Violet awake while Daddy Sleeps

Young Miss Violet is ever so smiley and active. And then I turn the camera on. Here she (eventually) mugs for the camera while her daddy sleeps. Watch for the baby sign language for milk at the end. I swear she's doing it already (she's very advanced!)

Violet stands on her own two feet

May I welcome to the world Violet Phoebe Lord Owens, little girl born 4:11pm EST, 5lb 3oz to mother Kama Lord and father Martin Owens.

Congratulations to mother who did wonderfully and mother and baby are now enjoying a well earned rest.

Out! Out!

Is that my Sprog off in the middle distance?

More than ready! Assembled the cosleeper for good today. Had pineapple for breakfast and spicy pasta sauce for lunch. Tried sex and will be trying again before the night is out. I've standed, danced, bounced on the birth ball. We even tried bribery (every tried to bribe a womb-bound Sprog?) I want this baby out!

I think I'm ready

I had a feeling tonight things would be happening soon. I've been irritable and the baby is low. So I packed the bags while eating constantly (really hungry tonight and blood sugar is weirdly on the low side), tidying the dining table and watching 'Columbo.'

Finally couldn't do any more than just go to bed so texted Spouse, who was out for his regular Sunday Geek night, that we really needed to finish reading The BFG so I could have the baby. The goal was to read the entire book out loud before the birth and we were so close to the end. He raced home (even after I assured him I was not in labour) and the book is now finished.

I also feel less labour-y. Still, I think we're ready. Any time now.

Full Term

I'm 37 weeks today! That's full term, baby, and boy does it feel like it. I've even had cramping today, which I'm sure means nothing other than my body trying to psych me out. I'll probably go for three more weeks. Although at least I know I won't go past October 29th (the due date the OB's office is using) as I've already been informed I'll be induced after 40 weeks.

Work has been so much better already this week. New Guy started on Sunday and has already been doing most of the jobs the students haven't taken. He's even starting on video post-production workflow which means we can knock things out on time for a change! Hell, it actually gives me time to do some of the video too so we can have two work stations going at once. I'm also nearly finished my documentation, not that anyone has looked at it (I know as they told me so in a meeting today.) Hopefully they'll get a chance to review it before I leave in case there are any glaring omissions. And if there are, oh well, I tried.

So, let this be the final countdown

(sorry, I couldn't help myself. I'm a child of the '80s)

36, 37, 40, HIKE!

I am, going by the early due date, at 36 weeks today. This means, as I explained to my boss yesterday, that I am full term next week. Poor Boss Man. both of his children were premature, the latest one coming at 32 weeks. He has no idea how long a pregnancy is supposed to last or really what goes on at the end. I explained that full term is 37 weeks, as in before then they will usually try to stop labor if it comes, but after that the baby can come at any time. The due date is at 40 weeks and between 37 and 40 there is usually still some more growth, but everything is already fully formed and there is generally no need for any intervention or intensive care for a birth during those three weeks. But now that he knows I'm s close he wishes that I had scheduled my leave sooner (the sooner I take it though the sooner I have to come back at the end) and he's paranoid that I'm going to go into some horrible active labor and give birth walking to the office from the T in the morning. On the plus side, he's at least taking my annoyance at having to do so much work to heart now!

So, work. Yeah. I'm ready to go. Boss Man has had a lot of issues at home himself and has had to be out a lot, including all of last week and this week. I'm only just getting my student workers up to speed and the replacement position that was supposed to be filled September 15th is still in the hiring phase. I've been waddling along trying to do AV jobs (and I don't know how women with toddlers or childcare workers cope with being pregnant while running after little ones) and getting more and more irritated which has not been doing me any favours. Sprog is actively upset when I am stressed and I found that if I am too active then I start having Braxton Hicks contractions. Fun! This led to some arguing with Boss Man a couple weeks ago as well. But this week I got a bit of a reprieve with a temp coming in and HR helping with interviews for the interim position. Yay!

34 weeks, 2 days. Just proving
I sometimes get dressed

On the homefront, I've been trying my best to nest, but it's really just not coming. The closest was the need last week to season all the cast iron pans in the house. I have, however, managed to get some cooking done for the freezer. I made two huge pots of chili this weekend so we have four big meals of chili available. The week before I did a big batch of garlic "meat"balls that are in bags in there too. We have a good amount of sausages, plus lots of rice and dried beans. I think stocking up on tinned tomatoes and Heinz beans will be a help, plus I plan on making a vindaloo base to have in there - just add meat, veg, paneer there's a very large block of paneer already there.) If we can manage to get some things that will keep like root vegetables and some frozen veg (although we still have 2 large bags of green beans in the freezer) then I think we'll be able to throw things together fairly easily once Sprog arrives and we're too tired to cook. ow, if only I could get it together to make those crib sheets.

