I went in for my final doctor's appointment at Kaiser on Wednesday (and then forgot to blog about it). It's sad because I really, really liked my midwife there... but she wouldn't be the one to actually deliver the baby. If I kept Kaiser, I'd have to deliver in one of the Kaiser hospitals (there are three in the area). I wouldn't get to choose who my doctor was for the deliver, it's just whoever happens to be there at that time. They also have a roughly 20% C-section rate, which despite being pretty low for hospitals in our area still seems way too high for my comfort.
The midwife said everything was looking good. She said I looked much better than at my previous appointment, although I'm not sure how she can remember what I looked like - it was a month ago. I feel much better, though, so I was willing to believe her.
We listened to the baby's heartbeat (about 170) and she felt my uterus. She says it's "just popped right out there, hasn't it", which is totally true and explains why I don't fit into any of my pants anymore. She said it was poking out about where they'd usually expect it at about 16 weeks, which means I'm a week and a half ahead of schedule as far as uterus-popping goes.
I appear to have entered the hungry phase of pregnancy. When I had morning sickness, I had to eat every hour and a half or two hours because otherwise I started to feel sick. Now, I have to eat every hour and a half or two hours because I'm starving. On the plus side, I've felt a lot more like cooking which means I'm eating better food. I've actually managed to cook some meals that involved vegetables, which would have been unthinkable back in trimester #1. Vegetables just weren't all that appetizing.
We're off to Costco this morning. There's currently nothing on our list. It will cost $200.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Hi Ho, Hi Ho...
The term has started up again. I've worked a total of one day so far and I'm about done with the whole idea. Yesterday, I had an 8:30am class. This is too early for anyone to have a class. The students were all half asleep and I couldn't really blame them. It was also raining, which didn't help. At least there was ample parking when I arrived, but who knew traffic was going to suck so bad at 7:30 in the morning?
After class, I came home to take a short nap before my evening class. Three hours later, I woke up. I ate and got ready to go teach again at 7. Didn't accomplish anything else that day.
Today, I have a class that starts at 2:30. So far, it's slightly after noon and I haven't managed to get dressed yet. Somehow it's less appealing to get dressed and then have to change into work clothes after a few hours. So again, I haven't accomplished much today, although I did manage to cook a lunch that actually involved a vegetable (asparagus).
I need to get on some sort of schedule where I have to get up and do something in the morning on Tues/Thurs (my 2:30 class days) so that I don't just wallow around in my PJs until noon. I don't feel too badly about the nap yesterday; obviously I was tired.
In other news, the pair of work pants that I thought would still fit (because I bought them really big and they have an elasticized waistband) aren't even close to fitting anymore. I must be pregnant.
After class, I came home to take a short nap before my evening class. Three hours later, I woke up. I ate and got ready to go teach again at 7. Didn't accomplish anything else that day.
Today, I have a class that starts at 2:30. So far, it's slightly after noon and I haven't managed to get dressed yet. Somehow it's less appealing to get dressed and then have to change into work clothes after a few hours. So again, I haven't accomplished much today, although I did manage to cook a lunch that actually involved a vegetable (asparagus).
I need to get on some sort of schedule where I have to get up and do something in the morning on Tues/Thurs (my 2:30 class days) so that I don't just wallow around in my PJs until noon. I don't feel too badly about the nap yesterday; obviously I was tired.
In other news, the pair of work pants that I thought would still fit (because I bought them really big and they have an elasticized waistband) aren't even close to fitting anymore. I must be pregnant.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Falling Behind in my Blogging
I was attempting to make it on here every day, but obviously I haven't met that goal during the past week. Quick updates:
One day I lost half a pound, the next day I gained four. I'm not quite sure what my body is up to. Today I look pretty pregnant, but that could be the quarter pound of jelly bellys I ate an hour ago. I think I need to stop eating out so much.
I had a bad dream that I was quite a bit more pregnant and had my hand on my belly, feeling the baby move. Then, the baby bit my hand and wouldn't let go.
