Summer in the Suburbs

Whenever people ask about my due date and hear that it’s not until November, most make a comment about having to be pregnant during the summer. Up until a couple of days ago, I didn’t really get the big deal. Personally, I prefer being hot rather than cold and like the options of lightweight dresses as opposed to layers of clothing.

Obviously, it’s sweltering across the country and Hotlanta definitely earned its name by experiencing triple-digit heat over the weekend. My parents were here so my mom and I ran a few errands on Saturday and Sunday. The only time we spent outside was walking to and from the car, but it was enough to completely wear me down. I got tired more easily and found that I was generally more irritable. I simply didn’t have the energy or patience to make decisions. I had a one-track mind: I wanted to be neck-deep in a pool, but we don’t have access to a pool, so I was a tad bitter.

I don’t think either of those are completely attributable to being pregnant – the heat will do those things to someone in any condition, however, I think there is a good chance they are exacerbated in pregnancy. I have several friends who are also pregnant right now and I bet they would agree!

The best part of last week? My cousin, Johnny, and his wife Nina had their second little boy. We went to visit them at the hospital and I held baby Jackson. Swoon. I haven’t been around a newborn since their first son, John Harold, was born just over two years ago. It’s easy to forget how tiny and precious they are. Of course, I couldn’t help but think about holding our own little bundle in a matter of months, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with both boys before then.

Rosebud has begun doing full-on gymnastics lately, especially when I’m trying to fall sleep. I swear I felt it on the outside of my belly a few times, but J has yet to do so; soon, I hope! Also, thanks to my crafty mom, she is already starting to compile a collection of goodies. From blankets and burp cloths to adorable socks and soft bunnies, her amount of stuff continues to grow. We may have to move the guest room downstairs sooner than we thought!

Rosebud

OK, so the secret is basically out: we’re having a girl! The technician was able to get a fairly dead-on view, so we’re pretty certain she will remain a she come delivery time.

More importantly, the ultrasound showed that everything was perfect thus far. She is growing just as she should. She has 10 little fingers and 10 little toes, two arms, two legs and an up-turned nose. Hey, that rhymes — maybe she’ll be a poet like her mama.

These days I am definitely feeling her flip-flopping around in there, and maybe even a bout of hiccups. All very cool. Something else that is cool? I’m still feeling good. The only exception would be some shooting pains that start at my hip and travel down my left cheek and thigh. Perhaps it’s a pinched nerve? It’s not all the time though, so I’ll survive.

In more fun news, my parents are coming to Atlanta this weekend to help celebrate my birthday — 33. Wow/Ugh. How did that happen?

The original plan was to surprise them with the baby’s sex upon their arrival on Friday but by last night I had grown tired of keeping the secret and gave them the choice of when to find out. It turns out they are as impatient as I am! I’m sure we’ll also do some things concerning the nursery, now that we know whether to lean toward pink or blue (mentally, not literally).

Speaking of the nursery, J had proclaimed all along that he would not be painting, but I was determined it would be painted and planned on hiring someone to do it if I had to. However, he unexpectedly had a change of heart and as of Saturday morning, the room is now a soothing light gray (as opposed to yellowy-beige)! He did all the work. I just kept him company and handed him things as needed. He gets many thanks and much love for this project. Ideally the bathroom would be painted, too, but I better not push my luck!

As for the title of this post, I’m calling the little one Rosebud for now. You can thank my dad for that catchy moniker, as he found a way to include a family name AND something that represented Virginia Tech all in one package. I see a future nickname coming!

We may be close to deciding on her actual name. I know J wants to keep that private; more to avoid unsolicited opinions than to be a surprise, but you know me; I’ll likely spill that at some point. If anything, you can count on me and my big mouth. Plus, I don’t really care what anyone else thinks — it’s not like we’re naming her Starlight Passion … or are we? :)

Whooooa, We're Halfway There

Photographer, I am not.

Well, next Monday will mark the official halfway point of the pregnancy. That’s pretty exciting stuff. I feel like I have been pregnant for an awful long time so it still seems a bit daunting that I have that much longer to go, but I’m sure it will pass quickly. We’re finally getting into the fun stage of things: We have picked out bedding, furniture and some artwork for the nursery. It’s cool to see that all start coming together.

