Once again, let me preface this edition of "baby woes" with the disclaimer that I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH MY BABY! I love everything about being a mom. The vent that follows is just to inform people that sometimes parenthood can be rough and if they're going through a similar experience, they are not alone.
That being said, colic sucks. Really really sucks. To the point where booting the baby out of the house seems like a really good idea. Baby D had colic. Hers was in the evening. Which was probably hormonal and related to the fact that I had major baby blues in the evening during the first two weeks. But that's another blog post.
For the first few weeks of life, Baby D just slept, pooped, and ate. It was pretty great, actually. We just cuddled her, and if she cried, we fed her or changed her diaper and she was content again.
But at some point after a few weeks, she started having these horrible screaming fits at night. NOTHING helped. Not swaddling, not feeding, not changing her diaper. We tried rocking her. We tried bouncing her. Putting her in the swing. Re-swaddling her. Singing to her. Trying to change her diaper again. Offering her a pacifier (which I swore I would never do). Trying to see if maybe NOW she was hungry. Holding her silently. Holding her and talking to her. Checking her diaper again. Seeing if she was ready for the pacifier yet. Running the vaccuum... you get the point.
NOTHING WORKED.
We are not supporters of crying it out, so we would just take turns holding her while she cried. After a few hours, it would stop. We would breathe a sigh of relief and tiptoe around the house in fear of awakening the beast. (Just an expression, I do not think my daughter is a beast. If shw were a beast, however, she would be the cutest flipping beast of all time!)
Finally one night it didn't happen any more. Now it seems like it all happened so long ago. It's funny, though. I wished those times away so many times when they were happening. Now, I wish I hadn't done that! She has grown so long, and I am so short, that she barely fits into my lap anymore - and she's only 4 1/2 months old! Back during the screaming fits, I could lean back and just hold her against my chest and try to cuddle the cries out of her. Now she is already too big for "chesty time," as we called it. It's downright sad sometimes.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: if you have come across this blog and you are dealing with a colic-y baby, I promise you the tears will stop. Baby D hasn't cried more than 5 minutes at a time for several weeks now. So try (impossible as it might be) to enjoy those times. When you are up in the middle of the night and all you can think is "I wish I could put this baby down without her crying so I can get some sleep!," try to enjoy the time you have holding that little baby! Because you can never get those moments back.
The upside to passing those moments by is that you get to trade them in for smiles, coos, babbles and (not for us yet) laughs. While I miss my tiny baby, this big baby is awesome too! Every time I get sad over a stage ending, a new amazing one begins. Let's just remember to cherish them ALL!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
My eye got really watery today at work during my planning period (no students). I kept wiping it, annoyed.
When my next class came in, one of my students said "What is wrong with your eye?!" I shrugged and told her it had been watering. "You've got pink eye!" she told me (well, actually she said "You got pink eye!" We're still working on the grammar. Yes, I teach 8th grade). I told her it was just watery.
Within half an hour, another student said my eye was swollen. I had no mirror but managed to peek into the metal part of my stapler and sure enough, it was. By the time my next class entered, my eye was pouring goop.
I went to see the school nurse after school and her and another staff member confirmed that I had pink eye. Fabulous. I've never had this before, and it's the last day of school before Christmas vacation! Nooooo!
I went to one of those pharmacy walk-ins and got some eye drops. The most devastating part of this is throwing away all of my eye makeup. I never buy expensive makeup, but I splurged two weeks ago and bought a $20 eye shadow - trashed.
Now my eye won't stop gooping shut. This is gross.
When my next class came in, one of my students said "What is wrong with your eye?!" I shrugged and told her it had been watering. "You've got pink eye!" she told me (well, actually she said "You got pink eye!" We're still working on the grammar. Yes, I teach 8th grade). I told her it was just watery.
Within half an hour, another student said my eye was swollen. I had no mirror but managed to peek into the metal part of my stapler and sure enough, it was. By the time my next class entered, my eye was pouring goop.
I went to see the school nurse after school and her and another staff member confirmed that I had pink eye. Fabulous. I've never had this before, and it's the last day of school before Christmas vacation! Nooooo!
I went to one of those pharmacy walk-ins and got some eye drops. The most devastating part of this is throwing away all of my eye makeup. I never buy expensive makeup, but I splurged two weeks ago and bought a $20 eye shadow - trashed.
Now my eye won't stop gooping shut. This is gross.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
My embarassing afternoon
I'm a teacher at a middle school. One of the substitutes also serves as the girl's basketball coach. Since he's a sub, he doesn't have his own room. He asked me a couple of months ago if he could use my room after school for study hall before basketball practice (woah, say that ten times fast) - something all athletes have to do. I said of course!
On Wednesdays, he told me, they would not be using my room. This is good, because Wednesdays in our district are "short days" - the kids get out an hour early so we can have professional development. I pump at work (breast milk, that is). On Wednesdays, I get 20 minutes for lunch, and after several weeks of rushing my students down to the cafeteria, grabbing my lunch, rushing back to my class, setting up my pump, pumping, taking it apart and cleaning it, taking my milk to the fridge, and picking my kids back up - I cracked. I said NO MORE! And stopped pumping at lunch on Wednesdays. Now, I pump after school before our meetings.
I hate being late for the meetings though, so I usually pump and then leave my milk in a storage bag and my pump parts out, cleaning them after the meeting. Less rushing that way, you know.
So today I went about my routine. Pumped after school, put the milk in a storage bag (this is probably so gross to people who don't have kids, sorry, I swear my entire blog is not about boobs and milk), and left my empty bottles and suction cups sitting on my desk, without washing them.
Well, when I got done with my meeting, I went into my classroom to discover not only did this male substitute take the girls' basketball team into my class after all, but he had brought the boys' team as well. I was mortified, knowing my stuff had been sitting out in the open. Then I went to my desk and saw that the substitute had CLEANED IT UP!
My nipple shields (the suction cups) and milk-drop covered bottles had been cleared off my desk and put into my pump bag, and my sack of milk had been placed in there as well. I am so completely mortified. I mumbled something like, "Oh, gee, sorry about the mess...." And he didn't say ANYTHING. Which made it way more awkward.
Lesson learned: clean up my disgusting used breast pump parts RIGHT AWAY.
On Wednesdays, he told me, they would not be using my room. This is good, because Wednesdays in our district are "short days" - the kids get out an hour early so we can have professional development. I pump at work (breast milk, that is). On Wednesdays, I get 20 minutes for lunch, and after several weeks of rushing my students down to the cafeteria, grabbing my lunch, rushing back to my class, setting up my pump, pumping, taking it apart and cleaning it, taking my milk to the fridge, and picking my kids back up - I cracked. I said NO MORE! And stopped pumping at lunch on Wednesdays. Now, I pump after school before our meetings.
I hate being late for the meetings though, so I usually pump and then leave my milk in a storage bag and my pump parts out, cleaning them after the meeting. Less rushing that way, you know.
So today I went about my routine. Pumped after school, put the milk in a storage bag (this is probably so gross to people who don't have kids, sorry, I swear my entire blog is not about boobs and milk), and left my empty bottles and suction cups sitting on my desk, without washing them.
Well, when I got done with my meeting, I went into my classroom to discover not only did this male substitute take the girls' basketball team into my class after all, but he had brought the boys' team as well. I was mortified, knowing my stuff had been sitting out in the open. Then I went to my desk and saw that the substitute had CLEANED IT UP!
My nipple shields (the suction cups) and milk-drop covered bottles had been cleared off my desk and put into my pump bag, and my sack of milk had been placed in there as well. I am so completely mortified. I mumbled something like, "Oh, gee, sorry about the mess...." And he didn't say ANYTHING. Which made it way more awkward.
Lesson learned: clean up my disgusting used breast pump parts RIGHT AWAY.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Why is making a baby laugh so hard? Ok, for you, it might be really easy. But Baby D doesn't really laugh. She does an excited coo and smiles really big (which melts my freaking heart every single time), but no laugh-out-louds. If she could text or chat online, she would never be able to say "LOL," but might be able to say "COL (coo out loud, for those not in the know)," and still only sometimes. Don't get me wrong, she talks ALL of the time, but laughing? Nope. We've tried everything. Things that, if they were caught on camera, could be used to blackmail me because I look like such a moron.
Still, no laughs. And that's ok, I can be patient. I'm not one of those moms that has to compete with other moms (so what Baby D isn't rolling over? I'm not concerned at all about that), but COME ON, LAUGH ALREADY! I just want it for my own selfish reasons, because I know it's going to kill me with joy every time she does it.
Today is a beautiful Fall day - probably the last nice day of the year. We're hanging out in the living room with the shades open & even a window is open as well. The sun is shining in, the wind is blowing through, and Baby D is shaking the rattle on her play gym and talking to the whale hanging above her. It's such a perfect day that I suppose I can do without a laugh and just appreciate that beautiful voice! And so I will.
Still, no laughs. And that's ok, I can be patient. I'm not one of those moms that has to compete with other moms (so what Baby D isn't rolling over? I'm not concerned at all about that), but COME ON, LAUGH ALREADY! I just want it for my own selfish reasons, because I know it's going to kill me with joy every time she does it.
Today is a beautiful Fall day - probably the last nice day of the year. We're hanging out in the living room with the shades open & even a window is open as well. The sun is shining in, the wind is blowing through, and Baby D is shaking the rattle on her play gym and talking to the whale hanging above her. It's such a perfect day that I suppose I can do without a laugh and just appreciate that beautiful voice! And so I will.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Mr. D and I are going on our first date since baby was born today!
We were going to make it dinner, but decided we'd rather just go do lunch and a movie or something. Although there really aren't any movies out that we'd like to see, so who knows what we'll do. I do know there will be a steak involved. A bloody steak, since I couldn't have that when Baby D was still incubating.
I am very excited for date night. I explained to Baby D that moms and dads sometimes need to leave babies with a sitter (in this case, Grandma) so they can go have time alone and stay in love. I realize she probably has no idea what I'm saying, but it makes me feel less guilty for going out and having a good time without her, haha.
Baby D is getting smarter and bigger and more beautiful every day. She is able to reach for things and grab them. She smiles. She's ALMOST laughing. She tries to stick everything in her mouth. I love the face she makes when she sticks something in her mouth that apparently tastes bad. I can't wait until it's time to introduce solids and we get to give her new foods and see the faces she makes when she likes them and hates them! Right now, it's just momma's milk, though, and she still always looks like she's an addict who finally got their fix every time she eats it. And I love that :)
I thought I'd be able to type out a long post, since she was working away in her play gym, but she had different plans and is "yelling" at me, so nevermind!
We were going to make it dinner, but decided we'd rather just go do lunch and a movie or something. Although there really aren't any movies out that we'd like to see, so who knows what we'll do. I do know there will be a steak involved. A bloody steak, since I couldn't have that when Baby D was still incubating.
I am very excited for date night. I explained to Baby D that moms and dads sometimes need to leave babies with a sitter (in this case, Grandma) so they can go have time alone and stay in love. I realize she probably has no idea what I'm saying, but it makes me feel less guilty for going out and having a good time without her, haha.
Baby D is getting smarter and bigger and more beautiful every day. She is able to reach for things and grab them. She smiles. She's ALMOST laughing. She tries to stick everything in her mouth. I love the face she makes when she sticks something in her mouth that apparently tastes bad. I can't wait until it's time to introduce solids and we get to give her new foods and see the faces she makes when she likes them and hates them! Right now, it's just momma's milk, though, and she still always looks like she's an addict who finally got their fix every time she eats it. And I love that :)
I thought I'd be able to type out a long post, since she was working away in her play gym, but she had different plans and is "yelling" at me, so nevermind!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Three of my students are pregnant.
I teach 8th grade.
I just wish more school districts would stop teaching abstinence only education and admit that, regardless if you approve or not, teens are going to have sex. Teach them how to protect themselves if they make that choice! I would love for them to let me teach sex ed. I wish 14 year olds weren't choosing to be sexually active, but if they're going to be, give them the knowledge they need and show them that, yes, even 14 year olds can get pregnant.