We went on baby's first trip to the coast. The weather was fabulous in Cannon Beach and we walked a long ways down the beach. We started north of Haystack rock, walked past it, walked past a park, then walked past a set of two haystack rocks. By that time, the tide was going out and we had some good tidepooling. We brought Rags with us because he enjoys snuffing about on the beach, even though he hates water. He did not appreciate tidepooling because it involved going out where the waves were. Even worse, it involved going where the waves split around large rocks and then came after him from both directions at once. He had to climb up on the barnacle and mussel covered rocks a couple of times to escape from certain doom. Finally, he went and sat far enough up the beach that the waves couldn't get him. He did keep a close eye on us to make sure that we weren't going to be killed or washed out to sea. By the end of the walk back, Rags and I were pretty tired. My feet were getting sore (one of them hurts quite a bit today). I also got sunburned various places: arms, cheeks, back of neck, back of calves, tops of feet. We randomly encountered friends and had an excellent dinner. I had steak, Mike had mac and cheese (which sadly came with peppers in it, so I couldn't eat any).
Our "what size is baby this week" website says that baby is currently the size of a peach, but will be the size of a lemon next week. I'm not sure that the writers of the website have ever seen either a peach OR a lemon. We decided that it's a small peach this week, and next week it will be a large peach.
Studies show that stretch marks are mostly genetic and no matter what you rub on your growing body parts, you're likely to get stretch marks if your mother had them and not get them if she didn't. I have coconut oil to rub on, but it makes me feel greasy and I stick to my pajamas. In the defense of coconut oil, lotion did the same thing.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Telling Work
Today, I told my main department chair that I'm pregnant and asked what she wants to do for winter term. If the baby waits until the due date to show up, I'll make it through the end of the term. If baby comes early, I'd miss time... possibly quite a bit.
She was very supportive. We talked about what classes I might teach and she said she'd just get ready to potentially find a sub if necessary. I told her I'll be taking spring term entirely off, but will probably be ready to teach at least a little bit for summer and then back to "full part time" in the fall.
This is now the second department chair that I've told and both have been very supportive. Both of them are women, so maybe that's part of it. I've never had to have this talk with an employer before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it went well.
I've spent a fair amount of time wondering and sort of mildly worrying about what would happen winter term. It's a relief to have it resolved and not have to think about it, except in the context of how teaching is going to be once I'm ginormous.
She was very supportive. We talked about what classes I might teach and she said she'd just get ready to potentially find a sub if necessary. I told her I'll be taking spring term entirely off, but will probably be ready to teach at least a little bit for summer and then back to "full part time" in the fall.
This is now the second department chair that I've told and both have been very supportive. Both of them are women, so maybe that's part of it. I've never had to have this talk with an employer before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it went well.
I've spent a fair amount of time wondering and sort of mildly worrying about what would happen winter term. It's a relief to have it resolved and not have to think about it, except in the context of how teaching is going to be once I'm ginormous.
Monday, September 19, 2011
This better not become a habit
I also didn't sleep well last night. I had an awful headache for several hours before finally giving up and getting in bed. My stomach was also upset, but whatever, I'm used to that part. The first several times I woke up to pee, I still had a headache. Totally unfair. Finally, I woke up at what I believe to be about 3am. I didn't ever check the clock because I didn't really want to know. I was wide awake and couldn't fall back asleep for probably an hour. I considered getting up and doing something, but decided against it because then I would never have gotten back to sleep.
I spend an amazing amount of time thinking about being pregnant. It's almost a constant thing. I think about the things I need to do before the baby shows up, I contemplate working the rest of this term and how next term will go, I read all sorts of things online and out of books I've checked out of the library. I would conservatively say that 85% of my waking hours involve some sort of thought about being pregnant. I didn't realize that it would become an all-encompassing thing quite this early.
In other news, Mike and I went to a consignment sale at the Expo center on Saturday. It was apparently exhausting because I had to come home and nap for several hours. I didn't find a maternity coat, which was what I had specifically been looking for, but I did find a lovely soft sweater and another pair of maternity pants. They're brown, extremely comfortable, and fit rather like MC Hammer pants. Stop... Baby time.