You may be asking, do we know the baby’s sex yet? Maybe! We’re keeping mum on that whole subject for a bit so I’ll leave you hanging :) But is still safe to say that we aren’t any closer to settling on a name.

The belly continues to grow, but I’m not putting on much weight. Certainly no nausea or anything like that but I tend not to eat very much at meals. I get full quickly. I’m not complaining – no need to put on any more weight than the baby needs me to!

I THINK I have felt the baby move but can’t be certain because it’s not an actual kick yet – more like little tummy tickles. That’s what I am chalking those sensations up to anyway. Looking forward to when I know it for sure and when J can feel it, too. The poor thing might have to kick pretty hard in order for us to feel it through all my extra layers of belly fat. Sigh.

Speaking of J, he is gone this whole week to a convention in Las Vegas. Rough life, right? So, it’s just me and the Banana at home. I’m so lucky she is as lazy as I am and content to just lie around. I don’t know what I would do if she were more high maintenance. Simply walking around the mall this weekend had me in desperate need of a nap. Achy back and hips are in full effect these days, yo.

Next time I post, I’ll likely spill the beans on boy vs. girl. I’m sure all three of you will be waiting with bated breath!

Bump It

The bump continues to make itself known and as I’m sure most first-timers would agree, it’s a bit surreal. Whenever I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I stop and look because it’s just so weird! It’s also kind of cool. Showing outward signs of all the internal chaos is definitely a perk. Not so sure I’ll agree with that a few more months down the road, but for now I’m enjoying it.

To me, my belly bulge seems quite pronounced, maybe even more than it should be at this point. Of course, I had some padding there to start off with and Lord knows there weren’t any abdominal muscles there to hold it all in. But I do wonder how I look to others; is it obvious that I am expecting or are there some silent concerns floating around about my McDonald’s intake? I’m still at the point where most socially-adept people wouldn’t dare comment if they don’t already know the truth. While that is probably best, I was still strangely disappointed when no one at my workshop earlier this week even asked.

Well, then came Wednesday. I work for a healthcare company and we have Medical Directors on staff. One of these was at the workshop and finally asked me how far along I was. Before I could answer, he guessed. He surmised I was around 25 weeks. I’m just shy of 16 weeks. Ouch. I wanted to write it off to the fact that maybe he had another specialty and wasn’t that familiar with pregnancy, but turns out he was in family medicine/OB. Double ouch. So, maybe my belly is out as much as it feels. Y’all take heed of my prediction that I’m headed toward Jessica Simpson proportions. After all, J was a 9 pound something baby. If that’s the case here, pray for me.

I’m not sweating it too much for now. I’m not ravenous and stuffing my face all the time (except with pizza. I am OBSESSED with pizza) so I’m not all that worried what the scale will read at my appointment next week. In fact, it will be a good thing if I have finally gained some weight.

I AM, however, worried that J and I will never agree on what to name the poor child. Thankfully, we have plenty of time to work that out, but now some of the ones I thought we had jointly put on the early list have been revoked. And we’re both stubborn … in case you didn’t already know that. Could be a long trip to November for more than one reason!

Crossing to the Sunny Side of the Street

Confession time: I had written a post last week bemoaning more of my pregnancy pains (literally and figuratively), but an unrelated email exchange I had with someone whose perspective I appreciate made me delete it. While I think there is no harm in being honest about not loving being pregnant so far, I absolutely need to look at it in a more positive light – I’m making a human being for goodness sake; who expects that to be easy?

So, with that change in attitude as well as the fact that I truly am feeling better, I aim to look on the bright side from here on out. I know that doesn’t mean everything will be peachy keen but it also doesn’t mean I have to whine about every little discomfort (and we all know I’m a whiner).

Here are the coolest things happening right now:

• My belly is starting to poke out and maternity wear is becoming more necessary.
• Only 6 more weeks until we know if it’s a boy or a girl - start placing your bets.
• J and I decided on nursery furniture this weekend. 
• I’m finding myself less overwhelmed and more excited when looking at gear.  
• Pizza.

Also, an update on our 4-legged baby. Something is up with Savannah. We’re not sure if she’s still in a little discomfort from her knee surgeries or if she senses things are changing but she’s been sad lately. When she’s sad, we’re sad. Hopefully a weekend at the lake and swimming in a few weeks will cheer her up. Poor puppy.

p.s. - This photo was taken on April 28. Belly has since popped out further.

