Pregnancy Pyromania

Last weekend, I went shopping with a friend of mine. While we were perusing the clearance racks, I found a shirt that I really liked the color of, but wasn't quite sure about the style of it on me. My friend convinced me that it was cute and the color was right as was the price, so I bought it. Fast forward to yesterday. I wore my new shirt to work. Usually, I've been wearing just normal clothes up-sized rather than maternity stuff because I dislike wearing anything that resembles a tent. However, this new shirt tented in such a way that it looked like I was carrying this cute little basketball, and it wasn't even a maternity top! Got a few comments about the shirt throughout the day, including one from a customer, "Well, you're looking more 'motherly' these days." *eye roll* Anyway, the more I saw the shirt on me on my frequent trips to the bathroom, the more I thought that maybe the style was a little too "house on the prairie" for me. (Dan came up with that adjective for the shirt, and he was dead on.) So I was kind of bummed...new shirt, but I didn't really care for it that much. At least it was only $7.

OK, fast forward to home last night. I decided to make some hot chocolate after supper to relax with. So I turned on the burner, put the tea kettle on and went about my business. For some reason, I decided that I needed something from the cupboard above the stove. You guys know I'm an engineer....so I have an equation for you: tent-like shirt + Peanut + lit gas burner + reaching up to get something = fire

Yes, in my infinite grace, coordination and dexterity, I had lit myself on fire. JUST 15 seconds before the fact I thought to myself, 'jeez, I'd better be careful...this shirt could catch.' I happened to look down and yep, there were flames licking along the bottom of the shirt. I couldn't do anything but laugh as I patted the flames out. For the next 20 minutes I smelled like burned cotton/polyester. Nothing else was harmed in the making of this fire. Dan, however, didn't seem amused.

The shirt was worth the $7 in amusement value alone. At least now I don't have to feel guilty about not wearing it again! The friend I went shopping with claims I should scrapbook the event, and I think I might...put the burned portion of the shirt on a page in the baby book to let Peanut know that no one is perfect and accidents happen, but more than that, it's important to be able to laugh at life when you can.

Hellooooo Daddy!

The other day, Dan had his hand on my belly so he could feel some of the 'Nut's antics. He thought that he might be feeling the heartbeat, but he wasn't sure. I don't know if it's possible to feel that externally or not, but I told him that it was possible to hear it externally if everything else was pretty quiet. Peanut was so happy he felt like trying this! Dan put his ear to my belly, and exclaimed, 'hey...I think I can hear it!" No sooner did Dan say that, and Peanut responded by giving him a kick right smack to the ear.

That's our little Peanut....

OB Appointment #7

Not much new to report today. I grew 2 cm in the last 2 weeks, which means baby is growing as they should. Liz talked to me today about the wonderful world of the episiotomy, tearing, forceps, and vacuum. I didn't realize all the ways a person could tear during this event. Let's just say I hope my skin and interior has great elasticity. :P~

Once the baby is born, Dan will have the option to cut the cord, but he isn't required to if he doesn't feel comfortable. She said then she will ask me if he decides not to. I'm thinking that, at that point, I will probably want nothing to do with cutting anything that just came from me, but I guess we'll see what happens at the time.

Peanut's heartbeat was a strong 153 BPM and he/she decided to only kick at the Doppler once...I was surprised how cooperative he/she was. It must have been nap time.

I do have a feeling that Peanut is a girl. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before or not, I'm not sure why I feel that way, and I certainly have no basis on which to judge. Dan believes it's a boy, so that has led to some entertaining discussions. At the end of the day, however, either will be a welcome addition. (Especially once I can let the baby kick at my hands or at least something other than my bladder, ribs, or cervix.)

