Dear Junior,
Knowing that I tend to let things slip through my memory almost before they're even over, I decided I wanted to write a quick update on how this whole pregnancy thing is going. We're at 33 weeks and 5 days into the pregnancy today. Somehow it seems like the last almost 8 months has been forever - not in a bad way - just in an unexpected way. I thought 9 months would go by so quickly, but I keep waking up and seeing this ginormous belly and realizing that it hasn't been nine months yet. Your dad suggested that it's like waiting for Christmas or your birthday or summer break (if you're a student or teacher) - it just never seems to get here, and then suddenly it's gone. I suppose once you're a little creature that both of us can carry (instead of just me), we will both look back and think these 9 months went by crazy fast.
I want to tell you a story about me and your dad. I never was the type of girl who had googley-eyes over babies. In fact, for a very long time, I was convinced that I would never have children - by choice. Then I met your dad. In fact, I can tell you exactly when I realized I was in love with him: we were having a discussion about having children (we weren't even dating yet; he knew I didn't want kids, and I knew he did - so we both kind of thought that we couldn't possibly have a future together) and your dad said (I think this might actually be a direct, word-for-word quote): "I think being a dad will be the most important job I ever do." Yup, that exact moment was when my heart did a flip flop and I realized he was the guy for me. Now I just had to win him over - but that's another story entirely, that I'll share with you some day. But I still had this reluctance to have a child myself. Once your dad and I started dating, that reluctance faded away and we both knew that some day we would try to have a child (or children). And in fact now, only since being pregnant with you, I am googley-eyed over babies. Your dad makes fun of me because apparently now I make the noises about babies that I used to only make when I saw a sweet kitty or dog nearby. I clearly do not have a poker face whatsoever. Because he even recognizes the "look" when I see a baby (or dog/puppy or cat/kitten) and I don't even make a sound. This man who is your dad has completely changed my world view. And I like it.
The day of your birth is fast approaching. According to the standard western medicine way of guestimating birth dates, I should count 280 days since the start of my last period to come up with an estimated date of birth. This is approximately 40 weeks (or 9 months or 10 months of 4-week-months) and your estimated date of birth is April 3, 2012 (or 4/3/12 - which is easy to remember because 4x3=12). Most births that happen around 37 or 38 weeks are considered "term" - meaning that baby probably will not need any medical intervention or time in the NICU to be able to survive. Most mothers who are more than 40 weeks pregnant want to get it over with as soon as possible, and I think physicians are quite willing to start inducing labor at 41 or 42 weeks. I like to think that you will make it known when you are ready to come into this world and that you don't hold to that expected date of birth stuff. So I am not holding on to the 3rd of April as a deadline, per se. Your dad and I both just hope that you don't come any earlier than Saint Patrick's day because we probably won't be ready yet. I guess I don't know when I'll actually be ready - I'm truly excited and can't wait to meet you, but I still feel like this is so surreal. Also common in first-time parents, I understand.
Meanwhile, ever since entering the third trimester, I have been fairly grumpy. I am not complaining - because compared to other pregnancies I've heard about, mine has been ridiculously easy - I just want you to know what I've experienced as a pregnant lady (in case this blog lasts long enough for when/if you decide to have children some day - luckily we can have the blog printed into a book, so if the internet becomes a thing of the past, at least we have a record of this journal). I don't know if I talked much in the previous posts about how I've been feeling. I did not have the standard morning sickness that you hear is a staple of being pregnant. I did feel a bit out-of-sorts and only one time actually felt nausea, but I never vomited. So when the first trimester ended, I thought I was out of the woods for pregnancy symptoms (I actually hate using the word, symptoms, in regard to pregnancy - it's not an illness and symptoms are by definition of an illness - so instead I will use the word, signs...). But there are so many other signs of pregnancy that for some reason are not as well known until you join the ranks of pregnant ladies. In no particular order (and I have not experienced all of these, just a few): swelling of any and all body parts, serious hormonal mood swings, excessive saliva, bloody noses, heartburn, hemorrhoids, constipation, diarrhea, uncontrollable and inexplicable weeping, sore hips, sore back, sore feet, growing feet, skin color changes, very strong urges to change hairstyles (but don't do it - especially if you are swelling!), varicose veins, itchy skin, severe fatigue, and on and on.
