15 Weeks Pregnant Today!

And what a day it has been so far: Raining out, sniffles, bad sleep, flat tire... I won't bore you with the details, I'll just say I'd rather be at home with my girl. It's the sort of day when you want to curl up on the couch and watch Sound of Music. It's been years since I've wanted to watch it, but I may just have to stop at Blockbuster on the way home.

I think it was the ghastly flower perfume in one of the company restrooms that made me want to watch it, because for some reason it got that Edelweis song stuck in my head. (I hope I spelled it correctly, I don't feel like looking it up. My German and Austrian ancestors may be scorning me right now, but they'll have to deal with it. I switched the V for a W, so that must count for something.)

I shouldn't have taken a lunch break, I'm losing the little bit of momentum that I had. And this afternoon I'll be busy with the non-stop fun of organizational chart creation. Yippee.

United Way Campaign Starts Today

I'm on the campaign committee for my company's first ever United Way campaign, which starts today. It's fun stuff, but there's a lot to do. So for the next week or so, I'll probably be a bit absent. Just imagine me with my slightly-showing belly, handing out fake money with executives' pictures on it, dressing up to trick-or-treat for pledge cards, making balloon animals at the carnival, and scooping chili at the chili cook-off. I'm going to be one busy prego. And when I'm not at work, I'll be asleep. I guarantee you.

In other news: I munched my way through three orders of vegetarian sushi (dont worry, they know I'm pregnant and were very careful) for dinner last night, and still wanted more. Good grief!

Getting Spoiled

I'm turning into such a weekend slug. I spent most of this weekend on the couch re-reading (for the Xth time) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I've got a whole shelf full of brain candy reading materials, and I think I've read them all at least once in the past 3.5 months. Not that I'm complaining, of course, but I do wonder just how much of a shock I'm setting myself up for when Skippy arrives.

Alright, I suppose I should admit that I'm about as active as my body will let me be. I'm so busy during the week that on the weekends I really need to just rest. I'd love to do all sorts of great baby-preparation projects on the weekends. Instead, it's all I can do to prepare the baby. Sure, it's no small task creating a life form. But still.

Twitch to the Left! Twitch to the Right!

OK, so how long will it feel like someone is digging in my belly button at random times of the day? The twinges and stretches on the side quadrants are no big deal. And the ones below I'm learning to deal with. But come on now... As an adult, I do understand that my belly button is not directly connected to the baby's by way of the cord, as I once thought.

So what gives? Why should the expansion of my uterus make it feel like someone is stretching a rubberband that's tied to its backside? Can I look forward to this ending any time soon, or should I just get over it?

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

14 weeks, one day.

As of today, my belly is now the foremost portion of my body when I stand regularly. Wow!

I've been put back on Prometrium supplements (although only 100mg/day, not 300mg) so hopefully that will put a damper on my pre-post-partum depression. I know my sherpa will be happy about that! On the other hand, my recently calmed sense of smell may kick in again, and I can only hope that my newly expanded menu posibilities don't become limited again. The adventure just keeps going, and on Monday I get to call my OB to set up the rest of my appointments!

Here's a Post

I'm feeling pretty blah this evening, so I'm afraid you won't be getting my usual high-energy banter. The good news is that I have energy during the days again, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to last until evening, and lately I find that I get home just in time to turn to mush. It must be because the supplemental hormones are fading out of my system. It's like having a mini post-partum depression.

On the up side, Mombi takes good care of me. She puts me to bed when I get home, then wakes me up a couple hours later with food and Breyers coffee flavor ice cream. She reminds me that tears help my body shed toxins, and doesn't push me to "be happy" when I don't want to be. She's the best. As a reward, I've granted her total creative freedom on Skippy's room. It only seems fair, since I totally took over decorating the rest of the place when we moved in here in May!

Tomorrow I get the results of today's 7:15 am blood draw, and I'll know if I am released from care with the fertility specialist. If I am, I get to call and set up my first appointment with the doctor I believe will be my OB. It's a bit bittersweet, since I've become so attached to the folks at my RE's office, but I know we'll keep in touch. I'm not planning to take anyone off my "people to brag to about Skippy" list for quite a while.

Yay, Family!

As of Friday, Skippy had the following:

2 cloth diapers
2 onesies
1 soft rattle
1 water temperature ducky
1 giraffe picture

On Saturday, I went to visit my brother and my sister in law, and they gave Skippy a crib, a car seat, and a bunch of other stuff that their three girls no longer need. She also has a lot of girl clothes, so if Skippy is a girl, she will be set! Now we just need to get Skippy's room cleared out of all the other junk so that we can start setting it up. How exciting!