Welcome to Trimester #3

The 28th week of Peanut's existance begins today. This means that we're entering the last 1/3 of this whole in-body experience.....thank goodness. I don't believe I will ever be one of those women that coo and wax nostalgic about pregnancy. I have been extremely, extremely fortunate in this pregnancy thus far in that I have not had many of the regular side effects that go with the package...I've never gotten sick, no swelling (yet), not too many weird aches and pains, not really too many cravings (at least none I wouldn't have pre-baby), and I can still get to my shoes fairly easily (a skill that I am told will become more of a challenge in the coming weeks). I am very thankful for this. I know things could be so much worse and there could be an entire scad of complications. I believe, however, I am just about ready to be alone in my own body again. Not that I don't already love the pants off Peanut (which is amazing in an of itself to love someone so much that you've never even met), it's more that each of us is our own person and needs to occupy their own space. This might have something to do with the 3 to 5 and then 7 to 9 am kickboxing classes (among other things) that Peanut seems to enjoy doing to me.

There is one of my normal routines that it was time for tonight that I ALMOST couldn't do....and that freaked me out a little. So, now I guess begins the real fun...new logistics for otherwise mundane, routine tasks.

So, I've been told several view points by several people on taking belly pictures. Some say I'll regret not having any, some say I won't miss them. What the heck, might as well try one when things aren't too out of control, right? Against my better judgement, I'm including one taken tonight at the beginning of Tri-3. Here I am 27 weeks pregnant. Peanut is a little over 15 inches long and weighs just over 2 lbs at this point. No wonder I can feel him/her stretching out!

OB Appointment #6

Today was glucose test day! I arrived at the Dr's office and went straight to the lab where I got to drink THE sweetest, orange flavored, flat tasting soda EVER. Oddly enough, I was given FIVE minutes to drink this 10 oz concoction. I joked with the nurse that the "chug" time limit reminded me of college days.....she wasn't too amused. She just instructed me to come back in 1 hour so she could draw blood to send in for gestational diabetes screening. I cut my humor losses and headed upstairs to see Liz.

A lot of this appointment went like the last...routine weighing (no, I WON'T post the numbers....they would startle you... ha ha), urine target practice, blood pressure, etc. Everything checked out, baby's heart was thumping away at 156 BPM and I grew 2 cm over the last 2 weeks, all healthy and normal things. The sugary drink before seeing Liz tho got Peanut in an uproar. When she started the Doppler and went after the heartbeat, Peanut kicked the Doppler wand dead SQUARE, making it jump off my belly. At the same time, on the other side of my belly, he/she must have punched at the same time. I've never seen my belly take on such a weird shape. This playing/kicking went on for a few minutes until things settled down a little. The doc chuckled and commented, 'Boy, talk about attitude!' She assured me though that there was no such thing as an over-active baby, and the fact that Peanut moves around almost constantly is a sign of a healthy baby.

This time I came prepared to the appointment. She always asks me if I have ANY questions about anything...and I can never think of anything on the spot. This time, I came with a list. I asked her about things ranging from Braxton-Hicks contractions (I haven't had any....yet) to classes for Dan and I to take to protein or carbs leading to larger or smaller babies. She took her time with each one, despite being about 1/2 hour behind, which was great because I had to be at the clinic an hour anyway for the glucose to run thru my system.

I went back down to the lab to see the nurse to get her blood sample. She seemed to be in a better mood this time, which I am thankful for because she did an excellent job sticking me! I'll find out the results tomorrow. Today I am 26 weeks, and 1 day pregnant, or in my 27th week. Where did this second trimester go?

Great Comic Strip

This comic strip seems to have a lot of foreshadowing in it for some reason... :P~ I've got the link to the online archive for this comic in the links list on the right....

Happy New Year!

Well, the new year has officially begun. It's back to work and back to preparations, which, my facebook countdown so constantly reminds me....is less than 102 days away now. What in the world are we going to do with a baby? I know we'll be fine, and we'll figure it all out, but jeez....I still have moments where I feel like this hasn't really sunk in! These days, however, they're moments of anxiety instead of hours or days. It will all come, and I know we have lots of help if we have questions or concerns.