Anyway, it makes me super sad to think about how their lives are forever changed at such a young age. I LOVE Baby D more than everything, but having a baby is HARD. It's so many other positive things, but being easy isn't something parenthood is. And to have to have a baby and still have over 4 years of school left to complete before you graduate high school? I can't even imagine.
Anyway, off of that tangent.
Baby D is doing great. She has hit a majorly cranky stage, though. We think maybe she's already teething, even though she's only a little over 3 months old. She's irritable, drools a lot, and chews on her hands (which used to mean she was hungry, but refuses to eat when she's chewing on her hands). She was screaming in such a painful manor the other night that we finally broke down a gave her a little baby tylenol, which stopped the crying almost right away, so we think she was definitely in pain. I'm going to miss my girl's gummy smile!!
Having a growing baby is definitely bittersweet. I look forward to all of the things she'll be able to do within the next year - rolling over, crawling, walking, talking - but I will desperately miss the infant stage. Even with the unstoppable crying at times. She is just so perfect and beautiful. I will miss her rubberband wrists and her giant elbow dimple, her 14 chins, her perfectly soft baby skin. But at the same time I am looking forward to when she asks me if she can help me cook, or even when she comes padding into our room in the morning to wake us up! (Remind me of that when it annoys me)
Right now she's snoozing away on her newborn lounger (which she has almost outgrown), the morning light coming in and lighting up her little porcelain face. I love her!!
I teach 8th grade.
I just wish more school districts would stop teaching abstinence only education and admit that, regardless if you approve or not, teens are going to have sex. Teach them how to protect themselves if they make that choice! I would love for them to let me teach sex ed. I wish 14 year olds weren't choosing to be sexually active, but if they're going to be, give them the knowledge they need and show them that, yes, even 14 year olds can get pregnant.
Anyway, it makes me super sad to think about how their lives are forever changed at such a young age. I LOVE Baby D more than everything, but having a baby is HARD. It's so many other positive things, but being easy isn't something parenthood is. And to have to have a baby and still have over 4 years of school left to complete before you graduate high school? I can't even imagine.
Anyway, off of that tangent.
Baby D is doing great. She has hit a majorly cranky stage, though. We think maybe she's already teething, even though she's only a little over 3 months old. She's irritable, drools a lot, and chews on her hands (which used to mean she was hungry, but refuses to eat when she's chewing on her hands). She was screaming in such a painful manor the other night that we finally broke down a gave her a little baby tylenol, which stopped the crying almost right away, so we think she was definitely in pain. I'm going to miss my girl's gummy smile!!
Having a growing baby is definitely bittersweet. I look forward to all of the things she'll be able to do within the next year - rolling over, crawling, walking, talking - but I will desperately miss the infant stage. Even with the unstoppable crying at times. She is just so perfect and beautiful. I will miss her rubberband wrists and her giant elbow dimple, her 14 chins, her perfectly soft baby skin. But at the same time I am looking forward to when she asks me if she can help me cook, or even when she comes padding into our room in the morning to wake us up! (Remind me of that when it annoys me)
Right now she's snoozing away on her newborn lounger (which she has almost outgrown), the morning light coming in and lighting up her little porcelain face. I love her!!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
When pregnant or raising a newborn, a lot of people try to warn you about things. Things such as "You will never sleep again!" or "Just wait until they're 2!" Etc. etc.
However, people don't warn you about a lot of things I wish I had known.
Recently I discovered a new issue no one has ever warned us about - disgusting neck smell.
Lately, Baby D's neck has taken on the stench of mummified poop. It's embarrassing. We noticed it the other night after day care, and were mortified that the people looking after Baby D have probably been talking about how gross she smells. She had just been bathed, too! And we specifically got into her neck folds. It wasn't good enough, though, because this disgusting neck smell returns almost immediately.
We washed her neck out really well after noticing the stench. Then Mr. D's mom came to babysit the other night and gave Baby D another bath because she said her neck smelled really bad. I couldn't believe it.
After some googling, I discovered we are most definitely not alone in this problem and have found some ways to help ease the stench. It's believed to be caused by milk and saliva dribbling down into the deep crevices of a baby's non-existent neck. We're trying to wipe her neck down after every feeding now, and I'm putting baby powder in her cavernous neck folds in an attempt to keep them dry and smell-free. I think it's working so far.
We could start giving her more baths, but she already has really really dry skin so I don't want to resort to bathing her every day. But I'm still embarrassed that her day care teachers probably noticed the smell. I'm here to tell you all that if your baby has this horrible stench emanating from their neck, they are not alone.
However, people don't warn you about a lot of things I wish I had known.
Recently I discovered a new issue no one has ever warned us about - disgusting neck smell.
Lately, Baby D's neck has taken on the stench of mummified poop. It's embarrassing. We noticed it the other night after day care, and were mortified that the people looking after Baby D have probably been talking about how gross she smells. She had just been bathed, too! And we specifically got into her neck folds. It wasn't good enough, though, because this disgusting neck smell returns almost immediately.
We washed her neck out really well after noticing the stench. Then Mr. D's mom came to babysit the other night and gave Baby D another bath because she said her neck smelled really bad. I couldn't believe it.
After some googling, I discovered we are most definitely not alone in this problem and have found some ways to help ease the stench. It's believed to be caused by milk and saliva dribbling down into the deep crevices of a baby's non-existent neck. We're trying to wipe her neck down after every feeding now, and I'm putting baby powder in her cavernous neck folds in an attempt to keep them dry and smell-free. I think it's working so far.
We could start giving her more baths, but she already has really really dry skin so I don't want to resort to bathing her every day. But I'm still embarrassed that her day care teachers probably noticed the smell. I'm here to tell you all that if your baby has this horrible stench emanating from their neck, they are not alone.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Wow, I am really horrible at updating this blog, aren't I?
But that's a good thing. I am so busy with life that I don't have time! This coming from an Internet addict.
Baby D keeps us so busy. She is getting bigger and cuter and smarter every day. It truly is amazing. She is smiling now, and doing what WE refer to as "laughing," although technically it's more of a happy coo. She'll smile super big and make a noise when she's doing it. That counts as laughing, right?
Naturally she can do no wrong in our eyes. She is as perfect as a peach. Even earlier today, when she was so tired but refusing to sleep, instead choosing to scream and scream and SCREAM! I just held her and rocked her and told her there was nothing I'd rather be doing than holding her while she screamed. It's an honor to hold her, even when my eardrums start to bleed - haha!
As hard as it is to have her in day care, I really think she enjoys it and it's helped her to get on more of a schedule. I can't wait to get off work at the end of the day and pick her up. I even get a smile sometimes when she sees me! What a big girl.
That's all for now, the peach just woke up and wants a late lunch!
But that's a good thing. I am so busy with life that I don't have time! This coming from an Internet addict.
Baby D keeps us so busy. She is getting bigger and cuter and smarter every day. It truly is amazing. She is smiling now, and doing what WE refer to as "laughing," although technically it's more of a happy coo. She'll smile super big and make a noise when she's doing it. That counts as laughing, right?
Naturally she can do no wrong in our eyes. She is as perfect as a peach. Even earlier today, when she was so tired but refusing to sleep, instead choosing to scream and scream and SCREAM! I just held her and rocked her and told her there was nothing I'd rather be doing than holding her while she screamed. It's an honor to hold her, even when my eardrums start to bleed - haha!
As hard as it is to have her in day care, I really think she enjoys it and it's helped her to get on more of a schedule. I can't wait to get off work at the end of the day and pick her up. I even get a smile sometimes when she sees me! What a big girl.
That's all for now, the peach just woke up and wants a late lunch!
Friday, September 3, 2010
On Tuesday, I go back to work.
I have no idea how six weeks passed so quickly!! It's insane. I want to badly to stay home with Baby D, but it's just not possible right now. It makes me sick to think about other people taking care of her. Thinking about how they don't know what makes her stop crying. Thinking about her being confused, wondering where mommy and daddy are and why they've left her! Ugh, I'm going to cry just thinking about it. Again. I've cried a lot about it.
She has a hard time taking a bottle, because I've been breast feeding her this entire time. She won't even take a pacifier, hasn't since we left the hospital. She hates plastic in her mouth! So anytime we try to give her a bottle, she makes an awful face and spits it out, even though it's filled with breast milk. She wants it from the source! I know she'll have a hard time taking it at day care. Everyone has said "Oh, if she's hungry, she'll eat!" Then why doesn't she eat now? No matter how hungry she is she won't take the bottle, she'll just scream and cry until her ol' pal the boob comes along. So what makes it different just because she'll be in day care? Nothing. So she'll scream and cry and be hungry and wonder why mom has abandoned her and left her starving. This is what goes through my mind!
It's absolutely heart breaking, in fact I just had to stop and cry about it.
I wish we were like France and got a year off for maternity leave instead of just 6 weeks. Actually they told me I go back on Tuesday which is only 5 weeks 6 days, but whatever.
I actually went to work today to make copies and never got around to doing it because I took the baby with me and everyone wanted to see her :) I loved showing her off. I wish she could just come to work with me every day! It will be nice to get out of the house and have adult interaction, but it's hard leaving your baby. I never knew it until I had her.
My students seem nice, but that doesn't mean they will be. I hope they stay that way, and don't revolt when I change the way the sub has been doing things, which is completely different from the way I do things. We'll see...
I have no idea how six weeks passed so quickly!! It's insane. I want to badly to stay home with Baby D, but it's just not possible right now. It makes me sick to think about other people taking care of her. Thinking about how they don't know what makes her stop crying. Thinking about her being confused, wondering where mommy and daddy are and why they've left her! Ugh, I'm going to cry just thinking about it. Again. I've cried a lot about it.
She has a hard time taking a bottle, because I've been breast feeding her this entire time. She won't even take a pacifier, hasn't since we left the hospital. She hates plastic in her mouth! So anytime we try to give her a bottle, she makes an awful face and spits it out, even though it's filled with breast milk. She wants it from the source! I know she'll have a hard time taking it at day care. Everyone has said "Oh, if she's hungry, she'll eat!" Then why doesn't she eat now? No matter how hungry she is she won't take the bottle, she'll just scream and cry until her ol' pal the boob comes along. So what makes it different just because she'll be in day care? Nothing. So she'll scream and cry and be hungry and wonder why mom has abandoned her and left her starving. This is what goes through my mind!
It's absolutely heart breaking, in fact I just had to stop and cry about it.
I wish we were like France and got a year off for maternity leave instead of just 6 weeks. Actually they told me I go back on Tuesday which is only 5 weeks 6 days, but whatever.
I actually went to work today to make copies and never got around to doing it because I took the baby with me and everyone wanted to see her :) I loved showing her off. I wish she could just come to work with me every day! It will be nice to get out of the house and have adult interaction, but it's hard leaving your baby. I never knew it until I had her.
My students seem nice, but that doesn't mean they will be. I hope they stay that way, and don't revolt when I change the way the sub has been doing things, which is completely different from the way I do things. We'll see...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wow, it's been over a month since I've updated this blog.
Well, it's for a good reason. 3 days after my last post - July 28 to be specific - Baby D was born!
It's a... GIRL! We are absolutely thrilled. Mr. D & I were both convinced it was a boy. We were happy with that, although we really didn't care either way - we just wanted the baby to arrive!!
On the evening of the 27th, I thought my water had broken, so we went to the hospital. They told me my water had NOT broken, monitored me just to make sure, and then sent me home. Boo. I went to sleep around 11:30 that night, fully prepared to wake up and go to a training for work at 8 in the morning.
Around 1, I started waking up with cramps, but thought they were caused by my exam so I kept going back to sleep. At 2, the cramps were SO intense, and I realized they were coming and going, as opposed to being constant. "Hm," I thought, "Maybe these are contractions..." so I whipped out my handy dandy iPhone application which times contractions. Woah! If these were contractions, they were over a minute long and 3-6 minutes apart!
