11.10.09

I woke up this morning to Nick telling me "I dreamt I was holding our baby... now I know what she looks like!" Isn't that precious. I just wish I was more awake to properly respond. He is the type of person who, upon waking up, is 100% awake/alert/ready to chat. I, on the other hand, am still deep in sleep and can only conjur up a grunt in recognition that he is talking, and talking to me.

Anyway, today was BABY DAY. Nick is off for the week, and I was off for the day. After this 7:00 a.m. conversation (one-sided conversation), I fell back asleep until 9:00 a.m., because why not sleep in on your day off? For serious.

We met up with Jackie for lunch, then were off to IKEA for baby furniture. Yay! We walked away with a crib, a dresser, and about $250 of other (non-baby) crap. How did that happen? Don't ask... let's just say, if each shopper gets his or her own cart, then he or she will be more inclined to, say, fill that cart. Is all I'm saying.

Then, on the way home from IKEA, I spotted a store called Buy Buy Baby. Never heard of it before, it was kind of like a Bed Bath & Beyond except all baby-related, obvs. Anyway, Nick pulls into the parking lot, and I turned my head to see the "Expecting Mothers" parking spot, and even though it was only two spaces closer than our spot, I actually made Nick pull out of the spot and back up in the parking lot and park in the "Expecting Mothers" spot. And thus snapped a pic to commemorate. Wahoo!

Upon studying the picture immediately after it was snapped (we all do it, don't front!), I commented "Wow, my face is getting chubby, cool!" to which Nick grabbed the phone, glanced at it, and said "This is how you always look." Errrrrr. KTHXBY.

Oh! And we also stopped at Lowe's and picked up some mini paint samples (love those) and painted some swatches in the baby room. I think we're going for a purpley mauvey color. With white furniture (my wish list), Nick's input was that the walls should be a darker color. I really lobbied for white furniture (as opposed to the really dark stuff Nick liked) so it was a compromise I was willing to make. I think it'll turn out nicely. I also fancy this light fixture:

What do you think of it? Can you picture it in a baby room? I think it's cute... and girly :)

Okay, well this mama best get herself to sleep. Work in the morning. It was a really nice day off (my last vacation day of the year... save for a 1/2 day I'm using later this week to help paint the baby room!) and I loved spending it with my mister. Now off to dreamland so I can meet our baby like Nick did last night. :)

P.S. Nick says she has dark hair. Hmm...

I Did It!

So guys... BIG DAY for me. Honestly, huge day for me.

I got a shot, and not only did I not faint, not throw up, I didn't even really flinch or have an episode or anything! I truly consider this a miracle of miracles, I haven't had a shot in about 12 years. I have never had a flu shot, not because I'm anti flu shot, but because of my needle phobia.

And I was going back and forth over the H1N1... did I want to be a guinea pig? Was it really safe? Yadda yadda. I talked with people (or spouses of the people... to get their spouse's opinion) I know who work in the health care field (RN (x2), NP, PA) and 3 out of 4 of them were going to get it. And I tried to read info from the web on the subject. Do you know if you read something on the web, it is true? :P

So the only articles and sites I read that indicated any skepticism were from people like me. Non-doctors. Which, I know doctors aren't Gods. Far from it. But I never read a truly convincing piece from a medical professional that said "DON'T GET IT". So I got it. And I survived it. Go me.

Few Things

I had my first contraction this weekend. We were staying at my parent's house, and sleeping in a divine bed (any bed that is not my bed is divine... even a couch... HATE would be the word that comes to mind when I think about my bed... but I digress... and use even more ellipses...) and I woke up in the middle of the night. Now, normally I wouldn't share this kind of detail... and to tell you the truth, I'm still just half-committed to telling you this detail as I continue to write these sentences. Okay, okay, I give in. I was having a dream... not a terribly risque dream, per se, but in this dream... I was doing things that create babies. OMG there I said it. I honest-to-God have never had a dream where I was having sex. It was a first. So I woke up, and put my hand on my stomach instinctively, and it was as hard as a rock. I was like "huh... this is probably a contraction" and went back to bed. You know, I had to get back to that dream! J/K!! I didn't really do anything, I didn't get up out of bed or anything, just felt the really tight tummy, had that one fleeting thought about it being a contraction, then went back to bed. I told my doctor about it today (leaving out the dream part... I mean, it's not like we're BFFs...) and she confirmed "Yup! That was a contraction!" WEIRD.

I also probed my doctor a bit about a 'typical' birth at U of M. I started reading this book (Your Best Birth) and while yes, I realize it is a fairly biased book, but I wanted to get some feedback on what a normal birth is like at the hospital I plan on delivering at. I am glad to hear that Pitocin is not an automatic/given, that my doctor has only done three episiotomies in her 20 years practicing, and I only have to be hooked up to monitors for 20 minutes every two hours. I was pretty stoked to hear I can have a pretty natural childbirth if that's what I choose to do. I don't have any illusions of knowing how it will go, how I will tolerate childbirth, whether I will want an epidural, whether there will be other complications that will necessitate a C-Section, but it's nice to know that if everything is progressing normally, then I can decide how I want things to go, for the most part. They have a couple of rooms with tubs in them, too, so a water birth is an option. I think the other big hospital in town has many more rooms with tubs.

Anyway, the last bit o'news at my doctor appt today is that they are not only out of H1N1 but out of the regular flu shot as well! So... even though I went in with a brave face (I haven't had a shot in, like, 15 years and was nervous as hell - I don't want to faint in front of Nick or my doctor), I left with all of my skin intact. I am expecting a call though when they get more in... and I guess I should start stalking other places that will be getting it.

That's it for now loves...

I Need To Post More Frequently

What's new? Hmmm. Roxanne tells me I need a new post, so here is a new post.