Thank goodness I've only suffered from a few of these things (well, actually, now that your dad points it out, I actually have been dealing with most of them to some degree), the worst of which has been the heartburn - apparently as you (my sweet little alien) grow, my uterus pushes against both my stomach and my diaphragm. Because the diaphragm is being smooshed, I can't go up a flight of stairs without being completely winded by the time I get to the top. Because my stomach is being smooshed, the acid that is in my stomach is getting pushed up my esophagus, causing mild to severe discomfort pretty much any time I eat. I'm slowly learning to stop eating so much at one time (very hard because I have to admit that I'm a glutton and when there's good food it's really hard to stop eating even when I'm completely full). For a while I was living on Tums but they just weren't enough, so I finally was given permission by my physician to use Pepcid AC and Maalox. I'm trying not to take either regularly, but there are times when I just can't bear the feeling in my chest, so I have to give in and take some medicine. The worst times are when it keeps me up at night. I'm already getting up about 4 or 5 times in the night to pee, so I get really cranky when I lose even more sleep because of the heartburn. Again, this is nothing compared to some of the pregnancy horror stories I've heard, so I should count myself lucky, and for the most part I do. But sometimes I just feel grumpy - maybe due to the heartburn, maybe due to the lack of sleep, or maybe to do with my hormones going crazy.
We haven't taken many pictures of me since our vacation in Mexico. Partly because we haven't done anything that seemed picture-worthy and partly because I'm being vain and don't want my picture taken when my face is so swollen that you can't see my eyes when I smile. We did go to New York City a couple of weekends ago and I'm pretty sure your dad got some pictures of me, and even if my face is swollen, I guess I better put up some pictures to keep a proper log of the pregnancy... But I haven't taken any pictures since I got the haircut (I was speaking from experience when I said above that you should not change your hairstyle - I decided that after more than a decade without bangs it was time to have them again. And I was wrong. So it might be a while before I willingly have a picture taken of my face. Yup, vain). Anyway, here are some photos from NYC:
Meanwhile, you're down there kicking away. At first it was just little flutters (sadly I did not mark down on a calender when I first felt you - I'm not very good about keeping track of milestones like that. I guess I better get good at it since there will be so many milestones for you and I want to remember them - for you and for me!), then what were more like kicks and punches, and now I can look down and watch you doing your calisthenics in my belly. Makes me think of the first Alien movie (which I'm sure you will never see because by the time you're old enough to appreciate it, it will be ancient cinema that probably won't interest you - maybe I should try to find a youtube video of the scene I keep thinking about... nope - no such luck, after watching the scene, I really don't feel like that - but what a fantastic movie, but I digress). I think you mostly do your exercises when I'm still and quiet - particularly when I lay down to go to bed. At first the feeling of you kicking (or punching or just moving around in general) kind of freaked me out, but I've come to really enjoy the movement now. I also like that your dad can feel you moving. It's fun to giggle together when we both feel you doing some karate move down there. Also, feeling you move makes you all the more real to me, helping to make this experience a little less surreal.
Next Sunday the wonderful people of our community are throwing us a baby shower. I wasn't expecting to have a shower because we just moved here and none of our close friends and family are anywhere nearby, but apparently it is Deerfield tradition to have a shower for any faculty/staff that are having children. Another tradition that is really neat is that Deerfield has this plaque that's been around since the 1950's or 1960's that is like a family tree in that any couple who has their first child while working at Deerfield will have their child's name engraved in the plaque and will get to keep that plaque until the next first-born is born (or if the couple leaves the school, I guess). So we will be a part of Deerfield Academy history. Pretty cool. We don't know of any other expecting couples at the school right now, so who knows how long we'll get to keep the plaque.