I spend an amazing amount of time thinking about being pregnant. It's almost a constant thing. I think about the things I need to do before the baby shows up, I contemplate working the rest of this term and how next term will go, I read all sorts of things online and out of books I've checked out of the library. I would conservatively say that 85% of my waking hours involve some sort of thought about being pregnant. I didn't realize that it would become an all-encompassing thing quite this early.
In other news, Mike and I went to a consignment sale at the Expo center on Saturday. It was apparently exhausting because I had to come home and nap for several hours. I didn't find a maternity coat, which was what I had specifically been looking for, but I did find a lovely soft sweater and another pair of maternity pants. They're brown, extremely comfortable, and fit rather like MC Hammer pants. Stop... Baby time.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Also not my best night's sleep
I guess I'm practicing for after the baby gets here. I did eat out both of those nights, so maybe there's some sort of correlation.
Last night, I dreamed that we were out on a hike. We saw a mama bear and her baby, which was exciting. Then, this large brown bear ran down the hill towards us. We were scared and just about to run away when it became evident that all he wanted was to get over the top of the mountain. Turns out there were TONS of people on the trail up the mountain and the bear wasn't able to go by himself because either (it was unclear) he would scare the people or the people would scare him. I began leading the bear up the mountain, which involved basically walking between the bear and the people. When I was between the bear and the people, they couldn't see each other.
There was another whole part to this dream that I remembered this morning, but have since forgotten.
Last night, I dreamed that we were out on a hike. We saw a mama bear and her baby, which was exciting. Then, this large brown bear ran down the hill towards us. We were scared and just about to run away when it became evident that all he wanted was to get over the top of the mountain. Turns out there were TONS of people on the trail up the mountain and the bear wasn't able to go by himself because either (it was unclear) he would scare the people or the people would scare him. I began leading the bear up the mountain, which involved basically walking between the bear and the people. When I was between the bear and the people, they couldn't see each other.
There was another whole part to this dream that I remembered this morning, but have since forgotten.
In other news, the baby is the size of a plum.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Not my best night's sleep
It was a good night for dreams, though. It seemed like I had one really, really long dream that just continued through the whole night. I kept waking up (bathroom, drink, too hot/cold), so I remember quite a bit of it. It was a very convoluted dream, though so I'm not sure I'll be able to describe most of it.
We were playing Eucre (spelling? it's a card game. This is how it was spelled in my head in the dream). I've never played this game and have no idea how one would play this game except that I'm positive it's not played how we were playing it. We dealt out cards, then someone took two or three cards and used them to ask questions. The questions were about something that had happened, which I think involved a girl and something she had done. If you couldn't figure out whether the girl was lying about what happened or not, your turn was over.
There was a part where I was teaching back in Baltimore. The building wasn't anything like the school where I taught, but I know that's where I was. My teacher friends from Baltimore were there. We were having some interaction with an old student of mine whose father had become wealthy (I believe he had become a rap star). The father was then pissed that his kid had failed high school, although he couldn't have cared less when I was actually teaching him, so he brought his lawyer to convince us that the kid should have passed. Not wanting to have this confrontation, I stepped out the front door to the school...
... and was suddenly on a cruise ship. The seas were really rough because the ship was going way up and down each time it hit a wave. It wasn't stormy, though and we were all having a good time riding it like a roller coaster. One of my friends from high school, who I haven't seen in years, was there and was going to go up to the front where they steer the ship because she needed more practice using a compass.
During all the parts of the dream, I was pregnant. I spent a good portion of the dream debating whether I should tell the people I saw that I was pregnant. I don't think I actually told any of them.
We were playing Eucre (spelling? it's a card game. This is how it was spelled in my head in the dream). I've never played this game and have no idea how one would play this game except that I'm positive it's not played how we were playing it. We dealt out cards, then someone took two or three cards and used them to ask questions. The questions were about something that had happened, which I think involved a girl and something she had done. If you couldn't figure out whether the girl was lying about what happened or not, your turn was over.
