29 weeks - a bullet list

• 29 weeks… holy shit.  That means the babe can come out anywhere between 9 weeks and 13 weeks and be considered on time..  that 9 number is smalll…..
• I realized yesterday that I can’t cross my legs anymore, my belly gets in the way.
• We are registering tonight…  thats feels a bit insane.  We have hospital lists, internet lists, and finally a passed around excel spreadsheet with recommendations and notes.  I hope it doesn’t take us hours.
• How exactly does a “live simply” couple create a registry - how do I know what I will use and what will be a waste.
• Two showers have been scheduled and confirmed…  One friend shower and one side of the family..  Theres lots of people invited…  that makes me nervous too.
• We decided to register on ama.zon.com too to gather all the specialty things we can’t get at the main stream store - at least there we can do it at home and not be bothered.
• I’m feeling conflicted about the commercialization of baby-making-having.  I HATE to go in the maternity stores and decline the vis.a card, par.enting magazine, and the zillion other questions - every single time.  Is it going to be like that tonight at the registry place?
• Why did I get formula in the mail this week????
• I hate maternity stores even more because the woman made me feel bad for sleeping without a bra.  She said I was supposed to.  I told her, my boobs are my business, they don’t hurt and my doctor never said I had to so she should back off (pregnancy hormones, perhaps, but seriously lady - don’t ever tell a pregnant woman she is doing something wrong.)
• There’s more like the nursery looks like a beautiful room but without art, curtains, or a crib doesn’t look like a nursery yet… but I’m tired.  We are leaving on vacation saturday at 6am…  Our first week long vacation in two years i’m beside myself with work and excitement.

holy shit… this baby is coming.

novice crafting - could it be nesting?

 

 

I’m a novice crafter and sewer… i’ve dabbled for a few years with various things.  When I was in grad school and about to combust from too much mental stimulation, Amber bought me a sewing machine to get to working with my hands.  For Chri.stmas this year Amber gave me a sewing class.  So as she and her mom are upstairs painting the nursery I really wanted to do something baby oriented… I decided to teach myself how to applique and make some bibs and onesies…  here is what I did last night and today… now im tired.

 

 

The first two bibs

 

a onesie for amber who requested dragonflies

 a set with our last name initital… 

 

 

 

a set for a friend in georgia that just found out they were having a girl.. they are the kind of couple that would want pink..while we prefer the gender neutral stuff

Urethra Franklin

Yesterday was quite the eventful day.  We began the morning at the midwives office for our 28 week appointment.  All is fine.  Suki-Dot is still breech - which isn’t too much of a concern at this point but just something to notice.  As the day wore on I had to travel out of town…  I noticed an increasing problem going to the bathroom.  It felt like I needed to go constantly and when I went - nothing came out. At 2pm I called the midwife who double checked my urine sample from 8am’s appointment - no infection.  Her guess was that I had stressed myself out over it and my bladder had clamped down.  

She made a suggestion and then said to call back in two hours if I wasn’t better.  I sat in a meeting slowly cringing into a ball 1.5 hours from home.  I don’t think they caught on that my entire bottom area had begun to cramp.  At 4pm the meeting was over and I headed to my car.  I called the midwife - she had left for the day but the nurse said she would call her.  By 4:30 the decision was made that I needed to go to the emergency room.  I’m still driving - but have made up a considerable amount of time.  I finally get in touch with Amber and at this point I am sweaty and yucky feeling and driving in traffic.  Amber and I met up on the interstate and she follows me to the emergency room.  

