Fifth OB Appointment

Rather uneventful and spent most of it waiting.

They took my blood for the glucose screening. I drank the orange glucose drink an hour beforehand and rather liked the drink although my friend had said it was nasty. (I tend to like sweets.) I thought it tasted like an orange popsicle or those orange drinks they used to have at McDonald’s. (Really brings back “Field Day” memories from elementary school!) The drink did make me feel somewhat nauseous afterwards. I should get the results sometime next week. If it comes back abnormal, I’ll have to return for a three hour glucose tolerance test, which doesn’t sound like fun. Cross your fingers!

This time, I had the nurse practitioner. She asked me how I felt and if I had any questions. Apparently, I have only gained 2 pounds since my last monthly appointment, so this makes me very happy. Perhaps my weight IS leveling! (She said I looked great too — yay!)

She measured my fundus and I’m now on target — again, good news considering I was measuring two weeks ahead last time. She commented on my lack of stretch marks and said my belly was very soft, and I told her I had been using shea butter, which my sister swears by. My sister also claims that our family doesn’t get stretch marks, so maybe it’s true.

Then we listened to the baby’s heartbeat — a beautiful sound! — and it was strong again at around 143-148 bpm. Little bugger wasn’t swishing around this time, so she was able to get a lock on it.

Now I start going in every two weeks. I’ve told the hub not to bother accompanying me anymore until I start going weekly because I think they’re a waste of time for him since the last few were uneventful and was spent mostly waiting.

Twenty-Eight Weeks

I am really getting sick of all the “big” comments. Yes, I know I’m BIG — I’m surrounded by mirrors, so is there really a need to tell me how BIG I am? Yes, I know I look pregnant — I’ve known it for the past six months! I think the pregnancy clothes give it away, don’t you think? I will only get bigger as I go into my last trimester and as my patience wanes, I will probably say something really mean to you the next time you mention how BIG I am. My piece of advice is don’t comment on a pregnant woman’s appearance other than to say she looks GOOD, CUTE, or GORGEOUS. (And if I ever made “big” comment to anyone in the past, I apologize profusely.)

Things are still chugging along from last week. I still feel pretty good and have been able to continue my fitness classes, which I’m happy about. Although today I noticed that my belly has grown quite a bit since Monday and I wonder if it’s the indulgences of the last few days (a nice dinner out, desserts, Chipotle, burger and fries …) .

I asked my acupuncturist about the pain in the left side of back and he said it’s might be my uterus being pushed back there by the baby. I also wailed to him about my weight, but he said it’s all about how you carry. He told me his wife gained 55 pounds and lost it all. (I’ve seen her, he’s not lying to me.) I spoke to my sister this week and I suppose it really is all hereditary because it sounds like my pregnancy is similar to hers. The swelling, quick weight gain, bloating. I told her how much I had gained thus far and she said, “Only? Oh, that’s not bad.” Now I fear I’ll catch up to her in the last trimester!

A Little Too Soon?

My mother-in-law has a habit of cornering me and giving me unsolicited advice about the baby. She likes to reference her one friend’s daughter-in-law who just had a child even though I have a sister with three children, a brother with two, and a large circle of friends with babies born within the past year.

For example, “So-and-so said this book is really good.” Uh-huh, sure, except it looks like it’s from 1970.

So, I think the advice I get from these people are a little more helpful than the one person she knows.

Yesterday, the baby had been sticking his foot in my right side again, so I was rubbing that area and trying to poke him back to place. My mother-in-law told me to “stop bothering him”! It’s my son, dammit, I can do what I want!

Then she asked me if we had purchased a crib yet. I said no, but I thought we might get one from Wal-Mart or Target. She told me that the one friend had a nice crib and she really liked it. I said, “That’s fine, but we’re different.” She said, “Maybe you should spent a little more on a crib.” I told her $200 or $500 didn’t make a difference as long as the crib passed safety standards. She said, “Well, aren’t you going to have a second child? Don’t you want one another one?”

The first one hasn’t even arrived yet and she’s talking about a second one?!

Twenty-Seven Weeks

Note to self: Don’t look at the Victoria’s Secret catalog at any stage of your pregnancy.