They tell you to go to the hospital if you are having contractions a minute long and 5 minutes apart. I still wasn't convinced this was "it," after all, I had just been to the hospital and I was fine.
So I tried to sleep through them. It became clear this was not going to happen. Mr. D asked if I was ok, because by this point I was writhing around and moaning. I told him I might be having contractions, so he got up. I went into the shower to try to put some hot water on my back. I'd been told that if it was Braxton Hicks contractions (the fake kind), a hot shower would make them go away. They just got more intense, though. So I got out and told Mr. D it was time to go back to the hospital!
At some point after this I was on all fours trying to relieve the pain as I put some stuff back into the hospital bag and got dressed. It hurt SO badly. We left the house and I called the on-call doctor again, who was clearly sleeping as it was 3:30 by this point and she sounded out of it. She tried to convince me that I was not really in labor, that a lot of first time mothers mistake Braxton hicks for the real thing, blah blah blah. She asked if I was already on the way, and when I said yes, she sighed and told me to go ahead and come in. So, if I hadn't been in the car, she would've suggested I stay at home.
Mr. D was listening to my pain-noises and asked if I had just had another contraction. When I told him yes he told me it was only 2 minutes from the last! Yikes! He was driving like a madman to get me to the hospital. I felt so much pain and pressure I really thought I might deliver in the car - but still was thinking maybe this wasn't the real thing, since my doctor didn't think it was.
We pull up to the ER and I get out, they wheel me upstairs and check, and sure enough, I was 7 centimeters dilated (10 is when you deliver). Things got chaotic. At one point I was told it was too late for an epidural, which drove me to the brink of insanity, but they were able to get one started. It slowed things down, but at 9 a.m. on the 28th, Baby D arrived.
She had some health issues so spent 5 days in the NICU, but we've been home for 3 weeks now. She is 4 weeks, 1 day old. She's beautiful and perfect, and Mr. D and I are absolutely in love.
Well, it's for a good reason. 3 days after my last post - July 28 to be specific - Baby D was born!
It's a... GIRL! We are absolutely thrilled. Mr. D & I were both convinced it was a boy. We were happy with that, although we really didn't care either way - we just wanted the baby to arrive!!
On the evening of the 27th, I thought my water had broken, so we went to the hospital. They told me my water had NOT broken, monitored me just to make sure, and then sent me home. Boo. I went to sleep around 11:30 that night, fully prepared to wake up and go to a training for work at 8 in the morning.
Around 1, I started waking up with cramps, but thought they were caused by my exam so I kept going back to sleep. At 2, the cramps were SO intense, and I realized they were coming and going, as opposed to being constant. "Hm," I thought, "Maybe these are contractions..." so I whipped out my handy dandy iPhone application which times contractions. Woah! If these were contractions, they were over a minute long and 3-6 minutes apart!
They tell you to go to the hospital if you are having contractions a minute long and 5 minutes apart. I still wasn't convinced this was "it," after all, I had just been to the hospital and I was fine.
So I tried to sleep through them. It became clear this was not going to happen. Mr. D asked if I was ok, because by this point I was writhing around and moaning. I told him I might be having contractions, so he got up. I went into the shower to try to put some hot water on my back. I'd been told that if it was Braxton Hicks contractions (the fake kind), a hot shower would make them go away. They just got more intense, though. So I got out and told Mr. D it was time to go back to the hospital!
At some point after this I was on all fours trying to relieve the pain as I put some stuff back into the hospital bag and got dressed. It hurt SO badly. We left the house and I called the on-call doctor again, who was clearly sleeping as it was 3:30 by this point and she sounded out of it. She tried to convince me that I was not really in labor, that a lot of first time mothers mistake Braxton hicks for the real thing, blah blah blah. She asked if I was already on the way, and when I said yes, she sighed and told me to go ahead and come in. So, if I hadn't been in the car, she would've suggested I stay at home.
Mr. D was listening to my pain-noises and asked if I had just had another contraction. When I told him yes he told me it was only 2 minutes from the last! Yikes! He was driving like a madman to get me to the hospital. I felt so much pain and pressure I really thought I might deliver in the car - but still was thinking maybe this wasn't the real thing, since my doctor didn't think it was.
We pull up to the ER and I get out, they wheel me upstairs and check, and sure enough, I was 7 centimeters dilated (10 is when you deliver). Things got chaotic. At one point I was told it was too late for an epidural, which drove me to the brink of insanity, but they were able to get one started. It slowed things down, but at 9 a.m. on the 28th, Baby D arrived.
She had some health issues so spent 5 days in the NICU, but we've been home for 3 weeks now. She is 4 weeks, 1 day old. She's beautiful and perfect, and Mr. D and I are absolutely in love.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wow, it's been awhile.
Not much new to report!
I'm just that interesting :)
Still no baby.
I turned 26 on Thursday! I had the best birthday ever! Each year is better than the last. We had some men out last week staining our basement concrete. The carpet down there was horrendous, and it had some water damage and was starting to smell. Great, huh? So Mr. D ripped it up and we hired someone to come stain the concrete. We had a friend whose family friend did this to her concrete, and it looked AMAZING. Ours? Not so much. But I'll get to that.
They were still working on my birthday. This meant Mr. D and I could not leave the house until they did! Boo. However, Mr. D woke up early before they came, and went and got me some DONUTS!! I freaking love donut store donuts, but we never get them. We enjoy sleeping in too much, and by the time we wake up, the stores are all sold out. We walk in and discover half a donut hole and a stale cinnamon roll. Heck, even getting there before 8 on a weekday, Mr. D said they didn't have a lot left!
We still gorged on some delicious pastries. I could've eaten a million, but I only had two. Mr. D gave me my gift. He got me an iPad!! I still can't believe it. He always gives the best gifts, and then I majorly fail when I give him things. I love the iPad, and can't recommend it enough if you've been thinking about buying one. Mr. D knows I am a major Internet addict, and thought it would be handy to have something small and light that I can entertain myself with while I'm holding Baby D.
Then the concrete guys had some trouble with the staining process. This meant they had to leave early and come back the next day, which was very annoying because it screwed up my Friday plans. But it did mean that Mr. D and I could celebrate my birthday the right way! We drove to this area we used to live in to eat at our old favorite Chinese place. Then we went to the movies. The movie we wanted to see was only available at a "cinema suite" which meant tickets were twice as expensive, but as the overly excited teenage employee told us, "You get food vouchers!!!!" Well, I had just eaten crab wontons, edamame, lots of chicken, and hoards of rice. No thank you. We ended up seeing Despicable Me as a last resort and I loved it! Such a fun movie.
Then we came home and I played on my iPad and haven't put it away since.
As for the concrete situation. As I said, my friend had this process done and it looked so fabulous that Mr. D and I couldn't stop dreaming of it for the past year. The man who did her floor was a family friend of her husband, and when I looked him up on the Internet, discovered his company only did concrete countertops. I assumed he just did their floor as a favor, so didn't bother to call and ask him if he'd do our floor. I should have.
The process was supposed to take 3 days and start on Monday. Sunday night, I got an e-mail from the company saying they were running behind and asking if they could start on Tuesday. This upset me because I knew they would now be here all day on my birthday Thursday.
The guy arrives on Tuesday with some college-aged kid and leaves the kid here. The kid starts grinding down our existing concrete and fills the ENTIRE HOUSE with a thick cloud of concrete dust. My God. And I'm pregnant, so I wasn't feeling too enthused about the idea of breathing in this stuff. I locked myself upstairs in our room with a scarf around my face.
Mr. D ended up going to the basement doorway and nailing a sheet up. It helped a lot, but dust was still abound.
The kid does not talk to us the entire time he's here - and I mean all 3 days. We never knew what he was doing. He came and went as he pleased. We never knew if he was coming back for the day. The next day, the guy who I'd been in contact with explained that our concrete was unexpectedly soft and that's why there was so much dust. They continued working, slinging more dust.
Then the 3rd day, they began staining. Apparently our soft concrete sucked up the stain and they would need to do two coats. One on Thursday, and the next on Friday. I was supposed to go into work on Friday and prepare my classroom for the school year before I go into labor. I was unable to do this now. Ugh.
Meanwhile, the stain looked awful. I did NOT like the color. It didn't look like the one we'd picked out, or at all like I'd expected. I told myself that after they stained it again and polished it, it would look much better, and more like my friend's basement.
They came on Friday and finished up, and I really am not too fond of it. The color is too dark and ruddy, and it's not really glossy at ALL. My friend's looks like marble. The pictures on this company's website looks like marble.
Ours looks like an industrial loft floor but we live in the suburbs and needless to say it doesn't go with the house layout or decor. I am SO disappointed. Mostly because I'd built up this floor in my mind to be a masterpiece, and we spent so much money having this done. I should have called the guy who did my friend's floor, even if his website doesn't advertise it.
Now we're out all of this money and I feel like we've lowered the value of our house even though it was supposed to raise it.
Oh well, you live, you learn.
That's all that is new with me. Baby D is still baking away, but I keep telling him or her to feel free to come out ANY TIME.
Not much new to report!
I'm just that interesting :)
Still no baby.
I turned 26 on Thursday! I had the best birthday ever! Each year is better than the last. We had some men out last week staining our basement concrete. The carpet down there was horrendous, and it had some water damage and was starting to smell. Great, huh? So Mr. D ripped it up and we hired someone to come stain the concrete. We had a friend whose family friend did this to her concrete, and it looked AMAZING. Ours? Not so much. But I'll get to that.
They were still working on my birthday. This meant Mr. D and I could not leave the house until they did! Boo. However, Mr. D woke up early before they came, and went and got me some DONUTS!! I freaking love donut store donuts, but we never get them. We enjoy sleeping in too much, and by the time we wake up, the stores are all sold out. We walk in and discover half a donut hole and a stale cinnamon roll. Heck, even getting there before 8 on a weekday, Mr. D said they didn't have a lot left!
We still gorged on some delicious pastries. I could've eaten a million, but I only had two. Mr. D gave me my gift. He got me an iPad!! I still can't believe it. He always gives the best gifts, and then I majorly fail when I give him things. I love the iPad, and can't recommend it enough if you've been thinking about buying one. Mr. D knows I am a major Internet addict, and thought it would be handy to have something small and light that I can entertain myself with while I'm holding Baby D.
Then the concrete guys had some trouble with the staining process. This meant they had to leave early and come back the next day, which was very annoying because it screwed up my Friday plans. But it did mean that Mr. D and I could celebrate my birthday the right way! We drove to this area we used to live in to eat at our old favorite Chinese place. Then we went to the movies. The movie we wanted to see was only available at a "cinema suite" which meant tickets were twice as expensive, but as the overly excited teenage employee told us, "You get food vouchers!!!!" Well, I had just eaten crab wontons, edamame, lots of chicken, and hoards of rice. No thank you. We ended up seeing Despicable Me as a last resort and I loved it! Such a fun movie.
Then we came home and I played on my iPad and haven't put it away since.
As for the concrete situation. As I said, my friend had this process done and it looked so fabulous that Mr. D and I couldn't stop dreaming of it for the past year. The man who did her floor was a family friend of her husband, and when I looked him up on the Internet, discovered his company only did concrete countertops. I assumed he just did their floor as a favor, so didn't bother to call and ask him if he'd do our floor. I should have.
The process was supposed to take 3 days and start on Monday. Sunday night, I got an e-mail from the company saying they were running behind and asking if they could start on Tuesday. This upset me because I knew they would now be here all day on my birthday Thursday.
The guy arrives on Tuesday with some college-aged kid and leaves the kid here. The kid starts grinding down our existing concrete and fills the ENTIRE HOUSE with a thick cloud of concrete dust. My God. And I'm pregnant, so I wasn't feeling too enthused about the idea of breathing in this stuff. I locked myself upstairs in our room with a scarf around my face.
