Alright, so I've enjoyed being pregnant. I'm grateful for having the opportunity to let this life incubate inside of me. Its great to be a part of life's highest calling... yada... yada... yada...
The truth is, ever since we've moved and I've had to uproot and demolish all of my nesting efforts this far, I am done being pregnant. I want my body back. I want my shoes to fit. I want the pain and numbness in my hands and wrists to go away. I want to allow this kid to be his own person once and for all.
I've had a feeling that he's going to be big from the beginning, but now it has become painfully real that he is growing exponentially with every day that passes. All my organs from lungs to bladder are getting squished, which makes sleeping for more than a couple of hours at a time impossible.
When I wake up in the morning, the drool that has escaped my mouth practically drowns me. I try to get out of bed and instead of greeting the day with exuberance and hopping up in a song and dance, I rock back and forth struggling to sit up. Grunting and panting the whole time, inching my way to the edge of the bed, which just ends up making me feel like Jabba the Hut. Talk about a demoralizing!
I am lucky to be surrounded by such great family to lift me up and keep me going in the midst of my damaged ego. Yesterday, Danielle got me out of the house to one of my favorite places to eat (Red Robin) for lunch then was kind enough to help me unpack and organize the contents of quite a few boxes in D.L.'s room.
I rested for a bit and continued nesting until I got invited next door to grandma's house for a wonderful cube steak dinner. There were mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, bread, and dessert. Mmmmmmm! Not to mention great company with Cindy and Andrea being in town. We all gathered around with Virginia and talked for hours. I felt like it was ladies night!
Being pregnant is a joyous, challenging, and excruciating experience. There is nothing more of an honor in life and nothing more humbling. For sure, one of the best aspects of it is the way it brings family together, creates new stories, and conjures up old ones. Uniting past to present and creating a canvas for the future.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
July 15 Midwife Visit
I saw Sue yesterday and when she asked how I'm doing, I replied with,
"Well, I can guarantee that my blood pressure is through the roof this time since I just spent the whole weekend moving and cleaning in 114 degree heat!"
Sure enough, my blood pressure is the highest its ever been. Now that we're in our new place, I can start to relax. I'm supposed to get my workout and anything else I need to get done each morning and spend the afternoons and evenings resting with my feet up as much as possible. I have to say, I love getting an order to relax. It makes it much easier for me. I have a hard time sitting still if its on my own accord. I guess now I have a good excuse to sit back and watch some movies.
Aside from my health, Daniel's heart rate is good and his movement is pretty good too. The whole time Sue was squeezing my belly to check his position, he was squirming and kicking. She is totally stumped as to what position he's in. Since the ultrasound on the 30th, I've experienced a few strong contractions and periods of time where there was a lot going on in there, so its anyone's guess I suppose. Right now, it feels like his head is under my right rib cage, but other times, its a different feeling.
This visit was pretty exciting because I got to take birth certificate paperwork and my birth kit home with me. The kit has all the sterilized stuff like umbilical cord clamp, scrub, drapes, pads, etc. To see all that stuff gave me a rush and I got light-headed thinking, "Oh my god, this is really going to happen!"
Its also time to pick out a pediatrician and figure out what course of action we're going to take as far as check ups, screening, vaccines and circumcision. Whoa! I've just discovered that this train I've been riding, just became a bullet train! Woooo woooo!
At the end of our visit, we talked about ways of softening my cervix. Along with plenty of good ol' sex, there are some herbal options available too. I bought a mixture from Sue and headed to Sprouts to get some evening primrose oil.
She scheduled our next visit for July 29th. Interesting that she picked that date because it was the due date for our baby we lost in the miscarriage. Hopefully we'll be able to turn that date around and put some life into it. I'm really excited because this will be our first in-home visit. She'll be able to know where we live, where everything's at in the house, and where to set up the birth pool.
As always, counting down the days till our next visit!