There was a part where I was teaching back in Baltimore. The building wasn't anything like the school where I taught, but I know that's where I was. My teacher friends from Baltimore were there. We were having some interaction with an old student of mine whose father had become wealthy (I believe he had become a rap star). The father was then pissed that his kid had failed high school, although he couldn't have cared less when I was actually teaching him, so he brought his lawyer to convince us that the kid should have passed. Not wanting to have this confrontation, I stepped out the front door to the school...
... and was suddenly on a cruise ship. The seas were really rough because the ship was going way up and down each time it hit a wave. It wasn't stormy, though and we were all having a good time riding it like a roller coaster. One of my friends from high school, who I haven't seen in years, was there and was going to go up to the front where they steer the ship because she needed more practice using a compass.
During all the parts of the dream, I was pregnant. I spent a good portion of the dream debating whether I should tell the people I saw that I was pregnant. I don't think I actually told any of them.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Great Granny
I'd been waiting until this appointment to tell my grandmother that I was pregnant. I didn't want to tell her when something bad was more likely to happen because I didn't want her to know if I lost the baby early. Today, I called her and told her. She said "I've been wondering when you were going to tell me!" Apparently my maternal relatives are all psychic when it comes to determining whether or not I'm pregnant. Granny says that she's thought about asking my mother many times when the baby was coming or when I was going to announce it, but she hasn't (she talks to my mother every night). She wondered when I was going to tell my mother. I didn't tell her that I told my mother weeks ago as I didn't want her to be too disappointed that I'd waited this long to tell her. But she's 96 and I didn't want her to have to go through bad news if there was any early on.
So far:
So far:
- My mother strongly suspected and wasn't surprised
- My grandmother already knew (she says "I just knew")
- My father said he knew I would have a baby some day because he thought I would make such a great mother and if I never had a baby, I wouldn't be able to fulfill that part of my destiny
- At least my brother was surprised.
Doctor's visit
The doctor's visit was a success!
Based on the ultrasound measurements and blood test, baby has a 1 in 5,123 chance of having Down Syndrome and a 1 in >10,000 chance of having trisomy 18 or 13. Baby seems to be developing normally so far.
Interestingly, the measurements they were taking of the length showed that baby is about 13 weeks along. Based on the date of my last period, baby is 12 weeks along. The doctor was concerned about that until we discussed cycle length (mine is pretty short) and possible conception date (July 1 or 3). With a short cycle, ovulation would probably have been earlier than 14 days, which would make the date of conception July 3. With that conception date, it makes the baby about 12.5 weeks along, which made him happier than it only being 12 weeks along. I'm unconcerned either way. Babies don't actually show up on their due dates anyhow, but apparently an accurate age matters for some of the tests they want to do. Now I have to figure out how to change my pregnancy tracker emails and phone app to reflect the baby's new age.
I laughed with the nurses because I went into the office 12 weeks pregnant and came out 13 weeks pregnant. That's a long appointment!
Based on the ultrasound measurements and blood test, baby has a 1 in 5,123 chance of having Down Syndrome and a 1 in >10,000 chance of having trisomy 18 or 13. Baby seems to be developing normally so far.
Interestingly, the measurements they were taking of the length showed that baby is about 13 weeks along. Based on the date of my last period, baby is 12 weeks along. The doctor was concerned about that until we discussed cycle length (mine is pretty short) and possible conception date (July 1 or 3). With a short cycle, ovulation would probably have been earlier than 14 days, which would make the date of conception July 3. With that conception date, it makes the baby about 12.5 weeks along, which made him happier than it only being 12 weeks along. I'm unconcerned either way. Babies don't actually show up on their due dates anyhow, but apparently an accurate age matters for some of the tests they want to do. Now I have to figure out how to change my pregnancy tracker emails and phone app to reflect the baby's new age.