Mr. D ended up going to the basement doorway and nailing a sheet up. It helped a lot, but dust was still abound.
The kid does not talk to us the entire time he's here - and I mean all 3 days. We never knew what he was doing. He came and went as he pleased. We never knew if he was coming back for the day. The next day, the guy who I'd been in contact with explained that our concrete was unexpectedly soft and that's why there was so much dust. They continued working, slinging more dust.
Then the 3rd day, they began staining. Apparently our soft concrete sucked up the stain and they would need to do two coats. One on Thursday, and the next on Friday. I was supposed to go into work on Friday and prepare my classroom for the school year before I go into labor. I was unable to do this now. Ugh.
Meanwhile, the stain looked awful. I did NOT like the color. It didn't look like the one we'd picked out, or at all like I'd expected. I told myself that after they stained it again and polished it, it would look much better, and more like my friend's basement.
They came on Friday and finished up, and I really am not too fond of it. The color is too dark and ruddy, and it's not really glossy at ALL. My friend's looks like marble. The pictures on this company's website looks like marble.
Ours looks like an industrial loft floor but we live in the suburbs and needless to say it doesn't go with the house layout or decor. I am SO disappointed. Mostly because I'd built up this floor in my mind to be a masterpiece, and we spent so much money having this done. I should have called the guy who did my friend's floor, even if his website doesn't advertise it.
Now we're out all of this money and I feel like we've lowered the value of our house even though it was supposed to raise it.
Oh well, you live, you learn.
That's all that is new with me. Baby D is still baking away, but I keep telling him or her to feel free to come out ANY TIME.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
It's been awhile!
Not much to report, though.
I had my baby shower on Sunday, it went so well! We were so lucky to get so many gifts and really appreciate everyone coming and helping us out. Now if only I could get motivated to organize it all!! For now it's scattered across my living room. Oops.
I started getting STRETCH MARKS. I was naively thinking I might actually avoid them, it being so late in my pregnancy and all. But no, on Sunday as I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror, I saw one. By the end of the day, there were several. I am devastated. I know it's a small price to pay for this baby, and Mr. D says he thinks I am beautiful no matter what, but it still makes me feel so unattractive. Knowing I can never wear a bikini again kills me. I wanted to be one of those women who come through pregnancy and bounce back and have a beautiful smooth body. Not going to happen.
I'm 37 weeks pregnant today - FULL TERM! So I'm encouraging Baby D to come out whenever he/she is ready. Like, RIGHT NOW.
Not much to report, though.
I had my baby shower on Sunday, it went so well! We were so lucky to get so many gifts and really appreciate everyone coming and helping us out. Now if only I could get motivated to organize it all!! For now it's scattered across my living room. Oops.
I started getting STRETCH MARKS. I was naively thinking I might actually avoid them, it being so late in my pregnancy and all. But no, on Sunday as I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror, I saw one. By the end of the day, there were several. I am devastated. I know it's a small price to pay for this baby, and Mr. D says he thinks I am beautiful no matter what, but it still makes me feel so unattractive. Knowing I can never wear a bikini again kills me. I wanted to be one of those women who come through pregnancy and bounce back and have a beautiful smooth body. Not going to happen.
I'm 37 weeks pregnant today - FULL TERM! So I'm encouraging Baby D to come out whenever he/she is ready. Like, RIGHT NOW.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Massage and Hormones
Yesterday I had an appointment for a prenatal massage at my chiropractor's office. My appointment card said 1, and I got there around 12:55. I walked up to the doors, was about to go in, when I realized the sign said "CLOSED." Um, what? I looked at the hours and it said they were closed from 12-2! I pulled out my appointment card and confirmed that I did in fact have a 1 o'clock appointment.
I decided I would wait in my car until 1 just to make sure. Shortly after 1, a woman comes out of the office. I decided to go in while it was still unlocked (I had seen her struggle to get out and finally unlock it). I go in and NO ONE is around. The door had made a loud "ding dong!" noise, so I knew if someone was around they were aware I was in there. I waited for a few minutes and no one came out, so I started to get paranoid that I wasn't supposed to be in there and went back to my car. I got out my phone and called to leave a nasty message, when I notice a woman inside the building approach the door and look outside. As it turns out, it was my massage therapist. I was about to really have a bitch fest on their answering machine, so I'm glad I didn't have to.
The massage was nice, but I was a little irritated that the clock said 1:55 when she was finished, and considering she'd started late I felt like my time was ripped off - I was supposed to get an hour. Oh well. It felt great, but I was really annoyed that she kept saying "Are you ok?" like I was doing something wrong or looked in pain or something. It made me self conscious.
I got home and eventually started making dinner. Asian lettuce wraps! Yum. Anyway, I'm chopping the chicken and realize that even though Mr. D e-mailed me the other day asking what groceries I needed (he was going to the store), I had failed to put an onion on the list. For some reason (um, perhaps the baby I'm incubating), this was COMPLETELY NOT OK! I got myself all worked up, mad at myself for failing to put an onion on my list (when I've made this dish a billion times, I know it needs an onion).
At this point, I had two options. I could finish chopping the chicken, put it in the fridge, and go get an onion from the store. OR, I could have a complete breakdown.
You can guess what happened.
I wandered downstairs, where Mr. D was working hard pulling up the basement carpet (that's another story for another day). I stood on the bottom step and waited for him to acknowledge me. He said, "What's wrong?" and BAM, I started hysterically crying. "I forgot to tell you we needed an onionnnnnn!" and it was downhill from there. I cried and cried, and explained to him that I was so mad at myself and didn't want to go to the store to get an onion because I was too hungry. I asked if we could order a pizza instead (even though now that I'm in a rational mindset I realize that would take way longer than just going to get a freaking onion).
Mr. D offered to get an onion, I refused to let him go. Eventually he convinced me through my wailing and tears that we didn't even need an onion. I agreed, and he accompanied me upstairs, hugged me for awhile, put an ice pack around my neck because I was hot, gave me a Coke for some caffeine since he thought maybe I was tired, and offered to find me a snack (I'd already had a granola bar while I contemplated my two reaction choices so I declined another snack). I felt way better. Mr. D was able to finish ripping up carpet, and I calmly finished dinner and it was delicious, even without the onion.
Hormones are so strange.
I decided I would wait in my car until 1 just to make sure. Shortly after 1, a woman comes out of the office. I decided to go in while it was still unlocked (I had seen her struggle to get out and finally unlock it). I go in and NO ONE is around. The door had made a loud "ding dong!" noise, so I knew if someone was around they were aware I was in there. I waited for a few minutes and no one came out, so I started to get paranoid that I wasn't supposed to be in there and went back to my car. I got out my phone and called to leave a nasty message, when I notice a woman inside the building approach the door and look outside. As it turns out, it was my massage therapist. I was about to really have a bitch fest on their answering machine, so I'm glad I didn't have to.
The massage was nice, but I was a little irritated that the clock said 1:55 when she was finished, and considering she'd started late I felt like my time was ripped off - I was supposed to get an hour. Oh well. It felt great, but I was really annoyed that she kept saying "Are you ok?" like I was doing something wrong or looked in pain or something. It made me self conscious.
I got home and eventually started making dinner. Asian lettuce wraps! Yum. Anyway, I'm chopping the chicken and realize that even though Mr. D e-mailed me the other day asking what groceries I needed (he was going to the store), I had failed to put an onion on the list. For some reason (um, perhaps the baby I'm incubating), this was COMPLETELY NOT OK! I got myself all worked up, mad at myself for failing to put an onion on my list (when I've made this dish a billion times, I know it needs an onion).
At this point, I had two options. I could finish chopping the chicken, put it in the fridge, and go get an onion from the store. OR, I could have a complete breakdown.
You can guess what happened.
I wandered downstairs, where Mr. D was working hard pulling up the basement carpet (that's another story for another day). I stood on the bottom step and waited for him to acknowledge me. He said, "What's wrong?" and BAM, I started hysterically crying. "I forgot to tell you we needed an onionnnnnn!" and it was downhill from there. I cried and cried, and explained to him that I was so mad at myself and didn't want to go to the store to get an onion because I was too hungry. I asked if we could order a pizza instead (even though now that I'm in a rational mindset I realize that would take way longer than just going to get a freaking onion).
Mr. D offered to get an onion, I refused to let him go. Eventually he convinced me through my wailing and tears that we didn't even need an onion. I agreed, and he accompanied me upstairs, hugged me for awhile, put an ice pack around my neck because I was hot, gave me a Coke for some caffeine since he thought maybe I was tired, and offered to find me a snack (I'd already had a granola bar while I contemplated my two reaction choices so I declined another snack). I felt way better. Mr. D was able to finish ripping up carpet, and I calmly finished dinner and it was delicious, even without the onion.
Hormones are so strange.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Chiropractor
I had enough of the constant rib pain that baby is inflicting upon me, so I decided to try out a chiropractor. I've never been to one before, but my primary physician once adjusted my back because my eye wouldn't stop twitching, and it immediately stopped. I'm hoping chiropractic care helps relieve some pain.
I went to my insurance company's website, got a list of potentials, and did a little research. I found a place nearby that has some special knowledge about prenatal chiropractor care, and made an appointment there.
It went well. I told them about my rib pain, some back pain I'm having, and this sharp pain I get in my lower back when I walk. However, a couple things made me kind of nervous. They hooked me up to these electrodes, it's called electric modality. It sends electricity pulses through your muscles. I would think they wouldn't do anything to harm me, but it still really freaks me out to have electricity pulsing through my back muscles. Could this stop baby's heart or something?! I figured that they know what they're talking about, so I just let it happen. It did feel really nice. When I got home I researched it, and some websites say things like "We recommend avoiding electric modality during pregnancy." and others say "We would recommend a treatment such as electric modality for pregnant women." So, totally mixed opinions. I have another appointment today, so I suppose I will bring up my concerns.
They also adjusted my neck and back. It felt nice, but so far no real relief or anything. I did discover that my insurance completely covers all aspects of chiropractic care, including MASSAGES! Naturally, this means I have a massage appointment tomorrow. I can't freaking wait.
Today is Mr. D's last day of summer school, and I am so excited to get to spend the next few weeks with him. I'm sure he'll be fed up with me by the time summer vacation is over, but I for one can't wait, haha.
As of yesterday, I am 35 weeks pregnant. Woah! Next week, I will be "full term." Obviously still hoping to make it to 40 weeks, though. It's just weird to think about.
In other news, I wish we had a Dunkin' Donuts nearby, because I really want some of their chocolate donut holes.
I went to my insurance company's website, got a list of potentials, and did a little research. I found a place nearby that has some special knowledge about prenatal chiropractor care, and made an appointment there.
It went well. I told them about my rib pain, some back pain I'm having, and this sharp pain I get in my lower back when I walk. However, a couple things made me kind of nervous. They hooked me up to these electrodes, it's called electric modality. It sends electricity pulses through your muscles. I would think they wouldn't do anything to harm me, but it still really freaks me out to have electricity pulsing through my back muscles. Could this stop baby's heart or something?! I figured that they know what they're talking about, so I just let it happen. It did feel really nice. When I got home I researched it, and some websites say things like "We recommend avoiding electric modality during pregnancy." and others say "We would recommend a treatment such as electric modality for pregnant women." So, totally mixed opinions. I have another appointment today, so I suppose I will bring up my concerns.
They also adjusted my neck and back. It felt nice, but so far no real relief or anything. I did discover that my insurance completely covers all aspects of chiropractic care, including MASSAGES! Naturally, this means I have a massage appointment tomorrow. I can't freaking wait.
Today is Mr. D's last day of summer school, and I am so excited to get to spend the next few weeks with him. I'm sure he'll be fed up with me by the time summer vacation is over, but I for one can't wait, haha.
As of yesterday, I am 35 weeks pregnant. Woah! Next week, I will be "full term." Obviously still hoping to make it to 40 weeks, though. It's just weird to think about.