Speaking of having it sink in....it seems as though those maternity jeans and comfy pants that I so naively thought I'd never fill out are getting to fit better and better....even though my doc says I haven't gained a lot of weight, I'm starting to feel a bit like an apple with arms and legs. My first day back at work after the holiday break gave me a little lesson in Peanut growth....I sat down at my desk and scooted into my favorite work position to get the day started, only to find out that I couldn't scoot in under my desk all the way in as I am used to. And as I jockeyed around for a position that was similar enough to pacify me, Peanut decided to start taking target practice with those little feet at the underside of my desk. He/she is preparing me for having a toddler well in that I can never go long without pausing to observe what he/she is up to! I've been noticing, too, that my mobility as far as picking something off the floor from a seated position isn't as easy as it used to be, and rolling over in bed takes some thought. I'm a little over a week from starting my third trimester....this should only get more fun from here! :P

OB Appointment #5

Another visit with the doctor today. It was a pretty standard visit...weight, blood pressure, bathroom target practice... I coaxed Dan to go with me today. The day before I had called the doctor to see if there was anything that we could safely do to help us determine what little Peanut was hiding. She said that if the pregnancy keeps progressing as well as it has been, there will be no reason for more ultrasounds for medical purposes. She also let me know of another patient who wanted to know badly for planning purposes too....this other patient had been having problems and had been in for three ultrasounds...each time the baby refused to give up the goods....sometimes, I guess it's just meant to be a surprise. She recommended a place we could go, if we end up deciding to, that does what they call 'recreational ultrasounds.' They offer all the fancy 3d and 4d stuff for albums, videos for keepsakes, etc, etc....they also offer simple, 2d ultrasounds for updated viewing of the Peanut if that's what's preferred. The jury is still out with us on this one. We aren't sure if this is some sort of test where we're supposed to leave well enough alone or what. Honestly, I've felt like Peanut is a girl for awhile...but recently I go back and forth, thinking sometimes it may be a boy....so that doesn't help much at all. :P I also have a couple of friends who have generously offered to have us scanned by either themselves or another friend that's a doctor. Boys' names seem to be harder for us to agree on than girls' names, so we'll see how this all plays out.

Today's heartbeat was again a steady 154 BPM. From now on, the doctor will measure me with a tape measure from pubic bone to rib cage to see how Peanut is growing that way. I asked her why she thought I wasn't popping OUT like so many other pregnant women I see with the cute basketball bellies. She explained that I seem to have a long torso, and that my uterus is tilted back. Long torso's give the baby more room to fill before they pop out, and a tilted uterus provides the Peanut with better shots to my bladder, spine, and intestines for kickboxing practice....wonderful. *chuckle* So even though I'm not as "popped out" as I thought I should be, I measure within the normal range for someone 6 months pregnant.

Here ends the monthly appointments! Now I will get to go see my doctor every 2 weeks. Time seems to be flying by more quickly these days. And now, I am caught up with my posting of major events and appointments past, I can post about more things as they happen, instead of from the notes in my day planner.

Merry Christmas, Mom & Dad!!

Peanut may be a stinker, take regular kickboxing classes in the morning and evenings, and be using my bladder for target practice, but I have to admire his/her sense of grand-scheme timing. Today, the day after Christmas (so he/she's a day late...who's counting?), the baby becomes viable. This means should anything happen to me or the pregnancy, the baby can survive with intensive care and has a good chance of growing up normally. What a great Christmas gift!

20 Week Ultrasound Pictures

Here we see Peanut facing the camera, sucking that left thumb and waving the right at us. Just hanging out in his/her own little club house. If you look closely you can see both halves of the brain, the eye cavities, nasal cavity, and the little bones in the arms. Who knew these ultrasounds were going to be such great lessons in anatomy?

Here's looking down on the top of Peanut's head. You can see the ghost image of the left hand fingers curling around as he/she sucks the thumb (on the left side of the head). The bump you see at the top of the circle is Peanut's little ear.

Here's a shot of Peanut's left fist as he/she is sucking on the thumb. The profile of the face is deeper than the level the ultrasound snapshot was taken at this moment in time. The white blur under the little fist is his/her cheek and temple.