I laughed with the nurses because I went into the office 12 weeks pregnant and came out 13 weeks pregnant. That's a long appointment!
Rivers and floods
Last night's dream started out with us camping with Chelsea and Justin. Justin was going fishing and I wanted to go to, so I got a pole and carried it around for a while looking for something to use as bait. I didn't find anything. Justin offered to try again the next day, but my dad was going to come and pick me up and we were going off somewhere. He picked me up and took me to my Mom's house, which had an extra shower in the bathroom that drained into a hole in the floor. I took a shower.
Then I was driving back to the campground (I think). The road went over a bridge and the river was getting high. At some point, I decided to turn around and go back home instead of to the campground, but when I got back to the bridge, it was entirely flooded out. There were huge brown rapids over the top of where the bridge used to be.
According to the internet, "To see a raging or an overflowing river in your dream signifies that your life is feeling out of control. You are feeling emotionally unsettled. Alternatively, this dream means you are ready to confront life's challenges and life's twists and turns."
I don't feel like my life is out of control, but I'm slightly worried about the doctor's appointment this morning. More on that when I get home.
Also, "To dream that you are fishing indicates that you are confronting and bringing your repressed emotions to the surface."
If you're trying to fish, but can't find any bait, does that mean that you're attempting to confront repressed emotions, but aren't doing well at it?
It's a good thing I don't believe dreams can be interpreted literally like this.
Then I was driving back to the campground (I think). The road went over a bridge and the river was getting high. At some point, I decided to turn around and go back home instead of to the campground, but when I got back to the bridge, it was entirely flooded out. There were huge brown rapids over the top of where the bridge used to be.
According to the internet, "To see a raging or an overflowing river in your dream signifies that your life is feeling out of control. You are feeling emotionally unsettled. Alternatively, this dream means you are ready to confront life's challenges and life's twists and turns."
I don't feel like my life is out of control, but I'm slightly worried about the doctor's appointment this morning. More on that when I get home.
Also, "To dream that you are fishing indicates that you are confronting and bringing your repressed emotions to the surface."
If you're trying to fish, but can't find any bait, does that mean that you're attempting to confront repressed emotions, but aren't doing well at it?
It's a good thing I don't believe dreams can be interpreted literally like this.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
A Book I'm Reading
I checked out several baby books and a knitting book from the library a few days ago. Right now, I'm reading "Baby Love: Choosing motherhood after a lifetime of ambivalence" by Rebecca Walker. The title seems to be inappropriate. She talks in the first few pages about how she wanted a baby for years and years and years. She gets substantially more ambivalent after she gets pregnant.
Anyhow, the point of this post is that I wanted to share a quote that I think explains why I don't want to give birth in a hospital. "Episiotomy, C-section, I just don't want to be lying there helpless and at the mercy of a bunch of doctors in a hurry to get to their golf game."
Anyhow, the point of this post is that I wanted to share a quote that I think explains why I don't want to give birth in a hospital. "Episiotomy, C-section, I just don't want to be lying there helpless and at the mercy of a bunch of doctors in a hurry to get to their golf game."
Dreams
Last night, I had a dream that we (I'm not sure who exactly "we" was comprised of) were eating at Pok Pok. This is a real restaurant in Portland, but I've never eaten there. And I'm pretty sure that it's nothing like it was in the dream. First of all, in real life they serve Thai food, but in the dream it was a Polynesian restaurant. It had a walk-up counter where they also served the food from. It was a lot like a food cart, actually. We went up to order and the lady asked if we were ready. We said no, that we needed a little more time. She then ignored us and took a bunch of other people's orders even though we came back up to the counter and tried to look ready to order. Finally, I announced that we were ready and we ordered.
I had another dream that seemed to be mostly about picking up things in a yard. Rags had run off, so we went to find him and found him in the middle of the lawn in the yard of a house we then moved into (right then). If you looked out the back window of the house, there were all these weird sort of modern art installations in the ground. Little caves had been dug out and then plastic masks and heads were placed around the caves. There was also other stuff around the caves as decoration. A guy (possibly a neighbor who was helping us move) announced that they had been done by the neighborhood children. They were pretty disturbing to look at, really, so we moved to the front yard. There was all sorts of stuff around the yard, including clothes. We went around picking it all up, with the neighbor guy and my dad (who had suddenly shown up) helping.