In medical news, we went for another ultrasound today. It's at the point of weekly OB appointments and alternating weeks of non-stress tests or ultrasounds. Sprog is measuring small again, about 5lb 5oz, but the margin of error is 14oz so it's not the most accurate. The OB appointment is tomorrow and I get the group B strep swab then.

Yesterday we had an initial consult at the pediatrics office. I was fairly impressed and liked how they were straight-forward, even when I asked about the justification for a hep B vaccine at birth when mother is negative and has been vaccinated (she said it's because newborns are a good target but there's no medical reason.) I assured her we weren't anti-vaccine or medicine, we just anted to really only have things that were necessary. On that front we also asked about antibiotics and how often they're prescribed (we do not want them unless actually warranted, as in don't give them for a virus!) and treatment of and possible avoidance of allergies since I have one drug allergy and Spouse has some food allergies. All went well and I'm glad we were both able to be there, even if we were both lacking sleep.

So, that's all the news for now. Rather a large update but it has been a while since I posted. With things coming up so fast I do hope to get a couple more posts in before the birth, but who knows. Let's try for some short ones, shall we?

Bedding!

Quickie tonight. No, we're not going to keep the baby in the kitchen but it was convenient to set things up. The new cotton mattress and wool pad for the co-sleeper arrived today. It adds enough height so that there's not a big lip to lift the baby over and sprog will be level with our bed. Now we just need some sheets and we'll be all set! Well, on the bed front at least.

Restless Leg

I'm up yet again with restless leg. This time I thought I'd do something slightly productive and blog while I rock on the exercise ball. This will probably be a quick post as I'm not quite so sharp when I wake in the middle of the night.

It's hard to believe that I have only six weeks left until Sprog goes from residing inside to outside. I'm not ready. We have everything we really need but I'm just not prepared to have an actual baby yet. I don't suppose one is ever prepared for a first child though. We haven't even decided on a name!

In terms of baby, all seems to be going well. I'm measuring right on schedule and there's plenty of movement. We've started weekly non-stress tests when I go in, lie down and get hooked up to monitors that track foetal heartbeat and movement. After a headache/blood pressure scare last week they decided to start me on this early. The headache turned out to be due to a stiff neck and the blood pressure is fine (our home monitor may be off) but I was told to ALWAYS call if I have a headache that doesn't respond to the piddling medication I can give it. We'll have another ultrasound in a couple weeks and after that it's pretty much just wait for baby to arrive at any time.

That's it for now. Next time I may talk about work, but it has been so busy/frustrating lately that I really don't even want to think about it right now.

Sorry for not posting

It's felt like there's really been nothing new, but now that it's been two, nearly three weeks, I guess it's time to play catch-up.

"Thugs" dressing the stunt dummy

I've been working on a short movie with a friend about a pregnant superhero. While the shooting schedule has been dragging (and that is partially my fault), it has been fun. The first scene we shot, a scene where I beat up two muggers, has so far taken the longest. It was also done outside on a hot day so not exactly comfortable. However, I got to work with one of my favourite "regulars" from Steve's pool of actors so that was a lot of fun. Generally I'm not in front of the camera so this was a really different way to work with these people.

The next scene we did was the costuming scene, which was done after work in my living room. Again I got to work with a friend which made things really comfortable and fun. Last night we knocked out three scenes with superhero's boyfriend/husband (it's not really clear in the script) and they went really well and really fast! The last scene we shot, the first one in the script, takes place in bed and I think Spouse was more comfortable with that when we got him to man the boom mic so he was observing the whole, not at all sexual scene. All-in-all, some good stuff was shot.

Unfortunately, some of the positions I got myself into to make the shots work were not really comfortable on a pregnant belly. I pretty much spent the rest of the night in pain. Spouse asked if he should cancel his plans and stay home with me but I didn't feel like there was any emergency situation looming so sent him out. I feel better today so clearly I just need to stretch out and moan for a few hours.

