is. After the hospital last night, he went to the grocery store with a list and came home with all of those things and a huge bouquet of flowers :-) And then today he's been an absolute gem. Getting me breakfast in bed, setting me up on the couch with lots of snacks, drinks, etc all within arms reach, coming home to get me lunch ... and I know the list will just get longer and longer. He is a rockstar and will be a GREAT dad.

32.5 week update - um, the baby's coming soon

You may have to squint a bit, but if you do, you'll see the profile of our little one's face. He/she was feeling a bit dramatic when its picture was taken because the blob on the forehead is one of his/her hands. The baby was not being very cooperative last Monday when we went in for our ultrasound so the pics aren't nearly as good as last time (so I'm only posting one), but the important thing is that everything looked great!

The point of the ultrasound was to determine why I was measuring big. It turns out that I was back to measuring on track when I went in last Monday so it was a bit for not, but it was great (and comforting) to see the baby again since everything was looking great! The little one was head's down, and will likely stay that way until the big day. It weighed about 4 pounds, 3 ounces, and if it stays on the same growth path and arrives on time (both HUGE variables), then we're looking at a baby between 8 and 8.5 pounds upon arrival. We shall see what actually ends up happening!

7.5 weeks out and all of a sudden, it feels as if the baby is going to be here before we know it. So what does that mean? Holy crap do we have a lot to do ... And how do we get our to-do list done while also making sure that we're making the most of our time as dual income no kids doing random things and having fun? This past weekend, for example, was super productive. My husband had a bachelor party in Boston on Saturday night so Saturday and Sunday morning I worked on the nursery. All the baby laundry is done and we can now see the floor of the nursery again, with everything as organized and set up as it could be at this point. We have a dresser and rocker coming so once those arrive, we'll be able to figure out how we want the room exactly set up and can finish decorating from there. Anyway, that was big progress. Then I worked on my husband's MESS of an office. It's never been organized and doesn't have the right furniture to even get that way, but we ordered bookshelves yesterday and hopefully will make headway on that at the end of this week. Then yesterday was yard work and catching up around here. We also had our life insurance physical in the morning - so yeah, it was a jam-packed productive weekend, but part of me also felt like we totally missed an opportunity yesterday to just say f-it and make the most of a day of fantastic weather and just enjoy each other's company because we don't have many of those opportunities left when we're not worrying about someone else too. We did go out to breakfast at Papa's, which was definitely fun, but I worry about striking the right balance. I guess I always have to worry about something.

Random note: The baby is totally chilling on the right side of my abdomen right now - what a cutie - except for the fact that this is its favorite place to hang out, and as a result, has opened up a joint in my sacrum so I have ridiculous shooting pains every once in a while. Good thing I'm totally in love with the little monkey so the pain somehow seems like a friendly reminder that the little one is getting bigger and bigger and is getting ready to meet us. The kicks - not painful luckily - are also getting ridiculous! I can see my entire stomach move when it goes crazy in there and the limbs are very prominent at times, as hard spots lying just below the skin.

This post is a bit all over the place, which I think is indicative of my current mental state. Depending on the moment, I'm super excited, scared, full of energy, or tired. Wanting to do nothing or wanting to do everything at the same time. Maybe I'm a mess, or maybe I'm just 32.5 weeks pregnant.

The home stretch

I'm not sure if there's a definition for the home stretch in pregnancy, but if there is, I think I'm in it. Tomorrow makes 31 weeks down (I'm 30 in the pic below) -- nine to go! A big difference between now and when I last posted is what I can feel when the baby is moving around now. Before, I could just feel general movements of a "blob" inside of me (said with much love of course), but that has progressed to being able to feel discrete "hard" parts. I can't tell what they are, but I make fun guesses. A smaller hard part sticking out of my stomach may be a heel, or maybe an elbow. A larger hard part could be the back, butt, or maybe even the head. I know my guesses could be completely off, but this progression makes the baby feel even more real and its arrival that much more imminent. There's a real human in there! We can't wait to meet him or her :-)

Two weeks ago, we were in Florida ... sigh. In fact, two weeks ago from today we were headed out to a snorkeling trip at Captain Slate's in Key Largo, which was probably the highlight of our trip! Our babymoon was just what we needed. The first word that comes to mind is relaxing. It was lowkey, filled with lots of sleep, good food, and quality time with each other (something we had been low on due to ridiculous work schedules!).

Our first stop was Singer Island, where we spent three nights. The temperature was pretty much perfect while we were there, but the wind made it tough to really enjoy the beach. Of course that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves, and it was great to see our friend Charlotte while we were there too! Another highlight was a visit to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno, where we got to hang out with several recovering sea turtles -- I think this guy was namesd Carlisle.

From Singer Island, it was off to the Keys, where we fell in love with the pace, the scenery and snorkeling! Probably the one downside was how much good food we did eat, which had repercussions ... I had a doctor's appointment the Monday after our return where I found out I had gained 4 pounds over the previous two weeks. FOUR POUNDS. Gross. That is so many calories, and I'm the first to admit that the baby didn't grow that much. So it was a bit of a yikes, but I'm trying to remember it was well worth it. I may have another pound or two to work off after the baby comes, but I enjoyed every bite and the key lime pie at the Key Largo Conch House was fantastic!

