Friday, January 16, 2009

One Year Ago

Mike and I were sitting on the couch last night, and as I looked around our house, I realized that a year ago, we had just begun our massive home remodel. It was a tiring process, and although we still have some little things to finish a year later, the transformation of our home is nothing short of amazing... well, at least in our opinions! Here are a few before shots and some afters taken right after we moved back in last June:

Our little beach bungalow: (before)

Our little beach bungalow:
(after)

Our kitchen view from the living room: (before)
Our kitchen view from the living room: (after)
I think my favorite part of our house is that there are touches of both Mike and I all over - he picked out the cabinets and slate flooring in the kitchen, I chose the paint colors and tile for the bathrooms, and we made countless other decisions (and compromises) together. And, best of all, we lived to tell about it!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

30 Weeks

Ten weeks to go. Wow. I'm starting to get to that part of pregnancy where part of me says, "Can't I just have this baby already?!" and the other part says, "I'm going to have this baby already?!" I've gained about 20 pounds, and to my surprise, some of my girlfriends that were in town this past weekend actually think I've lost weight. Whether they're just trying to make me feel good or whatever, I don't care, I'll take that compliment any time!

The little man has been moving constantly and, to my discomfort, kicking up a storm. The past two days, he was kicking me so hard, I thought I would need to call my doctor. He really enjoys kicking me on my right side, never on the left. He actually kicked me so hard a couple of times last night, that my boob bounced. Yes, you read that right, my boob actually bounced off of my baby belly. This cannot be normal.

Mike and I will be attending our second childbirth education class tonight (I didn't have a chance to write about it last week, but let's just say classes like this would be a good place to start weeding people out of the gene pool - Meghan aptly compared the crowd at childbirth class to the crowd at the DMV on any given day). Last week's class was pretty uneventful, so perhaps after tonight's session, I'll have more to report back.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Vivid Dreams and Visits from the Crap Fairy

Typically, I would associate these things with a night of binge drinking, and waking up hung-over. But, no, these are two more pregnancy-related "things" I forgot to add to my list. And, since I couldn't bring myself to write "Being Pregnant Vol. 3.1.1" I'll just go ahead and describe them here:

Vivid Dreams
Whether they are good or bad, it seems that every dream I have lately is in full-color, and is broadcast in HD. Some common themes include running from bad guys, and bringing home a baby that is not human - so far, he has been a little white poodle, and some creature that you keep in an aquarium (like a reptile). Hmm.

The Crap Fairy
Have you ever woken up after a night of partying with a nasty taste in your mouth, and the best way to describe it is as though someone has taken a crap in there while you were sleeping? That's being visited by the Crap Fairy. Now, imagine having that taste in your mouth after everything you eat. Thank goodness my bout with this only lasted about a month, but man it was nasty. I did find that brushing my teeth with Arm & Hammer toothpaste (it has baking soda in it) or just chewing gum helped a ton.

Ah, the joys of pregnancy.

Prenatal Visit #6

The countdown has officially begun. For the first part of my pregnancy, I was heading to the doctor once a month. Now, I will be going once every two weeks for the next 4, and then once a week after that. All my appointments are scheduled, and I even have one the day before my due date. Eeek!

Anywho, today's appointment was much of the same. I asked my doc about a pain that I've been getting almost daily - starts under my ribs on the right side, and radiates to my back. I had been attributing it to a cute little baby foot jammed up under my ribs, but turns out it's more likely my big ol' uterus putting pressure on my liver. Yeah, my liver (she said gall bladder, too, but I don't have one of those anymore). Have you ever seen a boxer get punched in the liver? It's supposed to be one of the most painful places to be hit. Drop you to your knees kind of pain. Fortunately, mine hasn't been prize-fighter bad just yet, but hey, I've got almost three months left to go, so there's still a chance. Crap.

I had my glucose screening test last week (had another great phlebotomist in the lab, by the way), and although my glucose tolerance was fine (thank God), my blood work showed that I am mildly anemic. No big deal really, I just need to add an iron supplement (on top of my prenatal vitamin) to my daily routine, and eat more beef or other iron rich foods. Apparently there's not much iron in Velveeta. I will also make sure not to skip my daily dose of Benefiber. Those of you that have been pregnant know what I mean by that. Those of you that have not, read this.

On the home front, we have finally started cleaning out our office so that our little man will have a place of his own when we bring him home from the hospital. I am looking forward to getting the nursery all set up and ready for him. We should be having a garage sale sometime in the near future. Anyone need a secretary's desk?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Being Pregnant Vol. 3.1

I can't believe I forgot...

11. Heartburn
This one is relatively new. I think I have linked it to drinking carbonated beverages, which sucks because diet 7up has been my go-to beverage of choice for a while. It has gotten better in the past few days, but bending over, or laying down caused quite a bit of discomfort for a while there.