Me, mom, friend from high school(!), Spouse

I notice I haven't blogged about baby showers yet either. There have been two so far. The first was up in Vermont, hosted by my mom. The shower itself was not a surprise but the guest list was. LOTS of gifties (including big things like car seat, co-sleeper and massive cloth diaper starter kit), food and swimming and generally a good time had by all.

Party number two was at work. This one was supposed to be a surprise but I knew about it a couple weeks in advance. I did my best to keep my knowing a secret but was unable to look suitably surprised when I got there. It didn't help that Spouse showed up and came to my office first. I had to remind him that it was supposed to be a surprise and he didn't seem at all shocked that I already knew. That party was fun too, especially getting the hand decorated onsies from the student workers. The Union Jack and computer ones were particularly appropriate. Party number three is upcoming and promises to be a blast.

Medical appointments are more frequent now. We've had yet another ultrasound and Sprog has moved up to 60th percentile, which the doctor was very pleased about. I have an appointment in two weeks and then will start weekly non-stress tests to monitor movement and heartbeat. This is routine but it will take a good chunk of time out of my days.

Right, that's enough blather I think. In spite of saying how I felt better, I have actually felt a bit under the weather generally this weekend so plan to spend some more time in bed (I actually had a rather long nap in the middle of writing this post) so I can be ready and rarin' to go for another week.

Week 30

I am at 30 weeks today! It seems like I'm smaller than I should be, but the belly is definitely out there. For comparison, here is Week 14:

And now week 30

Week 27, Day 4

Picture heavy post today.
I'd like to say this was a great week, but it certainly didn't start out that way! On Monday I had an end of day meeting at work in a warm room that just got warmer as the meeting went on. The day was actually quite clement so I though just having the window open would be fine, but no. I ended up turning on the AC and standing over the vent for the last half hour. After the meeting I ran off to my chiropractor appointment which involved a wait for the B line in unairconditioned, packed Park Street station. By the time I crammed into the train I was ready to faint, not that the two seated men I was standing (swaying) in front of noticed. Fortunately, a woman a little further down the train did notice and as soon as it emptied out enough for either of us to move she gave me her seat (thank you random stranger!)

So suffice it to say I don't do well in heat.

After the chiro I went to buy some veggie hot dogs. Sprog is craving trashy food again and I really wanted chili-cheese dogs even though I was still feeling a bit ill. There was half a tube of Gimme Lean "beef" still in the refrigerator at home with which I could make chili too. Bad idea. It had been in there a little long I'd say. So on top of feeling faint and nauseous from heat, I ended up giving myself a bit of food poisoning to boot!

The following day I had an appointment at the hospital with the endocrinologist and decided to just go home after that to sleep more and recover rather than try to go to work. Things went well at the hospital and they want me to follow up in three weeks. I told her I'd make an appointment after seeing my OB. I'm still checking my blood sugar, but given there are no other indicators of GD, I'm still skeptical of their diagnosis.

The rest of the week was rather uneventful. I'm gearing up for making a short movie with a friend in August. Next week we'll be running through the fight scene (yes, fight scene!) and we need to schedule read throughs of other scenes as well.

And speaking of performance, Spouse and I had the pleasure of joining our friends Walter Sicker and the Army of Broken Toys last night at The Middle East Downstairs. In addition to music, Walter is also a wonderful visual artist and I insisted that he decorate my belly for the show. He did a lovely portrait of us for his Inkdrip series last year as well that I bought Spouse for our last anniversary. While this is not the first time he's worked on skin, it's the first pregnant belly he's done and I think it turned out lovely.

I only wish I had a picture of the full outfit as I felt rather lovely myself. Unfortunately I can't seem to work the camera on my phone very well at 1:00am so I'll have to wait for Spouse to go through his and ask him to upload one. He looked quite dapper himself in bespoke suit and Christies bowler. With luck we'll see some nice pictures of us from the actual show as well.

That's all for now. Do enjoy your weekend! I'll leave you with this photo taken from the audience last night by our friend Randy.

Trimester

Makeup post

While I did take my picture last week (left,) I never did get around to posting it. The week was somewhat tough for me as I've been rather angry about some medical issues. I was diagnosed wit gestational diabetes and sent to see a nurse, dietitian and endocrinologist at the hospital. The nurse was okay, the dietitian good but I really didn't like the endocrinologist.

