42 posts tagged “pregnancy”
I had another check-up today. I'm going once a week now, and these visits are picking up in exciting news. For months it's been like a revolving door with me; seriously, I'm in and out in the span of 15 minutes. Now I go and we get to check on all this exciting stuff, seeing where she's at and having her kick at the nurses' hands!
Unfortunately I don't have any excitement from this visit, though. My cervix is soft, but closed, and the baby's still at station -5. For those of you who don't know, and really who knows about that except preggo's or women who have had kids, station refers to where the baby's head is in relation to my bony pelvis. The scale goes from -5 being at the very top, to 0 when labor usually starts, to 5, which is when the baby's head crowns right before she's born. The good news is I get another ultrasound on Monday!! The doctor wants to check on her size and get a more accurate feel for how low she is. The OB said she was sure the baby isn't really big, maybe around 6 lbs., but wants to get a better idea. I personally feel that she's a little small, and of course I'm worried that being a smoker before I knew I was pregnant is affecting her, even though the doctor assured me that's not the case. I can't help but worry just a bit though!
The good side to being so far away from labor still is that I'm cleared for travel! Our first anniversary is coming up quickly on July 28th. I can't believe we will have been married for a year already. I love Amos and am so excited that we can celebrate our anniversary with something special instead of just staying at home!! We are planning to spend a weekend in Ithaca, home to Cornell and, I've heard, tons of other awesome stuff. There are a bunch of cool restaurants and shops on their visitor's website, so I am really looking forward to a change of scenery. Especially if it involves delicious food and kitschy merchandise!! :D
I have been doing quite a bit in the business and DIY arenas, also. I'm not quite ready to talk shop just yet, but expect an update/new post by tomorrow to show off a couple of new crafty things for the baby.
Be forewarned; I'm about to go on a mini-tirade, but please bear with me, because I think you'll be on board.
I'm going to smack the next person who smirks, "Are you having twins???" at me.
How can women, and ONLY WOMEN have asked me that, be so rude? Besides pointing out that I'm obviously very pregnant, that comment alludes that not only am I huge, I'm clearly too huge to be "just" pregnant. I am so big that it begs a public forum. I must be pregnant with multiples. Even in pregnancy I can't escape the constant body criticism of our culture. I can't remember ever saying that to a woman who was pregnant; mostly I remember thinking things like wow, I bet she's uncomfortable or will I get that big?
It's already borderline inappropriate to be asking pregnant strangers about their pregnancies anyway. I mean, think about it; if I saw a man walking around with a cane, could I politely inquire as to how much longer he'll be needing that cane? Or what's wrong with his leg? Not so much, because strangers asking other strangers about personal issues is generally not considered acceptable small talk.
I know what you're thinking: "Just smile, say 'no,' and don't let it bother you." No f*$(%ing way. It's invasive. It's rude. It's my right to go about my business without strangers commenting on my body. And while part of me wants to respond with, "Twins? No, I'm just really really fat," I'll refrain, because as we all know two nasty comments just make two assholes instead of one. But it's not my job to remain completely polite in the face of such inappropriateness.
This relates back to what I spoke about recently, about women judging women. I am just continually surprised and dismayed, as I traverse these typical feminine roles, of how much other women heap degradation, judgement, and their own baggage on my (very obviously 9-months-pregnant) back.
We are at T minus 4 weeks! Four weeks! That's only a month!
I'm both surprised and dying for the end. I'm sure most women who have been pregnant understand what I'm talking about. On one hand I can't wait to meet the baby, have a drink again if I want, get out of the bathtub on my own (oh yes, I need a helping hand). On the other I'm going to miss feeling her squirming around in there, and once she's out I have to start worrying about what she's doing and where she is.
Amos and I have just about everything taken care of except packing a bag for the hospital. I'm not exactly sure what clothes to put in there. Every book I have suggests taking some nightgowns that are both suitable for breastfeeding and, to be kind of direct for a second, I would be okay throwing away since they could come back looking like I survived Vietnam or maybe a food fight involving only ketchup. You hear me? That's kind of a tall order. I mean, I like all my clothes! So I'm going out today to find something, I don't know what. Also I'm stocking up on mini-toiletries so I can just pack them and then throw them away there. Much less hassle that way!
We have finally gotten everything set up for the baby. It feels wonderful to have all the necessary things in place!
I am very happy with how things look in here! The only addition I'm considering is a rug...but we'll see. Notice the lack of cartoon characters, obnoxious prints, and overt commercialism. This area makes me feel peaceful and I hope it has the same calming effect on our daughter. The small frames on the wall behind her crib are photos of family. I'm going to add a few more of grandparents, aunts, and uncles in the next week or two; I love the hodge-podge feel of the different frames so closely hung together.