• Stretch marks on my belly. Boo. Yes, I use creams and lotions and vitamin gels. Not working. :(


• Maybe a baby moving around in me? Kinda cool! Except I am not really sure if it's a baby or a fart about to be born.


• Ultrasound in a few days - I'll get to see if we have boy-parts in me or girl-parts in me. Either way, isn't it weird to think I am growing a pee-pee or a vee-vee in me right now?


• When I am actually a parent, will I be one of those annoying ones who says "pee-pee" or "vee-vee"? I hope I just call a penis a penis. I think I will.


• H1N1. To get or not to get? I know it's just a flu shot (and I always want to spell flu "flue" when I'm typing it... every time, without fail) but I just hate that it's like seriously JUST released, like a week ago. Do I really want to be a lab rat for it? Still on the fence... I've talked to some people in the medical profession who are also divided on the issue. (NP, pregnant, getting it; RN, not pregnant, not getting it.)


• Today I got to see where nursing mom's pump their breast milk during work hours. It's literally a locker-room bench in the ladies bathroom, around the corner from the stalls, where there is a 1-stall shower in the bathroom. Why is there a shower at work? Anyway, this bench area is SOOOO NOT GLAMOROUS. They just put a lock on the door to this small area a month ago, THANK GOD. The whole area reminds me of a camp-ground bathroom... kind of mangy and has that damp shower smell. So gross.
• That's all for now folks! More later...

Maaaaaan!

After, like, a month of no puking, I up-chucked my breakfast at work today.

Not cool, belly, not cool.

In other news, today Nick came home from work and said "Honey! You look pregnant!" THANKSSSSSS. :P

I am O.K. with looking pregnant... I just want better clothes. I can't keep wearing my current pants not buttoned up. It's just -- not working out.

Hmmm... other news - ultrasound in a few weeks! I will post pics for sure. :)

A Quick Note on Food

I met with a nurse yesterday to get a ton of information on pregnancy. She advised me to stop eating food with artificial sweeteners. To me, this mostly means no more diet soda and no more "light" foods, such as yogurt, pudding, etc.

Oh! And she also told me to use real butter instead of the fake substitute, and olive oil, too. Olive oil is not anything new to me, but real butter!? Non-light yogurt!? These things taste so much better than the fakes, I am not having a problem whatsoever taking to this change.

I am not really embracing non-diet soda, I am just removing diet soda completely (caffeine free and caffeinated alike) and drinking other things. I really like Faygo naturally-flavored soda water (grapefruit flavored is my favorite) and of course lots and lots of water!

Five Things I Wasn’t Prepared For

1. Sense of Smell Overload!
Warning: any and all food that doesn’t sound appealing to eat at this very moment is going to smell dirty and rotten to my newly pregnant nose. This wasn’t the case in the past… if I wasn’t hungry, the smell of a hot dog didn’t make me want to hurl… I probably didn’t even register a thought about it!
Now, especially at work where the smells are much less under my control, when a nearby coworker decides to heat up last night’s feast (feast used very loosely here) – the smell literally sends my stomach into somersaults.
Also offending my nasal passages – gas (the dog, the husband, my own) – feet – morning breath – the smell of dog in the house (not him personally, just the general “our house smells like dog” issue) – not freshly washed bodies – dirty clothes. All of these really and truly give my tummy aches. NOT FUN!
2. My Work Badge
Weird one here. I wear my work badge around my neck on a basic landyard thing. Nothing fancy. But when I walk, it swings against my body with every other step. I never ever noticed this in the past, I swear. But now, the tap-tap-tap on my stomach is really uncomfortable, and kind of makes me nauseous. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true! Now I have to hold my badge with one hand (with it still around my neck) when I am walking, or take it off altogether. But I kind of prefer to hold the badge (I promise, it doesn’t look too weird) as it gives me an excuse to put my hand up and somewhat obstruct my growing belly.
3. My Growing Belly
Now duh, I wasn’t thinking that this WASN’T going to happen… I guess I am just surprised that it happened so fast. And, I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t exactly sporting Heidi Klum type abs to begin with… my midsection has probably always been my most chubby area, so any additional weight to that area quickly made all of my pants obsolete. I had to resort to my loosest fitting pants just about every day, in order to avoid Muffin Top Galore at work…
4. The Gas
And really, I’m only talking about the grotesque type (exiting the body in a not-so-pleasant area) that was an issue for the first couple of weeks… I would let them rip like no other, when in the comfort of my own home, and within earshot of Nick. He got a kick out of it! I’m pretty sure I scared the dog a couple of times, too. I also had crazy gas in my upper stomach – I’m guessing the small intestine area? I have no idea. But in that area right underneath my breasts, by my ribcage, I was so bloated! You could tap the skin, and hear the hollowness echo back at you. It was bizarre.
5. The Morning Sickness
Again, no, I'm not stupid. I know that women get this... it's just that... I didn't have it for 2-2.5 weeks after I found out I was pregnant. I naively believed that if I didn't have it right away, I would never have it. I walked around smugly, saying to myself "those other women are babies, making up this morning sickness crap". Oh, silly silly Lindsay. Morning sickness hit me like a Mack Truck, just out of the blue one day, and hasn't really eased up yet.
Now, mine is of the "most of the day" variety, and is actually pretty mellow, if you don't count the actual throwing up incidents. I just generally feel nauseous, and the best word I can describe is "delicate". I feel as though if I were to do five jumping jacks, that I would display my lunch in a churned up manner all over the floor. Let's just leave it at that. I have no energy to work out, no appetite to eat healthy food, and no desire to do anything but lay on the couch when I get home from work. This has proved to be not so great in terms of keeping healthy, fit, and active in my first trimester, but I consider survival a feat in itself at this point.