In my research I have found that different doctors use different parts of the scale to set our maximum blood sugar. Many, see 100 as a max fasting number, but mine says 90. 91-93 is FAR too high for her. This is not the only problem I have with her (much more is based on manner, such as grabbing and poking at my hands and feet without asking or saying what she was doing,) and after my next appointment on Tuesday I don't know if I'll see her again. Their office is only open Tuesdays 8:30-12 and the following week I have a morning OB appointment across town. I will talk instead with my OB, who I like and trust (not patronizing for one) and see if we can come to a good plan.

So other than changing my diet to low carb other things we've done is go in for an anatomy ultrasound. All organs present and correct! Sprog is on the small side though (the exact opposite of what's expected with GD) but still within normal range. We got some great views of the face, which took a bit as there was a lot of squirming going on in there. A very cute yawn and lip smacking happened though, which made us both melt.

In spite of the small size, sprog has moved up. Mobility is a bit of an issue for things such as getting out of taxis, or even off the couch. There has been a great deal of kicking going on this week too. Nothing hurts or is weird places like my ribs but there sure is a lot of activity! That and how wonderfully pregnant I look now is just thrilling. Every time I catch my reflection I just smile. We're going to have a baby!

Whoops!

I forgot to post my Saturday picture! Actually, I forgot to take the Saturday picture, so here is Sunday, before the pin curls came out.

Yesterday we had the second of our natural childbirth classes at Isis Parenting in Boston. I have to say, the class was better than expected. I felt like we learned a lot of strategies for getting through labour and that we both really have a plan now. JaLynn, the doula teaching the class was knowledgeable, funny and really personable. I highly recommend classes there if she's the standard of in instructor they get. If she did her doula work in this area, I'd hire her for that too in a heartbeat!

We also got a chance both weeks to browse around the Isis shop as well. We both loved the exercise balls in the class so much that we bought two for home. They're great as a computer chair or leg rest! One nice thing I've found as well is that sitting on one and hulaing my hips helps when I have RLS at night too. One thing we looked at but didn't buy was a baby carrier. Instead I decided to try and make a sling myself. I've actually blogged that separately over at my main blog urban earth mother.

This week I am determined to do something about my hand numbness. JaLynn said it was carpel tunnel so I'm going to call Harvard Square Shiatsu and see if they can get me in this week to work on it. In the mean time I have splints for both wrists that I'm trying to wear as much as possible.

I feel a bit like Robo-Girl with them on, but they are helping make typing less uncomfortable. Now if only they came in fashion colors...

And on a final note, speaking of fashion Fleur De Guerre's post on Maximum Glamour really hit home for me. I've been using the excuse of being uncomfortable pregnant in the summer to look rather frumpy lately. While I do wear lippy every day (and yes, I fully intent to give birth in red lipstick), my hair has been either in braids or a bun for far too long. Sunday some solid Victory Rolls made their return appearance to my head (with an encore at work today) and I really noticed a difference in how I felt. So while I am clearly a hippy at heart in terms of many of the parenting decisions we're making (co-sleeper, cloth nappies, breast milk for at least a year (hopefully longer), baby wearing) that little extra bit of glamour makes all the difference in how I feel about me. Shallow? Perhaps a bit, but you try being a bloated whale in July and you'll look for a little boost where you can.

Week 23, Day 4

Kick, kick, kickity kick! The wee one isn't kicking much but I'm starting to feel it from the outside. Things haven't been timed right yet for Spouse to feel it, but I'm sure he will soon.

Tomorrow we have our first of two, six-hour childbirth classes. I finally downloaded the "class materials" (schedule and reading list mainly) and don't actually have high hopes. Maybe I already know too much? Best case is the Spouse and I will be on the same page with things and he can help me out during labour.

My next OB appointment is on Tuesday afternoon. In the morning I go in for a glucose tolerance test before work, checking for gestational diabetes. While I'm certainly swollen, I think that test will come out normal like all the others have.

I will probably do another video on Tuesday. It may just be another day-in-the-life, but hopefully I can get something more interesting done instead.

Week 22, Day 4

Week in review

On Monday I returned to the doctor's office to see to the annoying allergic rash from hell. They had no idea what it might be but did prescribe me a stronger steroid cream which seems to be finally working.

Spouse, aka Minister of Output, said he wants to cloth diaper. He's even willing to make the nappies himself if I can find a pattern.

My chiropractor no longer thinks it's a pinched nerve. I'm getting all nice and loose in the shoulders but still have numb fingers. My next step is to try shiatsu.