In other news, it's my second day of wearing maternity pants. I have a pair of capris (from Craigslist) and a pair of jeans (from Kohl's, courtesy of my mother) that fit. Most of the others won't fit until I'm quite a bit bigger. I'm not sure if that's how they're designed or if it's because the lady who owned them before stretched them out while she was pregnant. The capris have a short panel with a wide piece of elastic across the front only. The jeans have a really high, stretchy elastic band thingie that goes all the way around the pants. I'm wearing the jeans today, but the elastic panel keeps falling down. I'm also going to need a longer t-shirt to keep the panel from showing when I leave the house. On the plus side, maternity pants are really comfortable. I think I will wear them forever.
I had another dream that seemed to be mostly about picking up things in a yard. Rags had run off, so we went to find him and found him in the middle of the lawn in the yard of a house we then moved into (right then). If you looked out the back window of the house, there were all these weird sort of modern art installations in the ground. Little caves had been dug out and then plastic masks and heads were placed around the caves. There was also other stuff around the caves as decoration. A guy (possibly a neighbor who was helping us move) announced that they had been done by the neighborhood children. They were pretty disturbing to look at, really, so we moved to the front yard. There was all sorts of stuff around the yard, including clothes. We went around picking it all up, with the neighbor guy and my dad (who had suddenly shown up) helping.
In other news, it's my second day of wearing maternity pants. I have a pair of capris (from Craigslist) and a pair of jeans (from Kohl's, courtesy of my mother) that fit. Most of the others won't fit until I'm quite a bit bigger. I'm not sure if that's how they're designed or if it's because the lady who owned them before stretched them out while she was pregnant. The capris have a short panel with a wide piece of elastic across the front only. The jeans have a really high, stretchy elastic band thingie that goes all the way around the pants. I'm wearing the jeans today, but the elastic panel keeps falling down. I'm also going to need a longer t-shirt to keep the panel from showing when I leave the house. On the plus side, maternity pants are really comfortable. I think I will wear them forever.
Monday, September 12, 2011
School dreams
One of my least favorite categories of dream is teaching dreams. I mean, if I have to work while I'm awake, shouldn't I get to do something more entertaining while I sleep? Totally unfair.
I had a "first day of class" dream. These almost always take place in lab. I think because there's a lot more opportunity for something to go wrong. I'd forgotten to tell the students how to get their lab manuals, so no one had brought one. I was trying to find enough lab manuals for everyone, but it wasn't working out.
I had a "first day of class" dream. These almost always take place in lab. I think because there's a lot more opportunity for something to go wrong. I'd forgotten to tell the students how to get their lab manuals, so no one had brought one. I was trying to find enough lab manuals for everyone, but it wasn't working out.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Maternity Clothes
This is that awkward stage where I'm not really big enough to wear maternity clothes without them being baggy and silly looking, but I'm too big to wear real pants. It's not that my pants don't fit anymore, it's that having anything pushing on my tummy is extremely uncomfortable. Before, "suck it in" might have been a strategy that worked. Now, elastic waistbands rule the day. I'm even wearing dresses, which I almost never do, because they don't restrict my tummy. Who'd have thought that a person who's only the size of a fig would need so much room?
My maternity clothing plan has been to look at Goodwill and on Craigslist. I went to Goodwill last week and found one pair of nice looking black pants. I wore them out already, actually. They have a very stretchy waistband, but not that big elastic pouch thing that is on a lot of maternity pants. Maternity pants, unlike regular pants, come in S, M, L, XL, rather than numbered sizes. I wasn't sure where I fell on the continuum. After I tried on a few pairs of pants at Goodwill to determine my size, I started to look Craigslist.