I was preregistered so we got whisked right in.  I gave a urine sample and popped on the most gorgeous backless gown - I think it was an oversized gown to make room for the belly so it kept falling off. After not too long they came back with the verdict - a ferocious urinary tract infection.  Amber nicknamed the infection ureathra franklin…  (laughing while sick is helpful and we have a tendency of naming our illnesses) Since I was 28 weeks I had to go to the Labor and Delivery Ward to monitor the baby and confirm that I wasn’t in preterm labor.  So - A and I got a tour of the hospital and got to meet the nurses.  They monitored me for contractions (none) and we listened the suki-dot’s heartbeat for a good hour or two.  I even got my first catheter - Amber did a great job coaching me even saying at one point that this was practice for labor - like the 5k and labor will be  a marathon…  that really did fall on deaf ears at that point as I was still pretty uncomfortable.  All in all, I was fine enough to move to my own bed.  By 9pm, I limped out of the hospital and headed home with lots of instructions and nothing but tyle.nol for pain relief.

Today I took medicine, drank cranberry juice till my eyeballs turned pink and napped intermittently.  

O - and in other news I passed my glucose test last week - but I flunked my anemia test…which was actually a relief as it explains some of the lethargic, sleepiness that seems to have crept in the last month.  So now my morning pill regime is prenatal vitamin, fiber pill, flax seed, cranberry pill, an iron pill, and the newest addition - an antibiotic. 

I’m glad I’m fine and looking forward to regular pregnancy woes instead of emergency room trips and medicine.

here goes… a picture post

The other day I was reading through bloglines and i realized that I gravitate towards several blogs.  Almost every single blog I feel a personal connection to is a blog with pictures…  While we were ttc, it was important that we remain anonymous for fear that a family or friend might encounter this and feel sad that they didn’t know what was going on but as we enter the 3rd trimester - I think its safe to say I am excited to wear my badge of lesbian mom…  so here goes the family…

Sarah and Amber a few weeks ago, I (Sarah) am on the left)

On our wedding day - our official pictures didn't come out (long story)

On our honeymoon in Italy

Last weekend 26 weeks on the way to the farmer's market (no shower)

this morning... with my new pearl necklace (thanks hon!)

27 weeks, and the big 3 - Oh.

Yep, I said it.  Later this week I will turn 3-oh.  Which for the time being is how I would like it to be referred to…  I’m not that anxious about it but I didn’t imagine being 27 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer celebrating my entry into a whole new decade.

My birthday starts today…  I am a huge fan of the week long birthday.  Tonight my best friend is taking me to see melissa f.errick open for ani!!!  I’m pretty psyched.  I haven’t seen ani in years.  It is out of town and I have permission to sleep on the way back so I am pretty elated.  Thursday A’s mom is coming into town and I am taking a 1/2 day so we can go shopping for my birthday…  Then, Friday (the actual day) we are going to my favorite veggie restaurant in Richmond for dinner and then Saturday we are having a shindig at the house.  I can’t believe this will be my last birthday without a baby…  its strange.  I feel a smidge jealous about it - like I really want to enjoy it because its the last one…  but in my heart I know its only the beginning.

Third Trimester
Depending on the book maybe we are there…  maybe its next week.  Regardless we are feeling a bit overwhelemed at the amount of stuff left to do.  We finally got the nursery emptied out and A began working on some plaster repair - delightful old houses..  She is doing good work and in the long run it will be great that it is done.  I think she is planning to paint in two weeks and then I can get set to organize. I’m getting more hungry and more sleepy - so I’m feeling the extra weight.  Suki-dot has started getting much more active and pretty crazy with the kicking.  The kind of kicks that will absolutely startle me.  I’m sure the next few weeks (10 - 15) will march by quickly.  Ready or not - here we come…

At 26 weeks - ranting, crying, excitment

Maybe this is a long post maybe this is a short post I’m gonna go with it and see what happens.  I do know that we are rounding the bend to the 3rd trimester…  we just moved to twice monthly appointments rather than monthly…  which seems like a big deal…  Here we are at 26 weeks…

First, holy toledo on the BFP’s -  Vee & Jay, K & M, and Joulybean & Sarahbean!  Thats a whole lot of March babies for three deserving couples.