I broke down and had a new bra fitting at Intimacy. Having the fitting really helped as all three bras I bought were different sizes. She put me in ones that were a little large so there's room to grow and I can wear them for the rest of the pregnancy. Unfortunately, ready-made nursing bras seem like they're out of the question. She recommends coming in a month before I'm due for a fitting and then sending out a bra for a free alteration to a nursing bra. Yes, Virginia, you can get pretty nursing bras in jumbo sizes!

I've started reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out loud. I cant tell if Sprog is enjoying it, but Spouse seems to.

Saw where the Action will occur!

Yesterday's Week 21, Day 4 picture

First off, here's the picture from yesterday that I neglected to post. Not long after I took this, we set off on a tour of the maternity ward of Brigham and Women's hospital where I'll be delivering. I was the only one there not due this summer so there was certainly less urgency for us than for the other couples on the tour.

The tour began in the lobby near obstetrical admitting. We were informed of the admitting process and who can be there (mother, partner and one other person) as well as parking provisions. Not that either of us drive, but I'm sure we're in the minority in that.

From there we went on to labor and delivery to see one of the delivery rooms. They have 24 rooms, all private. Each room includes a hospital bed for the mother, a recliner for the partner, a rocking chair, various medical things like heated bed for newborn if needed, monitors, oxygen, etc. They can also bring in an exercise ball if you want to sit and labor on that. There's a shower and you can walk the halls or even have a light meal. Yes, all this can be yours, unless you have an epidural. With an epidural there is constant fetal monitoring, no getting up and no food, only clear liquid (and I doubt they mean gin.) Yet one more check on the natural childbirth side for me!

After labor we saw a postpartum room for lying in. Generally one stays for 48 hours after vaginal birth and 96 after cesarean. There were a couple of babies in the nursery as well, so we got to peek at some fresh ones. You have the option to have your baby in your room with you the whole time though, which s good. There is also a recliner for partners to sleep on. Visiting hours are in the afternoon but they caution that visitors are going to keep you up and you really need to rest. Usually you can work out a signal with the nurse to come in and kick people out if you're uncomfortable doing it yourself.

Apart from that it was just nice to hear things like the encouragement of breast feeding, especially immediately following birth. They encourage skin-to-skin as well unless some medical intervention is actually needed. There are also free breastfeeding and bathing classes each day. Oh, and wireless ;) Because some of us are tied to our online lives too.

"Fun" with pregnancy

For a while now I've had circulation problems in my hands and arms, generally when I'm in bed. Last week I had a massage hoping to deal with the now permanent numbness in my right middle finger, but that didn't help. I was very tight in my neck and she suggested cold packs. Well, I decided to try my old chiropractor instead.

Meanwhile, I developed a rash on my feet that has since spread to my hands as well. I went in to urgent care for that yesterday and was prescribed a hydrocortizone cream and advised to take Claritin, which is apparently safe during pregnancy. The rash looks a lot like an allergic reaction, but I couldn't think to what.

This evening I had my chiropractor appointment and we may have nailed down the rash as well as the ultimate cause of the numbness (go, Dr. Gurvitz!) She got a similar rash with her last pregnancy and it turns out she was allergic to her over-the-counter prenatal vitamin. I had been taking the same prenatal vitamin for over a year but recently bought a different brand when I ran out. I'm going to stop taking vitamins for a week while using the steroid cream and antihistamine and see how that goes. After tat I will go back on my OLD, tried and true Harvest Co-op brand vitamins and toss the poncy things I bought at Whole Paycheck.

As for the numbness she does think its a pinched nerve and possibly caused by fluid retention. She did a small adjustment today and a lot of muscle work and I'm going to have a few follow-ups just to loosen things. As for what to do about the fluid retention, I have no idea. I know it comes with the territory when pregnant, but all I expected was to have tight shoes! Who knew I cold pinch a nerve too?

Week 20, Day 4

Welcome to the Saturday picture update. The big news since last post is that I finally felt a real kick last night! Several in fact. We were in bed and I had set my book down and settled on to my front (it helps my restless leg so I'm lying that way while I still can.) After a few minutes I felt a little thing almost like a gas bubble. Then I felt another.

Spouse was still reading so I turned and told him about it. He's a bit jealous that it's something he'll never feel (a body moving inside) but we were both giddy-happy about it. It shouldn't be too long before it can be felt from the outside without pressing on it too.