"Well, I can guarantee that my blood pressure is through the roof this time since I just spent the whole weekend moving and cleaning in 114 degree heat!"
Sure enough, my blood pressure is the highest its ever been. Now that we're in our new place, I can start to relax. I'm supposed to get my workout and anything else I need to get done each morning and spend the afternoons and evenings resting with my feet up as much as possible. I have to say, I love getting an order to relax. It makes it much easier for me. I have a hard time sitting still if its on my own accord. I guess now I have a good excuse to sit back and watch some movies.
Aside from my health, Daniel's heart rate is good and his movement is pretty good too. The whole time Sue was squeezing my belly to check his position, he was squirming and kicking. She is totally stumped as to what position he's in. Since the ultrasound on the 30th, I've experienced a few strong contractions and periods of time where there was a lot going on in there, so its anyone's guess I suppose. Right now, it feels like his head is under my right rib cage, but other times, its a different feeling.
This visit was pretty exciting because I got to take birth certificate paperwork and my birth kit home with me. The kit has all the sterilized stuff like umbilical cord clamp, scrub, drapes, pads, etc. To see all that stuff gave me a rush and I got light-headed thinking, "Oh my god, this is really going to happen!"
Its also time to pick out a pediatrician and figure out what course of action we're going to take as far as check ups, screening, vaccines and circumcision. Whoa! I've just discovered that this train I've been riding, just became a bullet train! Woooo woooo!
At the end of our visit, we talked about ways of softening my cervix. Along with plenty of good ol' sex, there are some herbal options available too. I bought a mixture from Sue and headed to Sprouts to get some evening primrose oil.
She scheduled our next visit for July 29th. Interesting that she picked that date because it was the due date for our baby we lost in the miscarriage. Hopefully we'll be able to turn that date around and put some life into it. I'm really excited because this will be our first in-home visit. She'll be able to know where we live, where everything's at in the house, and where to set up the birth pool.
As always, counting down the days till our next visit!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
June 30th Ultrasound
I went to the ultrasound school yesterday to see what D.L.'s position and weight are. Just as I suspected, his head is under my right rib cage and he's laying at an angle with his feet near my left hip. He still has some time to get head-down so I'm going to spend as much time as possible encouraging him to move.
Contrary to some of my 3rd trimester nightmares, all his body parts are still there and his heart rate is good - thank god! :) He was in a good position to get a profile picture as soon as we got there, but right before they could capture his image he turned face down and stayed that way the rest of the time! I don't think he liked being looked at so much. He must be a private person already.
They took his measurements and found that he weighs 4 lbs 8oz! My projected due date is now August 22nd not September 2nd.
To make things even more interesting, the owner of the condo we've been renting wants to sell, so we should be moving into a house next to grandma and grandpa Welch this weekend. So much for all the nesting I've done so far. Time to start all over again in a new place!
I'm actually pretty excited because the new place has 3 bedrooms so everyone will get their own space! The back yard is huge and its on a nice, quiet road where a million cars aren't driving by all day. I'm just waiting to get the final word from the management guy then I can tie up some loose ends and get this show on the road!
Contrary to some of my 3rd trimester nightmares, all his body parts are still there and his heart rate is good - thank god! :) He was in a good position to get a profile picture as soon as we got there, but right before they could capture his image he turned face down and stayed that way the rest of the time! I don't think he liked being looked at so much. He must be a private person already.
They took his measurements and found that he weighs 4 lbs 8oz! My projected due date is now August 22nd not September 2nd.
To make things even more interesting, the owner of the condo we've been renting wants to sell, so we should be moving into a house next to grandma and grandpa Welch this weekend. So much for all the nesting I've done so far. Time to start all over again in a new place!
I'm actually pretty excited because the new place has 3 bedrooms so everyone will get their own space! The back yard is huge and its on a nice, quiet road where a million cars aren't driving by all day. I'm just waiting to get the final word from the management guy then I can tie up some loose ends and get this show on the road!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)