In other news, I wish we had a Dunkin' Donuts nearby, because I really want some of their chocolate donut holes.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Doctor's Appointment
I had my 34 week appointment yesterday! It went well. The standard two-minute in-and-out visit with my OB.
I'm measuring "perfectly," (I still don't really know how they tell that just by measuring my stomach on the outside, but that's ok) and had good blood pressure. My pee looks great (when you're pregnant, the nurses and doctors love to analyze your pee).
However, you know it's a bad sign when your doctor walks in the room, does a double take when she sees you, and then says "I don't say this very often, but I'm actually concerned you will run out of room in there." She was joking, but seriously - I think I'm running out of room. This baby feels like it's trying to break my ribs. They're in a constant state of pain. I was actually writhing around the bed moaning last night while trying to watch TV. And not because I was having fun with Mr. D. The pain was just that intense.
When you're 4'11" and your husband is 6'5", your baby doesn't fit so well.
Anyway, I finally ballsed up and made an appointment with a chiropractor on Monday. My doctor just keeps telling me that the pain will go away when the baby is born, so I've been popping Tylenol sometimes and hoping it goes away. I'm tired of doing that, so hopefully the chiropractor can help me. I've been saying for two weeks I should make an appointment, but rationalizing putting it off, thinking "I only have 6 weeks left, I can stick it out!" I'm done with that attitude.
I hope the chiropractor helps, but if not, I will just keep in mind that this baby is SO worth any pain I am experiencing. It could break every single rib in my body and I would still love it so freaking much.
I'm measuring "perfectly," (I still don't really know how they tell that just by measuring my stomach on the outside, but that's ok) and had good blood pressure. My pee looks great (when you're pregnant, the nurses and doctors love to analyze your pee).
However, you know it's a bad sign when your doctor walks in the room, does a double take when she sees you, and then says "I don't say this very often, but I'm actually concerned you will run out of room in there." She was joking, but seriously - I think I'm running out of room. This baby feels like it's trying to break my ribs. They're in a constant state of pain. I was actually writhing around the bed moaning last night while trying to watch TV. And not because I was having fun with Mr. D. The pain was just that intense.
When you're 4'11" and your husband is 6'5", your baby doesn't fit so well.
Anyway, I finally ballsed up and made an appointment with a chiropractor on Monday. My doctor just keeps telling me that the pain will go away when the baby is born, so I've been popping Tylenol sometimes and hoping it goes away. I'm tired of doing that, so hopefully the chiropractor can help me. I've been saying for two weeks I should make an appointment, but rationalizing putting it off, thinking "I only have 6 weeks left, I can stick it out!" I'm done with that attitude.
I hope the chiropractor helps, but if not, I will just keep in mind that this baby is SO worth any pain I am experiencing. It could break every single rib in my body and I would still love it so freaking much.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
My, how time flies...
Here I am at 34 weeks, 2 days, and I cannot believe it. It seems like just yesterday Mr. D and I discovered that we were having a baby, and I was a mere 4 weeks along. That was THIRTY WEEKS AGO. How did time go by so fast? I stayed pretty busy these past 30 weeks so I guess that has something to do with it.
When I discovered I was pregnant, I was a teacher's aide in a special ed classroom for emotionally disturbed children. I had been doing that for a couple of years and it was stressful but I enjoyed it. I love the teacher I worked with, and even though my students were so nuts at times (and violent at others), they were pretty hilarious sometimes. But I had the opportunity to take a better paying job (being a teacher's aide pays absolute crap) - a real teaching position of my own!
I'm certified to teach middle & high school English/Communication Arts/Language Arts (whatever you want to call it). I'd just never had the chance to interview after I got certified. I knew it was risky taking a new job while I was pregnant, but seeing as we did have a baby on the way, I couldn't pass up the moolah! I had money signs in my eyes, so I was constantly searching for open jobs.
A position opened up in my district and I applied, interviewed, and was hired. It pays much more than my paltry teacher's aide paycheck, and I didn't have a lapse in insurance because it was still in my district. Perfect!
However, I quickly discovered that regular education middle schoolers are more nuts and sometimes just as violent as special education emotionally disturbed children. I cried and cried and wondered why I had switched jobs. I thought of ways I could get out of my contract, and wondered if maybe I could convince my doctor to put me on medical leave because of stress.
But gradually it got better. I told myself I had to take it one day at a time, and before I knew it, the school year was over, and now I am 34 weeks (and 2 days) pregnant. That was fast. So even though I hated coming into a middle school halfway through the year (they'd had a sub the ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR, and it was second semester!), I think that might have helped the days go by faster. I needed them to go by fast or I would've gone insane.
In baby news, I had a dream last night that we had the baby. It was a boy (who oddly enough kind of looked way more ethnic than either Mr. D or I. Cute, but not as shockingly pale white as we are), and he could laugh as soon as he was born. It makes me wonder if it really is a boy in there! Before I knew I was pregnant, I dreamed I had a baby girl, so for awhile I was convinced that was a sign it was a girl. Now, I feel myself leaning more towards boy.
In other news, Mr. D and I have been looking for a shelf for this one tiny wall in our nursery. We had always intended on buying the dresser that matched our changing table and crib, but once we got our furniture put together in there we realized, holy cow, that's one small room. A dresser in there was NOT happening. But Mr. D's mom had already bought us this super cute lamp, basket, and bucket that matched our bedding and I HAD TO have them in the room. I set off on a search for a shelf. Shelves are expensive, man.
I eventually found one that looked cute for 90 bucks or so on Amazon. I've been toying with the idea of ordering it, but really didn't want to pay 90 bucks. Last night, Mr. D and I took a small outing to Starbucks, Pier 1, and Target. Starbucks for a delicious black tea lemonade, Pier 1 just because we love it, and Target because I needed some cheap plastic storage bins for the hall closet. While perusing the storage options, I saw this cute cube shelf that you put canvas baskets into. It was way too big, though. I said to Mr. D, "Gah, those would be PERFECT for that space in the baby's room if only it were two cubes wide instead of three. And espresso." Then I glanced over, and guess what?
They made a shelf that was two cubes wide and three tall. And espresso.
Best of all, it was on sale for 35 dollars! The optional canvas storage cubes were on sale for 5.99! After a quick search on my iPhone, I saw it had pretty good reviews, and knew I had to have it. How perfect. All because I had the nesting urge to organize the hall closet.
Now the nursery is one step closer to being done. All we need to do now is hang up some floating shelves we've got.
We'd better hurry, though, because this pregnancy is flying by.
When I discovered I was pregnant, I was a teacher's aide in a special ed classroom for emotionally disturbed children. I had been doing that for a couple of years and it was stressful but I enjoyed it. I love the teacher I worked with, and even though my students were so nuts at times (and violent at others), they were pretty hilarious sometimes. But I had the opportunity to take a better paying job (being a teacher's aide pays absolute crap) - a real teaching position of my own!
I'm certified to teach middle & high school English/Communication Arts/Language Arts (whatever you want to call it). I'd just never had the chance to interview after I got certified. I knew it was risky taking a new job while I was pregnant, but seeing as we did have a baby on the way, I couldn't pass up the moolah! I had money signs in my eyes, so I was constantly searching for open jobs.
A position opened up in my district and I applied, interviewed, and was hired. It pays much more than my paltry teacher's aide paycheck, and I didn't have a lapse in insurance because it was still in my district. Perfect!
However, I quickly discovered that regular education middle schoolers are more nuts and sometimes just as violent as special education emotionally disturbed children. I cried and cried and wondered why I had switched jobs. I thought of ways I could get out of my contract, and wondered if maybe I could convince my doctor to put me on medical leave because of stress.
But gradually it got better. I told myself I had to take it one day at a time, and before I knew it, the school year was over, and now I am 34 weeks (and 2 days) pregnant. That was fast. So even though I hated coming into a middle school halfway through the year (they'd had a sub the ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR, and it was second semester!), I think that might have helped the days go by faster. I needed them to go by fast or I would've gone insane.
In baby news, I had a dream last night that we had the baby. It was a boy (who oddly enough kind of looked way more ethnic than either Mr. D or I. Cute, but not as shockingly pale white as we are), and he could laugh as soon as he was born. It makes me wonder if it really is a boy in there! Before I knew I was pregnant, I dreamed I had a baby girl, so for awhile I was convinced that was a sign it was a girl. Now, I feel myself leaning more towards boy.
In other news, Mr. D and I have been looking for a shelf for this one tiny wall in our nursery. We had always intended on buying the dresser that matched our changing table and crib, but once we got our furniture put together in there we realized, holy cow, that's one small room. A dresser in there was NOT happening. But Mr. D's mom had already bought us this super cute lamp, basket, and bucket that matched our bedding and I HAD TO have them in the room. I set off on a search for a shelf. Shelves are expensive, man.
I eventually found one that looked cute for 90 bucks or so on Amazon. I've been toying with the idea of ordering it, but really didn't want to pay 90 bucks. Last night, Mr. D and I took a small outing to Starbucks, Pier 1, and Target. Starbucks for a delicious black tea lemonade, Pier 1 just because we love it, and Target because I needed some cheap plastic storage bins for the hall closet. While perusing the storage options, I saw this cute cube shelf that you put canvas baskets into. It was way too big, though. I said to Mr. D, "Gah, those would be PERFECT for that space in the baby's room if only it were two cubes wide instead of three. And espresso." Then I glanced over, and guess what?
They made a shelf that was two cubes wide and three tall. And espresso.
Best of all, it was on sale for 35 dollars! The optional canvas storage cubes were on sale for 5.99! After a quick search on my iPhone, I saw it had pretty good reviews, and knew I had to have it. How perfect. All because I had the nesting urge to organize the hall closet.
Now the nursery is one step closer to being done. All we need to do now is hang up some floating shelves we've got.
We'd better hurry, though, because this pregnancy is flying by.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Untitled
Quick review: Dairy Queen's Strawberry Golden Oreo Blizzard is AMAZING. You all need to go get it ASAP before it's gone for good. My mouth is watering right now thinking about it.
In other news, Mr. D and I decided to switch our cable provider. I don't want to post any company names, but let's just say we're part of a UniVERSE now.
So, the cable guy was scheduled to come today. My ribs have been in so much pain that I can hardly stand to wear a bra anymore. Sorry, guys. This led me to make the executive decision that I would not put on a bra for the cable guy. I was worried this would lead to some awkward moments, but if he noticed his eyes didn't linger too long. Luckily he didn't appear to be interested in pregnant women :)
Now we have new cable and Internet. So far, so good. In fact, our Internet is even FASTER. Which is amazing for an addict like myself.
Mr. D's grandmother was sweet and brought me lunch since I was stuck here with the cable guy. It was an extremely unhealthy lunch, complete with delicious sweet tea. I feel slightly guilty, but I've really stepped up the healthy eating lately so I don't feel too bad.
Mr. D and I went out of town this weekend for a friend's graduation party. It was a great time and it was fun to get out of town, even if it was just for a day. Although it left me completely paranoid that I was going to go into early labor at any time. I'd already made the decision that we would drive back home if I did. It's only a 3-4 hour drive, and I was banking on a long labor. I didn't have to make an emergency drive home, though. Baby thankfully stayed put and is still baking away. 6 weeks left starting tomorrow. Yikes!
In other news, Mr. D and I decided to switch our cable provider. I don't want to post any company names, but let's just say we're part of a UniVERSE now.
So, the cable guy was scheduled to come today. My ribs have been in so much pain that I can hardly stand to wear a bra anymore. Sorry, guys. This led me to make the executive decision that I would not put on a bra for the cable guy. I was worried this would lead to some awkward moments, but if he noticed his eyes didn't linger too long. Luckily he didn't appear to be interested in pregnant women :)
Now we have new cable and Internet. So far, so good. In fact, our Internet is even FASTER. Which is amazing for an addict like myself.