Week 20

Today is the beginning of week 20, the official halfway mark in the fuzzy math of pregnancy. I had my monthly appointment today too. Spouse had planned to come with me this time but begged off due to lack of sleep. The following video probably would have been more interesting with a second person in it, but instead you'll have to deal with my enormous head.

Week 19, Day 4

So as you can see, almost 20 weeks along, and I will post for that momentous, halfway point, and I still can't use my damned digital camera when I get up. Why the hell is the flash on anyway? And the replacement picture below isn't much better.

Why is my mouth open like that? Didn't I know I was taking a picture?

We got our new bed this week. It's very high off the floor and takes up most of the bedroom. The cat is having fun exploring it ‒ climbing on the headboard, checking out the space underneath, walking rather than jumping on the bed from the bookcase ‒ and we are enjoying the new mattress.

As I snuggled back into bed today after popping some muffins in the oven, I pictured our life as three: me getting up for muffins while Spouse snuggles in bed with the wee one. Ah! domesticity!

Scans

We went to the hospital for more ultrasounds on Tuesday. Everything looked good and the sprog was very active, almost camera shy. They offered to tell us the sex but we have opted to find out upon arrival. Here's the wee one at week 19

baby's got sole

little crossed ankles. Feet were very restless (RSL like mum perhaps?)

Profile, face up, head on left

Another profile

Week 18

So here we are at week 18. I may end up changing the numbering again as I have another hospital ultrasound on Tuesday. The last one put the due date at October 25, which would technically make this Week 18, Day 4. If that date is again confirmed, I'll still do Saturday pictures just with updated titling.

I'm not the only thing growing in our home. Last Saturday I bought and planted basil seeds in our seed sprouter apparatus. The packets said 7-14 days to sprout but they started peaking up a couple of days ago. We get direct sunlight only in the living room and all other attempts at non-houseplants have failed (and the houseplants are clinging on for dear life), still, I thought I'd be optimistic and try some herbs again this year. It would be nice to have some fresh things that I've grown. I may try sneaking them out onto the little ledge thing outside our bedroom window where the buildings connect (hard to describe but I'll take a picture if I do it.) They could then be outside, even though there's not a ton of direct light, yet still easily accessible for eating.

And speaking of eating!

My darling Spouse dashed out this morning while I was making breakfast and came home with this lovely thing from our local bakery, Sweet Tooth. On Thursday he'd asked me not to buy cheesecake if I was going shopping on Friday, a rather random request, but one I took to mean he would be coming home with a nice big slice from Sweet Tooth for me on Friday. Well Friday comes and I decide not to go grocery shopping but to just come home and relax. He follows close behind with a pink bag from next door what does not have any cheese cake in it! Horrors! Yet little did I know...

And custom made too!

He had ordered this I think two weeks ago. Having never special ordered anything form them before, he thought it would be nice to try it out and get something for me. That is one HUGE cheesecake! The thing must weigh over five pounds! Fortunately I'm saved from eating the whole thing myself, not that I wouldn't make a valiant effort and try, but hosting our co-op dinner group tomorrow. I think even that ravenous bunch won't make too much of a dent in it though. But we'll have fun trying!

Thank you, my lovely husband.

Belly Power!

I FINALLY got a seat on the T today due to the Power of the Belly! Nobody offered me their seat (of course) but when one opened up another woman and I both went for it. Her eyes darted down to my midriff and she conceded the seat to me. To be polite I offered it back (she had been closer) but she declined and moved down the car in search of another seat. BELLY POWER!

Week 17

Someday I'll learn how to take a mirror shot that isn't blurry. This is not that day.

I've been enjoying how round my belly has been getting lately. My weight hasn't gone up much (nine pounds since conception) but I'm really starting to fill out. I've been warned that in five months I'll just be sick of it, but for now I'm going to enjoy every curve.

The Quickening (not the 'Highlander' sequel) has not occurred yet. I am starting to get some indigestion (not full-on "heartburn" which I've only had once in my life) so I may end up mistaking first movement with gas, which I hear is common. I can actually feel my uterus now when I press down on my belly. So while much of this roundness is all me (thanks to my new found obsession with cheesecake) I do have evidence of something else in there!