On Sunday, my mom took Skippy and me maternity shopping. It was so much fun! I swear, I haven't had this many new clothes at one time since I was a baby myself. I even got a maternity swimsuit so I can use the indoor pool! Now I just need to ration my new clothes so that they don't all enter my regular wardrobe circulation at the same time. It shouldn't be too hard, since some of them definitely look like empty sacks on me right now. But they won't for long!

I'm Not Faking It!

Yesterday I realized that I can no longer look flat stomached when I "suck it in." Cool! I, like many women, celebrated pregnancy as an excuse to not try so hard to keep the belly looking flat. How fabulous to know that it isn't just a choice any more, that I really do have a little pregnancy belly starting.

Of course, Mombi says I've had one for a while now. I don't know how much has been baby and how much has been pregnancy gas. I guess it all counts as pregnant belly, though!

Well, This is a Surprise!

No, it's not really as exciting as the title makes it sound, but I have to share with you a fabulous phenomenon that I've been experiencing since I got pregnant. No smell. No, I don't mean that I can't smell anything. I mean that I haven't needed deodorant since week 4 or so. Crazy, no? I don't know which hormone is controling my underarms right now, but I hope it isn't one of the prescribed ones, because I'd be sorry to see this little benefit go when I stop taking Prometrium and "the Estradol one" this weekend.

In other good news, it looks like I didn't have a virus last week, so I don't need to worry that I made anyone sick by trying to go to work that way. The bad news is that I made this discovery by having the same symptoms again starting last night, and now I'm pretty sure that it's food poisoning caused by beef sticks I had in my fridge. Needless to say, they are no longer there. Just in case it wasn't the beef sticks, though, I've decided to start keeping a food journal. Hopefully it will help me to track what I can and can't eat these days. It really doesn't help that the rules seem to change from day to day, either! In any case, it's another busy day at work today, so I'm just going to have to deal with it and try to stay hydrated better this time around.



Oh yeah, and we had a sonogram yesterday! And no, that's not a boy part you see. We've got at least a month until we'll be able to see (or not see) that. Skippy was moving around and stretching like mad. The nurse and tech said we might need to get a baby-sized Lazy-Boy!


I tell ya, there's a major fringe benefit that comes from using a fertility doctor... they do lots of ultrasounds to make sure that everything is perfect! Most people these days only get one or maybe two during their entire pregnancy, but I've been getting them every two weeks.

Of course, that's only true through next week, when I'll be released from care with Dr. V and will start seeing my regular OB. I have no idea what her policy is. I think I want to get one of those doplar listening things, because I can't imagine not being able to "check in" with Skippy as regularly as we have been. I get worried as it is, I can't imagine going months without seeing Skippy bouncing and swimming around in there!

What counts as dehydrated?

OK, so I had a virus or something at the end of last week (mainly Thursday and Friday) and I guess I got dehydrated, because I've been pretty lethargic and very thirsty since then. I did the little test where you pinch the skin on the back of your hand to see if it goes back down quickly, and according to that I'm fine, but I read that if I get too dehydrated, Skippy's swimming pool could get too small and cause deformities because s/he won't have room to stretch out while bones are forming.

I called my RE's office this morning, but I haven't heard back yet. What do you think I should do? I don't want to go to the hospital if they're just going to tell me to drink more sports drinks. My belly feels over-full with liquid as it is! My mouth is still dry, though, and it's got me worried.

Anyone else experience something like this?

Sherpa Games

Sherpa Game Number 1: While your pregnant partner is sleeping, heat up some yummy-smelling food. See how long it takes her to wake up and come out to see if she can have some. The clock starts from whenever you can first smell it while in the kitchen. Who ever can lure out the pregnant woman fastest wins.

Sherpa Game Number 2: Same as above, but this time you're going for stealth. See if you can make her food that smells good and get it to her room before she wakes up. Note: it doesn't count if she's awake in bed, trying to will you to bring the food to her. She has to be asleep when you cross the threshold.

Thank You, Sherpa!

(First, a call out to Lesbian Dad, who coined the use of this term for supportive partners of pregnant women. Well done!)

My lovely Mombi is off on her first middle-of-the-night supermarket raid, in search of Breyer's brand coffee ice cream, crunchy cheetos, and the makings of barbeque sandwiches, complete with coleslaw, which she loathes. I'm camped out on the couch, watching Mirrormask and awaiting her victorious return.

The most brilliant part is that it was all her idea. Ah... now that's love.

Holy Crud, I'm Pregnant!

I swear, just when I think I've gotten used to the idea, it hits me all over again. I was reading in the tub last night when I glanced down and realized (as if for the first time) that there is a tiny kiddo bobbing around in there. I don't think I'll ever really truly get used to it.