First is the Worst, Second is the Best?

Twelve weeks and 3 days people, meaning just a week and a half until I enter my second trimester, this mysterious, yet seemingly wonderful land where people promise I’ll start to feel more like myself again. Let me state for the record that if I am one of those gals who doesn’t fit into the category of “most women” and the nausea doesn’t subside soon, I may lose my mind.

The last week has been rough; my appetite was completely non-existent and the little food I could eat didn't always remain with me. This was evident in our 12 week appointment yesterday when I stepped on the scale and saw I’d lost 5 pounds in 3 weeks, equaling a total of 7 for the pregnancy so far. Unfortunately, J was standing right there when the nurse called out my weight. That is a truth I have tried to shield him from for a while. Sigh. It led to an awesome conversation while waiting for the doctor about how much I should aim on losing after the baby.

J was also present for his first breast exam. J: “Why was she massaging your boobs?” Me: “Um…she wasn't massaging exactly, she was feeling for lumps.” J: “Oh. Looked like massaging to me.” After just a couple of brief experiences in the OB/GYN world, I know J can concretely say he is happy to be a man.

We also had the ultrasound screening for Down Syndrome. This was cool because we got another look at our little guy/girl, who had a little hand raised up! So strange to see a tiny human forming and know it was inside me. We also got to hear the heartbeat J. The technician did some measurements, which all looked good but we have to wait to get the results back from this week and 16-week bloodwork to have a more accurate picture of whether the baby is at risk. Keep those prayers coming!

I am still convinced our tiny human is a girl, so you may find me referring to it as her or she. Of course, I won’t care either way but it’s just a feeling I have. We will find out toward the end of June, which seems like far away even though it’s only about 8 weeks. I already feel like I have been pregnant forever and am excited to start showing a little bit and start taking advantage of cute maternity wear.

My request this week is for you to please, please send good vibes my way that I truly start feeling better soon. I want to begin enjoying this pregnancy!

Surprise!

The day I took the pregnancy test, I was strangely calm. I had not experienced any early signs of pregnancy other than being just a couple of days late, which was not an anomaly for me. In the past, I had taken tests three or four days prior to getting my period, having convinced myself that the fatigue or slight nausea I felt were sure indicators. But not this time. In fact, I very patiently waited for my husband to come home from his business trip at 10 p.m. that night to take the test. I didn’t waste too much time once he stepped foot in the door, but that was mainly because I really had to pee.

I fully expected the little window to read “NOT PREGNANT”, like the times before so when I only saw one of those words (the important one), it took my breath away for just a moment … but only a moment before I rushed into the bedroom with an OMG, showing J the test. His reaction was a little anticlimactic, a very casual, “That’s good,” as he went along unpacking his bag. I even had to ask him to stop and give me a hug! Hey, we all handle stuff in our own way. My way was being unable to sleep that night.

Since that surprise, there have surely been a few more. Most of them have been centered on how crummy I have felt. A lazy person by nature, my energy level has dipped deep into negative territory. I’m exhausted all day and then sleep poorly at night, a trend that has led me to taking naps in my car during lunch on more than one occasion. Weekends are mostly spent in bed, and not in that fun, sexy way. They consist of me snoring the day away, trying to catch up from the week while J does the laundry so it doesn't pile up to the height of Mt. Everest.  God love him.

The biggie is the nausea and overall poor relationship with food. I haven’t spent the entire trimester over the toilet, but certainly feeling the need to have a trash can near me just in case. And while I definitely get hungry, the moment the food is in front of me (no matter what it is), I find it difficult to take more than a few bites. At our 9-week appointment, I had lost a couple of pounds. Our 12-week visit is next week and I won’t be surprised if I have lost a couple more. My inherent sweet tooth has taken a leave of absence and salty foods (as well as anything icy, like frozen lemonade or an Icee) are easiest for me to stomach.

Another surprise: Being overwhelmed rather than thrilled by all the baby stuff we’ll need. I have looked through catalogs and walked through aisles at Babies R Us and rather than a sense of excitement, like I thought I would feel, I have quickly deemed it too early or too exhausting to seriously think about. I’m really hoping that will change as I start to feel a bit better.

I know we’re in for a lot more surprises, during the pregnancy and certainly as parents, but right now, the furthest thought I can deal with is how long I have to wait until I can crawl back into bed.