Spouse's Centidiemversary post the other day was very sweet. We have found new ways to be in love with each other since this pregnancy. It has brought us closer together and has somehow made our relationship feel more "real." I don't mean that it takes children to complete a marriage as I simply don't believe that's true. A childless (or child-free if you prefer) life can be wonderful. It's one I envisioned for myself :) But this has, for us, been a very good thing. Spouse was meant to be a father. While people tell me I'll be a great mother, I feel a bit like I'm going along for the ride. I'd like to be a great pregnant lady for now and hopefully that will translate into fair to middling motherhood down the line. But with parents as full of love as we are, I think the kid has a good chance.

I love xkcd

Romantic Deimversery 1600

It's been 1600 days since we got married in this apartment. A fantastic amount of time, but what does this have to do with sprog?

Well I believe it's important that we can continue to be romantically involved throughout the pregnancy and while bringing up our new child. This is important to not only remind each other why we stay together and reinforce our love for each other, but I think it will provide a good example to sprog as they grow up.

So here is to our 1600 days celebration!

Week 16

Pin curls today. Keeping them in while I tidy. Spouse should be back from the Great White North today too! Hooray! (and yes, that's why I set my hair)

Routine Appointment Today

This morning I went for my monthly OB appointment. I finally got the results of the First Look test too which was odds of 1:2300 of abnormality. Very good odds indeed! I'm inclined to not risk an amnio with results like that. There's another hospital ultrasound I need in three weeks though so we've scheduled that as well. No in-room ultrasound at today's appointment, but I did get to hear the heart beat! I teared up, of course, but I've been crying about everything lately so that's no news.

Yesterday I left work early with a headache. The headache itself wasn't so bad but I got extremely light-sensitive and a bit nauseous. I checked with the doctor today on what I can take and Tylenol is okay in that it won't harm the baby. Apparently this is normal as my cardiovascular system is trying to adjust to new demands and headaches can be a side effect (I imagine that's where fainting comes in too.) I felt better after lying down with my eyes covered with a scarf for an hour (and 2 pills, swallowed, not covering my eyes) and then a little nap. I was still a little out of sorts last evening though. This morning, in spite of all the sleep I felt hung over and was glad I gave myself plenty of time to get ready.

So, that's all the news for today. I'm missing spouse terribly and now have to send him pictures of me since there are none of the sprog to send out.

Happy (American) Mother's Day

Since people are telling me that gestation counts, today is my first Mother's Day. Happy day to all the other mothers out there (and mothers of fur babies always count to me.) Spouse would rather we celebrate the UK Mother's Day which is the fourth Sunday in Lent, but in my head I'm sure I'll be counting this one to. Besides, I call my mother on this day so I'm bound to get at least one "Happy Mother's Day" in May.

I took the opportunity to celebrate today by sleeping in while I still can, eating leftover curry for breakfast and not planning a thing until I'd finished the book I was reading. O! sloth! But now I'm really up and at 'em, as it were. Dressed in my finest gigantic maternity shirt, hair set, barefoot and pregnant. I am ready to tackle the dishes!

This week promises to be a cleaning week. I ordered our new bed yesterday, the floating platform bed with bookcase headboard from Bedworks, and need to really clean the bedroom before it arrives. I'd hoped to get it before Spouse returned from the Libre Graphics Meeting in Montreal, but apparently the bed is made t order so may take two weeks if they haven't got the parts prepped in the warehouse. This gives me more time to procrastinate which is NOT what I need!

Speaking of procrastination, this was just meant to be a very quick update. There's a sink full of dishes calling out to me so I'd better get cracking!

Since I did take the picture but neglected to post it yesterday, here is the 15 week picture, complete with bow tie.

Hard to top that last post

Spouse's post made me weep. Right now I feel more pregnant when he is around rubbing my belly. I'm in that lull stage of the second trimester. Morning sickness has gone, I'm feeling much less tired (not actually falling asleep at my desk!), but the second trimester ardor increase hasn't quite gotten there yet and I can't yet feel the sprog moving. The only way I know I'm pregnant is to see my increasing size and through others' reactions.

Seeing my love's reaction every time he sees my growing belly, by breasts, my tears at nothing brings an unfathomable amount of joy to my heart. Every smile from him convinces me I made the right decision — in becoming pregnant, in marrying him, in taking the chance to start our relationship at all. And I know he'll be a wonderful father. He has too much love in him not to be.

That Warm Feeling

Do other fathers-to-be get that feeling when looking at the mother-to-be which makes you just want to put your arms around them? It's like some involuntary action that whilst I'm gawping at the absolutely amazing idea of your child growing inside someone, I'm also feeling many new ways to be in love with the mother.