I'll go for days feeling like pregnancy is the normal state of things, that it's normal for me to lean back in my chair at work with my hand on my belly, for me to constantly be snacking or thinking about snacking, for my sleep to come a few hours at a time with 15 minute segments of total altertness throughout the night.

But then I'll be cruising along, just going with the pregnant flow, and suddenly it's there... I'm pregnant. I'm really actually pregnant. Mombi and I are finally going to be moms. We did it. It's happening.

The realization sensation is very much like the process of coming out of the closet. For those of you who have experienced one or the other, you now have an insight to the "other side" that few posess. I remember the first time I kissed a girl. Sure, I'd theoretically known that I would. I knew that I thought that I wanted to. But to know that I'd actually kissed a GIRL... In a way, I think it surprised me just as much as it could surprise anyone else!

That same surprise will still hit me at other times, but in a different way. When I'm totally content and happy just hanging out at home with Mombi, I'll suddenly remember that some people would be totally scandalized just by seeing us sitting on the couch together. Some people are so weird. How can this not be a normal and natural way for us to be?

And now we're going to have a baby. What a wonderful world!

CAUTION: Subconscious Liberal Gunslinging

Some pregnant women dream that they're in a situation where they have to defend their child. Yep, I've had a couple of those, too. But last night I drempt that I somehow snuck into a fundraiser/speech featuring Goobus Maximus, our illustrious (here meaning "having no luster") leader, Mr. George Witless Bastard.

Ooh, and I got him good. During the open discussion period, I used all those bland generic comments that his writers love so much (because he can't mess them up, and because no one can proove later that he meant one thing or the other.) He held me up for the audience as a fine example of American youth and intelligence and "the next generation of independent thinkers working for the good of the people."

Then, I expanded on those points, in the direction I believe they should be expanded. It felt so good to see that "I'm not sure but I think this could be very bad for me" face staring dumbly back at me, while behind him his constituancy involuntarily nodded their heads to what I'd said.

Oh yeah, I'm ready to be a parent. And the first thing I want to do is to put that brainless jerk (and the folks doing the steering) into a nice long time out.

Feeling Good! Just a Fluke, or could it be...

I'm nearing the end of the first trimester. My energy is finally picking back up, and although I'm still having problems with getting woozious when I'm hungry and bloated and gassy when I'm full, I'm doing pretty well!

I finally gave in and got some gas relief tablets from Kroger, and WOW do they help! I wish I'd known about these years ago. I never really believed that they could help, but they really do! So all you ladies out there who are dealing with too much pressure in the baby-cabin, try it! So far, it's even keeping me from having any heartburn.

Of course, it could also be that I'm finally figuring out what I can and can't eat right now... but I'm guessing that's not it, because I had chicken tandoori (spicy indian food with chicken and spinach) and string cheese for lunch, and my two big probem food types have been spicy stuff and milk products.

I still look like a girl with a pooch rather than a girl with a baby pouch, but I'm getting closer. I went ahead and bought my first pair of maternity jeans, and although they feel very loose around the belly when I'm not full of gas, they feel much much better than my pre-pregnancy jeans. I don't think I'll even attempt those again until a couple months after the baby is born.

This weekend my big plan is to catch up on laundry, since I've been too tired to do it, and Mombi has been busy feeding me. It's a bit frustrating to look at those huge mounds of dirty clothes and to know that half of them won't be wearable after I wash them anyway. It's enough to make a girl wish she had a storage facility closet to just hide it all in. Has anyone invented disposable clothing yet? I usually don't use anything disposable, but right now, you could count me in!

The Agony of Complete Satisfaction

I am so full. I am so full of good food that I won't even bother adding the extra "o"s at the end of "so" to try to express it. Today I got to participate in a panel at a food tasting to decide on what food will be served at my company's Holiday party, and I ate WAY too much. But oh, was it good... An hour later, I'm still making happy groaning sounds. It's cracking Mombi up. She's quickly coming to understand, though, because I had them box up what I couldn't finish so she could have it for dinner. (Hehe, she just hummed as she ate. She's so cute!)

I've been at a loss for what to eat lately because my digestion is so wacky, but let me tell you, everything they served hit the spot. We're talking two full four course meals and two full size desserts, here. Yes. That's right. Now you come to understand the seriousness of my situation. It's a good thing I just had graham crackers and water up until then today, or my eyes might have popped out. I went from looking like two months pregnant to looking like four months pregnant over the course of an hour and a half!

Week 11 Sonogram

Today we are 10 weeks and 5 days pregnant!