These lily woodcuts were made by Amos's maternal grandfather Barney. He gave them to me this past May when I visited St. Louis for my baby shower.
This burp cloth was embroidered especially for our little sweetie by her Aunt Lesley! Right now it's hanging over the changing table more as a decoration. We've gotten a couple of things like this that are so pretty I'm not sure I want to use them!
This toy bag hangs off the changing table for some convenient and pretty okay looking storage. I knit this based on a stretchy reuseable market bag pattern that I've knit a hundred times, so I thought making alterations for this project would be easy. If I were to do it again I would make the top less stretchy - see how the buttons look like they are going to go flying off any second now? - but it is actually quite sturdy and gets the job done for now.
This was my (early) anniversary present to Amos. I had the two pieces of our wedding invitation framed with the print blocks used to make them bracketing the whole thing. For the first time ever I chose an Italian hand-finished frame; the expense made my knees quiver a bit, but this is another item that will definitely be passed down through the family. It makes me happy to create these heirloom pieces for our daughter.
Apparently I can't stay off the blog today.
But I had to post this cutie photo, and be prepared, because tomorrow I'm going to photograph the baby's things now that we've gotten her stuff all situated.
This was my coming home outfit 25 years ago, and this will be hers as well. I bought her some new shoes, and she'll be wrapped in a blanket that covered both my mother and myself as newborns.
I am, right now, feeling contractions for the first time.
Scary and cool!!
This is the first time I've been able to identify them, so I guess I'm a little surprised in a way. It feels like someone reached in from the outside, grabbed my uterus & stomach muscles, and squeezed really hard. I have this visual in my brain of when that guy grabs that other guy's heart out in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's like that, but in the stomach. But not too bad, I did some deep breathing and that helped. This means she's getting closer!!!
Today was a good day for almost the entire time. Amos and I both woke up early (I had a hard time getting to sleep last night for the first time in approximately 8 months!) and decided to hit up our farm early too. We have a share in a community farm, meaning that back in March or something we paid a certain amount to this farm, and all during the
growing season we get to pick up our "share" of the veggies once a week. It's a really cool deal and works out to be way cheaper than grocery shopping every week for fresh, organic, pesticide-free vegetables, plus I kind of like the element of surprise in selection. So anyway, we decided to head down there early and then take a picnic brunch to this lake we discovered down that way a couple of weeks ago. We had a nice, relaxing time chilling lakeside, eating turkey sandwiches and vegetable chips, listening to the water. It was surprisingly quiet considering its proximity to the road. I was reminded of my grandparents' farm, and got a little homesick.
Later, in the afternoon, we had our first sewing lesson. For my birthday this past May Amos bought us a sewing machine and signed the two of us up for a couple of lessons at our local fabric store. Today we basically learned about our machine, the notions & tools that complement the sewing machine, and how to do a few basic stitches and a buttonhole. It was only the two of us and one other girl close to our age, so we all communicated well and had the same types of questions. I bought some "cheater" fabric - you know, the kind that is smocked at the top and has a print below, so all you have to do is measure off enough to go around your bust, make a seam all the way down, and you have a dress - for my first official, follow-all-the-rules project. I'm going to practice making a long, straight seam, plus get a maternity/nursing dress out of it for $10. Plus the fabric is pretty adorable.
Also, this week we're going to Cleveland!! The only thing I love more than road trips are impromptu road trips, and since we just started talking about this on Thursday I'd say it counts as impromptu! We are going to meet Amos's dad, brother, and sister (Nancy unfortunately can't come) in Cleveland for about four days. I haven't visited the city, just flown or driven through, so this should be fun.
Unfortunately the day stopped being awesome and fun after all that. I'm not going into detail, but suffice it to say that I am glad to be getting away for a couple of days, to get rid of all the catty feelings and adopt a more laissez faire attitude.
I'm 31 weeks and have started the countdown. Nine weeks to go!! I am totally ready, ready to get my body back and doing the things I used to, ready to see and play and cuddle the baby, just ready!
My time at home alternately stretches and flies by. I'm working on a new project for baby girl that is super fun and is going to be super super cute. Amos has been baking up a storm lately, making tons of loaves of bread, and it's good to see him so involved in fun things. Basically we are totally nesting, in part due to the three (yes three) AC units we have in the apartment now. Last year we had one window unit, which was dead when we tried it this year, so now we have one in each of the major rooms of our house. I kind of like being a homebody for the first time in my entire life.
On Sunday I went to see Sex & the City with a bunch of awesome people. I snuck in a Milky Way and got some nachos from the concession stand.
I dipped my Milky Way into my nacho cheese.
It was delicious.