My wife.

It's not a bad feeling either, I don't resist it or care to. I just feel really good when I'm near and being attentive. I'm also getting larger pleasure rewards from doing things, almost everything I do just feels better. It's probably all biological, but it's interesting experiencing it instead of trying to understand the rather simplistic typical advice:

"Everything changes when you have a child"

Yes, I'm sure it does. Now how about some actual explaining words? Hopefully my above explanation is enough to document my own experiences thus far.

Week 14

I'm not seeing much of a difference in these morning photos. It's odd since when I'm dressed it really is starting to show. The thought occurs that a bra is needed to really differentiate things.

So here I am in my "bump" shirt. By the end of the day, when I'm all fed and bloated, I look about 5 months. I am going to be HUGE!

Week 13

Week 12

Well it's week twelve now and we're nearly through the first trimester. Monday is the First Look. I'm getting a bit scared about it. Everything will most likely be fine but I'm still nervous. I really really want this to go well.

On a more positive front, baby went to it's first concert last night. Our friends Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys were in the Rock and Roll Rumble (a Boston battle of the bands) semi-finals. I missed their first show in the contest as it was on a weekday and there's no way I could stay up late and get to work the next day. Even on a Friday I was struggling. I rested some when I got home after my section and even napped a bit in the cab on the way over, but an 11:00 set time was hard. I perked up A LOT during their set though and it was really fantastic (the still lost but that's just due to poor judgment as they clearly rocked everyone's world).

I told three more friends (two band, one bunny) and the reaction was great. Meff was so excited you'd have though it was her's! So I think I've been forgiven for being absent from shows for a while. I can't wait to be able to go to one being fully, openly pregnant. And with luck the OB will say concert decibels will be okay. We need a crazy, scenester, rockin' babe.

Week 11

Man, what a crap week I had! Nothing to do with pregnancy (except not being able to drown my anger in whiskey and gin) but having too tight clothes, exhaustion and the like on top of work didn't help.

Today is the beginning of a new week (gestation-wise) so I'm happy to start fresh now.

It's (still) alive. And kicking too!

I had my first OB visit today. He was surprised and a bit concerned that we've told people already. He warned me that the results of the First Look might be quite bad and then how do we announce we've terminated the pregnancy. Something to consider, yes, but I do like knowing I have a local support network in case something bad does happen. He also cautioned against committing to an amnio until the results of the first look are in. He said the risks of that might outweigh any knowledge gained. So here's hopping the first look comes out 1:1500 or some other highly unlikely to be Downs number.

On the positive front, Sprog was jumping all over the place when he did an ultrasound look! He could see a heartbeat as well, although I wasn't able to make that out. It looked more bean-like now than shrimptastic. No longer the treif sprog :)

On clothing, I bought a new bra to get me through the next few months. I went up a band size and a cup size! The cups fit over Spouse's head! My regular clothes shopping was a bit of a bust (hee hee! Bust!) Everything was expensive, ugly, too small or some combination of the three. I ended up ordering a couple of plaid shirts from Motherhood Maternity online instead, paying about half of what just one shirt would cost at the way too expensive A Pea in a Pod. Amusingly though, I assembled a Steampunk outfit there out of cropped cargo pants, a military-look jacket and shirt, all in shades of brown/olive. If I knew a whole bunch of women that wanted to kit out Steampunk for pregnancy so we could share it, I totally would have bought the lot! Of course with a vintage dress waiting for me to make, I shouldn't be thinking about pre-fab crap.

That's the update for today. Have a lovely week!

Week 10

I don't look that much bigger this week but I really am starting to need maternity clothes. All my shirts but one are riding up.

First appointment with my OB is Tuesday. I think it's just like a checkup. More on that after it happens.

There's really not much else to say this week. Ten weeks down, thirty to go!

Week 9

It's the beginning of week 9 and not much has changed. I'm still tired a lot, but the nausea has reduced. Lots of stuff from the hospital has come in, including forms to fill out, although it seems a little early for some of them (you want me to say now who I want in delivery with me?) At this point I'm still just trying to focus on short term things: First Look test at 12 weeks, getting a new bed, resizing the maternity dress pattern so I can make it.

Here's a picture from this morning.

Most of that is just the vast tracts of me, but there is a bit of baby starting to come through as well.