Rant

I’ll start by saying that I have a newfound appreciation for the f-cked up shit that pregnant women put up with in the form of inappropriate touching and stranger commentary.  Just for a visual - I’m 5′1″, curvy, petite clothes fit me better, i wear a 6.5 shoe.  Everything is short on me - but my waist I am learning is very very short.  The midwife warned me about this in our first appointment - This week we are 26 weeks and the babe is supposedly measuring 14 inches.  When I hold up a ruler - it is longer than my waist which explains why my belly is protruding quite far out and why I am measuring 33 weeks my uterus is already at the edge of my ribs.  The midwife is not worried - Its all normal for my size.  My growth is gradual my weight is okay.  I’m trying to feel confident about it all, but people are getting in the way.  Which brings me to my rant - Here is a list of things that are not okay.

1.  It is not okay to tell a pregnant woman she is humongous.
2. It is not okay to tell her she must be having twins she is so big.
3. It is not okay to tell her she looks like she should be due next week and she must have her due date wrong.
4. I am not a pet, it is not okay to touch my belly if you don’t know my name and i don’t know yours.
5. Lady at the local grocery, it is not okay to argue with me over whether or not I am having twins.

It is okay to:
1. Tell me from behind I don’t look pregnant.
2. Tell me I am glowing.
3. Tell me my hair looks great.
4. Tell me that I look great in maternity clothes.

Birthing Classes

We started our birth classes two weeks ago.  In Richmond there are three main options - Lamaze or a variant of lamaze, Bradley or a variant of Bradley, and Birthing from Within, which is based on this book.  We choose the later.  We love it.  There are three other couples taking the class and we meet in a yoga studio.  All of the couples are attempting natural childbirth and thus the class is structured around natural birth preparation.  It is all the touchy feely and all the book-smart we need it to be.  As an added bonus our Doula is auditing the class so she is right there with us in every class observing what works and doesn’t work for us.  Our birth is gonna be great!

Midwife Appointment

So…. after this tough month with no energy, weight gain, and two episodes of spotting I was a little apprehensive about our appointment yesterday.  I don’t know why though…  Our midwife is great - and so much more than great.  She thinks I might be anemic and scheduled a test - she said I’m not getting enough sleep and suggested taking one bena.dryl a night in order to get to sleep, she answered my questions about the low-low-low kicks where I cross my legs cause I feel like suki-dot might be trying to come out (seems the babe is breech for now - which isn’t too much of a concern - but the bigger suki-dot gets the more of a concern it is)  This also explains the trouble breathing I have had - the baby is right under a lung with the head pressing in the general direction of the diaphragm.  The most prfound thing we learned yesterday - I have a friable cervix.  It sounds more like an egg than a body part - but it just means that I am prone to bleeding… so we should expect more spotting episodes and they aren’t anything to worry about unless it is bright red and more than a pads worth or accompanied by cramping.  Turns out my body is a bit overreactive - so if i spot it means I likely overdid it and I should take it easy for a day or two.  Evidently it is so minor a thing we don’t even need to call.

Nursery

We’ve begun making headway on the nursery.  The room has almost been emptied.  The books moved downstairs, the desk (to be converted into a changing table) is empty, the hope chest my grandfather made is empty (baby storage and window seat), the closet is cleaned out, the cradle that A. was in has moved into the bedroom.  A.’s plan is to do some plaster repair work on the walls and prep it for painting.  Once it is painted we will move all the furniture into place and then set about beginning an inventory of what we have.  Our friends and family have been generous with handmedowns and presents, and handmade items - I’ve just been putting them in drawers so we need to take it all out and inventory it and I think we need to register soon.  The goal is to have the room painted by the end of the month.  I still have to purchase the fabric for A’s mom and my grandmother so they can finish all the textile work.  There is a lot left to do but I feel better about it…  OOO and I found a crib on craigs-list that is the kind we were looking for - so maybe that will work out too.

Thats probably enough for now…  I’d post pictures but they are at home and I am at work…  For those in the nonprofit world - I am detoxing from an annual board meeting and the end of our fiscal year on Monday - so I’m tired and taking a break.