One last thing for this post. We were taking a childbirth class called "The Bradley Method" or "husband-coached childbirth" up until this week. It was supposed to be a 12-week course, but we made it through only 5 weeks. It's kind of too bad, because I think the philosophy behind the class was good, but... I will let your dad write about that experience because he was more affected (read: stressed) by the class (instructor) than I was - although his stress definitely affected me, thus we decided that we need to try something different. So we might try a hypnobirthing/deep relaxation class that starts next week, or a different natural childbirth class that starts in two weeks.
That's it for now.
Love,
Mom
Knowing that I tend to let things slip through my memory almost before they're even over, I decided I wanted to write a quick update on how this whole pregnancy thing is going. We're at 33 weeks and 5 days into the pregnancy today. Somehow it seems like the last almost 8 months has been forever - not in a bad way - just in an unexpected way. I thought 9 months would go by so quickly, but I keep waking up and seeing this ginormous belly and realizing that it hasn't been nine months yet. Your dad suggested that it's like waiting for Christmas or your birthday or summer break (if you're a student or teacher) - it just never seems to get here, and then suddenly it's gone. I suppose once you're a little creature that both of us can carry (instead of just me), we will both look back and think these 9 months went by crazy fast.
I want to tell you a story about me and your dad. I never was the type of girl who had googley-eyes over babies. In fact, for a very long time, I was convinced that I would never have children - by choice. Then I met your dad. In fact, I can tell you exactly when I realized I was in love with him: we were having a discussion about having children (we weren't even dating yet; he knew I didn't want kids, and I knew he did - so we both kind of thought that we couldn't possibly have a future together) and your dad said (I think this might actually be a direct, word-for-word quote): "I think being a dad will be the most important job I ever do." Yup, that exact moment was when my heart did a flip flop and I realized he was the guy for me. Now I just had to win him over - but that's another story entirely, that I'll share with you some day. But I still had this reluctance to have a child myself. Once your dad and I started dating, that reluctance faded away and we both knew that some day we would try to have a child (or children). And in fact now, only since being pregnant with you, I am googley-eyed over babies. Your dad makes fun of me because apparently now I make the noises about babies that I used to only make when I saw a sweet kitty or dog nearby. I clearly do not have a poker face whatsoever. Because he even recognizes the "look" when I see a baby (or dog/puppy or cat/kitten) and I don't even make a sound. This man who is your dad has completely changed my world view. And I like it.
The day of your birth is fast approaching. According to the standard western medicine way of guestimating birth dates, I should count 280 days since the start of my last period to come up with an estimated date of birth. This is approximately 40 weeks (or 9 months or 10 months of 4-week-months) and your estimated date of birth is April 3, 2012 (or 4/3/12 - which is easy to remember because 4x3=12). Most births that happen around 37 or 38 weeks are considered "term" - meaning that baby probably will not need any medical intervention or time in the NICU to be able to survive. Most mothers who are more than 40 weeks pregnant want to get it over with as soon as possible, and I think physicians are quite willing to start inducing labor at 41 or 42 weeks. I like to think that you will make it known when you are ready to come into this world and that you don't hold to that expected date of birth stuff. So I am not holding on to the 3rd of April as a deadline, per se. Your dad and I both just hope that you don't come any earlier than Saint Patrick's day because we probably won't be ready yet. I guess I don't know when I'll actually be ready - I'm truly excited and can't wait to meet you, but I still feel like this is so surreal. Also common in first-time parents, I understand.
Meanwhile, ever since entering the third trimester, I have been fairly grumpy. I am not complaining - because compared to other pregnancies I've heard about, mine has been ridiculously easy - I just want you to know what I've experienced as a pregnant lady (in case this blog lasts long enough for when/if you decide to have children some day - luckily we can have the blog printed into a book, so if the internet becomes a thing of the past, at least we have a record of this journal). I don't know if I talked much in the previous posts about how I've been feeling. I did not have the standard morning sickness that you hear is a staple of being pregnant. I did feel a bit out-of-sorts and only one time actually felt nausea, but I never vomited. So when the first trimester ended, I thought I was out of the woods for pregnancy symptoms (I actually hate using the word, symptoms, in regard to pregnancy - it's not an illness and symptoms are by definition of an illness - so instead I will use the word, signs...). But there are so many other signs of pregnancy that for some reason are not as well known until you join the ranks of pregnant ladies. In no particular order (and I have not experienced all of these, just a few): swelling of any and all body parts, serious hormonal mood swings, excessive saliva, bloody noses, heartburn, hemorrhoids, constipation, diarrhea, uncontrollable and inexplicable weeping, sore hips, sore back, sore feet, growing feet, skin color changes, very strong urges to change hairstyles (but don't do it - especially if you are swelling!), varicose veins, itchy skin, severe fatigue, and on and on.