Those in my prenatal yoga class haven’t been very talkative until recently, towards the end of our session. Some of the women are due while we’re on break before the next session and we all wished them luck. It’s been interesting to see how our bodies have changed in the past several weeks. One woman is in her 20th week and came in just as she passed her 13th week. I think she looks the same! On the other hand, another woman who’s at the same stage definitely looks pregnant. One woman is one week behind me and has a tiny pooch in comparison, but I noticed her hips have widened. My friend who is a month ahead also doesn’t have a big belly like I do, but is wider. However, our symptoms are all fairly similar. We had an interesting discussion about pregnancy brain (it’s proven and we all have it!) — comparing stories on spacing out.

Since we are all first-time mothers, our yoga instructor took some time to impart some wisdom on us. She has four boys, including a set of twins. She said that no one talks about this, but it’s important to know: the husband sometimes gets jealous of the baby. I was a little shocked by this! She was speaking from personal experience and then discussing this with her girl friends years later when the kids were older. She said husbands can get jealous that their wives no longer have time for them and that they have to compete for the wives’ attentions. She also said that the husbands have to learn to be self-sufficient and it’s hard on them. She did say to let husbands learn from their own mistakes. So, if they put the diaper on wrong — don’t yell — just let them learn.

So’s Your Face

Dear General Public,

Yes, Know-it-all Parents, I understand that you think you have so much more knowledge because you have a child or two. But realize, we are different people.

Don’t tell me that just because you did this when you were pregnant, so I should be able to also. Maybe I just don’t want to. Don’t tell me how easy I have it now that the baby’s inside of me. You were pregnant once. You remember how shocking it was to the system? Pregnancies are never easy, so don’t downplay it. And, please, don’t tell me your labor horror stories, or how your pregnancy was with each of your children — right down to what kind of poop they had. I don’t care. I’ve heard hundreds of your stories like yours — what makes you think I want to hear one more? This is why people sell and read books with these stories.

I have no delusions of being a parent. I understand the long days and nights, the sleep deprivation, the upheaval, and that life will change. Please don’t remind me in that patronizing way. It’s not like I’ve never been around babies. I have spent many a days taking care of nephews and nieces — this is probably why it took me so long to start my own family. No matter how much warning you give me, it all goes out the window when it’s real time because I will have to figure out how to deal my way with my baby. Just like pregnancies, all babies are different.

And, if you’re a man, don’t lecture me on making preparations about going back to work. I said I’ll see how I feel. Maybe I’ll want to get away a few times a week from the kid. Maybe I’ll be so torn, I won’t be able to go back. I can’t say right now. So don’t tell me to think carefully and plan it all because you know better than I do, that you can’t always plan your life. Don’t tell me that if I choose to stay home or work part-time, I’ll never be able to go back to work full-time. Maybe that’s your wife. But you don’t know me or how I’ll feel.

To the loser last night at the cafe who wouldn’t move his fat ass from his chair, so I could get out of the restroom even though your friend kept saying, “She’s pregnant.” and I said to you, “I’m pregnant, I think I’ll need more room than that.” — you’re lucky that I was so appalled by your behavior that it didn’t occur to me until later that I should have yelled at you like a banshee and punched you in the face.

And don’t tell me how big I look when you’ve never had a child. And if you’ve had one, you know better than to say that to a pregnant woman.

The Many Good Uses of a Baby Belly

• When lying down, a good cup holder.
• When standing or sitting, a good arm rest.
• If stopped by the police for speeding, good excuse to get out of a ticket by feigning need to pee. (This hasn’t happened to me, but I imagine it’s a good excuse.)
• Tops that used to be tight and displayed a flabby middle can now be worn and look good showing off taught baby belly.
• Good excuse to get out of meetings by grabbing belly and saying, “Ooh, the baby’s kicking… I need to leave.” And waddle out holding your back.
• Eating two scones or a box of chocolates are for the belly, not me.
• Stick your belly in people’s faces to give up their seats.
• Declaring foot massages a necessity because of the baby belly.
• When you don’t get your way, just clutch the belly and yell, “Oooh, the baby!”