For a final baby update, my shower is this weekend and I'm SO excited. It'll be great to see my family and friends and celebrate the arrival of our little one! And then on Monday, it's back to the doctor's office for our check up (every two weeks at this point) with an ultrasound to check out the little guy or girl. At my last two checkups, I've measured just a little bit big for how far along I've been so they're going to check out the baby and make sure that all is well and normal. I'm excited to see the baby, and I know my husband is too - after all, it's been 11 weeks since we've seen the little one - but I'm also trying not to be nervous. More than likely, all is fine and this is just normal me, the baby or a combo of the two, but we want more than anything for this baby to be healthy and the thought that something could be wrong does freak me out a bit. I'm trying to focus on the positive. More to come, including new baby pics, on Monday!

27 weeks!

As promised, here's an updated profile pic (27 weeks and 2 days). 13 more to go!

My husband insists that it looks much bigger in person. I think I agree. And this may have to be one of the last pics where I wear one of these tank tops. They're getting a bit short in the front! 

Sugar Mama

At 27 weeks, now was the time to get the famously awful glucose test - for which now I know why it's famously awful. For those that don't know what this is, it's a test for gestational diabetes, which I've read between 2 and 5 percent of pregnant women get. 

I went in for my test at 8am this morning, after eating a slice of whole wheat toast and scrambled eggs, per the midwife's orders. I didn't know what to expect, as at that point in time, I hadn't heard much about the test and hadn't done any research. I went in, drank a highly concentrated sugar solution (basically tasted liked concentrated Kool-Aid, so not ideal, but palatable), read a book for an hour and then took blood samples and I was free to go home. 

During the hour of reading, I felt like I was on a bit of a sugar high, but nothing crazy. And when I got home, I thought everything was fine. I even tweeted that that was the case. Until then, the weirdest thing that had happened was that the baby was going CRAZY. It was moving around, punching/kicking, having what I think might have been hiccups, and moved for about 4 hours straight. The poor thing was probably on a major sugar high, but I always like to feel the baby move so I didn't stop to think about it much.

Then the crash happened. And oh my, did I crash. I went from feeling fine to super nauseous and tired with a terrible headache. I tried to work for a while, but my computer screen was making me want to puke. I kept drinking lots of water, had a couple slices of pizza (it's what I wanted - go figure!) and then took a nap on the couch. When I woke up this afternoon, I could get back to work, but even now I still feel off. Which makes me wonder ... what the hell is in that drink? With my sweet tooth, I'm not afraid of some sugar. On multiple occasions I have eaten a four pack of Cadbury Eggs and not felt anything close to this. And when you think of that ooey-gooey deliciousness and the amount of sugar that must be in four eggs ... if I hadn't had a sugar overload today I would be salivating now as those eggs are my absolute favorite candy ... but either that glucose drink is an absolute sugar bomb, or maybe it's laced with a tiny bit of crack.

Update profile pic to come! Time seems to be flying ... and the belly has certainly grown. The baby should be ~15" long now and about 2 pounds. 

Oh, and the babymoon begins on SATURDAY. That's four days away. First stop will be Singer Island, FL, where we're staying at the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort and then off to the Hilton Key Largo Resort. Reviews of the hotels to come next week, along with pictures and stories of what I hope will be our fabulous trip of rest and relaxation in heavenly weather ...

Names - yikes

I've come to the conclusion that naming your unborn child is about as big a decision as you can make. It's nearly as big as deciding to have a child to begin with, as both decisions have lifelong, lasting repercussions. How many funny nick names can you think of? What does it rhyme with? Think Seinfeld and body parts ... yeah, it's complicated. Dolores is out, don't worry.

We've had a boy name that we've really liked for about a month - and please don't bother to ask what it is because we're not telling. As part of this tough decision, we quickly learned that everyone has an opinion about just about every name. For that very reason, talking about names with anyone before the baby is born is out. We're going to pick what we like and not hear any stories about how so-and-so knew a so-and-so and that person ended up in jail at the age of 12. No thank you.

So anyway, we've had a boy's first name that we've really liked in our pocket for a while, and then today, we found a girl's first name that we've pretty much fallen in love with. Middle names are TBD still, but at least we're making progress - and who really cares about a middle name anyway? The only purpose that needs to accomplish is that it needs to sound sufficiently important when yelling both first and middle names when the future child is behaving exceptionally badly.

Today was Palm Sunday and my husband and I made the trek to church. Upon walking in, we ran into a friend that I met going through the miscarriage grieving process. At some point following the loss, I realized that I really needed to meet someone else who had been through the same experience and I decided to go to a miscarriage support group at our local hospital. The night I went, there was only one other woman in addition to the nurse. She had just experienced her second miscarriage in four months, and to make life even more complicated, she had a daughter at home whom she couldn't fall apart in front of. We connected at the meeting and have had many coffee dates over the last several months as we've grieved, healed, and grown. She was a lifesaver to me - understanding the dark times and offering just the right words.

I hadn't seen her in a while and it was great to reconnect, if only briefly. The most ironic part was the fact that the priest's sermon today was about suffering, and how when we're going through tough times, we need to surround ourselves with people going through similar experiences to get the support we need. All of this was being said as I sat next to my friend, both of us in much healthier mental states than we were nine months ago when we first met. The other point he made was that without suffering in life, we wouldn't be as compassionate as we are or love as deeply - and we would probably be all too selfish when it came to living life. I agree. I honestly think my husband and I are both better people after last summer, and I'm convinced that last summer's experience will make us better parents this summer. Everything happens for a reason - and speaking of irony, the day I'm due this summer is the same date as the day we found out we miscarried last summer. Hopefully this July 17 ends on a much happier note :-)