Mr. D's grandmother was sweet and brought me lunch since I was stuck here with the cable guy. It was an extremely unhealthy lunch, complete with delicious sweet tea. I feel slightly guilty, but I've really stepped up the healthy eating lately so I don't feel too bad.
Mr. D and I went out of town this weekend for a friend's graduation party. It was a great time and it was fun to get out of town, even if it was just for a day. Although it left me completely paranoid that I was going to go into early labor at any time. I'd already made the decision that we would drive back home if I did. It's only a 3-4 hour drive, and I was banking on a long labor. I didn't have to make an emergency drive home, though. Baby thankfully stayed put and is still baking away. 6 weeks left starting tomorrow. Yikes!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Pediatrician Follow-Up
I was so wrapped up in our daycare drama yesterday that I forgot to talk about how my pre-natal pediatrician consult went.
I was pleased to see they had two waiting rooms - one for the sick kids, and one for the kids just there for their check-ups. Luckily they let me sit in the check up room while I waited for my consult. They started to send me in the sick room, but changed their minds. Whew. I don't want to be exposed to all those sick children while I'm pregnant!
I go into the waiting room and it was totally empty, but then all of these adorable newborn babies started coming in for their first appointments! They were all so adorable! I wanted to take them all home (I even e-mailed Mr. D from my phone about them! But he told me we'd have our own soon enough, so I refrained from trying to take them).
One woman had just had her baby on Saturday, and it was only Tuesday. She told me she wished she was still pregnant. I am sure I will feel like that too, but right now my body gets in so much pain sometimes that I'm ready for Baby D to arrive!... mentally, but not actually prepared at all. We still need to finish the nursery. We have one pack of diapers (and a few one-pack free samples), one container of wipes, and maybe two days worth of clothes. I probably shouldn't have scheduled my baby shower so close to the end of my pregnancy! It's not until July 11, and I'm due August 3. Oops.
Anyway, I digress. I was at the doctor. A nurse came to get me and she was so friendly, and seemed really genuine. She took me into a room and spewed out tons of information. I didn't feel any pressure to ask any questions, which was what I was worried about - I didn't know what to ask! She was extremely informative about their practice, and totally sold me on it. You don't just see ONE doctor, you rotate through all of the doctors at the office - I think there are around 10. If you decide you prefer one doctor, of course you can choose to only see them. They're open 7 days a week. They have a room full of nurses whose job it is to only answer phone calls from parents who have questions! I like that. When I am feeling crazy and paranoid I always have advice a phone call away.
They gave me some free magazines, bottles, and formula if I choose to supplement. I love free stuff!
It was a great experience, I feel very comfortable there. Now we've gotten our daycare AND our pediatrician. I'm making progress :)
I was pleased to see they had two waiting rooms - one for the sick kids, and one for the kids just there for their check-ups. Luckily they let me sit in the check up room while I waited for my consult. They started to send me in the sick room, but changed their minds. Whew. I don't want to be exposed to all those sick children while I'm pregnant!
I go into the waiting room and it was totally empty, but then all of these adorable newborn babies started coming in for their first appointments! They were all so adorable! I wanted to take them all home (I even e-mailed Mr. D from my phone about them! But he told me we'd have our own soon enough, so I refrained from trying to take them).
One woman had just had her baby on Saturday, and it was only Tuesday. She told me she wished she was still pregnant. I am sure I will feel like that too, but right now my body gets in so much pain sometimes that I'm ready for Baby D to arrive!... mentally, but not actually prepared at all. We still need to finish the nursery. We have one pack of diapers (and a few one-pack free samples), one container of wipes, and maybe two days worth of clothes. I probably shouldn't have scheduled my baby shower so close to the end of my pregnancy! It's not until July 11, and I'm due August 3. Oops.
Anyway, I digress. I was at the doctor. A nurse came to get me and she was so friendly, and seemed really genuine. She took me into a room and spewed out tons of information. I didn't feel any pressure to ask any questions, which was what I was worried about - I didn't know what to ask! She was extremely informative about their practice, and totally sold me on it. You don't just see ONE doctor, you rotate through all of the doctors at the office - I think there are around 10. If you decide you prefer one doctor, of course you can choose to only see them. They're open 7 days a week. They have a room full of nurses whose job it is to only answer phone calls from parents who have questions! I like that. When I am feeling crazy and paranoid I always have advice a phone call away.
They gave me some free magazines, bottles, and formula if I choose to supplement. I love free stuff!
It was a great experience, I feel very comfortable there. Now we've gotten our daycare AND our pediatrician. I'm making progress :)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Child care
As I mentioned in my last entry, as soon as I found out I was pregnant we got on the day care waiting list at my husband's school. He works at a high school that provides a day care for the student's children at no cost, and offers teachers a REALLY reasonable rate to enroll their kids. We were so excited that Mr. D would get to take the baby to work with him every day, go visit him/her on lunch, and be right there if any problems arose.
Then a couple of weeks ago the school board, for no reason whatsoever, voted to disallow teacher's children from going there. It's especially weird because our district is facing some major budget issues, so you'd think they'd want the hundreds of dollars coming in from teacher's children. I understand that the day care is primarily for the children of the high school students, but teachers are only allowed to enroll their kids there if room is available. No students are turned away because a teacher's kid is enrolled.
Anyway, this left us with quite the dilemma. We now needed a day care for Baby D!! Luckily, a woman Mr. D works with told him about this place her grandchild goes. It's right in between where I work and Mr. D's school. The cost is not much more than we would've been paying at the other place! Perfect.
Or so we thought.
I should've realized something wasn't quite right when I called SEVERAL times to inquire as to whether they had any openings. No one would return my call if I left a message. If I spoke to someone, the director was never in and she wouldn't return my call. I finally spoke to the director, and she said she'd just returned from vacation and "didn't know" if there were any openings as a result of just getting back from said vacation. You'd think this was something they could practically memorize, or had ready for calls like mine. I taught preschool for 3 years, I know how day cares are run. However, I took pity because I know sometimes returning from vacation can throw you for a loop. So she said she'd call me back after a "few days."
She did not.
I called her again on Monday. She told me right away there were openings when we needed. I asked if I could stop by for a tour or if I needed to make an appointment. She said either way was fine. I decided I'd rather pop in unannounced to get an idea of what it was really like.
Mr. D got home from teaching summer school today and we headed over there. We had to be buzzed in, which we liked. But I am still not sure who in the hell buzzed us in, because there was no front desk or anyone to be found. That's not a good sign. It's also not a good sign that we freely wandered around the place for 5 or so minutes and no one asked who we were. Especially because this place is NOT in a good part of town. We could've been killers or crackheads!
Anyway, we finally saw a sign that said "NURSERY" so we poked our head in there. Two women were sitting in there on their cell phones, not engaged with the babies at all. The babies were all awake, too. Cell phones and sitting are actually totally ok with me if it's naptime, but it clearly was not nap time for any babies.
One asks if she can help us, and I explain that I'd spoken to the director who told me I could pop by any time. She gets flustered and says she doesn't know where the director is and to hold on. Mr. D and I awkwardly hang out and 5 minutes later she appears in the hallway next to us, yelling in her cell phone about the missing director. "This girl is here, said Director told her to come by for a tour, and Director's car ain't even here! I don't know where she is!" First of all, I didn't have an appointment, and she was acting like I did, so I sort of felt stupid. Secondly, she is now in a separate hallway and NOT in the classroom, so I know that the one remaining woman is now very much out of state-mandated ratio. That made me uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, the woman still in the classroom is yelling at a baby who is in a cage-like thing (there was no lid on it, but still). She said "You ready to stop biting?!" This kid is like 8 months old. He can't answer you, probably has minimal understanding of the English language still, and he is 8 months old so OF COURSE HE'S GOING TO BITE. Kids bite!
Mr. D later told me he saw a newborn in a "hamster cage." I'm not sure exactly what that means but it sounds sad.
The lady on the cell phone is still flipping out to someone, I'm pointlessly trying to address her and say that I don't have an appointment, I was just told I could drop by any time. She ignores me and keeps talking on the phone. When she hangs up, she explains that Director is nowhere to be found and if I had questions I could ask her. Mr. D quickly said that we'd call back for an appointment and we left.
Yikes.
Not to mention the place was run down and dirty anyway. I'm not sure about Mr. D's coworker, but she must have low standards if she thinks this place is great.
We left and headed to another day care which I'd seen online advertising an open door, drop by anytime policy. Mr. D actually went to this place when he was in preschool! We stop by and it's miraculously better than the other place. The director immediately took us into the infant room and gave us a tour. If you can take parents into your day care spontaneously, you obviously know your shit is together and you're doing things right. I like that. The teachers that worked there were all engaged with a baby or toddler, depending on what class they were in. The babies seemed so happy! It was clean and organized. The teachers looked like they enjoyed their job.
Best of all, they offer a 4 day a week rate, which is fantastic, because Grandma D has said she wants to watch the baby one day a week. No other day care that I'd researched offered any rate other than 5 days a week. Now we'll be saving some money!
It all worked out in the end, but was really stressful. I'm glad I stopped by the bad place so I could see for my own eyes how disorganized and unprofessional it was. I'm also glad Mr. D came because I might have been murdered in that part of town.
We've found our baby's day care. Whew.
Then a couple of weeks ago the school board, for no reason whatsoever, voted to disallow teacher's children from going there. It's especially weird because our district is facing some major budget issues, so you'd think they'd want the hundreds of dollars coming in from teacher's children. I understand that the day care is primarily for the children of the high school students, but teachers are only allowed to enroll their kids there if room is available. No students are turned away because a teacher's kid is enrolled.
Anyway, this left us with quite the dilemma. We now needed a day care for Baby D!! Luckily, a woman Mr. D works with told him about this place her grandchild goes. It's right in between where I work and Mr. D's school. The cost is not much more than we would've been paying at the other place! Perfect.
Or so we thought.
I should've realized something wasn't quite right when I called SEVERAL times to inquire as to whether they had any openings. No one would return my call if I left a message. If I spoke to someone, the director was never in and she wouldn't return my call. I finally spoke to the director, and she said she'd just returned from vacation and "didn't know" if there were any openings as a result of just getting back from said vacation. You'd think this was something they could practically memorize, or had ready for calls like mine. I taught preschool for 3 years, I know how day cares are run. However, I took pity because I know sometimes returning from vacation can throw you for a loop. So she said she'd call me back after a "few days."
She did not.
I called her again on Monday. She told me right away there were openings when we needed. I asked if I could stop by for a tour or if I needed to make an appointment. She said either way was fine. I decided I'd rather pop in unannounced to get an idea of what it was really like.
Mr. D got home from teaching summer school today and we headed over there. We had to be buzzed in, which we liked. But I am still not sure who in the hell buzzed us in, because there was no front desk or anyone to be found. That's not a good sign. It's also not a good sign that we freely wandered around the place for 5 or so minutes and no one asked who we were. Especially because this place is NOT in a good part of town. We could've been killers or crackheads!
Anyway, we finally saw a sign that said "NURSERY" so we poked our head in there. Two women were sitting in there on their cell phones, not engaged with the babies at all. The babies were all awake, too. Cell phones and sitting are actually totally ok with me if it's naptime, but it clearly was not nap time for any babies.
One asks if she can help us, and I explain that I'd spoken to the director who told me I could pop by any time. She gets flustered and says she doesn't know where the director is and to hold on. Mr. D and I awkwardly hang out and 5 minutes later she appears in the hallway next to us, yelling in her cell phone about the missing director. "This girl is here, said Director told her to come by for a tour, and Director's car ain't even here! I don't know where she is!" First of all, I didn't have an appointment, and she was acting like I did, so I sort of felt stupid. Secondly, she is now in a separate hallway and NOT in the classroom, so I know that the one remaining woman is now very much out of state-mandated ratio. That made me uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, the woman still in the classroom is yelling at a baby who is in a cage-like thing (there was no lid on it, but still). She said "You ready to stop biting?!" This kid is like 8 months old. He can't answer you, probably has minimal understanding of the English language still, and he is 8 months old so OF COURSE HE'S GOING TO BITE. Kids bite!