Twenty-Six Weeks

The coworker who is obsessed with my weight asked me the other day how much weight I had gained. I told her I didn’t think that was a question to ask any pregnant person. Then she asked, “Are you overweight? Did your doctor tell you if you have gained too much?” What kind of question is that? I told her my doctor didn’t seem concerned and it was none of her business. (Yes, I work with a lot of strange people. But that’s a total other blog to start.)

So far, I’m still feeling pretty good although I was very tired on Saturday, which I now attribute to lack of water. We went to Ikea to look at cribs and I promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home (like our baby will soon) and napped for the entire afternoon. I could tell that I hadn’t had enough water because I could barely take off my wedding band.

Sleep has never been the same since I found out I was pregnant as I was suddenly struck with insomnia, waking up every two hours and also having to pee. Well, now the new problem is that if I want to change sides to sleep on, it’s a major chore. I can’t just flip over like I used to. I actually have to hoist my body up and move over, then get comfortable, and try to fall back asleep (which is hard when there’s a snoring hub beside me). Sometimes I’ll get very sore on one side and refuse to flip over until it’s unbearable. I guess this doesn’t help with the aches and pains.

I’m pretty sure I don’t have sciatica — although I’ve heard it thrown around to explain back pain for pregnant women. I used to get sciatica pre-pregnancy from running and this feels different. It happens when I bend forward, such as to pick up something. The left part of my buttock near my spine just really hurts. It’s not a shooting pain, but more like a long ache. (This must be what it feels like to be really old.) I haven’t figured out what causes it and what I can do to make it better other than getting the hub to massage it.

Standards

My sister, who has three boys, came to visit a year or so ago and left me three boxes of baby things that she didn’t need anymore. I didn’t look into the boxes until this past weekend.

Now, there were definitely some things that screamed “90s,” such as a baby carrier since she had her first child in ‘98. But there were other things that screamed almost 70s-80s, and I wondered where the heck she got this stuff from. More importantly, she told me she had weeded through the things before packing them for me and I think her version of “gently used” and “attractive” are quite different from mine.

Twenty-Five Weeks

It’s hard to believe that I’m three weeks away from starting my third trimester and I have done NOTHING to prepare. I read that pregnant women get the nesting bug in the second trimester. I’ve definitely got it, but it hasn’t helped me be productive in terms of preparing at all. (Although I started knitting baby socks… I think that might count for something.)

In the pains and aches category, I’ve actually started to feel better after a low period. For awhile, I had been suffering from this strange back ache on the left side of my back while at work. So I have positioned my chair and keyboard sideways to the right, and haven’t had the aches since. The swelling hasn’t been as bad as previous weeks and I’ve been making a conscious effort to drink more water to help combat it.

My energy’s been better this past week where I actually feel good and normal. I also finished a somewhat complicated programming project yesterday (albeit a couple of brain farts). However, I picked up an unfinished knitting project that I had left awhile back and started it again last night, hoping to finish by the end of the evening. Well, a few knits in, I realized that I royally messed up by knitting inside out and have to basically take the thing apart. I guess I can only complete one project a day now with my pregnancy brain.

Fourth OB Appointment

I had my monthly check up last week. It was pretty uneventful — kinda like last time. I was weighed (I’ve reached another atrocious number). The doctor came in and asked how I was feeling. I told her about the swelling and she didn’t seem too concerned — just said to drink plenty of water and try to move around during the day. I told her I was concerned about the weight gain and she measured the belly and said I’m measuring at about 26 weeks, but nothing to be concerned about. She said the weight usually levels off. That’s what they told me last time and I don’t see any “leveling”!

We took a listen to the heart beat and she had a hard time getting a lock on it because the baby kept moving! “He moves a lot!” she said. I couldn’t feel him moving and the doctor said I will eventually when he gets bigger. I hope he’s not hyper…

The doctor said I’m on target and everything looks good. At the next appointment, I get tested for gestational diabetes. I find it strange that they told me I don’t have to fast prior to the test. What if I have pasta — wouldn’t that throw it all off? They gave me the glucose soda to drink ahead of my appointment. The hub, who loves soda, asked me if he could have a taste.