Here are some pictures from our sonogram this morning. As you can see, Jif has disappeared in the mysterious way that twins sometimes do. Apparently, Jif decided that s/he wasn’t getting enough attention as part of a set, and preferred to wait until next time around.

Skippy, on the other hand, is enjoying the new space by dancing all over the place. It was hard to get good pictures because of all the wiggling going on in there. What an amazing thing to watch, though! We’re a bit bummed not to be having twins, of course, but we’re totally thrilled by how well Skippy is doing. We’re very happy and excited about our new family!

Dreams Tell All

I haven't posted any dreams lately because they've gotten weirder, longer, and more disjointed. At this point, most of my dreams would take at least four screens to describe, and you'd probably give up halfway through because they would make no sense anyway. They didn't even make sense while I was dreaming them. So, here in no particular order I present to you some selections and synopses of some of the dreams I've been having. Feel free to post any suggested meanings or insights!

I'm at the home of a couple of genius mountain goats who own an art/architecture bookstore. Their home is out in the middle of a field, built inside an old semi trailer. As I'm being led through to the living room, I step on the wrong spot on their raised dining room and the whole thing starts to shift like a precariously balanced rock. The next thing I know, I'm surfing across their bookshelves, which are sliding everywhere, with their dining room floor as a surfboard. My friends (who work in the bookstore) appologize profusely to the goats for my lack of grace, and assure them that they had no idea that I wasn't capable of watching where I put my feet.

I'm in a hotel with a bunch of other college students (no, I'm not still in college in real life) for some sort of spring break conference or event. We're getting ready to meet friends, when the cat I'm petting out by the pool suddenly starts talking as if channeling spirits. Very strange. So we try to find our friend's room, only to discover that the floors seem to have changed around on us. The next thing we know, we're in the middle of a series of freaky interactions with "spirits" of some sort. We're battling our way through hallways, rooms, and lobbies, growing less incredulous moment by moment, until at last we're in this one room when we hear yet another voice coming from nowhere, saying something or other. When I finally get my breath back from battling invisible force fields to get into the room, I realize that the voice is actually addressing each of us. For example, "Stephen, you're such a cool and calm leader. Leaders like Stephen use X anti-perspirant for when the heat is really on. It helps a leader stay cool." Eventually we all realize that the voice is not taunting us, but trying to sell products to us. Out of the restroom comes one of the people in our team who had been "lost to the underworld" somewhere along the way, modeling an argyle sweater... The man who provided the "voice" walked next to him. After describing the sweater, he explained that we were some of the first people in the world to experience the radical new technology of interactive advertising. Everyone who stayed in the hotel would be subjected to some variation of the maze we'd been led through.

I'm helping out serving food at the wedding of some unidentified extended family member. My mom asks me if I'd be willing to distribute the ice cream. Sure, no problem, I think. Yeah. Problem. She hands me a half gallon plastic tub of some sort of three flavor swirl ice cream, and a plastic spoon. There are at least 30 people sitting at the table watching me, waiting for their ice cream. There's no way I'll be able to serve them each more than a tablespoon and still have enough to serve everyone, and they don't have any spoons or bowls or anything. I need supplies and a plan. What follows is a bit too painful to describe, but involves a lot of melted ice cream and grumpy/frustrated guests.

Mombi and I and our 9 mo old child are living in an old psychiactric hospital that we've purchased to remodel into a home. The only down side is that the former (psychotic) residents haunt the place, and they want us out. Whenever they feel our skin make contact with part of the buliding, any spirits that were close enough to sense it try to get rid of us by turning into corporeal giant spiders that spit toxic sludge at us. The good news is that we were all still alive and unharmed when I woke up.

I get caught messing around at summer camp when I'm supposed to be paying attention to a field trip presentation on how the gears on stage curtain lifters work. I explain that I already know, that I figured it out, and that I could probably build one myself if I wanted to. The teacher/guide is pissed, much the way most teachers are when they realize that you already know what they are supposed to be teaching you. So as "punishment" he assigns me to do just that, and points to a huge pile of spare parts. I think the intention was to make me back down on my statement that I already knew how they worked. It totally backfired, though, when I got all excited and wanted to get started right then, while the other students were still sitting there listening to a lecture. So I ended up getting to spend my evenings (presumably for the whole summer) climbing around on riggings up in the ceiling of a massive theater. Awesome!

Ginger is Good for Morning Sickness

But try to mix it up with other stuff, it's very strong. I was practically living on it for a week or so. I stopped when I couldn't stand the sight or smell of anything ginger any more, but I've been having stomach pains for the past week or so. Now I'm afraid I may have burned the lining of my stomach!

Moving slow

Today I don't feel pregnant. Today I feel like a pot-bellied zombie turtle.