Mr. D later told me he saw a newborn in a "hamster cage." I'm not sure exactly what that means but it sounds sad.
The lady on the cell phone is still flipping out to someone, I'm pointlessly trying to address her and say that I don't have an appointment, I was just told I could drop by any time. She ignores me and keeps talking on the phone. When she hangs up, she explains that Director is nowhere to be found and if I had questions I could ask her. Mr. D quickly said that we'd call back for an appointment and we left.
Yikes.
Not to mention the place was run down and dirty anyway. I'm not sure about Mr. D's coworker, but she must have low standards if she thinks this place is great.
We left and headed to another day care which I'd seen online advertising an open door, drop by anytime policy. Mr. D actually went to this place when he was in preschool! We stop by and it's miraculously better than the other place. The director immediately took us into the infant room and gave us a tour. If you can take parents into your day care spontaneously, you obviously know your shit is together and you're doing things right. I like that. The teachers that worked there were all engaged with a baby or toddler, depending on what class they were in. The babies seemed so happy! It was clean and organized. The teachers looked like they enjoyed their job.
Best of all, they offer a 4 day a week rate, which is fantastic, because Grandma D has said she wants to watch the baby one day a week. No other day care that I'd researched offered any rate other than 5 days a week. Now we'll be saving some money!
It all worked out in the end, but was really stressful. I'm glad I stopped by the bad place so I could see for my own eyes how disorganized and unprofessional it was. I'm also glad Mr. D came because I might have been murdered in that part of town.
We've found our baby's day care. Whew.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Pediatrician??
One thing I had never thought about was that once I give birth, my OBGYN doesn't take care of my baby. I have to have a pediatrician! I should have realized this in my first meeting with my OBGYN when she casually mentioned finding one.
It really hit home when I went to the doctor two weeks ago and she brought it up again, and seemed shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU, that I had not begun the search for a pediatrician. It made me feel like the world's worst mother and the baby isn't even here yet.
My problem is that we have NO friends with babies. We're the first. Now, I actually have several pregnant friends, but I'm going to be the first to deliver, so asking them for a recommendation is pointless.
So I put it off. Then Mr. D and I went on our pre-delivery tour. We were filling out the paperwork with the nice nurse and she asked that dreaded question again, "Who is your pediatrician going to be?" I felt more guilty than ever when I had to tell her I didn't know. "Well you need to find one!!" she responded. I know, I KNOW.
I made it a point to start researching. I googled "pediatrician" for my city. Lots came up. I was kind of hoping only one or two would appear and it would make my choice much easier.
I finally found a place that looked great on their website. It was a group practice. They even had two separate waiting rooms - one for sick kids and ones there for their regular non-sicky checkups. The doctors looked nice and seemed well-educated and experienced.
...but they didn't take my insurance. Ok, moving on. I found another group practice that seemed fabulous. Only they don't come out to the hospital I will be delivering at! Dammit.
I posted a topic an an internet message board for moms and moms-to-be, and a local girl who I've been talking to gave me a recommendation. Yay! And better yet, it's perfect. Close to my house, convenient hours, they take my insurance, AND they come out to the hospital I'll be delivering at. Perfect! Sign me up!
Except now I have to go in for a "pre-natal consult." Yes, apparently you are supposed to interview potential pediatricians. You aren't supposed to just choose one and call it a day.
Obviously my child's first doctor is something very important. I care. But I have NO IDEA what questions I'm supposed to be asking. I am having Baby D vaccinated, so I don't have any questions as far as delaying those goes. If it's a boy, we want him to be circumsized, so I guess I can ask about that, although I don't have any questions. Any questions I might have as far as after-hours needs and when they're open, etc etc, are answered on the website.
So what do I ask?!
My appointment is today and I'm really nervous that I'm going to look like an awful mother because I have no questions to ask and no real reason to be there other than I know that's what I'm supposed to do. Plus the website told me to come in for a pre-natal consult. Haha.
Wish me luck. I hope I don't end up looking like a complete moron.
Next on my mommy-to-be to-do list: Go check out our potential day care. We had a perfect situation all lined up, and then two weeks ago discovered that it was no longer an option. The only waiting list I signed up for (and Mr. D signed us up when I was a mere 6 weeks along, so we did get that out of the way in a timely manner), and now it's no longer an option for us. It was at Mr. D's school. They just decided for no apparent reason that teacher's students can no longer attend, only student's babies. Which is what it's always been intended for, but they let teacher's students pay to go if there was room. Not anymore.
I hope this day care pans out. It was recommended, but Mr. D and I have both worked in day cares in the past, so our expectations are probably pretty high.
I'm getting nervous about motherhood.
It really hit home when I went to the doctor two weeks ago and she brought it up again, and seemed shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU, that I had not begun the search for a pediatrician. It made me feel like the world's worst mother and the baby isn't even here yet.
My problem is that we have NO friends with babies. We're the first. Now, I actually have several pregnant friends, but I'm going to be the first to deliver, so asking them for a recommendation is pointless.
So I put it off. Then Mr. D and I went on our pre-delivery tour. We were filling out the paperwork with the nice nurse and she asked that dreaded question again, "Who is your pediatrician going to be?" I felt more guilty than ever when I had to tell her I didn't know. "Well you need to find one!!" she responded. I know, I KNOW.
I made it a point to start researching. I googled "pediatrician" for my city. Lots came up. I was kind of hoping only one or two would appear and it would make my choice much easier.
I finally found a place that looked great on their website. It was a group practice. They even had two separate waiting rooms - one for sick kids and ones there for their regular non-sicky checkups. The doctors looked nice and seemed well-educated and experienced.
...but they didn't take my insurance. Ok, moving on. I found another group practice that seemed fabulous. Only they don't come out to the hospital I will be delivering at! Dammit.
I posted a topic an an internet message board for moms and moms-to-be, and a local girl who I've been talking to gave me a recommendation. Yay! And better yet, it's perfect. Close to my house, convenient hours, they take my insurance, AND they come out to the hospital I'll be delivering at. Perfect! Sign me up!
Except now I have to go in for a "pre-natal consult." Yes, apparently you are supposed to interview potential pediatricians. You aren't supposed to just choose one and call it a day.
Obviously my child's first doctor is something very important. I care. But I have NO IDEA what questions I'm supposed to be asking. I am having Baby D vaccinated, so I don't have any questions as far as delaying those goes. If it's a boy, we want him to be circumsized, so I guess I can ask about that, although I don't have any questions. Any questions I might have as far as after-hours needs and when they're open, etc etc, are answered on the website.
So what do I ask?!
My appointment is today and I'm really nervous that I'm going to look like an awful mother because I have no questions to ask and no real reason to be there other than I know that's what I'm supposed to do. Plus the website told me to come in for a pre-natal consult. Haha.
Wish me luck. I hope I don't end up looking like a complete moron.
Next on my mommy-to-be to-do list: Go check out our potential day care. We had a perfect situation all lined up, and then two weeks ago discovered that it was no longer an option. The only waiting list I signed up for (and Mr. D signed us up when I was a mere 6 weeks along, so we did get that out of the way in a timely manner), and now it's no longer an option for us. It was at Mr. D's school. They just decided for no apparent reason that teacher's students can no longer attend, only student's babies. Which is what it's always been intended for, but they let teacher's students pay to go if there was room. Not anymore.
I hope this day care pans out. It was recommended, but Mr. D and I have both worked in day cares in the past, so our expectations are probably pretty high.
I'm getting nervous about motherhood.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Hormonal much?
My hormones have been pretty stable for the most part this pregnancy.
Until recently, that is.
It seems like the past week I cannot stop crying at stupid stuff. The first time was when Mr. D innocently (and light-heartedly) said something along the lines of "I thought pregnant women knew what they wanted to eat, but I'm always choosing our meals!" in reference to the fact that I have ZERO cravings and Mr. D always has to decide where we're eating and what groceries we're buying for the week.
I just don't have much of an appetite for anything. Put it in front of me, and I'll eat the hell out of it. But I don't want to make up my mind.
Anyway, even though he wasn't being malicious in the slightest, it still made me start bawling my eyes out. "I'm so sorryyyyyy!" I wailed. "I wish I could make choices!!" I had to go lay down and cry for a few minutes. Then I got up and we went to a fair and I chose to eat a deep fried snickers bar and deep fried onion with ranch dressing. Oops. Maybe that's why I don't let myself make choices.
Then I had McDonald's for lunch the other day, and I felt so guilty that I cried about that. (Note: I did NOT cry over the deep fried onion or candy bar. Those were worth it. I was at a fair, come on!)
Last night I was telling Mr. D that I loved him, and started bawling my eyes out. Because I love him so much. Haha. It's funny now, but last night I was so overwhelmed with the emotion of love that I just cried and cried!
Now that I'm on summer vacation, I torture myself by watching hours of baby delivery shows. Every time that baby comes out of it's mom, I tear up a little. It makes me so excited to meet this little guy or girl!!
It's also another reminder to me that no one should expect any pregnant woman to make a choice, because this show takes me through a roller coaster of opinions. A woman on one episode will say "I'm going drug free!" and I shout "Yes, good for you! That makes ME want to go drug free! I can do it!" and then she starts freaking out from the pain and my stance immediately changes to "Yeah, definitely getting some drugs as soon as I can..." BUT THEN - the next woman on the next episode will have an awesome epidural-free birth, 10 minutes after the last one I saw, and I am back to, "No drugs for me! I can do that!" I have no mind of my own.
This is also why Mr. D recommends that I do not get my hair cut while I'm pregnant.
Until recently, that is.
It seems like the past week I cannot stop crying at stupid stuff. The first time was when Mr. D innocently (and light-heartedly) said something along the lines of "I thought pregnant women knew what they wanted to eat, but I'm always choosing our meals!" in reference to the fact that I have ZERO cravings and Mr. D always has to decide where we're eating and what groceries we're buying for the week.
I just don't have much of an appetite for anything. Put it in front of me, and I'll eat the hell out of it. But I don't want to make up my mind.
Anyway, even though he wasn't being malicious in the slightest, it still made me start bawling my eyes out. "I'm so sorryyyyyy!" I wailed. "I wish I could make choices!!" I had to go lay down and cry for a few minutes. Then I got up and we went to a fair and I chose to eat a deep fried snickers bar and deep fried onion with ranch dressing. Oops. Maybe that's why I don't let myself make choices.
Then I had McDonald's for lunch the other day, and I felt so guilty that I cried about that. (Note: I did NOT cry over the deep fried onion or candy bar. Those were worth it. I was at a fair, come on!)
Last night I was telling Mr. D that I loved him, and started bawling my eyes out. Because I love him so much. Haha. It's funny now, but last night I was so overwhelmed with the emotion of love that I just cried and cried!
Now that I'm on summer vacation, I torture myself by watching hours of baby delivery shows. Every time that baby comes out of it's mom, I tear up a little. It makes me so excited to meet this little guy or girl!!
It's also another reminder to me that no one should expect any pregnant woman to make a choice, because this show takes me through a roller coaster of opinions. A woman on one episode will say "I'm going drug free!" and I shout "Yes, good for you! That makes ME want to go drug free! I can do it!" and then she starts freaking out from the pain and my stance immediately changes to "Yeah, definitely getting some drugs as soon as I can..." BUT THEN - the next woman on the next episode will have an awesome epidural-free birth, 10 minutes after the last one I saw, and I am back to, "No drugs for me! I can do that!" I have no mind of my own.
This is also why Mr. D recommends that I do not get my hair cut while I'm pregnant.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Weekend Update
Mr. D's grandmother and I had a girls' day on Thursday. She took me shopping for a baby shower dress. I found the cutest dress ever, and it isn't even maternity! Which shouldn't surprise me. I say that because I HATE MATERNITY CLOTHES.