All okay for now

So after 2 days at home with my feet up, spotting stopped.  Midwife thinks I overdid it on Sunday so my threshold for household work has gotten lower.  Suki-dot continues to move and thrash and play in my tummy and i feel movement at least 5 out of every twenty minutes.  All indications are that I am in the clear.  We have our normal appointment on Tuesday where we likely might have some more testing.

After talking with her she thinks I might have become anemic - which would explain lots of other symptoms too.  So she prescribed flora.dix.  YUCK!  It is a liquid vegetable based iron supplement that tastes horrible.  So I’ve been downing two teaspoons in the morning.  Other than that we are pretty good on our diet consumption of iron since A. is a vegetarian - we are careful…  So I will have a glucose and iron test all in the same day next week!  yeah for me.

thats it for now…  pictures to be posted soon.

Ugh - 25 weeks

I’ve been sitting on this post for days.  It was to be about all the lovely things we have been doing to prep for suki-dot.  About the birth classes that we love, the couples yoga, the nursery.  I don’t know why I haven’t written.  But this morning I started spotting again.  I’ve called the nurse and totally jinxed myself by wearing a white skirt (very high school girl on her period).

Just like last time it doesn’t seem too bad.  Nurse thinks I overdid it on Sunday.  I’m starting to feel so weak and betrayed by my body.  Rationally I know it is busy making a human, but I swear I’m listening to it.  I’ve lost the ability to get up early enough to workout.  I’m tired all of the time and now even when I am careful I still over do it.

…waiting for sukidot to move and the midwife to call.  Waiting for someone official to put me back on diet bedrest.  I actually have work to do today.

Family Name

As of yesterday, A. and I have the same last name.  It absolutely floored me how easy it was… no court appearances or anything…  It feels really really special…  so introducing our new last name  Mil.ston.  (minus the . of course)  I’m elated and grinning like a little kid.

Update

I wanted to update and let everyone know that all the craziness has stopped… seems like a false alarm that the chiropractor set off.  So no more chiropractor for me… and now I get to just live with the sciatica pain.

Two posts are brewing - 1 about gifts we’ve gotten already and one is a rant…  plus i owe you guys a belly shot…  will post them soon.

diet bedrest

So i think we are okay, but i started spotting yesterday…we spent the afternoon and evening white knuckled.  This was after a routine and delightful midwife checkup at 8am.  Come 3pm, spotting ensued.  We spoke with the nurse several times, our doulas, and minimally consulted dr. google. I was told to rest, monitor the situation, and take a warm bath.  We climbed into bed and ordered thai food for dinner which is a big treat since we never order take-out.  I had more pronounced braxton-hicks all night, slept pretty well.  

This morning, spotting continues, braxton-hicks are gone, and we have talked to our doulas and the midwife. The conversation with the midwife was wonderful.  she completely reassured us - there are many tmi symptoms and reasons why she isn’t too concerned.  She thinks it was the chiropractor appointment - something about the adjustment bothered by very very fragile cervix.  (that’s what the re used to call it since i always spotted after insems)  She said shes never seen a chiro appointment do this before but this was her guess.  It was suggested that I hang out at home  and stay off my feet - this is what i’m calling diet bedrest.  I’m bored.  Its hard staying home when i don’t feel sick but I figured I would catch up on some blogging, reading, and wii playing that doesn’t involve moving.    I have instructions from A. to drink lots of water and not to clean the house or do errands.  A. just left an hour or so ago after we spoke to the midwife and headed to work.  

From Super-preggo to damaged vessel

I can’t help feeling a bit like the invincibility smile i’ve been wearing as I worked out, did yoga, kept my weight gain small, ate well and generally tried to stay super happy got yanked off of me yesterday. I now feel fragile and more like the vessel for suki-dot than a round luscious lady growing a human.  I’m trying to be optimistic.  So we’ll see, keep monitoring.  I have permission to go back to work tomorrow unless the spotting changes color, there is pain, it increases a lot, or the braxton-hicks pick up and become painful.    

so i’m here..monitoring.