Last night, I picked up an awesome deal. A garbage bag full of clothes for $40. Turns out the people have 5 kids and are moving. I'm guessing that they're way done having kids and that the mom didn't want to have to deal with the clothes now that they're moving. Total score for me.
There's several pairs of jeans, some shorts (which I probably won't wear since I'll be mostly pregnant in the winter), a pair of leggings and a skirt. There's also a whole laundry basket full of tops: some tshirts, some nicer shirts. I'm pretty well set as far as clothes go. I'm going out shopping with my mother today. The only thing I think I really need are black pants that I can wear to work... although I'll probably get to the point where I'm wearing jeans and comfy tops.
The only downside is that they seem to be *full* of detergent residue. I'm running the first load through the wash and at the end of the first cycle, I could see suds coming out during the final spin. I ran them through again with no additional detergent (I'm still using my homemade laundry detergent, which doesn't usually produce much in the way of suds) and they're still sudsing on the second go-round. It's going to be a pain to wash all of these things two or three times, but I don't want to chance allergic reactions to the laundry detergent. They'll probably be softer once I get them actually rinsed out, too.
My maternity clothing plan has been to look at Goodwill and on Craigslist. I went to Goodwill last week and found one pair of nice looking black pants. I wore them out already, actually. They have a very stretchy waistband, but not that big elastic pouch thing that is on a lot of maternity pants. Maternity pants, unlike regular pants, come in S, M, L, XL, rather than numbered sizes. I wasn't sure where I fell on the continuum. After I tried on a few pairs of pants at Goodwill to determine my size, I started to look Craigslist.
Last night, I picked up an awesome deal. A garbage bag full of clothes for $40. Turns out the people have 5 kids and are moving. I'm guessing that they're way done having kids and that the mom didn't want to have to deal with the clothes now that they're moving. Total score for me.
There's several pairs of jeans, some shorts (which I probably won't wear since I'll be mostly pregnant in the winter), a pair of leggings and a skirt. There's also a whole laundry basket full of tops: some tshirts, some nicer shirts. I'm pretty well set as far as clothes go. I'm going out shopping with my mother today. The only thing I think I really need are black pants that I can wear to work... although I'll probably get to the point where I'm wearing jeans and comfy tops.
The only downside is that they seem to be *full* of detergent residue. I'm running the first load through the wash and at the end of the first cycle, I could see suds coming out during the final spin. I ran them through again with no additional detergent (I'm still using my homemade laundry detergent, which doesn't usually produce much in the way of suds) and they're still sudsing on the second go-round. It's going to be a pain to wash all of these things two or three times, but I don't want to chance allergic reactions to the laundry detergent. They'll probably be softer once I get them actually rinsed out, too.
Dog dreams
Last night's dream started with a large dog. My mother had found him and he was quite wild. She had brought him to my wedding and we were debating where to put him. We decided (after much debate and trying the dog in different locations) that he could be left in the car during the ceremony.
The dream then moved on to getting ready for the wedding. B was there helping me do my hair and makeup. Todd was also there and she helped him with his as well. Then we were playing on the underside of a bridge.
The dream then moved on to getting ready for the wedding. B was there helping me do my hair and makeup. Todd was also there and she helped him with his as well. Then we were playing on the underside of a bridge.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Fruit dreams
Last night, I dreamed that we had stopped at a fruit stand. We bought apricots and plums. The apricots were fabulous.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Birth Center
I'd decided that I didn't want to have the baby in a hospital. Even the good hospitals in the area have above a 20% C-section rate. I don't think there's any way that 20% of births should require major surgery and I want a chance to have the baby without medical interventions (pitocin, epidural, etc). I'd decided to have the baby either at a birth center or with a midwife at home.
Today, we went and toured the Natural Childbirth and Family Clinic. It's very close to our apartment, which is convenient. Two of the doctors there are covered by my medical insurance, which is extremely convenient. We met with Dr Liz, who seems very nice. I liked her sense of humor. She addressed the major concerns that I had (question: what happens if there's an emergency? answer: we go to one of the hospitals that my insurance will cover, she stays with me the whole time). We also got to listen to the baby's heart beat! This is the first time that we've heard it. I saw it on the ultrasound, but that just showed the movement.