For some reason, I thought when I first got pregnant that maternity clothes were going to be SO CUTE. I was extremely EXTREMELY wrong. Yes, it warrants two "extremely"s, one of which is capitalized. I don't know who makes maternity clothing, but they make it out of the grossest materials ever. They're thick and starchy and uncomfortable. Most of the time, the entire piece of clothing itself is ugly. The ones that are cute make me want to vomit because the texture of them on my skin is unbearable. Even tshirts. I bought some ruched-side plain shirts from a maternity store that will remain nameless. It wasn't until it started warming up outside that I realized the cotton they're made of is REALLY thick. Too thick for summer. It feels like I'm wearing terrycloth or something.
I went to the same store (I keep having to frequent it because it's the only maternity store around) to find a dress for a wedding. They had some cute ones! Until I tried them on and realized it felt like they were made out of canvas or something. Very stiff. Ill-fitting. Gross.
Why is it so hard to find cute clothes when you're pregnant? Not only are they ugly but they're expensive, too. The thick tshirts I mentioned? 24.95 a piece when they're not on sale. I got mine buy one get one half off, but that's still ridiculous for a completely plain shirt.
I got myself all worked up last week because I discovered a maternity consignment store in my town. I was planning to go last Monday, but after a quick check on their website to get the address, I realized they're only open on Thursdays and Fridays. Thursday was my date with Mr. D's grandma, so I planned to go Friday. My excitement had all week to build up!
As I approached the store, I saw they were having a 50% store closing sale! Score!... except once I entered, I discovered that all of the clothes in there looked like something grandparents would snub because they were so out of style. It's not the store's fault, maternity clothes are just that ugly.
I did find a super cute maternity maxi dress the other day. I thought about trying it on until I realized it was 120 bucks. No thanks.
So here I am, in my 8th month (I think I'm 8 months, I really don't know at this point. 32 weeks), and I still have nothing to wear. I hate meeting my non-pregnant friends who look super skinny and cute, and I feel like a cow who can't dress herself. Ugh.
For some reason, I thought when I first got pregnant that maternity clothes were going to be SO CUTE. I was extremely EXTREMELY wrong. Yes, it warrants two "extremely"s, one of which is capitalized. I don't know who makes maternity clothing, but they make it out of the grossest materials ever. They're thick and starchy and uncomfortable. Most of the time, the entire piece of clothing itself is ugly. The ones that are cute make me want to vomit because the texture of them on my skin is unbearable. Even tshirts. I bought some ruched-side plain shirts from a maternity store that will remain nameless. It wasn't until it started warming up outside that I realized the cotton they're made of is REALLY thick. Too thick for summer. It feels like I'm wearing terrycloth or something.
I went to the same store (I keep having to frequent it because it's the only maternity store around) to find a dress for a wedding. They had some cute ones! Until I tried them on and realized it felt like they were made out of canvas or something. Very stiff. Ill-fitting. Gross.
Why is it so hard to find cute clothes when you're pregnant? Not only are they ugly but they're expensive, too. The thick tshirts I mentioned? 24.95 a piece when they're not on sale. I got mine buy one get one half off, but that's still ridiculous for a completely plain shirt.
I got myself all worked up last week because I discovered a maternity consignment store in my town. I was planning to go last Monday, but after a quick check on their website to get the address, I realized they're only open on Thursdays and Fridays. Thursday was my date with Mr. D's grandma, so I planned to go Friday. My excitement had all week to build up!
As I approached the store, I saw they were having a 50% store closing sale! Score!... except once I entered, I discovered that all of the clothes in there looked like something grandparents would snub because they were so out of style. It's not the store's fault, maternity clothes are just that ugly.
I did find a super cute maternity maxi dress the other day. I thought about trying it on until I realized it was 120 bucks. No thanks.
So here I am, in my 8th month (I think I'm 8 months, I really don't know at this point. 32 weeks), and I still have nothing to wear. I hate meeting my non-pregnant friends who look super skinny and cute, and I feel like a cow who can't dress herself. Ugh.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Hiccup!
Just for the record, a baby in your stomach having hiccups is the cutest thing ever. I felt guilty for drowning in the cuteness of it when it happened earlier. Because what if baby hiccups are torture for the baby?! Yikes.
On a separate note, I am on summer vacation. This leads me to never really know what day of the week it is, or what the date is. Every summer I get confused. Last summer, I called my mom on her birthday, had a 30 minute conversation with her, hung up, and only realized an hour later when I was sitting in the movie theater at Harry Potter's opening night that it was the 15th of July and therefore my mother's birthday. Imagine the guilt trip I got when I called her back to apologize and wish her a happy birthday.
I also have what's known as "pregnancy brain." This is the weird phenomenon pregnant women get where they can't remember anything, or do stupid stuff because our brains aren't working correctly. My students got to experience it first-hand ALL of the time. For instance, they'd ask me for a piece of paper, I'd say "Sure!" and head to my desk to get a spare sheet. In the 5 seconds it took me to do this, I would somehow completely forget that I had set out to get some paper, and would end up stopping to write something on the board, take attendance, or do some other activity unrelated to the task at hand. My students would get annoyed at first but eventually got used to the idea and would politely remind me "Um, Mrs. D... I've been waiting 10 minutes for that piece of paper..."
I tell you this because even though I knew yesterday was June 8 - I had a dentist appointment - I somehow thought that today was June 10. I don't know what I thought had happened to the 9th. So my 32 week doctor's appointment isn't actually until Friday. I can blame this on summer vacation or pregnancy brain, but whatever the reason, it made me feel really stupid and annoyed with myself.
Speaking of my dentist appointment, the hygienist asked me if my gums have been bleeding more. Yes, they have. Another pregnancy issue. She assured me that it should stop shortly after the baby comes. She then proceeded to use this as an excuse to be as violent as possible while cleaning my teeth. My gums felt like she had sanded them off or something. I could feel them swelling up around my teeth. It hurt so bad! She then left while I waited to see the dentist and tried not to cry from the pain throbbing throughout my mouth. I did get to watch the Full House episode that featured Steve Urkel. THE Steve Urkel. I forgot that episode existed. (It's the one with Michelle trying to be annoyingly cute and asking people, while pouting, "please feed my piggy!" and then holding up a piggy bank.)
On a separate note, I am on summer vacation. This leads me to never really know what day of the week it is, or what the date is. Every summer I get confused. Last summer, I called my mom on her birthday, had a 30 minute conversation with her, hung up, and only realized an hour later when I was sitting in the movie theater at Harry Potter's opening night that it was the 15th of July and therefore my mother's birthday. Imagine the guilt trip I got when I called her back to apologize and wish her a happy birthday.
I also have what's known as "pregnancy brain." This is the weird phenomenon pregnant women get where they can't remember anything, or do stupid stuff because our brains aren't working correctly. My students got to experience it first-hand ALL of the time. For instance, they'd ask me for a piece of paper, I'd say "Sure!" and head to my desk to get a spare sheet. In the 5 seconds it took me to do this, I would somehow completely forget that I had set out to get some paper, and would end up stopping to write something on the board, take attendance, or do some other activity unrelated to the task at hand. My students would get annoyed at first but eventually got used to the idea and would politely remind me "Um, Mrs. D... I've been waiting 10 minutes for that piece of paper..."
I tell you this because even though I knew yesterday was June 8 - I had a dentist appointment - I somehow thought that today was June 10. I don't know what I thought had happened to the 9th. So my 32 week doctor's appointment isn't actually until Friday. I can blame this on summer vacation or pregnancy brain, but whatever the reason, it made me feel really stupid and annoyed with myself.
Speaking of my dentist appointment, the hygienist asked me if my gums have been bleeding more. Yes, they have. Another pregnancy issue. She assured me that it should stop shortly after the baby comes. She then proceeded to use this as an excuse to be as violent as possible while cleaning my teeth. My gums felt like she had sanded them off or something. I could feel them swelling up around my teeth. It hurt so bad! She then left while I waited to see the dentist and tried not to cry from the pain throbbing throughout my mouth. I did get to watch the Full House episode that featured Steve Urkel. THE Steve Urkel. I forgot that episode existed. (It's the one with Michelle trying to be annoyingly cute and asking people, while pouting, "please feed my piggy!" and then holding up a piggy bank.)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Welcome!
I am 7 months late, but finally starting a blog chronicling my pregnancy. I'm due in 8 weeks, so, yeah, pretty late. I just figured that the blog will continue my journey into motherhood once Baby D arrives.
I'm 32 weeks pregnant as of today. The most common question a pregnant woman is asked "Is it a boy or a girl?!" Well, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl. We decided to wait. 90% of people think this is absolutely insane. My argument is that there are so few surprises left in life, that why not wait and be surprised when the baby comes into the world? To this, I usually get people saying "Well when you find out at 20 weeks, it's still a surprise!" Yes, but not as built up, so not as exciting to me. I don't think you are crazy for wanting to know, so don't think I'm crazy for not!
People are most appalled because they can't imagine what the baby is going to wear when s/he comes. They do make clothes that aren't blue or pink, I promise! Plus, it's going to be a summer baby, so it can come home naked and still be warm, right?
The second most common question pregnant women are asked is "How are you feeling?" Nobody really wants to know. They just feel like they should ask. I can never tell if they want me to tell them I feel great, or if they WANT me to be miserable and are disappointed when I tell them I feel fine.
The truth is, I've had an AMAZING pregnancy. Very lucky so far. I had no morning sickness. Well, actually, I got sick twice. Once I'm pretty sure was because I took a vitamin on an empty stomach and it made me throw up. The other time I was out in public with my husband's grandmother and my body decided to evacuate all of its fluids at various stops on the way back to my house. I truly thought I was going to die. Not from the sickness, but from mortification - my husband's grandmother came into the restroom at one point and yelled at me "Are you having diarrhea?" Thanks, grandma.
BUT, the past few weeks my ribs have been in so much pain I've THOUGHT I might throw up. I'm thinking about going to a chiropractor, but need to discuss it with my doctor first. When you're pregnant, you need your doctor's permission to do everything. To eat certain foods, drink things, take medicines, lift things, go places, use face wash... the list is never ending.
I go back to the doctor on Thursday, so Friday hopefully I can go get my ribs popped into place. We shall see.
I'm 32 weeks pregnant as of today. The most common question a pregnant woman is asked "Is it a boy or a girl?!" Well, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl. We decided to wait. 90% of people think this is absolutely insane. My argument is that there are so few surprises left in life, that why not wait and be surprised when the baby comes into the world? To this, I usually get people saying "Well when you find out at 20 weeks, it's still a surprise!" Yes, but not as built up, so not as exciting to me. I don't think you are crazy for wanting to know, so don't think I'm crazy for not!
People are most appalled because they can't imagine what the baby is going to wear when s/he comes. They do make clothes that aren't blue or pink, I promise! Plus, it's going to be a summer baby, so it can come home naked and still be warm, right?
The second most common question pregnant women are asked is "How are you feeling?" Nobody really wants to know. They just feel like they should ask. I can never tell if they want me to tell them I feel great, or if they WANT me to be miserable and are disappointed when I tell them I feel fine.
The truth is, I've had an AMAZING pregnancy. Very lucky so far. I had no morning sickness. Well, actually, I got sick twice. Once I'm pretty sure was because I took a vitamin on an empty stomach and it made me throw up. The other time I was out in public with my husband's grandmother and my body decided to evacuate all of its fluids at various stops on the way back to my house. I truly thought I was going to die. Not from the sickness, but from mortification - my husband's grandmother came into the restroom at one point and yelled at me "Are you having diarrhea?" Thanks, grandma.
BUT, the past few weeks my ribs have been in so much pain I've THOUGHT I might throw up. I'm thinking about going to a chiropractor, but need to discuss it with my doctor first. When you're pregnant, you need your doctor's permission to do everything. To eat certain foods, drink things, take medicines, lift things, go places, use face wash... the list is never ending.
I go back to the doctor on Thursday, so Friday hopefully I can go get my ribs popped into place. We shall see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)