12. Back Pain
Aggravated when the baby decides he'd like to plant a foot or other appendage right into the bottom of my ribs. Ouch. Yoga has definitely helped with this one.

13. Everyday Activities
Thankfully, I can still shave my legs, however, I'm pretty sure my bikini line has seen better days. Cleaning and vacuuming the house can leave me feeling like I've just run a marathon (OK, that's a little dramatic, but I'm sure you get the point). Putting on shoes is difficult, and if I don't properly position my belly between my knees (which is getting harder and harder) when I'm pulling them on, I end up panting by the time I am finished.

OK, I think that covers it... maybe.

Being Pregnant Vol. 3

I have officially entered my third trimester, so I figured it was time for a major pregnancy update. Again, here's the usual list:

1. Morning Sickness
Still a thing of the past, thank God!

2. Fatigue
It's taken me quite a while, but I'm finally comfortable sleeping on my side (this is actually a new development that I've settled into within the past week or so) so at least lack of sleep hasn't been contributing to my fatigue too much anymore.

3 & 4. Cravings and Aversions
Still nothing weird, per se. Cravings for processed cheese have subsided a bit, but I have been craving things like Diet Dr. Pepper, popsicles, carbs, and generally things that are not good for me. My aversions have pretty much subsided, although my heightened sense of smell is not always a blessing.

5. Pregnancy-Induced Stupidity/Forgetfulness
Yep. Still got it.

6. Boobs
Still haven't really gotten bigger since the first trimester jump. Newest development on that front, however, has been this.

7. Sex (Ben, or any family for that matter, again, feel free to skip this section.)
Eh, well, let's just say it's getting more difficult, and less frequent, the bigger the belly gets.

8. Sleep
Getting much better, especially over the past week. I'm not sure if it's because I'm finally getting used to sleeping on my side (despite that tingly thing that's still happening with my left hip) or if it's because I've been off of work for the past week.

9. Child-Bearing Hips
The pain in my hips is all but gone, except on my left side if I try to lay on it. It's not so much an ice-pick sort of pain anymore as it is a numbing, annoying, tingling sensation. I've finally figured out that I can get around it by putting a body pillow behind me and leaning back slightly.

10. Mood Swings
I haven't fallen completely off my rocker yet, but there are moments every now and then that I just feel like I'm going to cry for no reason at all. I let out a few tears, and everything is fine. Hormones.

More answers to frequently asked questions:
I'm still feeling pretty good, the baby is doing somersaults (and lucky me he really enjoys doing them in the middle of the night), we're having a boy, we have chosen a name - Joseph Michael, and I'm finally looking pregnant - my baby bump has probably doubled in size over the last two weeks or so.

We've got about three months to go before we leave our house as a duo, and return as a trio. I find myself looking around our grown-up house, wondering how it is going to change over the next few months and years - mostly first-world problems, like what to do with over 300 DVDs when you have a toddler, where I will put our wine collection when he discovers he can open cabinet doors, how to keep him from slamming his little hands in heavy pocket doors... And I think about how we will eventually outgrow our home, especially if we decide to have a second child. I try to figure out ways we can stay here forever, but I know it's a futile exercise in wishful thinking. Eventually, we will have to turn our little beach bungalow into a rental, and pack up to move to a larger family home - and I have a feeling that having a child will only make that time fly by even faster.

Happy New Year

2009 is here, and although I thought about waxing poetic about the year that has passed and the year to come, frankly, I'm not feeling that inspired. I'd say, 'Maybe I'll do that next week,' but really, when I put things off like that, they never happen. Perhaps that should be my New Year's resolution - stop procrastinating. And, the first place I should probably put that resolution into practice is in our son's room. He's due to arrive in less than three months, and his room is still full of boxes packed with things that have yet to find a home since our remodel and office furniture.

Anywho, I spent my NYE alone for the most part. Mike was working, so I went out to dinner with his grandparents, and then sat with grandpa and watched a couple episodes of Speeders (kind of like Cops, only it's about the highway patrol, and not nearly as chock-full of trailer trash) before heading home to channel surf. At about 11:15, I decided to throw in the proverbial towel, take a shower and get ready for bed. I wasn't sure if I was even going to watch the ball drop (by the way, do they do that once an hour after midnight in New York, or what? How are they going Live to NY from Las Vegas, and the ball hasn't dropped yet? But I digress). After my shower, I decided to suck it up, and I put it on Fox's New Year's Eve Live so I could watch Robbie Knievel jump a dirt bike over the volcano at The Mirage in Las Vegas (ended up being totally anticlimactic, if you were wondering). Then, at 11:45, a car pulled up in front of our house. It was Mike. He told me he made a deal with one of his co-workers - he would not only do his own work, but also that of the aforementioned co-worker - so he could come home for 15 minutes and kiss me at midnight. I am one lucky gal.