I have my last Kaiser appointment for a nuchal translucency ultrasound next week. Then, my new insurance will kick in Oct 1 and I'll start going to see Dr Liz.
Today, we went and toured the Natural Childbirth and Family Clinic. It's very close to our apartment, which is convenient. Two of the doctors there are covered by my medical insurance, which is extremely convenient. We met with Dr Liz, who seems very nice. I liked her sense of humor. She addressed the major concerns that I had (question: what happens if there's an emergency? answer: we go to one of the hospitals that my insurance will cover, she stays with me the whole time). We also got to listen to the baby's heart beat! This is the first time that we've heard it. I saw it on the ultrasound, but that just showed the movement.
I have my last Kaiser appointment for a nuchal translucency ultrasound next week. Then, my new insurance will kick in Oct 1 and I'll start going to see Dr Liz.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
B6 and more dreams
I think the Vitamin B6 might have helped. Yesterday was a pretty low-nausea day overall. I took my prenatal in the morning, followed by a B6 at about 1 and one at about 7. I'm going to try again today.... except that I may or may not have taken my vitamin this morning. I had it in my pocket, then it wasn't in my pocket anymore and I couldn't remember if I'd actually taken it. Stupid short term memory.
Last night, I didn't sleep well. I was up probably 5 times to pee. I'm not sure what kept waking me up, but it wasn't my favorite night's sleep. I did have a very lovely dream about whales and scuba diving. There were whales that had beached themselves on this rock. One large whale and several smaller whales. We were concerned about how to get them off, when all of a sudden the large whale jumped off the rock carrying the smaller whales on its back. I was suddenly in my scuba gear and dove into the water to look for something. There were all sorts of little brightly colored fish and tiny animals.
We're going camping today. We got off to something of a slow start. I had set my alarm for 7:30, but then just couldn't get up that early. I turned it off and we stayed in bed till 9, which was my target time for leaving. Now it's 10:15 and we still haven't left the house. Whoops.
Last night, I didn't sleep well. I was up probably 5 times to pee. I'm not sure what kept waking me up, but it wasn't my favorite night's sleep. I did have a very lovely dream about whales and scuba diving. There were whales that had beached themselves on this rock. One large whale and several smaller whales. We were concerned about how to get them off, when all of a sudden the large whale jumped off the rock carrying the smaller whales on its back. I was suddenly in my scuba gear and dove into the water to look for something. There were all sorts of little brightly colored fish and tiny animals.
We're going camping today. We got off to something of a slow start. I had set my alarm for 7:30, but then just couldn't get up that early. I turned it off and we stayed in bed till 9, which was my target time for leaving. Now it's 10:15 and we still haven't left the house. Whoops.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Library Dream & Vit B6
Last night's dream involved searching through the library to find a book on something to do with paper crafts. I wanted it because I was going to use the pictures as patterns to put on baby onsies.
The midwife recommended extra doses of Vitamin B6 to combat morning sickness. I'm going to give that a try today. I looked at my prenatal vitamin and it has 104% of my daily B6, which could explain why I usually feel like I'm less sick after taking my vitamin. I'm going to count that as one dose, then take one this afternoon and one in the evening. I'll report back.
The midwife recommended extra doses of Vitamin B6 to combat morning sickness. I'm going to give that a try today. I looked at my prenatal vitamin and it has 104% of my daily B6, which could explain why I usually feel like I'm less sick after taking my vitamin. I'm going to count that as one dose, then take one this afternoon and one in the evening. I'll report back.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
More baby dreams
Last night, I had a very complicated dream about two babies that I actually know: Sierra and Jordan. At this point, I can't remember what happened during most of the dream, but I remember at one point, we (me and J) packed both babies into a suitcase for storage. Then, the suitcase fell into the water and I had to jump in after it to rescue the babies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)