Thank goodness I've only suffered from a few of these things (well, actually, now that your dad points it out, I actually have been dealing with most of them to some degree), the worst of which has been the heartburn - apparently as you (my sweet little alien) grow, my uterus pushes against both my stomach and my diaphragm. Because the diaphragm is being smooshed, I can't go up a flight of stairs without being completely winded by the time I get to the top. Because my stomach is being smooshed, the acid that is in my stomach is getting pushed up my esophagus, causing mild to severe discomfort pretty much any time I eat. I'm slowly learning to stop eating so much at one time (very hard because I have to admit that I'm a glutton and when there's good food it's really hard to stop eating even when I'm completely full). For a while I was living on Tums but they just weren't enough, so I finally was given permission by my physician to use Pepcid AC and Maalox. I'm trying not to take either regularly, but there are times when I just can't bear the feeling in my chest, so I have to give in and take some medicine. The worst times are when it keeps me up at night. I'm already getting up about 4 or 5 times in the night to pee, so I get really cranky when I lose even more sleep because of the heartburn. Again, this is nothing compared to some of the pregnancy horror stories I've heard, so I should count myself lucky, and for the most part I do. But sometimes I just feel grumpy - maybe due to the heartburn, maybe due to the lack of sleep, or maybe to do with my hormones going crazy.
We haven't taken many pictures of me since our vacation in Mexico. Partly because we haven't done anything that seemed picture-worthy and partly because I'm being vain and don't want my picture taken when my face is so swollen that you can't see my eyes when I smile. We did go to New York City a couple of weekends ago and I'm pretty sure your dad got some pictures of me, and even if my face is swollen, I guess I better put up some pictures to keep a proper log of the pregnancy... But I haven't taken any pictures since I got the haircut (I was speaking from experience when I said above that you should not change your hairstyle - I decided that after more than a decade without bangs it was time to have them again. And I was wrong. So it might be a while before I willingly have a picture taken of my face. Yup, vain). Anyway, here are some photos from NYC:
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| Is your dad trying to say something about me with this picture? At the American Museum of Natural History (3 Feb 2012) |
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| Mom and Dad at the American Museum of Natural History (3 Feb 2012) |
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| Mom on the Brooklyn Bridge (5 Feb 2012) |
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| Mom and Dad on the Brooklyn Bridge with Manhattan in the background. (5 Feb 2012) |
Next Sunday the wonderful people of our community are throwing us a baby shower. I wasn't expecting to have a shower because we just moved here and none of our close friends and family are anywhere nearby, but apparently it is Deerfield tradition to have a shower for any faculty/staff that are having children. Another tradition that is really neat is that Deerfield has this plaque that's been around since the 1950's or 1960's that is like a family tree in that any couple who has their first child while working at Deerfield will have their child's name engraved in the plaque and will get to keep that plaque until the next first-born is born (or if the couple leaves the school, I guess). So we will be a part of Deerfield Academy history. Pretty cool. We don't know of any other expecting couples at the school right now, so who knows how long we'll get to keep the plaque.
One last thing for this post. We were taking a childbirth class called "The Bradley Method" or "husband-coached childbirth" up until this week. It was supposed to be a 12-week course, but we made it through only 5 weeks. It's kind of too bad, because I think the philosophy behind the class was good, but... I will let your dad write about that experience because he was more affected (read: stressed) by the class (instructor) than I was - although his stress definitely affected me, thus we decided that we need to try something different. So we might try a hypnobirthing/deep relaxation class that starts next week, or a different natural childbirth class that starts in two weeks.
That's it for now.
Love,
Mom
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